Before the pulse faded inside me, Luke was lifting me by the hips. My eyes shot open, and I saw the wet spot on his pants I left as I braced my hands on his chest.
“Put your knees on my thighs,” Luke ordered, and I listened because I hoped it led to another orgasm. His legs were spread just enough that I was parted on top of him but not so much that I couldn’t hold myself up.
He plunged two thick fingers into me, and I nearly lost my balance at the sudden intrusion. His free hand gripped my hip, so my knees didn’t slip.
“Luke!” His name was nothing more than a moan as he rammed his digits into me.
Did he realize I needed more? Because he was freaking giving it.
“Keep your balance but fuck my fingers. Show me how you’d ride me.” Luke’s voice was gruff and purely sexual. “I won’t let you fall.”
I lifted my gaze away from where he played with me. The urge to look at his face overwhelmed any reason not to. Our eyes met, and something locked into place. A rush of warmth bloomed in my chest as if I had planted something there. I couldn’t pull away from those bright red orbs. I let them pull me in as I rolled and bucked myself onto his fingers. It didn’t take but a few seconds before I felt the first throb of my approaching orgasm. When I shuddered, realization dawned on Luke’s face, and he did something unthinkable. He crushed me to his chest, gripping me tightly to him. He felt strong, yet the embrace was warm and secure, building into my ecstasy. Then he lowered his head to my neck and peppered kisses across the skin there. And he inhaled and inhaled. There was no stopping on his part, and my body combusted, the pleasure feeding and building off the snuggles.
The sensation brought the urge to tear up. He kept me embraced, holding so tightly and inhaling repeatedly. But he couldn’t feel me. He didn’t know my scent either. I believe he deeply desired to. I doubted it was me, but more like he yearned for any sort of touch, taste, or scent after so long.
I wanted it to be me.
Hades, he was the enemy I had to stop when the portal opened. Still, I hadn’t felt so drawn to someone since Shadow hijacked a boy’s body in high school. There seemed to be a pattern. I chose men who weren’t men and could offer no emotional attachment.
The realization didn’t stop me from curling into Luke’s lap. He removed his fingers but still nuzzled me. As I nestled against him, I heard his heart beating. The sound was soothing. When I sighed deeply, he stiffened and pulled back as if to gain distance.
“Do you think that if you sniff me enough you might eventually smell me?” I asked lazily as I dragged my hand down his chest.
“It’s a crime to have you in my arms and not feel the weight,” he murmured instead of answering. “Why are your eyes closed? If you’re tired, go to bed.”
I shook my head, wrapping my arms around his ribs as I curled into him. “Hold me. I want to sleep here.”
“You.” I didn’t open my eyes to see his expression, but I could hear the tension in that one word. But his voice got softer and softer with each word said, “You are exceptional at deceiving me.”
“Then we make quite the pair, don’t we?”
Chapter Thirty
Kara
Iwoke in Luke’s arms. He moved us to the bed, but I was still sprawled out on top of him. I breathed in marshmallows, smiling, until I saw the book near my hips where he had his arms draped around me, flipping a page.
I rose quickly, snatching the book. Well, I thought it did. I felt the weight in my hand before it vanished. I whipped my head around and glared at the impressive male slouched against the bedpost. “Why do you keep looking at the destruction? You said you’d burn it?”
“Why do you block it out?” he countered.
My heart felt like a grape shriveling into a raisin. “Does it please you that much?”
The tip of his tail wrapped around one of my ankles, making my senses go haywire. “It pleases me that you’re here, at my mercy.”
When I tried to push myself off his chest, his arms tightened around me. I didn’t say a word, just faded, realizing my powershad returned while I slept. I re-faded in front of the bed. Luke stood and stretched. My attention snapped to the pull of muscle in his torso. The patches on his skin only seemed to illuminate the power he held. I swallowed, dragging my gaze back to his face so I could focus.
Since I didn’t know how long I slept, who knew how long I had stayed mortal.
The family. Fear dragged me under like quicksand. Closing my eyes, I sought everyone’s essence. When I felt everyone’s strong lifeline, my shoulders loosened. Barron’s was the easiest to find. His pain rippled through him, even changing the way his soul felt when searching for him.
The weight of his sadness felt like my own. It reminded me of our conversation about where Gwendolyn was, so I blurted, “What’s Heaven like?”
He stiffened mid-stretch, then slowly dropped his arms. “Why the sudden change of topic? I thought you’d continue to hound me over the book.”
“You’re despicable, and you want to remind me, so you had the book out. See? I already know.” I sighed. “The portal to Heaven opened for one of ours. The angels took my brother’s mate.”
“Oh.” Luke strode toward the table. “Come. Sit.” He pulled out a chair, beckoning me as a buffet of breakfast food appeared on the table.
