I don’t even know what kinds of things he can do with me in that form without hurting me, but I’m not opposed to an experiment or two.
Jarron shifts so that his body is on top of me. His eyes are pitch black. Ever so slightly, black horns inch up out of his hair. “Never,” he growls, “be embarrassed about desiring me, bright one. I want to know every one of your desires. Every secret thought that thrills you. Every pleasure you crave. Every experiment you wish to try. I am eager to please you in every possible way.”
My skin is suddenly burning hot.
He rolls off of me, lying on his side to face me. “But also know that any desire you express can be taken back or paused or delayed at any moment. Pleasuring you can also mean giving you a break.” Firm determination, almost defensiveness, prickles at my awareness.
“Is that you convincing your demon?”
Jarron doesn’t directly respond, but his lips twitch. The dynamic between the demon spirit and the Jarron I know is fascinating and strange and will take a while for me to fully grasp.
“He will enjoy pushing the boundaries of your desires, but he needs a reminder sometimes that your happiness matters more than ours.”
Warmth envelops my body. But a sense of mischief swells up to replace it quickly. I roll onto Jarron, straddling him. His eyes widen.
I push my hips into him hard and lean down whisper. “What if I like pressure?”
He groans, head lulling back. “I will give you anything you want,” he pants. “Anything.”
I examine my own feelings. Often, when things get intense with Jarron I pull back out of fear. Sometimes, it’s fear of not being his first choice. Sometimes, fear of not having control. Fear that these feelings are so intense; they’re too much.
But right now, I feel powerful.
I feel perfect. His chest rumbles in that soft purr.
“What does that purr mean?” I whisper.
“It’s a sound a demon makes only with their chosen.”
My brows pinch together. “Really?”
“Every time you heard it, my demon was expressing his contentment and desire for you. Only for you.”
I suck in a breath. At the banquet while we were fake dating. Later that night in his room. At the party while I was on his lap. He’s done it since then too, but those are the moments that feel the most significant.
If I had known the meaning, I’d have known all along that I was his chosen. I’d have known that his devotion ran so deep he’d move mountains just to make me smile.
He grins.
“While very true,” he murmurs, “I’m fairly certain you would have run far away from me if you’d known that the first time. You were still so uncertain about me. About us.”
I sigh. He’s probably right. “I like to pretend I’m very brave,” I say. “But there are some things that I’m an absolute coward about. Most of them revolve around you.” I bite the inside of my lip. It took me so long to take the risk.
“It’s never easy to give your heart away. You are brave, Candice. Don’t doubt that. You are so brave and intelligent and caring. Cunning and challenging and stubborn too, but if I’m honest, I love those things just as much. I am not a soft human looking for a woman to baby him and raise his children. I’m looking for a partner to rule a world beside me.”
I press my forehead against his. “One life-altering realization at a time, please,” I say. But I smile nonetheless. It’s overwhelming and scary to think about being a queen and everything that would entail, but I’m also somewhat excited by it.
I just don’t want to think too deeply about it. Yet.
“You’ll be perfect,” he whispers. “You are perfect.”
I rock my hips against him, and he sucks in a breath, his hands squeezing my hips.No more sweet talk, I think, knowing he’ll hear it.
He squirms. This big, incredibly powerful male, who’s desperate and nearly on the verge of pleading with me. I want to ask him to beg, but instead, I decide to taunt him more.
Because all of my concerns are gone. My fears and hesitancies have melted away, and all I feel is this incredible high. This incrediblepower.
I press myself tightly against him, feeling his need building. The way he melts beneath me. I sigh in his ear. “I love how you come apart under me.”
