Origin

Chapter 24

Daemon

My arms tightened around her as I waited for her answer. Not that I really believed she’d turn me down. It wasn’t about that. I wanted to make sure she was ready after everything. Last time, she hadn’t been ready, and it hadn’t just been the headlights. If she wasn’t, it’d be okay. Holding her all night would be just as amazing.

But I’d need a cold and really long shower.

Because having her in my lap, with the softest part of her pressed against the hardest part of me, was testing my self-control and had me turned on like no one in and beyond this world could.

Kat lifted her chin, her eyes locking with mine. Everything I needed to see, needed to believe in was in her eyes. “Yes.”

I wasted no time after hearing that one little word. Doing this, being with her in every way that I could, wouldn’t replace all the terrible things that had happened, but it was a start.

“Hold on,” I told her, and then I captured her breathy response with a kiss.

She circled her arms around my neck as I gripped her hips. As I stood, her legs clamped down on me, and I bit back a groan. Surprised by the fact that I was even attempting to make it to a bed, I never took my mouth off hers. Kissing her. Drinking her in. It wasn’t enough, could never be enough.

I carried her into the house and through the many useless rooms that would never, ever end, it seemed. She giggled against my mouth when I bumped into something that probably cost a small fortune. I found the stairs, climbed them without breaking both our necks, and found the bedroom I’d deposited our stuff in earlier.

Kat reached out, slapping at the air until she found the edge of the door and closed it behind us, just as I caught her lower lip with my teeth. A little nip, and the sound she made boiled my blood. I was going to combust before anything got started.

I turned us toward the bed, lifting my mouth from her warm lips. I wanted to strip the sheets and comforter and find richer, suppler coverings that were worthy of Kat.

She pressed a hot little kiss against my pounding pulse.

Screw finding better sheets.

I placed her down on the bed, moving slower than my body demanded. She sent me a tiny smile, and my heart turned over in my chest as I knelt on my knees before her. Our eyes locked.

My pulse pounded fast, feeling it in every part of my body. “I don’t deserve you.” The words came out before I could stop them. They were the truth. Kat deserved the world and then some.

Leaning forward, she placed her hand on my cheek, and I felt the touch through every cell in my body. “You deserve everything,” she said.

I turned my head, kissing her palm. So many words came to the tip of my tongue, but when she stood and reached down, hooking her fingers under the hem of her dress, my heart stopped, and the words died in the silence between us.

Kat lifted the dress over her head and dropped it onto the floor beside me.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even get my lungs to function. Thinking became almost impossible as I stared up at her. She consumed me. Wearing nothing but a thin scrap of cloth, her hair tumbling down her shoulders and over her breasts, she stood there, looking like some kind of goddess.

“You…you are so beautiful.” I stood slowly, my eyes following the slight flush down her neck. I grinned. “You’re really beautiful when you blush.”

She ducked her head, but I caught her chin, forcing her eyes back to mine. “Seriously,” I told her. “Absolutely beautiful.”

The tender, almost shy smile appeared again. “Flattery will totally get you everywhere right now.”

I chuckled. “Good to know, because I’m planning on going everywhere—and taking the scenic route.”

That flush deepened, but she grabbed at my shirt. I beat her to it. Tugging it over my head, I let it fall wherever her dress landed. For a moment, we stood there, separated by only a few inches. Neither of us spoke. A current of electricity filled the air, raising the hair along my arms. The pupils of Kat’s eyes started to dilate.

Sliding a hand around the nape of her neck, I gently pulled her toward me. Then we were chest to chest, and the shudder that rolled through her short-circuited my senses. Her lips parted the moment they touched mine; her fingers found the button on my jeans, and my fingers discovered the delicate string resting on her hips.

I guided her to the bed, and her hair fanned out around her like a dark halo. Her eyes were heavily hooded as she watched me, but I could see the dim white glow radiating from them.

Her stare burned me from the inside. I wanted to worship her. I needed to. Every inch. Starting at the tips of her toes, I worked my way up. Slowly. Some areas held my attention a lot longer. Like the graceful arch of her foot and the sensitive skin behind her knees. The curves of her thighs enticed me, and the valleys above beckoned me. The way her back arched, her rapid breaths, soft sounds, and how her fingers dug into my skin rattled my world. When finally I climbed my way up to her, I placed my hands on either side of her head.

Staring down at Kat, I fell for her all over again. Lost my heart when she smiled. Found a whole new purpose when she reached between us and touched me. I broke away long enough to grab protection. And the moment there was nothing between us, there was no more waiting, any intentions of selflessness vanished. My hands were greedy. I was greedy, and my hands were everywhere, my lips following their path. Our bodies moved together like there had been no time separating us. And as I stared down at her, my gaze traveling over her flushed cheeks and swollen lips, I knew right then that there’d never be a more beautiful, more perfect moment in my life than this.

I was drunk on her taste, on her touch. There was only the sound of our pounding hearts, until she called out my name, and I broke apart. The room was awash in flickering white light; I wasn’t sure if it was coming from her or me, and I didn’t care.

For the longest time, I couldn’t move. Hell, I didn’t want to move. Not with her hands sliding down my back, her breathing ragged in my ears. But my weight had to be crushing her even if she wasn’t complaining.

Lifting up, I rolled onto my side. My hand trailed over her rib cage, across her hip, and she turned in to me, wiggling so close that once again there wasn’t an inch between us.

“That was perfect,” she murmured sleepily.

I still wasn’t capable of speech. God only knew what would come out of my mouth at that moment, so I placed a kiss against her damp forehead. She let out a contented sigh, and then she dozed off in my arms. I had been wrong before.

There was not a more perfect, more beautiful moment than this. And I wanted a lifetime of them.

…

Katy

In the morning, our legs and arms were tangled together, and the sheet twisted around my hips. It took some ninja-stealth moves to wiggle free from Daemon. Stretching my arms above my head, I expelled a happy sigh. My body was one big pleasant ache.

“Mmm, that’s sexy.”

My eyes snapped open. Startled and exposed, I grabbed for the sheet, but Daemon’s hand shot out, catching mine. Fire swept across my face as my gaze collided with his forest-green one.

“What?” he murmured lazily. “You’re modest now? Don’t really see the point.”

Heat swept down my throat, and my skin prickled. Daemon kind of made sense. Modesty hadn’t been anywhere last night, but still. Early morning sunlight streamed in from the window. I tugged the sheet from his grip and covered myself.

He pouted, and it was ridiculous that he could do it and still manage to look sexy.

“I’m trying to keep the mystery alive,” I told him.

He chuckled, and the deep sound rolled through me. Shifting closer, he kissed the tip of my nose. “Mystery is overrated. I want to get to know every freckle and every curve on a personal level.”

“I think you did that last night.”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “That was just a meet and greet. I want to know their hopes and dreams.”

I laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s the truth.” He rolled then, throwing the sheet off him and swinging his feet to the floor.

My eyes widened.

Naked as the day he was born, he stood fluidly, totally uncaring that every inch of him was displayed. He raised his arms high above his head as he stretched. His back bowed, muscles popped and rippled. The indents by his hips tensed, drawing my attention for far too long to be decent.

Finally, I forced my gaze up. Our eyes met. “You know, there’s this thing called pants. You should try it out.”

He cast me a cheeky grin as he turned. “You’d be devastated. Just think, you get to see this every day from here on out.”

My heart did a trippy dance. “Your naked ass? Gee. Sign me up for that.”

He laughed again and then disappeared into the bathroom. Feeling way too warm, I closed my eyes. Every day? Like, forever? That had my tummy fluttering in all kinds of pleasant loops that had nothing to do with his current state of undress. Waking up next to Daemon, going to sleep beside him?

I opened my eyes when I heard the door reopen. He was rubbing his eyes, and I was staring at him again, like really staring at him in completely inappropriate places. It was like knowing you shouldn’t look at something, so your eyes automatically just want to go there.

He lowered his arm. “I think you’re drooling a little.”

“What? I am not.” But I might have been. So I tugged the sheet up over my face. “A gentleman would never point out something so unseemly.”

“I’m not a gentleman.” He shot forward, snatching the sheet from me. I held on, the playful struggle not lasting very long. “There’s no hiding. I caught you.”

“You suck.”

“At least I don’t drool on myself.” He tossed the sheet to the other side of the massive bed. His slow perusal caused my toes to curl. “Okay. I think I might be drooling right now.”

My face was going to burn off before breakfast. “Stop it.”

“I can’t help it.” He planted a hand on the other side of my hips and leaned in, brushing his fingers over my chin. “Got the drool.”

Laughing, I pushed at his rock-solid chest. “You have an overinflated sense of self-worth.”

“Uh huh.” He pressed down until our bodies were flush and his thigh was between mine. He supported his weight on his arms as he bent his head, brushing his lips against mine. “Kiss?”

I gripped his upper arms and gave him a quick peck. “There you go.”

He lifted his head, scowling. “That was the kind of kiss you give your grandma.”

“What? You want a better one?” Craning my neck, I put a little more oomph behind the kiss. “How about that?”

“Sucked.”

“That’s not very nice.”

“Try it again,” he said, eyes narrowing into lazy slits.

My breath hitched in my throat. “I don’t know if you deserve a better kiss after telling me the last one sucked.”

He did something truly remarkable with his hips, causing me to gasp. “Yeah,” he said smugly. “I deserve another kiss.”

Yes—yes he did. I kissed him again but settled back before the kiss could turn into something deeper. Daemon’s scowl went up a notch, and I grinned. “That’s all you deserve.”

“I strongly disagree with that.” The tips of his fingers drifted down my arm and across my rib cage. The featherlight touch continued over my stomach and farther south. The whole time his gaze was held to mine. “Try again.”

When I didn’t move, he did something clever with his fingers that caused my heart to pound against my ribs. I lifted my head, feeling dizzy and light. Brushing my mouth against his, I kissed him again, paying special attention to his lower lip. As I started to pull away, he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck.

“No.” His voice was low. “That was barely better. Maybe I just need to show you.”

I shivered at the heat in his stare. My entire body tightened. “Maybe you do.”

And he did—oh God, did he ever. Last night had been sweet and slow and mind-blowingly perfect, but this was something entirely different and just as heart-stopping. There was a razor edge of desperation to each kiss, to each touch. A rawness had built between us, increasing with every breath we took. Daemon moved over me and then inside me, turning the slow fire into a tempest that burned out of control. My hands grasped at him as the tension inside me unfurled, and the edges of his body blurred as whatever restraint he had snapped.

Neither of us moved for what felt like ages. Our hips still pressed tightly together. My arms locked around his neck. One of his hands lay against my cheek, the other curved around my waist. Even when he rolled onto his side, he brought me with him. He didn’t have much of a choice. I wasn’t letting him go. I didn’t want to. I wanted to press stop on everything and stay there, right there with him. Because I knew the moment we left this bed, left this room, an unknown reality waited. Serious stuff needed to be decided. Decisions that none of us could go back on had to be made.

But I thought about the every-morning thing—the forever. No matter what we faced, we would face it together. That made me ready.

“What are you thinking about, Kitten?” he asked, brushing the hair off my cheek.

I opened my eyes and smiled. “I was just thinking about the things we need to decide on.”

“Me, too.” He kissed me. “But I think we need to be showered and changed before we go down that road.”

I laughed. “True.”

“Have I told you that I love the sound of your laugh? Doesn’t matter. I’m going to tell you again. I love the sound of your laugh.”

“And I love you.” I pressed my lips to his and then sat up, taking the sheet with me. “I call dibs on the shower.”

Daemon rose up on his elbow. “We can always do it together.”

“Yeah, we’d end up needing a shower after taking a shower.” Wrapping the sheet around me, I scooted off the bed. “I’ll be back.”

He winked. “I’ll be waiting.”

…

Daemon

If I’d had any doubts about Kat being the perfect female before, all doubts would’ve been cleared up right then. She took a shower in less than five minutes. Remarkable. I hadn’t even thought that was humanly possible. Dee’s idea of a quick shower was fifteen minutes.

And then she came out, a towel secured under her arms, as she dabbed at her soaked hair. When she looked over at the bed, a pretty flush crawled across her cheeks.

Guess I could’ve put some clothes on, but then I’d miss that blush of hers.

Throwing my legs off the bed, I strolled over. As I passed her, I tweaked her pink cheek. Her face flamed even brighter, and I laughed as she muttered something very unladylike under her breath.

The bathroom was nice and steamy. As I stood under the showerhead, letting the water beat down on my face, I thought about last night, about this morning. My thoughts spun further back, to the first time I’d seen Kat walking out her front door, heading over to my house to ask directions. Even if I hadn’t wanted to admit it in that moment, she had sunk her claws into me, and I didn’t want them out.

At that point, my brain pretty much unloaded a bunch of crap on me. Bringing up memories I’d almost forgotten—of Kat arguing with me over the flower bed and refusing to go to the lake with me the day Dee had hid my keys. Like I had needed my keys to go somewhere. Even then I’d been looking for a reason to spend time with her. There were so many moments. Like when she went ninja on the Arum after homecoming. She had risked her life for me, even when I’d been nothing but a giant tool to her. And Halloween night? She would’ve died for Dee and me.

I would’ve died for her.

Where would we go from there? Not just where would we end up living or any of that crap, but both of us had and would sacrifice just about anything for each other. There was a next step involved. I thought about the car ride there, when I’d been staring at her left hand.

My heart did a funny thing in my chest, something between a panicked squeeze and an excited jump. I dipped my head back under the stream. Something was building in my chest, piling up until there was no denying what I wanted. My hands curled into fists against the tile.

Shit.

Was I really thinking this? Yes. Did I really want this? Hell yes. Was it probably the craziest thing I’d ever considered? Most definitely. Was it going to stop me? Nah. Did I feel like I was going to pass out? Only a little.

I’d been in the shower for more than fifteen minutes.

I was such a girl.

That panicked/excited feeling was increasing as I turned to the faucets, shutting the water off. My hand trembled a little, and my eyes narrowed.

I should really think about this.

Then again, who was I kidding? When I set my mind to something, I did it. And my mind was set. No pussyfooting around it. No point in waiting. It was right. It felt right. And that’s what mattered—the only thing that mattered.

I was in love with her. I would always be.

Wrapping a towel around my hips, I entered the bedroom. Kat sat on the bed, cross-legged in jeans and wearing her My Blog Is Better than Your Vlog shirt. Yep, that pretty much sealed the deal for me.

“So I was thinking,” I said, my mouth moving before my brain really caught up with it. “There’re eighty-six thousand, four hundred seconds in a day, right? There’re one thousand, four hundred and forty minutes in a day.”

Her brow knitted. “Okay. I’ll take your word for it.”

“I’m right.” I tapped my finger against my head. “A lot of useless knowledge up here. Anyway, are you following me? There’re one hundred and sixty-eight hours in a week. Around eighty-seven hundred and then some hours in a year, and you know what?”

She smiled. “What?”

“I want to spend every second, every minute, every hour with you.” Part of me couldn’t believe something that cheesy had come out of my mouth, but it was also so beautifully true. “I want a year’s worth of seconds and minutes with you. I want a decade’s worth of hours, so many that I can’t add them up.”

Her chest rose sharply as she stared at me, eyes widening.

I took one more step and then went down on one knee in front of her, in a towel. Probably should have put some pants on. “Do you want that?” I asked.

Kat’s eyes met mine, and the answer was immediate. “Yes. I want that. You know I want that.”

“Good.” My lips curved up. “So let’s get married.”