“Your hair is beautiful,” he said.
“It’s plain blond.”
“Nothing plain about it.” He draped the length of it over her left shoulder, and his right hand settled on her waist. “It’s like liquid sunlight.”
No one had ever said anything like that before. Objectively, Calladia knew she was pretty, but she’d built up such a don’t-mess-with-me attitude that the rare approaches she’d received were mostly from creeps who didn’t know any better. And this was Astaroth complimenting her—the single most attractive man she’d ever seen.
His hand slid to her stomach, and he pulled her against his chest. His erection prodded her ass, and warm lips brushed the sensitive spot below her ear. Calladia sighed and leaned her head to the side, and Astaroth nibbled his way down her neck.
Should she feel guilty? Calladia didn’t know anymore. If he was the old Astaroth, yes. But this one . . .
This one she liked very much.
Calladia turned her head to look over her shoulder. His eyes were heavy-lidded, his face flushed with a combination of heat and arousal. He licked his lower lip. “Calladia . . .” he murmured, naked longing in his voice. His hands slid to her hips, anchoring her against him.
Maybe this had always been inevitable. Calladia let go of any doubts, craned her neck, and kissed him.
He kissed her back, slow and sensual. This wasn’t the hot, furious passion of the morning; it was a thorough, mutual exploration. His lips were damp from the water, but she licked the mineral-tinged drops away until all she could taste was him.
Astaroth’s tongue delved lightly into her open mouth, then traced the edges of her teeth. Calladia laced her hands behind his neck, arching her back as she pressed her behind into his crotch.
Astaroth met her movement and elaborated on it, setting a slow, sensual grind below the water. One of his hands dragged up her waist to her breast, cupping her through the wet sports bra. The other crept lower, fingers brushing over the fabric covering her mound.
Calladia felt like she was on fire, and he’d barely begun touching her. She wanted more: his lips around her nipple, the pump of his fingers inside her, the powerful wave of his body surging over hers. She turned in his arms to face him, pulling him close and kissing him more deeply.
Astaroth groaned softly as his palms landed on her ass. “You drive me wild,” he said between kisses. “You’re beautiful, you know that?”
Calladia didn’t want to waste breath on words when she could be devouring him instead. She stroked her tongue against his, then nipped his lower lip. Her hands slid up his neck to toy with his wet, silky hair, and she gave in to an urge she’d felt for a while and gripped his horns.
Astaroth made a stunned sound, and his hips jerked. Encouraged by the response, Calladia stroked up and down his horns with the same eagerness she’d given to jerking him off that morning. They were hard and smooth, the ends slightly blunted rather than razor sharp.
What a marvel his body was. Lean and cut and utterly responsive to her touch. The horn job was apparently really doing it for him, because he was grinding against her aggressively, and his kisses grew frantic.
“Lucifer,” he gasped. “I need more.”
“More of what?” she asked playfully. Then she went up on her toes and dragged her tongue over one horn. It tasted faintly smoky and wholly delicious.
The noise Astaroth made was feral. He fisted a hand in her hair and pulled her head back. “More of you,” he growled. Then he hefted her into his arms and carried her to the side of the pool. He deposited her on the edge, then wasted no time tugging her sports bra off. The position put his head at the height of her breasts. He stared for a moment, then lunged forward and wrapped his lips around a nipple.
Calladia gasped and clutched his horns. Her nipples were sensitive, and the searing heat of his mouth intensified the pleasure. Astaroth massaged her other breast, then lightly pinched one nipple while his teeth nipped at the other, and an electric thrill shot through her.
He switched between her breasts, giving them the same thorough treatment until her nipples were rosy and swollen. When he blew air over the peaks, she twitched.
“So sensitive,” he said, smiling wickedly up at her. “I wonder what else is?”
Calladia widened her legs in invitation. “Let’s find out.”
Astaroth looked thrilled by the prospect. He kissed his way down her stomach, then hooked his fingers in her panties and dragged them off. The fabric made a wet slap against the stones as he tossed it aside, and she was fully nude.