"Oh," I breathe, lifting my hand to examine it. As I do, Kassam takes my wrist and latches onto it, sucking on the tender skin of my inner wrist. "Oh, fuck, that's hot."
He tongues my pulse, the heat in his eyes full of promise. "Help me focus," he says again. "Carly, please."
I'm entranced by his mouth on my wrist. "Sure," I mumble. It's hard to think when he's touching me like this, his lips tracing the red scratches on my skin. "Scratches…"
"From your bracelet, yes. I took it off when you were hurt."
Bracelet. I squint at my skin even as he rakes his teeth over my flesh, sending shivers directly to my pussy. I should be wearing a bracelet.
Oh fuck, my quartz bracelet. I pull out of his grasp and touch my ears—the quartz earrings are gone, too. "Where's my jewelry?"
"Took it off." He thumbs my nipple again.
I bite back a whimper, but somehow I manage to pull free. "Can't think like this," I gasp. "Hedonism…"
"I know," he purrs, and when I take a step away, he grabs my hips and pulls me back against his cock. "We can contact your mother after I make you come."
"First," I pant. "Need to call Mom first." I scan my messy room, and when I see the jewelry on the floor next to an orange cat's flicking tail, I nearly sob in relief and disappointment both. I grab the quartz jewelry, clutching it to my chest. The moment I do, some of that delicious, twisting need fades. The fog clears from my thoughts and I glance at Kassam.
He palms his cock, watching me with eyes the color of smoke.
Okay, mental note, don't look at Kassam when I'm trying to get ahold of myself. I get to my feet and fasten one of the bracelets on his wrist. "I need to think straight," I remind him. "We can't do this right now."
Kassam nods, still rubbing his cock. "Too much," he murmurs. "I used too much of my magic. Even as it drained, the curse hit me like a bolt of lightning. It's still hitting me right now."
I can tell. He's still rubbing his shaft through his sweatpants. And god, I want to do the same. I stare as he drags his fingers up and down his length, outlining it through the soft material, and I've never wanted a man to flip me around onto my bed and rail me so badly.
"New plan," I say breathlessly. "We call my mom quickly. Make sure she's okay. Then we come back here and we fuck until dawn."
A sensual smile plays at Kassam's mouth, and he squeezes his length. "Very well."
It should absolutely not feel like I've somehow lost a bet when he agrees to that. Yet somehow, it does. I rub the crystals as I put them on, wishing they were a little more potent. But there aren't enough crystals in the world to counteract what Kassam is throwing off. Not enough in two worlds, probably.
14
My neighbor does not look thrilled to see me. If anything, he looks slightly terrified. "Y-your face," he mumbles as I come to the door. "What—"
"I know I look a little strange," I say quickly, fighting every instinct to push my way inside. "But I need to borrow your phone."
He doesn't answer me. In fact, he stares right past me. His lips part, and then he makes a wordless little sound that might be sexual. Right. Because Kassam is two steps behind me. I shouldn't be surprised.
Nor should I be jealous, but as he gives Kassam an intense stare, I want to snap my fingers in front of his eyes and shout, "That's my boyfriend." Except…he's not my boyfriend. What did Kassam say earlier? That I was helping him scratch an itch? Now that I've got the crystals back in place, I'm a little peeved by that. Scratching an itch, indeed. Is that all I am to him? A back-scratcher? The thought bothers me. "Phone, please?"
My neighbor—a nice-looking guy in his mid-thirties and probably divorced—pulls out his phone, wordlessly types in his password and holds his cell out to me. His gaze never leaves Kassam, even when some of the cats head inside, meowing and twisting around our legs.
"This better not be the donut neighbor," I mutter as I swipe my finger over the screen and start dialing. I don't know why I'm jealous. I don't.
"It does not matter if it is, my little light," Kassam says in a voice that sends curls of heat through my body. "You asked me to be monogamous, and I shall be."
My neighbor looks at me then, and his gaze is sheer hatred. It's calculating, too, and an alarmed part of me is starting to realize just how dangerous it is to be Kassam's anchor. Charlie attacked me because he was jealous. If this guy came to my door in the middle of the night with a butcher knife, I'd absolutely believe it. Cradling the phone, I step behind Kassam as it rings.