I cup her face in my hand, leaning down to kiss her, my tongue plunging into her mouth. I want this to go on forever, suddenly, the tight, wet squeeze of her pussy around my length, her legs wrapped around mine, her soft, warm belly and breasts pressing against my chest, her lips on mine. She feels so good, fits against me so perfectly, and suddenly I can’t remember why for so long, all I wanted was to hurt and dominate her.
Athena Saint was meant to be mine, but likethis. Soft and wanting, passionate and fiery, giving as good as she gets, just like always. Her hands in my hair, her tongue in my mouth, her pussy pulling me deeper with every thrust, wanting my cum, her body arched against mine. This is how it was meant to be, and I don’t know why I ever chased anything else.
At this moment, all of the things that I wanted for so long—power, authority, revenge—don’t seem important. A word hovers on my tongue, a word I swore I’d never say, and I bite it back. I’m not ready for that yet.
But I am ready to leave the old me behind.
If only Athena will believe me.
“I want you,” I whisper raggedly against her mouth. “Just you. Like this. I’m sorry—”
Athena shakes her head, kissing me back hard. “We’ll talk about it later,” she manages, her hips pressing against mine, and I feel her flutter around me, the muscles in her thighs twitching. “I’m so close, Cayde, come with me, please—”
“I can never tell you no,” I murmur, my lips curving in a smile against hers. It’s a relief to hear her say it, to know that she’s about to come apart too because I don’t think I can hold back my orgasm a moment longer. My balls are tight and aching, my cock so hard that it feels as if it might burst, and I want to come so badly, but I want to do it with her milking every last drop out of me, pulling me into her with her own climax.
When she comes, Ifeelit. She clenches down on me so tightly that it’s almost painful, every nerve in my cock suddenly alight, my head swollen and so sensitive that I almost can’t take the pleasure of it. Her mouth slants over mine, her moan swallowed up by the kiss, and I groan with a sound that’s almost pain as the first rush of my cum shoots into her, so deeply that she ought to be able to taste it.
I’m not sure I’ve ever come so much in my life. It feels like it’s never going to end, my cock throbbing with each spurt, until I can feel it sliding out of her while I’m still buried to the hilt, my cockhead still shooting cum into her as I sink against her, panting with exhaustion and pleasure.
Athena doesn’t say anything as I roll off of her. She just lays there for a moment, catching her breath, and I glance over at her, but her face is very still.
“Do you want me to go back to my room?” she says finally, not meeting my eyes. She’s still looking up at the ceiling, the sheet puddled around her hips, her breasts bare in the dim light coming through the window.
I already want her again.
“What? No.” I look over at her, shaking my head. “I told you I wanted you to stay here tonight.”
She licks her lips, still not looking at me. “Okay.”
“Do you—” I frown. “Do you not want to be here?”
“It’s fine.”
“Do you want to be alone? Because if you do—”
She turns to face me suddenly, her head turning and her blue-grey gaze fixed on mine. “Do you not get how weird this is, Cayde? I couldn’t really say anything about it earlier because I was so fucking exhausted. But I didn’t lose my memory when they kidnapped me. I still remember everything you’ve ever done. And now you’re—carrying me upstairs, cleaning me up after sex, waking me up in the middle of the night for more.”
I frown, feeling myself tense up. I feel attacked, and I don’t like it. But I remind myself to be patient. If I really want to do things differently, I will have to react differently, no matter how hard it is.
“You’re telling me Dean never woke you up in the middle of the night for sex?”
Athena makes a scoffing noise. “Of course he did. But he didn’t—” she hesitates. “It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t—”
“Wasn’t what?”
“It wasn’tnice.” She shifts uncomfortably. “That was—like how normal people have sex. I think.” She shrugs, biting her lower lip. “I’ve never had sex with anyone other than you or Dean, so I wouldn’t know.”
I don’twanther to have sex with anyone else. The thought of anyone else’s dick in her, even Jaxon’s, makes me feel hot with jealousy. Certainly, anyone who isn’t Jaxon. But something about her tone makes me feel guilty at the same time. As if we’ve deprived her of something.
“I hear it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” I’m trying to make a joke, but it seems to miss the mark because Athena’s teeth only dig harder into her lip.
“I don’t want to be jerked around.” She looks away from me. “I know what you want from me—what you and Dean both want. The town, and for me to be your plaything. You don’t have to pretend it’s anything else.”
“It’s not—” I hesitate. “I told you. Maybe I don’t want to be the old me anymore. Maybe I want to try something different.”
“I’m not your experiment.” Athena’s head whips back to face me, her eyes suddenly flashing. “I might be your pet, your toy, but that’s just my body. Not my heart, and not my mind. I’m not here for you to poke at to see if you like being nice to your breathing blow-up doll more than you like bullying her.”
Is that what we’ve been to her? Bullies?Even without asking, I know the answer.