Page 81 of The Devil's Trials

I press my lips together to stifle a quiet laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like Harper.”

He offers a warm, genuine smile that makes a soft dimple appear, and it almost has me forgetting that none of this is real. Maybe that’s why I don’t move away when he comes closer, sitting on the side of the bed and angling his body toward me as he toes off his shoes. His eyes flick between mine, and the longing in them urges me to close the distance between us. My pulse ticks faster, and I swallow, trying to ignore the faint throbbing at the apex of my thighs.

Xander licks his lips, and I watch the movement too damn closely. I can’t even pretend I didn’t, so when he smirks, I just shake my head, exhaling an uneven breath.

“This is a bad idea,” I murmur.

He leans toward me, his breath skating across my cheek in a featherlight caress. “What’s that?”

My eyelids flutter, and it’s suddenly a challenge to keep them open. To deny what my body craves even while I’m unconscious. “You know what.”

Dipping his face, his lips brush my neck, his stubble lightly scratching the delicate skin just below my ear. “Hmm, I don’t think so.” The amusement coating his words like sweet honey only fuels the fire burning hotter in my core.

“Xander,” I say in warning. It’s more for me than him. Because if we cross that line again, I fear it will mean something different this time.

“Tell me to stop, and I will.” There’s a challenge in his voice. He knows I’m still drawn to him. That I still long for him in ways I can’t explain.

My heart thumps in my throat, and I can’t make the words form on my tongue. I close my eyes, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip for a moment before I whisper, “This is a dream…It isn’t real.”

He pulls back and lifts his hand to snag my jaw, tipping my head back to meet his gaze. “What about this doesn’t feel real to you?”

I stare back at him, hating that I don’t have any room to respond, because his point landed exactly where he intended it to. Everything about this dreamscape feels dangerously real, most notably the longing and desire filling my veins like electricity.

Xander rests his forehead against mine, sliding his fingers from my jaw into my hair, where he cradles the side of my head. “Will you continue to deny yourself what you want?”

It’s called self-control, and I’m quickly losing my grasp on it.

As if on cue, the pulsing at my core grows stronger, more impossible to ignore. My pulse continues its wild pace, and before my thoughts can spiral further out of control—becausewhat the fuck am I doing?—I grab the front of his shirt, wrinkling the cotton in my grip. “Just so we’re clear, this is a one-time thing.” Even as it leaves my lips, I don’t believe it.

Xander’s responding chuckle tells me he doesn’t either.

“We both know this doesn’t work in the real world.” I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince him or myself. Regardless, I have little faith in the effectiveness of my words. We both want this, to get lost in each other, even when it’s devastatingly fleeting.

In the space of a heartbeat, Xander moves onto the bed, bracing himself over me, his hair falling forward as his gaze meets mine. My legs are trapped between his thighs, and my heart thunders in my chest. He leans in, his lips level with my ear when he murmurs, “As you so cleverly pointed out, we’re not in the real world right now.” He kisses the pulse at my throat, stealing my breath, and my fingers slide into his hair, tugging gently. I guide him to my mouth, where our lips meet in a searing kiss that all but assures mutual destruction. And there’s not a single fiber of my being that cares.

I kiss him hard, not caring if our lips are bruised in the process. I put every ounce of anger and fear and longing into it, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him onto me so our bodies are flush. The weight of him on top of me sets my skin on fire with need, and when his knee presses between my legs, it takes everything in me not to grindagainst it like some wanton fiend. With only a thin layer of silk sheets between him and the ache at my core, my head spins, making my thoughts hazy with lust.

His tongue darts out, tracing my bottom lip before pushing into my mouth and grazing mine. He deepens the kiss, his fingers sliding into my hair, while his other hand glides under my tank top. “Tell me you want this,” he murmurs against my lips, palming my breast.

As if there’s any room for denial at this point.

“Yes,” I whisper, warmth cascading over me as I arch into his touch.

Xander breaks the kiss and shifts down the bed, taking the sheets with him. When he realizes I’m bare from the waist down, his eyes darken with lust, making my stomach dip.

I fight the urge to cover myself—it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before—and swallow past the dryness in my throat as Xander wraps his hands around my ankles and slowly spreads my legs open, keeping his eyes locked with mine. My cheeks and chest flush with heat when his gaze drops to my core and he drags his tongue over his bottom lip. Sliding his hands up my legs, my skin tingles in their wake, and when his breath teases the most intimate part of me, a shiver races through me. I inhale shallowly, struggling to come to terms with how this dream feels so damn real. The most powerful demon in existence is between my legs, mere inches away from feasting on me.

His mouth closes around me, and my thoughts scatter. I grip the sheets on either side of me, pressing my lips together as I lose myself to the sensations he’s wringing from my body. His tongue circles and pulses, and when he eases a finger inside me while sucking the bundle of nerves nestled there, my hips jerk and a moan slips from my lips.

Xander plays my body like an instrument. Teasing and caressing in all the right places to bring me new levels of pleasure. I never want to leave this bed, this dream, this moment. I can’t think about anything except the feel of him, his tongue and fingers, and when my core tightens around him, I moan his name and fall apart with euphoria.

I force my eyes open in time to watch him lean back and catch my gaze, his lips, glistening with my release, curl into a devilish smirk.

Holy shit, that shouldnotbe as hot as it is.

My chest rises and falls quickly as I work to catch my breath, and Xander slides off the bed, undressing with a smooth grace that makes itimpossible to look away. His lean muscle ripples with the movement of removing his shirt and pants, and perhaps I should feel embarrassed by the way my mouth waters, but I don’t. Not here, not with him.

I do my best to keep my eyes on his face, but when he crawls over me, I can’t help when my gaze drops between us. My pulse kicks up as anticipation floods through me, and Xander chuckles, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips. He nudges my legs apart again to settle between them, and the blunt head of him teases my entrance.

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