Page 41 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

She nodded, drawing away to eat.

“Besides, if I snap my fingers too much ... and by the way, I don’t need the gesture ... my body weakens.” When she turned shocked eyes to him, he added, “Not literally. Figuratively. I like to stretch my real muscles. You didn’t answer my question. Why did you get up so early?”

“Too much swirling around in my head. Why I’m here. What I’m gonna do. Everything. I’m very unsettled and don’t like the feeling. My solution is to re-organize stuff or take some action to control my environment. Lucky for me, your place needs a lot of work.”

“Glad to be of help.” He glanced around. His place looked good to him.

She stopped eating, propped an elbow on the table, and tucked her chin into her palm, staring. “You’re quite handsome. In a raw, scary kind of way.”

Dom set his fork beside his plate. He grunted, finding the direction of the conversation strange. Sudden. But welcome. Her eyes radiated a touch of lust. That was also welcome, but a reason for caution.

Madeline shoved her plate and coffee across the table, rose, and walked to Dom. Snagging a chair, she sat beside him. Close. He caught her scent. It was fresh, female, and interested in him. He scraped his fingers through his long, black hair.

He wanted to flick out his wings and show off, but he resisted.

Madeline dragged a fork through her potatoes, eventually shoving a bite into her mouth. When she finished chewing, she broke off a piece of crisp bacon and popped it in, licking her lips. “I was thinking about going home, but when you came into the kitchen, I realized how much help you need around here. You probably don’t pay enough attention to yourself. Like eating regularly. Your laundry. Cleaning house. I could organize stuff. Take care of your place.” She winked again. “And you.”

She tilted her chin, a strand of hair feathering across her cheek as she slipped him an irresistible smile. He followed the sweep of her tongue across her lower lip again.

Damn.Things were taking a definite turn toward strange.

Finished, Dom pushed his plate away. He gripped the handle of his coffee mug, taking a sip.Good. Brewed just right. He cleared his throat, searching for something to say. Conversation wasn’t part of his skill set.

Madeline scooted closer, thigh to thigh, a hand caressing his shoulder, floating down to clasp his bicep. “Don’t you like having me here? I could be very convenient to have around.”

When her breast brushed his arm, his heart pounded against his ribs. She was coming on to him.

Dom escaped her grip and moved out of boob range. “Be careful, little female.”

As she leaned close, her whispery breath puffed across his ear. “I’m not so little.”

“Uh-huh.” He swallowed hard. What the hell was she doing? She’d gone from scared to distrusting to cautious acceptance. Now this? Was this typical human behavior?

She inched nearer again, heat radiating off her body. He never turned down an offer from a female, and this one was cooking more than breakfast. But Dom was cautious. He didn’t like not knowing the game.

Madeline tilted into his chest and crushed her lips to his.

To hell with caution.

Not about to allow her to control the situation, Dom yanked her onto his lap, her legs straddling him. He took over, forcing her mouth open and caressing her tongue with his. As she melted against him, his cock got with the game.

Dom shoved his hand under her t-shirt. As he fingered her nipple through fabric, it tightened into a hard bud. Pausing the kiss, he tore off her shirt and bra. For such a slight female, her breasts were heavy, spilling over his hands.

She ripped his shirt from neck to hem as her ass ground against his aching erection.

Grind. Grind.

Dom kissed her again, the points of her breasts scraping his chest. When he rocked his hips forward, she moaned. He was hard and ready. He’d never fucked a human before and hoped she wasn’t fragile.

He thrust his tongue in and out of her mouth, succumbing to her keening moans. Grabbing her ass, he lifted them both from the chair.

Madeline’s feet dropped to the floor, her fingers seizing the snap on his pants.

Hell, yes.

Despite her unexplainable, sudden-onset desire for him, Dom was on board with the action. He wasn’t a damn choir boy, singing the praises of the goddesses in Vast and abstaining from sex.

She unzipped him, shoved his pants down, and curled a hand around his swollen erection while he lowered his head to draw a nipple into his mouth. Responding aggressively to his sucking and licking, she demanded, “Harder.” She arched into Dom, continuing to stroke him.

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