Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment)

by Airicka Phoenix

  “Octavian?”

  “Yes?”

  “Why can’t you touch me?”

  His gaze flickered, reflecting the yearning and frustration swelling up inside her. “Mom thinks if we touch, it might trigger the ascension, make it fight harder to surface.”

  “Is that bad?”

  “Right now? We don’t know. It could be too much for you to handle. It’s a risk I am not willing to take.”

  “But if this was a normal scenario, what would happen?”

  “You’d get your mark. We’d be together.”

  “Couldn’t we have been together if we weren’t mates?”

  He nodded slowly, giving his shoulders a shrug at the same time. “Yes, but the moment I found my mate, I would leave you, even if we loved each other. I would be compelled to my other half, to the one my heart and soul belongs to. I wouldn’t be able to help it. I wouldn’t want to help it. Finding you is like…” He took a deep breath, exhaled. “Finally seeing the sun after years of cold, hard winter. You are the pieces of me that have been missing my whole life. I felt them click into place the moment you walked into the post office.”

  Her heart tripped over the strength of his words, over the passion in his eyes as he stared into her soul.

  “You saw me that day?”

  A small smile touched his face. “Baby, I felt you. It took all my self-control not to turn around and pull you into my arms. Scared the hell out of me. Why do you think I didn’t notice my wallet missing until I walked into the diner and saw you there?”

  She touched the forearm on her right arm. “Does this mean you get a mark, too?”

  The hot gleam behind his eyes stole her breath away. It held on to it as he reached for the hem of his shirt, twisted it in his hands and fluidly whipped it off. Riley gulped as she swallowed hard, her eyes greedily taking in all the beautiful muscles now bared before her. Her fingers twitched at her sides, forgetting the no-touch rule in the span of two seconds.

  “Octavian…?”

  There was a ghost of a smile haunting his lips now, quietly mocking her as he took a dangerous step closer. “You asked to see my mark. Do you see it, Riley?”

  He was torturing her and he knew it. He knew she was trying so hard to keep her eyes fixed above his shoulders.

  “Not fair,” she whispered, feeling her gaze begin to slide down his throat.

  “Why’s that?”

  How could it be? He was dangling a chunk of steak in front of a starving lion. It was cruel.

  “I should go,” she decided, but made no move to actually follow through. Her eyes had found a solid path down the center of his chest and she was trapped following it all the way down the heard slates of his abdomen to the belt restraining his jeans. A shaky exhale escaped her.

  “You missed it,” he said, moving closer still. “It’s higher.”

  Glad to make the trip a second time, Riley raised her eyes upward. They roamed and traveled across the broad plain of his chest.

  “I… I don’t see it.”

  His head bent ever so slightly to the side. “Would you be disappointed if I didn’t have one?”

  Her gaze lifted until they locked with his. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking when his features were such a perfectly blank mask. She couldn’t be sure if he was teasing her or not. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of only her possessing a mark. It felt wrong that she would carry a symbol of their bond, of their unity, as his mother had called it, but not him. Shouldn’t he have it, too?

  “When you get married, you exchange rings,” she said. “You both get one. If you don’t get one then it’s like you’re marking me as your property, like I belong to you, but you don’t belong to me. So, no, I’m not disappointed. I’m pissed.”

  His smile was slow, spreading wider until it was enormous against his face.

  “Don’t smile,” she snapped. “It’s not funny.”

  That only made him laugh, which made her scowl at him. “Easy, love, I belong to you as much as you belong to me.” To prove it, he turned his body to the side and there it was, an intricately woven design just like his mother on his upper arm, etched boldly into his beautiful skin.

  It saddened her for a split second to see it marring his flawless body, yet the feeling was quickly overcome by the feeling of satisfaction. The thing was just a little smaller than the palm of her hand, but its meaning was enormous. He was hers. He belonged to her. No one else could ever take him from her.

  “Now what’s that look, hmm?” He righted himself, putting mere inches between them.

  Bold with this new found power, Riley peeked up at him through her lashes, a sly smirk curling her lips. “I thought you could read me. Can’t you tell what I’m thinking?”

  Heat pulsed molten in the depths of his darkened eyes. “You’re asking for trouble that’s what.”

  “We’re already in trouble,” she reminded him.

  His low gravely growl whispered against her mouth and fanned over her cheeks, making her painfully aware of just how close he was. “You better stop or I’ll show you what I can handle and I can promise it won’t be slow or gentle.”

  Riley all but went up in flames as his guttural promise struck every switch to get her body humming. Her breasts tightened and the junction of her thighs pulsed a steady throb that made her all the more conscious of just how off track they’d gotten. She had not meant to get to this point, the point of tearing both their clothes off and doing things that, well, her mother should have warned her about. Even the little voice reminding her that, in his world, they were married and wanting to jump his bones was fine, couldn’t seem to persuade her that this was not a bad idea.

  Yet, the longer she stared into those gorgeous eyes, the more she wanted to say fuck it and let him prove his words. She wanted to give herself to him, wanted to let him do all the things she knew he would be damn good at.

  While her mind and heart argued over the matter, her body took action. It no longer wanted to wait to feel what was already hers. He was like the new dress she wanted to try on, to feel against her body, to feel slip over her, down her. She wanted him to cover her as she wrapped herself around him.

  Her fingers reached for the hem of her sweater. His eyes widened. They darkened. Her heart quickened. She dampened her lips. “I want you—” But she never got to finish.

  Magnus quite literally appeared in the open doorway in a soft cloud of black. Riley hastily shoved her shirt back down as his brown eyes took them in with that guarded way he was so good at.

  “Forgive me for interrupting what is surely a fascinating conversation, but Mother doesn’t trust the two of you alone together. I personally can’t imagine why.”

  Riley flushed. Octavian glowered. Magnus eyed both of them with a hooded expression that reeked of dry amusement.

  “I should go see when I can start again.” Head ducked, Riley snatched up her coat and hurried past Magnus. But not before she heard Octavian mutter, “Ass.”

  To which Magnus replied smartly, “Born and bred, mon ami.”

  Chapter 19

  No one discussed her two week absence from the diner. Nothing had changed with her return, except for the way Octavian treated her since the return of her memory. No longer was he glowering and snapping at her, but he remained visibly tense. Every time the doors opened, he looked prepared to go full battle mode. Like he always expected a threat to just waltz in and attack. Gideon told her it was because he was always expecting the Guardians, the ones the seraphs sent to… take care of problems. They were the assassins of the underworld. Since that conversation, Riley had begun to tense every time the doors opened as well, always expecting them to charge in, grab her and take off with her. Those fears were both smothered and then fanned when she revealed them to Gideon.

  “Don’t fret, mon chou.” He’d circled her shoulders with his arm. “They don’t take you anywhere. The cleansing takes place wherever you’re standing.”

  Horrified, she’
d stared at him. “Thanks!” she cried sardonically.

  “Anything for you.” Blowing her a kiss, he’d strolled away.

  She’d been working at the diner for a little over three months and there had been no news from the Summit or the Guardians as to when they would come cleanse her. Each day that passed was a relief, but she still wondered if they would come tomorrow.

  “Octavian?”

  Further along the counter, Octavian paused filling out the produce order forms and spared her a glance. “Yeah?”

  Riley stuffed another handful of napkins into the dispenser she was filling before responding, “Can I ask you a question?”

  He went back to his clipboard. “You just did, but you can ask me something else if you like.” He gave her a mischievous grin.

  Riley balled up a napkin and pitched it at him. She missed. “You really are a man-dork.” He flicked a sugar packet back at her. It struck her in the arm and dropped onto the counter. She brushed it aside. “What’s a cleansing?”

  He ceased his scribbling and faced her. “It’s what the Guardians do when they remove a human from the situation they’ve placed themselves in.”

  “But what is it?”

  He sighed, setting his pen down. “They…” he faltered. His hands curled on his clipboard as his brows furrowed. “They use the Angel Blade to rip the soul from the human. The body is discarded and the soul replanted in another host.”

  Riley gasped, horrified. “What? Why would they do something like that?”

  “The human world can never know about us and usually when one does find out, they are scarred so badly that the only way to salvage what remains of them is to replant them in another body. Once accomplished, they will have no memory of who they were before or what they’d seen.”

  “So I would forget you.”

  His eyes flashed. “Yes.”

  She shook her head. “What if I don’t want to forget? What if I want to be with you?”

  “They won’t care. It’s not their job to care.”

  “That’s stupid!” she shouted before she could stop herself. “They’re Angels. They’re supposed to care. They’re supposed to be caring and compassionate.”

  “Only in fairytales, darling.”

  Breathing hard, Riley glowered at him, although she wasn’t upset with him. “How can every holy book be wrong? How can…”

  “Because that is the way they want the human world to see them. It is the belief of man that keeps them in power. If no one believed, loved and worshiped them, they would not exist.”

  It was a struggle not to cry, not to throw herself into his arms and cling like her life depended on it. “I don’t care what they do to me, I’ll never forget you.”

  His face softened. He closed the distance separating them and towered over her. “It will not come to that,” he vowed. “If they want you, they will have to kill me first.”

  Heart clenching in her chest, Riley gasped. “Don’t say that. You have to promise me you won’t—”

  “I promise only that I will fight until my very last breath to protect you.”

  She shook her head. “Damn it, Octavian. You can’t do that. You can still find someone else…”

  That thought… the very idea of Octavian being with other women, touching them, kissing them… it was like a fist gripping her heart and twisting. She could barely see through the heavy veil of rage blinding her.

  Stormy gray eyes rose and found hers. “Even if my imprint allowed me to touch another woman,” he said softly. “I wouldn’t want to. I belong only to you.”

  Even as relief punched her in the chest, Riley snorted. “Right, because it’s not doing everything in its power to keep us apart.”

  “That’s not true. It’s not our imprint keeping me from feeling you in my arms. Our imprint is fighting so we can. It’s the oath that’s making it impossible.”

  She looked down, judging those words carefully before speaking, “Are you sure?”

  Octavian jerked back a notch. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been doing some thinking about this whole touching business.”

  His eyebrow lifted with interest. “Go on.”

  “Well.” She set the dispenser down and turned to face him fully. “I think it’s only skin on skin contact that we should be worried about. When you marked me, you touched my bare arms, but since then, you’ve touched me and I’ve touched you several times and nothing’s happened.”

  He squinted back at her, “What are you talking about?”

  Cautiously, she took a handful of steps closer. “I’m saying, I think you can touch me so long as there’s something between us, like clothes.”

  Something hot and fierce snapped behind his eyes as he turned his entire body to confront her, to loom over her like an unstoppable force descending upon its prey. The heat of his body, the scent of it, washed over her in liquid waves that sent a jolt of tingles cascading along her spine. In her chest, her heart thundered, it crashed so hard she feared it would burst from her chest. It escalated in violence when he raised his hand, fingers outstretched towards her face, so close that she could almost feel the tips ghosting her skin. Her heart stuttered as she longed to turn her face just a fraction more into his touch, but fear of him pulling away paralyzed her, kept her suspended in the depths of his eyes.

  “I would give my soul to touch you, Riley.” Pain and longing vibrated through his words, reflected in his eyes. So devastatingly bright, Riley felt it spear through her. “But, damn it, baby, I don’t know about this—”

  “Is this a private party or can anyone join in?” Gideon swaggered into the diner followed closely by Magnus. He flounced over to the counter decked out in his leather pants and black t-shirt under his leather duster. The buckles on his boots jingled with every conquering stride. “Hello, darling.” He planted his hands on the smooth surface and leaned over. “Didn’t miss me too much, did you?”

  Shaking the weight that had settled in her chest from her conversation with Octavian, Riley grinned at him. “I didn’t even notice you were gone.”

  Magnus snickered. “Would you like some ice for your balls, Gid?”

  Gideon shoved him. “Shut it! I’m having an adult conversation here. Besides.” He smirked wickedly at Riley as he reached out and smoothed a finger along the curve of her jaw. “She knows she’s already secretly in love with me.”

  “Get your hands off her!” Octavian smacked his brother’s hand away from Riley’s face with the clipboard he snatched off the counter, rage roaring behind his eyes as he snarled at Gideon. “Keep your damn hands to yourself or I’ll cut the fucking things off!”

  “Whoa, what crawled up your hoo-ha?” Gideon muttered, rubbing his injured hand.

  For a solid minute, Octavian looked ready to throttle someone, most likely Gideon. His face was a carved mask of fury so frightening, Riley shuddered. His jaw muscles were so tense, they could have cut glass. But instead of slamming his fist into his brother’s face as he visibly longed to, Octavian snapped around on his heels and stormed through the kitchen doors, leaving them swinging wildly behind him. Riley hesitated a split second before hurrying after him.

  “Octavian, wait.”

  She reached him just as he touched the doorknob to the backdoor leading to the rest of the house. The rigid lines of his shoulders vibrated with a fury that wafted off him in waves so thick she nearly choked on them. His knuckles blistered white around the clipboard still gripped tightly in his grasp. He kept his head down as she went to him.

  “What is it?” she asked, trying to see into his face. “What’s wrong?” She wedged herself between him and the door, blocking him from leaving without an explanation.

  “I hate this!” The words were said in such a low whisper that she almost didn’t hear them.

  “What?”

  Without answering her, he moved, trapping her between his beautiful body and the door. He braced his hands on either side of her head and leaned forward so clo
se, his clothes tangled with hers, his breath was her breath and their heartbeats synced. Riley didn’t move, too afraid he’d come to his senses if she did.

  His head dipped. His lips came torturously close to grazing the curve of her neck. “It kills me that you’re mine and I can’t touch you, but my brothers can put their hands on you whenever they want.”

  “I’ll tell Gideon to stop,” she promised. “He doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s just kidding around.”

  “I know.” The two words ghosted against the skin of her neck, sending goose bumps down her spine. “But I want to touch you. I want to put my hands all over you. I want to kiss every inch of you and taste you as you come apart in my arms. I want to feel you wrapped around me with nothing but my name on your lips and the sheets a tangled mess beneath us. I want…” He exhaled heavily into her ear. “I want. I want. I want!”