I’m about to ask him why he’s acting so intense when a flirty smile plays at his lips. “Because when we fuck, I want you to want it so badly you can feel it in your fucking soul.”
I narrow my eyes at him, probably blushing again, but whatever. That’s the least of my problems right now.
“What?” He bats his eyelashes at me innocently. “Isn’t that why you picked me first? Because I’ve always been honest with you?”
He’s partly right, but that doesn’t make it any easier to have this conversation.
“We’re not going fuck.” Thank God my voice comes out even. “Ever.”
“We’ll see.” He brushes his fingers across the sliver of flesh peeking out between the hem of my shirt at the top of my shirt.
I shiver, curling into him. “How do I do it?”
“Fuck me?” He kind of stalls. “Haven’t you ever before?”
“Oh my God, that’s not what I meant.” I blast him with a dirty look. “I meant, how do I feed off of you?”
He searches my eyes, and I see it register—the truth that I’ve never had sex before. I don’t care that he knows, but I’m sure this is an anomaly to them—to meet someone who hasn’t. And I have a feeling I’m never going to hear the end of it.
He dips his head toward me, his lips inching toward mine, his eyes clouding over with something that makes me shudder. “Don’t worry, little daredevil. I can show you how to do both whenever you’re ready.” He pauses, and I can hear soft moaning in the background, but I don’t react, too fixated on this hunger clawing at my throat. “Press your lips to mine,” he instructs.
“Will it be just like the breath of ease?” My voice sounds full of desire, so much so that I barely recognize it.
“No.” His fingers fold around my waist, holding me securely as his eyes shut. “It’ll be so much fucking better.”
Before I can react, he seals his lips to mine. I wait for him to tell me what to do next, but a split-second later, a frenzy consumes me. It’s like I’m possessed as I sweep my tongue inside his mouth and start devouring him as I drag my fingers through his hair. He tastes wonderfully enchanting, like darkness and cool mint all wrapped up into one, and I can feel him actually going into me, like sweet, blissful smoke purring into my mouth and down my throat. But it’s not just that; it’s power. Wild, out of control, fire-fueling power.
I want more, so I kneel up, slanting over him and cupping his face.
He groans, his fingers digging into my hips. “Fuck, Hadley,” he manages to get out.
The sound of my name coming from his lips causes this needy fire to erupt inside of me. I pin him down on the bed, and he goes easily, letting me do whatever I want to him. And I do just that, feasting on him while pinning his arms down beside his head, drinking and drinking and drinking, with no plan of ever stopping. But then I feel myself being pulled back and away from him.
I spin around, growling at the creature that’s pulling me away from what I want.
“Easy.” Rhyland has a hold of me and is guiding me farther away from Alex, at least the upper part of my body.
My legs, though, remain at Alex’s side, my hips pressed against his.
My lips curl. “Let me go.”
Rhyland shakes his head, a strand of his dark hair falling into his eyes. “Alex needs a break, and you need to feed off the rest of us or the connection won’t be balanced.”
I want to argue with him, tell him I’ll do whatever I want. Instead, I reach forward, grab his face, and yank his lips to mine. He tastes like warm vanilla and mist, and a throaty moan slips from his lips as I devour him, feeding this hunger in my chest. I don’t move away from Alex, and eventually, his hands find my waist again, fingers slipping under the hem of my shirt and brushing against my flesh.
I whimper and end up biting down on Rhyland’s bottom lip. He moans again then pulls away, his eyes clouded with pools of dark liquid as my hands fall from his cheeks.
“More.” I reach for him, but he stops me by sweeping the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip.
“Balance, remember?” His voice is even, but his eyes reflect the fiery desire that has to be blazing inside his veins.
Alex’s hands are molded around my waist, and when he grazes his thumbs against my hipbones again, something snaps inside me. Perhaps my sanity? Whatever it is, I end up rolling my hips against his.
“Rhy,” Alex bites out, sounding in pain. “I can’t … I want …” He bucks his hips against mine. “Help … I promised her …”
Rhyland tugs me off of Alex, and I growl at him like a rabid freak, or like a hungry, bratty, cursed fire reaper throwing a tantrum. But before I can get too worked up, Rhyland is positioning me in Blaise’s lap, and Blaise gives zero hesitation as he splays his fingers around the back of my head and guides my lips to his. I loop my arms around the back of his neck and drink and drink and drink, basking in his effervescent, sugary taste. Blaise eventually starts kissing me, his tongue tangling with mine as his hands wander down my back, his fingers tickling my spine, causing me to arch forward and press my chest against his.
“Fuck,” he breathes out, his fingers delving into my flesh.
The sensation elicits a hip roll from me, and that’s when he stiffens.
“Uh … Rhyland.” He sounds like he’s having an internal struggle that involves torture and all sorts of wicked, painful things.
Just like he did with Alex, Rhyland scoops me off of Blaise’s lap, and I only get a brief glimpse of the want in his eyes and the shadows dancing before him before I’m passed to Jaxon.
Jaxon is by far the most careful with me, and instead of dragging me onto his lap, he takes my hand and guides me to him. Nervousness flickers across his features as he situates me onto his lap, with him sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet on the floor. He doesn’t devour me right away, his gaze exploring mine while he plays with a strand of my hair.
“Are you okay?” I finally ask with my hands on his shoulders.
He traces the tip of his tongue along his lip before nodding. “I’m just savoring the moment, so that later, I can draw it.”
How odd. A reaper being an artist.
He sketches his finger underneath my chin. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he says then gradually leans in.
I don’t know why I wait. I didn’t with the others, but with him, it’s like everything is moving in slow motion, and I kind of like the contrast. I imagine if I still breathed, my lungs would be ravenously gulping breaths of air, and my heart would be slamming in my chest. But all I feel is silence. Calming silence. Connection—
His lips greet mine, and all of my thoughts center on him, my eyelids drifting shut. I kiss him back, equally as softly at first, but ultimately, I intensify it, kissing him deeper, feeding from him, the delightful taste of rain and a sweet spice spilling down my throat.
His hands travel up and down my back so, so slowly, his fingers sketching a path along my spine. I feed like that for a while, sinking into divine contentment, which didn’t seem possible when I first began feeding.
After a while, I pull away, feeling full and super exhausted.
“Am I not flakey anymore?” I mutter as I rest my head on Jaxon’s shoulders with my eyes shut.