Page 112 of The Devils They Are
"Well, I turned out to be the exception."
His jaw tightens, as if he's silently reliving his own memories. "Come over here," he says, holding out his hand.
I slip my palm into his, allowing him to pull me toward the bed. Reaching for my waist, he guides me around, sitting me down on the mattress edge.
"The appointment?"
"Hmm."
Dropping to his knees, he cups his hands together, resting them on my leg before putting his chin on his knuckles. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Not really," I murmur.
He nods, standing back up. I watch, expecting him to go to the computer but he walks to the side of the bed, climbing onto the mattress. Wiggling forward, his legs slide past either side of mine. Hands move into my hair, carefully extracting the hair tie and letting my ponytail loose. His fingers comb through my hair, untangling it before separating it into three sections.
"Are you braiding my hair?" I ask with sheer amusement—which is a nice one-eighty change from all the other emotions.
"Yep."
I smile, letting my eyes close as he starts weaving the locks together. There's something so relaxing about having your hair and scalp played with. It's my goddamn weakness and I melt into putty in his hands.
"You do this for Soph, don't you?"
Tai laughs. "Is it that obvious?"
"It's brother-coded for sure."
He wraps the hair tie around the end, securing it. "I taught myself with Youtube tutorials. But I draw the line at makeup application."
"Yeah, I wouldn't trust you with a mascara brush near my eyeballs."
We seem to move at the same time, Tai shifting forward as I lean back. He wraps his arms around me, encasing me in a bear hug.
The two of us stay quiet for a moment, simply enjoying the moment of physical touch, until I ask the question, "Just how close are you to Rylan?"
"He's like a brother to me. But you already know that. So, tell me what's happening in that head of yours?"
As I sink further into him, Tai plops his chin on my shoulder, waiting for my reply.
"Because I think I might kiss you," I answer without hesitation. "And as much as I used to love the idea of bringing you all down, I'm not in the habit of breaking friendships."
He brings his hand up to my face, fingers gently tilting my head in his direction. "We don't have a problem with sharing, Bex," he whispers against my cheek, sending shivers down my body. "Which is why Ry was more than happy to watch you ride my face."
In a perfect world, I'd do my due diligence and hear it from the horse's mouth as well. But right now, I take his word for it, twisting my body and angling my face to find his lips. He kisses me back, and unlike the intensity I have with Rylan, this is slow and all-consuming.
Our lips caress gently, building in pace until I'm flipped onto my back with Tai straddling me. With our new position, we're closer, bodies pressed together as his tongue darts into my mouth seeking mine out.
Like the night in the cage, there's a weird sense of nirvana. Rylan knew what I needed that night and today, Tai senses it too. As usual, that uncomfortable feeling tingles, largely masked by perplexity that someone like him could be the answer and the calm to my storm. But I lean into it, taking what I want and need since he's offering with no questions asked.
His warm hand slides up my waist, bunching my jersey under my chest. Fingers dance along my rib cage, seemingly asking for permission to go higher. And fuck me, there's nothing sexier than consent.
I mimic his movements, grasping his white jersey and tugging it up. Sliding my hand over his toned stomach, I let out a little groan of appreciation. Of course he's ripped too—why wouldn't he be? Devils are meant to be creatures of seduction. If they weren't, how else would we sin?
Muscles tremble under my touch as my fingers trail downwards, stroking the skin above his waistband. It's all the confirmation he needs, hand disappearing under my jersey to cover my tits. He gropes them firmly, massaging me through the lace bra, before tugging on my nipple. My back arches on its own accord and he loops his arm around, lifting me off the bed.
There's a flurry of hands as we both reach for our jerseys, pulling them off and slinging them to the ground somewhere. He kisses my neck while gently grabbing one of my bra straps, taking his sweet time to drag it down my shoulder before doing the same to the other side.
Everywhere he touches burns with need despite his feather-like pressure. Soft lips cover every inch of my neck, occasionally sucking the tender skin.
