She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. The weight of her body knocked him into the back of the couch, but he didn’t miss a beat. His arms wrapped around her waist, dragging her in tight, and his mouth opened over hers. And then he was kissing her like he couldn’t get enough, tasting her harder, deeper, making her wetter with every touch, making her forget everything but him.
His hands streaked down to the hem of her shirt, and he broke the kiss long enough to drag it up and over her head. She found his mouth again as he dropped it on the floor, then sucked in a breath when his tongue stroked over hers and his fingers flipped the clasp of her bra free. He tugged the garment from her arms, then closed his large, warm hand over her left breast and squeezed.
She groaned as electricity shot to her nipple, then raced to her core. It was wrong—wanting him like this after everything she’d done—but she couldn’t stop the desire. Couldn’t stop the hunger. Needed only this, here and now.
Her own hands slid down his torso and found the hem of his shirt. She pulled away so she could wrench the garment from his body. Dropping the soft cotton on the ground, she let her gaze slide over him. Over the broad, strong muscles flexing beneath his rough skin. Over the dusting of fine blond hair covering his pecs. Over the scars in all shapes and sizes that proved he was more than Zagreus or Hades thought. He wasn’t just a vessel of untapped power. He was a warrior. One she’d wanted from the first moments she’d laid eyes on him.
Memories bombarded her. The day Zagreus had pulled him into the torture chamber and presented Nick to her as if he were a gift. Watching from the upper level of the arena while he fought Zagreus’s satyrs, being mesmerized by every ripple of muscle each time he moved. Standing still and unmoving as that nymph had dropped to her knees in front of him in his cell, ripped off his towel, and taken him deep into her mouth.
Her blood pumped hot. Her mouth grew dry. Her sex burned. She’d hated that moment with the nymph, not just because the female had been tormenting him, but because Cynna had wanted to be the one to taste him, to stroke him, to make him moan.
“Cynna.” Nick’s hand slid into her hair, and his fingers flexed against her scalp, drawing her face back toward his. She opened to his kiss, dragged her tongue along his, and trailed her hands down his torso until she found the snap on his jeans.
He groaned into her mouth, used his other hand to tip her chin up higher so he could taste her deeper. She flicked the snap on his pants free, slid the zipper down while he kissed her, then pushed the waistband over his hips.
His cock sprang free, and she wrapped her hand around the thick shaft. He was hard as steel beneath her fingers, hot in her palm, and while he continued to devour her mouth, she stroked him, base to tip, squeezed the head until he moaned, then drew the moisture from the tip down his length so she could do it again.
He let go of her chin, trailed his hand down her chest and pinched her nipple. And as electricity arced straight into her sex with the mixture of pleasure and pain, she moved closer, stroked him faster, lifted her chest so he could do it again. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip, then her jaw as his fingers rolled her nipple, and then his lips were pressing hot, wicked kisses along the soft skin behind her ear, his warm breath making every inch of her body shiver.
“Gods,” he whispered. “Your hand feels so good. So much better than before.”
Before…
She knew what he was remembering. When he’d been chained in his cell and she’d pleasured him with her hand. Except then—like now—what she’d really wanted to do that night was taste him. Drop to her knees like that nymph. Feel his length pulse against her tongue. Draw him so deep he’d never want anyone but her.
She might not have had the courage to do it then, but now there was nothing holding her back. Letting go, she braced her hands on his belly, then slid down to her knees. He sucked in a breath. His cock stood out strong and proud in front of her. Wrapping her fingers around his steely length once more, she drew him toward her lips and glanced up at his face.
Desire darkened his eyes, flushed his cheeks, made a vein in his temple stand out against his pale skin. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she leaned closer, opened her mouth, and traced the tip of her tongue all around the head of his cock.
A groan rumbled from his chest. His hands slid into her hair, his fingertips flexing against her scalp. She did it again, running her tongue along the vein on the underside, then finally closed her lips around his length and sucked.
“Holy fuck…”
He was so thick, she had to open wide to take him deep. Flicking her tongue against him, she drew him to the back of her mouth. He groaned and flexed, his hands tightening in her hair. Wrapping her hand around him for balance, she squeezed his ass, drew back with her mouth, then took him even deeper.
His cock hit the back of her throat, pulsed and swelled. She sucked hard, released, and did it again. He dropped his head back. Every time she drew him in, he flexed and thrust forward until her eyes watered.
“So good,” he groaned, driving into her mouth. His fingers tightened in her hair. “Swallow me.”
Wanting to give him a pleasure his soul mate never could, she opened her throat and took all of him, fighting her gag reflex and breathing through her nose so he could slide in one more reaching inch.
“Oh fuck, yeah. Don’t stop.”
He was on the edge. She could feel the sexual energy radiating off him, could sense he was about to come. She dug her fingernails into his ass and swallowed again and again, milking him with her throat muscles, needing to take him over. His cock swelled in her mouth, growing even larger. He thrust harder. She held on tight as his climax slammed into him, and he burst in her mouth, groaning long and deep with every soul-shattering pulse.
She swallowed his release, drawing out his pleasure. Slowly, she eased back and swirled her tongue around the head of his cock. He twitched with the simple touch and slumped against the back of the couch. And as she felt his muscles relax, a smile played on her lips.
She’d done that to him. She’d brought him blinding pleasure. His soul mate might have a never-ending hold over him, but the female would never be able to make him weak the way Cynna could. Because she hadn’t been trained in the erotic dark arts by the master of sex and depravity the way Cynna had.
Thoughts of Zagreus rolled through Cynna’s mind, bringing a tightness to her stomach and dimming her desire. And as it did, she remembered the things the Prince of Darkness had made her do. The hours she’d spent still and silent, overseeing Nick’s torture in his tunnels. The way she’d let those satyrs hurt him and the time she’d stood by and watched while those nymphs had tortured him sexually.
Her skin grew hot all over again, but this time not from arousal. This time from disgust. She didn’t have any place here. Nick shouldn’t want to be anywhere near her. She’d railed at him about how awful his soul mate was when the truth was…she was the monster, not Isadora. The things she’d done were a thousand times worse than what Isadora had or hadn’t done, because, unlike the queen, Cynna was strong enough to put a stop to them and chose not to.
She pushed quickly to her feet, swiped a shaking hand over her face, and moved back three steps. The room swayed around her. The walls grew blurry. Glancing around, she searched for her shirt.
“Cynna.”
She swallowed hard. Couldn’t look at Nick again. She needed air. Needed to get out. Spotting her shirt on the floor, she lunged for it. “I…I have to go.”
Her fingertips grazed the soft cotton, but before she could close her hand around the garment, it vanished.
Wide-eyed, she glanced up. Nick had pulled his pants up, but they were still unbuttoned, his chiseled abs and strong shoulders flexing in the dim light as he advanced on her. And the intense look in his amber eyes screamed he wasn’t about to let her go.
Her heart jackknifed. Not because of his strength or what was still unharnessed inside him, but because she knew right then that she
had fallen for him. And if she didn’t run now, he’d hurt her worse than Zagreus ever could.
She backed up until she hit the wall and dug her fingers into the plaster. “L-let me go. Just…let me go.”
He closed in at her front. Danger. Sex. Heat. Lust. Everything she wanted but knew she couldn’t have.
“Not happening.” He wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her tight into the warmth of his body until she gasped, then lowered his mouth a breath from hers. “Because I haven’t had enough of you yet. And because, deep down, you know you haven’t had nearly enough either.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Cynna’s hands landed against Nick’s bare chest, spreading electricity all across his skin. But her dark eyes were shadowed, doubtful, and the fear that had flickered in them when he’d looked down at her moments before was still there, raging as strong as ever.
He’d seen into her mind right then, wasn’t sure how, but knew she’d had a flash of Zagreus. Of the things she’d let the god do to her. Of the things she’d done for him. Of the countless times she’d stood back while his minions had tortured Nick, physically and sexually. And they were all swirling in her head now, tormenting her, making her want to run, making her think he couldn’t possibly want her.
But he did. His cock swelled, proving he wanted her now more than ever. Yeah, it might be sick. And yeah, the things he was seeing should turn him off. But they didn’t. Because even though part of him wanted to slam his fist into the god’s face for the things he’d put her through, another part loved the fact she was excited by the same dark and twisted things Nick had always craved.
The shadow energy inside hummed with approval. He lowered his mouth to hers, took her lips in a bruising kiss. She gasped but opened at the first touch and slid her tongue along his. Pushing his erection into her belly, he closed his hand around her breast and squeezed until she moaned.
He released her mouth, lowered his head, and drew her breast to his lips. Her body trembled. Her fingers sifted into his hair. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t try to push him away either, and he grew even harder as she pressed her chest out as if in offering, as he laved his tongue over her nipple, as she sucked in a breath and held it while he scraped his teeth over the tip in a way he knew had to hurt but made her groan deep in her throat.
He needed to make her forget about Zagreus and focus on him. Lifting his head, he closed his lips over hers and kissed her hard again. She answered by licking into his mouth and gripping the nape of his neck until pain shot down his spine. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her off the floor, crossed to the table, kicked the chair out of the way, and laid her out on the solid wood.
He pictured her naked, as she’d been in his tunnels, while he leaned over and tormented her nipples with his tongue once more. And seconds later, the rest of her clothes disappeared, as if he’d willed them all away.
Cynna’s eyes flew open. She pushed against his shoulders and looked down her naked body with surprise, then glanced up at him. “How did you do that?”
A slow, wicked smile pulled at his lips. “I don’t know. But I like it.”
Her shock slowly gave way to a rolling, heated lust that darkened her eyes. He captured her mouth once more. Her fingers slid along his nape, pulling his head more firmly down to hers, and as her lips opened to his, so did her legs, making room for him between her thighs, making him lightheaded from the raging need pumping off her in hot, rolling waves.
Yes, she wanted to run, but even she couldn’t deny this connection between them anymore. And he wasn’t about to let go of the only thing in his life that felt right.
His cock throbbed inside his jeans, and the need to take her, to fuck her hard and fast grew so strong, it messed with his resolve. But he wanted her to know the things she’d done in her past didn’t bother him. Needed her to believe that she excited him. Every part.
He pulled back from her mouth, eased away from her body, and gripped her hips, flipping her easily to her stomach. She grunted as her belly and hands hit the table, then groaned when he kicked her legs apart and pressed against her ass.
He rolled his hips against her, letting her feel how hard he was. How hard she made him. She moaned and dropped her forehead against the table. Bracing a hand on the solid wood, he wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her back and up against his chest, then breathed hot against her neck and nipped at her earlobe until she trembled.
“We’re alike, you and I,” he whispered against her ear. “We have the same dark desires. The same depraved needs. I know why you were with Zagreus. Not just because you wanted revenge, but because danger turns you on. The way it turns me on. Every time I saw you in that prison, I was hard. Even when I knew there would be pain.” He rubbed against her ass again. “I was hard just like this.”
Her eyelids dropped. “Don’t tell me that.”
“Why not?” He let go of the table, reached around, and pinched her nipple. She jerked, then groaned and dropped her head back against his neck, pushing her chest out once more, enticing him to do it again. “Because it scares you? Or because it excites you? Tell me, Cynna. That night you came to my cell and stroked me with your hand. When you knew someone could be watching and that I might retaliate. Tell me…were you wet?”
She swallowed hard and tensed in his arms.
“I bet you were,” he whispered, trailing his hand from her breast over the arm holding her tight against him, then down her lower belly. “I bet you were as wet then as you are now.”
His fingers slid into the thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs, then lower, between her swollen flesh. And the second he felt her slick honey coating his fingers, he groaned and pressed his cock against her ass all over again. “Fuck, female. You’re dripping.”
He trailed his fingers lower, across the opening of her pussy, then up to circle her clit. She moaned, gripped his forearm, and trembled against him.
He flicked her clit again. “You like it rough and dirty, don’t you, Cynna?” His fingers slid lower, and he pressed one thick digit deep inside her. “The same way I do. Say it.”
“Nick…” She flexed her hips, forcing him deeper.
He pumped into her body and rubbed his thumb over her clit again and again. “Say it, and I’ll give you exactly what you need. No more teasing.”
She groaned, turned her face into his neck. Her hot breath washed over his skin as she pushed her hips forward and back, seeking more friction, making his cock ache and his balls vibrate with his own need for release.
He drew his finger out and pressed back into her tight depths with two, rubbing that special spot he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist. “Say it, Cynna.”
“Oh gods.” Her back bowed. She reached one arm up, wrapped it around his neck, and lifted her mouth to his.
Their lips met, their tongues tangled. She was slick and wet and tight around his fingers, hot and wild and wicked in his mouth. Everything he needed. The only thing he wanted.
“Say it, Cynna,” he whispered, easing back from her mouth and thrusting deeper with his fingers. “Say you like all the wanton, sinful things I do.”
“I do,” she whispered, bucking against him. “I like them all.”
Victory flared in his veins. He released her, pushed her forward over the table, and kicked her legs wide again. Her hands slapped against the solid surface, and she gasped in surprise, then moaned and pushed back, searching for him, telling him, oh yeah, she’d love every naughty little thing he wanted to do to her.
He pushed his pants down and pulled her hips back to the edge of the table. Fisting his aching cock, he bent his knees, then rubbed the head all along her steamy center.
She groaned and pressed her forehead against the table.
Reaching for her right hand, he pulled it to the small of her back and pinned it between their bodies. Then he leaned forward, breathed hot against her neck, and nipped at her earlobe. “I’m gonna fuck you. Just like this. So you can’t move. So al
l you can feel is me, taking you deep, again and again. Do you want that?”
“Yes.” She arched her back, rubbing the heat of her sex against his already straining cock. “Skata, I want it. Take me, Nick.”
He gripped her wrist tight against her lower back, leaned away, and watched as he pushed in slow, feeling her tight sheath stretch around his cock. His body trembled. Sweat gathered along his spine as he fought from shoving in hard and fast. Her guttural moan rang in his ears as he wrapped his free hand around her hip, as he drew out slightly, then pressed in farther, sliding as deep as he could reach.
“Oh fuck,” she gasped as he bottomed out. He held still, letting her adjust to this new depth, to his cock stretching her so wide, all the while loving the way she trembled and wiggled back against him, as if she couldn’t wait for him to move. “Nick.”
“You want more?”
“Yes, dammit.” She turned her head so her cheek pressed into the table, then slapped her free hand against the hard wood. “Fuck me. Hard.”
That dark energy inside leapt with excitement, and he couldn’t hold it back anymore, didn’t want to. He drew almost all the way out, then drove back in, as hard as she’d asked. She cried out, the sound a mix of pleasure and pain, and arched her back, encouraging him to do it again. Dragging his cock along her slick walls, he watched her face as he plunged deep again and again, as lust glazed her eyes, as her pussy grew hotter and wetter around him. Her moans turned to fevered cries of carnal need that echoed in his ears and pushed his hunger for her even higher.
Letting go of her arm, he grabbed her hips and jerked her body back into his, fucking into her harder and faster, the way he’d wanted since the first moment he’d met her. “Tell me you love this,” he growled. “Tell me you love fucking me as much as I love fucking you.”