Page 170 of Devil Inside

He follows us to the floor. Jordan peels back our jacket, like skinning a rabbit, exposing the soft sinew underneath. Our skin is still wet with sweat from the dance floor. We are warm. Our muscles taut. We want to tighten and release, expand and contract.

We force him down, onto his back, splaying him across the floor. Jordan’s limbs reach for us, but we hold him back. Pin him to the floor by his wrists. He cannot crawl away. Can’t escape.

We find our way on top of him, still holding him in place, our position reminiscent of a wolf about to howl at the full moon.

Look at him, crucified on the floor before us. So defenseless. So vulnerable. He looks up at us and marvels. We are something to be worshipped. Honored.

“What do you see?” we ask.

“You.”

His eyes pierce us. There is no hiding from him, no retreat. He’s drawing me out. Pulling me away from this skin. Unmooring me.

We collapse upon him. Consume. We want everything. To kiss everything. Devour it all. Leave no trace of his life behind. We begin with his chest, making most of the flesh exposed to us. Kissing it. Licking at every wound. Every scar guides us to the next.

There are fresh hemispheres of flesh for us to lavish.

This is our pilgrimage. Our sojourn along his body.

Jordan grips our shoulders. He kisses our left, then bites. The sudden sting elicits a gasp of surprise from us. We push him down. Pin him in place.

Try that again, we think, hoping he will.

Jordan pulls free from our grip. He’s crawling down the hall, then up to his feet. He takes our hand and guides us toward the bedroom.

Together we shed the rest of our clothes. They drop to the floor, one article after another. Shirts. Pants. Underwear. We’re racing for his room now, desperate to reach it.

We’re chasing after him. Ready to pounce. To devour what’s left.

Jordan makes his way through the door and we follow after, leaping those last few steps and finding ourselves upon him, taking hold of his back.

Jordan pivots on his heel. He takes hold of us, gathering us in his arms.

Gravity is gone. We’re falling.

Down...

Down...

All the way down.

We’ll never stop falling. Never reach the bottom. Our bodies suspend themselves in the air, spinning, spiraling, as they descend, an endless plummet. An eternal descent.

An abyss inside ourselves.

We collapse onto the bed together. Lilith is quick to climb on top of me. She crawls along my legs, my waist, before lifting herself up, arching her back, until she is hovering above.

I try to lift myself up and kiss her, but Lilith pins me down, gripping each wrist and holding me in place. She stares at me, suspended above, nearly levitating, relishing her control over me.

“Wait.”

“No,” she insists. “No more waiting.”

I push back. This time, she doesn’t relent. I need to fight, forcing my arms up. Lilith isn’t going to give up so quickly. I manage to sit upright. Lilith tilts, her body adjusting along with mine, until she’s sitting in my lap, straddling me. She has no choice but to let my wrists go and I find myself finally free to meet her. Grab hold of the back of her neck and kiss her.

I find her throat first. She swallows, then gasps, and I can feel the muscles in her neck constrict. I work my way down her throat, kissing her neck as I sink. I follow a bead of sweat down her chest, chasing it through the expanse of flesh between her breasts.

There is a sheen of perspiration across her skin that I lick, soaking into my own skin.