Page 36 of The First Trial
But all of that fell away when my eyes flickered to the side, taking in the shirtless piece of purple man-meat at his side. When the Daemon saw me looking, his eyes caught mine and… darkened was too much of an understatement for what they did. No, theysmouldered. I was taken off guard by the sudden sexual tension that popped up between us, smacking me in the face with a force that should have knocked me on my ass. My clitpulsed at the erotic promises I found in his gaze, and I tried and failed to catch my breath.
Without warning, he prowled towards me like a predator approaching its prey. I felt trapped in his gaze, their depths hard to see in the dim light but no less electrifying.
His pace increased the closer he got, like he couldn’t wait one more second to reach me, and I should have felt the urge to run, but much like when the Fae cornered me with a blade against my neck, I was frozen in place with aroused anticipation.
My magic swirled inside me and shoved at my mental barriers as if it was just as eager to reach out to him, but I stayed where I was, patiently waiting for him to close the distance. Something big was happening here, and I didn’t know what it was, but I was ready to find out.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but in reality was only a few seconds, he was in front of me. He stood so close that if either one of us breathed a little deeper, we would be touching, but I held myself back, curious what he would do. I heard Oz asking if he needed to step in through our mental link, but it was like background noise. Still, I had enough sense left to send him reassurances that I was fine. My very soul screamed that this giant man would never hurt me.
He towered over me, his chin practically touching his chest while I tilted my head all the way back just to maintain eye contact, but there was something soothing about the position, like we had done it a thousand times already. This man felt familiar to me somehow. Not personally, of course. I’d never actually met him. It was more like our souls recognised each other, like this meeting was meant to be.
Qarinah’s silky, sultry voice almost broke through our little bubble, reminding me that we weren’t alone and that this wasn’t normal, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. He responded to whatever she’d said in a voice so deep that it vibrated throughevery atom of my being and caused the goosebumps to return, only this time they were from the sheer pleasure of the sound and the promise I sensed within it rather than the cold. If anything, I was overheating.
I felt more than saw Qarinah’s presence move away. My magic latched onto her, seeking answers. For what, I didn’t know, but I sensed she was sulking, though not actually upset at whatever was happening here, so I let it go.
And then he struck.
His lips latched onto mine like that was exactly where they were meant to be, soft and pillowy and utterly delicious. I ran my tongue along their seam, eager to taste him. He groaned low and deep in the back of his throat, the sound doing things to me I never even thought possible. Then, he thrust his tongue inside my mouth like he was trying to fuck me, its texture silky smooth and absolutely addicting. He tasted like sugar and a hint of spice, something completely foreign that I had no hope of guessing, but was utterly delectable regardless. I couldn’t get enough.
The closest I ever got to this feeling was when I fantasised about Hawthorne. Guilt suddenly stabbed through my heart, unwilling to let go of the man I had loved from afar for so long, even if we could never be, but it was quickly replaced by more lust when the Daemon man’s hands spanned across my back and pulled me closer. My hardened nipples rubbed against his bare chest through the fabric of my shirt, and I wanted nothing more than to remove it. I wanted it all gone. Nothing should have been between us, blocking our skin from making the connection we both seemed to crave with a fiery passion.
When we parted, both of us panting heavily as we fought to regain our breath, I looked around sheepishly, sure everyone would have been either annoyed, disgusted, or confused by our blatant display. Except no one was there, and the walls were a lot closer than before. We weren’t even in the same tunnel.
‘What the…?’
‘Where are we?’ the Daemon asked. It took me a moment to realise he’d spoken in English. My head whipped around to stare at him with wide, shocked eyes.
‘You speak English?’
He frowned down at me, confusion swimming in his lilac eyes. ‘I am not speaking thisEnglish. You are speaking the language of the Legion.’
I snorted in disbelief. ‘No, I’m not. I’ve never even heard of that before.’
A single, darker purple eyebrow rose up high on his forehead, an impressive feat I was sure Oz would have appreciated since his only went up so far. ‘And I have never heard of thisEnglishyou speak of. We seem to have found a way to connect so that we can understand one another. I won’t be complaining. Tell me, my soul flame, what shall I call you?’
Oh, Ilikedthat.
He stepped even closer, removing any distance between us and lowered his voice as he asked the question. I couldn’t stop the blush if I’d tried, my entire body heating up at not only his compliment but the way he was very successfully seducing me.
I giggled. ‘Well, you can keep calling me that if you want. That works for me,’ I grinned cheekily at him in an attempt to defuse some of the sexual attention. I genuinely believed I was at risk of combustion if he kept it up.
He returned my grin with a smirk of his own, his eyes heating up as they dipped back to my lips that were heavy and swollen from his kiss. ‘I can do that, but I still need your name, my soul flame.’
‘J-Juniper,’ I stammered, melting into him when my knees went weak and I could hardly hold myself up any longer.
‘Ah, yes. That is what your friends called out when you stepped through the portal.’
I blinked, taken aback by the sudden turn in conversation. I hadn’t expected him to already know my name, let alone know anyone I would call a friend, since I didn’t really have any… Wait. Hewassticking pretty close to Ozzie earlier. I wondered what that was about.
I cleared my throat. ‘Well, you know my name, and you’ve had your tongue down my throat. You should probably return the favour.’
His eyes flashed with heat, and he lowered his lips barely a breath away from mine. ‘I enjoyed tasting you, my beautiful soul flame. It is no hardship to do so again…’
I giggled again, high-pitched and breathy. ‘I meant your name…’
‘Phenex.’
‘Phenex,’ I rolled the name over my tongue, enjoying the way it tasted.
