Chapter 18 #2
His hands moved over her with a reverence that made her throat tight, as if he was memorizing every curve of her body, every place where her breath would catch as he touched her.
When his fingers traced the line of her collarbone, then drifted lower, she gasped against his mouth, her own hands sliding down the planes of his chest to explore the lean strength of him.
He was already hard against her thigh, and the knowledge that he wanted her this much sent another flush of heat through her.
“Delia.” Her name on his lips sounded like a prayer, like something sacred.
She answered by finding the strong line of his throat with her mouth, tasting salt and heat.
His response was immediate — a low sound that vibrated through his chest as his fingers slid between her thighs, stroking until the pleasure built and built and she shattered against his hand, crying out his name.
For a moment, she could only breathe, trembling in the aftermath.
But then she felt him shift above her, his weight settling between her legs, and when their eyes met in the moonlight, she saw everything she felt reflected back at her.
Love…trust…the simple knowledge that this was where they both belonged.
When they finally joined, it was physical, of course, and yet she also felt something far more profound, a completion that went beyond bodies, beyond the moment itself.
She felt it in the way he held her gaze, in the catch of his breath that matched her own, in the slow, deliberate rhythm that built between them until there was no separation between his pleasure and hers.
The release that followed left them both breathless, clinging to each other as if they’d survived something far more intense than any supernatural battle.
And in a way, Delia thought as Caleb pressed his forehead to hers, they had.
They’d survived the journey to this moment — all the fear and doubt and danger — and emerged on the other side, whole and together.
This was what she would treasure forever. Not just the physical intimacy, but the absolute certainty that Caleb Lockwood loved her.
Before, when she’d been with other men, she’d thought she loved them, or at least cared for them.
She’d never been one to become intimate until her heart was engaged.
Now, though…now she realized it could be so much more, was all about her soul flowing into his and somehow, inexplicably, finding herself healed in return.
Afterward, they lay tangled together in the moonlight, Delia’s head pillowed on his chest while his fingers played with her loose hair. His breaths were deep and slow, and she could sense his contentment, the feeling of finally being exactly where he belonged.
“No regrets?” she asked softly.
“None,” he replied, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You?”
“Only that it took us this long to get here,” she said before she settled more deeply into his arms.
They slept then, slept for so long that the room was flooded with sunlight when Delia finally awoke. The clock on the nightstand told her it was nearly ten.
Well, she supposed they’d earned a good sleep.
Next to her, Caleb shifted, and she allowed herself a moment of wonder at the sight of him in her bed, that this incredible man had trusted her enough to be vulnerable with her.
Then his eyes opened, and he propped himself up on one pillow.
“Good morning,” he said, and she smiled.
“Good morning.”
They leaned in and kissed one another. Her body stirred, but she thought she was content for the moment. Later, though….
“Do you think it’ll be easier now?” she asked. “Living with what we are, I mean.”
“Honestly?” Caleb responded as his shoulders lifted ever so slightly. “I don’t really know. But I do know it’ll be easier doing it together.”
She tilted her head as she gazed at him, studying the handsome planes of his face in the bright morning light. “Even if it means more supernatural crises? More demons or angels or whatever else is out there?”
“We’ll deal with it when it happens…if it happens,” he said, then pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head. “For now, let’s just enjoy the fact that we’re both alive and that Las Vegas is still standing.”
“Fair point,” she agreed. “But maybe we should have Pru check to make sure everything really is fine.”
“Later,” Caleb said firmly. “Right now, the only thing I want to check on is this.”
He demonstrated what “this” entailed by rolling her beneath him and kissing her with the kind of thorough attention that successfully derailed any further discussion about demons or angels or the otherworldly currents that had flowed through Las Vegas.
For the first time since this whole supernatural mess had begun, she felt like she was exactly where she belonged.
They’d both fallen asleep again after that round of lovemaking, and when Delia woke once more, the sun was even higher in the sky, and she was alone in bed.
For a moment, disorientation made her wonder if the events of the night before and earlier this morning had been nothing more than an elaborate dream, but then she caught the rich scent of coffee drifting in from the kitchen and smiled.
She pulled on her silk robe — she’d have to suggest that Caleb leave a few things here, as long as he was amenable to that — and padded barefoot down the hallway, her loose hair falling around her shoulders.
She found him standing at the counter, dressed in his jeans from the day before, muscular torso gloriously bare, looking utterly at home in her kitchen as he sipped from a big mug of coffee.
The sight of him made something warm and contented unfurl in her chest.
Or maybe somewhere a bit lower down.
She was just reaching for a mug for herself when her phone rang. It had been sitting in the kitchen all this time, since she’d left it on the counter the night before. The caller ID showed Pru’s name, and Delia sighed.
“Good morning, Pru,” she said after she put the phone to her ear.
“Oh, good, you’re alive,” her friend said without wasting time on a greeting. “I was starting to worry when you didn’t answer my texts last night.”
Delia pulled her phone far enough away so she could see the unread messages that had piled up overnight. Apparently, she’d been more thoroughly distracted than she’d realized. “Sorry, it was a long night.”
“So, are you and demon boy finally together? Because your voice has that ‘I got some’ quality to it.”
Heat flooded Delia’s cheeks, and she was grateful Caleb was focused on pouring some more coffee into his mug and couldn’t see her face. “Pru….”
“I’m taking that as a yes,” her friend said cheerfully. “Good for you. Anyway, everything in Vegas seems to have settled down to its usual dull roar, but Ty still thinks we need to remain vigilant.”
“Oh, he does?” Delia returned. “Were you two also staying up past your bedtimes?”
“We went out for some coffee afterward,” Pru replied, her tone now overly severe. “And then he dropped me off at home. Anyway, while things seem okay for now, he’s still worried that we might not be totally out of the woods yet.”
Delia rolled her eyes, and Caleb tilted his head at her. “Pru and Ty think we shouldn’t be breaking out the bubbly quite yet,” she told him.
“We don’t need to worry about that right now,” he said as he moved closer to her. “In fact, I think we’ve earned a little downtime.”
“Have we?” she asked, but she knew there was a hint of a smile in her voice. “Because it feels like every time we think we’re done with the supernatural world, it finds another way to drag us back in. It’s worse than the Mob.”
“Hey, I’m still on the phone here,” Pru pointed out. “But I have to say, I agree with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Demonic over there. You two just saved Las Vegas from an interdimensional invasion. You’ve earned at least a day off.”
Delia couldn’t help but laugh. “Since when are you all about taking breaks?”
“Since my best friend started dating a guy who can apparently channel enough power to take on a demon lord,” Pru replied.
“Look, I’m not saying you two should drop everything and jet off to the Bahamas for the next six months, but I think you’re probably fine with taking a day…
or maybe two or three…before you get back on the horse. ”
Six months in the Bahamas with Caleb sounded absolutely heavenly.
But, setting all supernatural concerns aside, Delia knew she had clients and responsibilities here.
The crew at the flip house had continued to work through all the drama, probably blissfully unaware of how close Las Vegas had been to getting overrun with demons, but she still needed to stop by and check on their progress before too much more time had elapsed.
“Okay,” she said, “we’ll think about it.”
“I figured you would.”
After she ended the call, Delia set down her phone and looked over at Caleb. “So…what do you think?”
“I think,” he said, as he put down his coffee and reached over to twine his fingers with hers, “that right now, Las Vegas is safe, the ley lines are flowing normally, and Vinea is stuck in Hell for the time being. We can take a few days to just be normal people.”
“Normal people who can channel demonic energy and tap into citywide psychic networks?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Normal-ish people,” he amended, and she chuckled.
“I like the sound of that,” she said, then moved closer until she was standing within the circle of his arms. “Normal-ish people who can handle whatever comes next. Besides,” she continued with a grin, “it’s not like either of us can go back to being completely normal now. Might as well embrace the weirdness.”
“‘Embrace the weirdness,’” Caleb repeated, a warm light in his cola-brown eyes and an answering grin of his own on that oh-so-kissable mouth.
“I like that.”
The Vegas Slayers series continues in Devil to Pay.