Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
I snake a hand between my thighs and stroke my clitoris with the same pressure and motion he used with his tongue earlier. It seems impossible that it would get better, and yet that added stimulation has my body taking over. I grind down onto him, onto my fingers, chasing my own pleasure even as he curses and digs his heels into the mattress, driving up into me.
“Gemma!” His orgasm erupts into me, bringing a new surge of his tangled glory of emotions. I can’t tell if it’s the physical or emotional that pushes me over the edge, but I’m coming. I cry out his name as every bone in my body seems to turn liquid. For a moment, I panic that I’m shifting on accident and about to traumatize us both, but it’s just joy that has me collapsing on his chest and kissing him deeply.
Caleb holds me tightly to his heaving chest. “Holy shit.”
“That was amazing.” I kiss his chest, his shoulder, his jaw. I want to stay like this forever. What would happen if we never left this room? We only talked for a short while in the grand scheme of things; surely he has so many stories to tell, a lifetime’s worth of experiences to share. And I suppose I do, too, even if most of mine has been spent in one version of training or another. I have learned a lot, even if I could never successfully bring it to practical use.
Caleb goes tense beneath me, and fear spikes the space between us. “Gemma?”
“What’s wrong?” I lift my head, ready to search his face for what I could have possibly done to scare him now, only to find that he’s not looking at me. He’s staring to the side . . . at the closet. I twist to follow his gaze. “What is it?”
“I just saw two . . .” He clears his throat. “Two eyes. Very large eyes. In my closet.”
Oh no. I slither off him and jump to my feet. “I have to go.”
“Gemma—”
“This was so good.” I can’t stop myself from kissing him. “Thank you.”
“Gemma, wait.” He grabs for my hand. Misses. “When will I see you again?”
Dread is a weight in my gut. It’s not sunrise yet. There’s no reason someone would have come looking for me, and yet that’s clearly what happened. “I don’t know.”
“Gemma—”
“I’m sorry.” It’s too late. I’m already across the room and standing in front of the closet. I can’t stop myself from looking over my shoulder, from memorizing exactly how he looks right now, rumpled from spending so much time chasing pleasure with me. Gods, my heart aches. “Goodbye, Caleb.”
Chapter 6
What have you done?”
I barely make it through the portal before giant clawed hands grab my shoulders and shove me against a wall. Maybe I should be relieved to recognize Ralph, but the disappointment coming off him in noxious waves ruins any chance of that. “I fed. You should be happy.” The words come out small. I know this isn’t how I’m supposed to feed. There are rules and regulations for every type of interaction with humans. You get your job and you do it. You don’t deviate.
He leans forward and inhales deeply. Sneezes. “Oh, Gemma, no.” Ralph looks at the portal that just closed. “We can fix this. You’re full enough that you can cloister yourself in your rooms until the stink of this fades. No one has to know. We’ll switch your human for one of mine so this never happens again.”
Give Caleb to Ralph, who wears the same form that scared him so much when I donned it? I’m already shaking my head. “It’s wrong to scare him. He works with children, Ralph. He does good in their world. If he’s losing sleep because of terror—”
“Gemma.” Ralph shakes me sharply. “You’re not talking like a demon right now. You don’t smell like a demon.”
“I don’t know what that means.” I shove his hands off my shoulders. “I fed on his lust. It wasn’t fear, no, but it was still demonic to do so.”
His shoulders drop. “But you didn’t only feed on his lust, Gemma. You fed on his fondness, on his caring.”
I blink. “That’s impossible.”
“No, it’s truly not.” The defeat in his tone scares me more than anything else he’s done or said so far. “Switch humans with me. Keep your head down. Do your job.”
I register how kind Ralph is being right now. He’s still attempting to look out for me, despite all the ways I’ve crossed the line. If I were a smart demon, I’d take his offer and . . . spend the rest of my life choking on the acrid taste of fear.
There’s peace in finally facing the truth you’ve been avoiding for your entire life. Peace and no small amount of mourning. Caleb isn’t the first who’s seen me truly; I wouldn’t have been so isolated if I could hide better. But Caleb saw me and embraced my truth, rather than shunning me for it. I smile up at Ralph even as my ribs feel like they’re cracking into a thousand pieces. “I can’t do it, Ralph. Even if I wanted to give him up, I hate scaring people. I hate lying. I hate manipulating.”