"Haven't been up here?" I asked, fingers loose and hand only resting against him as he tried to rub and nudge me back into action.

"Haven't been to the house. No one's been to the house. Except you. And the demonstrators."

I blinked. He didn't even use their names.

"Victoria," he whined.

"Well, I think you should invite them," I said, sitting up, wrestling back his hands as they tried to grab and pull me closer. He surrendered when he realized I was moving down the bed, and his wings tucked against his back so he could roll over and make room for me.

"Fine. Fine, we'll have a dinner party and— Oh, thank fuck, ahhh!"

I fought my smile as I wrapped my lips around the tip of Elias's cock and sucked.

"Oh, Victoria," he purred, all the frantic temper softening once more. "Has anyone told you that you really are remarkable at giving head?"

Damn him. When had he learned so much about me? Long, fingers stroked into my hair, gathering it up so he could watch as I pulled him deeper, my lips relaxed and tongue pressing up to cradle him to the roof of my mouth.

"Mmm, yesss. Such a cum hungry little slut."

I moaned, and Elias's echo of the sound was ragged, his hips lifting and cock thrusting deeper.

"The vibrator is just by your ankle, darling," Elias breathed. "Use it while you suck me. I like the way it makes you whine."

A part of me, the sometimes too present part that liked to dissect and study, which kept my brain buzzing when I wanted it off, took notes now on all the things Elias had been collecting about my arousal.

I liked compliments when they related to how I could make him feel. Liked degradation delivered sweetly. That if he framed my pleasure on how it would pleasehim, it didn't make the still anxious part of me balk at the suggestion.

I wanted equal ammunition against him, some semblance of control. But it wasn't control that got me off.

I did as he asked, pressing the simple wand vibrator against my clit and letting the needy sounds rise up in my throat, surround him,satisfyhim.

"Uhn, yes, that's it. Oh, you suck so hard when you get horny, darling. That's it. Take more of me, I know you can. Here, let me show you. Mmm, yes, gag a little, it's all right. What a good student you are…"

The soft and strong brush of his coremata wrapped around my throat, the scent of the fur under my nose hazing my busy thoughts. I let Elias's words weave their spell, dragging us to cataclysm together.

CHAPTER 21

Elias

Is this love?

Victoria was stretched out on the cushioned seat of the bay window, perfectly nude and sunning herself like an orange tabby cat. She lookedrightthere, a bright glow of peachy pale skin and vibrant flame hair, like a splash of well-considered color to accent the otherwise drab corner of my home I'd left mostly untouched.

It must be love, I decided.

After all, it made sense. The spark upon first meeting, the slow seduction, the challenge Victoria presented, and finally, the triumph.

The culmination was perhaps a little underwhelming, or my friends were prone to exaggeration. Still, I'd done it. I'd fallen in love. Goal accomplished.

Now what?a voice hissed in the back of my thoughts.

Victoria's head rolled, and her eyes fluttered open, her gaze not searching but wandering through the apartment. I suppose I hadn't given her much opportunity to study the space over the past few days. Oh, we'd surfaced for food and breathing room, paused to sleep, migrated to my shower to refresh, butI'd given her more physical space for the past six hours, and my pheromones were probably all processed out by now. I'd even showered alone to wash their residue out of my fur for a bit.

I crossed her vision, heading toward my kitchen area. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm in a dopamine fog," she murmured, her voice raspy from pleasured cries.

A feathery thrill traced up my spine at the sound of her, and I smiled as I pulled down a glass from the cupboard. There, that was better. More like what I'd expected from a romance.