Page 79 of The Devil's Reward
“You already sent it to your family, huh?” he asks.
“Mom says it’s going on the family Christmas card, and Dad promised to bring you some beer,” I tell him sweetly, batting my lashes at him.
“You know you’re going to pay for that, right?” he warns, a low purr in his throat as he leans down to press his lips close to my ear. “And by pay, I mean, I’m going to eat that sweet pussy so slow, bringing you to the edge time and time again. Then, I’m going to do the same with my cock. I’ll have you begging me to cum so prettily.”
Holy shit. Heat sears my belly. Bobby and my high school boyfriend never said things like this. I never thought men actually talked like that, outside of books or TV. Or maybe in porn. I swallow hard. “That doesn’t sound like much of a punishment,” I moan softly.
He chuckles, making me shudder. Desire is building in my belly, making my pussy wet enough that I’m going to need some new underwear. “We’ll see how you feel after the fifth or sixth time I deny you your orgasm,” is his response before he takes my mouth in a heated, passionate kiss.
I moan into his mouth, my tongue dueling with his as he moves one of his hands from my hip to the curve of my ass, cupping it and hauling me closer to him. Close enough that I can feel his erection pressing tight against me through his jeans. I can’t resist rubbing my body against him, making him groan and pull his mouth away from mine. He drops his hand from my ass, but I swear I can still feel the heat of his grip. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he mutters. “Quinn, I need you tonight. Are you up for that? Because if not, I need to get a cold shower or I’m not going to last.”
This is a big step for me. I barely know Shadow in the grand scheme of things, but my parents always say that when you know, you know. And with Shadow, I know. I know without a doubt I can trust him. Not just with my body, but with my heart. With Macy. So I tell myself not to overthink and take the plunge. If I fall and end up hurt, I already know I can put my own pieces back together again.
“Yes,” I murmur, forcing myself to look up into his eyes so he can see my answer there as well. I take in the hunger in his eyes, the way he clenches his jaw, and my clit throbs in response. My body is fully on board with this idea.
“Go get Macy ready for bed, gorgeous, and I’ll meet you in your room after she’s asleep,” he directs, stepping away from me before reaching down to adjust himself in his jeans.
“What are you doing?” I ask stupidly, staring at the bulge.
He groans and drops his head forward. “I’m trying to get this to calm down, gorgeous, and you staring at me like you can’t wait to taste me again isn’t helping,” he scolds me jokingly.
I force myself to pull my gaze away from him. “There’s some beer in the fridge,” I tell him as I head for the stairs. “I picked some up for you this afternoon.”
He nods. “Thanks, gorgeous. I’ll see you in a bit.” Then he turns and heads to the couch, while I hurry upstairs to get Macy.
By the time Macy is through her nighttime routine, it’s an hour later, and my clothes are wet from when she splashed me in the bath. I tuck her into bed, and she looks at me with tired eyes. “Is Shadow sleeping over?” she asks me tiredly.
I pause, unsure what to say. The answer is yes, but will she understand at her age? Am I being a terrible mother by letting him stay the night again? Will it confuse her? “Are you okay if he does?” I settle on asking her.
She nods her head. “He played with me, so it’s only fair,” she yawns. “Can he come and say goodnight to me too?”
I hesitate. It’s one thing to have the two of them spend time together, but it’s another thing entirely to have him do something so important. Especially in the eyes of my daughter. “He’s downstairs, honey,” I murmur. “Maybe next time, okay?”
She pouts but is too tired to argue with me. “Okay,” she murmurs, and then her eyes close and she’s out. I’ve always envied the way she can fall right into sleep.
I tiptoe out of the room and walk towards the bathroom to clean it up. Only, when I reach it, it’s clean, and Macy’s bath toys are already put away in the basket by the tub. I turn my head towards my closed bedroom door. I don’t deserve this man. I look down the stairs and see that he’s also already turned everything off and locked up.
I take a deep breath and head to my bedroom, slipping inside and locking it behind me. Macy rarely wakes up, but just in case, I want to make sure she won’t walk in and see anything she shouldn’t.
When I turn around, Shadow is standing by the window in only his jeans, the low light of the lamps illuminating the ink on his back. It draws my gaze, and I marvel again at the incredible work. Whoever did it for him is an artist.
Shadow turns to look at me. “Macy asleep?” he asks me, watching me with an unreadable expression.
I nod. “She was out like a light,” I tell him, a nervous smile on my lips. “Thank you for cleaning the bathroom for me. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I figured you might be a little bit, so I took care of it,” he says with a careless shrug. He steps towards me, and though I don’t move, he must sense my nerves. “We don’t have to do anything tonight you’re not comfortable with, Quinn,” he says gently when he’s a few feet away from me. “If you’re not ready for—”
“I am,” I rush to interrupt. “I just need to get out of my head, that’s all.” I swallow hard, and he looks at me for a moment, assessing.
He must realize I’m telling the truth because he steps forward and orders softly, “Then I suggest you get naked, Ms. Holt, because I don’t want to waste a single moment with you tonight.”
FORTY
QUINN
I’m going insane and no judge or jury would convict me if I strangle him.
He promised me that I would pay, and he is living up to his promise. I put a pillow over my face to scream into it in frustration. His tongue is wicked on my pussy, pushing me towards release and then backing off when I get close. It’s maddening, and my body is strung so tight with arousal that I feel like I’m going to break.
