Wed to the Wild God (Aspect and Anchor)

Kassam blinks. Then, his grin slowly spreads across his face and he chuckles, the sound low and throaty. "Are you developing feelings for me, Carly?"

Ugh, this man. I want to choke him and kiss him at the same time, and I know the kissing is only because of his hedonism curse. "The only feelings I have right now are sheer frustration that I'm utterly powerless in my own life and no one seems to care. I feel like I brought a stick to a sword fight. Better yet, a stick to a gunfight."

He gazes at me with amusement. "If it helps, you are nothing to these other gods. They are only interested in me."

Not exactly the comforting words he was looking for. "Do you know if they are coming to kill you?" Because if they are, I'm fucked. "Or to push you back to your world?"

"I am not certain, but it did not feel like a well-meaning deity behind that door," Kassam admits. He squeezes my thigh again, this time his hand a little higher up my thigh. "Do not worry, my little light. I will keep you safe."

Somehow I have my doubts. "I'm not even sure you want to."

"I do." Kassam's big, warm hand slides higher. "Who would scratch my itches for me if not my pretty Carly?"

I glare at him, even as my body quivers with need. It's like he can sense how he affects me—either that or I'm wearing a hungry, needy expression on my face—because he slides his hand into my pants and starts touching me. I'm wet, because my body's determined to betray me. I bite my lip, holding back the needy sound that threatens to escape.

"Feels like I am not the only one itching," Kassam murmurs. "Do you like my touch, my light?"

My body clenches around nothing, and I hate that when he rubs my clit, everything in me responds. I lift one foot to the other bench across from me, spreading my legs under the table so he can touch me better. My head falls back, and I press against his shoulder. He leans in to kiss me—

And I turn away. "N-no," I breathe, because somehow, him kissing me feels like a betrayal.

He pulls back in surprise, still toying with my aching clit. "Why 'no'?"

"Because." Because I need to hold something back from him. Because I don't want to catch feelings for him only to be constantly hurt when he reminds me that I'm nothing more than a convenient vessel for him. "Kisses are for romance, and you've made it quite clear there's nothing romantic about what's going on between us."

"But what if I like kissing you?" He shifts his hand, pushing a finger deep inside me even as his thumb works my clit, and I grab onto his shirt, clinging to him. If someone walks past, they'll see us. Hell, we're probably on the security cameras. But if someone asked me to move away in this moment, I don't think I could. "What if I like capturing that lovely mouth of yours, Carly?"

Kassam's lips hover over mine even as he fucks me with his hand, trying to push me into giving in.

"I'd tell you…" I manage, our mouths brushing, "too bad. You can have my body, but you can't have my kiss."

He chuckles. "The gods love a challenge, my little light. If you're trying to make me lose interest, you're failing."

I don't care. All I know is that I have to keep something for myself or I'll go crazy. He's got his hand in my pants at a convenience store, and I am shamelessly grinding against it. He's turned me into a person I don't even recognize anymore.

If withholding a few kisses helps me keep my sanity, I'm all for it. If nothing else, it feels good to be able to say “no” to Kassam on something. He watches me with a strange new curiosity, as if I've surprised him.

I'm guessing the gods don't get refused a lot of things.

16

After spending a miserable night in the convenience store, we head out before dawn.

Shirley—the lovely woman behind the convenience store counter who's fed us and let us hang out all night—drives us downtown to my mom's shop the moment she gets off her shift. She's been casting hungry looks at Kassam all night long, but they've fallen into discussions about what kind of snacks are best for late-night binges, and spent the last few hours taste-testing types of candy while I flipped through bridal magazines, ate my weight in stale packaged cookies, and waited for dawn impatiently. I can't go home. I'm not sure I can ever go home again. Not with something evil waiting for me there.

One day at a time has turned into one hour at a time.

Shirley pulls up to the building that houses my mom's shop and idles her car at the curb. "You sure I can't do anything else for you, baby?" She gazes at Kassam intently, ignoring me. I'm starting to get used to that, though, and this time it doesn't hurt my feelings. Considering that Kassam's low-key flirting with this woman kept us fed and safe all night, I'll take it.