“Oh, my dear. If you think that you could slink off, and those boys wouldn’t just follow you anyway… Well, by hell or high-water as they say, you’d find them on your heels, and more than a little pissed, I’m sure. They know the risks as well as you do.”
“I know, but they’re only going because of me. They have so many other people they’re responsible for. People that need them.”
“Remington, dear. If you think any of those boys would be of any use to anyone if you were trapped in another realm, and they knew there was no chance of you coming back to them, you are sorely mistaken. Anyone with eyes can see that you’re the sun they revolve around. Where you go, they will follow, whether you want them to or not.” She takes a sip of her tea, her eyes sparkling with laughter, but I know her words are true, I can feel it, deep in my heart.
And that almost makes it worse. There’s nothing I can do to stop them coming with me, so I just need to be enough. I need to find a way to make this work. Even if getting them all back here kills me. At least I can come back, even if in the next life, we can find this place again. I hope.
I’m still sat in the kitchen an hour later when Levi appears, in his trademark morning sweatpants, and topless. It takes everything in me not to drool. It’s hard to think that I’ve only known him for like three months. It feels like forever, and in some ways it is, especially all things considered, but in this life, it’s not even quite three months. It’s insane, and yet, I hope I react like this to him, to all of them, forever.
“Morning Angel.” He wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses the top of my head. “You’re up early, everything okay?”
“I’m good, just had some things to think about, so I went running early, then Everly found me, took pity on me.” I smile up at him and he kisses me softly, but with enough heat to make my toes curl. Damn.
He lets me go and steals a bite of the toast in front of me, before giving me a cheesy grin. I laugh at him as he steals the slice and goes to pour himself some coffee. “So, I was thinking about what you said to me, about wanting a journal of Amantara’s. I had an idea, and sent word to Serafina, who pulled through.”
He pauses as he takes a sip of his coffee and I stave off the eye roll I can feel itching to happen as I wait not so patiently for him to finish whatever it was he was saying. He walks to the utility off the kitchen and reappears with a box which he places on the counter before me. “For you.”
He leans his hip against the counter, and I forget momentarily about the box as his abs steal my attention. It is not right that he looks like that, especially with the amount he eats. It’s criminal, that’s what it is.
“What’s this?” I ask, waving to the box while trying to drag my eyes from him. It’s been a little while since I had some alone time with him, and man am I starting to crave it.
“Open it and you’ll see.” His eyes glint alongside his smirk and this time I really do roll my eyes. I turn back to the box and open it, finding a bunch of leather-bound books.
Not books.
Journals.
“These were Amantara’s?” I ask, eyes wide.
“They were, but…” his smirk drops as I pick one up and open it.
“Shit,” I curse. “Is this Latin?” I ask, looking at the language, which looks familiar, but not.
“Not quite, Latin came from this for humans and Hunters. That’s the language of Angels, from an era long before now. Back then, we adopted the common tongue because it was easier with everything we were doing down here, and it just stuck, but before then, this was our language. I’m a little rusty because, well, it’s been forever and I was never really the academic type unless it was strategy and battle,” he tells me and I sigh.
“So we can’t read it?” I ask.
“Well, yes and no. I asked an old friend if they could come and help us with it.” He shrugs and while I’m happy, I groan.
“Please not Serafina?” He shakes his head with a small grin.
“No, not her. My friend Nevin. He should be here in an hour or so, his visit isn’t exactly sanctioned, so we need to keep it as discreet as we can.”
“Thank you, Levi. I can’t…” I let out a deep breath and beam at him. “Thank you. This means a lot. I’ll go get dressed so I’m ready for when he gets here.” I stand, feeling lighter than I have in days.
“Well, I had another idea for how we could pass the time,” he says, wagging his eyebrows and I can’t help but laugh.
“Oh really?” I say, leaning into him, my hands on his chest.
“Yes really,” he says wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning down to kiss me. The kiss is slow, gentle, yet demanding and full of heat.
“Well, who am I to discourage those sorts of thoughts?” I laugh as he lifts me off my feet and I wrap my legs around him instinctively.
“Exactly,” he purrs and moves us, so quickly, that in just a few breaths, I find myself in his bedroom, with the door closed behind us. “I’ve missed you, Angel.”
He kisses me again, desperately, teeth and tongues clashing as he presses my back up against the closed door. His hardness grinds into me and I gasp. There’s no doubt about how much he’s missed me. I tangle my fingers in his hair and roll my hips, grinding down on him. The friction is almost enough to make me lose my mind.
He lifts me away from the door, and uses one hand to strip away my workout bra, leaving me bare to him. He groans as he leans down and places me on the bed. “I will never get enough of you, Remy.”
He takes one of my nipples in his mouth, while tweaking the other with his fingers, thoroughly driving me wild, before he swaps to the other.
“I need you, Levi,” I gasp as his teeth graze against me, and I feel his smile on my skin.
“Patience, Angel.”
He kisses up my chest and neck, while grinding against me, before recapturing my mouth and kissing me until I’m breathless. His fingertips glide down my ribs, making me arch up into his touch as he skims across the top of my leggings.
His lips leave mine as he hooks his fingers in my pants then removes them and my panties in one swift tug, leaving me completely bare and laid out for him. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful.”
He kneels on the end of the bed and kisses up from my ankle to my knee, up the inside of my thigh until he reaches my now very wet, and needy pussy. He kisses my folds, teasing me, then darts his tongue inside, and licks me from my opening to my clit. I cry out at his touch as he widens my thighs with his strong hands and holds me open for him to feast on.
His tongue circles my clit, and I about see stars as he teases me again and again, until his fingers slide inside of me. He hooks them and fucks me with his fingers while his tongue tortures my bundle of nerves until I can barely breathe.
“Yes,” I cry out as I fly over the edge into the oblivion of my orgasm.
“Fuck you taste so good. I could eat you for the rest of my life and be a happy man,” he says as he rises up to kiss me thoroughly. The taste of me on him is hotter than words can describe. I hope I never get used to feeling like this.
“I am going to fuck you so hard you feel me inside of you for days to come,” he whispers in my ear, before pulling back, and stands of the edge of the bed. He pulls me down the bed towards him, lifting my hips to line us up, before entering me in one hard plunge.
“Fuck, Levi!” I gasp.
He hisses as my pussy clenches around him, barely over my last orgasm. He stills for a moment before withdrawing, then enters me again, hard and fast. His hands grip my hips so tightly I imagine I’ll have bruises, but I’m so lost in him and how he works my body I can’t find it in me to care. One hand releases my hip and he brings his thumb to my clit and circles it as he fucks me, nothing but the noise of skin on skin and our hard breaths surrounding us as I fall over the edge again.
He slows while I ride out my orgasm, my bones turning to jelly. “Oh I’m not done with you yet, Angel,” he all but growls before he flips me over. He brings me up so I’m kneelin
g, facing away from him, one arm around my waist, his hand on my breast as he enters me again and kisses my neck.
“I’ll never be done with you,” he pants as he picks up his pace again, tweaking my nipple with his finger and thumb again as he fucks me, as hard as he promised.
“Come for me again, Remy.” His words, a plea, a whisper, sending me over the edge yet again. This time he comes with me, roaring out his release, and I feel as his wings unfurl. They wrap around us, until I can see nothing but black feathers, and feel his heat behind me. He pulls out of me, and turns me in his arms so I’m facing him, his wings still around us like a cocoon. He lifts me and lays us down in his bed. Wrapped in his arms and his wings, I can’t help but drift back off to sleep as he kisses my hair, his heartbeat under my ear.
It’s lunch time before I roll out of Levi’s bed. He must’ve left not long ago, because his side of the bed is still warm. I smile to myself thinking about how lucky I am to have these guys in my life. For them to be so accepting of each other, even if it was a bit rocky to start with.
I use his ensuite to clean myself up and pull my workout clothes back on before heading back through the house to my room to change. On my way past the kitchen, I hear Roman and Levi giving each other shit, and it warms my heart that these men of mine are finding new friendships despite everything. We’re becoming our own version of a family, and nothing makes me happier.
I creep down the hall to my room, making sure not to wake anyone who isn’t already up. I change quickly into jeans and another snarky t-shirt. I found them online a few weeks ago, I guess they arrived and Everly put them in here, but honestly, they make me happy in such a petty way, I can’t help but love them. Today’s just says, ‘Don’t speak to me before coffee’ with a take-out cup on it. I love it.
Once I make myself somewhat presentable, I head back towards the kitchen where I heard the guys messing around earlier, but I stop when Kain opens the door to his room as I pass. “Good morning, mon amour.”
His voice is gravelly, and his eyes are still heavy with sleep. “Good morning. You okay?” I ask, concerned, because he never looks anything but completely put together.
“Just a little thirsty,” he says with a small blush. “Going to grab a drink and then I’ll feel right as rain.”
“Well, how about I help you with that?” I offer, and he grins.
“That is something I’m never going to turn down. If you’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.” I sashay into his room as he widens the door to let me in. The door closes softly and I take in the rumpled sheets on the bed, the still drawn curtains, and look back at him.
“You sure that’s all it is?” I ask.
“I am positive, mon amour.” He grins and holds out his hand. I take it and he pulls me into him.
“If you get like this, you should just say, I’m happy for you to drink from me if the bagged stuff isn’t cutting it,” I tell him softly.
“I will keep that in mind, ma chérie,” he says before kissing me softly. His fangs elongate, nipping at my lip, and he groans at the small drop of blood that’s drawn.
“Drink,” I whisper against his lips and he pulls back, and turns me to face away from him, but still so close not even a hair could fit between us.
“As you wish,” he mutters before he kisses my neck. His teeth break the skin and I hiss at the initial pain before pleasure floods my system as he pulls the blood from my neck. His arms around my waist keep me standing, because whatever it is that fills me as he feeds is enough to make my knees weak, despite the fact I was only with Levi a few hours before.
He pulls back and groans, licking the blood that escapes, before he tilts my head in the opposite direction, and bites down again.
Fuck me, it feels so good, if I wouldn’t pass out from blood loss, I’d let him feed on me all day. He releases my neck again, the first bite marks already healed, so he laves his tongue over the new ones, catching any blood that escapes until they heal over enough too.
“You taste so good, mon amour. Like the finest wine.” He sighs, before he kisses my neck softly again. I turn in his arms, and he looks much more like himself. His eyes amber from feeding, and there’s color back in his cheeks.
“Thank you. I think.” I laugh. “But, next time, don’t go so long between feeds. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you.” I stroke some of the hair from his brow and he smiles at me.
“I will do my best.”
“Good,” I say and peck his lips. “Now get dressed, we have a visitor coming.”
He groans and pulls me back in for a kiss so hot I think the floor beneath us must be scorched. “I can never get enough of you.”
“Later,” I promise him and pull away, because if I don’t leave now, I won’t. “Can’t be late.”
“Who is our guest?” Kain asks as he strips down and walks into his closet. Damn him and his chiseled body. I shake my head and have to think for a second about what his question was.
“An Angel friend of Levi’s. Nevin. He’s coming to help me with some stuff Levi found of Amantara’s to see if there’s any secrets about the Shadow Realm that might help us,” I tell him and he appears before me again, in his trademark suit, polished, and put together as if he wasn’t disheveled and half asleep a few minutes ago.
“Well then, we better go see if he’s here,” he says kissing my forehead and opening the door for me.
Chapter Four
One Week Ago
Fallon
“Colt, I’m not doing this with you again.” I hang up and throw my phone down on the bed, trying not to scream in frustration. That boy would drive a saint to despair, I swear it.
I lay back, and close my eyes, thankful that Mama and Rebel are staying with aunt Marie tonight. Thank god for margarita night, even if it is a Thursday. Just a few minutes of peace, that’s all I want. Between working at the restaurant during the day, covering the store at night, and still having something of a life, I’m exhausted. I’m just glad Misty is covering the store tonight. I can’t remember the last full night’s sleep I had.
The pounding at the front door stirs me, I guess I dozed off. “I’m coming!”
I groan as I stand, just a few more minutes sleep would have been awesome. I drag my feet as I head to the front of the house and sigh when I see who’s at the door.
“You can’t just keep ignoring me, Fallon.” Colt’s voice filters through the house and I lean against the wall in the hall. I knew avoiding him and hanging up wouldn’t last forever, he’s as patient as a toddler waiting on ice-cream, but I’d hoped to keep it up for a bit longer.
I take a deep breath to steady myself then rip the front door open. “What do you want, Colt?”
“We need to talk,” he says, his eyes are pleading, but his crossed arms and blasé stance just shout hostility.
“You already talked. You made yourself quite clear. So I’m making myself clear. Whatever it is that we were. It’s done.” I look him straight in the eyes so he knows I’m not playing.
“It’s not done. We’re not done,” he responds and I roll my eyes.
“And just like always, you don’t take what I say seriously. You were right, this would never have worked. Go home, Colt. I need to get some sleep.” I run my fingers through my hair, wincing at the state of it.
“I was wrong.” He steps towards the door, crowding my space, but I hold firm. “I was so wrong. I didn’t even truly believe it, it’s just what I knew.”
“It doesn’t matter, Colt.”
“It has to matter. Please, Fallon. Just hear me out. Talk to me,” he pleads and I huff.
“You’ve got fifteen minutes, after that, you’re gone, ya hear?” I tell him straight. I really do need to catch up on some sleep.
“I’ll take whatever I can get.” I step back and let him in. Closing the door behind him, I head to the sitting room, and sit in the love seat, my legs tucked underneath me.
“Talk,” I tell
him curtly. I’m tired, and honestly at this point, I’ve given the boy more than enough of my time and energy. I had it thrown back in my face once already, I’m not going through that again.
“I was wrong, okay? I am so sorry for what I said, but all I could hear was my dad and Bauer in my head. Talking about factions, and duty. Then everything happened with Remy, and I realized two things. One, I wasn’t alone, and two, I had no reason to be ashamed of what I was feeling. I know that sounds like complete horseshit, but it is what it is. It took me a minute to wrap my head around everything.
I thought we were just having fun, ya know? And then, all of a sudden, it wasn’t just fun, and we were creeping towards a place we don’t come back from unchanged.” He rubs the back of his neck, I can tell how hard he’s trying to explain what he means, but man is he bad at it.
“Colt, you told me your kind and mine don’t mix. That you need to keep your lines pure. That’s a bit of a whopper to come back from with an I’m sorry,” I tell him, tilting my head, because I almost can’t believe he’d think that would be enough.
“You made it sound like Witches are beneath you. Nothing more than the rabble. Good enough to slum it with, but that’s all. I wasn’t good enough to be with you, not because of who I am, but because of what I am,” I seethe. I thought I’d moved past my anger on this, but apparently, I was wrong.
“Obviously, I’m a fucking idiot, Fallon. This isn’t something new. Lifetimes I’ve gone around with my head up my ass, buying into the bullshit the Elder council fed us, but you changed that. You made me doubt it. You made me want more. Feel more. Tell me how to make it up to you and I’ll do it,” he pleads and kneels down in front of me.
“This isn’t something I tell you how to fix Colt. This is something you need to figure out on your own,” I tell him, crossing my arms. Anything to put an extra barrier between us.
“Please Fallon.” He sighs. “Please.”
“Your time is up Colt. You need to go. I need to sleep before I head back to the store tonight.” He doesn’t need to know that I don’t have anywhere to go.
A Crown of Shadows and Secrets Page 3
