Kassern (Archangels Creed) (14 page)

Troy stared at her lips.
"
S
omeone like you is valuable in the battle against evil precisely because you've seen it, up close and personal." He paused for a moment, closing his eyes. "But forget about that for now. It has nothing to do with what's happening here."

"What do you mean? Kassern told us-"

"I don't care what he told us." He leaned forward, seeking her mouth. The touch of his lips against hers was electrifying. "I want you." His whisper
ed declaration
drew a shuddering breath from her
, twisting tightly in her heart
.

He wanted her.
H
ow long had she needed to be wanted
in a good way
? T
he way a man should want a woman
? T
he way Troy
wanted her?

Troy's lips left her mouth, teasing down her jaw and onto her neck. He paused over the desperate pulse at the base, swirling his tongue
,
driv
ing
it
even harder. The heat of his mouth on her skin had an otherworldly quality, racing over and through her to touch and warm
all her
part
s
.

H
is hands skimmed over her back
and h
is light touch parted the clasp of her bra without effort
and she drew a
ragged gasp. Once more, he pulled back to look at her.

"Beautiful." His reverent whisper, combined with the heat of his gaze
on her
hardened nipples
stole her breath
. He used one forefinger to trace a path meandering around her breasts, coming ever closer to the tight peaks without touching.

Devyn thought her heart would burst with desperation if he kept teasing her. He must have mistaken her frustrated whimper for something else, because he withdrew his hand.

"I'm sorry." He dropped his hand to his lap. The sudden misery in his face took her breath. "I don't have the slightest damn clue how to do this right."

"What do you mean, do it right?" Was there a right way to have sex? If so, she'd never heard of it.

"Um… Well, I mean…" He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Damn it, I mean, I have no idea what to do. I know where everything goes, but, how can I be sure you'll enjoy it? I've heard-"

"
Just d
o what
ever
feels right
to you
,
a
s long as you're happy, I'm good."

He laughed. Actually
laughed.
He
tilted his head
and gave
her an appraising look. "You're serious?
Are you saying a woman can’t
truly enjoy making love?"

Devyn fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Of course not. Women enjoy it. It's just not… earth-shattering. Not like some women pretend it is."

His brow furrowed
, seeming disappointed with that information
. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Sad truth. I'm probably giving up hundreds of years of sisterhood, or something, telling you that. That's not saying it can't be fun. Just not like it is for guys." She almost felt bad for bursting his bubble. But maybe he wouldn't agonize over whether she reached some mythical climax so much that neither of them had any fun. And then they could go ahead and get Karly safe from Jake.

"Then why do you want to?"

Not shrugging took tremendous effort. She studied him, trying to decide what sort of answer would please him. "Honestly?" Surprisingly, she really did want to please him.

He nodded.

"I like you. I enjoyed when you kissed me, and I think you-"

He grinned. "You enjoyed it?"

"Um, yeah." She licked her lips
with a little smile
. "I think-"

Troy leaned in and took possession of her mouth once more. His arms went around her, drawing her close. He swept his tongue across the seam of her lips, probing, seeking entrance.

Pulse once more racing, Devyn parted her lips to accommodate Troy's new assertiveness. He teased her tongue into participation, gliding his own across it in a way that made her stomach tighten. One hand trailed down from her shoulder, across her chest, to skim across her breast before cupping it to fill his palm.

Her nipple throbbed insistently in his hot
hand
, anticipating something. He
closed
his fingers so her nipple crested between his index and middle fingers
,
entrapp
ing
the sensitive peak.
He
contract
ed
his fingers rhythmically, creat
ing
luscious friction that made her belly flip
-
flop erratically.

Caught up in the shockwaves emanating from her breast, Devyn almost failed to note when Troy stopped kissing her mouth. He ni
bbled
lightly at her jawbone, pulling her attention back to his lips. Trailing a few kisses and teasing little nips down the length of her neck, he arrived at her collarbone to tease the hollow above it with his tongue.

Electric shockwaves, unlike anything she'd ever felt, cascaded through her body and centered in her lower belly. Troy eased her down onto the bed, shifting position to bring his body slightly above her. Her heart trip-hammered along, threatening to either stop or beat its way free of her chest.

How could Troy go so blindly forward? What compelled a man sworn to celibacy to have sex with a whore he'd barely met at the first demand of a creature claiming to be an angel? He couldn't have the slightest idea whether she was healthy or not.
"
What about a condom?
"

Troy paused then sighed.
"
Sorry,
of course you
'
d want—
"

"
Not for me, for you. I can
'
t get pregnant but you should at least be concerned about dis—
"

Troy
'
s hungry mouth stifled her words.
Between
breathless
kisses, he whispered, "
Tell it to the angel
.
Something tells me he considered all of it.
"

Devyn
'
s heart constricted as she watched his hungry kisses
continue to the upper curve of her breasts. An odd sort of tension built in her stomach. "You
ar
en't
worried
?"

His mouth was suddenly on hers again.
"No. I
'm
more concerned with this." He brushed one finger in a feather light touch across the tip of her nipple.

Bolts of energy flew throughout her body, making her muscles quiver and her heart pound. Her stunned gasp brought a brief smile to his lips, before his tongue followed his fingertip, circling her areola with a touch so light she almost wondered if she imagined it. The sudden heavy fullness of both her breasts might have alarmed her if the sensation wasn't so delicious.

When Troy applied gentle suction and drew her entire nipple into his mouth, Devyn actually cried out at the unexpected pleasure.
Lips,
tongue, and teeth all combined efforts to push her to the brink of something huge and unknown. Fear sought to drive her back, to ask him to stop. She resisted the cowardly desire to back out, even as her heart pounded her ribs with bruising force.

Troy withdrew his mouth, allowing the air to cool her damp skin, tightening it even further. "Stop thinking. Just feel." His mouth settled on her other nipple while one hand skimmed across her belly. When he reached the waistband of her jeans, he teased one finger under the edge.

Devyn exhaled sharply as her belly contracted, creating more space between her skin and the waistband.

Troy slid his entire hand, palm down, into the gap, until his fingertips encountered carefully trimmed hair. Devyn shifted unconsciously, hips tilting and thighs parting, to allow him further access. Troy's breath hissed between his teeth as his fingers found her moist heat.

Devyn's body throbbed, centered deep inside her, in a hidden, untouched place. She moaned and arched her hips toward him, seeking more intimate contact.

A low growl escaped Troy's lips. He stood
then
, stark desire evident in the sharp angles of his face, his entire body poised in readiness. Without a word, he unbuttoned and unzipped, letting his jeans fall to the floor. His hard-on throbbed, clearly visible in his snug briefs.

Devyn met his hot gaze as he pushed the underwear down his hips, allowing his cock to spring free. Her breath caught in her throat and moisture flooded throbbing folds in private. The heavy fullness of her breasts spread to include her pelvis. A tiny, hidden bundle of nerves twitched, hard and restless. Her jeans felt too tight, uncomfortable and confining, so Devyn opened them with trembling fingers and lifted her hips to shove them down her legs and onto the floor.

Troy
'
s
imposing erection twitch
ed
in readiness, those forest eyes filled with unfamiliar torment. His gaze crawled up and down her body until his handsome face seemed pained and his muscular body quivered. Devyn swallowed, wondering if maybe he didn
'
t like what he saw.

He returned his gaze to hers and her heart raced. She recognized the powerful temptation to make small talk for the coping mechanism it was. Far easier to joke about the weather and erase the sudden urgency in his eyes than to deal with intensity of the moment.

Holding her gaze tight with his, he lifted her foot and placed a kiss on the arch. He finally turned to see the skin he tasted and then glided his finger along her calf, into the hollow behind her knee, then back toward her ankle. His lips slowly followed the path his hand traced and Devyn couldn't decide what affected her more; how he
'
d gazed at her leg like a sacred, cherished thing, or the way his full lips looked and felt as they pressed softly onto her skin.

That feeling between her legs thickened when his fingers went ahead of his lips down the inside of her thigh. Devyn
'
s hands remained next to her head, fisted and locked in the same rapture as the rest of her body. This wasn
'
t part of the
w
h
am
-
bam
-
thank
-
you
-
ma
'a
m
sexual scenario she
'
d imagined. His eyes fell closed as his palm stroked the soft satin of her inner thigh like he w
as
a blind man seeing with touch. And lips. And tongue. Damn, how could something so little feel so good?

She gasped when his fingers grazed her short pubic hair. Troy
'
s hot breath heated her leg and worry filled his brow as he opened his mouth wider and gently bit the muscle just inside her knee
all while
those fingers continued to explore the entire shape of her limb, slowing to a snail crawl when it neared her privates. Like he wanted to go further but wasn
'
t quite ready yet. He was making her crazy with need she
'
d never felt before.

Troy groaned and lowered to the floor on his knees and Devyn lifted her head to see why. The vague worry that he was stopping
for
prayer dissolved when he slid his hands up both her thighs. H
e moved closer until h
er shins touched his chest and he
nudged
her legs
apart
.

Oh God. She was so not used to
such gentleness
.

Locking his gaze on hers, he stroked along her thighs. Goosebumps covered her flesh, making her nipples tighter. Troy
'
s gaze dropped to the rapid rise and fall of her breasts and the
desperate
look that came over his face made Devyn whimper
acknowledgement of the level of his restraint
. He suddenly stroked over her hips and wrapped his hands about her waist. Before she could wonder over the firm purpose in his fingers, he pulled her to him in one smooth move.

Devyn gasped, not altogether sure what he had in mind. Surely not what she thought. Surely…

Troy
'
s head lowered between her legs and Devyn clenched her eyes. She
'
d had oral sex once, and it wasn
'
t all that. Really more embarrassing and uncomfortable than anything.
"
You don
'
t have to do this… I mean, it
'
s not necessary.
"
She barely recognized her voice without all the strength she
'
d meant to put in her words.