“Are you decent?” Mal called out.
Azazel, bless his heart, pulled the covers up over me even though there was nothing on display that Mal hadn’t seen.
I clutched the sheet to my chest and bit back a smile as he called out for Mal to come in.
Mal entered the room, his nostrils flaring, attention zeroing in on me.
“Hey,” Azazel said. “Eyes on me.”
Mal gave him a look that said, seriously?
“What is it?” Azazel snapped.
My soulmate didn’t like his Fee time being interrupted. I gave Mal an apologetic look.
“We have to go,” Mal said. “Phoenix just arrived. Two troops close to Imperium have been attacked. Minuel is holding shit together by a thread.”
“Fuck.” Azazel shoved off the covers and started to dress.
“Conah’s coming too.” Mal looked at me. “And Keon.”
Azazel pulled on his shirt. “Keon? He’s supposed to keep Fee safe.”
“My first duty is to the queen,” Keon said from the doorway. I tensed, but he didn’t even look my way. “Keeping Fee safe is keeping Lilith safe. Now retrieving the herb is the main way to save Lilith. I’m the only one who can do that.”
He strolled into the room and leaned against the armoire by the door.
What the fuck? Was everyone going to come in and stare at my naked ass covered only by a thin sheet? Not that Keon was staring, in fact, he was actively not looking at me, which would be slightly insulting if I didn’t get where he was coming from. Wait, that made me sound like I wanted him to ogle me.
Conah appeared behind Keon.
Mother of pink frosted donuts.
“The herb is in old daemon territory,” Conah said. His gaze flicked my way, and then he turned his back to the room. “We have no right of access. Lilith was unable to conquer the land there.”
“No,” Keon said. “She could have conquered it, but she chose to leave it.”
“And now you all need to leave my chambers,” Azazel said.
They trooped out of the room, and Azazel closed the door, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. That was…weird.”
My heart sank as I realized they’d all be leaving me. “Be safe out there, please.”
He sat on the bed by my hip and brushed my hair off my cheek. “Will you be all right by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m going to sleep, and then I’ll head to Necro.”
He nodded. “Good. Stay with the pack. With Grayson.”
He kissed me lightly on the mouth. “I’ll see you soon.”
I curled back up in his bed and crushed the sheets to my nose, inhaling his scent. It wasn’t long until sleep took me.
“Fee!” My teeth rattled as someone shook me.
My eyes snapped open and chill registered, seeping into my bones. Uri’s amber eyes blazed bright as they peered at me. My attention slipped over his shoulder, stunned by the huge silver-white wings cutting a silhouette against the night sky.
His wings.
He had them back.
“Fee, can you hear me?” Uri demanded.
What was this? How was he here? Where was I? Reality filtered through the haze clouding my mind.
I was outside…I was standing on the edge of the pinnacle, barefoot and in my underwear.
What the actual fuck?
Uri scooped me up and carried me toward the open doors into the quarters.
I found my voice. “What happened?”
His jaw was steely as he walked me down the corridor and into the kitchen, and the part of me wondering how the hell he knew where to go was squashed by the bigger part that was still reeling over the fact that I’d been outside in my knickers and bra.
He set me in a seat and busied himself at the stove.
I was suddenly conscious of how naked I was.
As if reading my thoughts, he pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to me, keeping his gaze averted.
I slipped it on gratefully. It was warm from his body heat and smelled of magnolia; it also covered my ass, so that was good.
“What happened? How did I get outside?”
He put the kettle on, then pulled up a chair to sit in front of me. “I don’t know,” he said. “I flew here, and I saw you on the pinnacle…Fee, you walked straight off the edge.” He scanned my face. “I caught you and flew you back up.”
I’d stepped off… “Oh, my God.”
“Fee…What were you thinking?”
Wait…He thought I’d done it on purpose? “No. Fuck, no. I was sleeping. I…I don’t know…” My head felt heavy and strange. “Uri…”
“Sleepwalking?”
“I don’t sleepwalk.”
He pursed his lips as if to say, you do now.
The kettle boiled, and he set about making tea. “This will help.”
“Tea makes everything better, huh?”
“It’s what I hear.” He gave me a small smile, but his eyes were sharp, shrewd, as if he was assessing me.
I clasped my hands and squeezed. This was real. I’d done this. I’d jumped off the pinnacle while asleep.
“I was asleep, Uri.”
He handed me a mug. “Drink up. It’s decaf, so it won’t keep you up.”
“I don’t want to go back to sleep. What if I try and walk off the pinnacle again? I mean, why would I do that?”
“I don’t know,” he said softly. “But you’ve been under a lot of stress. You almost died at Deadside, then you went to Purgatory and then Limbo. It’s a lot. Trauma can cause psychological problems.”
“So, I try and sleepwalk myself off a ledge?” I gave him an incredulous look. “I’m not suicidal.”
“I know.” He took my hand in his, his face earnest. “And I’m here now. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
I wanted to say I could take care of myself, and maybe that was true when I was awake, but I obviously couldn’t be trusted when asleep, and something about Uri saying he’d keep me safe gave me warm fluffy vibes. The fact that his bare chest was staring me in the face didn’t help. I couldn’t stop looking at his golden skin and the way it stretched over his muscles.
“Drink the tea, and then you need to sleep.” He reached up and touched my cheek lightly. “You have dark circles under your eyes.”
His touch sent a shiver through me, but I masked it with an indignant look. “Not nice to point out a woman’s flaws.”
He gave me a half-smile. “I didn’t mean it that way. I think you’re beautiful, no matter what.” He ducked his head.
He thought I was beautiful? “Thank you.”
He peered up at me with a sheepish squint. “I…I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“You didn’t.” His eyes were speckled with golden flecks I’d never noticed before, and his pupils were super dark against the irises. They expanded so I could see myself in them. “Will you stay with me while I sleep.” My words came out as a husky whisper. I cleared my throat and sat back to clear my head. “I mean to watch over me?” Wait. “Oh, unless you need to sleep. I mean, do celestials sleep?”
He sat back with a small amused smile, probably elicited by my obvious fluster. “Celestials don’t need sleep, but we do indulge from time to time.”
“You’ll sleep with me then?”
His gaze fell to my lips for a second before he tore it away.
Fuck. “That came out wrong, I mean—”
“I know what you mean. And yes, I’ll sleep with you.”
My stupid mind focused on the words I’ll sleep with you, and heat crawled up my chest and hugged my neck. I took a gulp of hot tea to cover my sudden shyness and bit back a wince. “What happened at the Beyond?” I glanced over his shoulder to the spot where his wings had been a little while ago. “You got them back?”
He sat back in his seat. “He gave them to me, and then he told me to leave.” Uri clasped his hands together. “I’m too tainted for the Beyond.”
“He said that?”
; “He didn’t have to. I saw the pity in his face. He told me I could best serve by working with you.”
“The Dominus?”
“No, you specifically.” Uri’s expression was warm. “He likes you, and he wanted you to know you can come visit him any time.” He leaned his head to the side. “What happened, Fee? What happened between you two in Limbo?”
I took a gulp of my tea and then proceeded to fill him in.
I padded over to the bed and kicked something on the floor. The damn journal again. It must have fallen onto the floor when I went sleepwalking. I popped it back on the dresser and climbed into my bed, already sleepy again. I guess the sleepwalking had exhausted me, not to mention the lecture Uri had given me on sacrificing my life to save him.
Yeah, he hadn’t been happy about that part.
“I’ll keep watch,” Uri said. “Just sleep.”
There wasn’t anywhere for him to sit aside from the dresser chair, which wouldn’t be very comfortable. I mean, he wasn’t exactly delicate, and that chair was tiny.
I patted the bed beside me. “Come lie down.”
He hesitated. “I’ll be fine on this chair.”
I gave him an are you kidding me look. “I promise not to compromise your virtue, okay.”
He looked like he wanted to say something but decided against it.
I gave him a stern look. “I’ll sleep better knowing that you’re comfortable.”
He nodded and approached the bed, kicked off his boots, and then stretched out beside me, making sure to leave a gap between us. I was tempted to shift closer and throw an arm across his torso, but I held back. We were friends, that was all. My deepening feelings for him didn’t mean he reciprocated, and the last thing I wanted to do was make shit awkward. Besides, I was knackered.
I closed my eyes and exhaled, falling into slumber.
I awoke what seemed like minutes later to predawn light and the steady thud of a heartbeat against my ear. Uri lay on his side, his arms around me, his chin resting on my head while I remained tucked snugly against him, my arm around his waist and my head on his chest. I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to risk waking him because his deep, steady breaths told me he was asleep, but my body was buzzing from being this close, from the intoxicating effect of his aura. I wanted to rub myself against him like a cat, to lick his naked chest and take his nipples in my mouth. Oh, fuck. He was there, right there, exposed for me to have.
Nope.
Not doing it.
I wriggled, trying to slip out from his embrace.
He moaned softly, and then my pulse skipped as his hands slipped into my hair. He nuzzled my temple, then trailed the tip of his nose down my cheek, and I stopped breathing. His exhalation was warm, and his moan heavy with sleep, but I was awake, aware, and totally turned on.
I needed to put distance between us. He didn’t know what he was doing, and it was wrong of me to take advantage, but instead, I lifted my chin so that my lips grazed his jaw. He smelled divine, like magnolia and honeysuckle, like sunshine and rainbows, and now I needed to back off.
I pulled away, and his grip on me tightened.
“Seraphina…” One of his hands slipped down my spine to cup my ass and haul me against him, and what met me there gave me no doubt as to whether he was awake or not.
“Uri?” I looked up and was snared in his amber eyes filled with heat, longing, and need. “Uri…”
He cupped my jaw with his hand, tipped my chin up with his thumb, and kissed me deeply. His lips were pillowy soft, molding to mine perfectly as he claimed my mouth. He tasted of marshmallows and sunshine. My mouth was alive with sensation, tingling and throbbing as I kissed him back, hands raking up through his hair to grasp him to me, leg sliding over his hips so our bodies were flush against each other. He breathed me in, devouring my mouth. His hands left a trail of heat in their wake as they roved down my back and slipped under the hem of the T-shirt I was wearing. I gasped as his palm met my bare flesh.
He tensed and then pulled away, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I—” He climbed off the bed and stood with his broad back to me, hands on his slender hips as he composed himself.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I crossed a line. It won’t happen again.”
Thing was, I wanted it to. Mal and Az had called it before I had. But Grayson was clueless.
I wanted Uriel, but there was no way I could take that step without talking to my Loup mate about it.
Chapter Twenty
The time change from day to night when going from the Underealm to Necro didn’t bother me anymore, but there were times, like today, when it was jarring to leave one place in the morning and arrive at another as the sun was about to set.
But Cora’s embrace dispelled the surreal sensation and grounded me. She gave the best hugs, and tonight was no different.
“Hey, Uri.” She beamed at him, then looked past him. “Where are Az and Mal?” she asked.
“They had to go back to the Underealm.”
“Shit went down, huh?” She nodded.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you all about it later.” I glanced about, and she grinned.
“He’s not here.”
“Who?” I affected innocence.
“Grayson. He’s on a Hunter hunt.”
“You’ll need to tell him about the sleepwalking,” Uri said. “So he can watch over you at night.”
Because here, at the house, Grayson was my bed mate. I’d need to speak to my mate and let him know about my feelings for Uri, and my stomach trembled. Azazel and Mal may have given me the green light, but Grayson hadn’t.
“What sleepwalking?” Cora asked.
“It’s nothing.” I waved it off, not wanting to talk about the fact I’d jumped off the pinnacle. “I’m fine.”
Uri glared at me, and I winced.
“Uri?” Cora looked to him.
Uri arched a brow in my direction. “Fee?”
“Fine, so I sleepwalked off the pinnacle last night.”
“What!” Cora stared at me in horror. “You walked off it? But…how?”
“Uri caught me.” I smiled up at the celestial. “I was lucky he turned up when he did, and then he watched over me while I slept so I wouldn’t sleepwalk again.”
Uri’s amber gaze warmed me like honey as it tracked across my face, and the memory of his mouth on mine had my cheeks heating.
Cora cleared her throat. “Um, Fee…I need some help with… stuff.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me across the room toward the lift.
“Make some coffee,” she called out to Uri. “We’ll be right back.”
She hit close on the lift doors and then crossed her arms and glared at me. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“You and celestial boy out there. Something happened between you, didn’t it?”
I could never get anything past Cora. “We kissed, but that’s all. I wouldn’t take it further, not without the guys agreeing to it.”
“You’re going to speak to them, though, right?”
“Mal and Az have already given me the green light with Uriel, but I thought they were being ridiculous. I mean, I have feelings for Uri, but I thought he saw me as a friend.”
“Friends don’t kiss with tongue,” she said. “Wait, there was tongue, right?”
I covered my face.
“Omg, you’re fucking blushing. What the hell? You don’t blush.”
“I know!”
She grinned. “So, this is the Uri effect.”
The lift opened, and she led us down the corridor toward her room. “And Grayson?”
“I need to speak to him.”
She pushed open the door, and I stepped into an explosion of pink and purple. “You…decorated.”
She shrugged. “Grayson said it was cool, and I spend so much time here.”
Did that mean she wasn’t leaving?
She pressed her lips together. “I know I said I needed to spread my wings, and I
will. That doesn’t mean I can’t put my mark on this place.” She threw herself onto a beanie chair. “What will you say to Grayson about Uri?”
“I’ll tell him I have feelings for Uri.”
“How do you think he’ll take it?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Az, Mal, and Grayson have an understanding. They came together for me, and Hunter…we have no choice about him because he’s part of our Tribus.”
“You’re worried Grayson will reject the idea of Uri.”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t blame him if he did. I mean, he’s an alpha Loup, and they don’t share, and I can’t help but feel like a selfish bitch for asking.”
“At least you’re not banging first, asking questions later,” Cora said. Her expression sobered. “Mal and Az are okay with it, but what if Grayson says no.”
I ignored the tightness in my chest. “Then, no. I won’t go there with Uri. I’ll add some distance so that this thing blossoming between us can’t flourish. Right now…Right now, we’re on a precipice. I can allow myself to fall or turn and run the other way.”
“You’re right, babe. Grayson has resolved himself to Mal and Az. I guess his Loup can accept them because they were with you first, a part of your life, like a package deal.”
I covered my face. “Why am I such a hussy?”
She sighed and pulled me into a hug. “You’re not a hussy. You have a lot of love to give, and you just happen to have found several guys you have a strong connection with. Just be prepared for resistance from Grayson. He won’t like this. It’ll take time for him to adjust, but I can’t believe for one moment he’d make a decision that would make you unhappy.”
“And I won’t do anything to hurt him.” Which made me wonder. “Am I being selfish for even asking?”
“No, Fee,” she said. “You’re being true to yourself. Too many people sacrifice their happiness for others, and as long as you don’t expect the men you love to sacrifice their happiness, then there’s no harm in wanting more.”
“And what if they want more?” The thought made my chest ache. It made me wonder how they could share me when the thought of sharing them made me want to cry. “Oh, fuck, I am selfish.”
Reaper Unhinged (Deadside Reapers Book 6) Page 12
