His hand gripped the back of my neck, tilting my mouth to meet his. Cale shifted against me. He lifted me higher, positioning himself between my legs. “Yes,” I murmured, my lips pressed to his neck, the hard tiles cold against my spine.
Hot water beat down on us both. His hand dropped between us, opening me. Testing. I clenched around his fingers instinctively, and he moaned into my ear, inarticulate syllables that managed to convey pleasure, need, and urgency, all rivaling my own.
My head thumped against the wall, my eyes shut tight. I needed him.Allof him. Right then.
His fingers disappeared, and before I could object, I felt the tip of him against me. I held my breath in anticipation.
Cale lifted me one more time, positioning himself. He hesitated, and I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. He started to lower me into place, and I exhaled. It felt so right. So good. So long in coming.
So what if Devich wanted me dead, and I’d been shot by a psychotic succubus? Everything would be okay once Cale was inside me. Everything would be absolutely perf—
“Stop!” I shouted, drenched by a shock of sudden comprehension.Devastatedby it.
Murphy groaned, but he set me on my feet, shower water pelting us both, a substitute for the tears of anger and aggravation I held back by sheer determination. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt your arm?”
“No. It’s fine.” Though I would have preferred that to what I suspected was really happening. I met his eyes and saw in them none of the dread I felt. His expression showed only eagerness and candid lust, neither of which I wanted to jeopardize. “I want this, Cale. I wantyoumore than I’ve ever wanted any man in my entire life.” My verylonglife.
“Happy to oblige.” Grinning, he reached for me, but I stepped out of his grasp, shivering as a gust of cold air hit me from around the shower curtain.
“Wait.” I put one hand on his chest. His hard, exquisitely sculpted chest… “This feels great, don’t get me wrong. But it also feels like a compulsion. Like I don’t just want you. I actuallyneedyou.” The effort it took to resist touching him, even in that moment, wasenormous. “So I have to know…is this really us? Or is ither?”
Confusion lined his forehead. “Her?”
“Lorelei. Is this because of her? A side effect of what she did? An aftershock, or delayed reaction, or something?”
Cale shook his head, clearly amused. “No. She can’t mess with you from beyond the grave, Lex.”
“She shouldn’t have been able to feed off of lust aimed at someone else either, but she did. If that’s possible, so is this.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“How the hell do you know that?” I stepped around him and back into the flow of hot water, running my good hand through my hair to make sure it was thoroughly rinsed.
He hooked one eyebrow at me. “I’m pretty familiar with Lorelei’s abilities.”
Irritated by the implication, I scowled. “So, you knew she could feed from me?”
He nodded. “I tried to warn you.” And so he had. Damn it. “It’s a special ability. Very rare. While most incubi and succubae can only work with lust aimed atthem, Lori could enhance and feed from any physical attraction, regardless of the recipient. That’s why Devich recruited her.”
I shook my head in disgust. “You really know how to pick ‘em.”
Cale shrugged. “She wasn’t always like that. Devich warped her. She used to feed to survive, just like the rest of us. Taking no more than she needed. Only feeding with permission. But he taught her not just to feed from the lust, but tolivefor the kill.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I didn’t give a shit what she used to be like or why she’d changed. All I cared about was that she’d blasted a hole through my arm and stripped me of my dignity. Made me grovel for Cale like a junkie begging for a fix. And now the very thought of her had drenched the flames of my desire like a bucket of ice water dumped on a lit match.
“Thanks for washing my hair,” I said, letting water pour over my face.
Cale’s expression darkened. “So, I’m dismissed now? Is that it?”
I sighed. “No, of course not. But talking about your psychotic ex doesn’t put me in the mood for anything sexier than exercising basic hygiene.” And maybe defiling the bitch’s corpse.
“Well, what doesthisput you in the mood for?” Cale’s hand snaked behind my head, and he leaned down to meet me. His mouth crushed against mine, and there was nothing gentle or hesitant about that kiss. He sucked at my lips, nibbling, teasing, demanding more. His mouth opened, pulling mine open too. His tongue explored, tasting, encouraging. And suddenly my lust came roaring back to life, scorching through every vein in my body.
When he pulled away, he wore a knowing, heated smile. I grinned like a fool. “How do you feel now?” he asked.
Hot. Wet. Aching. I couldn’t answer him with words. So I tossed my good arm around his neck and went back for a second helping. He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around him. My back hit the wall again.
I panted, sucking in what air I could between feeding desperately at his mouth and clutching whatever parts of him I could reach. His hands kneaded my ass. His scent laced every breath I took. And he throbbed against my most sensitive parts with an inhuman warmth—a scorching, delicious heat I might have expected from a parasite, but hadn’t anticipated in a nymph. I was dying to feel that heat inside me, warming me from within.
