He lightly smacked the side of my thigh. “It’s going to be harder and it’s going to be on that fuckable ass of yours if you talk back again.”
I grinned to myself and bit my lip. His large hands went up and pulled down my boy shorts, pressing my legs slightly together to get them off. Then he ducked underneath my legs so he was trapped between me with nowhere to go but my lady bits. Not a bad predicament for me.
“This is going to be tighter than usual,” he said, his breath hot on my inner thighs. I could feel the rough scruff of his face brushing against my skin as he made his way to my slit. “I’m going to eat your * clean,” he murmured right before I felt his lips on mine, his warm, wet tongue dipping in between.
My breath hitched from the sensation before I relaxed, smiling again at his dirty talk. He made me blush so hard sometimes but it still turned me on anyway. And fuck, he was insatiable when he was between my legs. He acted like it felt as good for him as it did for me, and then it was double the turn on.
I know, I was fucking lucky.
I let out a little moan as his tongue flicked my clit and my hands gripped the sheets, holding them tighter and tighter as I felt myself swell and open wider for him. He responded with a moan of his own, the vibrations nearly sending me over the edge, as he slowly inserted two long fingers inside me. He made a come hither motion, knowing exactly the right moves to make, and I couldn’t keep it together much longer.
“I want you inside me,” I groaned.
He paused, his lips brushing against me as he spoke, sending shockwaves of honey through my veins. ”What did I tell you about talking back?”
“Oh, I’ll talk back to you,” I said deliriously, rolling my head from side to side.
“No, you taste too fucking sweet,” he said gruffly. “You’re coming now.”
His head went back down, his tongue sweeping over my clit, his fingers coaxing me until seconds later I was crying out his name, my body rocked by spasms. I barely had time to piece my reality back together when I heard him kicking off his boots and unzipping his jeans.
He grabbed me by the waist and rolled me over, giving my ass a hard smack with his hand. I could feel his balls pressing against my thigh, something else that turned me on.
“That’s for talking back,” he said. Suddenly he was flipping me over again until I was facing up. I took in the sight of his cock, his hardened muscles, as he leaned his taut body over me, feverish intensity in his eyes. “And this, this is for the tattoo.” With one hand he grabbed my face while the other guided himself inside of me. He kissed me so passionately I felt like I couldn’t breathe and it didn’t even matter.
He pulled away, his eyelashes grazing against my cheeks and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you for letting me in.” There was so much sincerity in his voice, this funny man of mine, that I couldn’t help but put my hands on both sides of his face, feeling the strength in his fine jaw, and looked him deep in the eyes until I hoped he could see my soul.
“I’m not letting go of you,” I said softly, feeling like my heart was beating just for him. “Not ever. This is permanent.”
The words felt so heavy leaving my lips, but they were nothing but the truth.
Dex proceeded to make love to me right there—I mean really make love. That looking deep into your eyes, slowly devouring every inch of your body, coming so hard that it feels like your souls are fusing together as one, seeing stars, kind of love. Cheesy maybe, but god I loved him, and this, us, felt so incredibly real. So incredibly right.
When we were finished, I kept the bandage off the tattoo and a smile on my face for the rest of the day.
CHAPTER THREE
I woke up in a cold place. That’s all I could feel, this terrible chill that enveloped my body from inside and out, an icy hand that gripped my organs and froze my heart.
Where was I? I tried to open my eyes but my lids seemed fused together. I was lying down, on my back somewhere, seemingly all in one piece.
Another dream? I hadn’t had a nightmare or anything like this for what seemed like months.
Perry, a familiar voice came floating into my head. Open your eyes, darling.
I did as the voice asked and saw nothing above me but grey, heavy clouds. I slowly sat up and when I realized what I was looking at, I was struck with a mix of fear and relief.
Everything around me was grey—monotone—fields that stretched on forever with grass that did not move and air that felt thick like soup. Smelless. Soundless. Tasteless.
In front of me was my grandmother, Pippa. She wasn’t close, just a few yards away, but even then I could tell there was a marked change in her. Despite the fact that she was dead, the times I had seen her in the past she’d looked a lot more vibrant. Now she was skinnier, and dressed in a shapeless dress and long coat that hung off her bones. Her hair was thinning more, the curls dull. There was no makeup on her face at all, making her look both more human and more vulnerable.
“Pippa,”I said, never feeling comfortable enough to call her Grandma. “Where am I? Am I in the Thin Veil?”
We are somewhere I think is safe, she said without speaking.
Am I dreaming? I asked, remembering I could just think it and she would hear it. I was wearing every day clothes, not Dex’s t-shirt I fell asleep in every night. This had to be a dream.
She held my gaze steady, her eyes still full of life even though the rest of her seemed to be wasting away.
I’m sorry I haven’t been around, she said.
I swallowed and nodded, noticing the tense tone of her voice.
Things are changing over here, she said. Things are changing for me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you very often.
Why?
I don’t know. But I feel it. I know you can see it in me. Though I am dead, I am also dying. And you…you are growing stronger.
I bit my lip. I don’t understand. Stronger how?
You are able to put your thoughts in other people’s heads and you’re starting to pick up on their thoughts. Not with everyone, but with others like you. Like me.
So? I mean, what’s the use in that? I don’t want that, I don’t want people to know what I’m thinking, and I don’t want to know what they’re thinking.
You will learn to block your thoughts and learn to block theirs. But that is beside the point. You are gaining these gifts at rapid speed, which means you have the capacity for immense power.
I’m not a fucking superhero.
Don’t swear, Perry, she chastised me, her nostrils flaring.
Sorry, I replied.
I’m trying to warn you.
Then come out and say it. You know this passive aggressive dilly dallying has never worked in my favor.
I would tell you more if I knew for a fact, for certain. Alas, I do not. She looked up at the sky, frowning. I followed her gaze but saw nothing out of the ordinary for whatever world we were in. She went on. But I do feel things, and I have…instincts…that I never had when I was alive. The demons on the other side are growing. The ones that make it through to the Veil are strong. The ones who make it through to your side are even stronger. It gets worse each year.
My heart slowed a few beats, but still I raised a brow, forcing myself to be cynical rather than scared. Is that so?
She smiled lightly which only made her hollowed out cheekbones more pronounced. You feel it. Everyone on your side feels it. The disasters, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes. The daily violence. The fall of humanity. Everything crumbles for a reason.
So what do I have to do with the fall of humanity? I asked. What she said did make sense but you could probably say that about humanity at any time during our planet’s history.
You don’t have anything to do with it. But maybe you will. Or someone you know will. Someone who is as equally special as you.
Dex, I said, exhaling slowly.
Yes, she said. I think he might be a target. Could be. Or maybe your sister. Or maybe other people that I do not know. I just know that when demons get to the other side, they look for a host and they go after the ones with power.
Been there, done that, I said, narrowing my eyes at the memory. Have the t-shirt.
This isn’t the time for jokes, Perry.
Well what the hell am I supposed to do about it? I asked, raising my hands in frustration. I don’t even know where I am and you’re telling me that more demons are looking for people like me.
Her eyes turned soft, her mouth grave. I just wanted to warn you. Nothing I said is necessarily true. It is just what I feel and what I fear. If something did happen to you, to Declan, to Ada, to…she trailed off and swallowed hard. Just know I had to tell you, even if it turns out to be nothing.
Well, let’s just hope it’s nothing then, I said, because honestly, dealing with this seeing ghost business is hard enough. Thank God for Dex, because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t know how I’d cope in this life, always seeing things that others can’t.
It is lonely. And I wouldn’t wish it upon my greatest enemy. I felt a life of isolation and sorrow roll off of her and onto me.