Phi growled and lifted himself from the water with pure strength, bracing his hands on either side of her hips. When his lips claimed hers, she gasped against his mouth and held on. Water dripped across her lap, but she could hardly think through the feel of his lips on hers, the violence he held back behind steel chains of willpower. His hands didn’t touch her since he was bracing himself up, but she didn’t hold herself back. With one hand clenched tightly in his hair while he tasted her, her other began to explore the slick, rippling muscles along his shoulders, down to his chest, along his ribcage. The sharp canines in Phi’s mouth brushed against her bottom lip, temptation.
“No biting,” Danica said against his lips, the sound husky even to her own ears.
A breathy laugh fanned across her swollen lips before Phi leaned back and met her eyes, still holding himself easily out of the water. “Are you sure, speed racer? I can make it feel good.”
Danica studied the glint in his eyes, the promise of pleasure, but still shook her head. “Perhaps, another time. For now, I only want you.”
The slow smile that pulled across his face was sensuality incarnate. It was easy to see why there were so many mewling vampires eager to throw themselves at the prince of the Northern Sect. He was beautiful, charming, and the power that flowed from his shoulders in waves was a draw that even Danica couldn’t deny. Still, despite the danger he posed, there was something almost calming about him. Phi would never hurt her, would never allow her to be hurt if he could prevent it. She would have a choice in this, always, no matter the outcome. She could walk away right now, and he’d allow her to.
“Then have me you shall,” he promised and slowly lowered himself back into the water.
With strong fingers, Phi gripped her hips and jerked her to the edge of the pool, her ass barely sitting on the edge so that she had to grab the tile to keep herself steady. Quickly, Phi grabbed the denim shorts she wore and slowly dragged them down her thighs, over her calves, before tossing them further up on the side. She was bare before him, vulnerable, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than the look of hunger in his eyes as he stared at her core.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, those strong fingers sliding up her thighs and holding on. He met her eyes and leaned forward. “Look up at the stars, Danica.”
Danica did as he said and tilted her head back, focusing on the stars just as she felt his hot breath at her core. When she went to look down again, he nipped her inner thigh, making her jump. “Ow!”
“The stars, speed racer.”
Her lip curled up in a snarl. “I’ll show you stars, Your Majesty, if you don’t stop teasing.”
A husky chuckle against her thigh. “Fair enough.”
When he pressed his lips against her core, she nearly came undone right there. It had been far too long. The last time Danica had tried dating, it had ended with her unsatisfied and a man who wouldn’t take the hint when she didn’t call him back. It had taken months for the idiot to stop calling.
This was nothing like that.
From the first moment that Phi touched his lips to her core, her eyes slid closed, and she gasped at the feel of him devouring her. There was no other word that fit what he did to her. His strong fingers held her hips in place even while he hung in the pool. Her hips tried to move but he held her fast.
Phi swirled his tongue.
“Oh,” she gasped, releasing the side of the pool to dig her fingers into his wet hair and pull him closer. Phi groaned against her, the vibrations going straight through her and making her stomach clench in anticipation. “I need you,” she breathed on a moan. “Phi—”
He didn’t waste time waiting for more words. Phi jerked back and lifted her hips on the edge of the pool before gently lowering her into the cool water. It licked against her skin, cooling her even as she grew hotter with every touch. The tank top she wore stuck to her skin before Phi was dragging it up and off, tossing it on the side of the pool with a wet plop. The bra followed behind quickly, until she was completely nude before him, pinned against the tiles.
Leaning forward, Phi dragged his teeth along the cords of her neck, teasing, threatening. “A tiny bite would make you scream my name,” he promised.
“No.”
Phi pulled back enough to meet her eyes. “You’ll scream my name regardless.”
“Is that a bet?” Danica reached between them and dragged her fingers across the bulge in his boxer briefs. He groaned and jerked against her. “Maybe it’ll be you saying my name.”
“Oh, I’ll say your name,” he agreed, pulling back to kick his boxer briefs off into the pool. Danica had just enough time to look down between them, to attempt to catch a glimpse of him in all his glory through the water rippling with their movements, before he was pressing back against her. “I’ll say it over and over again like a prayer.”
Danica circled his neck with her arms, holding on as he grabbed her thighs and wrapped her around him. “Do vampires have Gods?”
Phi captured her lips in his for a fast kiss as his length pressed against her opening, teasing. “We are the Gods, speed racer.”
And then he was pressing inside her, stretching her to accommodate him but not hurting. Phi was large but not so large that he hurt her. The pool water flowed around them as he slowly stroked inside until he was fully seated. He allowed only a moment of adjustment where he pressed his forehead against hers before he really began to move. The water began to swirl around them.
Danica threw her head back, just barely avoiding braining herself on the tile, her eyes glazed with pleasure as Phi moved in earnest. His cock stroked inside, driving her crazy, driving her higher, until she had to bite her lips to keep from uttering his name.
“Say it,” he groaned against her skin, his canines pressing there but not breaking skin.
Danica could tell he really wanted to bite her, to raise the pleasure higher, but he was respecting her wishes, and that endeared him even more to her. Consent. It was all about consent.
Still, Danica stubbornly kept her lips shut.
Phi picked up his pace, slamming inside her, his own grunts and groans adding to the moans leaving her throat she couldn’t control. Her lower stomach tightened with the impending orgasm, threatening to spill over.
“Danica,” he growled against her skin, his hands holding them tightly against the side of the pool. “Say it.”
The stars danced above her, sparkling as if she were the only one they shone for. Her chest squeezed, her arms tightening around Phi until she was pressing him tighter against her chest. He didn’t complain, eagerly kissing along her collarbone and shoulder, along her neck, dragging those teeth there.
The world shifted.
“Phi,” Danica moaned, and his pattern stuttered and picked up.
“Again.”
“Yophiel.”
Phi slowed just a hint and pulled back, meeting her eyes, and then the pace picked back up to a brutal one until the water splashed against them with the force. Muscles bulging, eyes wild with desire, Phi fucked her against the edge of the pool, the stars sparkling above them like the most romantic backdrop, and Danica realized she was in danger of more than losing her life in this race.
If she wasn’t careful, she was going to give her heart away to two creatures who thought her prey. . .
. . . and she wasn’t sure if that would be the smartest idea she’d ever had, or the stupidest.