I break the kiss. “I want you to come.”
“Later,” she murmurs against my lips. She hooks the back of one of my knees and hitches it higher around her waist, guiding me to ride her thigh. “Kiss me.”
I shiver at the intense look in her dark eyes. “I don’t understand why you won’t take what I want to give.”
“Because, Calypso.” She presses a kiss to one corner of my mouth. “Watching you come brings me pleasure.” She kisses the other corner of my mouth. “And people have been taking from you for too long.”
“But—”
“We have all night.” She nips my bottom lip. “Don’t rush me.”
That, of all the things she could say, startles a laugh out of me. “Gods forbid.”
“Now you’re getting the idea.” She keeps rocking me against her. “Now, kiss me.”
“Bossy.” I loop my arms around her neck and tug her face down to mine. She kisses me the same way she touches me; as if I’m something—someone—beyond price. Firm, yes, but the tenderness makes my head spin. I wish I could blame that on the orgasm blooming inside me from the delicious friction of her muscled thigh, but it’s not the source of the warmth surging in my chest.
I’m terribly afraid that I might be falling in love with Medusa.
CHAPTER 8
MEDUSA
I don’t know if I believe in the gods and some blessed afterlife, but I get as close as humanly possible in the moment Calypso comes apart in my arms, drenching my thigh with her desire. She’s panting against my lips, her skin dewy with sweat and her hair a tangled mess.
She’s never been more beautiful to me.
I expected the desire that flares hotter between us with every passing moment. I didn’t expect the tenderness. I didn’t even know to look for it. I sure as fuck didn’t anticipate how protective I feel at the sight of vulnerability in her dark eyes.
It only drives home the truth I knew from the moment Athena handed out the order; no one has ever taken care of Calypso. She’s been taking care of herself and not letting anyone close. Considering the current circumstances, I don’t blame her. But I want to protect her. I want to wrap her up in my strength and step between her and whatever hurt the world wants to throw in her direction. It’s a fanciful thought and not one I think she’d welcome, but I can’t fight my brain. Or my instincts.
If she won’t allow me to be her shield, then I’ll just have to take care of her body in the only way she’ll let me.
I meant what I said: we have all night and I fully intend to take advantage of every minute before dawn comes, bringing with it several reality checks that I’m not ready to experience.
For how intent I am at tracing her reactions, I really shouldn’t be surprised when she shifts her weight unexpectedly and flips me. It’s well done, too. One second, I’m plotting another descent between her thighs and the next I’m on my back, blinking up at her. “Nicely done.”
“Thank you,” she gasps. She shifts to straddle my stomach and as much as I enjoyed being on top, I can’t deny the sheer joy I feel at the sight of her, naked and in a disarray. She hooks her thumbs under my bra. “Off. I want you naked.”
This time, I don’t argue. She doesn’t budge as I wrestle out of my bra and underwear, which doesn’t make the task easier, but I like the weight of her holding me down just as much as I enjoy being on top of her. More, she keeps touching me. Tracing my collarbone, the slope of my shoulders, the faint lines of my abs. Those seem to delight her to no end, and I have to swat her hands away. “I’m ticklish.”
“Oh?” Her smile goes devious. “How fortunate for me.”
“Calypso—” My protest dissolves into helpless giggles as she goes after me. It’s…playful. And before it gets to be too much, she skates her hands up to cup my breasts. I’m not as generously built as she is, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
She flicks my nipple piercings lightly. “Medusa, you are a treasure trove of delights.”
I bite my tongue before I freely offer what else I have pierced. If she’s this pleased by the nipples… I can barely finish the thought. She leans down and flicks one and then the other with her tongue. “Is it true that they’re more sensitive now?”
“I don’t know if there’s a universal rule.”
She arches a brow. “I don’t care about everyone else’s pierced nipples. I care about yours.”
No reason for that statement to make me melt. None at all. I try for a smile. “They’re more sensitive.”
“Lovely,” she breathes. She starts to ease down and pauses. “If I do something you don’t like, tell me.”