Page 24 of Oh No! There’s an Incubus in my Hot Spring (Getting Cozy with Demons #1)

twenty-four

A Gift in Return

I rene helps me make the best of the rest of the evening with games. Earlier, we’d hidden five tickets for an hour of exclusive access to the private pools in places where people should be going—except the bathrooms—and we encourage everyone to scavenge around while we play silly music through the speakers.

Apollo doesn’t come back, and by the time Irene leaves at nearly midnight, there’s a black pit of regret swallowing up my stomach. The door clicks shut and I wait, listening to her start her car and drive away.

“Apollo?” I call out.

He doesn’t appear.

I drop my head. “I’m sorry for the way I reacted. I was so caught off guard, and angry that he would come here, and even more angry that he won the giveaway.”

It’s quiet.

I look at Charlie. “Why won’t he just leave me alone?”

“I dunno, buddy.”

I kick off my shoes and flop onto the couch. “I’m sorry I directed my frustration at you. It was unfair, and I was being an asshole.”

I sigh deeply into the pillow and fight the urge to cry.

Talons scrape across my scalp, untangling my hair down my back, and send relief washing through me. I sigh again, but this time I can’t stop the tightness in my throat, or the burning in my eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I sob.

He shushes me, dragging his nails down my back. “You’re not an asshole. I understand how making a scene about something unrelated to the joy of the opening is going to inflame the media and detract from the focus you wanted. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to control myself.”

“I wanted to hurt him, too.” I huff and turn my head.

His eyes are dim as he watches me, thumbing away a tear on my cheek. “I know. I could feel it.” He smiles softly. “But enough of that. I made you something.”

I sit up and wipe my face on my baggy sleeve. “What is it?”

He stands, offering me his hand. “You’ll have to come see.”

I take his hand and he pulls me off the couch with a grin. We walk toward the kitchen and my brain turns over what he possibly could’ve made for me. A cake? Maybe pancakes?

He directs me to the blank mountainous wall under the stairs to the bedroom and places our hands against the stone. The blue tattoo circling his bicep slithers down his arm and lights up my palm with warmth and color. The magic shifts, its hue changing from blue to purple, then to a peachy orange-pink,“What is that?” I ask, staring at the strings of color wriggling their way up my arm.

“It’s your magic,” he says, stepping behind me. “You can show yours now, wear it like me, if you want.”

He grabs my other arm, threads his fingers with mine, and places them against the wall. The heat of his body and his magic warm me through, making my tears evaporate. The ground trembles and the grinding of stone rumbles beyond our palms.

His lips brush the tip of my ear and a chill races down my spine. “I’ve been planning this for a while, but your magic wasn’t strong enough until tonight.”

The wall groans and the vibrations ripple up my arms. An archway emerges, cut in winding designs that mimic the look of Apollo’s tattoos. Then the wall under our joined hands dissolves, leaving a long, dark passage before us. Colors twinkle in the distance, lighting up the end of the tunnel. It smells like the springs, and steam ripples out of the opening.

“It will only open for the two of us,” he says, wrapping our still-joined hands around my stomach until he’s hugging me from behind.

I take a step forward and Apollo releases everything except my left hand, trailing beside me. I touch the wall, feeling the smooth stone of the mountain hum beneath my fingers as I walk. I’m transfixed by the gleam of dazzling colors as we emerge from the thirty-foot passage.

It’s an enormous cavern made entirely of crystals that glimmer from small fires lit around the room. A passage at the back appears to lead up and out of the mountain, letting the smoke drift away on the wind. The three pools shimmer, tiny beads of steam swirling over the surface with the breeze.

Apollo grips my chin. “Breathe, lovely.”

I suck in a gasp and steady myself against his chest. “It’s incredible.”

“And it’s all yours,” he says, tucking my hair behind my ear.

“Ours,” I correct. “You made it for the two of us.”

“ We made it.” His eyes dance with mischief, and desire. I want to tumble down those depthless icy eyes and disappear in lust.

I step away from him and he releases me. I grab the bottom of my sweater and pull it up over my head, then shuck it to the ground. His gaze turns molten. I watch him watch me undress, reveling in the way his eyes track around my body. Not just my breasts, but my neck, my arms, my stomach. He’s devouring every bit of me like it’s all precious.

My thumbs hook my leggings, and I drag them down and step out of them, leaving me in just a tank top, and my panties—something special I’d worn just for him. A blue lace thong that matches his magic and his eyes perfectly.

“Take off your shorts,” I say, my voice quiet and shaky.

I know he can disappear them with a wave of his fingers, but he doesn’t. He grabs the waist and pulls them down, revealing himself to me like I’d done to him. I’d seen him naked months ago, but I’d pointedly avoided looking.

Now I look.

His hips create a sharp Adonis V that draws me to the mound of his pelvis where a raised and ribbed patch sits. It looks exactly like something I’d love to grind on. His cock is thick and slate gray like his skin, except the head, which shifts to a dark pink like his tongue. The tip is flared, and smooth nodules protrude in the veins along the top of his shaft.

Apollo grabs my chin and raises my eyes to his. He’s grinning. “Breathe, lovely.”

I suck down another gasp of air, but it doesn’t feel like enough. It’s not what my body craves.

I lick my lips. “Will you sit at the edge of the pool for me?”

He cocks his head as if I’ve presented him with an interesting puzzle, then nods. I watch his hips and tail as he saunters, the thick muscle of his ass rippling with each step. Fuck, he is gorgeous.

When he’s seated, I pull off my shirt but leave the panties on. So what if they’re ruined? I’ll buy another pair. I saw the way his breathing picked up when he noticed I’d adorned myself with the color of his magic.

I step into the pool, the heat stinging my colder feet. Energy surges up through my legs into my stomach and chest. Like a reinnervation, my heart comes alive again for the first time in months.

I want to kiss him.

I wade into the water until I’m facing Apollo. He watches with hungry eyes and heavy breaths as I slide my hands up his thighs. He parts his legs, and I step between them until his cock is pressed against my ribs. I drag my fingers up his chest and delight in the way his magic flares and dances with my touch. His cock twitches and I drop my hands back to his thighs.

“Can I kiss you here?” I ask, slipping my hand closer to his erection.

“Do you want to?”

I swallow, my mouth pooling with saliva at the thought, and nod.

“Then I would very much like for you to kiss me there.”

He leans back a measure, giving me better access. I grab him gently at the base, and he stretches against my palm with a groan. I glance up and see he’s closed his eyes, his head dropped back.

How long has it been since someone touched him?

I tighten my grip and give him a slow, exploratory pump. He sighs, his wings shuddering and flexing. A bead of precum glistens on his tip, and I swipe my tongue across it, faintly tasting…blueberry?

Apollo sucks in a sharp gasp at my second lick, and his tail thrashes forward. It slides around my loose hair and pulls it back from my face. I glance up to find Apollo watching me with unbridled lust, his talons digging into the stone beside him. The heat in his eyes shoots straight to my core.

I give him another languid lick around his head while holding his gaze. Pure satisfaction thrums through me when he trembles, biting his lip, as his tail tightens its hold on my hair.

“Your tongue is nirvana, my witch.”

I smirk to myself. Just wait until you feel my whole mouth.

I continue my tease as I flick side to side, tracing a vein down his shaft to my fist. He groans, his thighs clenching my sides. I lick all the way up to the top and suck him down to my throat.

He gasps my name, gripping the back of my neck with surprising gentleness for how hard his other hand is digging into the stone. I hollow my cheeks and swirl my tongue as I slide off him.

He whispers something I don’t understand, the words guttural and flowing. I meet his gaze again as I slide off him with a pop . His light brow furrows in ecstasy and he bares his teeth in a hiss.

“I’ll never survive you.”

I lick my bottom lip into my mouth and run my teeth over it. “I haven’t even started.”

His hand tenses on my neck and my skin ripples with a shiver from his claws.

I pump my fist slowly at first, watching him swallow back his groans. When his breathing is fast, his jaw flexing, I drop over him and match the pace of my hand with my mouth. I saturate his shaft until my palm is gliding easily, and then I increase the pace.

“Sylvia,” he moans, then devolves into a string of that same low, rumbling language I don’t recognize.

I twist my fist with every thrust and tighten my grip. Apollo’s thighs tremble and squeeze me harder. I tug gently on his sack and then cup his balls as I keep the same pace with my mouth and fist. The water is sloshing around me, heat rolling up my spine and making my head light.

He whispers my name endlessly, like a prayer to a goddess, a plea for release. More blueberry-flavored precum oozes into my mouth and I moan against his shaft. I force him to the back of my throat over and over, devouring him as he’s done to me so many times.

His balls tighten in my palm and I massage them as his sounds of bliss reach a peak.

“Sylvia, I’m…” He grunts, tugging on the back of my neck as if to pull me away. But I’m not afraid of a little cum, and if the main course tastes anything like the appetizer, I’m ready for a mouthful. I suck him down harder, with a stronger grip and faster swipes of my tongue.

A rumble of that strange language rushes out of him as his hips flex and he lets go. Blueberry pancake hits my tongue with the first burst of his pleasure. It’s fucking spot-on. Blueberry syrup, fluffy cake batter, butter…it’s all there.

I swallow and squeeze him harder, begging for more. His claws on the back of my neck send my mind into overload. The tight tug of his tail in my hair has me keening as I swallow another mouthful. My breasts feel heavy, sensitive, and needy. I lean closer until my nipples brush against my arm with every bob of my head. The friction lights up my nerves, but it’s not enough. It’s not what he can do to me.

I swallow the last of his cum and he pulls my face up to his, bringing us just inches apart. He traces my bruised lips with his thumb as he pants.

“I don’t like your rules,” he whispers, his gaze smoldering on my mouth.

“I don’t either.”

His eyes snap up to mine and he stares into me for what feels like eternity, asking the silent question. Am I sure I can survive this heartbreak? This inevitable end?

“Fuck my rules.”