The Darkest Lie. Gena Showalter

yet, through it all, she seemed distanced. As if she weren’t truly there with him. As if she held a part of herself back.

      Hell. No.

      Distance, he wouldn’t tolerate. He might not want to push her too far, but by the time this kiss ended, she would think of no other man but him. She would be happy she was wed to him. She would dream of him, crave him more than any other.

      Was this what it had been like between them, all those centuries ago? Consuming need dipped in fervent heat then twined with unquenchable aches?

      He released one of her hands, and she immediately tunneled her fingers through his hair, nails digging into his scalp. Enough to make him bleed. Yes, yes. More. Maybe he could push her a little further. But to do so, he’d have to sacrifice the kiss. With their mouths pressed together like this, he couldn’t think properly.

      Moaning, Gideon wrenched himself away from her lips. She had her eyes sealed shut, as if she were in pain. Those lips were swollen and red, moist. Unable to help himself, he licked that moisture away before hiking her dress up to her neck, baring her panties, her stomach and lastly her breasts. He hadn’t given her a bra. Too much had he liked the idea of her sitting next to him, a thin piece of cotton all that rested between his skin and her nipples.

      Her breasts were perfectly sized, a little less than a handful, and those nipples were as red as her lips. His mouth watered as he lowered his head. And dear gods, sucking one of those little berries into his mouth was a religious experience. The moment his tongue made contact, his entire body felt as though it went up in flames from the inside out. His blood turned his organs to ash. His ashed organs liquefied his bones, and those liquid bones scorched his skin, leaving blisters.

      She must have experienced the same melting sensation, because a scream of pleasure exploded from her. An honest-to-gods, I’m-losing-my-mind scream of pleasure. He loved it, reveled in it. Except a thousand other screams followed hers. And those weren’t forged by pleasure. Those reeked of fear and pain.

      “Gideon,” she rasped.

      Once again, he raised his head. Her eyes were still sealed shut, only now her mouth was pulled tight in an agonized line. Thick black shadows were seeping from her ears, her mouth, and swirling around her head.

      Her demon, he realized.

      Since Gideon had gained control of his body and his actions all those centuries ago, Lies had been like a ghostly companion. There, but hardly noticeable. Well, until recently. Before Scarlet, the demon had rarely spoken to him outright or asserted its presence physically. Rather, his demon had mostly led him through compulsions.

      This wasn’t a compulsion for her. This was an all-out manifestation. And he had no fucking clue what to do.

      “How can I make this worse, devil?” He tried to pull away from her, to ease her in any way he could, even if that meant no longer making out with her. But her eyelids at last popped open, her irises glowing bright red, and she grabbed his shirt, jerking him back.

      “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The words were a harsh growl, and all those discordant screams layered the undertone, a tide of malevolence. “Hear us well. If you dare stop, we will punish you.”

      Us. We. Her demon was that involved? That much a part of her? O-kay. Not his first three-way, but certainly his strangest. There was no time to marvel, however.

      Scarlet dragged a finger down the center of his shirt, ripping the cotton, exposing his chest. She flattened her palm against his pierced nipple and licked her lips. “More,” she moaned, arching into him.

      Her cleft brushed his shaft, and the rest of the blood left his brain. The moist tip of his cock even pushed past the waist of his pants. The fact that the shadows were still drifting from her, the fact that those screams were still echoing between them, failed to faze him. His desire for her was simply too great. He, too, had to have more.

      Not sex, he told himself. Not yet. He still thought it would be pushing her too hard and too fast. And he wouldn’t have her crying foul later, claiming he’d taken advantage of her and using that as an excuse to distance herself further.

      “You’re just sitting there. Hurry!”

      Complaints about his performance already when she was clearly passion-drunk. He’d like to say that was a first, but couldn’t. Many women had complained about his get in as fast as you can, get and give an orgasm and leave mentality.

      “Gideon! Obey.”

      “Sure, sure. Don’t show me what you want first.” He didn’t leap into action, of course, but watched as Scarlet began kneading her own breasts, exactly as he’d yearned to do. Strands of her silky black hair fell down her shoulders and curled around her fingers, as if tickling her.