Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Ilet Roxi finish her breakfast in peace and wander off to check on her clothes.
I’d just thrown them in the dryer before I started on her food, so I’m certain they’re dry now.
My walk to the washer and dryer takes me past my bedroom, and I stop at the doorway.
Her scent assaults my nostrils, beckoning me to drown myself in it.
Giving in to temptation, I stroll in and bury my face in the sheet she’d wrapped herself in this morning.
Her intoxicating scent fills my nostrils, one that reminds me of night-blooming jasmine.
But then something more earthy and grounding carries into it, like vetiver.
Now, I don’t want to put this sheet down or leave my bedroom.
The only thing that would be better is having her arousal coating my tongue or her blood filling my mouth.
Wetness soaks the insides of my thighs, and I throw the sheet down, trying to clear my mind of her. I can’t afford to get lost in the thoughts of what I want to do to her yet. If I do, I won’t be able to keep myself from losing control.
Stalking into the closet, I shuffle through my clothes, still stuffed in boxes. When I find something comfortable, I throw it on and go to check on Roxi’s clothes. Thankfully, they’re dry, so I take them back to my bed for her when she’s ready.
As I set her clothes down, the sound of a faucet trickles down the hall. I tiptoe out to follow the sound, which leads me toward the kitchen. Over the half wall, I watch as Roxi stands at the sink… washing the dishes?
She’s returned to her human form, her straight black hair thrown over one of her shoulders, cascading toward the water, but she seems unfazed by it.
Unlike in her gorgon form, where her skin is ashen and mottled like the stone she can turn others to, her porcelain-like skin glistens, reminding me of a stone that’s been recently polished.
Something in me wants to stroke my fingers over it to see how it feels.
But as she looks down, her cute, narrow snub nose twitches, almost like she’s going to sneeze.
It takes everything in me not to giggle at the sight.
I’m caught off guard by that thought because I can’t remember the last time I giggled. This woman is a sight to behold. In such a short time, she’s breaking down the walls I’ve built to protect myself from the pain I’ve come to accept when it comes to others.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me with that wicked smile on your face, or are you going to get in here and help me clean?” she asks, startling me.
“Hey, I cooked. That means you clean,” I say with a playful lilt in my voice.
“I guess I’d better pick up cooking so you can be the one to clean next time.”
“Next time?” I ask, brow raised. “Does that mean you don’t plan to run off?”
Her cheeks pinken, and she looks back down into the sink. “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
“Not really. If you run, I will catch you. And when I do, I’ll do as I please with you.
“ As the words leave my lips, the scent of her arousal overwhelms me, and I tsk. “Be careful with that. I’m already having a hard time keeping my hands off you. Your arousal—when I’m too close—will have me losing control in no time.
Trust me when I say that’s not something you want right now. ”
She bites her lip and attempts to return to washing the dishes.
“I can’t help it. I’ve never done anything like this, especially not with a woman, and I’m very intrigued.
What makes it even better is that you can look me in the eye when you do what you want to me.
Plus, I have a feeling that you’d respect my wishes if I told you to stop. ”
I grin as I stalk toward the half wall. Her eyes return to me, and I look directly into the emerald pools. “You think too highly of me. I don’t know if I’d be able to stop once I get my hands on you.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think I’d tell you to stop. Even if that’s what I truly wanted. Because I want you so fucking bad that I’d let my body override my brain.”
As I reach the wall, I grab onto the ledge tightly. “And that’s why I’m trying to keep a good hold on my control. If I need to go out and feed just so I don’t lose it around you, I will.”
She drops the dishes into the sink and steps toward the archway, causing my heart to skip a beat. “What if I want you to lose control?”
I feel my pupils constrict, honing in on her like she’s my prey, as my monster starts to take over. My grip tightens on the ledge, crumbling the drywall just to keep myself in place. “If I lose control, I might hurt you, and I won’t let that happen.”
Once she reaches the archway, my eyes drift down her body.
She looks perfect in my clothes. The high-rise shorts she chose pull snugly over her large ass, making my mouth water.
And the crop top she found cuts off right below her breasts, showing off just a little bit of skin above the waistband on the shorts.
She laughs, a melodic sound, drawing my attention back up to her eyes. “Pain mixes well with pleasure, from what I’ve heard.”
“This pain will have you flirting with death if I can’t control myself enough,” I growl.
“You wouldn’t allow me to die.”
“What makes you so confident of that?” I ask, genuinely curious to hear what she has to say.
“You have yet to understand why I make you feel different, and I know you won’t let me die until you figure it out.”
A snarl creeps up my chest, and I’m in front of her in an instant, grabbing her throat.
I slam her back against a wall, crowding her space, as a voice I don’t recognize leaves me.
“I’d much rather die than let anything happen to you.
If anyone so much as lays a finger on you, they’ll lose at least that finger if not far, far more. ”
Her scent consumes me, arousal coursing through her at an intense rate, and I’m struggling not to slide my hand between her perfect thighs, to feel how wet she is. “You’re going to be the absolute death of me, my little relic.”
“Do it. Kiss me. Touch me, Avyanna. I want you to lose control.”
My resolve snaps, and my lips crash onto hers. She moans into my mouth as I release her neck, moving my hands down to her thighs. I lift her off the floor, and she wraps herself around me. Having her in my arms like this feels like a heaven I know I don’t deserve.
Without having to look, I take her back to the bedroom and lay her on the bed, breaking our kiss so I can trail light kisses across her jaw to her neck.
Her legs unravel from around my waist, while her hands tangle in my hair, not wanting to let me go yet.
The most delicious sounds leave her lips, urging me along.
I lift my lips from her skin for a moment and whisper, “I need you to tell me if I’m hurting you or if you’re feeling drained at all. Once I start taking from you, it’s going to be hard for me to stop.”
Her back bows. “As long as you keep going, you can have as much as you want.”
“Roxi,” I growl.
She whines and fists my hair, trying to push my lips back to her skin. “Please keep going.”
“Fuck. Just… tell me if I’m hurting you.”
“Fine,” she grumbles.
My lips return to her neck, and my canines elongate, dying to sink into her flesh. Surprise flickers through me when I’m able to stop myself from giving in to the urge. Sliding my hands under her shirt, I palm her breasts for a moment before I encourage her to sit up and pull the shirt off.
A groan rumbles in my throat. “Your body is fucking perfection.”
She rolls her eyes and falls back against the bed. “I’m sure you’ve seen better in your lifetime.”
I shake my head, running my fingertips over her smooth skin, making her shiver. “None of them has ever compared to yours.”
“Whatever you say.”
The corner of my lips tips up. “You’re learning quickly.”
“I just want you to keep going. It feels so good when you touch me—unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.”
My fingers reach the hem of her shorts, and I slip them under the band, playing with the sensitive skin there. “This is just the beginning.”
“Get on with it then.”
“Watch that mouth,” I say, my gaze turning severe.
“What are you going to do if I don’t?”
I hum and lean down to whisper in her ear. “I’ll start by tying you up, putting a vibrator in your pussy on the lowest setting—which we know won’t get you close in the least—and making you watch as I get myself off.”
She bites her lip as she looks into my eyes. “Is that all?”
“Depends on how much of a brat you want to be.”
She bucks her hips and tries to grind her core against me.
I tsk. “You’re being very naughty.”
“I’m very impatient. Don’t act like you don’t want this as much as I do right now.”
“I hate that you already know that’s true.”
Her hands slide under my shirt, and she glides her fingers over my skin like I’d done to her earlier. A moan slips past my lips while my eyes slam shut, focusing on the feel of her skin against mine.
“Fuck, that feels so good,” I whimper.
When her hands reach my breasts, she tries to grab one in each hand, but fails—my breasts being bigger than her hands can handle—so she pinches my nipples between her thumb and forefinger, playing with my piercings.
I gasp and lean into her touch because it’s been so fucking long since someone has played with me like this.
I’m so lost in lust that I don’t realize Roxi has changed into her gorgon form until her snakes’ tongues flick over my face.
My eyes fly open and meet her slitted emerald ones.
Every time I see them, I fear the worst will happen, but I know now that there’s a connection between us, allowing me to look her in the eye.
Her tongue sweeps over her lips. “I want to taste you.”
“I was supposed to be the one pleasing you, not the other way around. But I kind of want to be selfish and let you do it; I haven’t allowed anyone else to touch me for decades.”