Inspire (35 page)

“Too long to go without holding you,” I tell her. “I would dream about having you in my arms. Ache for it. Only to wake up back in a world without you. I would have given anything. I’ll
still
give anything.”

Her face scrunches up as if she’s in pain. “Wilder, every time you say something like that … it makes me want to run in the other direction. Don’t you understand that the last thing I ever want is to see you hurt.”

“I do. And the feeling is very much mutual. But I don’t want you here with me because I was able to distract you. Or because the way you feel about me made you give into temptation. I don’t want you to step out of this shower and decide you’ve made a mistake and try to leave me again. You’ve trusted me with your secret. Now trust
me
to know what’s best for me. You’ve done the worrying from the start. Hand it over to me for a while. The only thing you need to think about right now is whether or not you love me.”

“You know I do.”

“Then let me show you.”

I dip my mouth to hers, but before our lips touch she murmurs, “Your song. The one you sang tonight.”

“That was Rook’s idea.”

I kiss the corner of her mouth, then her jaw, and I brush my fingers up her side, mirroring what she did to me. I keep sliding up until my palm meets the curve of her breast, and then I put my lips to her ear and sing her the song how I wrote it. Not angry. Not hard.

I’m caught up, turned around

Inside out, and upside down

Just to know you, honey. All to know you.

Her hand slips up into my hair, and her lips meet my chest as I sing. I drag her closer, and our bodies rub together, wet and wanting. I let my hands do what I’ve been dreaming about, cupping her breasts, tweaking her nipples. I slide another between her legs, and she’s already hot and wet when I run my fingers through her folds.

She gasps, her mouth opening wider against my chest, tongue dragging over sensitive skin. She works her way farther up my body, and when her teeth bear down just for a moment at the base of my neck, I lose every ounce of patience in my body.

“Fuck, Kalli. I need to be inside you.”

“Yes,” she breathes, her mouth moving along my collarbone.

I grit my teeth. “I don’t know if I can be gentle. Not right now. Not with you wet and up against the shower wall.”

“So don’t be.”

I hiss out a breath when she sneaks a hand between us to circle my cock.

“You can still say stop,” I promise.

“I’m not going to.”

“But I’m in control this time. And I’m going to touch you. Every single inch.”

She pumps her hand along my shaft, squeezing tighter when she gets to the tip, and I decide she’s had enough warnings. I pull her off the wall and spin her so that her back presses to my chest. My erection presses into her lower back, resting just along the upper curve of her ass. I circle my index finger around the tip of one breast while my other hand dives between her legs. Her body arches against mine, and she rises up on her tiptoes, a soft cry escaping her mouth. I bend my knees and my cock slides down to the valley between her thighs.

“Put your hands on the wall.”

She does, pressing her ass back into me, while curving her back and tilting her head to look at me.

Fuck
, she’s gorgeous.

“You’re mine,” I say, unable to control myself. “I don’t care if you are immortal. As long as we’re alive, it’s you and me.”

“You and me,” she promises.

I reach down and adjust myself so that the tip teases at her entrance. She moans, rising on her tiptoes again and pushing back against me. I press into her slowly, and each tight inch makes me lose my breath. I curve a hand around her, stroking her clit, and she tilts her hips, opening herself up a little more. I pull out halfway, and then drive forward until her body is flush against mine.

Kalli’s hands slide on the wall, her body lurching forward so that she’s almost standing again, and the change in angle makes me shout. She’s squeezing the life out of me in the best possible way, and I lean forward, laying my hands atop hers on the tile. With my mouth at her ear, I say, “I’m going to fuck you now.”

She nods, whimpering slightly.

“I need to hear you. Tell me you want me to fuck you.”

“Please.” She wiggles her hips, but I’ve got her crowded too close to the wall to move beyond that. “I want you to fuck me.”

I grind my hips into hers, and her head falls back against my shoulder.

“Oh gods.”

I laugh. She’s said that before. The night we had our last shower together. I thought she’d just misspoken.

I must pause too long in thought because she wiggles against me, making a noise low in her throat. I trail my hands from her hands all the way up to her shoulders, then I follow the shape of her back until I get to the slight indent of her waist. My hands fit perfectly there, like we really were made for each other. I pull her back a little more, so that I can slide in and out of her easily. With my grip tight on her waist, I withdraw until just the head of my cock is inside her, and then shove forward. My legs slap against the back of her thighs as I repeat the motion. Kalli’s arms waver under the force until she starts to rock her body back to meet me.

It’s fast and hard, and Kalli meets me every second, right there with me. I whisper to her as we move, snippets from songs that I’d written for her, about her, because of her. Her body clutches at mine, reminding me again and again that this is
real
. She’s here.

Too soon, I feel my body tightening, on the edge of release, and shorten my thrusts, keeping my body close to hers. I bend, tasting a drop of water that sits in the valley of her spine, slipping my hand down again to press at the bundle of nerves to bring her with me. I circle my fingers softly as I rock my hips into hers. She clenches tight around me, and I curse, just barely managing to hang on.

“Come on, baby. I need you to come with me. You feel so fucking good around me. I can’t hang on much longer.”

She bucks into me, trying to get there.

“Don’t think I’m done with you. Once you come around my cock, I’m going to take you across the hall and lay you out across your bed. I’m going to drink every drop of water from your skin.” I curl a hand over her breast, squeezing in time with my thrusts. “I’ll start here,” I promise. “I’ll use my tongue and my teeth, and I make sure your tits know how much I missed them. Maybe I’ll tie you to the bed like I promised, so that I can have my fill of tasting you. I’ll push your thighs to the mattress and make you come with my mouth until you can’t anymore. Then I’ll push inside you again and work on proving you wrong.”

Her arms start to shake, drooping again until her body falls closer to the wall. I pick up the pace, pressing more firmly against her clit as I go.

“Wilder, oh, Wild—” she gasps, almost forming my name again. “I love you,” she whispers, and then her body grips me hard, pulsing around me tighter than I’ve ever felt. I push in deep, and when I circle my fingers on her again, she cries out, begging for something. Whether it’s to keep going or stop, I’m not sure. Her muscles contract again, and I give in to my release. I let out a hoarse cry as my body jerks forward, and for a moment, everything blanks out except the feel of my body inside hers. It feels like a miracle, and I know what she meant our first time together about never wanting me to not be inside her.

We just fucking fit.

I ease off that bundle of nerves, and her body pulses in time with mine, slower now, but each one curls around me, sending a rush of heat through the rest of my body. I lay my forehead against her back, slipping out of her as she leans more fully against the tile. I kiss up her spine, until I push her hair over her shoulder, and find the back of her neck. With my lips resting there, I say, “I love you, Kalliope.”

She starts to turn, and I lift up my sluggish body long enough for her to maneuver around to face me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she places a kiss on the center of my chest. “We’re going to be okay.”

I don’t know whether she’s saying it for her or me, but either way I’m glad to hear those words from her mouth. I lace my fingers through her hair, and pull her in until she rests against my chest.

“We’re going to be better than okay.”

When our heartbeats slow back to normal, we step under the showerhead again. The water has gone cold, so we rush to clean ourselves up. Kalli shuts the water off, and I pull open the curtain.

I take my time drying Kalli off, pausing every few seconds to taste a stray droplet on her shoulder or breast or stomach.

“We’re going to need another shower if you keep that up.”

I wrap a towel of my own around my waist, and follow her out the door. “I wouldn’t mind another shower. After a couple hours in your bed.”

I run into her just outside the bathroom and have to wrap my arm around her waist to keep us broth from falling.

“Kalli, what—”

Her posture is stiff against me, and I follow her gaze to what should be her empty living room.

Instead, an old man is standing there, long gray hair, gnarled beard, and the strangest pair of eyes I’ve ever seen.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kalli

“Wilder, go in my bedroom.”

His hands settle over my shoulders, long fingers covering the bare flesh above my towel.

“Who are you? What are you doing in here?” he asks the watcher, and I wince at his growled tone. I turn to him, even though putting my back to the watcher makes me queasy.

“Please, Wilder. Go dry off. See if you can find something to wear.”

His hard eyes meet mine. “And what about you? Come find some clothes with me.”

The man behind my back speaks for the first time, and I whip around to face him.

“I was kind enough to wait for you before,” he says, gesturing in the direction of the bathroom, and my cheeks flush. “I find that I’m not much interested in kindness anymore.”

I’d wanted to attract the Watcher’s attention, but now that I had it I was terrified. I never intended for Wilder to be anywhere near him. It was one thing to risk myself, but the man I love? My focus from the very beginning has been about keeping him safe.

“You know why I’m here?” he asks, his dangerous eyes flicking to Wilder.

I’d thought I would have to make a big splash to bring the son of Argus to me. I should have known better. Known he would see even something small like my confession to Wilder.

“I do.” I swallow. “If you could just let him go home, there’s something I’d like your help with.”

He drags a hand through his beard and smiles at me. My stomach turns ice cold. “You know that’s not happening, pretty one. And if you think I’m here to help you, you’ve not been paying attention.”

Wilder’s hands tighten on my shoulders, pulling me back against his chest.

“What’s going on?” he whispers against my ear.

“What’s going on,” the watcher answers, “is your little muse broke the rules. And I already warned her once.”

“This wasn’t like last time. There’s no one else around. And he’ll never say anything. There’s no risk.”

Those double irises flash. “You and I see risk differently. You can only see what’s right in front of you. I see it all. And now I see a foolish goddess who thinks she can keep a mortal. What happens when he grows older and you don’t? Will he stay with you then? Will he keep your secret? When he dies, will you find another little pet to keep you from getting lonely? Will you tell that human too? When I look at you, all I see are risks.”

“Not if you help me.”

His eyes narrow. “Does this have something to do with the little trips you’ve been making?”

I stiffen.

He continues, “I told you I’d be watching. Perhaps I should have stopped you before it ever got this far, your foolish attempts to pretend you’re something you’re not. But what can I say? I like to watch.”

I force myself not to react to his taunts. I’d been prepared for this. I needed to present my case, try to strike a deal. Before I can get a word out, he snaps, “I see you, mortal. You’re even more foolish than she if you think you can slip something past me.”

I whip my head around to see Wilder has inched to my side to lean on the kitchen counter, his hand creeping toward a knife. My eyes widen, and I grab his hand. “You can’t. He’s like me.” Scratch that. “He’s
more dangerous
than me.”

The watcher flashes his teeth at me in a mockery of a smile. “That’s right, pretty one. Keep a tight leash on your pet.”

“Enough,” I say. “If you’ve been watching me, you know I’ve been searching for other deities.”

He tilts his head to the side. “Is that what you were doing? I thought perhaps you’d gone mad after all.”

“I need to speak to my father. Or any of the originals. I’d like to give up my immortality.”

He laughs, a low chuckle that crawls over my skin.

“All for a pet?”

“Stop calling him that. He’s not a pet.”

His eyes scan over Wilder, who I can feel tense behind me. “Looks like one to me.”

“We’re fated,” I say. “Or is that outside your vision?”

He rolls his eyes at me. “I see the strings.”

I falter, swaying back into Wilder a little. His hands catch my hips, steadying me.

“You do?” It takes a long moment for me to recover from my shock. “Then you know why I need to be with him. We’re bound.”

The watcher sighs. “Pretty one, I see nothing but strings. Millions of them. I’ve seen the strings for the person you were going to stand in line next to as you got coffee, for who sits beside you in your frivolous human classes. I see the fate strings that are too small for you to feel. Every single one.”

“But this one isn’t small. I
can
feel it.”

“True.”

I wait for him to say something more, but he doesn’t.

“Can you help me? Just get me in contact. I’ll do the rest.”

“Why should I?”

“Because you won’t have to deal with me at all if I’m mortal.”

“You’ll never be mortal. You’ve far too many strings for that to be your fate.”