Her Angel: Eternal Warriors Complete Series Box Set

by Heaton, Felicity

  Serenity fell into conversation with Amelia again, sometimes answering questions Marcus posed too.

  Liora felt as if she was standing on the outside and looking in, not part of the group at all. She had never felt more different to Serenity as she watched her cousin conversing easily with the group, part of it, at the centre of it with Apollyon.

  She was just a shadow of Serenity.

  Asmodeus was just a shadow of Apollyon.

  Liora looked over her shoulder again, following his progress along the moonlit shore. She ached to go to him.

  Veiron crouched beside her and handed her two plates of food, and dropped his voice to a whisper that felt as though it was for her ears only.

  “Give him those five minutes and then go to him.”

  Liora looked into his dark eyes, surprised to hear support in his voice when he had been the one to attack Asmodeus on sight and only listen to reason once she had disabled him.

  “I can’t say I love the guy. I’ve got my reasons for the way I feel, but I’m man enough to admit that he’s different now, and that… well, now I can see a little of myself in him.” Veiron smiled at her and shrugged. “I was like that once… didn’t play well with others… didn’t belong here. Ask the missus. He wants you to go to him… he needs you to choose him over us.”

  Liora nodded, her heart feeling lighter when she realised that she and Asmodeus weren’t the first to go through a rough start to a relationship and that it was more than possible to make it through and end up together. Erin and Veiron were proof of that. She glanced over at Erin and caught her smiling at Veiron, a touch of pride and love in her eyes.

  “Erin saw the good in me once.” Veiron held his hand out to Erin and she took hold of it, and settled her other hand on her belly. “And look at me now… about to become a daddy.”

  Veiron kneeled beside Erin and placed his hand over hers, holding her bump with her.

  “And you’ll be the best father in the three realms too.” Erin kissed his cheek.

  Liora smiled at them, remembering how her parents had been so filled with love and devotion too, and hoped that things turned out better for Erin and Veiron.

  A prickle ran down her spine and her smile faded.

  Someone was watching her.

  She looked around the fire at everyone and found them looking at each other, and then over her shoulder. Asmodeus had his back to her still.

  The feeling came again. She shivered as the intensity of the sensation increased and it felt darker this time and sinister, setting her on edge. The same feeling she’d had in Paris several times.

  Was it the Devil watching her?

  Or someone else?

  CHAPTER 19

  Liora left the fire and went in search of Asmodeus, wanting to be around him and needing to speak to him about the strange sensation of being watched that she’d had over the past few weeks.

  She found him at the far end of the beach, staring at the dark water and the moonlight playing on it. Remus and Romulus were at the treeline, sniffing and investigating.

  “Asmodeus?” she whispered as she rounded him and he didn’t respond.

  His glowing golden gaze remained locked on the water, no doubt fixed on a point deep below the waves.

  She touched his arm and he tensed, his eyes snapping to her and the bright swirling fire in them fading.

  “Your boss again?”

  He nodded, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “He is getting persistent.”

  “Can you hear him like Erin can?” She hoped he said no, because the thought of the Devil pushing his voice into Asmodeus’s mind and saying all manner of dark things put her on edge. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep the sudden chill off her skin.

  “No. It is difficult to explain. I feel compelled to do something and I know it is not my own desire. In this case, I feel I must take you to Hell, to him.” He sighed and opened his eyes to glare at the water. “I do not want to take you back to Hell. It is hard to refuse his orders but I will keep fighting him.”

  “Twice now I’ve… I…” Liora lost her nerve and focused, clinging to her courage again and telling herself that she could talk to Asmodeus about this. She didn’t have to worry what he would think of her or that he might believe she was crazy. She could trust him with this and he would help her find an answer to the question that plagued her. “Someone is watching me.”

  Asmodeus immediately looked around them and pulled her into the protective circle of his arms, pinning her against his bare chest. She pressed her cheek to it and listened to his heart beating hard against her ear. He was so warm and the feel of his arms around her comforted her more than she had anticipated, chasing away her fears and leaving her relaxed and calm. He turned with her, scanning their surroundings.

  “Do you know who?” He kept hold of her, one large hand against her shoulder and the other in the small of her back.

  She shook her head. “I’ve never seen them. It started a few weeks back and since I met you, I’ve felt it twice more… both times you were being compelled by the Devil. Do you think it’s the Devil watching me?”

  Asmodeus ran his fingers through her hair, combing it back from her face, the motion soothing her further, until she melted into him and felt completely at ease. She was safe here in his arms. She had always taken care of herself, had never relied on anyone, not since her parents had died, but she found it easy to rely on him like this, letting him take care of her.

  “Perhaps. It is possible he has been monitoring you. He cannot reach the pool I often use to see this world, but he has other methods at his disposal. Do not fear, Liora. He cannot set foot in this realm. You are safe here.”

  “With you.” She burrowed into his embrace, pressing the full length of her body into his. His trousers were still damp, cold against her bare legs.

  He brushed his hand down her face, drew her chin up and looked down at her, the fire in his golden eyes warming her and chasing the chill from her bones. She didn’t care what everyone else on this island thought about him. They didn’t know him as she did. They had never seen this side of Asmodeus, the one he only showed to her. He cared deeply about her and would fight the Devil alone to keep her safe from him. He would move Heaven, Hell and Earth for her sake.

  Beneath his dark exterior and his vicious reputation beat the heart of a good man, one capable of beautiful feelings.

  One who was looking at her with the deepest form of love in his eyes.

  Liora pressed her hands against his chest, tiptoed and parted her lips.

  Asmodeus took her invitation, dipping his head and bringing his mouth to hers.

  He kissed her softly and slowly, turning the warmth he had awoken in her veins into fire that burned her and felt as if it would never die. She would always burn for Asmodeus like this, always warm whenever he was near and on fire whenever he touched her.

  He angled his head and deepened the kiss, his sensual lips playing against hers, teasing her with their softness when she began to want more, craving the ferocity he had shown her in his castle. Part of her savoured this kiss though, enjoying the bliss that came from being with him like this, sharing a quiet intimate moment that relayed his feelings and drew hers to the surface, and reassured them both.

  As the world melted away, the events of the past day began to catch up with her, running through her mind at warp speed. She longed to go back to the castle, even when she knew it wasn’t safe for them there now. Her time there had been wonderful, bringing her closer to Asmodeus. She feared that if they stayed on this island, he would grow distant again, driven away from her by Apollyon and Serenity, and driven away from this place by the others.

  Liora hooked her hands around his neck, holding on to him and swearing she would never let go. When he had threatened to leave her on the island, it had felt as though she would never see him again, as though they were saying goodbye.

  She pressed her fingers into the back of his neck and he dre
w back. She fought him, desperately kissing him, trying to make him stay.

  Asmodeus sighed, took hold of her wrists, and eased her hands away from his neck. He looked down at her, his face in shadow but his eyes glowing faintly, golden and intense, locked on her.

  He released her left wrist and smoothed his palm across her cheek and into her hair, clearing it from her face. He hooked it behind her ear, settled his fingers beneath her chin and gently raised it so she was facing him.

  “I did not want to leave you,” he whispered, his deep voice husky and thick with the emotions that danced in his eyes, speaking silent words of reassurance and affection to her. “I never want to leave you.”

  Liora closed her eyes, swallowed, and then opened them again and held his gaze. She looked deep into his eyes, able to decipher his feelings now that she knew him better and had seen beyond the walls he had carefully constructed around his emotions, hiding them from everyone so they never saw who he really was or how he truly felt.

  She could see the truth of him, the real Asmodeus that she had wanted to set eyes on and know, and it was because he was letting her in and letting her see him, and it touched her.

  It had taken a lot for him to be like this with her, allowing his lighter emotions, the warmer ones, to come to the surface and blossom there, growing stronger each day they were together.

  He had said that the evil in him outweighed the good and she wasn’t going to fool herself by pretending that wasn’t the case. There was evil in him, darkness that would always be there, but there was good in him too and it grew a little every hour they spent with each other, coming to the fore to offer some balance in his emotions, gently tipping the scales so evil no longer dominated his personality.

  But regardless of the battle between good and evil in him, and regardless of what side might end up being his more dominant nature, she would always want to be in his arms and feel them holding her. She would always want to be with him.

  Liora smiled and cupped his cheeks, keeping his eyes on her as she searched for the courage to be as open with her feelings as he was with his.

  “I never want you to leave me,” she whispered and the corners of his mouth edged into a smile that took her breath away.

  It overflowed with happiness and love.

  “Then I swear I will never leave your side.” He gathered her back into his arms and kissed her again, harder this time, unleashing a fraction of his passion on her but still keeping it soft and light, filled with tenderness.

  She slipped her hands along his jaw and around the back of his head again, and pushed her fingers into his short black hair. It was velvet beneath her fingertips, thick and luxurious. His hard body pressed into hers as he stepped closer to her, bringing them into full contact again. She trembled, a shiver of heat racing through her blood like a flash fire, and leaned into him, eager for more.

  Asmodeus skimmed his hands down her back and clutched her bottom, and she smiled when claws pressed into her flesh. She probed his mouth with her tongue and found fangs. He groaned when she stroked one with the tip of her tongue and gathered her even closer, crushing her against his body as he took control of the kiss, bending her to his will.

  The distant chatter of everyone else on the island drifted on the warm breeze teasing the white sand and she didn’t care. Enveloped in darkness and Asmodeus’s arms, she felt at peace with the world, safe and secure, alone with him.

  “Make love to me, Asmodeus,” she whispered against his lips and he groaned in response, clutching her to him, his claws digging into her backside.

  She expected him to say something, to perhaps ask for a definition of making love or something equally as charming and innocent. He didn’t.

  He scooped her up into his arms, kneeled and laid her down on the warm sand. She moaned the moment he settled above her, his hard body pressing her into the soft sand, sending another hot shiver zinging through her, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her again, as maddeningly soft as before, and she wanted to spur him into unleashing his passion on her, but held herself back. She had asked him to make love with her, and this soft, tender, reverent kiss was just the beginning of a moment she knew would be one of the best in her life, even better than their first time together in his castle.

  Asmodeus rocked his hips between hers, the feel of his hard length sending more shivers through her as it stroked her through her knickers. She struggled against the urge to kiss him harder, wrap her legs around his waist, and force him down onto her, and relaxed beneath him.

  He pushed himself up onto one elbow and stroked his fingers over her neck, over the spot where he had bitten her.

  “Do you want to do it again?” The look in his eyes said that he did and she wouldn’t deny him if he admitted he desired to bite her again.

  “Later,” he husked and kissed her again, a brief fierce one that quickly subsided into something more intense and passionate as he rocked against her. He curled his fingers over her left shoulder and kissed down her jaw on the right side, trailing his lips all the way to where he had bitten her.

  He licked the twin puncture marks and then continued downwards, kissing across her chest to the swell of her breasts.

  Liora moaned as he carefully undid each small button that held her dress closed down the middle, teasing her with a mixture of kisses, licks and strokes of his fingers as he popped each one. She rubbed herself against him, shifting up and down his hard length, eliciting quiet grunts from him as he worked to free her breasts.

  He stopped unbuttoning her dress when he reached her stomach, leaving the lower half of it done up.

  Asmodeus drew back and groaned as he parted the two sides of her black summer dress, revealing her breasts to him. She joined him, moaning and tipping her head back as he dipped his head and claimed her right nipple, sucking it into his wicked mouth and swirling his tongue around the sensitive bud.

  Liora tangled her fingers in the longer lengths of his black hair and held him to her, every nip of blunt teeth and swirl of his tongue sending her deeper into her desire, until she couldn’t help herself. She began shifting her hips. He had moved beyond her reach and it drove her out of her mind. She needed to feel him between her thighs again, thrusting and rocking, filling her until she felt as if she would shatter around him.

  “Asmodeus,” she whispered and arched her back, thrusting her breasts upwards. He moaned and slipped one arm beneath her, holding her off the sand as he sucked her left nipple harder, the hint of pain only adding to her pleasure.

  Liora stared up at the stars twinkling above her, losing herself in the feel of his hard body pressed against hers and his tongue and teeth teasing her. The stars shifted out of focus and she moaned again, tugging his hair and aching for something more. He took the hint and ventured further down, kissing between her breasts and thumbing her right nipple with his free hand. She swallowed hard when he traversed her stomach and slipped his hands down her body, settling them on her thighs.

  He pushed her dress up and kissed her thighs. They quivered in response, trembling as he stroked them, his warm hands skimming softly over them and gently easing them apart. Liora brushed her hands over her breasts, teasing her own nipples.

  Asmodeus growled.

  His gaze bore into her, burning her, cranking up her temperature. She looked down the length of her body to him and teased him, toying with her nipples, tweaking them between her fingers and thumbs.

  He growled lower.

  Yanked her knickers down to her knees and off her feet.

  Spread her thighs and stared at her.

  Mother Earth, she wanted him when he looked ready to eat her whole.

  She wriggled her hips, ripping another snarl from him, tempting him into taking her. His expression turned pained and he firmly settled his hands on her thighs, holding them apart. In the moonlight, she could see the hard outline of his cock as it strained against his linen trousers. He wanted her and she was teasing him into taking her as he had in
his castle but she had demanded that he make love with her. It was cruel of her to try to push him over the edge when he wanted to fulfil her request, bringing things between them onto a deeper level.

  Liora had just decided to behave when he rose to kneel between her thighs and undid his black trousers. He ran his right hand down his length, revealing the thick crown, and she pulsed with desire, quivering with the memory of how big he had been inside her, stretching and filling her, completing her.

  Asmodeus slipped his other hand down her thigh and she moaned, shivering when his fingers brushed her curls and then he eased them between her plush petals. He dipped his fingers down to her core and drew them up again, spreading her moisture and eliciting another breathless moan from her. His gaze darkened, devouring her as he touched her, stroking her softly and taking her higher.

  She bit her lip and cupped her breasts, squeezing them as he caressed her, swirling his fingers around her nub, sending sparks skittering outwards from her core. They lit her up inside, driving her to rock her hips, riding his fingers. He dipped them lower, stealing her breath as he eased them into her sheath and then withdrew again.

  Liora groaned when he held her gaze and sucked his fingers clean, his gaze turning to molten gold as he tasted her. She licked her lips, thoughts of tasting him in return spinning through her mind. She wanted to wrap her lips around his thick hard shaft and suck him until he cried out her name and the whole island knew what they were doing here in the dark under the moon and the stars.

  “You think wicked things,” Asmodeus growled and she didn’t blush.

  She boldly held his gaze and wriggled her hips, earning a husky growl as her reward. “The wickedest.”

  He dropped forwards, coming to rest on his hands above her, pinning her beneath him again. His golden eyes held hers, captivating her, and she reminded herself that this wasn’t about wicked things.

  This was about making love and showing him that pleasure could be more than physical.

  It could be emotional.