Gripping his hips, I lifted mine before I could really think about what I was doing. A gasp punched out of me as I stretched around him.
Seth groaned as the muscles in his arms bulged. “Gods, Josie, I’m trying to take this slow.”
“I don’t want you to take it slow.”
His laugh was strangled. “You’re going to kill me.”
My heart pounded fast. “I don’t want that.”
“I know.” He slid a hand down to my thigh, lifting my leg slightly. The arm beside my head trembled as his intense gaze searched my face. “I need . . . I need this to be perfect for you.”
I licked my lips. “It . . . it already is, because it’s with you.”
Seth’s forehead dropped to mine as a shudder rocked his body. Neither of us moved or spoke for what felt like a tiny piece of eternity, and then he kissed me softly, and there was something infinitely sweet in the way his mouth moved over mine. The hand on my upper thigh shook once more and then his hips thrust forward, all the way.
Air lodged in my throat, pushing out the soft cry as my fingers dug into his sides. A dart of pain shot through me as I squeezed my eyes shut, giving way to a burning sensation that wasn’t exactly painful. I didn’t know how to describe it. Adjectives failed me. There was a deep pressure inside me, neither uncomfortable nor entirely pleasant.
Seth shifted his arms and his elbows dug into the mattress as his large hands cradled the sides of my face. Deep inside me, only his chest moved against mine and only his thumbs glided over my cheeks. Tears burned my eyes, but not from pain, because it really wasn’t that bad. Oh no, there was a deep and tender emotion swelling in my chest.
“Josie?”
Throat dry, I swallowed and opened my eyes. My breath caught again at the sight of him. His face was tense and those amber eyes were luminous, so bright they’d outshine any star in the sky. He was waiting for me, making sure I was all right, and nothing could set me more at ease. “I’m okay.”
“Thank the gods,” he grunted, voice strained.
Seth began to move then.
He flexed his hips, pulling out slowly. The pull, the friction of the act, sent my pulse skittering. My muscles locked up. He smoothed his thumb along my lower lip. “Relax. I need you to relax, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered, forcing myself not to be so . . . so stiff.
He pushed in again, seated deep, and I was pretty sure my nails were scratching his skin. With a moan that sent shivers down my spine, he lowered his mouth to mine. He held himself still again as he parted my lips. The kiss started out slow, leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world, and I got a little lost in that kiss. The burn eased off, but the pressure increased, becoming a pulse that demanded more.
I tentatively wiggled my hips, stopping when a harsh groan brushed my lips.
“You don’t have to stop,” he said. “You want to move, agapi, you move. You do exactly what you want, because there isn’t a damn thing you can do wrong.”
Agapi.
Love.
A word I wouldn’t have understood before the demigod abilities had been unlocked, but I did now.
The endearment warmed me, and I did want to move. So I did. I arched my hips, moving them in a small circle. The act sent tiny coils of pleasure radiating out from my core, and Seth remained still, his forehead against mine as I grew accustomed to the feel of him.
Growing bold, I dragged my hands up his back and down, over the tense muscles of his lower back and further south. He made that sound again, and when he tilted his hips, it was my turn to moan.
Seth shifted his weight onto one arm as he moved his hips, sliding back and forth slowly and then faster, deeper. His hand cradled my hip, steadying me as he thrust forward, eliciting a sharp cry of pleasure from me.
He shuddered at the sound. I gripped his shoulders as I wrapped my legs around his waist. A rough curse burst from him as he went deeper. He moved in a rhythm that drove me crazy and was not enough and too much at the same time.
“Seth . . .” My hands spasmed over the muscles flexing and rolling along his spine. “Oh, gods . . .”
His back bowed and his lips moved down my throat and further, to the tip of my breast. I jerked, back arching, and that pace he was setting picked up, became feverish. Molten lava flowed in my veins as bolts of biting pleasure shot out.
“Gods,” he groaned; his mouth was near my temple now and he was moving so fast, his hips slamming into mine. “This,” he said, dragging his hand down my belly, to the place between my legs, just above where we were connected. “This is what I want. Nothing else. No one else.”
“Yes,” I gasped out, and I might’ve repeated the same word over and over, in a way that would’ve been embarrassing if I cared at that moment, but I didn’t.
Seth was doing things with his fingers I didn’t even know were possible.
He was everywhere—his hands, his mouth—on me, in me, and it was too much. I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t need to. My head was spinning and the intensity of the bliss building inside me heightened to the point my hips jerked clear off the bed.
I threw my head back, screaming his name as everything came apart. Release exploded and it was shattering, lighting up every cell, and the pleasure rolled out in tight, sensual shockwaves, obliterating my senses. I heard myself tell him that I loved him and I told him in a crazy, abandoned way, in a voice I didn’t recognize.
Seth’s restraint broke. No longer holding himself back, the pump of his hips lost all rhythm as he shoved his arm under my lower back. He lifted me up, sealing me tight to him as he ground against me, sending another wave of exquisite pleasure. He extended his other arm, up my back, holding me off the bed as his hips pounded forward. His strength was overwhelming. He held me up and he took me like I . . . like I wanted to be taken. The moment was incredible, like nothing I’d ever experienced before.
Then he was on me, pressing me down into the mattress, not an inch of space separating us as he kissed me hard. His hips jerked once and then twice, and then I could feel him pulsing.
Seth said my name against my lips, and it felt like forever passed while our hearts slowed and the sweat cooled on our skin. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Perfect,” I murmured. “So perfect that I can’t . . . even move or think.”
He chuckled and then he finally moved. He lifted his head and pressed a kiss to my forehead and then my brow. He dropped a kiss on each eyelid and then the tip of my nose before he found my mouth, and gods, when he kissed me it was the sweetest, tenderest thing ever. It spoke those three words I’d said, but he hadn’t. That kiss said it all and more.
Not only did it say love.
It spelled hope.
Seth
Lying on my side with Josie tucked to my front, I told myself over and over again that I could do this with her.
But I had to do this right.
Josie snuggled against me, wiggling her bottom against my groin, and fuck, I’d been hard since she fell asleep, and each time she moved it sent a jolt straight from my dick to my spine. Curling my arm around her waist, I held her tighter, unwilling to wake her.
She was worn out, falling asleep minutes after I had gotten rid of the condom and brought a warm, wet cloth to her, washing away the evidence that there had been no one else before. Not that I needed to see that to know, but gods, there was a knot in the base of my throat that wasn’t easing off. I wanted to worship her all over again.
Sex had never been like this. Nothing in my life had ever been like this. Everything from the moment I’d met Josie had been a new experience for me. She was truly a miracle and even the simple act of lying beside her soothed me.
I was awake, but my body was at ease. My mind was a different story.
I can do this.
I’d been so close to telling her what I’d done, and the guilt from keeping that secret from her churned my stomach, but I . . . I could rectify that.
I can do this.
Gods, there was no other way for me. I had to control myself. I had to make sure I never allowed myself to get to the point where I took from her what was never mine to take. I could never allow myself to feed off her again.
Josie loved me.
Holy shit.
I dropped my head, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. Josie loved me. Not a single part of me doubted that. I didn’t deserve that gift, but I could . . . I could be better for her. I could be worthy of her love.
That was what I had to do.
I would be worthy of her love.
Because she was more than worthy of that. She deserved more than that, and I would give that to her. There would be no room for anything else, because after this—after having her, after knowing that she was mine—there was no way I could stay away from her.
So I would do right by her.
Even if it killed me.
Kissing her neck, I smiled when she murmured something that sounded distinctively like “cupcakes” under her breath. I was surprised it wasn’t “bacon” since I was sure she dreamt of that stuff. I kissed her cheek and then settled my head on the pillow.
Josie wiggled again, and I swallowed a groan. I wanted her again, but this, the quiet moments between us, with both of us lying together were fucking bliss. There were no other words for it.
Never would be. This was a piece of beautiful paradise, something I would treasure when it came time to pay my dues.
But a cold voice whispered, sending unease down my spine. Will it last?
Chapter 19
In the middle of the night, I woke up, and this time I wasn’t selfless. I was hard and nestled against the curve of her ass. I had no idea what time it was or what was going on outside these walls, and I really didn’t care.
Everything was focused on the soft body in my arms.
I was going to wake up Josie in the best possible way.
I coasted my hand over her waist and then her hip, my fingers dipping between her thighs. I found that spot, dragging my thumb over the tiny piece of flesh. Her thighs parted and her moan was sleepy. I shifted my hand, sliding my finger inside.
Grinning in the dark, I forged a path of kisses down her neck as I rocked my hips forward. She was starting to move against my hand in a slow restless circle. Her breaths picked up and I felt the moment she came fully awake. Her head kicked back against my chest and her hand fluttered to where mine played between those pretty thighs.
“Seth,” she moaned, her voice husky. “That . . . that feels amazing.”
“It’s going to feel even better, sweetheart.”
Her chest rose sharply as I curled my other hand around her breast, finding the hardened nipple. She was sensitive there, and as I worked the little nub between my thumb and finger, her hips moved wildly.
I rolled away long enough to reach inside the nightstand and grab another foil packet. I broke records getting that condom on. Josie started to turn, but I stopped her. Curling my body behind hers, I slid my hand down her side to her thigh. I lifted her leg, draping it over mine.
“I . . . I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.
“Shh. You just being right here is doing everything.” I kissed the space below the nape of her neck. My heart pounded wicked fast. “I’ll take care of the rest.”
Lining our hips up, I entered her from behind, careful to take it slow, because I wasn’t sure if she was sore or not, and she’d stiffened at first, relaxing after I held still. I gave her time to adjust and then worked my way in, inch by inch, until I was seated.
“Oh my gods,” she gasped. “You feel . . . this feels different.”
I brought my hand back to that bundle of nerves just above where we were connected. “Better?”
“Yes.” A soft, feminine sound left her as I withdrew slowly, to where only the tip was left in, and then I slid back in. “Deeper,” she murmured. “This is so much deeper.”
“Wait until I get you on your knees.” I started rocking faster, moving my thumb and finger over her center in tune to my thrusts.
“Oh gods.”
“You’re going to love that.” I groaned as she thrust that ass back against me. “Fuck. I think you love this.”
“I do,” she moaned, grasping my arm.
Her soft moans and my harsher grunts soon filled the dark room, and the sounds of our bodies coming together heightened the tension building inside me.
A gnawing ache stirred in my gut and spread to my chest. A very different kind of hunger took root. It would be so easy to just have a taste—a small, insignificant taste. I’d just have to move my other hand from her breast and I could—
No.
Shutting that part of me down, I focused on how she fit me like a glove, how she rolled her hips back against my thrusts with abandonment. I focused on how her movements were slightly awkward and untrained, and how that was so much fucking hotter than anything. I focused on her love and her trust until that ache receded and the only thing I felt was her and not what was in her.
It wasn’t easy, but I did it, and hell, there was no way I was going to last long. I wanted to. I wanted to stay deep inside her for fucking hours. She was so damn tight and hot that she branded me, and yeah, this wasn’t going to last long.
A powerful release rolled down my spine, and when she found hers her body contracted around mine in a way that tossed me right over the edge, burying my face into the side of her neck as I came. Like the one earlier, the release fucking wrecked me. It was never-ending, and by the time my pulse slowed down, I wasn’t sure I could ever move again.
“You all right?” I murmured against the back of her neck.
“Yeah,” she replied, reaching back and running her hand over my hip. “You’re not going to break me.”
The thing was, if I wasn’t careful, I would do that.
Knowing that gave me the energy to take care of the condom, and when I returned to the bed, I tucked her against my front again. She was out before me, but I quickly followed, dozing off despite where my thoughts had gone. When I woke again, a handful of hours later, it was dawn, and I was going to wake Josie again, but this time with the second best way possible.
With a plate of bacon.
Easing away from Josie, careful not to stir her, I slipped off the bed. In the dusky light streaming in from the window, I found a pair of sweats and slipped them on. I grabbed a Henley off a pile of clothing and walked into the bathroom. I quietly brushed my teeth and scrubbed my face before heading back out into the bedroom.
I got hung up staring at her for a moment.
Curled on her side, the comforter had slipped down to her hips, and a whole lot of peachy skin was on display. So was a dusky pink nipple, peeking out beside the arm folded across her chest. She was a damn goddess lying there, but it was the absolute peacefulness in her expression as she slept that held me immobile.
I never wanted to see her look any other way.
And I knew that wasn’t going to be possible. There was a lot we had to face, but I was going to lessen any blow coming at her.
Moving to the bed, I picked up the comforter and pulled it up, covering her. I leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek. I straightened and with my shirt in hand, I slipped out of the room. Out in the hall, I pulled the Henley on over my head as I walked toward the lobby. The place was silent, as it was too early for the students to even be up on a Monday morning, and after what happened yesterday evening, I doubted there’d be classes. I neared the lobby, a shiver of awareness skating over my skin, and I knew it wasn’t entirely empty.
I slowed my steps, frowning as I spotted Alex standing a few steps away from the entombed furies. She didn’t look over at me when she spoke. “This is weirdly familiar, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” A whole lot of shit was weirdly familiar. “Was kind of hoping I wouldn’t see these bitches again.”
Alex smiled slightly.
I stopped, running my hand over my chest. “Why are you up so early???
?
“Haven’t really slept yet. Been helping with clean-up,” she explained, and I imagined that if I was a better person, I’d feel