20. April 13, 2023
Cherry
Cherry lay frozen in the bed. She was normally unflappable, but the circumstances were far too personal in this situation.
General Howard had been friends with her father, per him and Zion.
How close? Being at her mother’s funeral meant nothing, as there had been many people there.
Then again, to a small child, twenty-five people would have been a lot.
Given the button on his uniform, was General Howard part of the Salieri then?
Was he part of her father’s disappearance?
If Howard was part of the criminal organization, and he was in business with Zion, did that mean Zion was also part of the Salieri?
The questions kept looping over and over in her head, keeping her from sleeping. It had nothing to do with Demon still being gone. Nope. Not at all. He was a big boy and could take care of himself. That lie became clear when his text notification came in on her watch. He was back !
As quickly as she could, she got out of bed, grabbed the rope coil by the door where she’d left it earlier, opened the French doors, and peered out in all directions.
No one seemed to stir. She tiptoed to the ledge, anchored the rope around the finial, and threw the rest over the balustrade.
Within seconds, Demon scaled the wall, gathered the rope, and hustled them into the room, closing and locking the doors behind them.
As soon as darkness enveloped them, she clutched him.
She heard the quiet clunk of the rope dropping to the floor, and she felt his arms go around her shoulders, one hand cradling the back of her head and bringing it to rest over his heart.
He smelled of the ocean, which she always associated him with.
A smell that made her feel reassured and safe.
“Missed you, too, fireball.” He kissed the top of her head. “Get back in bed. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Not normally one to take orders, in this instance, she felt the need to do what he said.
Burying herself in the bedding, she huddled on her side, watching the bathroom door and listening to the shower run.
There was no way she would sleep until he crawled into bed on his side.
Only then would she truly feel like he was back and safe.
A few minutes later, Demon returned from the bathroom, his skin now warmed from the shower water, and slid into bed behind her. Afraid to turn over or move, she lay frozen again, eyes wide, heart pounding. He was here. He was safe.
There was a slight rustling as he settled himself, and then she felt hands at her waist—one above, one below—pulling her back into his chest. With her head tucked between his chin and the pillow, a gentle kiss to the top of her head, he whispered, “Sleep now. We’re good.”
Within seconds, her breathing evened out.
Light steps in the hallway, combined with muted voices, woke her.
When she tried to reach for her watch on the bedside table to check the time, she was immediately pulled back against a wall of muscle that smelled faintly of sand and sea.
Every muscle in her body went so tight that if someone flicked her, she’d shatter.
“Go back to sleep,” a deep voice rumbled.
Demon! Sodom and Gomorrah, why did he have to be so strong?
She tugged on the arm banded around her waist, but it wasn’t budging. “Let go of me. There are people out there moving around. We can’t be late for the tour.”
“Fireball, it is way too feckin’ early to argue with you.
I’m exhausted from playing nice with you, your fecktwat uncle, and all his shiteheel friends.
Not only that, I took a two-mile night swim in freezing waters, and my back is killing me, so please, have some mercy on me, and go back to sleep.
” A set of soft lips came down on her shoulder, and two arms nestled her closer.
“I was rather enjoying you all soft and asleep. So much better than you pissed at me.”
His back hurt? Did he hurt himself last night? The lips against her skin distracted her, and she sighed in exasperation. “Well, if you would be nice instead of a raging asshole, you wouldn’t be tired then, would you?”
“Nice is not my strong suit, but I’ll give you raging asshole. I excel at that.”
Ugh. It was so difficult to fight with him when he just kept agreeing with her. She lay stiff and still for a few moments before her self-preservation kicked in. “What time is it?”
He rearranged his head on the pillow so that he tucked the crown of hers under his chin. She seemed to spend a lot of her time positioned like this with him. She didn’t hate it.
“Don’t know, don’t care, but definitely too fecking early.”
However, it really sucked that she was the perfect fit there.
Her body wanted so desperately to give in.
Relax and enjoy the cozy warmth of his muscles sheltering her.
However, her brain was racing and refusing to let go of her need to be as far away from him and his sex voodoo as possible, which was stupid given her proposition to him. “What. Time. Is it?” she growled.
With a sigh of resignation, he raised one arm from around her waist to glance at his watch. “It’s eight thirty. Again. Way too feckin’ early to be awake. They’ve probably barely started their meeting, so it’s hours until we need to go out there. Now lie down and stop wiggling.”
“I am not wiggling. I’m trying to get out of bed, and you’re keeping me here against my will.
” Since she couldn’t break his hold, she tried to slide out from under his arm.
All she could do was turn so that she was facing him, which turned out to be a much more compromising position to be in.
Twisting and turning her hands to his chest, she tried to push away from him, but it was useless.
She gave a gentle squawk as the hand along the small of her back drifted lower and grabbed an ass cheek, pulling her core to his very hard erection.
“Then stop grinding on me. I’m getting ideas about how you really don’t want to get out of bed, and you’re just saying that because you think you’re supposed to,” the deep, rumbling voice teased.
“I was not grinding on you,” she hissed in embarrassment.
“Sweetheart, you have your legs wrapped around mine. You’re nonstop wiggling, there’s a wet spot on my thigh, and you’re making these sexy little noises. It’s no wonder my hands wandered.”
Gasping, she took full notice of the situation. Yeah… they had become tangled. And judging by the uncomfortable state of her silky sleep shorts and the dryness of her mouth? She’d definitely been dry-humping him and making noise.
“Oh sweet Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. Does this mean you’re no longer interested in that mutual chemistry experiment you propositioned me with?” His voice was muted since he’d now switched their positions so that his head was buried between her neck and her shoulder.
Completely mortified, she tried once again to untangle from him.
He refused to let go. Instead, his other hand slid down to curve under her ass and pull her even tighter to him, then rolled them so he was on top of her. “I’m sincerely not complaining. This was the best way ever to wake up.”
His hands slid out from underneath her so that he could brace some of his weight on his forearms on either side of her shoulders.
Still embarrassed but curious to see his reaction, she dared to look at his face.
The water from his post-ocean shower, combined with sleep, tousled his hair.
His face was blank, but his eyes were bright green in the morning sun that streamed into the room as they surveyed her face.
He lowered his mouth to hers. For the briefest of moments, she froze. When he was a breath away, she came to her senses and slipped a hand up over his mouth. “No.”
He quirked an eyebrow.
“I haven’t brushed my teeth,” she offered lamely.
A deep chuckle rose from behind her hand.
Lips and teeth nibbled on her palm, with one nip getting just enough purchase to sting.
When she pulled her hand back in shock, he swooped in, his lips pressed against hers, his tongue plundering inside her mouth, tasting every nook and cranny he could find.
He pressed and swiveled his hips against her core, sliding his body between her legs and positioning her so her feet were flat on the bed.
Whatever he was doing down below was slowly turning her anger into an ache.
Leaping Lucifer, this man could kiss!
There was no option but to hang on and enjoy the ride.
Once she melted into him, her fingers spearing through his tangled hair, he eased back with the intensity.
Instead of one long, soul-stealing kiss, it became a series of soft, sensuous licks and touches.
She couldn’t say that the tension became easier to bear because it didn’t. He had her craving more.
When he stopped kissing her altogether, her eyes fluttered open to see an expression on his face she’d never seen before. If she had to put a name to it, she’d say it was longing.
“Jesus Christ, you could not be more beautiful than you are right now. Arousal looks good on you, your hair all spread out on the pillow like flames burning out of control, and your skin a soft pink blush from head to toe. What man wouldn’t want to wake up like this every day?
Wouldn’t want to watch you come out of sleep under the rays of the sun, knowing that you rested well after he loved you long into the night?
And then want to kiss every inch of you until they’ve got their tongue buried in that hot silk between your thighs, waking you up in a way that makes their name your very first word of the day? ”
“You know,” she whispered. “It’s really not fair for you to ramp me up with all your sexy words and stripper moves, then leave me hanging.”
His eyebrows rose in disbelief. “Stripper moves?”
“Whatever you’re doing with your hips there.”