Page 11 of Summoning Mr. Wrong
“Beautiful,” he said, running his hands over my now-bare chest. “I knew you were hiding something good under those hoodies.”
I felt myself flush. “I’m not—”
“Don’t,” he interrupted, placing a finger over my lips. “Don’t diminish yourself. I’ve seen every type of human body throughout history, and yours is lovely.”
Before I could argue, he bent his head and replaced his fingers with his mouth, trailing kisses down my chest. When he reached a nipple, he circled it with his tongue before gently biting down, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to my groin.
Holy shit.
“Sensitive here,” he observed, doing it again to my other nipple. “Good to know.”
I clutched at his shoulders, suddenly realizing he was still fully clothed while I was half-naked. “Your turn,” I said, tugging at his t-shirt. “Fair’s fair.”
Deus sat back, eyes glinting with amusement. “Want to see the merchandise before you commit?”
“Something like that,” I managed, though we both knew I was already fully committed to whatever was happening.
With a theatrical flourish, Deus pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the full glory of his tattooed torso. I’d seen glimpses before, but never the complete picture. The tattoos covered every inch of his chest and abdomen, swirling patterns that seemed to move faster now, responding to his arousal or mine, I wasn’t sure.
I reached out hesitantly. “Can I touch them?”
“Please,” he said, his voice rougher than before.
The tattoos felt like normal skin under my fingertips, but they moved at my touch, swirling around my fingers like they were greeting me. It was the strangest, most erotic thing I’d ever experienced.
“They like you,” Deus said, watching my fascination.
“What do they mean?” I asked, tracing a particularly intricate pattern over his heart.
“That one? It’s the first time I witnessed two humans in love.” His expression softened momentarily. “Mesopotamia, about five thousand years ago. A farmer and a scribe who had nothing in common except how they felt about each other.”
“What happened to them?”
“They lived together until old age, against all social conventions.” His smile was almost wistful. “It was the first time I understood that humans could be extraordinary.”
The moment felt suddenly intimate in a way that went beyond physical attraction. I let my hand rest over the tattoo, feeling his heartbeat beneath it.
“And this one?” I asked, touching another pattern near his collarbone.
“Renaissance Italy. A forbidden affair between a nobleman and an artist.” His eyes darkened. “That one didn’t end as well.”
I traced the moving patterns, fascinated by the stories written on his skin. “So your body is basically a historical record of human desire?”
“Among other things.” He caught my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the palm in a way that made my breath catch. “But maybe the history lesson can wait.”
He pulled me forward into another kiss, this one hungrier, more demanding. His hands slid down to my hips, fingers dipping just below the waistband of my sweatpants.
“May I?” he asked against my mouth.
“Yes,” I breathed, lifting my hips to help as he slid the sweatpants down my legs.
Now I was just in my boxers, while he still had his jeans on. The power imbalance was both frustrating and thrilling.
“Your turn again,” I said, reaching for his belt.
Deus let me fumble with the buckle, his eyes never leaving my face. When I finally got it undone and popped the button on his jeans, he lifted his hips to help me slide them down.
He wasn’t wearing underwear. Of course he wasn’t.
