Jamie didn’t hear any more of the conversation. He could tell by the cadence of their voices that they were expressing their condolences, but none of it mattered. Laura was gone. No amount of apologies or caring words were going to bring her back. He gritted his teeth together, forcing his emotions under control. “I’m taking her back to the human police. That way she can at least get a proper burial. She deserves a proper burial,” he told them before flashing himself and his mate away.
Chapter Fourteen
Jamie took his time going back to Hell. When he arrived, everyone was waiting by the wall of fire. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“We were waiting for you,” Lacy told him.
“Well, I’m here now,” Jamie replied. “I just want to lie down for a while.”
“Did you get her taken care of?” Lacy asked softly.
“Yeah, I don’t want to talk about it,” he answered. What he meant was he wanted to curl up in a ball to die, but he kept that to himself. He had taken Laura to a human hospital where they confirmed what he already knew. She was dead, and there was no saving her.
"I can't say how sorry I am enough times," Ash told Jamie as they entered the caverns of Hell. "What your mate did was extraordinary. I believe she will find her place in the heavens."
"She should have stayed here like we told her to. I should have made sure she was secure." Jamie had been finding all kinds of ways to blame himself for Laura's death.
"You could join her," Ash offered.
"Newsflash, I'm already dead," he countered sarcastically.
"I mean in Heaven," Ash told him. "Working for me is always a choice. One you should give great consideration."
He could, Jamie decided. He could go on to Heaven and be with Laura, assuming she was there. He wasn't about to make any rash decisions, though. He needed to be sure that she was there before going off willy nilly to find her. She hadn't been the most innocent of souls. The things she had done while under the influence of evil might have condemned her soul. That wasn't something Jamie was willing to accept, so he shoved the idea away and tried to convince himself that she was in a better place. His heart was broken, torn in two with no hope of repair. She was gone. He was supposed to protect her and he failed, miserably. “How can you be sure that she is there?” he asked.
“I can’t,” Ash answered him honestly, “but after we get back, and I get rid of these damned boxes, I’ll check for you. We’ll find her.”
Jamie nodded, accepting Ash’s promise. He walked the rest of the way to Ash's office in silence, the rest of the Guard behind him. He could feel Lacy's calming presence and he welcomed her assistance. He had not been able to properly claim Laura as his mate, unable to mark her, but the pain was still unbearable. He now understood why vampires fought so hard to protect their mates and why everything they did revolved around that mate in one way or another. He thought he knew it all. He thought life was good. He was wrong. This whole thing was wrong.
"I'm going to put these boxes away where they will never be found again," Ash told them. He looked at the faces of each of the Guard. They had all come to mean so much more than employees to him. They had become his family. Even Antonio, who, if he were honest, wasn't as bad as Ash liked to make him out to be. In fact, he was probably Ash's best friend. Where was he anyway? "Anybody seen Antonio?" he asked.
They all shook their heads. "He was with us in the meadow," Jake pointed out. "I thought he was going to follow us."
"He said he would be along shortly," Kaia said. "Right before we left, he told me he had to go and give a report upstairs. I'm assuming that means he went to Heaven?"
"Yeah, probably," Ash agreed. He should have been elated to have defeated Balthazar and to recapture the horsemen, but the victory was bittersweet. Yes, things were back to the way they should have always been in Hell, but at what cost? Laura began as an enemy, but after the magic was removed, she not only showed remorse for her actions, she more than made up for them. She gave her life, her mortal life, to save them. He owed her big time, starting with an apology. His newest guard may not stay, not if there is a chance for him to have his mate elsewhere. Ash couldn’t fault him. He studied Jamie's profile while the vampire sat in the steel cage alone. No one could imagine his pain. No one would able to console him.
Ash pulled in a deep breath and gathered the horsemen’s boxes. He knew just where he was going to hide them. He flashed himself away without another word to put right the last of the wrongs. No one would ever find these boxes again.
***
He could smell her everywhere. This cage had been her home for months, and there wasn’t an inch in it that wasn’t saturated by her scent. He watched as one couple after another reunited with their mates and disappeared to their own quarters for a private celebration. They all gave him the same look before leaving. It was that look that people give when they feel pity or sympathy for one who is suffering and there is nothing they can do about it. A part of Jamie hated them for having their mates to come home to. Another part was happy for them. He hadn’t known these angels long, but they accepted him into their circle as one of their own without reservation. These were good people. He knew that Ash would make good on his promise to find out where Laura’s soul had been sent to, but hope was a foreign thing to him at that moment and very hard to keep hold of. He had always been a firm believer that everything happened for a reason, but this time it was hard to wrap his head around. Why did she have to die? Where did she go? He feared that she was stuck in Limbo as he had been.
He would go back there to get her, without hesitation.
With a heavy heart, Jamie moved to the bed he had conjured for them the night they spent together. The sheets still smelled of them both, an intoxicating aroma that would soon dissipate and be lost to him forever. Sometimes, life was cruel. He laid down on the mattress and turned his face into the pillow, inhaling her scent and committing it to memory. As soon as the last person left the office, Jamie let go of the tight leash he had on his emotions and let the tears fall.
He didn’t know how long he cried before falling asleep, only that he was awake now. Even though his eyes were closed, he knew someone was standing over him, watching him. “Go away,” he growled at whoever it was. He was in no mood to see anyone just yet. All he wanted to do was lie there and wallow in his grief.
“Are you sure you want me to do that?” a voice he thought he would never hear again said.
Jerking his body upright, Jamie snapped his eyes open and looked. Laura. She was there. “Laura,” he whispered her name.
She answered with a grin. “Yep, it’s me,” she said.
“How? Where were you? Did Ash find you?” he asked the questions as he was pulling her into his arms. He crushed her body against his and inhaled deeply.
“I don’t know,” she answered him, snuggling into his chest. “But I’m here, and that is all that matters.”
Jamie pulled her over him and then rolled on top of her, pinning her body down. “You are mine,” he growled at her.
“Yes, I am,” she agreed.
“I want you by my side, always,” he told her, dipping his head down to kiss the sensitive skin of her neck. “Say you will.”
“Always,” she sighed, loving the way his teeth scraped against her skin. She didn’t know how or why she had such powerful feelings for this man in such a short amount of time, but they were there. Perhaps it was chemistry or some kind of mating magic, but whatever it was, there was no denying it. She belonged to him and him to her.
“I’m going to mark you, let the universe know who you belong to,” he said against her skin. “Tell me you want that, too. Tell me you want to be my mate, officially. Let’s make it permanent.”
Laura had a hard time answering him. Not because she didn’t know what to say, but because he had begun to move against her, and she was finding it difficult to form any coherent thoughts. “I want that,” she hissed out as his hands found her breasts.
&nbs
p; “Has anyone seen my—oh my,” Elizabeth said, coming into the room. Her face flushed and she turned away from Jamie and Laura. “You know, I’m just gonna go anywhere else. I’ll make sure no one comes in.” She used her vampire speed to exit the room, closing the doors behind her.
“Well that was embarrassing,” Laura admitted.
“I don’t care.” Jamie laughed. “You’re here.”
Chapter Fifteen
“This isn’t right,” Jamie said, wrapping his arms and wings around Laura’s body.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Not here. Not in this cage. I am not claiming my mate in a fucking cage.” He flashed them both to his private quarters. He hadn’t spent a single night in it, so it was very bare. “I guess it needs a little something,” he said as he released Laura.
“It’s very … manlike,” she said. “Less is more, right?” There was a queen-sized bed in the center of the room, but that was it.
Jamie laughed. Something he thought he would never do again. He thought he had lost her, but now she was there. It didn’t matter how. “Something like that. You can decorate it later, however you want,” he told her. “Right now, we have business to get to.”
“Business?” she asked with a teasing smile. “What am I, a working girl now?”
“Shut that pretty mouth,” he told her.
“Or what?” She teased, “You gonna do it for me?”
“I’ll find something to put in it to keep you quiet,” he teased back.
His words had an immediate effect on her, causing her insides to tighten and her mouth to water. Laura’s mind went to all kinds of things he could do just that with. The memory of watching him stroke himself made her insides burn and she wondered what he would taste like. Wondered if his skin was as soft as it seemed. She licked her lips in anticipation.
Jamie groaned. “You keep that up and this isn’t going to last very long,” he admitted. “Too many clothes.” Jamie willed his own clothes off and then focused on Laura. Her clothes disappeared. All of them. Suddenly, she was standing in front of him stark naked, but she barely noticed because he was naked, too, standing in front of her in all of his naked glory.
Laura ate the sight of her man up, starting with the feral gleam in his eyes. His hair fell over his forehead, shadowing his expression, but there was no doubt what he was thinking. His broad shoulders spread out from his toned chest, the dog tags gleaming in the low light. His taut stomach rippled with muscle with every breath he took. And then there was his cock, standing at attention and threatening to touch his belly button. Even the man’s feet were sexy as hell.
“Laura,” he groaned, “when you look at me like that …”
She smiled and crooked her finger at him. Jamie wasted no time in closing the short distance between them. He grabbed his mate by the back of her hair and kissed her hard. He sucked on her lips, her tongue, and thrust his own tongue in and out of her mouth. He drank in her sweetness, her flavor, savoring it like a fine wine.
When he finally released her mouth, Laura sucked in a huge breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding until he moved to the sensitive skin of her neck. He nipped at her flesh, and she could feel the sharp tip of his teeth as he moved toward her shoulder. With his arms wrapped around her, Laura’s back bowed, and she tilted her head back to allow him the most access. She was surrounded by this man, this vampire. He did more than make her insides tingle, he made her feel. He made her feel things she had never felt before. Never in her life had Laura known anyone who could make her melt with only a look, or demand her respect without doing anything out of the ordinary. Never had she wanted anyone as badly as she wanted Jamie. No one had ever been worth more to her than her own life. But he was all of those things and more.
Jamie couldn’t believe his mate was there in his arms. That was where she belonged. He had known on some unconscious level who she was the first time he saw her in Limbo. The fact that she had been able to find him through the magical barriers when no one else could spoke volumes. They were connected on a level that defied all the rules. They were connected by their souls. She was his perfect other half: the yin to his yang, the salt to his pepper, his destined mate.
He moved forward, forcing her to walk backward while still in his arms until the back of her legs hit his bed. Jamie gently eased her down onto the mattress and then stood back to admire her. Everything about her was beautiful. The way her hair was a frenzy of curls on her head, the amorous gleam in her eyes, her perfect skin. Her breasts were tipped with pink nipples that were standing at attention, begging for his touch and for his kiss. Her lips were swollen from his kisses. A proud, possessive growl rose up in his throat. She was his.
“I’m going to take my time enjoying every inch of you,” he warned her. “I thought I had lost you. I’m never letting you go again.”
Laura knew he meant it. Even though his black wings spread slightly out behind him, this man was a vampire first. It was obvious in the predatory stare he was giving her right then. She shivered in anticipation because she knew he intended to claim her. She gave him her best come hither look and in the blink of an eye, he was on top of her.
Jamie’s much larger body covered hers, a delicious warm weight that she welcomed. He took one of her hands in his and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. Then he pushed it over her head and held it there. He repeated the process with her other hand. Laura found herself effectively restrained. “If you touch me right now, I’ll lose it, and I want to enjoy myself first,” he told her.
Laura just smiled at him, giving him all the permission he needed. Jamie ducked his head, still holding her hands above her head with one hand. He supported his weight on his other arm, tucking his elbow underneath him. He kissed her neck again, feeling and hearing her pulse thump wildly against her skin. His fangs ached to taste her, but he had to wait. Not yet. He trailed a line of hot, open-mouthed kisses down the center of her chest, shifting his weigh off of her to allow himself better access. The soft mound of her breast felt like silk against his tongue as he licked and sucked at her skin. Her breasts called to him, and given the way her hips were undulating, she wanted him there too. Taking one taut nipple into his mouth, Jamie sucked hard.
“Jamie!” she cried out and tried to pull her hands away from him.
He released the nipple with a pop and smiled at the rosy red color he had made it. “So beautiful,” he whispered as he took the other nipple into his mouth. He could feel the temperature of her skin rising, feel her breath coming faster with each pull of his mouth. When he released that nipple, he bit it gently and then laved his tongue over it to sooth the sting.
He wanted more of her. All of her. He released her hands so that he could settle his body between her legs. He kissed the soft skin of her belly and Laura’s hands went immediately to his hair, fisting it and holding his head to her. She tasted delicious, like a fine wine, and he was most definitely drunk on her. He nipped his way over one hip bone and then pushed her legs further apart. He pushed his shoulders between her thighs, splitting them wide for him and leaving her fully exposed to him.
He looked up her body, giving her the only warning she would get. He dove in, forcing his tongue between her folds. Her body jerked and he laid one arm over her hips to keep her where he wanted her. He explored her sex with his mouth, tasting and sucking as her wetness coated his tongue.
Jamie ate at her with enthusiasm, as if he couldn’t get enough. Laura could feel the tension build inside of her, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes on the beautiful man between her legs. He closed his eyes in pleasure and that was all it took to push her to the brink. “Fuck, Jamie, I’m gonna come,” she warned him, wrapping her legs around his head.
“Do it,” he growled.
Laura bucked wildly against his mouth as the pleasure became more than her body could hold, and the dam broke. He stayed with her, licking at her, until the waves calmed. When she released him from her leg lock, J
amie rose up, his mouth wet from her body.
“My turn,” she said.
Jamie shook his head. “Later.”
Laura put on a pout and Jamie couldn’t deny her anything. “Okay,” he said, giving in and knowing it would be torture. He laid back on his back and gave her access to anything she wanted.
Laura kissed his mouth briefly, but she went for the nipple rings. He knew she would and sucked in a breath as her teeth met his sensitive nipples. “Fuck, baby,” he growled, loving her attention.
She worked both of his nipples before kissing down his stomach, savoring his spicy flavor. When his cock bumped her cheek, Laura didn’t miss a beat. She gripped it in her hand and took only the tip into her mouth. Jamie was cursing profusely at this point, his hips moving of their own accord, trying to get more. She released him and licked her way down the shaft, covering the silken skin with her saliva. She went all the way to the base and then moved to his balls, which were tight against his body. She took one into her mouth and sucked.
“Fucking hell, Laura, you’re killing me,” he groaned as he shoved his head back into the pillows. “Killing me.”
Unable to take anymore of her torture, Jamie reached down, grabbing her under her arms, and pulled her up. He flipped their position so that he was once again on top of her. “Now,” he warned her as he aligned their bodies. She nodded, and he pushed.
It had been so long since Laura had been with anyone that it was a tight fit. Even though he was shaking from head to toe with the need to be inside of her, Jamie went slowly, giving her time to adjust before ravishing her like a mad man. He filled her, slowly, one inch at a time until he was in all the way to the hilt.
All of the things mated vampires had told Jamie were true. Being inside of his mate was like no other feeling. It made him feel complete, as if he had been missing a piece of him his whole life but never realized it, and now there was no going back. Slowly, he began to move. He loved the way her nails raked down his back to his ass, where she held on as he moved faster.
The Keepers of Hell Box Set Page 74
