Hell's Angel
Page 4
An invisible band tightened around her heart as she watched a barrage of emotions play over Brand’s face. He looked so lost, so forlorn, and every ounce of anger she held dissolved in a flash.
After a long moment of silence his fingers loosened and he scoffed. “I wanted to believe that, in fact, I did believe that at first, but Hell, and years of torture, have a way of distorting a guy’s views.”
“I understand, Brand. Believe me, I understand,” Gage offered, cursing Lucifer under his breath. “I knew he’d do this to you, but I also know that if you dig deep, you’ll get past the lies and discover the truth.”
Kaylea took in the tension of Brand’s posture and the paleness in his face as he battled his way out of the fog. After taking a moment to reflect on everything that had happened, Brand let out a heavy sigh and met Gage’s glance. “You said you’ve been waiting for me?”
Gage visibly relaxed, and touched Brands arm. “Yes, we’ve been waiting for you, Brand.”
Brand relaxed into Gage’s touch and Kaylea could feel his anger softening as the truth warmed his darkest corners. She let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding.
“How?” Brand furrowed his brow, confused. “How did you know I’d come?”
Her father opened his hand and gestured toward Kaylea. “Because of Kaylea. She was born of goodness and purity and I always suspected she was the key to drawing you from Hell and freeing your soul. Now that you’re here, my suspicions are confirmed.”
Kaylea’s pulse leapt. Brand was the one meant for her. He was her destiny.
A low tortured groan sounded in his throat. In a voice that was regretful and sad, he said, “It’s too late for that Gage. I marked her.”
The dark grieving look in Brand’s eyes twisted Kaylea’s heart and pulled her from her seat. Everything inside her reached out to him as she climbed from her chair and walked over to Brand. When she moved in close, until only inches remained between their bodies, he let out an anguished breath and hauled her into his arms. His warm, familiar scent curled around her and filled her with solace. “Kaylea, oh God, Kaylea what have I done to you?” His voice was merely a strangled whisper.
After a long moment, Brand turned to Gage, his breathing labored, erratic. In a tone that was almost frantic, he barked out, “What do we do to fix this? What do we do to save Kaylea?”
Gage shook his head, worry lines creasing his forehead. “We don’t have all the answers, Brand. We’re as much in the dark here as you are.”
Kaylea looked at Brand’s hands, which for a brief moment appeared almost translucent. Her legs weakened beneath her. “What is it?” she asked, taking his hands into hers for a closer examination.
“I only have forty-eight hours on Earth. My body will continue to weaken until I’m gone. If we don’t figure this out by midnight, I’ll be back in Hell and you’ll follow upon your death.”
Kaylea’s mind raced, searching for a solution and finding none. “The library,” she blurted out, fighting down her own panic. “We need to do research.” She locked her fingers through Brand’s and tugged.
Jadyn touched Kaylea’s arm, her panic apparent in her expression. “Your father and I will seek answers at the church. And we’ll pray.”
Less than twenty minutes later, Kaylea inserted her key into the lock and ushered Brand into the closed library, where the two immediately went to work, pouring through years and years of research books.
Soon the library opened and patrons poured inside, but Kaylea and Brand remained oblivious to the hustle and bustle around them. Hours later, after nightfall, the old building had finally cleared out save for Kaylea and Brand, who were still in the back room flipping through pages.
Dizzy and tired, Kaylea stopped to pinch her eyes. She pushed her chair back from the long table, and stretched out her stiff limbs. She angled her head to see Brand. He had a stack of open books in front of him, and another stack at his feet. Exhaustion lines bracketed his eyes, and his dark hair fell forward as he read the passages.
Her voice broke his concentration and he glanced up at her. “All these books talk of a child being the key, but I am that child. I am that key. Aren’t I?” She shook her head in confusion. His hand crept across the table and grabbed hers. “What other child could they be talking about? I don’t understand it, Brand. I drew you from Hell but I don’t know how to break Lucifer’s mark and keep you here.”
She let out a slow breath and for a moment her eyes slipped shut. Cripes, they’d been pouring through books for hours and had yet to find any solid answers. Kaylea shook her head wearily, suspecting they were fighting a losing battle.
Brand slipped his arm around her. He pulled her in close and she inhaled his warm scent as she melted against him. Scooping her into his arms, he carried her to the staff room sofa and gently laid her out. “You need to rest, Kaylea. I’ll keep searching.” His voice was a low strained whisper. She made a move to protest, but the intensity in his gaze stopped her. Taking her by surprise, his lips closed down on hers. A shiver wracked her body and his kiss left her yearning for so much more.
Her heart pounded erratically and she gripped his shirt when he made a move to leave her. “Don’t leave me.” She inched back, released his lips and whispered into his mouth, “We don’t have the answers, Brand. They’re not here, not in any of these books and your time is running out.”
Silence met her words. He lowered his head and let out a heavy breath, knowing she was right.
Blood pounded through her veins as he sagged against her. “There is nothing more we can do tonight,” she whispered, her throat closing over. “You know it and I know it.”
He lifted his head and with his voice full of conviction he said, “I might go back to Hell, but you’ll still have time, Kaylea. Time to find the answers and fix this. Time to save yourself.”
“I don’t want you to go back. I want you to stay with me here, forever.” She took note of his pale, almost translucent skin, and gripped his arm, needing to anchor him in this time, this place. Everything inside her reached out to him and her heart ached in a way it had never ached before. “Make love to me, Brand. Please, while we still have time.”
Need fired between them as he sent her a look of intimacy and promise. Before she could speak his lips crashed down on hers again. Visibly shaken, he pillaged her mouth, his hands racing over her flesh.
She touched his face and absorbed his warmth. “No barriers this time. I need to feel your flesh inside me and I don’t want anything separating your body from mine.”
His eyes glistened and he smiled tentatively. “Are you sure?” His raspy voice seeped under her skin and flooded her with longing.
Kaylea moistened her lips and noticed the quickening of his pulse. “I’ve never been surer of anything.”
Brand climbed to his feet. She listened to the soft rustle of his clothes as he removed them. Kaylea stood and made short work of her own clothes and then spread out on the sofa. Once they were both completely naked, he moved in beside her and gathered her into his arms. Heat pooled between her thighs as his gaze held her captive.
Urgent hands trailed her body, and aroused all her senses. “You are so beautiful.”
Kaylea twisted until Brand was beneath her. “I want to ride you,” she whispered and undulated against him. She shimmied lower and teased his cock between her damp lips, delicious warmth spread out over her skin. Their gazes held and locked and in one fluid motion she lowered herself down on his beautiful, rock-hard cock.
“Oh, Brand,” she murmured, savoring the feel of his girth between her legs. She bit her lip and felt her skin flush. They stayed locked together, moving gently and methodically as their bodies joined as one. A perfect fit. Kaylea’s erotic whimpers filled the empty room, and the titillating scent of their lovemaking curled around them.
Kaylea glanced out the window, and glimpsed the moon, a reminder that his time was almost up. She looked at the clock. It was nearing midnight. She squee
zed her pussy muscles to keep him inside her, not wanting to let go.
He groaned in pleasure. A warm palm cupped her face and his voice turned serious. “I’ll go back and offer myself to Lucifer in any way he wants me, and beg for him to release his mark on you. I’ll do whatever it takes. I promise. And I swear I won’t let Lucifer touch one hair on your head.”
Kaylea pitched forward and her body convulsed in pleasure. “That’s very selfless of you Brand, but I don’t think it will be enough.”
She rotated her hips, and thought out loud. “If I was the key to getting you out of Hell, then shouldn’t I also be the key to keeping you here and breaking Lucifer’s mark on both of us?”
Brand gathered her breasts into his palms and brushed his thumbs over her engorged nipples, making them pucker and tighten with need. Instinctively, she placed her hands over his, threw her head back and moaned in erotic delight.
Brand began panting and moisture broke out on his forehead. Their bodies continued to bump together, their passion climbing higher and higher. “I don’t know the answers, babe. I just don’t know.” He powered his hips upward and stilled. “Fuck, why did I have to be so damn greedy?”
Kaylea ran her fingers over his body, palming his muscles and revelling in the feel of him beneath her fingertips. “Do you think it was greed that landed you in Hell in the first place?”
He shook his head and she watched his throat work as he swallowed. Heavy-lidded eyes met hers. “And it’s that same greed that has become your downfall too, Kaylea.”
She leaned forward and dropped a gentle kiss onto his mouth. “Greed might have been what landed you in Hell, but when it comes to us, I think there was a greater force at hand, one that neither of us had control over. And you were never greedy with me. You took your time to pleasure me, putting my needs and desires ahead of your own.”
A smile softened his features and stirred all her emotions. Brand gripped her hips and pounded into her, his thick fingers burning and branding her skin.
Breathing hampered, and ever determined to figure this out, she asked, “Maybe we need to conquer what sent you to Hell in the first place.” She thought for a moment. “So what conquers greed?” His thumb moved to her clit, where he stroked her gently, the sweet friction filled her with unbridled desire. She loved how he touched her in such a familiar way. A tremor raced through her and her muscles clenched around his cock and drew her focus. “Oh, good God,” she cried out. A powerful orgasm took her by surprise and she erupted all over his thrusting shaft.
As her hot cream poured down the length of him, he pulled a breath and watched her climax. Suddenly the clock struck twelve, and his body shook all over. “I don’t know. All I know is we’re out of time.” He gripped her head and pulled her to him. His powerful muscles bunched as his lips found hers for a deep, soul-searching kiss. As she gyrated on his cock, his eyes opened wide, overwhelmed with emotions.
“No matter what happens, baby, remember I love you and always will.” With that he released high inside her.
When she looked into his eyes, the love she saw there filled her with warmth and her heart nearly exploded with all the love she felt for him. “I love you too, Brand.”
As need consumed them both, his seed rushed through her body, and she felt an odd tingling in her bloodstream. Ohmigod! Something was happening inside her. Something wonderful. Something beautiful.
Something magical.
Trembling all over, she cradled her stomach and became almost giddy.
Brand’s brows knit together in concern. “What is it, sweetheart?”
Her pulse leapt. She worked to find her voice as she chocked on her emotions. “It’s love.”
He narrowed his eyes, and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re still here, Brand.”
He held his hands out and looked at them. No longer were they transparent. Disbelief marred his features. His glance shot to the clock, and surprise registered on his face. “Kaylea, how?” His voice cracked with raw emotions.
“Love conquers greed.” She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. “I was the key to drawing you from Hell, Brand, but this beautiful child we just created out of love is the key to keeping us both here. This is the child the books were talking about.”
Incredulous, he said, “We made a baby? Oh my God, Kaylea. We made a baby….” His eyes glistened with joy as his voice trailed off.
She gave him a moment to digest the information then said, “That’s right, Brand. We made a baby.” Elated, she looked heavenward, trying to wrap her brain around what had just happened. “And oh my God, is right. There was definitely a higher power at work here. Which is probably why we couldn’t control our primal need for one another. We needed to join as one, emotionally and physically, so we could create this beautiful child.”
“I love you, Kaylea.” A wicked grin crossed his face. “And I plan on proving that to you every day for the rest of our lives, sweetheart.” He brushed a loving hand over her stomach before he gripped her shoulders and flipped her over until she was pinned beneath him on the sofa. His hands raced over her bare skin like he couldn’t get enough. When he positioned his lips close to hers, her heart soared like a leaf caught in an updraft. She opened her mouth, offering herself up to him, heart, body and soul.
Tears filled her eyes. “We did it, Brand.”
“We sure did.” He winked at her, breached her pussy with his cock and said, “And I think we should do it again…and again…and again.”
If you enjoyed this sexy story, be on the lookout for more of Cathryn Fox’s Spice Briefs on sale now wherever eBooks are sold:
HOTTER THAN HELL
PRIMAL INSTINCTS
Hungry for more? Spice Briefs to suit every taste are available now at www.spicebriefs.com.
For something a little longer, visit www.spice-books.com or stop by your local bookstore for stories that will ignite your senses!
Think you’d like to write a Spice Brief? Submissions are always welcome at spicebriefs@harlequin.ca
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3860-6
Hell’s Angel
Copyright © 2009 by Cathryn Fox
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text August be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com
100%); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share