"The wing shit wasn't exactly subtle, babe. Figured there was no confusion."
"Well, I didn't know if the wing thing was, you know, involuntary. I don't want you to want me just because you have to. I want you to just want me."
"What about any of this says I don't want you?" I asked.
"Well, you know, the words would be kind of helpful."
"Fine. Words. I want you. There. Happy?"
Eloquent, I was not. But blunt had never been a problem.
"I, ah, sort of," she agreed.
"What's the problem?"
"Do you want to want me?" she asked. "Or do you just want me because you Claimed me?"
"Pretty sure I wanted you in that basement," I reminded her. "Before I'd Claimed you. I'd wanted you in the hotel rooms. At Bat's clubhouse. In the woods. And at fucking Sanctuary. I've wanted you from the jump."
"But more than just physically?" I asked.
"I've wanted women physically plenty in my life. Never force-fed 'em supplements. Never given a single shit about how they feed themselves. I give a shit with you. It's new for me. I won't pretend to understand it. But it's there."
"Okay," she agreed, moving closer.
"I don't know what I'm fucking doing, okay?" I added. "And I'll probably fuck shit up more than I make it right for a while. If you're good with that, then we're good."
"What about your people?" she asked. "I don't think Ace likes me."
"Ace doesn't like anything but warm weather, books, and Jo," I told her, wrapping my good arm around her. "He doesn't have anything against you personally. He was pissed about the situation. Which wasn't really your fault anyway. They'll adjust. Come on. Let's go in," I said, pulling her along with me, a bit worried about how pale she looked. The smudges under her eyes said sleep had been elusive.
"What's with the dead arm?" Daemon asked as we moved inside.
"Dislocated it," I said. "When Nova came to unshackle me," lying with a straight face while Nova pressed hers into my side to hide her pink cheeks. "Figured Ace might enjoy putting it back into its...fuck," I growled when Bael appeared out of nowhere, grabbing my wrist with his, and yanking hard, then moving off through the house.
"Don't let my brother give you a bad idea about all of us, baby cakes," Daemon said, giving Nova that boyish smile of his. "We're real welcoming around these parts. Okay, that's a lie," he said, shrugging. "But the girls are chill. Aram is cool. Minos is usually too busy moping to bother with you. And me, I'm a fucking delight," he declared gladly, pressing a hand to his heart.
"He's humble too," Aram said as he moved past.
"So, ah, I got a question," Daemon said, looking back at me.
"What's that?"
"Is the club, you know, off-limits now? Because I had a second, ah, date planned with a certain Child of Lilith."
"Glutton for punishment, huh?" I asked, smirking.
"Working on my tongue game, man," Daemon said with a devilish smirk.
"I figure it's fine. Might want to check with Ace though."
"What's a Child of Lilith?" Nova asked as I started pulling her toward the stairs.
"They're, ah, they're female demons who nourish themselves by feeding off of their sexual partners."
"Blood?"
"No, not blood. More like... life force," I told her.
"Do they... do they die?" she asked, stopping on a step to face me. Upset. And I guess I could understand her being sensitive about that kind of shit after what she'd been through.
"No. They wake up feeling tired, maybe almost hungover. It passes in a day or two."
"Do they remember they've been fed on?"
"Not really. They'll remember it as the best fuck of their life. Like they'd never come so hard before."
"So, that's why Daemon wants to see them again," she mused.
"They won't fuck him," I said, shaking my head.
"What? Why not?"
"Because we don't have the same kind of life force. Ours would give them the hangover. They like to fuck humans."
"But then why..."
"Daemon likes to eat pussy," I explained. "Sounds like there aren't as many demon chicks down in hell these days. He'd been going through a deep famine. He's gotta get his fill."
"Is that why Bael is so moody?" she asked. "He'd gone his whole life without getting any? Oh, God," she whimpered when Bael made his way down the hall, jaw tight. "Did I just make an enemy?"
"Yeah, well. To be fair, he was going to find a reason to hate you anyway. It's good you got it out of the way," I said, leading her toward my door. "I need a shower," I told her, releasing my arm from her shoulder. "You wanna join me?" I asked.
"Hmm," she said, pressing her lips together. "It's always a good idea to conserve water," she added, moving into the bathroom, leaving me to follow behind.
She moved to the shower stall, reaching in to turn the water on, then turning back toward me, reaching to remove her top. Then her pants.
But before I could even reach for her, she was stepping back, slipping under the water.
I stood back and watched as she stood under the spray, got her hair wet. I kept watching, tormenting myself, as she reached for the soap, running her hands all over her body.
"Drex?" she called. "I can't reach my back," she told me, giving me a sexy smirk that had me ripping off my clothes, and rushing forward.
I'd never showered with a woman before.
I had a feeling there were going to be a lot of firsts with Nova.
Pretty soon, though, the only thing I was feeling was her hand wrapped around my cock, slippery and smooth from the soap.
On a sigh, I leaned back against the cold tile wall, letting her stroke me for a moment as her lips teased across my neck.
A growl moved through me as my hand shot out, curling into the hair at the back of her neck, yanking until she moved back a step, head arching back to ease the sting across her scalp.
I paused, trying to read her reaction. When a slow, wicked smile teased at her lips, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever it was in me that had responded to her had chosen correctly.
Pulling a little tighter, I twisted her around, slamming her back against the shower wall as my other hand grabbed her breast, squeezing, then rolling her nipple until it formed a hardened bud of need.
Then I tightened my fingers, twisted, pulled, as Nova whimpered and writhed.
"Drex, please," she whimpered, her hips rolling impatiently, needing more.
I dropped down in front of her, yanking her leg up, putting it over my back, then sinking my face in her pussy.
I meant to tease her, to drive her to the edge over and over, but deny her release.
But the second my fingers sank into her tight, wet pussy, there was no teasing. Just finger-fucking her while my tongue licked and my lips sucked on her clit.
I drove her up and over.
Once.
Twice.
Before the throbbing need for release had me getting back on my feet, grabbing her, turning her, and bending her forward, giving me the view of her perfect ass.