Page 57 of Demon with Benefits (Hell Bent #3)

At night, she would cuddle against him and make adorable little humming sounds.

When they spooned in bed, she would wriggle her butt as close to him as she could get and purr when he pet her soft skin.

Her hair felt like silk, and fucking her was better than Heaven.

He’d never been to Heaven, but he still knew it was better.

“What changed?” she asked, propping her chin up on his chest. The mascara brush was gone, and he figured she’d dropped it on the dresser before she tackled him.

“Nothing changed,” he said. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Of course I love you. I just... didn’t put it together until right now.” He winced. “Sorry.”

She slapped his chest lightly. “Why are you apologizing?”

“’Cause I suck at emotions.”

“I don’t give a shite. You’re bloody perfect, and you’re mine, and you just told me you love me, and I love you too. Enjoy the moment.”

He knew she meant business because her Irish accent was coming out. He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled. “I like your shoes, by the way.”

“I like your dress.”

“I like your hoodie too. It matches perfectly.”

“I like your naked body, and if you don’t get off me, I’m going to take that dress off and fuck you until you’re screaming.”

Her eyes darkened, but she scrambled off him quickly. “You are not going to be late for your own art show.”

But it was too late. He’d already gone places in his head.

He was lying on his back on the bed, and Iris was now standing in front of him.

Her blue dress was making him crazy, and so were the sexy high heels she had on.

Her legs looked amazing, and the tattoo peeking out from under the hem was like an invitation for him to lift it and see what was underneath.

She watched him, and she knew him well enough to know where he was going in his head.

“Meph, no.” She wagged a finger. “We don’t have time. Jacqui will kill us if you’re late.” She spun around and walked away, and that sealed her fate. There was no way he could resist her hips swaying in that dress.

In a flash, he was off the bed and coming up behind her. He picked her up, spun around, and dropped her face first on the mattress.

“Sorry, sweetness, but it looks like we’re going to be late for the party.”

“Meph—!”

He slid his hands up her thighs to her ass, pushing the dress up with them, and he groaned when he saw what was underneath. A black lacy thong and thigh-high stockings. He slapped her ass just to watch the flesh jiggle, and they both groaned.

“Meph, damn it.”

He gripped her hips and ground himself against her through their clothes. “You can’t resist me.”

“You’re such an arse! We need to go.” But she wasn’t fighting his hold on her.

“I’m going to pull down this sexy little thong and touch your sweet pussy. If you’re wet, I win. If not, we can go.”

She groaned, and he knew he’d already won.

“Good girl.”

“Shut up.” It came out as a moan, and he hadn’t even touched her yet.

But he was about to. And because he was a demon and therefore a devious fucker, he decided to surprise her. He’d been waiting for the right moment, and he suddenly decided that this was it.

Sliding the lace down her hips to mid-thigh, he pushed her legs as far apart as the stretched-taut fabric would let them go. It was far enough—her pussy lips spread open for him, revealing that glistening pink flesh that made him nearly mindless with lust.

Then, he shifted.

Or half shifted, rather. Since that fabled night in Hell, he’d been practicing.

In that cave with Iris, Meph’s demon had finally understood that there were some things that human-form Meph could do that demon-form Meph couldn’t. And some things were better together. Sharing was caring and all that jazz.

Now, the more he let his demon out instead of fighting the shift, the more his demon accepted that being in human form was okay too.

The two of them had reached an accord of sorts. They were still separate, but they both agreed that some moments were better experienced by one form over the other.

And some were best experienced by both.

Opening the cage of the monster inside him, Meph allowed him to emerge on his own. Immediately, his demon started to rise to control the shift and take over, but Meph quickly filled him in on the situation.

He told his demon to look at how hot the delicious female in front of him was. He reminded him of how much fun they’d had together in that cave—didn’t he want to repeat that again?

His demon couldn’t talk to him the way Meph could when their roles were reversed—because he didn’t talk at all—but he felt the dark agreement settle inside him, allowing Meph to maintain control of the shift.

But in this halfway form, it was a surrender for both of them.

His lips curving, Meph let the change wash over him. His skin morphed to gray and his claws slid out of his fingertips—not that convenient for sex, but he hadn’t mastered his control of shifting enough yet to get rid of them. But who needed fingers when he had his ultimate weapon?

His mouth stretched wide, his teeth sharpening into deadly points. And then he parted them and unfurled his tongue.

Anticipation building, he bent and speared the tip through Iris’s soft flesh, seeking the heated core of her. She gasped, her spine arching. The salty-sweet flavor of her arousal coated his tongue, and his demon gave a snarl of approval.

“ Wet. ”

His voice was a distorted rumble. He hadn’t quite figured out how to talk properly yet, since his demon side was mostly nonverbal.

Iris had twisted around on the bed to stare at him over her shoulder, her eyes wide. “Oh my god, Meph.”

Satisfaction filled him on the most primal level. She was aroused by the sight of him, not just by what he could do with his tongue. She liked his strangeness, she liked seeing him lose control and unleash the dark part of himself.

He was going to reward her for that.

Bending again, he spread her flesh apart, his deadly claws close to her soft center.

But she didn’t flinch or pull away; she trusted him to bring her only pleasure.

His tongue wandered out from his mouth like a wayward tentacle, and he slid it lazily along her core, reveling in the taste of her and the way she surrendered to him.

He rubbed it against her clit, pressing back and forth in languid strokes. She leaned into him, pushing her hips into the pressure, until she was practically riding his tongue, her moans and curses muffled against the bed.

“Let me... lie on my back,” she panted.

He growled. He didn’t want to cede control. He wanted to decide how to take her, how to position her, how to possess her.

“I want to see you.”

The demon liked that. He’d been hiding for so long, buried under fear and self-loathing. He wasn’t capable of love per se, but he was capable of possessiveness. Iris was his. His to pleasure and own. He wanted her to see him and know who was taking her.

Meph retracted his tongue and flipped her over onto her back.

Now it was she who lay flat while he stood at the edge of the bed.

Pushing her legs together, he slid her underwear the rest of the way down and tossed them away.

He let her keep on the high heels and stockings because they were hot as fuck.

Then, stooping slightly, he gripped her thighs, pulled her legs open, and unfurled his tongue again. There was a foot of space between his head and her core, which gave him a perfect view of the pleasure filling her face when he teased her clit with it.

He went faster, sensing her pleasure building, and he watched her eyes go heavy-lidded and her head tip back. But she never stopped watching him. She never looked away from what he was doing to her, and this pleased him.

He rewarded her by plunging his tongue inside of her, pushing through the slippery barriers of resistance. She moaned, throwing her head back.

Keeping his fingers straight to avoid nicking her with his claws, he slid his hand between her parted lips and circled her clit with the pad of one finger. His tongue kept fucking her in languid strokes. Her eyes were drugged with pleasure. “Fuck, Meph. You make me feel so good.”

She was a queen. A dark goddess he worshipped with reverence.

Deeper and harder he fucked her, his rubbing finger increasing the pressure, until her panting breaths became moans and cries. “Oh god, you’re going to make me come so hard.” He pushed further, knowing she could take it. “ Yes , like that. Oh, fuck —”

She cried out and erupted around him. More of that rich flavor coated his tongue and gushed around his fingers. Her inner muscles clenched spasmodically around him, squeezing again and again.

The second she finished coming, he was on her. Tearing his hoodie off and shoving his pants down, he aligned his aching cock and pushed inside. Her tightness resisted him, but she wrapped her legs around his hips and forced him to push deep with one brutal thrust.

Sheathed inside her, he could feel the remnants of her orgasm still pulsing around him, the pleasure exquisite enough to make him mindless. Watching her with eyes he knew glowed with the demon’s hollow stare, he rolled his hips, withdrawing and then pushing as deep as he could go.

Iris dragged her hands up his back and then cupped his face. “Meph.”

She met his gaze with a tender expression. There was no revulsion for the half-demon face that looked back at her. In her eyes, he saw nothing but acceptance. Love.

The demon rose suddenly, taking control. His other side’s thoughts became a whisper in the back of his mind. The demon didn’t fully understand what his female’s emotion meant, but he felt a surge of possessiveness, dark and intoxicating.

“I see you,” she said, and he knew she was talking to him, to the creature of endless hunger. “I see you, and I love you too.”