Page 13 of Infernal Bindings

“I love your hair like this,” he groans. “I wish you wouldn’t wear it up.”

What?

My eyes snap open, and suddenly it’s Daemon who’s touching me, his fingers unthreading the top button of my shirt with expert precision. I slam my hand over his, and for the first time in my life, issue a command. “Stop.”

“Annie? Annie are you alright?” Daemon asks, shaking my shoulder. He kneels over me on the bed, dark hair falling into his dark eyes. “I heard you cry out. You must’ve had a nightmare.”

I blink up at him.

A nightmare, yes, that’s all it was.

“I’m fine,” I tell him. It’s so dark in here I can barely see Daemon, and the smoke doesn’t help. When I squint, I realize that his suit jacket is gone, and his white dress shirt is rumpled from sleep. It’s the most disheveled I’ve seen him in years.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I add.

“I always worry about you.”

Daemon rolls onto the bedding beside me, close enough I can feel his body heat. And my mind drifts back to the dream—his lips on mine, his hands roaming my skin. Underneath the velvet comforter, I touch the top button of my pajama top—still threaded, because it wasn’t real. That should come as a relief, but for some reason it doesn’t. Frowning, I force myself to drop the button and turn my back to him.

“I’m fine, Daemon,” I assure him. “You should go back to sleep.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks.

Absolutely not.

“Was it about Christopher?”

I still don’t answer.

“Was it about me?”

“Goodnight, Daemon.”

He pulls the velvet comforter down and slips beneath it until we’re skin to skin—or technically clothes to clothes. I should tell him to return to the couch, but I don’t. Because it’s nice. The closeness. The warmth. I bask in it. Like always, I absorb his tenderness like a sponge, soaking it up as if it’s real. Tonight, it’s real enough.

“Do you want me to leave?” he asks.

My lack of an answer is permission enough. Silence stretches between us as he snuggles deeper into my back, wrapping his arms around my waist. For what must be minutes, I listen to nothing but the sound of his steady breaths. I couldn’t sleep like this even if I tried. Every nerve ending tingles, like it’s being zapped with little sparks of electricity.

“I’m better than him, you know,” Daemon says finally, voice low and dangerous.

“In bed?” I snort, trying to lighten the mood.

“Among other things.”

The way he says it makes me shudder. My breathing catches as Daemon lets go of me and slides his entire body beneath the comforter. He crawls lower, then lower still, the bed dipping until his hands reach my waistband. We’ve spent years flirting and teasing one another, but it’s never been more than that. Daemon has never signaled he’s wanted anything more.

Something sharp traces a slow circle at my navel. Fingernails? No, claws.

I swallow. My entire body is on edge, my heart thudding so loud I’m certain he can hear it.

“Daemon, what are you doing?” I ask. My voice quivers, but it’s not with fear; it’s with anticipation. I could stop him like I did in the dream—I should stop him—but my protests evaporate when those claws slice through my pants, shredding them to expose my bare pussy to him.

“I’m proving I’m better.” He shoves my legs apart and slips between them, still beneath the blankets, still hidden from me. I cover my eyes anyway, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. I’ve only had three sexual partners, and none of them have ever looked at that part of me. Self-conscious wouldn’t begin to describe how I feel right now.

Daemon plants his face between my thighs, and I melt for him, even as I consider shoving him away. Something wet strokes my clit—his tongue—and I moan, arching my back as he works my nerve endings, setting my entire body on fire. If he keeps going, I might combust.

“God, you’re so wet for me, Annie,” Daemon groans, then he sucks me all the way into his mouth. The sensation is so intense—too intense. I scream as I buck up into him, riding his face, squirming under his tongue. The bed creaks. My fingernails dig into soft velvet sheets as he keeps going. Tears streaming down my cheeks, I beg him not to stop.