Kai orders for us in fluent Italian, and I notice that he orders three completely different flavors. “Which one is yours?”
“They have this apple strudel flavor that I can’t seem to get enough of. The mint chocolate is Solomon’s. Birthday cake for Atlas. There’s something so...decadent about knowing someone’s favorite ice cream flavor. I would never have guessed that Solomon would like mint chocolate anything. From what I’ve seen, the only dessert that he would eat is ice cubes and despair. The clerk gives us our order in a paper bag, and I grab it while Kai pays.
His hand is in mine again as soon as we step out the door, skin warm on mine. It feels like the perfect kind of normal. A date someone like me could have gone on if I wasn’t who I am. And Kai wasn’t who he is. We wind our way through the streets again, and I can’t stop smiling. I want to do this. I want to see the human world and pretend that I have time to enjoy it. I’m going to make sure that I do when I’m queen.
When.
That word echoes in my chest. When. Not if.
I guess deep inside that I’ve decided what I want. I can’t ignore the pulse of sadness that pulses in my chest. But it’s what I need. To not be torn in two. But just because my soul has decided what it needs doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy this while it lasts.
“Tell me about you, Arielle.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean before Tartarus, who were you?”
I like that he says ‘were,’ acknowledging that anyone who spends time in Tartarus will not be the same when they come out on the other side. So I tell him. I weave a story that he’ll believe, but has enough truth for me to remember it. Orphaned. Adopted. Brought into the family business. Which happened to be public relations. It’s true in a manner of speaking. “Honestly not too much to tell,” I say. “I was pretty boring.”
“I don’t think you’re boring,” He says.
“That’s nice of you to say.”
Kai sweeps me into his arms and then we’re flying. Blind, because he kisses me as we fly. It’s disorienting, feeling like I’m falling while floating. I have to look away from him when we break apart, because the look in his eyes is terrifying. It’s deeper than anything he could say, and I don’t know how to respond. We land on a balcony that’s mine, and he lets my feet slip to the ground while still holding me against his body. There are French doors shut on this balcony, temporarily hiding us. But I can feel the other archangels behind the glass. And so that means that they can feel us.
Still, I hold back for a moment. I need to know. Just me. “You seem so sure.”
“I am.” His arm curls around my waist. “Sure.”
I hate and love the way butterflies fling themselves around my chest. “Why? It’s so fast.”
He stares at me, a slow smile forming on his face and that same indescribable depth of feeling. “Something doesn’t have to take time to be real. That’s a human logic.”
“Tell me why,” I press. “Please.” Everything in my soul wants to hear it. Why does this angel want me in spite of every reason that he has not to?
“It’s not a thing that can be put in words. But I can feel it the same way you can feel the thing that’s pulling us together. No matter where I’ve been, the path is clear. Like seeing a break in the fog or stepping through fog into sunlight.”
He glances back the way we came. Towards the city. “When I found you in that alley...” Kai trails off. “When I touched you.” The silence is so long that I nearly ask if he’s all right. But when he turns, his eyes are living embers. Eyes glowing with simmering power and emotion. “It felt like I had been locked in a cave for a hundred years, and you were the first new air in my lungs. I don’t need it explained to me.”
My vision blurs with unexpected tears. What the hell is wrong with me? Kai pulls my head to his chest, lips against my hair. “That’s why.”
“No one’s ever said anything like that to me.”
“They should,” he whispers. “I’ve seen things that you cannot imagine. More than I ever wanted to. When light appears in that darkness, I embrace it. Not question it.”
I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of oak and leather. It’s the first time I’ve been called a light. To most, I am the embodiment of darkness. And I know that I will take that with me for the rest of my life. For eternity—the one moment that I was someone’s light. “The others?”
Kai kisses my temple, and I revel in the warmth that stirs up. Like embers under my skin. Basking in afternoon sunlight. “We all come to things in our own time. Even bound as we are, we’re still on our own.”
I nod.
He drops his voice to an even lower whisper. “But I’m not going to pretend that I don’t want them to hurry it up so that I can drag you into my bed and hear the way you scream when I show you what I can really do.”
Arousal hits so hard and fast that I’m dizzy. “You can’t do that,” I gasp. “Not when I’m about to go in there with them.”
Kai’s smirk is not apologetic in the slightest. “It can’t hurt.”
I think my entire body is consumed in a blush. He grabs the bag of gelato from me and hands me mine and Solomon’s before shoving through the French doors. “We brought gelato.”
The two archangels look up from where they’re working. Atlas over a table spread with papers that look as old as time itself. And Solomon with a map and a notebook, scratching notes. Somehow I thought he might be using a quill pen. But it looks like a normal ballpoint. The little mixtures of modern normalcy and angelic luxury still take me by surprise.
“It’s about time,” Atlas says. “Just standing on the balcony letting the ice cream melt.”
“That was Arielle’s fault,” Kai says, tossing Atlas his dish of gelato with perfect aim. I’m glad the dishes have tops on them because I don’t trust dripping ice cream and ancient manuscripts. “She was blushing hot enough to turn it to steam.”
And of course all that does is make me blush more. “I wouldn’t need to blush if it weren’t for you,” I say. Kai just grins and falls onto one of the couches with a spoon. Then he nods towards Solomon.
My stomach twists with nerves. He’s not even looking at me and my heart is pounding at the thought of approaching him. I don’t get nervous. Not like this. But walking close to Solomon has every one of my hairs standing on end. With fear or a desperation to see the golden glow of his eyes again, I’m not sure. “Here’s yours,” I say quietly but firmly, holding out the dish of gelato. “Kai said you liked the mint chocolate.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see a map of the globe, marked with what look like battles. Many many tiny dots, the big ones rare. The skirmishes that Kai mentioned, maybe?
Solomon looks up at me, face impossible to read. He smiles, but it’s just a motion. A social grace. “Thank you.” He takes the dish from me and sets it next to his notebook. When I look down at the map I had sworn was there just a moment ago, it’s blank. He still doesn’t remotely trust me. Solomon, of the three angels, will be my biggest challenge. Without question.
I retreat to the couches where Atlas is settling in with his gelato as well. Kai hands me a spoon. It’s delicious. The perfect blend of sweetness and cream.
But I’m distracted by watching Solomon. He’s gone back to looking at the map, and writing down notes. Kai and Atlas are talking about how they should really buy the gelato in bulk and keep it in the kitchen. The way this tastes, I can’t say that I disagree. Plus, it would help the store if they had to make enough Gelato to feed an army of angels.
When he thinks we’re no longer watching, Solomon reaches for the dish of gelato. He barely looks up from that damned map, but he does open it. And slowly, he takes a bite. I see the little sigh, and the way he closes his eyes.
Ice cubes and despair indeed.
Solomon has a crack in his armor. They always do. I just didn’t think that this one would be ice cream.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
_______
&nbs
p; “Why Venice?” I ask, blocking the sun from my eyes on the sand. I’m stretched on the beach of the island, taking advantage of the perfect weather. Kai is next to me, face down, and the second he sees me shading my eyes a wing appears, shading me.
The last few days have been deliciously normal bliss. Malakai has rarely left my side, with Atlas usually in the near vicinity. He hasn’t been as bold as Kai is with his affection. Still hesitant. But there have been kisses, and moments when he appears around a corner and presses me to the wall, like he can’t help himself.
I haven’t asked him what’s holding him back. I know. He has concerns. But every hour he spends with me I see him relax. And I love seeing those green eyes recapture those playful moments that we shared. The thought of both him and Kai wanting me together almost puts me on the floor. But I want that.
The images that pour into my mind are toe-curling, moan-inducing, ready to come on command images. Even if we’re not all the way there. Even if it’s only them doing what they can to make me squirm. I’ve been avoiding too much too fast with Kai because I don’t want to make Atlas and Solomon uncomfortable. Or worse, jealous. But every night I’m waking up from panting dreams, imagining their mouths on me. The way their tongues would stroke along my clit until I can no longer breathe.
So the looks on their faces when I appeared in this bathing suit just gave me more motivation. It’s blue like that dress I wore on the day I arrived, with straps that ride along my hips and tie things together. Barely. Kai has already seen me naked. And touched me. But that did not seem to affect the way he looked at me like he was about to pounce. It took him more than a minute to be able to speak again.
“Do you mean why aren’t we just staying in Asterium?” Atlas asks, after my question hangs in the air.
I reach out and touch the shimmering feathers providing me shelter. “Both. You could be anywhere. Why here?”
“There are a few reasons,” Atlas says. “It’s easier to track things happening on earth when we’re here. Venice has a long history of the mythological and strange, so seeing a man flying accidentally won’t spark a storm of curiosity. And there are ancient power lines that make it easier to hide here.”
I smile, continuing to run my fingers through the feathers and enjoying the shivers that movement causes. Atlas must trust me more now. If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t have told me any of that. Especially about the ancient power. “Ley lines?”
“Older than that,” he says. “Deeper.”
“Oh.” I glance over at him, and he’s relaxed in a chair, reading. He’s nearly always reading, and I love him for it. I’m about to ask him what it is that has him so engrossed when a low sound comes from Kai. “I’m going to need you to stop doing that.”
“What, this?” I dig my fingers deeper into the feathers and pull my fingers through them. It has the exact affect I want, drawing him to me. He rolls over my body so he’s the thing blocking out the sun, though his wings go dark and stretch wide to either side. Hair forms a curtain that hides us from the world until he brushes it back around his neck. He’s straddling my hips very intentionally. He’s hard and pressed against me just where he would need to be if we were allowed to do more than kiss. And for him to tease me to orgasm with smoke and fingers. It all leaves me thunderstruck and shaky.
“Yes, that. It feels fucking fantastic, and makes me want more of you than I can have.”
Kai lost his shirt on the way to the beach, and I run my hands up his chest. I like tracing the lines of him, exploring the dips and planes like they’ll always be mine. “I was wondering,” I say, biting my lip. “I know we can’t... you know.”
My words are lost in a crushing kiss. Kai doesn’t care that his brothers aren’t ready for me. He is, and he’s not shy about showing me that. His hips move, pushing against me and showing me exactly how much he wants that. “Fuck is the word you’re looking for, Arielle. We can’t fuck yet. And I’d like to say that the second we can that I’ll take it slow and gentle and long. But I won’t. We’ll fuck first and make love later. And in-between there’s all the rest of it.”
Anticipation jumps in my stomach, mind creating a million and one fantasies that all involve him, a bed, and his very hard cock. I can feel Atlas’s eyes on us from the short distance between us. “I know we can’t fuck,” I say. “But I was wondering what is allowed? Until everyone is ready.” He’s quiet for a moment, and I start to talk again to fill the silence. “Because you kiss me, and you’ve made me come with your hand. I don’t know where the line is, and I’m dying a little.”
Kai’s smile is wicked. “Atlas,” he calls. “I need your academic mind.”
I manage to look over at Atlas and see him roll his eyes, but he’s smiling too. He stands and comes over to us, not seeming at all bothered by the fact that Kai has me pinned to the sand with his body.
Looking up at Atlas as I am, I can’t ignore his body either. The sun glints off dark skin, showing every curve and line in delicious relief. “What was the question?”
Kai sits back, still straddling my hips and still pressed against me in the most carnal way possible. But I can sit up on my elbows to see Atlas just a little better. Kai doesn’t bother to hide his amusement. “Arielle was wondering, since I can’t fuck her yet—because Solomon is taking his sweet time and resisting fate harder than anyone I’ve ever seen—what is allowed by our bond. Sexually.”
Atlas’s gaze slides down my body, taking in the tiny amount of fabric that clothes it. “You think I’ve made up my mind?” he asks lightly.
I tense. I can’t have Kai mess this up for me. But Atlas is still grinning as Kai chuckles. “I think you’re here with the two of us and not hiding in the library.”
“Fair enough.” It’s not a full admission, but it’s damn close to one. My heart kicks up three notches in my chest. “We’re allowed to give pleasure,” he says. “But we cannot take it.”
“That doesn’t seem very fair,” I manage to say, though my mouth has gone dry as the sand I’m lying on.
“You can say yes or no,” Kai clarifies. “The three of us cannot. Everything we do resonates between the three of us. So I can make you come from dusk till dawn, but any pleasure we receive all of us have to agree to.”
“And the kissing?”
“Emotional pleasure is somewhat different,” Atlas says. “It doesn’t echo the same way.”
I roll my eyes. “Only men would think that kissing is emotionally pleasure only.”
“Oh, it’s not,” Atlas says. “But it’s a fine line. We can—I’m not sure how to describe it.”
Kai stretches, arching his back so his hips thrust against mine again. “We can shut down that part of ourselves, if we have to. Let the satisfaction of giving pleasure override the physical sensation.”
I narrow my eyes and wiggle out from underneath Kai so I can stand. “Wait a second,” I say, facing them both. “You both have been shutting yourselves down so that you can have the satisfaction of kissing me?”
“Would you rather not kiss at all?” Kai raises an eyebrow.
I flush. “No. It just seems awful for you.”
Atlas reaches out and takes me by the arms and pulls me to him. A silent declaration. “When it’s the option you have,” he says. “You embrace it. But I think you’re vastly underestimating the power of male satisfaction. Knowing you’re the cause of a woman’s pleasure is one of the greatest highs there is in this world. Not all pleasure has to be physical.” He kisses me then, running through my hair like glittering fingers and I feel like I see stars. All pleasure, and all in my mind. But the kiss feels pretty fucking good too.
“Physical has its perks,” Kai says, and I suddenly feel his lips on my skin, just above the line of my bikini bottom. Oh fuck, it’s happening. Both of them at once. That’s the only thought I need to trigger wetness and arousal.
Kai runs his hands down my legs, teasing the cuffs on my ankles with his fingers before dragging them back upward. And I know ex
actly where he’s heading. Atlas still has my arms, still covers my mouth with his own and lets his tongue dance with mine. It’s magic and synergy, and I don’t know where to focus or if I even should try.
Both angels pull away from me at once. Like they were yanked backwards. They turn and look, and I do too. Solomon is standing on one of the palace balconies, watching. I can’t make out his face from here, but my stomach drops. Is he angry?
Atlas kisses me quickly. Lightly. “We have to go.” He launches into the air without another word. Kai is nearly as fast, but takes a few extra seconds. When he kisses me, it’s raw and deep and slams power through me all in one go. “We’ll be back. And I’ll finish what I started.”
“You’d better,” I gasp. And then I’m facing empty air, the three angles soaring away from the palace in unison, armor already in place for a battle far from here.
CHAPTER TWELVE
_______
I wake up panting again, this time not from a dream that makes me want to moan. This was a dream of blood and fire. I looked out through the eyes of the angels as they fought. It was an easy win. Even I could see that. The forces the underworld sent were scattered. And they were few and far between. The angels they were battling are more than enough to win. I could feel the frustration in the trinity. They did not need to be called here for this. And yet they were already there. So they destroyed what they could. Blood and ash. Demons and dark creatures evaporated into nothing. A succubus was ripped in half, the black blood painting the sky like evil rain. And when there was nothing left, they left, launching into the sky so quickly that my dreaming mind was dizzy, and I was launched from sleep.
I’ve woken every night that I’ve been here, from one dream or another. This is the first time that I’ve seen through their eyes and felt their bodies. Not quite their thoughts, but emotions. The way they move and what it’s like to house eternal power.
Queen of Darkness (War of Heavenly Fire Book 1) Page 9
