She had for so long before…
With his hand at the edge of the towel, he said, "Do you want this off of me?"
She was shaking, she wanted it so badly. "Why would I?" Impulses were riding her hard.
"So you can see. You've got to be curious."
He took her hand. At first she thought he was going to place it on his shaft, and didn't know how she felt about that.
Instead, he put it at the edge of the towel. "Pull it off, Holly. Take a look. You don't have to do anything else."
One look. What would it hurt? Her curiosity goaded her. With a swallow, she tugged the towel loose. "That's it." His voice was husky, mesmerizing.
Once she'd uncovered his erection, it jerked as if excited to have her eyes on it. She stared, transfixed.
"Look all you like." He drew his knee up to give her a better view. "Or do you want to touch it?"
She did! So much. Her fingers itched to explore his length.
What would that smooth skin feel like? Earlier, she'd imagined sliding down his shaft, but hadn't known how to truly envision it.
Now she did.
I wonder what it would taste like? She flushed at her thoughts.
As her shaking hand reached forward, his stomach muscles clenched in sharp ridges.
When his erection pulsed again, a bead of moisture arose on the broad head. He gave a low groan, as if that had felt incredible.
How fascinating….
She would rub the pad of her forefinger there and see how he liked that. Inches away…about to feel it—
Out of the corner of her vision, she spied his hand oh-so-subtly slipping toward her.
Comprehension hit.
The demon had baited a trap for her, using his erection as a lure for a gullible female.
She snatched her hand back as if from a flame, breaking her stare to meet his gaze. His eyes were growing black, yet somehow glowing. His horns were bigger and duskier than normal. His fangs were longer.
Oh, yes, this was clearly all about her—her curiosity. How could she be so naïve?
The demon was systematically breaking down her barriers. The dark side, lulling her, drawing her away. Everything was conspiring against her efforts.
Lulling me from what I know, from where I want to be…
Now she understood his words from earlier. He'd gotten further with her than he'd expected, and believed he'd get even further next time.
What was so bad—he probably would. And that made her fearful. If only she weren't so attracted to him, then she'd be safe. She'd never go into the shadows with him.
Reasoning traiclass="underline" No demon, no temptation, no thinking about going to the dark side.
He planned to wear her down? "Cadeon, I believe you want services that aren't included." She stood, heading for the bathroom. Over her shoulder, she said, "But best of luck with that bullet."
17
When Holly emerged from the bathroom, dressed and ready for the drive, he'd still been battling his hard-on, scarcely able to haul jeans over his aching shaft.
It was probably a good thing that she hadn't put her hand on it before—because by that point, a weak breeze would've instantaneously set him off.
He'd been so close that he'd even given up a drop of semen, which had never happened before, a maddening glimpse of what spilling his seed would feel like.
Even digging out that bullet by himself hadn't put a dent in his need. His kind required release multiple times a day, or they were more prone to go into a rage state. For her sake, he'd have to take matters in hand soon.
Now, to see her with pink cheeks, dressed for in her smart clothes…He raked his gaze over her, as ever finding her effortlessly sexy.
Her heels weren't stilettos, but the way the thin straps hugged her trim ankles was arousing to him. The mere sight of her pearls could pain him, because whenever she ran them against her lips, one of his favorite fantasies always assailed him—the one of her wearing nothing but pearls and him riding her so hard that the strand bounced about her neck.
And her skirt…When he'd watched her in the past, he hadn't understood why she would wear such conservative tops, then such provocative skirts. Yes, they went past her knees, but they also stretched so enticingly over her ass.
He'd finally figured it out. Holly didn't realize how those expensive materials molded over her generous curves.
Cade knew females liked to ask, "Does my ass look big in this?" But considering Holly as an example, he'd begun to suspect that women really couldn't determine what their asses looked like.
Oh, well. A question for the ages.
"Ready?" he asked.
She nodded, behaving as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened between them, while his balls were so blue he wondered if he'd ever get them back to rights.
If she wanted to act like she hadn't slowly licked her lips while her silver eyes were locked on his cock, he could play.
So, we pretend….
After he took the bags to the car, stuffing them in the trunk, he remembered to open her door for her—score one for the demon—but just when he was about to slide inside, she got out.
"Oh, no, no," she said, eyeing the floorboard on his side—which was full of wrappers and crushed cans of Red Bull. "We can't start the drive out this way."
"It's fine, Holls. I'll dump the trash at the next gas station."
But she'd already retrieved her antibacterial wipes and crossed to his side, shooing him away. Setting out the wipes for afterward, she bent over in front of him to clear out the floorboard.
And he had to shuffle his feet wide to keep from falling over.
The skirt was so tight, he could discern she was definitely wearing one of those thongs. Mental note: Always leave trash on the floorboard.
When she'd been getting ready earlier, he'd had only enough time to do one of two things in private: contort naked, digging for the bullet, or take matters in hand with his hard-on. As he gaped at her skirt molding to her heart-shaped ass, he concluded he'd chosen poorly with the bullet.
He stifled a groan, beginning to pace back and forth.
A human male strolled by, then did a double take at her. The bastard's brows drew together with want.
Cade bared his teeth. Don't mangle the mortal! The human caught sight of him and wisely scurried away.
Once Holly had deposited everything in the hotel's trash bin, she used her wipes to eradicate innocent microorganisms.
"Are we ready, pet?" His voice was so hoarse it made her frown.
"What's wrong with your voice? Are you getting sick?"
He heard her asking the question, but his attention was already distracted. The evening was chilly, and her nipples were stiff under the beige sweater she wore. He absently answered, "Immortals never get sick."
She caught the direction of his stare, and her lips thinned. "Must you?"
I must. "First day in the new bra, yeah?"
As if calling on some inner well of reserve, she said in a long-suffering tone, "Yes, Cadeon, it is…."
When they'd gotten on the road, she asked, "So tell me about the checkpoint. Who's this Imatra woman? Do you know her?"
"Not personally. She's supposed to have been born of a sorcerer and a demoness, getting the strengths from both. Rumored to be a great beauty," he added truthfully, gauging her reaction. There wasn't a discernible one. "She owns a Lore tavern on the Mississippi River called the Sandbar."
"How cute." Had her tone been cutting?
Cade would be forced to take Holly with him there. The idea of leaving her vulnerable and alone in the hotel room was worse than what he expected at this bar. Besides, Groot's followers patronized the place.