He turned me over, pulled my ass into the air, and snaked a hand up the front of my neck. I gripped onto his arm for support and arched my back, core tightening when he shoved himself inside of me from behind. He curled one arm around my waist and rubbed my clit.

  Each thrust was harder than the last, pushing me closer toward the headboard. The bed shook under us, and I tried to say his name, but I couldn’t get the word out. All I kept thinking was…

  Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon. God, I wanted more cinnamon.

  His fingers continued to move wildly, sending a wave of pleasure up my body. “Cum for me, Dani,” he said. I squeezed my eyes shut, screamed out, and released myself around him, trembling in his hands.

  A flood of emotions washed through me—the strongest being lust. I collapsed in his arms, not being able to move.

  After a few more thrusts, he threw his horns back, pulled out of me, and came on my ass. I breathed deeply, lying on my stomach, and sighed, feeling completely satisfied for the first time in my whole life. That was the best sex that I had ever had—by far.

  I rolled onto my back and gazed at the demon in front of me. A million thoughts were racing through my mind. But instead of saying any of them, I shuffled up to the headboard and shielded my body with a blanket.

  After that, I didn’t know what to feel. Hunger. Desire. Pure anxiety.

  He stared back at me, not moving. “Dani…” Strands of dark hair laid across his damp forehead. Just like my dreams, his horns were curved and had small ridges around them. It was true. This was really him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  I knelt on the bed, holding the blanket around me. He still didn’t move, but his breathing quickened. I lifted my hand, fingers grazing against his horns, then against his cheekbones, then against his swollen shoulder muscles.

  He was different but damn amazing.

  Demonic power radiated from him, even now when he was standing in front of me—naked and bent with nervousness.

  “Why?” I asked, gazing into his eyes. “Why’re you sorry for who you are?”

  He gulped, and I could tell that he was trying to breathe evenly. His fingers curled into the bed sheets. “Because I’m a monster to you.”

  “Monsters are heartless and violent, Eros.” I pushed a strand of hair off his forehead. “They’re cruel and they hide behind the faces of good people. You are not heartless nor cruel, especially not to me.”

  His eyes softened, and I wondered how someone who was supposed to be so evil and scary could comfort me so much.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I needed to be sure that this was what you wanted.” He paused. “Is this still what you want?” He broke eye contact with me and shook his head. “You can say no. Don’t be afraid to say no.”

  I brushed my fingers against his chin, lifting it so he was looking at me. “You told me to choose happiness, and I chose you.”

  He hesitated for a moment, then smiled. Not one of his infamous smirks, but a true, genuine smile. And I smiled back at him.

  Chapter 34

  “So, tell me more about this whole demon thing. Are there really seven different types? Which are the nicest? Do I get to meet any other ones? Is Kasey an incubus too?”

  Eros grazed his fingers against the small of my back, leading me through the crowd at The Lounge, and chuckled. “One question at a time.”

  Lemon, pine, strawberries, chocolate—I inhaled each tempting scent as we passed the men and women flirting at the bar. Each smell was more mesmerizing than the last, but none compared to cinnamon.

  I scooted into the same booth that we had last time and smiled. “I’m just curious.”

  Eros slid in next to me and wrapped his arm around my back. “I know.” He placed a kiss on my forehead. “It’s cute.” His lips lingered, and when he finally pulled away his eyes were hazy. “You always smell so goo—”

  “Look at the lovely couple.” The waiter from the other night placed a pitcher of water between us. He pulled out a small notebook, flipping to a clean page. “Back again.” He smiled. “I bet your parents would love to meet her, Eros.”

  Eros clenched his jaw, fingers digging into my shoulder. “We’d like to order.”

  The waiter’s eyes glowed—deep, black, and lifeless. “I guess you don’t agree.”

  “Get us another waiter.”

  He smirked. “Why is the great and powerful Eros holding back? Afraid you’ll scare her off if you show her who you really are?”

  I pressed my lips together and leaned over the table. “He asked for another waiter.”

  The waiter turned to me, eyes reddening as they lingered on Mom’s pendant in the center of my chest. They blazed like the pits of Hell—not that I actually knew what Hell looked like—yet. “Oh, Little Blessed One, don’t you speak to me like tha—”

  Eros snatched the waiter’s neck and jerked him close. “Talk to her like that again, and I’ll take whatever’s left of your pathetic souls.” When he pushed him away, there were deep red claw marks in the waiter’s neck. “Now, get us another fucking waiter.”

  The man grasped the sides of his neck and scurried away through the crowd. Music thumped softly through the bar. People were downing those Passion Delight drinks like they were water. Turning back to me, Eros took a deep breath and grabbed my hand.

  “Now, which question do you want answered first?” Eros asked with a smile.

  I leaned forward, my heart racing. “If Hell is real, is Heaven real too?” I asked. Maybe there was a chance—a sliver of hope—that I would get to see Mom again. “Because if it is, I want to go. I want to see my mom. She has to be up there. She was everything good.”

  Eros’s light expression suddenly turned grim. “Your mother…” He spun his ring around his finger and exhaled. “Heaven is not what everyone thinks it is. It’s not all good people.” He shook his head. “I can’t tell you where she is or how to get up there because demons cannot reach the Golden Gates without wings,” he said, and I frowned. “But I will do everything that I can to keep you safe from the people who stole your mother from you. I promise that one day I will help get you the closure that you need.”

  He gave me a weak smile, and I gave him one back. “Okay,” I said softly. “Okay.”

  A woman in a little black dress walked up to our table. She gave Eros a flirty smile and even had a seductive glint in her eye, but Eros didn’t spare her a glance. When she looked at me, her blue eyes sparkled. “Good evening,” she said.

  “Hi.” I smiled and leaned closer to her. She smelt like roses.

  Her fingers brushed against mine. “What would you like tonight?” she asked, leaning over to give me a clear view of her cleavage.

  “Heaven,” Eros said shaking his head. He lifted his finger, telling her to stand. “Don’t seduce her.”

  Unlike the previous waiter, she nodded respectfully at Eros and took our drink orders. We both asked for Passion Delights—because I didn’t care about winning or losing any game anymore—but she only returned with one for Eros. Passion Delights were only reserved for a select few people, and by people she definitely meant demons.

  I watched her retreat to the bar, then gazed at Eros. “What’s so special about Passion Delights?”

  He sipped it, then inhaled deeply. “They give incubus or succubus demons a kick.”

  “A kick?”

  “It makes them more sensitive to someone’s arousal.”

  My cheeks flushed, and I sipped on my plain water. “So, if I was aroused right now, you’d know?”

  “I can always tell when you’re aroused.” He tapped his ring on the glass, making it clank.

  “You can?”

  He chuckled and sat back, gazing at the bar. “I could tell that our waitress turned you on.”

  I gulped and glanced at her. Her blonde curls bounced on her shoulders as she walked back and forth behind the bar, pouring sex-crazed demons more Passion Delights. For a moment, her eyes met mine, and I dug my nails into Eros’s thigh. “She’s attractive, but that doesn’t mean she arouses me.”

  He trailed a finger down my cheek. “So, given the chance, you wouldn’t want to fuck her?”

  My eyes widened at the thought. “No, I’m dating you.”

  Eros smirked. “That’s not what I asked,” he said. I took a long sip of my water. Was it getting hot in here or was it just me? Eros sat back. “If we weren’t together and you met her at a bar, would you go home with her?”

  I pursed my lips. “Come on, Eros. I don’t sleep around with people I meet one time.”

  “Look at you, getting so defensive over it.”

  “I’m not getting defensive over it.”

  Eros leaned closer to me, his fingers slipping under my dress. “You’re wet just thinking about it.”

  I pushed his hand away, cheeks flushing. Damn him. Why did he always have to put me on the spot? Didn’t he know that I was an anxious mess all the time? I cleared my throat and tried to push away the thoughts of the waitress. “So, the other night when you ordered a Passion Delight, did you intend on losing the game?”

  He shrugged as if losing meant nothing to him. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to resist you for much longer.” He curled a finger around my hair. “You don’t even have to try. It comes so naturally to you.”

  I snorted. Hell, no. I had to learn the tricks from Kasey, had to repeat them hundreds of times so I wouldn’t forget them.

  Eros chuckled and leaned closer to me. “But, let’s be clear, I did not lose.”

  I playfully slapped him on the chest. “What? I totally beat you at your own damn game. Admit it.”

  He took another sip of his Passion Delight and shook his head. “I will not. I had you curled around my finger since the day I met you.”

  Well, there was no denying that one. He hooked me on cinnamon like an addict. I smiled, thinking back to that Sunday morning. I was so naïve, thinking I could ever resist someone like him for the rest of my life.

  I brushed my fingers over his ring. “You could haunt anyone,” I said. “Why did you choose me?”

  “First, demons don’t haunt people. We’re not ghosts,” he said, eyes cloudy.

  I smiled. “Sorry—possess then.”

  “Second, you chose me.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Come on. You don’t think other demons haven’t tried to possess you before me?”

  I clutched Mom’s pendant. Other demons? Like Javier or even Kasey? My nose wrinkled. “I don’t remember others.”

  “That’s because you didn’t let them possess you.” He leaned forward onto his elbows, ring shining under the dim table light. “In order to be possessed—in order for a demon to take full control of your body and your emotions—you have to agree to it.”

  “Who would willingly be possessed?”

  “You.” He chuckled and ran a hand across my back. “You wanted me to make you cum, so you told me that you wanted me. You gave me possession of you.”

  “Sneaky,” I said, nodding. “That’s how you did it.”

  “That’s not sneaky compared to most. If you didn’t like something, other demons wouldn’t care. They would’ve continued using your body for their needs,” he said. I gazed around at the other demons in the bar, lingering on the male waiter. He seemed like one of those types. Using people until he didn’t need them anymore. Hell, Javier was that type—using Trevon for his own needs, letting him become a damn demon, throwing him out when he was finished.

  “So”—I glided my finger across his ring, watching a streak of red follow my finger on its black canvas—“if I didn’t want to do anything with you or if I wanted you to stop, you would?” I asked, and he nodded. “How do I know you’ll stop?”

  “If you don’t like something, say heaven and I’ll stop.”

  “Heaven,” I whispered to myself. The word sounded bittersweet—like the past few weeks of sinning had sealed my fate for an eternity in Hell, but Mom was standing up in the clouds, calling my name for me to come home someday.

  Chapter 35

  The candle between Eros and I flickered against his glass, and I smiled—thinking back to the times when Mom used to drink red wine while we binge-watched cartoons on Tuesday nights in the living room. My five-year-old self would always inch close to her, bat my lashes, and ask for one tiny little sip. Desperately wanting to know what the big deal was about those fancy cups and the sour smelling happy juice inside of them.

  Eros pushed his Passion Delight in my direction. “You’ve been eyeing it all night.”

  My eyes widened. “Really?”

  He chuckled. “One sip.”

  I gazed around to make sure nobody was watching, then took a larger-than-intended sip. It burned the back of my throat, the sourness making my nose wrinkle. “This is gross.” I placed the glass on the table and pushed it back to him. “I don’t know how you get a kick out of that.”

  “It’ll hit you,” he said, standing. He grabbed my hand, tossed some type of paper money—Joss, he called it—onto the table, and led me out of The Lounge. Instead of taking the route back to the car, we walked along the sidewalk, watching small snowflakes melt on the ground.

  A bus pulled up to the corner of Sixth and Penn, and Eros grabbed my hand, pulling me towards it. “Come on. Let’s go somewhere.”

  “Where? Are we just leaving the car here—”

  “Trust me, Dani,” he said, tugging me along before the bus pulled away. “We’ll come back for the car later.”

  The bus was crowded even for a Friday night. Eros guided me to the back, near the last pair of exit doors, and I held onto the handrail as the bus lurched forward. “Where are we going?” I asked again.

  Eros stood behind me, one hand on the handrail beside mine, the other on my shoulder. “Patience,” he said. I sighed and gazed out of the window, watching Dr. U’s office building whizz by us. We were headed outbound toward the Liberty Bridge.

  The bus stopped a few more times, letting more people on. Eros tapped his fingers on my shoulder, his breath on my neck.

  “Shouldn’t you be watching for the stop?” I asked. “And not me?”

  He chuckled and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “We’re not getting off at a stop.”

  “Then where are we—” I grasped the rail tighter, my core suddenly tightening and pulsing quickly. What the—

  “You okay?” Eros asked against my ear. His fingers were trailing down my sides.

  That drink, that damn drink was doing this. And Eros knew it would. I took a deep breath, trying to suppress my growing excitement.

  “Oh, my God.”

  The bus stopped again, and even more people crowded on. I scooted against one of the exit doors, heart pounding. Why were there so many people here tonight? Everyone’s body heat was making me so hot, I just wanted to strip off all of my clothes.

  I shifted my gaze from the people on the bus to my reflection in the door windows. Stay calm, Dani.

  Eros’s black eyes reflected off the windows. He pressed his hardness into my backside, rubbing it against my ass, and I clenched unwillingly. “What are you doing?” I whisper-yelled. I tried to face him, but he grasped my hips and held me in place. “People are going to see!”

  “I won’t let anyone see you the way I do,” he said against me. Then he paused and gazed toward the crowd behind us, making direct eye contact with few people. Suddenly, the bus filled with noisy chatter and the overwhelming aroma of several scents. Men and women with seductive glints in their eyes—who I had no doubt were demons—pried eyes away from us and directed them toward themselves.

  Eros curled an arm around my torso and pressed his fingers against my pussy through my dress. I grasped the handrail tighter, my knuckles whitening. “Eros, please.”

  He pushed me closer to the door until my chest was plastered against it. “Please what?” He continued to rub me while he undid the top button of my dress, revealing my cleavage. I grasped his hand as he unbuttoned the next one, hand slipping inside of my top. He trailed his fingers across my bare skin and over my nipple. “Not wearing a bra tonight?” he asked, shaking his head. “What did I tell you about teasing me? Do I need to teach you a lesson?”

  I shook my head. “No… Eros, please. I won’t do it again,” I said. He pinched my nipple, and a wave of pleasure washed over me.

  “You need to learn to be a good girl.” He unbuttoned the next button.

  “Stop, Eros. Somebody is going to see!”

  “Calm down and they won’t.” He undid one more button and my breasts fell out of the top. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to God that nobody was watching. He curled a hand around my neck and pulled me away from the door to gaze at my reflection in the glass.

  I watched his fingers dance across my skin, from breast to breast—toying with my nipples. Then he pressed his lips to my ear. “You’re craving my cock, aren’t you?”

  “No, I—I’m not.” I took a deep breath, my core clenching.

  He chuckled and pulled his hand off of me. I sighed and closed my eyes in relief, pulling my dress closed. Thank God that was over because I didn’t know what I would do if—

  My eyes widened when I heard the faint sound of a zipper. I didn’t have time to turn around before Eros lifted the back of my dress just enough for him to slide his himself underneath.

  Oh, my God. He was going to fuck me. Right here, in front of everyone.

  I clenched again, pressing my fingers into the glass window. He pushed himself against my wetness.

  The bus stopped again, and some others came on. Eros pushed me closer to the door as people pushed into him.

  “Eros, please, someone will see!” There was no way in Hell that someone wouldn’t see us fucking in the middle of a crowded bus. But when I looked around, everyone was staring lustfully at the demons disguised as humans.

  He wrapped his hand around the front of my throat and pulled me close. “Tell me that you want it,” he said. But I wasn’t going to beg in front of everyone and risk someone finding out, so I sucked in a deep breath and hoped that this ache in my core would suddenly disappear. “Beg for me,” he said, rubbing his fingers roughly against my clit.

 

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