4. A Whole New World
4
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
KURTIS
F ucking goddess!
I can’t believe I just sucked off Evan. It was one of the hottest things I’ve ever done. What will it be like if he does more than grab me by my hair and claim my mouth? I might explode.
I enjoyed it more than even my secret fantasies would have suggested.
Hell, I think that was the most I’ve ever come. But it would have been even better with our curvy, feisty woman between us.
Would she have a threesome? Foursome? Would they?
With that thought, I go hard again in my hand as I tuck myself away.
Damn. I tried to lock my sexuality away, but there’s no turning back from this. I have to admit I’m bi.
Burying my attraction is no longer an option. Sexually, I’m into Evan. Maybe I want something more than a sexual fling…
Yet, my heart craves Tessa.
Do I love her? I can’t admit that to her. Not yet. I care about her, and I know if we had more time to get over our past shit and get to know each other, I would love her as deeply as she deserves.
I want to tell her I’m in love now, but with my damaged soul, I don’t think that’s fair to her.
I’ll do whatever Karma tells me to do so I can heal and earn my place by Tessa’s side. So I can be the sort of person she wants in her life.
It won’t be easy. I sense that much.
She’ll be worth all that hard work.
“Kurtis?” Evan gently cups my shoulder as I stand. “Are you okay?”
He must see the dazed look in my eyes and misunderstand where my head is at. “Yeah. I’m okay. Just thinking about Karma fixing our souls.”
His brow crinkles in confusion. “Are you saying that because of what we just did?”
“Oh, fuck. No.” I shake my head. “I mean, getting better to be a suitable partner instead of the damned mess I am now.”
“Hey.” Evan clasps my head in his hands and tilts my head to look up at him. The gesture is commanding yet reassuring. He looks deep into my eyes. “You’re a great guy. You aren’t a mess. You have stuff to heal, but so does everyone else. We’ll get through this. Together, okay?”
I grip his forearms in camaraderie and agree. “Together.”
Then, totally out of character, Evan pulls me into a powerful hug, and I can feel every cell in my body being embraced.
Damn. I needed that.
Later in the evening, I head down to the kitchen to grab dinner. I suspect most of the household will be down there, getting it while it’s hot.
We have a long kitchen table and the six-seater bar to chill out, eat, and socialize. I normally sit grouped with Evan, Tessa, and Dante at the table. Will it be weird now?
My eyes find Evan as soon as I enter, then land on Dante.
I feel my face heat with nerves. Does Dante know what we did?
He’s a bit psychic even without Instant Karma’s powers, so the odds are high. Odds are even better that Tessa tunes in. She’s a freak of nature… in a good way.
Will she think less of me, especially when she knows I want to be with her?
Guilt swarms me, but I try to remember she’s not mine and likely never will be. Should I hold off on my potential happiness for the one in a million chance she might look at me as more than a friend?
I can almost hear her answer to that. No, she’d want me to grab hold of a good thing.
We’ve had our ups and downs. Most of the downs were circumstances of Instant messing with our heads. But I was also torn up over Tessa, wanting her, but knowing I shouldn’t pursue her. I might have been a pain in the ass at times because of it. What no one realized is that every day since I’ve met that sassy, curvy woman, I’ve ached for her. My pathetic flirting was never an act or a prank.
I’m shaken from my worries as Tessa acknowledges my arrival.
“Hi.” She gives me a smile in greeting, and my whole chest glows with affection. I almost fall to my knees and offer to do anything she wants for another smile.
Instead, I choose the less psycho behavior. “Hey,” I say and notice Evan has already grabbed me a plate of lasagna.
Tessa lifts a bottle of wine in question for her to pour me a glass.
“Nah. I’m sticking to water for a while. I want to be clearheaded for when Karma comes back to work with our souls.”
“Ah, shit. Sorry.” She sets the bottle down and frowns at her plate.
Out of instinct, I reach out and clasp her hand. “Don’t be sorry. I appreciate you offering to serve me.” I give her a wink. I can still do this, be the silly flirt.
Dante glares at my hand touching hers, and I quickly remove it. In retrospect, I think playing nice with Dante will be better for us all in the long run.
And who knows, maybe Dante and Tessa will opt for an open relationship. That’s becoming more common all the time, especially amongst the supernatural circles.
After my close encounter with Evan’s cock earlier, I did a fair amount of research about polyamory. We could definitely swing a polycule, if they all agreed.
“So what did you all do today?” Tessa asks the three of us.
Evan and I share a secret look, and Dante narrows his eyes. Is he only reacting to our confrontation with him? Or does he know more?
“I’m sure it wasn’t anything compared to your day with Death,” Dante answers for us. Thank goodness he changes the subject instead of ripping us a new one in front of Tessa.
“Death’s a trip,” Tessa agrees and shovels a bite of lasagna in her mouth. After chewing, she adds, “All I did today was read manuals on proper soul collection and procedures. I have to say, it was slightly boring, but much more thorough than the training I had with Instant.”
“Yeah, Instant liked her agents to be off-center and never knowing what was next or who to trust,” Evan agrees. “Sorry we weren’t more help in the beginning.”
“You did fine.” She waves him off. “Sure, it was a bit of a wild frat house vibe when I first arrived, but you weren’t that bad—mostly.” She smirks and shakes her head, likely remembering the pranks we tried to pull. Not that she often fell for our tricks.
“I wonder how OG Karma is going to run things now,” I say thoughtfully.
“She was a great mentor when I was a teenager. Although, I didn’t know she was a goddess at the time. I thought she was some wacky psychic teaching me how to read tarot cards and enhancing my psychic skills. She was wise and pretty cool.”
I give her a smile. “I look forward to it. Maybe I can become psychic like you.”
“Careful what you ask for. It can be a curse.”