14. Paige #2
He increases the pace, and I wrap both legs around his waist, meeting him thrust for thrust. Our bodies entwined, our breathing little more than gasps of air, I hold on to Aries as another release consumes me.
Moaning his name, I come undone around him.
Aries pulls back and sits back on the bed, pumping himself in his hands until he comes and falls to his back, chest rising and falling rapidly. The scales on his arms recede until only muscled flesh remains.
It’s not until I see the red tinge of my blood coating his dick that I realize we just had unprotected sex.
Shit.
“I’m so sorry. I should have—we should have used protection.”
“I pulled out,” he assures me as he sits up. “You will not get pregnant.”
But the hollow look in his eyes makes me wonder if that doesn’t bother him. Which, of course, makes no sense.
I close my eyes, feeling thoroughly and deliciously used.
The blankets shuffle as Aries gets out of bed. I hear the shower turn on but don’t open my eyes. Unfamiliar emotions cloud my good mood.
What if he thinks it was a mistake?
What if I wasn’t good enough?
What if—
“Come here.”
I open my eyes to see Aries holding his arms out. “What? Why?”
“I’m going to clean you.”
“Aries, that’s really not—”
“Please do not deny me, Paige. I want to.”
The idea of him washing me brings yet another wave of desire even as my body aches. But I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed, anyway. “Okay.”
Before I can stand, Aries scoops me up into his arms and carries me into the shower where he sets me carefully on my feet again.
The spray is warm against my skin, and Aries wastes no time climbing in with me.
He goes to work soaping up a fresh washcloth he must have already taken from the shelf by the shower and turning me so my back is against his chest.
“Your skin is so soft.” He presses a kiss to the side of my neck as he reaches around and washes my breasts…
my belly. Soft, even strokes that soothe me.
“So smooth.” Aries pulls away and washes my back then kneels before me and runs the loofa between my legs before washing them and then straightening before me.
He reaches just outside the curtain and grabs a second fresh washcloth from the stand directly beside my shower; then prepares to clean himself. I grip his wrist, stopping him.
“Can I?”
Aries nods and hands over the cloth. I start on his back, running the soapy square over his bunched muscles. Washing him is a new type of intimacy, and as I move around to his front, running the cloth over every inch of his body, I realize with great distress just how in over my head I am.
After tonight, my body belongs to Aries. How the hell am I supposed to let him go now?
* * *
Morning comes all too soon. Testing with small movements, I note that my hip has already healed, and I’m grateful for my supernatural ability even if quick healing is all it affords me.
No, this morning, I’m sore in another way; a delicious ache in my core that still doesn’t ease the heat that encompasses me when I press back against Aries’s naked body.
His arm tightens around my waist in response. “You think to torture me?” he asks as he presses his lips to the side of my throat.
“No torture,” I whisper as I shiver in pleasure.
“Are you cold?”
“Not in the least,” I reply.
He lifts his arm and pulls the covers off me then runs his fingertips down my side. “You are magnificent. The picture of perfection.”
“I don’t know about that,” I laugh nervously.
“I do.” Aries sits up and rolls me onto my back then positions himself between my legs, his hands on either side of my head. He leans down and captures my lips with his, a fiery kiss that speaks to the need in my veins. “How do you feel?”
“Like I had sex with a well-endowed dragon shifter last night?”
He grins. “Well-endowed?”
“I would say so.”
Aries kisses me again then rolls onto his back. “Come here.”
I roll over, expecting to curl into his side, but he shakes his head.
“I want you on my face.”
“What?” Fear and excitement battle the desire in me.
“Now, Paige,” he orders. “Or I’ll punish you.” The wicked smile that graces his face lets me know I’d likely enjoy every moment of said punishment. Still, I wouldn’t want to disappoint him now, would I?
Nerves dancing in my belly, I climb up and straddle his face. Gripping the headboard for support, I close my eyes and hold my breath, but Aries orders, “Look at me.”
So, I do.
I stare down at the man between my legs and hold my breath when he snakes both hands over my thighs and pulls me down on top of his mouth. I cry out as he pulls my clit into his mouth, sucking, tasting, devouring like he’s a starving man.
Pleasure explodes through me, and I snake my fingers through my own hair, holding on while the orgasm rocks me.
“Aries,” I whisper. “Please.” I move my hips against his mouth. He grips my hips, holding me tightly to him as I come undone.
Stars explode in my vision, and it’s all I can do to not scream his name from the damned rooftop.
Aries continues to draw out my pleasure until I’m completely and utterly sated, my body deliciously used. Then, I climb off his mouth and start to straddle his cock instead.
He chuckles and flips me onto my back. “You’re not ready for round two just yet, love.”
Love.
I know it’s a pet name, a way to show appreciation for the time we’ve spent, but a selfish part of me wants it to mean more.
“I feel ready.”
He covers my nipple with his lips then pulls away. “Tonight. You need a break, and I’m not sure I can be gentle now that I’ve had you.”
His words only turn me on even further.
Rough? Yes, please.
At that exact moment, someone knocks on my front door, sending me into a panic.
“Shit,” I hiss, scrambling to my feet. “Coming!”
Aries slaps my ass when I get up, and I turn to glare as he lies back on the bed, aroused and completely fucking naked. He flashes a self-satisfied grin at me that I plan to make him regret later.
Grabbing my robe as I go, I shut the door to my room and pull open the front door.
Blossom cocks her head to the side. “You’re late.”
“I am—” I trail off and check the clock. “Shit. I’m sorry. Overslept.”
“Uh-huh.” Her eyes narrow. “It smells like sex in here.”
“How could it smell like sex? There’s no one but me here. The Gnomes—”
“Bought you incense, yeah. That excuse worked last time. When I was already distracted.” She crosses her arms. “Paige. How long have we known each other?”
“A long time,” I admit.
“In all that time, you’ve never been late, and your apartment has never reeked of sex. Who’s here?” Her eyes widen in horror. “Dear gods. Tell me it’s not Mag.”
“Ewww, no. I swear, it’s not—”
The bedroom door opens, and Aries strolls out, wearing those damned sweatpants. Fuck. This is it. I’ve been made. Blossom is going to try to kill him; she’s going to definitely kill me. I—
Blossom whistles, her gaze flicking from him to me and back to him again. “Nicely done, Paige. I approve. Incense my ass.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or hide. Aries comes up behind me and rests a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry I kept her.”
“No,” Blossom laughs, her sharp eyes taking him in all at once. “Do not apologize. I’m Paige’s friend and co-worker, Blossom.”
“Aries. Paige and I met a few days ago.”
Blossom’s eyes widen, and her grin spreads as she looks back at me again. “Well, as much as I hate to be a cock-block, you’re needed downstairs. Hope to see you again, Aries.”
“Likewise.”
Blossom shoots me a smile that lets me know she will not be letting this go then walks off toward the elevator. As soon as I’ve shut the door, I turn and slam both hands into Aries’s massive chest.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demand.
“She’s a shifter,” he replies. “Which means she could sense what we’ve done.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to show yourself! Don’t you think she’s going to wonder how you got in here without her opening a portal? l ”
He chuckles. “Supernaturals come into this library all the time, do they not?”
“Yes. But only through the keeper portals.”
“There is no way we could have met outside of here?”
“In the human world? I guess, but—”
“Then I am your lover. Your friend. And that’s what she can know me as.” He turns away as though this solves everything.
I groan and lean back against my door. Blossom is going to hammer me for details I can’t give her.
Where did he come from?
How did we meet?
Somehow, I know, “from a book” and “naked in the flying creatures section” are not appropriate answers. Ugh. I am so completely and thoroughly fucked.
And the worst part is… I loved every minute of it.