Page 62 of The Demon Mark

Perhaps she would, though. Lilith had seen only hints of what he was capable of and how powerful he was. If he wanted something, he just took it. Like her. And then what kind of man could single-handedly fight a chimera? And win?

She didn’t know a single person who could do that. Not alive, at least. There were rumors and myths of people who had come before the demon kings. The one who could walk through the very sands of time. Even the oracles knew of these stories, because their power had come from one of those gods who had fractured herself into pieces so that it would be harder to find her. Or at least, harder to manipulate her.

Her consciousness returned to every limb of her body and she was shocked at what she found.

Lilith was draped over his chest, like she had clambered on top of him in her sleep. One of his broad hands spanned her waist, holding her tightly against him. But his other hand gripped her ass and held her pressed against something that was rapidly hardening on his body. Something that she was equally intrigued by and also terrified of.

Breath quickening, she lifted her head to find him staring down at her already. Those vivid green eyes saw right through her. He knew what she wanted. What she needed. He’d felt how her entire body froze and yet yearned for him as those eyes met hers.

“Good morning, Lilith,” he said, his voice raspy with sleep and oh so tempting. She wanted to taste those words on his tongue. She wanted him to roll her over onto her back and do what it was that men did with women they wanted.

She just wanted to be wanted. For the first time in her life. Lilith was so tired of everyone treating her like she was made of glass. He was the only person who had looked at her and known she wouldn’t break under his attention, no matter how rough he was with her.

And even though she wasn’t confident about what she wanted, she still knew she trusted him to do it. After all that they had been through together, after all she had almost lost with that chimera, she wanted to prove to herself and him that they were both alive.

Even if that meant doing something that she knew little about.

His eyes darkened as he looked down at her with that smirk on his lips that made her blush. It was like he was in her head. Like he knew what she wanted before she had a chance to ask. Or to make her move that would be romantic and soft, like she’d always thought this would be.

But she should have known that Envy wasn’t romantic and sweet. He was a man who took what he wanted and pitied anything that stood in his way.

His hand on her back shifted, sliding through her hair and giving her head a little tug so she was forced to arch her neck. Giving him more access to see the expression on her face and look his fill.

Then that thick thumb was sliding over her bottom lip, tugging at it until she had to open her mouth. “Oh, little one. You are so innocent.”

She couldn’t argue with that. He was the only one who had ever dared to touch her for a long amount of time, let alone in any heated way. Which meant she was very innocent to all of this.

Even some people might have had conversations with friends or family who had experience in these matters. Perhaps if she had a mother who was still in the picture, she might know something about what men and women did with each other, but she didn’t. Lilith only knew that her body was getting warmer and hotter, and she was having a hard time looking at anything other than his lips.

“I know that I liked kissing you,” she said quietly. “But I do not know what goes on beyond that.”

He groaned, the sound echoing deep in his chest where her hands were pressed. “Oh, you try a man’s patience, little love.”

The words almost froze her. Little love? He had never even suggested that he might like her, let alone find her anything other than barely tolerable and pretty. But now that he’d said that, she wanted to hear it again. And again. And again.

She wanted him to press those words into her skin and maybe find out what it would feel like if he kissed her throat. Or her shoulder. Or any of the other places that burned for him.

“I have to go slow with you,” he said, but his hand leveraged her bottom to jerk her higher until her lips were even with his. “But you do not make it easy.”

Lilith wanted to argue that she was, in fact, making it very easy for him, because she wanted whatever he would give her. Before she could say anything, he was kissing her.

And oh, this was different. This was so much more different from any of their kisses before. This was hot and hungry, an anger that boiled in him pressing against her lips until she realized it wasn’t anger at all. It was desire.

Her fingers curled against his chest, and she wanted more of it. Heat pooled between her legs. The feelings were strange and uncomfortable, but certainly not unwelcome. Lilith wanted to know why it made her feel like this.

But she couldn’t focus on her thoughts when he’d scooped his hand along her jaw and held her in place for his kisses. Not when his other hand massaged her bottom and his fingers slipped a little closer between her legs, like he had before.

Oh, she wanted that. She wanted to feel him sliding through the wet mess between her legs that was certainly there. She wanted to feel what it was like to be consumed by him.

And what a strange thought it was.

The very tips of his fingers skated between her legs, barely a touch at all, but it was there and it made every part of her body turn into a shower of sparks that skittered along her skin.

“Do you want me to touch you here?” he breathed against her lips.

She nodded wildly, needing more.

“Tell me, Lilith. I want to hear you say it.”

---