Then his tail teased her clit again, his big hands holding her legs open, and the pain dissolved into liquid pleasure. Her arousal coated his shaft, her muscles relaxed, and he sank deep with ease.
They moaned together as he rocked inside her, and there was nothing but the two of them.
His thrusts deepened amidst furious growls, and she could do nothing but hold on for the ride, calling his name over and over. He fixed his teeth over her bite mark from earlier but didn’t bite down, though she honestly wouldn’t have minded.
With a groan muffled against her neck, he came apart, his wings snapping out as his body locked up. He swelled inside her, and she couldn’t hold back her cries at the intensity.
A moment later, he collapsed, rolling onto his back so he didn’t crush her. She draped herself across his chest, feeling tiny and cherished as he wrapped his arms and wings around her and held on for dear life.
“My Lily,” he murmured.
“Mmm. That was unexpected.”
“I saw you and I couldn’t help myself.”
“I loved it.”
He opened his wings, and she sat up to look at his face, expecting to see the same happy, drugged expression he’d had the first time they were intimate.
Instead, his eyes were haunted. His face was drawn, his eyes tightening in the corners, his mouth pressed into a line.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, pushing a lock of hair off his forehead. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Yellow eyes shifted away, and that was when she finally saw it.
Pain.He was in so much pain, and he was trying to hide it from her.
20
Hurricane Iris
Iris stood outside the apartment with her fist hovering in the air, afraid to knock. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. She couldn’t believe she was even considering doing this. All her years of lying and secret-keeping were about to come crashing down on her head, and she wasn’t ready.
Why hadn’t she told Suyin and the coven where she was going? Why hadn’t she immediately started planning a rescue mission for her sister? She didn’t actually believe there was such a thing as good demons, did she? She didn’t actually believe Lily had found some kind of fairy-tale romance with a creature from nightmares, did she?
Iris had always hated fairy tales. Especially romantic ones.
She remembered watchingThe Little Mermaidas a kid. All her friends were giggling away, dreamily discussing what it would be like to have their own Prince Eric to fall in love with, while Iris had been horrified.
Ariel gave up her voice, her family, and her badass mermaid tail to be with some guy she’d only met once? Who then fell in love with her when she couldn’t speak for herself, voice an opinion, or say anything at all?
It didn’t sound remotely romantic. It sounded like her worst nightmare. Kinda similar to standing outside a flat full of demons and contemplating knocking on the door.
It opened before she had a chance to draw her admittedly random thoughts back to the matter at hand. Worse, she found herself looking into the red eyes of the demon with the face tattoos. Trucker Mouth. Snark Fest. Sexy Lip Rings.
“Well, well.” A grin split his face. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
“Look what washed up dead on the beach, rotting and bloated,” she snapped.The Little Mermaidhad inspired her.
His grin didn’t waver. Someone in the house behind him barked a laugh.
“Where’s my sister?”Hide the nerves. Hide the fact that I’m stupidly attracted to his fake human face.
“Hello to you too, Blue Hair.” He didn’t move aside. He didn’t invite her in. He didn’t answer her question.
“My name isIris. My hair is blue, but that is not my name. I-ris. Learn it. Use it.”
He leaned way into her personal space and slurred, “I-risss.”
