Page 82 of The Devil's Trials

He snags my chin, trapping my gaze with his. “You still want me?”

“Always.” The word tumbles from my lips before I even realize what I said. Xander’s eyes widen in time with mine, and he pushes into me completely, stealing my breath anew. I clench around the sudden invasion, reaching for him and bringing his mouth to mine. Our lips crash together, and he pulses inside me, groaning against my lips. I drape one arm around his neck and slide my other hand between us to work my clit as I adjust to the fullness of him.

“You feel so good,” he murmurs, trailing his lips along my jaw before he pulls halfway out and then thrusts back in with a shallow grunt.

“Keep going,” I urge, overcome by the all-consuming need to be undone by him once more.

“With pleasure.” He pulls back, then slams into me. Over. And over. And over, until I’m writhing beneath him, panting in between moans.

“Like that?” he checks in a voice deep with arousal, rolling his hips to hit a spot deep inside me that has my head spinning.

“Yes,” I breathe, “Don’t stop.”

“No chance in hell,mo shíorghrá.”

I race toward my second orgasm, my core tightening as it crests, and I hold him against me as pleasure explodes in my core. Crying out my release, I moan when his lips find mine again, quieting the sounds with a kiss that I feel all the way to my toes as they curl into the mattress.

Xander doubles his efforts, thrusting harder and faster as his breathing grows shallower. He breaks the kiss and buries his face in my neck as his body tenses, and he growls against my collarbone, announcing his own climax.

It takes a minute for either of us to move. Xander pulls out, making me shiver at the sensation it brings, and trails kisses along my shoulder, pushing down the strap of my tank top that miraculously stayed on.

“What’s this?” His voice is deep, curious.

“Hmm?” I ask hazily, my head still all warm and cloudy with post-orgasmic bliss.

“You have a tattoo?”

Realization dawns on me when he pulls back to look at my face. The other time I was naked with Xander I wasn’t exactly in a position where he’d see it… “Oh. Yeah. I forget it’s there sometimes.” The intertwined flowers on my back along my shoulder blade—a reflection of my and my sister’s birth months—was a spur-of-the-moment decision we made walking past a tattoo shop one summer in high school. It would’ve been a lot cooler if I didn’t have to call our mom and beg her to come sign the waiver. Danielle had been old enough, but I was still a minor. Even still, it’s one of my favorite memories.

Xander drops down beside me, and we lie on our sides, facing each other as I tell him the origin story of the floral ink.

“That’s nice,” he says softly.

I nod, smiling. “Don’t get any ideas, though. I don’t think Harper is there yet.”

He chuckles. “I still have hope I’ll win her over. I just need time.”

My brows lift. I can’t help but wonder what’s pushing him to continue trying to build that relationship. It begs the question of just how lost his humanity is if he’s willing to work for that connection. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re making strides.”

His lips curve into a small smile in response.

We lie in silence for a few minutes. My eyelids feel heavier with each blink, and I snuggle into the blankets around us, the pillow under my head feeling extra comfy.

Xander shifts closer and lifts his hand to my face, brushing his fingers along my cheek and using his thumb to tilt my chin up to look at him. “You’re mine,” he murmurs. “Soulmate bond or no, there’s no one else for me.”

My stomach dips, and I struggle to understand the sudden burning in my eyes or the urge to reach for him and echo the sentiment. But something stops the words from forming on my lips.

It’s undoubtedly true—I’m his as much as he’s mine.

And that has the power to destroy us both.

TTWENTY-ONEXANDER

“You still want me?”

“Always.”

That single word holds all the weight in the world, and I cling to it too fucking tightly as I get ready to meet Blake. I was supposed to be at his bar an hour ago to discuss the newest member of my council, but I slept through all of my alarms. Being with Camille inside a dreamscape for so long last night took more power than I’m used to exerting—and it was worth every second.

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