Page 28 of Demon Touched (The Demon Syndicate #2)

Nova

N ova couldn’t tell if she loved the way he said her name, or if she hated it. It rumbled in his throat and chest, vibrating through her and making every single nerve she possessed so incredibly sensitive.

“Say you’re mine,” he whispered, that strange, animalistic growl echoing through his words as he bit down on her earlobe.

“You’re so ridiculous.” Her usual attitude was missing though because he was unraveling her bit by bit.

Dex kissed her neck and her collarbone, drifting down to kiss her nipples one at a time before nuzzling the space between her breasts while softly demanding she say it , over and over.

When his lips reached her belly, Nova buried her hands in his hair, unable to think as he got lower and lower.

Nova thought she was going to come right out of her skin when Dex kissed one hip and then the other, but that was just the beginning.

His fingers slid over her core, spreading her wetness everywhere and she was so embarrassed that she covered her face with her hands. How did he make her fall apart so easily? All he had to do was look at her and everything started throbbing.

She wanted him in a way she’d never experienced before – in a way that actually terrified her because she didn’t think she’d ever get enough of him. How was she supposed to stop? Or would they just keep going until they fucked each other into a coma?

“Say it,” Dex demanded. Those words vibrated against her core when he kissed her clit.

Nova nearly came off the bed at the sensation. She gripped the sheets, and nearly bit through her tongue to keep from screaming. She couldn’t believe how sensitive and worked up she was when he’d barely even touched her.

“I’m yours,” she gasped. It felt like the words were ripped from her lungs when he bent down to nuzzle his nose against his center.

Nova could barely breathe as she took in the sight of him kneeling before her.

Dex gave her a pleased growl and she cried out when he licked her long and slow. She wrapped her legs around his head and Nova slid her fingers through his hair, arching into him even though she was already so overstimulated.

Dex gripped her thighs and fucked her with his tongue, sucking her clit and eating her out with such soft aggression that she felt like she was losing her mind. He was careful of his teeth and never once did he hurt her, but she found herself on the edge so fast her mind went completely blank.

The sensation of his tongue ring against her clit and the feeling of his fingers stretching her combined with his hot, sweet mouth…

Nova came so hard she nearly suffocated him with her thighs, crying out his name like that might get him to stop, but he feasted on her through the entire orgasm and there was a moment where she thought she might actually pass out.

Both hands were buried in his hair and nothing she did could get him to stop. He licked her long and slow, making her whole body shiver and shake.

He hummed his satisfaction and pulled back just enough to give her that wicked grin.

“Yes, Novalie, just like that,” he praised. “I want to see you fall apart all over again.”

Then he lifted her up, still sucking and licking as he moved her until she was on her back closer to the center of the bed.

Nova couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t stop shaking and Dex finally slowed down just so he could turn his head and bite her inner thigh hard enough to draw blood.

Her legs fell open to try and ease the sting and she gasped when he licked blood from her skin. He’d left a mark in a place only she could see…

“Dex.” Nova tried to pull him up, but he wouldn’t budge. He was too focused on kissing every inch of her thighs to listen to her, but at least it gave her some time to catch her breath.

Then he buried his face between her legs again and she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Stop—please stop,” she begged. “It’s too much.”

Dex froze and looked up at her with a flicker of concern.

“I need you,” she told him. “I want you.”

For a second he looked unsure, but his eyes were glowing so brightly she couldn’t help but smile.

Dex finally moved and the sight of him hovering over her was almost more than she could handle. His bare chest was mouthwatering but she couldn’t look away from his eyes, not when they were blazing with his feelings for her.

“Novalie.” Dex kissed her jaw and then laced his fingers through hers. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

His deep voice made her shiver and she almost couldn’t remember what it was she even wanted. “I thought you said you wanted to make me scream.”

Dex grinned and she watched with wide eyes as a ward went up around her apartment. “I don’t want the neighbors calling the police.”

Then he kissed her again, making it impossible for her to talk.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m falling in love with you, Novalie.”

She froze as she tried to process what he was telling her and Dex pulled back, searching her face with a worried look in his eyes. Nova found herself staring into his mismatched gaze and she could see the truth of his words staring back at her.

All these feelings…it was almost more than she could handle. Nova didn’t know how to process them after so much nothing.

“Novalie, are you okay?” Dex asked.

She realized she was crying and hadn’t even noticed. Nova tried to figure out what it was she was experiencing but she was just too overwhelmed.

Dex released her wrists and pulled her into his arms as he moved, holding her tight. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she managed, hating the way she sounded thanks to the lump in her throat. “It’s just…a lot.”

The emotions made her entire chest ache and she could feel it in her throat like when she needed to cry, but her eyes were already doing that thanks to the overload.

How was she supposed to make sense of this?

She’d felt physical reactions to emotions before, especially anger, but this was different. It was all so difficult to explain and Nova had only recently figured out she could feel anything romantic at all – that she could connect to someone the way she had with Dex.

And now…

“You love me?” she asked, hoping that it might help if he said it again.

“I do.” The way his arms tightened around her made more tears spill down her cheeks and Nova honestly didn’t know how to respond.

Did she love him?

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.” His lips brushed against her hair and she gripped his arm tight with both hands.

“I’m not sad,” she finally said. “I just…” Nova trailed off, not really sure what to say. “I think I’m just overwhelmed.”

Dex chuckled and kissed the tears from her cheeks. “It took me a while to admit it to myself, but once I knew for sure, I had to tell you.”

She turned so she could see his face, studying every line and curve, the way his hair fell into his eyes, and how the golden-brown flickered with hints of who he was underneath.

This man loved her, and she could barely comprehend what that meant.

“I’ve never felt this way before,” she admitted. “So, I feel a little stupid.”

“Don’t.” Dex kissed her forehead and then her mouth, distracting her with his tongue. “I know this is all new for you, so I don’t expect you to say anything back. I just needed to tell you.”

When he pulled back, she felt dazed and all she could see was the hellfire and divine power flickering in the darkness. Nova let him hold her as she sifted through the ocean of emotions that she was drowning in.

“Dex…I don’t know if I love you or not, because this is nothing like what I feel for my parents and cousins, but I can try to explain.” She turned in his lap so she could face him, studying his eyes and how they looked at her with such kindness.

He’d always been soft with her despite everything he was. Dex had taken care of her. He’d protected her—even from herself. The connection between them was deep and felt…permanent.

Even if things didn’t work out, Nova knew these feelings for him wouldn’t disappear.

“The first time I saw you, the shadows were worshipping you,” she whispered as she traced where she’d seen them.

“They clung to you in ways I’ve never seen before and when I finally saw your face, I remembered thinking how you had eyes so beautiful I could get lost in them. And I guess—I guess I did.”

Dex’s hands tightened on her waist but he didn’t interrupt as she considered everything she’d been trying to ignore since that first night.

“It’s not just that I lost myself in you…

I became obsessed,” she admitted. “All I want is to make you smile – for you to feel the way I do when I’m with you.

I want you to feel cherished, protected, safe and…

happy. I’ve never cared about anyone like this before, and I never thought I could feel this way. ”

“You made it sound a lot prettier than I did.” Dex’s voice was husky and full of emotion.

Nova hugged him, understanding how hard it was to accept all this.

It wasn’t just the complicated logistics, or the fact that none of it made any sense, but why —how?

“I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you,” Nova murmured as she ran her fingers through his hair. “But it scares me.”

Dex sighed and ran a hand up and down her back soothingly. “Like it could all be taken away at a moment’s notice.”

She nodded. That was exactly it. “It happened so quickly and it’s so…intense.”

“So why couldn’t it end the same way?” He kissed her shoulder and she felt relieved that she wasn’t the only one who felt like that.

It made her feel a little less crazy.

“But Novalie…you’re a once in a lifetime kind of thing,” Dex told her. “There’s no way I can let you go anymore.”

The lump in her throat grew until it felt like it was choking her.

“I’m going to fight for you,” he promised. “No matter what that looks like.”

Nova reached for him with shaky hands. What he was offering her was something she hadn’t thought existed, but now that she knew it did, Nova had no intention of letting it slip through her fingers.

“Together,” she murmured as she pulled him down to kiss his cheek. “We’ll fight together.”

Dex pulled the blanket up and over them both before rolling to the side. His lips against the back of her neck were soothing and arousing. “You should get some sleep. I’ll make you scream later.”

If she wasn’t so exhausted, she would have insisted on doing more, but Nova felt the warmth of him wrap around her just as heavily as the blanket.

Dex pulled her closer until he was on his back and her head was resting on his chest. She threw her arm over his chest and closed her eyes as he gently stroked her back.

The last thing she wanted to do was fall asleep, but his touch was so soothing. Dex somehow knew exactly how to capitalize on just how tired she was, and Nova was so comfortable, warm, and relaxed that she was already half asleep.

“Good night, Dex.”

“Good night, Novalie.”