Chapter 27 #2
Feeling mischievous, she stroked the silky strands back with both hands, gathered them into a bunch at the base of his neck, and fisted it loosely in one hand. She gave it a light tug. This time his growl was more of a warning. She smiled against his lips.
A second later, he snatched her wrists and pinned them down to the pillow above her head.
He pulled back. “Don’t play with me, witch.”
She smiled devilishly, her body stretched out beneath him. “But it’s so fun.”
Tingles of awareness raced over her skin, and she felt every inch of his heat pressed against her. He lowered his head until their mouths hovered inches apart. Unable to disguise her desire, a moan escaped from the back of her throat.
“Careful,” he said softly against her ear. “Or I might think you missed me.”
I did. More than I should have. Iris’s warnings suddenly echoed through her head, and she scrambled for a distraction. “Did you figure out what you needed for your spell?”
He hummed an affirmation while kissing up her neck.
She couldn’t think straight with his mouth on her. “Then are you here to take me back to your lair?”
His head shook.
She frowned. “Then why—?”
“Always with the questions, Suyin.”
“Always with the evasive answers, Murmur.”
He raised his head, eyes full of heat. And then he released his grip on her wrists and lifted off her. Just as she started to move, she felt the icy shackles of his ghosts encircle her arms and pin her back down.
She pulled on them, but they held fast. “Damn it, Murmur—”
He yanked the blankets back, exposing her body to the cool air. Her baggy T-shirt was bunched around her waist, her lower body exposed. That was what she got for sleeping half naked.
“What have we here?” His smile turned wicked.
Leaning in, he gripped the sides of her shirt and drew it over her head, tossing it away. Then he shifted down and wrapped his hands around her ankles, pushing her legs up and apart. He spread them wider and wider, until her inner thighs were stretched to their maximum.
Her labia parted, and she felt the cold air on her core. Murmur sat back, taking his sweet time enjoying the view. He was fully clothed, while she lay naked and open in the most vulnerable way.
What was it about being exposed to him that made her body light up like kindling on a bonfire? Her inner muscles clenched just from the feel of his eyes on her, and she felt wetness leaking out of her already.
His eyes were full of dark promise. “Tell me to stop if you want to, and I will.”
She said nothing. Nothing would make her want to stop this now.
With a liquid grace, he slowly moved, dropping his head between her open thighs. And then his hot, wet tongue trailed down her center, and she threw back her head and moaned.
“The most delicious thing I’ve ever fucking tasted,” he growled, taking another hungry lick and driving her wild.
His mouth sealed over her and sucked. Releasing her ankles, he spread her flesh farther apart, revealing her clit, which he circled with his tongue.
His black tongue. Somehow she hadn’t noticed that little detail until now.
The sight of that tongue, combined with the sensations it was giving her, started to drive her toward climax.
She pulled at her wrists, trying to get closer to him and pull away at the same time.
His tail came out of nowhere, the tip of the sharp barb trailing along her inner thighs while he continued working her clit with his tongue. She cursed and moaned, equally alarmed and turned on by what he was doing.
He lifted his head. His lips, shining with her arousal, curved into a smile.
And then the sharp barb of his tail traveled over her still-spread pussy, hovering right over her swollen clitoris.
“Murmur, no,” she panted, suddenly struggling anew in her bonds. She tried to snap her legs closed, but he caught her ankles and pushed them apart again.
“Do you trust me, Suyin?”
“Fuck no!” She struggled harder. “You’re completely fucked in the head if you think I’m gonna let you stab me with that thing.”
He laughed. “Not even if I promise you’ll like it?”
Like an idiot, a complete and total fool, she stilled. “How could I possibly like being stung in the clit with a venomous barb?”
“I can control how much venom is in the sting. A lot will paralyze you. A little will give you a rush like you wouldn’t believe.”
“What? How?”
“Trust me or not. Decide.”
She stared at him. She wasn’t really considering letting him do this, was she? Nah, there was no way she was that stupid—or horny enough to act like she was.
Which made it pretty surprising when she nodded a second later.
His tail flexed and he struck. Fast, like a goddamn scorpion. Hot burning started right in the middle of her clit, and next thing she knew, she was screaming. In a good way. A really good way.
If she’d had any sense, she would have worried about the volume of her voice concerning her next-door neighbors and possibly ending up with the cops knocking down her door.
But she went completely out of her head. She launched into outer space and traveled at light speed through the galaxy of orgasms.
Searing pleasure shot through her veins, centered around the powerful heat in her clitoris. Her eyes went blind, the blackness littered with colorful spots, and she lost all comprehension of where her body began and ended. It felt like she had ruptured into a thousand particles.
And then an intense invasion into the very center of her had her consciousness shooting right back into her body.
Her sight came back, and she found herself staring into piercing bloodshot eyes as Murmur thrust his thick shaft into her still-pulsing core.
He was still dressed, his pants shoved down just enough for him to get inside her.
She cried out as he pushed past every barrier of tightness. As she continued to ride out her orgasm, each flex of her inner walls contracted around him, while each release allowed him to sink deeper.
She thrashed on the bed, tugging at her wrist bonds, crying out with complete abandon as he filled her again and again with thick, heavy thrusts.
Her knees were bent up and open, and there was no way to escape the depth of his movements.
His hair fell into her face and all around her, blocking out the world.
Winding around her thigh, his tail tightened like a lasso, and one of his hands reached down to hold her hip, securing her in place.
He moved in a hot rocking motion, his hair swaying around them, his breath coming in harsh pants through his open mouth.
In the space between his parted lips, she could glimpse the tips of his sharp fangs.
“I’m going to fill you up with my fucking cum,” he growled. “And then spread it all over you until you’re soaked in it.”
“Oh my god!” she screamed as her body shook with ecstasy.
His claws tightened around her hip. His pace increased until hints of pain mixed with her pleasure as he stretched her with every hard thrust.
And then he started to come. She knew the instant he did because she felt him swell inside her. He pulled out of her throbbing core, and, jacking his thick cock with one hand, he kept coming. Just like he’d promised, it landed all over her, and it was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.
Still bound by the souls, she had no choice but to lie immobilized and enjoy the view as he covered her. The hot liquid ran between her breasts, down her stomach, and over her thighs.
Finally, he dropped to her side on his back. Her head spun. She didn’t need oxygen yet was gasping for it at the same time.
His eyes shut, and his breathing slowly evened out. Until it was almost too even, and she started to fear he’d fallen asleep.
“Murmur?”
He cracked an eyelid and turned his head to meet her gaze.
“You gonna let me go any time soon?” She pulled on the bonds at her wrists.
His lips curved. “I’m tempted to say no.”
“You like me being tied down, huh?”
His eyes darkened. “Then you can’t escape.”
“I wasn’t trying to.”
“But you still couldn’t, even if you were.”
She had to smile. She wasn’t complaining, that was for sure.
Nevertheless, her icy bindings dissolved. She lowered her arms, wincing at the stretch in her shoulder muscles. Murmur rolled onto his side facing her, satisfaction written all over his face as he surveyed the mess he’d made on her.
“I need a shower,” she said.
He climbed off the bed with surprising quickness and straightened his clothing, and then, to her surprise, he bent and scooped her into his arms. He held her close as he stalked down the hall, ducking to fit under the doorway.
“You’re way too big for this house,” she remarked. “You should just shift to human form.”
He glanced down at her with a curled lip.
“I’ve seen your human form. You look good.”
“I look human.”
She laughed. “I take offense to that. And right now you’re so huge, your horns are nearly scraping the roof.”
He shot her another look, and before her very eyes, his horns retreated into his skull and disappeared. “Problem solved.”
He still had to stoop to enter the bathroom. Shifting her to his side and holding her with one arm, he bent and turned on the water. Or tried to. It seemed he didn’t have much experience with how showers worked. He kept trying to twist the lever instead of pulling it up.
“Let me down,” she said, chuckling. “I’ll do it.”
He straightened, letting her slide down until she stood on her own. Once the shower was hot, she stepped under the spray on wobbly legs. Murmur propped a shoulder against the wall, tail flicking lazily behind him.
Tugging the curtain closed, she got busy washing, scrubbing extra hard, considering she’d taken a bath in demon jizz. “So, what did you mean about not taking me back to your lair?”
“I’m ready to cast the spell, but I don’t need to bring you back with me. I found another way.”
She peeked around the curtain at him with a frown. “What way?”
“In addition to your blood, I also need to draw on your energy—your vitality, or innate magic. Luckily, there’s a seal that allows me to take power from you at a distance. I’ll put a mark on your skin, collect your blood here, and return to Hell by myself.”
“But …” She stared at him, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes. She couldn’t deny the sting of disappointment she felt. She didn’t actually want to go back to Hell, did she?
Her rational side said no, but she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t been daydreaming about their study sessions in the library. God, maybe Iris was right, and she needed to rethink her position on all of this.
“I thought you’d be happy to hear that,” he said.
She ducked back behind the curtain, taking a moment to disguise her emotions before she replied. “You’re right. I am glad.”
“Liar,” he said in a low voice.
She didn’t respond to that, because she wasn’t sure what to say.
“If you wanted to return, you shouldn’t have told your little witch friend about me.”
She stuck her head back around the curtain again. “How did you know about that?”
He just smiled that creepy smile. “I can have eyes anywhere if I wish.”
His souls, she realized. How lovely to know she’d had ghosts tailing her for the last two days.
“She figured it out on her own,” she said.
“Were you hoping the other demons would protect you from me? You didn’t even activate your wards.”
She snorted. “I figured there was no point trying to keep you out. And I’m not afraid of you anymore, remember? We have a deal.” And maybe I wanted you to come back for me.
“I always keep my promises.”
She made a face into the stream of water as she washed her face. “Like when you promised Mist, Lily, and Iris you wouldn’t trace them back to Earth?”
“I didn’t trace them. My spell did.”
“That’s such a twisted interpretation.”
“Mishetsu was at fault. He should have been more careful in his negotiating, but he was weak from blood loss and torture, and I took advantage.”
“You tortured—?”
“I didn’t torture him.” Murmur scoffed. “Paimon did. In fact, I did him a favor by raiding her lair and leading the twins to the Hunter to rescue him. If not for me, they would both have failed. They ought to be thanking me, but instead they chose to fixate on the fact that I made a deal with Valefor in order to retrieve my book.”
Well, that was interesting. “Why couldn’t you get it yourself?”
“Because then it would have been known that I wanted it.” He said it like it was obvious. “I always disguise my true intentions. Had I not done this over the years, my plan would have been discovered a long time ago, and I would likely be dead.”
“You’re paranoid.”
“Yes.”
She bent and turned off the shower. Climbing out, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her middle. They returned to her bedroom where she threw on a robe. “So are we actually going to do this here? I don’t mind going back to Hell. I want to see your spell when it’s successful.”
“What if I change my mind and decide not to let you go?”
“I’ll find a way to escape.”
He smiled, but it faded quickly. Suddenly, he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “As much as I enjoyed your assistance, this is something I must do alone.”
He crossed the room and picked up his coat from a chair, where he must have discarded it while she was still sleeping. He pulled a holster from beneath it that contained a long knife. Then, from a pocket inside the coat, he pulled out a narrow, cylindrical jar.
“So how does this seal work?” she asked, eyeing him warily. “I’m not sure I like the sound of you sapping power from me from a distance.”
“It’s simple. I’ll carve the mark into your skin, and then I’ll carve the matching one into my own when I return to Hell. A drop of your blood applied to my mark will activate it.”
She sat in the chair his coat had been draped over. She couldn’t deny that she felt uneasy about the whole process, but she reminded herself again that Murmur had vowed not to harm her. Whatever he was planning had to fit within the terms of their contract.
Still, something about this didn’t feel right. “Are you sure I shouldn’t go back with you?”
“It’s safer for you to remain here. I told you what will happen once the spell is complete. It’s better this way, Suyin.”
His words were reassuring, but while he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the vial on his hand.
She wished he would look at her, but more than that, she wished his attention didn’t matter so much.
She’d never felt like this about anyone before, and not knowing if he returned her feelings was agonizing.
But her pride wouldn’t let her ask. It would barely let her admit those feelings to herself.
She took a breath. “All right. Let’s do it.” She rolled up her sleeve and held her arm out, but he shook his head.
“The sigil must go over your heart.”