After a few seconds, Phil simply held out his hand.

X said, "Hold up, girl. Phil wants to talk to you."

He dropped the phone in Phil's hand, and Phil stood up and walked around the side of the house.

"Kenna?" said X, his voice hushed, sounding almost timid.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to know...Flipper and I are fuckin' psyched about the two of you hookin' up again after all this time. It makes me have faith that there's more good in this world than not."

I felt my face transform into surprise. "Really?"

He nodded. "That's why I'm gonna tell you this, and you can't tell Phil I did, okay?"

"Uh...okay." I was completely intrigued now.

"The guy who you've seen is really who Phil is-for the most part. But you need to know, he carries some demons around with him. Some of them are pretty old, and some of them, not so much. When he's finally confronted with them, you should be prepared."

"We all carry demons in us," I quietly told X.

"Not like Phil. A lot of those demons wear your face, Baby Girl."

Well, that's not fucking cryptic at all.

Phil sauntered back around to the backyard, and X and I sat back, both hoping we didn't stink too badly of guilt.

"They're releasin' him in the mornin'," said Phil, handing X back his phone. "I told Sheri they're both welcome to stay here."

"Good," I said. I smiled up at him. "That probably made her feel relieved."

"I think it did." He still looked upset.

"What is it?" I asked.

"His nose is broken, and they wired the two teeth back in his head. Sheri said he looked like he'd run face-first into a concrete wall." He swallowed thickly. "This is so messed up."

My guilt increased tenfold. If I hadn't hauled ass out of there, I could have been able to save Jason from having his face rearranged. The glorious nut-punch Alys had given him was justification enough.

"It's not that messed up, man. He did it to himself. He had to have known that he wouldn't get away with fuckin' with Baby Girl," said X.

Phil glared at him when he called me by my pet name.

"I could use a shower and a bed right now," I told them. "This day has been exhausting."

"Go on up," said Phil. "I'll be inside in a minute."

"Good night, Baby Girl!" X said in a singsong voice.

"Oy!" barked Phil. "She's my Baby Girl!"

X cracked up. "Yeah, but it don't mean the same when I call her that."

I headed into Phil's half through the patio door and made my way upstairs. Dropping my bag next to the enormous bed, I sat down and took a good look around. I hadn't really taken the time before, being mostly naked and on my back in here. I had noticed that the ceiling had a cool sparkle in the paint though.

The wall opposite the bed was a dark eggplant color, and the flooring was the same dark hardwood that was throughout this side of his house. A similar eggplant-colored area rug extended out from under the bed, and it was so thick and soft that it might be shag. Heavy dark wooden furniture graced the room, and a set of large armchairs and a small table rested under the huge windows that faced out the front of the house. The bed had a headboard that matched the furniture with black wrought iron rungs running vertically.

Rising, I stripped out of my clothes and headed into the bathroom, turning on the badass shower. I loved this thing. I stood under the deluge, letting the warm water rinse away the last few hours. Picking up the soap, I started scrubbing, secretly thrilled to smell like Phil.

Then, I just stood there, facing the wall, letting the water blur my vision.

X's words echoed through my mind.

"A lot of those demons wear your face, Baby Girl."

I could only speculate as to what that entailed. It'd sounded pretty fucking creepy, and perhaps I should be more worried about it than I was.

Hands smoothed gently around my waist, and I jumped.

Shit, I didn't even hear him come in!

I had been completely lost in my own thoughts.

"Sorry," his voice murmured softly in my ear. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No worries," I told him, leaning back into his warm hard body.

He really did have the physique of a god.

"I want you to do something for me," his voice purred.

"What's that?"

"Turn around and lean against the wall."

A shiver of excitement shot through me and settled heavily between my legs. I did as he'd commanded, and I was rewarded with a full body contact of a kiss. His mouth slid down my jaw and then my neck, and he sank slowly to his knees. His hands grasped my hips as his dark head dipped, pressing his burning mouth to my core.

"Oh..." I groaned.

His tongue slipped through my slit, licking lazily at my clit.

"I fuckin' love the way you taste," he told me, his voice husky and deep. His burning lips kept moving over my pulsing flesh.

Sucking, lapping, and licking, he brought me to a fast and hard peak. My legs were shaking by the time he finished with me. Rising up, he grasped my face in one hand and crushed my mouth beneath his, his tongue pushing past my lips, forcing me to taste myself.

"I'm gonna wash up real quick, Baby Girl. Stay wet for me, yeah?"

"Yeah," I breathed.

"Go lie down. I'll join you in a minute."

Did he just dismiss me?

On wobbling legs, I got out of the shower and dried off, not quite sure how I should be processing his brusque attitude. Admittedly, I was a little thrilled by his dominating nature-just so long as he came through on his promise.

I lay on my stomach, facing the foot of the bed. My head was propped up on my elbows, and my knees were bent with my feet up in the air, crossed at the ankles. When he stepped out of the bathroom some minutes later, looking all sorts of naked deliciousness, I gave him a big smile.

He just stood there and blinked.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. You look fuckin' gorgeous."

"So do you," I told him.

Joining me, he trailed his fingertips down my spine. Then, he leaned down and replaced his fingers with his lips, kissing me from neck to sacrum.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured. "And not just on the outside."

"What a lovely thing to say."

"It's only the truth."

Lifting my mass of damp hair back and over a shoulder, he pressed his lips to the side of my neck. Pushing himself up, he swung a leg over me and sat down on my ass, his cock and balls lying on my crack. They were so very warm. All of him was always so very warm. Again, he took my hair in his hands, running his fingers through it.

"You've got the most amazin' color," he said. "It's like copper. I've never seen anyone with hair like this."

"I'm sure a few relatives in Scotland share the affliction," I sighed melodramatically. "You should see Da and Connor. They got the soulless-ginger color going on."

"What, like X?"

"A little darker than his-less orange, more red."

"Why do you call your father Da?"

"Because he's Sco'ish," I replied with a Highland accent.

He twisted up my hair and draped it over my shoulder again before leaning down to plant a wet kiss to my nape. It felt so good that my hips jerked and pushed my bum against his groin. In response, he ground against me, making my nipples tingle and go hard. Scooting back, he grabbed my waist and pulled me into his groin until I was on my knees with my chest, arms, and head still pressed into the mattress.

I wanted it from behind. I loved this position, and I told him so by pushing back into him.

"Oh God," he moaned, his hands digging into my hips. "I want you like this."

"Do it," I goaded, my voice soft and deep. "I want it, too."

"I..." He swallowed hard, and his breathing accelerated sharply. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't."

"You don't know that."

"Well, how else do you suggest we find out?" I snapped back, getting a little pissy.

Cock in hand, he rubbed it against my oozing slit, hissing, "Fuck."

"Do it!"

"I want a safe word. Give me a safe word," he demanded.

What the fuck? "Why?"

"In case it hurts or you can't take it or I scare you. A fuckin' safe word."

"Um..." My brain rattled around for anything, and the first word that came to mind was, "Kashmir?"

His breath left him in a gentle whoosh. "I like that one."

What the hell does he plan on doing that we'd need a safe word?

I wasn't sure, but I definitely wanted to find out.

That fat mushroom head pressed into me, and holy shit, was it good. Sinking in slowly, he placed one hand on my lower back, stopping at about halfway.

"Our safe word?" he asked.

"Kashmir," I promptly answered.

He sank forward, unleashing possibly the sexiest moan I had ever heard. It made my inner muscles clench so tight, and he was stretching and stretching and stretching me until I felt that I might burst.

"Oh God!" he choked.

He went further and further until the head of him scraped the magic spot inside me, until his balls softly slapped against me. He held himself there, gasping. His hands clutched my hips hard enough that he very well might leave some bruises.

Slowly, he pulled back.

Slowly, he pushed in.

I allowed him to stay at this pace for a bit-it felt amazing, in any case-until he was comfortable in knowing that he wasn't tearing me a new one. But it wasn't long before I wanted more. He was so big, and I wanted to absorb the power I knew was within him.

"Harder," I told him.

"Kenna-"

"Harder!" I ordered loudly.

Picking up the pace a bit, he groaned, "Fuck!"

Hells. Fuck. Yes!