God, they were both wearing too many clothes. She longed for Jason to tear her jeans from her body, to free himself from the confines of his own clothes, and bury his cock deep inside her. So deep she’d know at last what it truly felt like to be taken. Claimed.
She wanted…
Stark realization hit her like a stinging slap to the face. Here she was, half-naked and plastered to a metal door underneath a bridge, ready to give herself to a man she barely knew. An angel whose days were undoubtedly numbered.
Even if she could justify allowing this to happen—which, to be honest, she was finding easier and easier to do—this was no way to lose her virginity. She was a practical girl, but even she needed a little bit of romance.
“Wa-wait. Stop.” Pulling back on his hair to yank his mouth from her breast was honestly one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but somehow she managed to accomplish it.
His gaze met hers, hot and heavy and ready to go.
“Not here,” she murmured. “Not now.”
For one instant his face remained unchanged, hungry, and she feared he’d continue on. Feared it because she didn’t know if she had the strength to stop him twice. But then reason appeared to pervade. His eyes cleared and he momentarily closed them, taking a deep, hearty breath.
“Forgive me,” he rumbled, his eyes opening as slowly stepped back. He supported her body weight until she unwrapped her legs from around him and shakily stood her ground.
Embarrassed and still more than a little turned on, Ruby averted her eyes from his still-heated gaze. She lowered the cups of her bra into place, practically jumping out of her skin when he reached around her to re-clasp the back. Feeling her cheeks heat, she tugged her thermal shirt down and tried to create some semblance of calm rationality.
“Are you okay?” Jason asked.
She nodded, not trusting her voice just yet.
“Ruby…”
When his hand reached out to cup her cheek and lift her head up toward him, she forced herself to meet his gaze.
“The only thing I’m sorry about is that I lost control and thought to take you in a place like this.” His eyes flashed hot, as if affirming his statement. “But make no mistake, I do mean to have you, and I make no apologies for that. You are meant to be my mate.”
Well…
What could she possibly say to that?
He didn’t give her a chance to respond, however, just grabbed her hand and stepped out from under the overhang, gently but firmly guiding her back toward the safety of their base.
*****
The harsh orange lighting of Ruby’s underground lair, not unlike the lighting in his mountain compound back in the Adirondacks, guided Jason as he led her through the abandoned subway tunnel that served as the entrance to her habitat. She’d slipped her hand from his sometime during the walk back to the warehouse, and he realized she was preparing for them to be spotted on the surveillance cameras. That brought about a brief moment of panic as he wondered whether one of her cameras might have caught their impromptu rendezvous under the bridge, but surely she would have pulled away if there’d been any chance of them being seen by her crew.
He stole a quick glance over at his companion. She appeared pensive, her brows slightly furrowed above the bridge of her nose. When his eyes slid down to her chest, to the taut buds that still peaked out from her shirt, his whole body clenched in frustrated desire and he tore his gaze away.
What he’d said to Ruby under the bridge had been no lie. Now that he’d had a taste of her luscious body, of her sinfully sweet breasts, he would stop at nothing to make her his. Somehow he understood the thought of that frightened her, but there was no turning back. She belonged to him…as he did to her.
Ruby took the lead as they approached the iron door of the surveillance room. She opened it and they slipped inside. Four sets of eyes turned to them.
“How’s it going? Anything unusual?” Ruby asked the three men and one woman who currently sat at the two long tables, monitoring each of the five screens set in front of them.
The oldest of the men—Rick, if Jason remembered correctly—shook his head. “All normal. How was your trip aboveground?”
“Fine,” Ruby replied, giving the barest of fidgets that probably only he picked up. “Well, I’d better hit the sack. Got an early morning training session tomorrow.”
Not giving anyone else the opportunity to comment, she turned and strode further into the base. For a moment, Jason just watched her go, helpless to do anything else. She moved in long, assured strides, like someone who knew she was the boss and didn’t care to hide it. He loved that about her.
And the fact that the curves of her luscious ass swayed as she moved?
Not too bad either.
It was only when he felt the heat of Rick’s curious gaze on him that he realized just how badly he was staring.
“Um…good night.” He made a hasty retreat, following Ruby down the narrow hallway. She came to a fork in the path and turned right, heading down the corridor where most of the so-called bedrooms had been placed. Given the number of people living down here, the rest of the inhabitants all shared rooms, but Ruby had a room all to herself. She used to share the space with her mother, one of the men had explained to him earlier, but then her mother had died. Since that left her in charge of the entire operation, it made sense to the others that she have her own quiet space to retreat to.
She stopped at a door to the right, turning the knob so it swung open. But before she could step inside, he caught up to her, placing his hand on her arm.
“Wait.”
Freezing in place, she slowly turned her masked gaze to him. “What is it?”
“I…” At a loss for words, he dropped his hand. “Thank you for accompanying me aboveground.”
Her mouth twisted into an approximation of a smile. “You’re welcome.”
With those words, she disappeared into her room, closing the door firmly behind her. After gazing at the door for a few moments, he continued down the hallway, to where the room he and Nate occupied was located. When he opened the door, Nate was there, lying on the top bunk with hands behind his head and his bare feet crossed at the ankles. He turned his head and gave Jason a good, long look.
“So…are you a mated man now?”
Leave it to Nate to figure out something had happened between him and Ruby.
“No.” Striding to the lower bunk he sat on it and kicked his shoes off before muttering, “But I will be.”
Sooner rather than later, he hoped.
Nate let out a soft snort. “I’ve no doubt of that, brother. No doubt at all.”
Chapter Eight
Four days had passed since that night under the bridge. Four days in which Ruby did her staunch best to avoid both Adam and Jason whenever possible. That was easy with Adam, since he seemed hell-bent on avoiding her too. But with Jason, it was almost impossible to do. He showed up to every training, insistent on helping out by teaching them all little tricks to temporarily slow or disable angels…like stabbing the spot where their wings grew out of their back to stunt their movement.
Not like she could complain, since that was technically the reason for him and Nate being here. But every time he did or said something to get her alone, she had to force herself to resist, and to be honest, she was starting to wear down.
It didn’t help that every time he moved, his muscles would bunch underneath one of his borrowed shirts, and she’d recall all over again how luscious his molten skin felt beneath her fingertips.
That bastard. I’ll be he knows just what he’s doing to me.
Her only consolation was that he seemed to be just as hot and bothered as she was, if the tautness of his body whenever she was near was any sort of indication.
How am I going to deal with this for even another day?
As fate would have it, she was saved from having to answer that question by the return of Michael, Eva, and the handsome angel named Aaron. After spotti
ng their arrival on one of her outer city cameras later that evening, she tracked down Jason and Nate and followed them into the abandoned tunnel to await the others’ arrival.
“This is so much sooner than I expected,” Nate said.
“Surely not enough time to get to Alaska and back.” Jason edged closer to the manhole, and inadvertently to Ruby, and she resisted the urge to scoot away. The natural heat emanating from his body washed over her, causing her skin to prickle in the most of delicious of ways.
Hot skin, flesh to bare flesh. Lips and tongue caressing the taut buds of her breasts. The rigid peak of his arousal pressing against her core.
Ruby shook her head, forcing the arousing images to recede and directing her attention back to the two angels beside her.
“…must have stopped at the compound,” Nate was saying, “since Ethan and Tayla are no longer with them.”
Minutes later the scrape of metal upon metal sounded out above their heads. The manhole edged to the side, and Eva’s jean and boot-clad lower body appeared on the upper rung of the ladder. She climbed down, skipping the last several rungs and simply hopping down into the dirt. Smiling at Ruby, the stunning woman brushed pieces of dirt from her shoulder-length, wavy black hair.
Michael quickly followed and then Aaron, who scooted the manhole back into place before descending. Their shirtless bodies glistened in the dim orange lighting and Ruby averted her gaze, lest the image bring back even more memories of the incident under the bridge.
Jason and Nate exchanged hearty handshakes with Michael and Aaron.
“Brothers,” Jason said by way of greeting. “What news do you bring?”
Michael traded a loaded glance with Aaron before saying, “As you know, we left intending to seek Aaron and Samantha out in Alaska. We stopped at the compound first and were lucky enough to run into them.”
“Samantha and I were returning to warn the others,” Aaron chimed in.
“Warn?” Jason’s voice sounded out, sharp and concerned. “About what?”
Letting out a sigh, Aaron raked a hand through his tousled, dirty-blonde hair. “While conducting surveillance we overhead some of the plans the angel have set into place.”
If Aaron’s grim tone hadn’t set Ruby on edge, the way he fidgeted would have. Her shoulders tensed and she stepped forward. “What? What are they planning?”
Aaron’s sober gaze met hers. “They plan to start rounding up human officials very soon. To execute them. They think to start with the highest-powered figureheads: the president, vice-president, and their cabinet.”
“But…” The breath whooshed from Ruby’s lungs as the severity of their situation struck her full-force. “That means—”
“War is about to begin,” Eva broke in softly. “And our time is almost up.”
*****
Hours later, Ruby sat with Eva and the angels at the large, rectangular table located in their mess hall. After Aaron’s stunning announcement, she’d gathered the top tier members of her gang, Adam, Rick, and Susan, and filled them in on the news.
“I don’t think we should split up,” Adam said for the third time in a matter of minutes.
While discussing their options, Michael had suggested that Ruby’s gang move to a new location somewhere in the Adirondacks, close to the Fallen compound. If war was coming, it only made sense for the lot of them to be in close proximity to each other. But while Michael and Eva could easily procure several vehicles and fake passcards to allow them all to make the drive to upstate New York, Michael had suggested Ruby fly back to the compound with the rest of the Fallen.
“It makes the most sense,” Ruby told Adam now. “I’ll need to meet with Samantha to make a game plan for getting the surveillance we need.”
Between Samantha’s ability to go undetected amongst angels and Ruby’s hypersensitivity to them, as well as her undisputed expertise in setting up surveillance equipment, the two of them were clearly the best chance for getting incriminating footage of the angels and their secret prison.
Adam, who sat in the seat directly beside her, leaned forward and addressed her in a low, insistent voice. “Ruby, we’ve stuck together for years. We can’t let these guys split us up now.”
His words caused a pinch in her chest, especially since they were probably the most he’d uttered to her since he’d discovered her on the floor with Jason. No matter what, he would always be her family. That didn’t change the facts, though.
“They’re our best chance for accomplishing our mission,” Ruby shot back just as quietly. “Our only chance. And we need to get some sort of evidence against the angels if we’re going to convince the general population that they’re trying to do us all in.”
“I’m just not comfortable with it,” he persisted, his gaze momentarily flicking toward Jason.
While part of Ruby thought jealousy might be the biggest reason for Adam’s reluctance for her to go ahead with the Fallen, she chose to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he’d been her second-in-command for years, and he’d proven himself a devoted friend and partner.
“Something tells me we’re going to have to do a lot of stuff that makes us uncomfortable in the weeks and months to come,” she replied matter-of-factly.
He couldn’t refute her point, though Ruby knew he desperately wanted to.
“So that settles it, then.” The tone of Michael’s voice made it obvious he’d been eavesdropping on her conversation with Adam. “Ruby will fly ahead with Eva, Jason, Aaron, and me, and the rest of you will pack as many of your belongings as you can fit into the vehicles we’ll provide for you. Nate will remain as your guide, and you’ll all meet us in the mountains in a few days’ time.”
Adam pursed his lips in disapproval. “Ruby—”
“It’s the best way,” she said with a note of finality in her voice.
He didn’t look happy about it, but he shut his mouth, thank God. The last thing she needed was to a have a big disagreement with her second-in-command right before she was about to go off. Truth be told, she wasn’t too happy with this plan either. It meant she’d be leaving the only family she had left behind, even if just for a few days, and traveling with a Fallen who so clearly wanted to make her his own. But she wasn’t about to shirk her duty now, just when her particular brand of skills would come in handy.
“Take tomorrow to fill a backpack with the belongings you’ll need to tide you over, and we’ll leave after nightfall.” Michael turned to the other angels. “I’d like to take a few moments to discuss our travel route back to the compound.”
Since the discussion didn’t warrant the input of anyone without wings, Ruby rose and motioned for her crew to do the same. They followed her outside the mess hall, where she turned to address the three of them.
“This is what we’ve been preparing for all these years. Let’s not forget the consequences if we fail to act.”
Adam didn’t say anything, but the way he averted his gaze pointed out just how worried about her he was. And maybe a bit jealous, too. Her heart stung for him, but she’d never led him on. Adam was a good friend, almost like a brother. Nothing more.
Susan reached out and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Do what you’ve gotta do. We’ll make sure everyone gets everything together and meet you upstate. Don’t worry about us.”
“I’ll make sure extra care is taken packing whatever surveillance equipment we take with us,” Rick volunteered.
“Thanks, guys.” A sudden tremor of uncertainty wound through Ruby, but she quashed it back. She’d always known the day would come when they’d have to take action against the angels. Now was no time for fear or doubt…not when she was the leader of their little motley crew.
“Why don’t you all get some rest? The next couple of days are going to be pretty hectic.”
A murmur of agreement sounded out from Rick and Susan. For one moment Adam looked as if he would argue, but in the end he merely scowled and averted his gaze.
They
all turned to head down the corridor leading to the carved-out bedrooms, but just then Eva emerged from the mess hall. She took a look at Ruby and gave her a soft smile.
“I forgot where our borrowed room is. Could you direct me there?”
“Sure.” Ruby nodded for her gang to continue on down the hall, and fell into place at Eva’s side. Eva walked with her in amicable silence for a few minutes, her leisurely pace indicating she wanted to put a little distance between them and the group ahead. Curious, Ruby complied.
“I think you’re very brave,” Eva finally said when the others had wandered further down the hall. “Everything you’ve been doing down here, preparing to fight the angels, even knowing that you’re outmatched by them in strength and speed.”
To Ruby’s surprise, she felt a sting of pride at Eva’s words. They prompted her to reply honestly. “I never really looked at it that way. Truth is, I never felt as if I had any choice. ‘Fight or die’ was my mother’s motto ever since we learned my father had been murdered.”
“Still, you’re brave.” Eva gave a decisive nod. “Especially agreeing to plant surveillance. I mean, I know you realize how dangerous it’ll be just to go up there. There’s a chance some of us won’t come back.”
Yes, that thought had always been in the back of Ruby’s mind. “The mission is more important than one individual life.”
“I agree.” Eva met Ruby’s gaze, her eyes blazing dark and brilliant. “I’m so thankful that Michael and I are well and truly mated, that he has his full strength and immortality. That, at least, gives me one less variable to worry about.”
Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but then snapped it shut. Eva had just given her a not-so-subtle reminder that the unmated angels—namely Jason and Nate—would be weaker and therefore at greater risk. “I don’t…”
Eva gave a half-shrug. “I’m just saying.”
Making a point, more like it. And a point well made.
“Ah, there’s my room. I remember now.” Eva flashed Ruby a bright smile. “Have a good night.”
Angel's Kiss Page 6
