Chapter 7
seven
OPHELIA
I felt the vampire's eyes on me before I was fully awake.
I was still laying on his chest, though I'd definitely changed positions since I fell asleep. My wings were wrapped around him delicately, since there was nowhere else for them to go, but he hadn't squashed them or anything. I definitely would've felt that.
There was a tiny twinge in the bottom of one of them, so I reached back without opening my eyes. I pushed against the spot, and the blip of pain fixed itself.
"We don't have much time," Dante said quietly. "An hour at most, if I had to guess.
"Damn. I shouldn't have slept so long," I mumbled.
"Between the magic exertion and the blood loss, you needed the rest."
I made a face against his chest. "I have to convince Reaper's gang that I'm a pixie today."
"Exactly."
"I also have to convince them that we're obsessed with each other. Smelling like we fucked would help a lot." I peeled my face off him and sat up, meeting his gaze. "Are you opposed to having sex again, or..."
"Yes."
I blinked.
That wasn't good.
"If we fuck, I'm going to bite you," Dante said seriously. "And you can't lose any more blood right now."
"I think I could lose a little and still be fine."
"No."
"I'm sure large male vampires are mated to smaller immortals all the time. I can handle you. I—"
"We would have to seal a mate bond for that magic to work, Angel. A mate bond makes the vampire's partner adapt magically to their needs, as far as blood goes. Without a bond, I need to be careful."
I blinked again.
"I guess that makes sense," I finally said. "But if you're not opposed to having sex, I think we should do it. Making them think we're together is still our best chance of getting out of here unscathed."
Dante studied me.
"You could knot me. It would be fun," I pointed out, suddenly feeling just a little bit self-conscious about his lack of enthusiasm.
"I can't knot you. If I shift forms, I'm going to take enough blood to knock you out," he said bluntly. "I'm not opposed. I want you. I just don't want to risk your life for sex."
"Wow. That might be the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me," I remarked.
"Then you really need to date different people."
"I don't date anyone. And my life's also at risk if we don't fuck. So, let's do it. Don't shift if you don't want to, and try not to take too much blood."
He clenched his jaw, but after a few moments, he nodded.
Lowering his mouth to mine, he kissed me lightly.
The contact was... soft.
Sweet.
Gentle.
It caught me off guard.
I buried my fingers in his hair, and he tipped my head back with one hand, kissing me deeper. His fangs were out, but I tried to leave them alone.
The thickness of his cock pressed against my clit just right as his tongue stroked mine slowly.
Dante dragged his fingertips over the inside of my wing.
I moaned into his mouth at the sheer pleasure of it, moving his fingers to the place that was the most sensitive. He traced the spot lightly, letting his fingers travel down, back up, and around, too.
My body moved of its own volition, rocking and arching in response to his touches as he brought me to the edge quickly. I came with a soft cry into his mouth, and he pulled me against him a little harder, easing his mouth from mine as his fangs swelled larger and longer.
I tipped my head to the side for him, and he kissed me there instead of sinking his teeth in.
His hand was still on my wing when he released my thigh long enough to tug my panties down.
I reached between us, trying to get to his pants, but he had to lift me up to give me access.
My hands were clumsy as I fiddled with the fabric, finally managing to free his cock.
He lined us up, and when I eased myself over him, he took me a little harder than he had the last time.
He was so fucking huge, I had to breathe through the stretch of it.
God, I'd forgotten how good he felt.
The look in his eyes was a little wilder than last time, and the bulge at the base of his cock was a little thicker, too.
"You okay?" he gritted out.
"Obviously."
He pressed my wings a little harder. "Don't sass me when I'm trying to protect you."
"Quit trying to protect me, and just live a little," I breathed. "Bite me. Knot me. Make it good for both of us. Just—"
He drove into me harder, tilting my hips a little to change the angle in a way that made me moan. "Do you have any sense of self-preservation?"
"That's debatable."
"I can't shift," he said.
"Sure you can. You're not really going to knock me out."
"You have no fucking idea." His teeth grazed my throat, his forehead creased with tension and pleasure as he fucked me from below. "We need a bigger bed."
"I can put my wings away."
"Don't." His gaze swept the room before he finally stood up and hauled me to the nearest wall with one single step.
My wings spread out as he pinned me to the hard surface, my back arching as he drove into me roughly.
His gorgeous, dark eyes flickered to red as he neared his shift.
Excitement coursed through me.
I wouldn't push him into it, but I definitely wouldn't complain if he changed forms.
He fucked me wildly, and my head tipped back, my lips parting.
When he adjusted his grip on me, his hand brushed my wing just right.
I came with a loud cry of pleasure.
Dante snarled and came with me, horns appearing on his head as he sank his fangs into my throat.
The base of his cock swelled in an instant. I choked out a desperate curse as his thick knot stretched me impossibly wide, dragging out my climax and making me feel things I hadn't felt in nearly a century.
He released my throat, and our eyes met as we came down from the high together, panting.
"Fuck. Shit. Didn't mean to do that," he gritted out. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Nice knot," I managed to say. "Really nice."
"Nice wings." He stroked my feathers again lightly, close to the spot I'd shown him. My hips arched, and I moaned at the way his knot throbbed slightly, driving both of us into another climax.
I sucked in desperate breaths, lowering my forehead to his shoulder as he licked my throat.
"You can bite me again. I'm not dizzy yet," I said between gasps of air.
"I'm not risking the angel who can get me out of this prison."
My mood changed abruptly, with his words.
Right.
That's all I was to him—the woman who could get him out of the penitentiary.
If he knew that killing me was the best way to end the magic, would he have done that? Snapped my neck, just to be done with it?
He hadn't technically done anything to deserve his prison sentence, but none of the people who led our city were innocent, and he was one of them. Their particular shades of morally gray were just more publicly acceptable than some people's.
Suddenly, I remembered why I hadn't fucked anyone for ninety-something years before him. Sex was so... vulnerable.
And suddenly, I missed my house fiercely. My small, safe house, full of clay and pottery and solitude. I missed it so badly, my chest ached.
Fuck my moral compass that led me into the prison to rescue "innocent" demon royals.
Dante didn't bite me again while we were locked together.
He did tease my wings just right. Right enough to make me come again.
And again.
Until his knot finally softened, and we had a few minutes to get cleaned up. The buzzer rang too soon, releasing us from solitary confinement.
"Thanks, Angel." Dante said, with a light brush of his thumb over my knuckles while he held my hand.
I didn't respond.
And I was kind of glad when we found three of Reaper's guys waiting for us outside the hallway. Sure, they were slightly terrifying, but I needed space from Dante.
The vampire made a show of kissing me goodbye. I tried not to let him see how much I hated it.
When I followed Reaper's guys up the stairs, I felt more hollow than I had in a long time.