Gray Witch (Black Hat Bureau 5)

Desire muddying my senses, I wrote it off as my imagination.

Until the next sweep of his tongue clacked hard enough I couldn’t ignore the sensation.

“What is that?” I drew back to examine him. “What did you do?”

“Nothing.” A flush warmed his skin under my fingers. “It was done to me.”

“You’re blushing.” I cupped his jaw and pressed my thumb inside his mouth. “Show me.”

Cheeks pink verging on red, he stuck out his tongue, and it glinted at me.

“A new piercing?” I pried his jaw wider. “Is that…an actual diamond?”

Lifting his tongue, I examined the bottom of the barbell, but it was a simple daub of platinum.

“Yeth.”

“Oh.” I retreated with a sheepish grimace. “Sorry about playing dentist.”

“I don’t mind you in my mouth.”

Now it was my turn for heat to flood my face, and other areas, and my gaze dropped to his parted lips.

“When?” I fished my brain out of the gutter. “I’ve been with you all day.”

This morning, prior to the arena, he hadn’t been sporting new oral jewelry.

I would have, ahem, noticed it.

I swore I heard the splash as my brain jumped off the high dive right back into the gutter where I found it.

“I have no memory of it,” he confessed. “It must have happened prior to the challenges.”

“You expected this?” I wasn’t sure what to make of it. “I just…” I tilted my head. “Why?”

Had Asa not anticipated it, the daemon wouldn’t have sought it out. He wasn’t vain. Much.

“Rite of passage.” He tugged on an earring. “The stone is mined from the cavern under the throne room. It symbolizes my sexual awakening and increases my libido. It stimulates my sensuality, ramps my desire, and lowers my inhibitions in bed.”

“As opposed to out of bed?”

The flat look he shot me forced a chuckle out of me.

“Does it work?” I couldn’t hide my grin. “Will you spontaneously ravage me now?”

“You’re always in danger of spontaneous ravaging. This changes nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I bit my lower lip. “I wonder how it will feel when you—?”

“Rue,” Clay yelled through the door. “I know you’re in there being a pervert.”

“How does he do that?” I kicked my feet. “Just when we were getting to the good stuff.”

Laughing at my tantrum, Asa captured my mouth with his in a bruising kiss that left me tingling.

Walking my fingers up his thighs, I tapped the waistband of his pants in invitation, willing to ignore Clay.

“Ace.” Clay pounded on the door. “Be the responsible one. Put your pants back on.”