Lost in her emotions, Lily barely noted when Jason appeared, closing his arms around Ruby and offering her comfort.
Then a pair of arms wrapped over her shoulders, and she was being pressed back against a warm chest.
“I’m sorry, Lily,” Seth murmured into her ear. “Truly.”
Turning in his arms, she buried her face in Seth’s chest.
It was over.
Chapter Eleven
Seth gathered with several Fallen and their mates at a cluster of benches in snow-covered Central Park. For the first time in a long time, they were there during the day, without fear of being hunted.
The sun washed over him, caressing Seth’s bare shoulders as he settled onto one of the park benches. Lily sat beside him, and her hand was clasped in his. He certainly couldn’t complain that she sought his comfort, though he wholeheartedly wished the circumstances were different.
Over a day had passed since the massacre at the nearby tower, and they were all still in shock. Marian had been imprisoned nearby, and though news of their battle and victory had begun to spread throughout the nation, no doubt thanks to their human army, they still had yet to make a formal announcement. There had been other business to tend to first.
A shadow passed overhead, and a moment later, Michael and Ethan landed before them, absorbing their black wings into their bodies. The fact that two Fallen dared to travel in the sky during the daytime probably did more to announce their defeat of the Tribunal than anything else.
Michael wasted no time in getting to the point. His gaze sought out Seth. “It is as you said. The dimensional tear is present, and our flight through our old world revealed that everything is still in place, almost as if time has ceased to exist.”
Notes of disbelief and wonder spread throughout the crowd.
“So the question remains,” Ethan said, “what to do about it?”
That was the big consideration, the reason they had yet to announce their defeat of the Tribunal.
“I, for one, have no true wish to return to our old world,” Seth said, giving voice to the thought that had played over and over in his mind since the battle had ended.
He turned his gaze to Lily, who looked so lost that his heart twisted. Their victory had come at a steep price, and he could tell she grieved for all those who’d fallen. “What of you, Lily?”
For a moment she didn’t speak, and he began to fear what she would say.
If she wanted to return, he would go as well, even if she chose to never be with him again. He would gladly spend an eternity waiting for her in the hope she might someday change her mind.
But then she finally spoke. “I don’t either, to be honest. As strange as it seems, Earth feels like my home now.”
A murmur of assent drifted throughout the field, and relief eased the knot in Seth’s shoulders.
“So what should we propose?” Ethan asked.
“I say we give the angels the opportunity to return to their world,” Michael said. “End this bloodshed now. If they refuse to return, we will continue to fight them.”
“I doubt they’ll refuse,” Seth ventured to guess.
Michael’s topaz gaze flashed toward him. “Exactly. They’ve done nothing but lament the loss of our world and decry the existence of humans. If we allow them to return to the old world—”
“We can live in peace,” Lily whispered.
“That’s the goal, at any rate,” Michael said.
Ethan, who sat on a bench clutching Tayla’s hand, asked the question on all of their minds. “What of Marian?”
Strained silence fell over them. It was Tayla who broke it.
“Send her back as well.”
Michael’s brow rose. “Truly? You would be okay with that?”
Tayla’s mouth tightened. “I don’t love the idea, but there’s been enough bloodshed. If we can get her to agree to go back, the rest of the angels might easily follow.”
“I just want it to be over,” Eva chimed in from where she sat right beside Tayla. She was still beaten and bruised from their encounter, but she’d insisted on coming to this meeting to determine their course of action.
Lily turned her gaze on Seth. “If they do go back to their world, what’s to stop them from deciding to come back to Earth?”
That was the problem.
“Nothing,” Seth said. “We have no way of closing the dimensional tear, at least not one we’ve figured out yet.”
“So we take turns guarding the spot,” Michael proposed. “It’s narrow. No more than two angels could slip through at once. If we have a Fallen guard there at all times we can ensure no one comes through without our knowledge.”
“We can also get some cameras trained on the site,” Ruby added. “Just in case they ever decided to attack, we would know the moment it happened. We could be prepared to act immediately.”
Ethan let out a sigh. “It’s a risky course of action.”
Seth agreed in some respects. “Our alternative is to either kill or imprison them all.”
The wave of unease that spread throughout the group said they found those prospects as distasteful as Seth did.
“So it is decided then,” Michael said. “We’ll offer them freedom, provided they agree to leave this world in peace and never return.”
*****
Several days later, Lily stood on the ground beneath the dimensional tear Seth had discovered, watching as the angels she’d once called her family flew through it single-file. Though the mood was somber, there was also hope.
It was a new beginning.
Once Michael had made the offer of freedom to Marian, she’d immediately jumped on it. Together, they’d recorded a message for the rest of the angel population, letting them know of the Tribunal’s defeat and the Fallen’s discovery of their old world. As she’d suspected, the angels had been eager to abandon this world for the one they’d thought destroyed. In mere days, they’d all congregated at this spot in order to make the return trek back to their dimension.
Seth stood beside her, holding tightly to her hand. He’d been her rock these past few days, and it had been exactly what she’d needed. The battle, Adam’s death, and the knowledge that they wouldn’t be returning with the rest of the angels had shaken her to her core. She knew in her heart they were doing the right thing, though.
They didn’t belong on that old world anymore. They were no longer angels. They were Fallen. And standing right here beside her was all the family she would ever need.
“Are you okay?” Seth asked, squeezing her hand.
She gave him a smile. “I will be.”
Witnessing the angels take their leave of this world was hard, but it was the beginning of a new life.
Up ahead, Michael stood conversing with the vice president, who’d now been confirmed as the new president. He’d agreed with the Fallen’s plan to remain here on Earth, and to have guards posted around the clock. In fact, he was contributing his own ground force. Plans were already underway to build a base on the site.
Lily personally believed it was overkill. The angels were glad to be leaving this world, and its inhabitants, behind. Yet, she could understand the desire to be sure they stayed out. They’d caused so much death and destruction, done so much damage.
“It’s going to be alright,” Seth said to her.
She nodded, moving her gaze back up to the processional. “Yes. It will be.”
Together, she and her Fallen family were witnessing the death of their old lives.
A new beginning.
Epilogue
An echo of laughter sounded out behind Seth. Flapping his wings hard, he did a one-eighty in the air, then headed in the opposite direction. “You can’t hide from me.”
The only response was another throaty giggle from somewhere in the distance.
His mouth curved into a grin as he soared in between the mountains after Lily. She’d been increasingly playful lately, and he loved it. Several months had passed since that night
at the tower, and it seemed she was finally letting go of the demons of the past.
The chatter of birdsong drifted to him from one of the trees lining the mountainside. Hints of spring were beginning to break through, bringing a flurry of wildlife along with the melting snow.
He’d always loved this time of year. Now, more than ever, it represented rebirth.
Everything had been blissfully quiet since the last of the angels had slipped through the portal back into their own world. Though they all took turns guarding the site—Aaron was there now—there had been nothing to report. Just the way he liked it.
Even though he and the other Fallen had been granted freedom and the ability to live wherever in the world they wanted, they had chosen to return to their hidden compound in the Adirondacks. After all this time, it had become home.
Although she hadn’t made mention of it, shortly after they’d arrived, Lily had moved both their belongings into the quarters formerly occupied by Ben and Mara. Michael had seemed to have no problem with them taking over his sister’s living space, and Seth certainly wasn’t going to complain. He and Lily had quietly taken up residence together once more.
It had been all too easy to fall back into the rhythm of married life: sharing a bed, sharing their bodies with one another. But they still hadn’t talked about the past. They would have to, he knew that, but part of him had feared bringing it up.
He didn’t want to ruin this lovely easiness they had going between them.
“Come on, slowpoke,” Lily’s voice taunted him from down below.
He took a sharp nosedive toward the winding river and finally caught up with her where the river slid off four stone ledges before landing into a pool below. The sound of the small waterfall rushed in his ears, and he grinned when he spotted her hiding on a ten foot wide ledge tucked behind the waterfall.
Lily’s hair was up in its signature ponytail, and the wet tendrils clung to her face as she swung her bare feet back and forth in the water. Her white tank top and black cargo pants were soaked, and even from this distance he could make out the stiff peaks of her breasts straining against the cotton fabric.
Sudden desire shot straight to his loins, and he sucked in his breath at its intensity. She looked so beautiful sitting there expectantly. Almost untouchable. But if he had his way, she wouldn’t be untouched for long.
“I can see you,” he rumbled across the distance separating them.
“So?” She kicked her foot along the water, sending up a splash. “You can’t get me. You don’t want to ruin those pants, do you?”
He cast a glance down at the black leather. Then, with a shrug, he unbuttoned them and slipped them off, leaving him clad in nothing but his skin.
Lily laughed, but then her eyes lowered to his groin, already growing stiff from her attention, and her laughter trailed off into a throaty sound. She leaned back on her hands, and her breasts arched toward him. “I suppose I should run then.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.” He grew his wings and shot across the water, breaking through the waterfall and landing in the water directly in front of her. He gripped the edge of the bank and looked up at her through hooded eyes.
She giggled and wrapped her legs over his shoulders, bringing him in closer. Her toes slid back and forth along the soft down of his wings, making him shudder at the sensation. Gods, but he loved when she touched his wings.
Lust flashed in her gaze and she murmured, “Just where a man should be.”
A low growl reverberated in his throat. He loved it when she made sexual innuendos like that, and thankfully, she’d been doing more of it lately.
Taking her silent invitation, he lowered his head to the seam of her cargo pants, placing his mouth over the fabric and nuzzling that part of her that drove him crazy. She moaned and undulated against him, the heat of her core seeping through her pants. The muted scent of desire drifted from her, driving him all but crazy.
Lifting his head, he hoarsely murmured, “Take off your top.”
She did as he asked, peeling the soaked fabric up and off her and tossing it to the side. Her full breasts bounced with her movement, and he groaned at the sight.
Peace had been good for Lily. She’d lost the stress that had manifested itself in too many ribs showing and had begun to fill out over the past several months. Her cheeks were full and glowing, her breasts larger, and her stomach softly rounded. She looked deliciously ripe, and thank the Heavens, she was his for the taking.
“Touch yourself,” he whispered.
Her eyes fluttered shut, and she slid her hands to her breasts, cupping and kneading them with a soft sigh.
Keeping his eyes locked on the sight of her, he undid the button on her pants, and then tugged them off her and slapped the wet fabric down on the bank beside her. Only then did he tear his gaze from her breasts and down to the feminine bud of her desire.
He groaned at the sight of her pink, slick flesh. Unable to wait another moment, he buried his face between her legs and drove his tongue into her wet channel.
She moaned and arched into him. “Yes, just like that.”
Vibration sparked back and forth between them, their essences melding. It spurred into moving harder, faster until she gasped and shook beneath him. He flicked his thumb across her clitoris, igniting a crackle of electricity between them. One, two more strokes, and her entire body convulsed.
“Seth,” she cried out, digging her heels into the base of his wings.
He kept licking and nipping at her sensitive flesh until the last of her shudders died out.
“Come here.” She pressed her heels into his back, urging him forward. “I want you inside me.”
“Yes, my love,” he murmured.
When he propelled himself up with his wings, she slid back on the ledge to make room for him. He landed on his knees between her spread thighs, and a moment later, his body was flush against hers, his cock finding her entrance.
She clasped his face in her hands, locking her gaze with his. “Now.”
Gritting his teeth, he drove into her hard. She cried out and rose up to meet him, their flesh slapping together with the most erotic of sounds.
“More,” she gasped.
Lost in sensation, he gripped her hips and pulled most of the way out, then back in. Then again and again, setting a driving rhythm that prompted a roaring in his ears and black spots in his vision.
This was Lily. His Lily. She was all he’d ever needed. How had he ever thought otherwise?
“Seth,” she cried out, arching her back. She tightened around him, her womb pulsing with the intensity of her climax.
His self-control broke. He pumped into her hard, driving her down into the ground. In and out. Faster. Harder. Until fireworks exploded in his vision and his ears rang loudly.
He yelled his release into the air, holding on for all he was worth as one of the most intense orgasms he’d ever experienced shot through him with the force of a speeding train.
She held him tightly to her, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her legs clasping his waist, until their breathing tempered out.
Seth slid onto his side, turning her so they faced each other. Her face was flushed with satisfaction, her gaze dreamy. She was utterly and undeniably beautiful.
“I love you, Lily.” He tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear.
“I know.” She grinned and lay there for a moment before propping herself up on her elbow. Resting her head in her hand, she said, “I think I finally understand. About Isabelle.”
The name had the effect of sending him crashing back to Earth. He frowned. “Lily—”
“No. It’s okay.” She gave him a quick smile, but then her brows furrowed. “I know you never meant to hurt me. That you never stopped loving me.”
“That’s true,” he said warily. Where was she going with this?
“I also know you felt things for her you never did for me.”
When he opened his mouth to protest, she h
eld out her other hand. “Please. Let me finish.”
He took a breath, but in the end he only nodded. She deserved to say whatever was on her mind. It was the least he owed her.
“I got a sense of that. With Adam.”
Seth’s heart clenched, but he did his best to ignore it. He had no right to complain about what she’d felt for Adam, not when he hadn’t been able to control his own feelings.
“It was a sense that… that it could work between us. That he, I don’t know, needed me. It made me feel good because that was the one thing I never got from you.”
Seth slid his bent arm beneath his ear, resting his head on it. Maybe she did understand.
Lily licked her lips, clearly working out what she wanted to say. “I guess it made me realize that love isn’t perfect. It isn’t absolute.”
“But Lily, I do love you.”
“I know.” She nodded her head. “That’s just it, don’t you see?”
When he cocked his brow, she continued.
“I’ve come to realize that when you love someone, that love is worth fighting for, no matter what difficulties you might go through.” Her eyelids fluttered, and then she looked him straight-on. “Maybe I asked too much of you, to love me to the exclusion of all others. Maybe what I should have asked instead was that you choose me.”
“I did,” he told her. “I always would have. I always will. ”
Yet, even as he said it, he knew talk was cheap. There was no way he could prove his words to her. Isabelle was already dead.
“Lily, I’m so sorry for the pain I’ve caused you.”
Her hand slid onto his chest, her fingers gliding along his skin. “I forgive you, Seth.”
There was no mistaking the veracity of her words. She meant them.
His chest lightened, and he slid forward to press a kiss against Lily’s lips. “I love you. And I’ll spend all of eternity proving that to you.”
Lily pressed back on his chest, and a glimmer of nervousness flicked through her.
Frowning, he pulled back to meet her gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s something else.” She took a deep breath, then grabbed his hand and pressed it to her stomach.
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