by J. E. Taylor
Damian still held me in his grasp and the tremors of fear flowing through him were palpable in the air. I wrapped my arms over his to calm him while keeping Michael’s gaze.
“Damian has done your bidding for over two thousand years,” I said. “What makes you think he won’t continue for another two thousand years?”
“He made a fatal mistake,” Michael said.
“Yes. He made a mistake, but I wouldn’t categorize it as fatal. If you make the decision to destroy him, you’ll have to go through me.” I took a breath wondering whether that would put a stay of execution in play or not. I shifted my weight, waiting for Michael’s judgment.
Chapter Sixteen - Damian
Her blatant disregard for how dangerous an archangel was astounded me, and her ultimatum left every muscle in my body trembling, expecting the flash and then the nothingness of death that followed.
I unwrapped my arms from around her and pushed her to the side. “I can’t let you do that,” I said despite the scream of every cell in my body fighting for self-preservation. If I had to make the sacrifice for her, I would.
I met Michael’s glare, straightening my posture against the urge to cower. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, the pace much higher than its normal dormant beat, announcing my unease like a tribal drum.
“I need him,” Naomi shouted as Michael’s gaze narrowed.
Her declaration snapped my head in her direction and I arched my eyebrows. She needs me?
“Why?” Michael asked.
“Because he is going to help me take down Lucifer.”
Michael’s laugh filled the woods. “Darling, child. You cannot take down Lucifer.”
“Why not?” she asked, her tone incredulous and I stifled a smile at the sweet cluelessness of her innocence. My gaze found Michael’s and I offered a partial shrug to the question in his eyes.
“Do you not know who Lucifer is?” he asked and his arms fell to his sides, his posture relaxing and more quizzical than the deadly coil it was a moment ago.
“He’s the king of hell. A fallen angel and all that hoopla,” she said waving her hand like it was just a trifle myth. “Can he not be destroyed, just like the rest of us?”
“Only I can destroy Lucifer,” he started and Naomi interrupted him.
“What about a descendent that has your blood pumping through her?”
She tilted her head and I couldn’t help the chill that layered over me, turning my skin into a relief map of gooseflesh.
Was that your real purpose in biting him?
She glanced in my direction and then back to Michael. “I’m not talking by birthright either,” she added softly and licked her lips before flashing that heart-stopping smile.
Maybe she wasn’t so innocent after all.
Michael crossed his arms studying her. The seeds of possibility bloomed in his eyes and for the first time since I spotted his angry glare, hope found its way into my heart.
Maybe we would make it through the night after all.
“What makes you so sure you can kill Lucifer?” he asked, his voice filled with a level of sarcasm I have never heard from him, and the hope I embraced moments ago evaporated.
She stepped closer to him, positioning herself between us. “I got to you didn’t I?” When she stepped into a familiar ready pose, I nearly laughed aloud.
Was she really challenging the archangel Michael to a fight?
Michael’s expression mirrored mine for a fleeting instance and then it hardened.
“Come on, gramps, let’s see what you’ve got,” she said, waving him in with her fingers.
Before her words sank in, Michael was in motion, his fists meant to inflict a lesson on this smart-ass child, but she parried, blocking his swings with a grace and speed that left me breathless. Instead of retreating, she stepped close, using the natural flow of her body and a sweep of her foot, to knock Michael’s feet out from under him. The angel fell to the ground with a thud that sent a tremor through the earth.
Naomi stood over him with a smug smile on her lips.
A moment later she was on her back, the smile wiped from her lips, replaced by a shocked ‘o’ and Michael stood over her with a stern finger pointed in her direction. His lips pressed together and he waved the finger at her before he stepped back, his face a mask of fury and frustration. But even he couldn’t deny the talent she just displayed.
In two thousand years, I hadn’t seen anyone, angel, demon, or human, take Michael down.
Silence blanketed the woods and then he turned on me with that fierce glare. “Make sure she goes for the kill when she does that, otherwise Lucifer will have her heart in his hand and that will be the end.”
With that, he disappeared.
I stared at the spot he had occupied and swallowed, turning my gaze to her and reaching my hand out in silence. She stared at me for a moment and then accepted my hand, letting me help her to her feet.
“Gramps?” I asked after she brushed herself clean.
She chuckled and shrugged. “It was the first thing that came to mind,” she admitted.
“You are insane,” I said and joined her with a nervous chuckle.
I took her hand and resumed our journey back to the house. The walk would take us another hour and I considered flying, but I needed the calm and quiet to digest what just happened.
“Why did you try to protect me?” I asked after we covered half the distance.
She didn’t answer right away.
“I don’t know,” she said just when I thought she wasn’t going to give me an answer.
I stopped and swung her to face me. “How do you not know your place in the universe?” I asked, the simmering anger surfacing. “He could have killed you like that.” I snapped my fingers, voicing the fear that had shaken the very foundations of my soul.
“I’m part of his bloodline,” she answered.
“Naomi, he has stamped out members of his bloodline before. Anyone who crosses the line and embraces evil is destroyed just on principle alone,” I said and she paled. “Thinking you’re immune to his wrath is foolish.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that surfaced. “God, Naomi, that was one of the stupidest things I have ever seen!” I ran my hand through my hair and let her hand go, taking a seat on a nearby stump before my legs gave out from the sudden absence of stress. The complete relief of living through one of Michael’s ultimatums took control of my form sending tremors all the way to my bones.
Chapter Seventeen - Naomi
His teeth chattered as if it was below freezing, but the cold didn’t penetrate our crystallized skin. I crossed and put my hand on his shoulder, the shakes gripping his muscles sending waves up my arms and when he glanced up at me, I saw the depth of his relief under the annoyed glare.
“I didn’t know,” I said, trying to diffuse him.
He took a breath that expanded his chest and he stood, towering over me. “Well, now you do,” he said and stormed away.
I trotted after him, catching up and matching his stride.
“So, what next?”
“I have two deer to clean,” he said.
“That’s not…”
He interrupted me, swinging into my path. “I know that’s not what you were asking and just as soon as I’m done, we can talk about what’s next, but for now, I’m going to do something normal and mundane before I step back into the save-the-world mode.”
He got right in my face, the biting anger sparked in his eyes and my hands clenched. I wanted to hit him, and at the same time, I wanted to kiss him. The juxtaposition of opposite emotions rippled through me and I reached out, pulling him to my lips.
My hand laced into his thick hair, forcing him to stay in place, to kiss me back even though he tried to break my grip. It took a few seconds and then I found myself wedged against a tree, his kiss hot and deep and his hands already yanking my shirt out of my pants.
He broke the kiss and glared at me, his hands freezing before they found my
skin. “You are infuriating,” he whispered and stepped away.
His brash attitude sparked the frustration in me as well and I stomped past him in the direction we were heading without another word. Truth of the matter was, at that moment, if we had dropped to the forest floor, I would have let him take me.
I guess living through an encounter with an archangel made me just a wee bit reckless. I should be glad Damian stopped, but for some reason, it just fanned the flame in the middle of my body, tightening my muscles. His silent denial burned my skin as I imagined the sun would.
The flap of wings filled my ears and I didn’t have a chance to turn completely before the talons grabbed my waist, lifting me off the ground and speeding me to the entry of the garage where the two gutted deer carcasses lay. He dropped me and I landed in a crouch looking up at the graceful curve he made in the sky above. He didn’t stay and transform like I expected, instead, he let out a loud and intimidating screech before swooping up and diving into the woods like a bullet.
I stared at where he disappeared, my heart leaping into my throat as his warning call penetrated my mind. I took an indecisive step toward the woods and stopped to listen, closing my eyes in concentration. Battle sounds reached my ears and my gaze snapped open. I reacted, letting my savage heart take control.
The sight of a demon wielding a knife in Damian’s direction ripped a snarl from my throat and I lunged through the air, my teeth tearing right through the bone, severing the arm holding the knife. I slid to a stop on four large white claw-clad paws and turned, aware that I was no longer in human form, and the fear I saw in Damian’s expression matched that of the demon. I snarled and attacked, ripping the demon’s head from his body in one snap of my jaws. It rolled away and I sank my teeth into the decapitated body, shaking it back and forth. My battle cry bounced off the trees and I tossed the body away, turning my gaze to Damian.
He stood frozen to the spot and I approached, adopting a more casual gait. He stared at me and I rubbed against him, bringing my gaze to his. His fear transitioned and he dropped to a squat, taking my head in his hands.
“Naomi?” he whispered and I chuffed back, leaning into the fingers that scratched gently behind my ear.
The scent of his blood filled my senses and my gaze dropped to the slash in his shirt, the blood soaked edges of the fabric bringing another panic attack. This time when I reached for him, it was my beautifully manicured hand that touched him. He still held my head between his palms and he tilted my chin up.
“I’ll be fine,” he said and glanced toward the demon before bringing his gaze back to mine. “We need to go before more of them come.”
I nodded and we both stood, sprinting toward the house. Damian hung the deer up in the large walk in refrigerator at the back of the garage and locked the door, before leading me inside.
The atrium was dark and he crossed, placing his hand on a spot on the wall behind a large plant. A light filled the room, scanning his palm and I cocked my head in his direction.
“I’m the only one that can get in right now,” he said to my quizzical gaze.
The mural slid on hydraulics, revealing a metal door. Damian swung it open and gestured for me to head down the stairs. I didn’t hesitate and at the landing below, I glanced up in time to see him punch a combination. The whir of the hydraulics sounded until the scenery above locked back in place.
Damian unbuttoned his shirt as he descended, wincing as he pulled the fabric away from the skin. When he reached me, he peeled the shirt off his shoulders and stared down at the nasty welt traversing his chest. He sighed and met my gaze, his mouth working but no words came out.
“What was I?”
He laughed. “A massive Siberian tiger,” he said and led me into the living room. “And you scared the shit out of me.”
“But my paws were white.”
“Yes, a White Siberian,” he said and sat on the couch. “It is by far the biggest and rarest of all the wild cats and you dispatched that demon like he was nothing more than a giant stuffed animal.” He met my gaze. “Maybe you should be the one teaching me things instead of the other way around.”
I smiled at the awe in his eyes. “Do you need me to get anything for that?” I pointed at his chest and he looked at the seeping scar.
“I guess I should get cleaned up,” he said and stood, heading out of the room without further comment.
The shower went on and I looked around the room. Last night’s escapades down here were a blur and I wondered if it would be like that every day. I do remember the carnal electricity between the two of us and my gaze traveled over the murals landing on one that made my heart stop.
It was a winter scene with a white Siberian tiger crossing a meadow and a hawk soaring in the sky.
I turned crossing the expanse and stepped into the bathroom. “You painted those murals?”
He turned his head toward me, looking over his shoulder and away from the pulsing spray of the shower and his eyebrows rose. “What?”
I crossed opening the glass door. “The murals?” I asked and my gaze couldn’t help but wander down to his hard smooth ass. I felt the smile and blinked, looking back into his eyes.
“What about them?”
“You painted them, right?”
He nodded.
“You painted us,” I whispered and his gaze traveled toward the door, the crease between his eyes deepened and then it smoothed and his eyes widened returning to mine.
“The tiger,” he said.
“And the hawk.”
Chapter Eighteen - Damian
Damn. I painted that mural close to a thousand years ago. My skin broke out in gooseflesh, despite the exquisitely hot water pounding on me and filling the room with steam.
Her gaze wandered down my back and over my ass before bouncing back to my face again. This time her inspection was a little less subtle than the first time and I considered turning and giving her the full frontal view, but I decided against it.
“You’re more than welcome to join me,” I said when she showed no signs of moving.
Her mouth opened and she glanced back toward the living room. “When?”
“Right now,” I said, knowing she wasn’t referring to my offer.
She rolled her eyes. “When did you paint that mural?”
“A long time ago,” I said. “Now, are you going to join me or not?” This time I turned toward her, giving her the full view and I smiled at the way her gaze bounced, her eyes widening a fraction before inching their way back up my chest to my face. Her cheeks bloomed and I cocked an eyebrow at her.
She pressed her lips together and slammed the door, marching out of the room in a huff.
I chuckled and ran the soap over my chest, running my fingers over what was left of the welt on my skin. The vampiric healing powers still amazed me enough that I missed the shift in the air around me.
Nails scraped my back and I jumped, swinging my head in the direction of the disturbance. Her wide eyes met mine and I turned, drinking her in from head to toe. Exquisite was the only word that popped into mind and when her fingers touched my chest I reached, covering her hand and holding it against my skin.
“What are you doing?” I whispered because having her undressed and this close put me at a major disadvantage.
“I’m saying thank you,” she said and her hands moved lower.
Catching her wrists, I warned, “Naomi, don’t start something you can’t finish.” My body responded anyway and she closed the distance. Her lips grazed my chest and I closed my eyes, releasing her and surrendering to her exploration.
When her tongue trailed lower, I recalled the memories of her ex and my eyes snapped open. As much as the thought of her taking me in her mouth thrilled me, I didn’t want to be that memory and I grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her up to face me. She wasn’t one of the common harlots from my past that I let drop to their knees before me.
No, Naomi was different and I wanted more.
&
nbsp; “You do not have to do this just because you aren’t ready for anything else.”
Her dark eyes met mine and I traced the frame of her face with my fingertips, studying every curve. Leaning down, I took her lower lip in my mouth, sucking gently before shifting and delivering a kiss that started as tender and rich as her blood, but soon escalated into an all-consuming heat and I could envision living in this bliss for the rest of eternity.
I had lied to her today.
Fear wasn’t the only deep emotion I had encountered since I plucked her out of the sky, this need to connect, to love again overwhelmed me. The irony of her name and the form she turned into added to the feel that fate had prepared this feast just for me.
I reveled in the feel of her, the taste of her and the sound of her. Each stroke of her hand, each swipe of her tongue gave me new life.
The shower transitioned to the bedroom and when she whispered, “I’m not doing this because I have to.” I nearly lost my mind. Her mouth was the closest I’ll ever get to heaven. I couldn’t recall ever feeling this out of control with a woman, this lost in the sensation, this deep even with the taste of blood passing over my palette.
“Good lord, girl,” I whispered when she crawled next to me and curled up in the crook of my shoulder. Shudders still shot through my form in aftershocks of pleasure and I met her gaze, hungry for more. I pushed her onto her back and stretched on top of her, clasping her hands in mine and raising them above her head while I explored the recesses of her mouth, our tongues playfully dancing with the rhythm of my heart.
When the kiss broke, I stared down at her with a grin.
“You know, hawks mate for life,” she said, her tone laced with amusement.
“You know, I think I heard that somewhere,” I answered. Her laugh filled the room and I turned serious before we did something she didn’t fully comprehend. “Are you really ready for this, Naomi?”
