He impaled her with a hard thrust. She had no idea what she said as he jacked in and out of her, but it was a mixture of his name and how much she loved him. She thought it’d be a bigger declaration, or even an offhand “You know I do” confession, but like Jagger, she didn’t want to wait anymore. She loved him. He should know.
His body tensed, but he didn’t close his eyes and let his climax take him. He cupped her face and breathed, “I love you too. I always will.”
The minor details could come later—where they’d live. What she’d do for a living. How she’d deal with his work. Right now, it was just about the two of them. They’d figure out the rest later.
* * *
“This is foolish. All of it.” Chanel swept her arm around the room. Her bedroom. But where her robes normally hung, now there was a pair of pants and dark shirts. Weapons lined her vanity and large pairs of boots rested at the base. Mateo had moved too many of his items in. They slept together almost every night and last night that was all they’d done. Slept.
It was over and she was exhausted even though she hadn’t lifted a finger. The mental stress. The…remorse. Her mate was dead. The realm might dictate that their sync had been over when James had lost his wings, but it hadn’t changed her mind, or her heart. He’d still been alive and a part of her soul had felt like she was still synced. Now he was dead.
And she’d cried. Mateo had held her and she’d cried like she hadn’t done since she’d been a child. Not even when she’d witnessed for herself the tenderness with which James had treated his mistress and her child had she sobbed. Her heart had frosted in glacial proportions that day.
“It’s not foolish, Chanel. I’ll quit my job if that makes it better.”
Quitting his job wouldn’t age him a few centuries. Mateo had gone to school with her son! It was one thing to know it when he’d just been a convenient lover, but it was quite another when he’d managed to thaw his way into a part of her. She cared for him. Unacceptable.
But to think that he’d quit over what others would say? “I’d never have you quit. Anyone who dares say a thing can look me in the eye and speak it. I’ll gut them with words sharper than obsidian knives.”
Mateo’s lips twitched. “Our age gap doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother Jagger. Fuck everyone else.”
She fanned herself, more for a distraction than to cool off. He was naked and so was she. She’d just woken up and seen Mateo and decided that this had reached an unacceptable point between them. All these pesky emotions. He couldn’t have said anything more perfect. To have a partner who was proud of the way she was?
No. He was too good to be true.
“Come here,” Mateo said softly. He held his arms out and like a sap she went to him.
He dropped kisses at her temples. Then worked his way down. All the way down. She writhed under his expert touch until she cried out. And then he did it again. And then he crawled over her and brought her to climax again.
Her throat was raw by the time he reared over her. His smile was so radiant that she had to cock her head and ask, “What?”
“You called out my name every time.”
She swallowed hard. It was like she hadn’t been able to heal completely until her mate was gone. “I don’t know if I can do this again.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “You can. You’re the strongest person I know, and I don’t need a sync bond. Just you.”
He was young. He might change his mind.
And she might be ready by then.
* * *
Sandeen approached the skinny man standing in front of the window overlooking the dance floor. Andrew Petrovsky. Andy. He and Lindy had been rooked into this mess by the same man. Lindy was his inside source to get close to Jameson. Now she was dead. Jameson was gone. Yet this club was still going as strong as before. The drinks had more of a kick and the humans had fewer inhibitions. Archmasters weren’t as stringent about hiding themselves, and judging from the partying going on, the humans didn’t care that they were not only surrounded by demons, but being used by them.
He was disturbed by the scene much more than he thought he’d be.
Andy turned. He’d changed. Instead of a geeky little accountant, he was suave. Tailored suit, slicked-back hair, and an air of utter competence now lined with cruelty.
This human was as dangerous as any archmaster Sandeen could name, and considering his own father, that was disturbing.
“You called?” Sandeen asked lightly, but inside he was reeling. Jameson was gone and with it his arrangement with the fallen. As his fallen blood supply dwindled, so would his ability to walk in this realm as himself. He’d only tried it a few extra times. The biggest rush he’d ever experienced, but it was over.
So he’d been in his cat-lady host, surfing Netflix, when her phone had rung. Andy had found him. Andy knew things. Like how much fallen blood he had and exactly what it could do.
Even more of a surprise? Andy knew his father.
Andy straightened his tie. “Yes.” The way he stared back was disconcerting. Andy could do what his own kind couldn’t: wield technology like a weapon. He had eyes and ears everywhere. Not even that angel Jameson had blackmailed was as good as Andy. “That angel who lost her wings. I need you to find her.”
His gaze swept the dance floor. “Why not one of your crew?” Because they were now Andy’s. These disciples had probably been Andy’s in the first place. The human had given Jameson the illusion of control.
Andy’s mouth quirked. “Demons can’t be trusted.”
Sandeen cocked his head. “Exactly.” Why him?
The smile on Andy’s face made his stomach churn. “I always wondered if you knew. Interesting.”
“Knew what?”
Andy shrugged. “It’s not important right now. Sierra. Find her. Jameson said that with the exception of himself, the fallen are dumped on Earth where they have no contacts, but I can track her down. Await my direction.”
That was it. He didn’t have a say. “And you’ll make me do this how?” Because Andy wouldn’t be so cocky if he weren’t holding something over him.
“I’m not one to tattle, but I’m sure Zadren would find your whereabouts interesting.”
His sire. He ground his teeth together. Yes, he’d get dragged back to Daemon and imprisoned. Keep the bloodline going. Sandeen was the only surviving child, and he hadn’t yet procreated. A lifetime of imprisonment and rape wasn’t appealing.
“Interesting.” He said it like he was hiding an ace up his sleeve even though he didn’t have a damn thing on Andy. “You’re a unique man.”
“I was taught by the best even if he didn’t know it at the time.” Andy dug a quarter out of his pocket and flicked it over the backs of his fingers. A power move or a distraction? “I was raised by a single mother. She was a hell of a con artist, but there were a few short years she dated a guy she’d met at the gentlemen’s club she worked at.” The ghostly smile was back. “His name was James Hancock, and he told her a lot about another world.”
James Hancock. Why was that familiar?
The connection dawned on him like a brilliant sunrise. Jameson Haddock had fallen decades ago. And Andy was, what, fifty-ish? He’d managed to worm his way into Jameson’s inner circle and fucking take it over. He’d known everything since he was a kid. A genius psychopath who had learned about their world, and it had made him more dangerous than any of them.
Numen might be safe now, but the human world had never been in more danger. With the empire Jameson had started, Andy could continue—with the aid of all Daemon. They wouldn’t touch him. They needed him to continue recruiting human hosts. And the more humans they possessed, the more power they had. Jameson had made the snowball and started it rolling, even if it had been for a different reason. Andy was going to grow it and bury Earth in an avalanche of nightmare proportions.
A human. A being whose neck would snap so easily if he weren’t still in cat lady’s arthritic body. If
he weren’t wearing orthotics, standing here would be excruciating.
This assignment had just gotten a whole lot more interesting. “Sierra, you say?”
Andy’s eyes glittered. He liked the idea of Sandeen going after this female. Why?
“She’s the half sister of one of her warrior teammates, only that one doesn’t know it.”
The only two females were the one called Harlowe and the other. Dianna? Dana?
But Harlowe, he remembered. Tall, blond Harlowe. If Sierra looked anything like her half sister, this might not be so bad. He did have use for a fallen, after all.
“All right.” He yawned for effect. He’d find Sierra. Then he’d use her skills to get ahead of Andy and kill him. “Tell me where to start.”
Chapter 25
One month later…
Jagger stepped into his house. He hoped he never got tired of the pleasure that rippled through him each time he crossed the threshold.
Instead of furnishings that lacked identity and comfort, he was surrounded by bursts of color. Pictures of Felicia’s students dotted the walls. She didn’t teach at the gym anymore, or anywhere on Earth, but she’d visited one last time to check on her pupils. Claudia had lost the haunted look and was a radiant, normal kid.
He also enjoyed coming home to find Felicia in her shorts and either a sports bra or a tight T-shirt, or a combo of both. Since he had no clue how much longer he’d get to come home to her, he soaked up what he could.
Making his way into the kitchen, he smiled at the view. Felicia—with her wings out.
“Getting better?” He went behind her and pressed a kiss to her neck, careful not to hang on to her wings.
She smiled and leaned back against him. “Yes. I even took a walk. Some kids stared, one asked a ton of questions, but surprisingly his mom didn’t rush him off.”
“As long as you didn’t seem like you minded, she didn’t mind?”
“Right. And I think word’s gotten out.” She turned around and took a drink of her strawberry protein shake. “I haven’t even taken any meds today.”
“Nice.” She offered him a sip, but he shook his head. “Mother had breakfast.”
“Did she hug you or give you a fist bump?”
He chuckled. “We half hugged.” They’d kept the momentum of their initial hug going, however awkward. Mother had taken to straightening his collar and patting his shoulders before giving him a peck on each cheek. It was nice. “If I’d known Mateo was going to be there, we could’ve made it a double-date breakfast.”
Mateo was good for his mom. And Jagger was becoming accustomed to the male’s presence. He couldn’t talk his mother’s beau into joining the warrior ranks, but Mateo had gotten a promotion as a trainer for the senate guards.
“I had a meeting with Senator Nassim,” she said. “I start training next week.”
“The realm’s newest senator.” Right after they’d fully synced, he’d broached the idea of keeping his place here and then they’d get a place in the human realm wherever she wanted. And she’d said that would work—if she wasn’t accepted as a senator. The senate vote approving her application had gone through last week. “You’re going to do great.”
She snorted. “The Stede thing really spooked them. Otherwise I wouldn’t be allowed through the doors.”
“They would’ve come around.” More in the senate than just Persephone’s mom were ready for a change.
“Oh, and Senator Nassim said no hard feelings about Persephone. She thinks you would’ve been a fine addition to the family, but she hopes Persephone finds someone who won’t let her get away with being”—Felicia lifted her wings instead of shrugging—“well, being Persephone.”
He stroked her wings and massaged the muscles around her joints. “I found someone who didn’t let me get away with being Jagger.”
She groaned and sank back into him. “No, I didn’t let you get away with being Julian. Jagger is hot as hell.”
“Hey now.” He nipped at her neck.
“Julian was pretty fine too. But he was a dick.” She spun in his arms and smiled. “What are you planning that might get me all pissy?”
“Oh, yeah.” He had to adjust himself. An occurrence whenever he touched his mate. Taking the shake from her hand, he led her outside and into the middle of his expansive lawn. “Put your arms around my neck.”
Her lips formed a troubled line. “What?” But she did as he asked.
“Hang on,” he said as he spread his wings out behind him and launched into the air.
She let out a yelp and tightened her hold. “Jagger—what the hell are you—” Her gaze caught on the ground growing smaller under them. “I forgot how beautiful it was.”
“Wrap your legs around me.”
When she did, he tucked her into his side so she had a better view.
It was the middle of the day, but the sky wasn’t full of commuting angels. He snuck a peek at her. Her eyelids fluttered, a look he often saw when he stroked through her wet flesh.
“The wind in my feathers.” She pinned him with her bright gaze. “It feels so good. Doesn’t hurt at all.”
Her back muscles had gotten stronger, no longer putting strain on her scar tissue. It was why he’d waited so long to try this. “I was afraid you’d… I know you can’t fly anymore, but I hoped you’d enjoy flying with me.” Her wings would never be able to hold her body weight, but he wanted her to experience what she could.
She exhaled and looked down at the manicured lawns and square buildings passing beneath them. “I’ll always miss being able to fly myself, but I’d rather spend life finding out what I can still do instead of running from what I can’t. My wings can be out all the time now. I can fly with you. I can be a senator and help our people move forward instead of being in a stasis that does us no good. And I can be mated happily ever after.”
He held her close and continued their flight. A couple soared past and waved at them, their gazes only lingering on Felicia’s wings for a second.
To think he’d been afraid that Felicia would cost him everything he’d worked so hard to maintain. But she’d given him more than he’d ever had before. A mate. A new family. A real relationship with his mother. And in a way, his father. “You and me. Living and fighting happily ever after.”
__________
Did you catch Bryant and Odessa’s story in the first book Angel Fire?
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About the Author
Marie Johnston lives in the upper-Midwest with her husband, four kids, and an old cat. Deciding to trade in her lab coat for a laptop, she’s writing down all the tales she’s been making up in her head for years. An avid reader of paranormal romance, these are the stories hanging out and waiting to be told between the demands of work, home, and the endless chauffeuring that comes with children.
Also by Marie Johnston
Angel Fire
Wicked Fire
The Sigma Menace:
Fever Claim (Book 1)
Primal Claim (Book 2)
True Claim (Book 3)
Reclaim (Book 3.5)
Lawful Claim (Book 4)
Pure Claim (Book 5)
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Wicked Fire: Angel Fire, book 2 Page 24
