“Oh god, oh god,” she chanted her breath. “More. Please.”
“Not God,” he grunted. “It’s Camiel. Call me Camiel.”
Her eyes sprang open. As she squeezed him, he could sense her on the precipice, but still she gave him a small, sly grin, her eyes dropping closed again as he pounded her into the mattress. She wanted more? He’d give it to her. “Thinking highly of… unh… yourself, aren’t you? Oh God,” she said again, before quickly correcting it to, “Camiel, fuck yes. Right there. Right there.”
“Eyes, Avery. Look at me.”
“Yes, whatever you want...” Her honey-colored eyes flew open again. This time, she kept them that way. “Oh, Camiel, I’m coming.”
So was he. But first, he locked eyes with his mortal.
He saw—
He saw—
Cam’s body jerked. The orgasm started at the base of his spine, tightening his sac as he slammed his cock as deep inside of his mortal as he could. He didn’t blink. He didn’t blink. Eyes wide open, he stole another kiss, and shuddered as he released everything he was into the only female he’d ever loved.
As he came inside of her, he kept his eyes locked on Avery’s and, while his seed spilled out, so did the words in the Old language.
I give you my soul.
She heard the words. He was sure of it. But her only response was to sigh as her eyes slowly closed.
17
Breathing in sync
Cam was saying something to her. Whether it was the buzz in her skull, the aftershocks of her latest orgasm, or the racing of her heart, Avery wasn’t quite sure what it was. She didn’t think it was English. It sounded foreign, but like nothing she hadn’t heard before.
He was still inside of her. Though he’d reached his own climax right as he started murmuring insistently in her ear, she could feel him thrusting gently, as if he was more than content to stay right where he was.
She moved her hips slowly, trying to keep him there, but he slipped out of her when his tired arms gave out and he settled over her body.
Her eyes were closed. Right after he finished—both inside of her, and with the string of syllables that seemed important, but she couldn’t quite understand—she must’ve closed her eyes as pleasure rolled over her one last time.
She was still feeling it. Or maybe that was the connection between her and Cam. If it had been something she noticed before, after what just happened? While she panted her recovery and he huffed, it was like they were breathing in sync. Sharing the same air.
The same—
Avery’s eyes sprang open. The first thing she noticed? Cam was still on top of her, but the black wings that had covered her during the height of their passion were eerily missing. There were signs that she hadn’t imagined him, though. Tucked beneath the folds of her comforter, laying flat against her sheets, she saw too many shedded black feathers to count.
What the…
His head was buried between her tits. She couldn’t tell, but it seemed like his eyes were closed now.
She tapped him on his bare back. “Hey. What happened to your wings?”
He didn’t answer her.
Was he sleeping? It had been a long time for her—and Cam made it clear that, like kissing, she was his first—so she wasn’t surprised that their romp had taken so much energy out of them. She felt like passing out herself. Is that what happened to Cam?
She poked him. “Cam?”
He grunted. It… wasn’t the same grunt as when he got his rhythm and really started thrusting. This was more like answering grunt when he was annoyed—and since when could she differentiate her Othersider’s grunts?
“What happened to your wings?”
“I tucked them out of sight. You fucked the strength right out of me, Avery, and that’s the truth. I could support my wings or I could support my arms so I didn’t crush you, so I pulled them in when I finished.”
Should she mention that his weight was kind of crushing her now?
No way in hell. She liked having Cam as her own personal blanket, wings or no wings.
So, instead of poking him again like she would any past lover she was done with, she smoothed her hand down his back, delighting herself with the curve of his ass. No wings, but his tight ass was definitely a great consolation prize. Something told her that she would never be done with Cam.
“Is that a good thing?” she teased.
“The very best,” he promised, rolling onto his back.
He was still a little out of breath. Avery was pretty damn proud of that. Look at her. A regular human chick bringing the powerful Othersider to his knees—literally. Could she have gotten any luckier?
Pun definitely intended.
Turning her head, she saw that, some time since she brought him to her room, night had fallen. Through her shades, she could see the dark sky, and wondered if that was why she was so tired.
She cozied next to Cam, turning back so that she could kiss his pec. “Night, Cam.”
“Night?” His eyes had been closed. Suddenly, he quirked one open, a hungry look in its depths that had Avery’s thighs quivering again. “Give me a couple of minutes. I hope you’re not too tired yet, because I don’t plan on going to sleep anytime soon.”
Cam was good as his word. Sooner than she expected, he was buried inside of her again while Avery scratched his back, imagining she was running her fingers through his wings as her Othersider gave her the ride of her life.
And then did it again.
And again.
The best night of Cam’s life became morning way too quickly.
A shame and a pity, and if he had any hope of ever having a repeat, he wouldn’t be staring up at the ceiling with one hell of a scowl on his face. Avery was still sleeping, face buried in his shoulder, her long hair tickling his bare skin. She had her hand splayed possessively on his chest and, though her forearm was also hidden, he could just feel the six Enochian characters of his angelic name on her skin.
He’d lost track of how many times he’d taken Avery. Desperate need coupled with a fear that, come morning, one of them would disappear… he wasn’t going to stop until she made him.
She’d finally curled into him a few hours ago. Her voice raspy from her shouts of pleasure, she murmured that she needed some time to recover herself and that she hoped he’d still be there in the morning. It was as if she had the same fear as he did, though he hadn’t given her any reason to believe that, come morning, anything would be different.
So he brushed one last kiss against her forehead and tucked her into his side. And then Cam let her sleep. He had worn the poor mortal out, though Avery had taken every thrust, every kiss, every grunt, and given it back to him tenfold. He had scratches on his skin, a lightness in his heart, and a pit in his stomach.
He hadn’t meant it to happen. Once the sex had become a foregone conclusion, Cam went into knowing that this would be his first time with a female and, if she wasn’t his soulmate, his last. Sleeping with Avery broke every law that the Othersiders had. For a night of pleasure with this mortal, he’d give up everything.
Last night, he hadn’t cared. He was willing to sacrifice it all. This morning? He felt exactly the same. No regrets, but also… no different.
Cam wondered if he should. In the heat of the moment, he fell prey to his instincts. He offered Avery his soul, though of course she hadn’t had any idea what he said. The ancient vows were ingrained in all of the Fallen, and though Cam had never expected to say them, it just… they just came out.
He didn’t regret that, either.
Was she his soulmate? Or was he waiting for the other shoe to drop? Everything Dina ever told him, every warning he’d ever heard… it all said that the curse of the Othersiders acted swiftly. It had been hours since Avery fell asleep against his chest, properly sated but undeniably exhausted. What did that mean?
What was he supposed to do now?
This was the first time he’d ever shared a bed with another so
ul. As she snuffled, the warmth of her breath against his skin—and her slight snore—delighting him, Cam didn’t want to leave. Ever. He wanted to stay naked, make love to Avery, and maybe stop for food. That was all.
The sun was already up. So was Cam, and not because he’d refused to sleep for even a minute if it was one minute less that he had with Avery. Even if she wasn’t his soulmate, there was still an obvious attraction between them. Avery had been right to call him out on it, and some part of Cam had been expecting it to lead them to this very spot all along. Oh, he’d deny it and take the loss of points for lying if any soul asked, but when he thought about he sensed Avery even before their first meeting, something about them had seemed inevitable.
As he shifted slightly, trying to free the erection trapped beneath Avery so that she didn’t feel pressured the second she finally woke up again, Cam thought about the original Fallen who fathered the Nephilim. Whether Avery was his soulmate or not—and he wished he knew, though how?—he would’ve fallen into bed with her anyway. Laws or no laws. Curse or no curse. The Fallen probably felt the same way.
They paid for their crimes. If Cam had to? He would.
And he wouldn’t regret it at all.
Avery’s bare back was alluring. The blanket he yanked over her reached just past the curve of her waist leaving him with more than enough to look at. He ran his down her smooth skin, barely brushing the side of her bare breast. He didn’t want to wake her, not yet any way, and he kept on tracing her skin until he hit the hem of the comforter.
Slipping his hand under her hair, he tickled the back of her neck, chucking softly when she snuggled even closer.
By his inner clock, Cam decided it had to be closing in on eleven a.m., give or take a few minutes. He’d let Avery sleep right through breakfast, and since he was still in bed with her, he was hoping he could get away with waking her up soon for lunch.
And when he was done tasting her again, maybe then he would go find some food for her, too.
Cam smiled into her tousled hair, nuzzling the loose strands, strangely content despite the feeling of dread creeping up his back. He knew that this couldn’t last. Either she was his soulmate and he had to figure why their bond hadn’t snapped into place—because that was supposed to happen, right?—or he had to accept that she wasn’t… and that the curse of the Othersiders was a very real possible.
And that’s when the dread reached a fever pitch, slamming into the middle of his chest a second before he heard them.
The thunderous baying of a pack of dogs that made the windows in Avery’s room rattle. But not just any dogs.
Hellhounds. From the supernaturally loud howls, to the way his senses screamed for him to run, to escape, to fucking flee… he knew that they’d found him. They knew exactly where Cam was.
And they were coming for him right this second.
18
Hellhounds or guns?
Well, Cam thought, that answered his question, didn’t it? Especially with the anti-Para spell that surrounded Spring Valley, there was only one reason why hellhounds would be so close.
And he was it.
Hellhounds.
Damn it!
Cam shuddered out a breath. He shoved all that shit—the disappointment and despair that, despite all of his hopes, Avery wasn’t his—aside. There was no time for any of it. He’d made his bed last night as soon as he fell into hers and now? It was time to pay up.
Okay. Okay. First things first? He had to get out of there. Now.
If the down below sent the pack of hounds after him—which, duh—then they already had his scent. They could follow him through time and space itself, except for Othersider property. Places like Netzach’s mountain monstrosity, Cam’s Grayson building, and Raphael’s hideaway were their sanctuaries. Once inside, the hellhounds would never be able to get at him.
Of course, that meant getting back to Grayson before the hellhounds caught up to him. Considering he could already hear their baying, they had to be nearby. To make matters worse, not only was he still naked, but at the loud barking sound that echoed in her bedroom, Avery was ripped from her peaceful sleep. She had jolted at the sound of the hounds’ cries, shattering any of Cam’s illusions that they would only be a threat for him, and though he wished she would shake it off as a dream, she was already shoving against him, looking around as if she expected to find a pack of dogs in the room with them.
Cam’s heart started to pound in his chest. If Avery heard them, they could touch her. Hurt her.
No.
He had to protect her. No matter what happened to Cam, he had to make sure that Avery was safe. And, unfortunately, the safest place for his female was anywhere that he wasn’t.
Trying to soothe her, hoping he could explain away the barking as a neighbor’s dog that just got loose, Cam slid out from the bed with a tight promise that he’d go check on what that was—
“…even though I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
He should’ve known that she’d never buy it. Maybe he’d been putting too much stock in a bond that obviously didn’t exist between them, but hope flared anew as Avery shoved her hair out of her face, watched him move across the room, and said, “You’re lying.”
“It’s just dogs, Avery. Go back to sleep.”
“But it’s not.” She rubbed her forehead. He hadn’t meant to lace his words with a suggestion but, then again, it didn’t matter. Like usual with Avery, it barely took. “Something’s wrong. I… I smell something.” She lifted her nose in the air, sniffing a few times before it wrinkled. “What the fuck is that? It smells like rotten eggs.”
Did it really? Cam hadn’t noticed, but maybe that was because he was desperately trying not to face the truth. With Avery watching him, he breathed in deep and nearly choked on it. “It’s not eggs,” he said without thinking. “It’s sulfur.”
“Sulfur? Why does my apartment smell like sulfur?”
Good question.
Answer: the hellhounds were closer than he thought. Her apartment smelled like brimstone—like the fires of Hell—because all of Spring Valley probably did.
Cam bit back a growl of his own. Damn it! What good was the anti-Para spell if it couldn’t keep hellhounds out?
As Avery glared at him, Cam could sense her confusion laced with a hurt that he was obviously still lying to her. It didn’t matter that he was trying to save her from knowing what was racing toward them. She’d only blame herself, even though the fault belonged squarely on Cam’s shoulders, and he didn’t want her to go through that.
Too bad he was already hurting her by brushing off her concerns and lying to her. To his mortal, the good guy didn’t do that.
He hesitated.
Sensing weakness, Avery pounced. “What’s going on? Tell me, Cam. You’re acting weird.”
Acting weird? He wasn’t acting weird. He was acting like a bonded male trying to shield his female from anything that could hurt her.
But Avery wasn’t his mate. She might be his lover, and he was pretty sure he did love her, but the bond he imagined between them was a thread instead of an unbreakable rope.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t still protect her. She wanted the truth? He’d give her that, but he’d do so while doing whatever he had to for her safety.
Just then? That meant getting as far away from her as possible.
“Hellhounds,” Cam ground out, grabbing his pants and stabbing one leg in, then the next. “Demon pets from the down below. They’re coming.”
From the shocked look on Avery’s face, he was betting that was the last thing she expected him to say. She didn’t argue, though. She just hopped from the bed, following right behind him as he readied himself to go.
“Coming? For who? For us?”
“For me.”
He didn’t bother searching for his shirt. Boots? No need. He couldn’t outrun the beasts, but he sure hoped his wings were still strong enough to carry him away—and that’s if they were still t
here to be released. He’d tucked them inside after his first orgasm, too afraid to feel them disappear in case the curse struck him down. Now? He felt an itch, but was it wishful thinking? Or just—
“It’s the curse, Avery. I should’ve known better. I should’ve left last night. I’m a fucking moron..”
And if he couldn’t lure the hellhounds away from Avery, anything that happened to her was on his head.
“Curse? What curse? Cam—” Avery shot her hand out, fingers biting into his bicep as she latched onto him. He couldn’t look back at her, and not only because she was still gloriously naked. “What—” The baying sounds echoed through the room again. She tightened her grip, nails digging into his skin. “Cam? Tell me. Tell me what’s going on.”
Was there even time?
One glance over his shoulder, taking in her big, honey-colored eyes, the set of her jaw, the way he knew—just knew—that this mortal female would never accept anything less, and he figured that he better make some.
He tried to explain the curse without quite using that word, but he realized almost immediately that he did a piss-poor job of it the second that Avery’s jaw dropped.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Cam? We had sex and now you’re a demon?”
It might be funny if it wasn’t for the look of horror on her face now.
“No, no, no. I’m not. But Othersiders like me… we’re not supposed to…” The words “fall in love” stuck in his throat. He cleared it, then said, “I’m not a demon. But the curse of the Othersiders means that, if I want to go up above and get that halo, I don’t get to do that with mortal females. We don’t get to bond. And if we even try… well, I’m not a demon now.”
And if he managed to avoid the hellhound? That just took a pair of horns off the table for the moment. The halo? He’d already given up on that. Probably after that first unexpected kiss with Avery—if not from the moment she walked into his office and stole his breath away.
True Angel: a Fallen Angel romance (Curse of the Othersiders Book 1) Page 16
