Eriq awoke to fingernails trailing down his abdomen and delicately scratching the hair on his pubic bone. A warm mouth was licking and sucking its way along his chest.
He inhaled when the hand cupped his sac and played with the thick skin. The scent of Sofia filled his lungs and soothed his mind.
One of her legs was slowly lifting to straddle him. He could feel wetness from her core on his hip. She’d woken up ready for him.
“I know you’re awake, Eriq. You’re very awake, especially here,” she joked, grasping his erection.
His eyes fluttered opened when she shifted her weight all the way on top of his, grinding against his rigid organ, trying to lodge it inside.
He grabbed her hips and held her still.
“Just going straight for it, this morning, huh?” he asked.
Sofia nodded enthusiastically.
“I don’t think so, Kitten.”
Her face fell, and Eriq felt like shit. She thought he was turning her down—as if he was even capable of it. He rolled them, so he could be on top.
“I think this morning I’d like to take my time with you,” he said, rolling his hips into her.
He could feel her cream as his cock slid against her mound. She was so damned responsive, getting wet before he’d even touched her.
“Please don’t make me wait,” she begged.
“To come? Or don’t make you wait to be filled with what you were trying to sneak into your hot little pussy a second ago?”
“Both. Either. Shit. I don’t know,” she whined.
“I tell you what,” he said, rubbing his velvety crown along her slit, “if you can come quickly on only the tip of my cock, I’ll let you have it.”
“And if I don’t?” she challenged.
He shrugged.
“I suppose I’ll still let you have it.”
Her chest shook, trying to hold in her laughter. Eriq returned a grin and she smacked his arm.
“You’re a terrible negotiator,” she giggled, “but I accept your terms.”
Eriq was laughing now, too. They were feeding off each other’s amusement. It dampened her sexual need yet warmed her heart.
Sofia’s mouth was stretched so tight by her smile, her face was starting to hurt. She pressed her hands to her cheeks in an effort to push her lips back in place. It made Eriq laugh harder.
His big body shook, and he lowered his head. He enjoyed her teasing. It was a new experience for him. The females he spent his time with did nothing for his psyche. Sofia nourished his soul. He wanted more of what she was giving him.
When Eriq lifted his eyes back to hers, she swore she saw white flames flickering behind the icy blue irises. Gone was playful Eriq—the sex god was back.
She could smell his spicy scent swirling around in the air. Intoxicating. Addictive. It blended with her own arousal. The mixture was so powerful she could taste it.
Eriq pushed a lock of hair away from Sofia’s face. Her beauty was devastating, compounded by her delightful personality, by her willingness to explore, and by her need to be dominated. She was catnip to a male like Eriq.
“I’m fucking crazy about you, Sofia.”
She blinked in surprise. Her eyes burned, filling with unshed tears. She had no idea why she felt like crying. She cherished his confession. Sofia was crazy about him, as well.
She couldn’t form words. So, instead, she did the only thing she could think of—she kissed him.
Forgotten was the silly negotiation from earlier. Eriq pushed forward, slowly guiding his length into her center. He dropped his body to hers, feeling her hardened peaks compress into his chest.
He bowed, taking one of her succulent pink nipples into his mouth, circling his tongue around it, then biting it. Sofia cried out, raising her lower body in quick, jerky movements. He could feel her fighting to control the pace, to increase the speed.
This time, he didn’t hesitate to dominate. He wanted it slow. She needed it slow, too, she just didn’t know it.
His teeth carefully grazed her skin from nipple to neck. He laved her throat, her lifeblood palpitated under his tongue. Eriq was entering and withdrawing agonizingly slow—and it made her pulse rush faster than it had any other time with him.
Eriq’s hot breath fanned across her sensitive ear.
“No, Koshenya. I told you I wanted it slow.”
Before she could protest, he took her mouth again. His tongue engaged in a slow, sensual taunt with hers, matching their languorous love-making.
This wasn’t fucking. At least, not to Eriq. This was more. It was connection. It was what had been missing from every encounter he’d ever had. It was … enough.
Eriq wanted to be enough for Sofia. He wanted to fulfill whatever need she may have, whether it be physical or emotional. He was falling fast. He could only pray he wasn’t in this alone.
Quin’s words to Vanessa came to Eriq’s mind. This was what his brother was feeling. This desperate need to possess, to have another want to be possessed.
Eriq was too far gone to ask her to stay. No, he’d demand it and leave no room for misinterpretation. He’d always been a straight shooter. He didn’t play emotional games. It wasn’t his style.
His hands found hers and he raised them above her head, holding them down on the pillow. He thrust hard and held it deep.
Sofia gasped, and he did it again.
He felt her internal muscles squeeze him like a vice. She was close.
“Stay with me, Sofia,” Eriq commanded, borrowing Quin’s words as he unleashed his power of persuasion.
It would have no mental effect on a fellow immortal, but she would feel the magic tunnel through her bloodstream, taking her to the height of pleasure.
“Eriq!” Sofia screamed in ecstasy, mindless, lost in the sensations of Eriq’s masterful strokes.
Eriq’s magic was a thousand tiny fingers brushing across her body. It pierced her skin and coursed through her blood. He was everywhere. Inside her womanly flesh, inside her head, rooting himself deep inside her heart.
“I’m not going to let you go, Koshenya,” he vowed.
She sobbed, hoping his words were true. Tiny flickers of doubt appeared but she locked them away, not wanting them to ruin this perfect moment.
Eriq might only intend to keep her for the duration of her visit, but she would take what he was offering. She would hold on to him for as long as he would allow it.
“Sofia,” he grated, wanting her to respond, to react to his declaration. “Did you hear me? You’re staying. With me. I won’t let you go.”
His words drowned her in bliss and her body responded by releasing again. She came with such force she wrenched his seed free.
Eriq shouted. Her internal hold was so tight he could hardly move. He continued to press as far into her as he could, allowing her contractions to milk him dry.
Heaven. He’d found heaven in Sofia’s arms.