Delaying any further seemed idiotic.
“Kiss me.” She pulled his head down to hers.
His eyes flashed with desire as he closed the distance between them, crushing her body to his. His lips covered hers, tongue diving in deep. Each nip and slide elicited a moan from her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, rubbing against him, and he dragged his mouth from hers with a groan. “Eva, please…if you don’t want to…I won’t have the strength to stop for much longer.”
Stop? He thought she might want to stop? “No, Michael. Don’t stop. Make love to me.”
His lips formed a muttered prayer. Holding tight to her, he flexed his wings. They shot up into the air and he flew toward the bank, where he gently laid her against a smooth, flat rock that inclined. His fingers brushed her nipples and stomach while he kissed her breathless. Spreading her legs, his hand traveled in between, stroking and teasing the sensitive nub there.
“Oh God, Michael. Please.” She cried out, tearing her lips from his as her legs tightened against the intense pleasure of his electrifying touch.
“Yes,” he groaned. One of his heavy wings flapped against her as he slid down her body, settling his head between her legs. He applied pressure on her knees, tilting them up and out. His tongue settled on her, lapping and laving before, with one teasing flick to her clitoris, he drove his tongue inside her.
“Oh. Yes!” She screamed as her release overtook her, driving through her body with all the speed of a runaway train. “Michael. Now!”
With a harsh cry, he rose over her, positioning his cock at her entrance.
She had just enough time for a vague worry to form. So big. But then he was pushing inside and all fear was gone. “Oh, yes.” She wrapped her legs around him, digging her nails in his back to urge him down. The feel of him slowly filling her rode the boundary between pleasure and pain. So deliciously sweet. She wanted more of him. As much as she could take.
“Oh…heavens, Eva.” He groaned as he seated himself fully within her. Dropping his head to hers, he tangled his tongue against hers before lifting his head and sliding out a few inches.
That movement alone, the silk-on-steel feel of him inside her, drove her to the brink of another release. “Faster. Please.” She dug her fingers into his hips, urging him up, then down, until he shuddered and obeyed, driving a harder, faster rhythm. One slight shift of the angle was all it took to send her over the edge. “Oh God. Yes!”
“Eva. You’re exciting me too much.” With that, his control broke. He lifted onto his hands, angling his hips up as he thrust into her with abandon.
Pleasure filled every molecule of her body until she was only dimly aware of him pounding hard and fast into her, of the hard rock against her back, and the feel of his wings methodically flapping against her thighs, her breasts. She rode wave after wave of ecstasy, feeling herself come apart once more under the weight of his battering thrusts.
He came with her this time, shouting his release into the air. Continuing to pump until he’d emptied himself into her. Breathing heavily, he collapsed over her.
The feel of his heart battering against his ribs was surprisingly comforting. It was nice to know he was as affected by their lovemaking as she was. When he groaned and made to rise, she closed her arms over his back and wrapped her legs around him to keep his body joined with hers.
“I’m too heavy,” he muttered in a drowsy tone.
“I still want you in me.” She spoke the words without even thinking them. Maybe she should be ashamed but she wasn’t. What they’d just shared was beautiful. Amazing. Even though she was tired, electricity wound through her whole body.
“Here.” In one smooth move Michael absorbed his wings into his body and rolled so he was on his back and she lay on top of him. He was still lodged inside her, semi-erect. Somehow it seemed like that was where he belonged.
“Mmm…this is nice.” She rested her cheek on his chest.
“Yeah.”
She closed her eyes and must have dozed off because when she next took note he was sliding his hips upward, sheathing himself all the way inside her again. And, oh yeah, he was once more fully erect. Eyes widening, she lifted her head to look at him. “Again?”
“Again?” His laugh was a sexy, rumbling sound in his chest. “Eva, it’s been many years for me. I could go all day.”
“Oh!”
With a laugh, he proceeded to show her he wasn’t the least bit exaggerating.
Chapter Twelve
It was already well into the night by the time the surveillance system signaled the return of Jason and Ethan to the cave. Michael strode from his sitting room to the area of the chamber holding his bed. Eva lay there under the bed sheet, still as the dead. The steady rise and fall of her chest was the only indication she belonged to the land of the living. He’d worn her out today. Still, he couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
Smiling, he recalled the loving way she’d responded to him. She’d seemed as eager as he for every round of their love play.
His smile faded as he recalled her earlier words. I want control over my life. That he regretted more than anything. It had never been his intent to force Eva into a life with him. True, he’d thought she would willingly choose him because their essences called to each other so strongly. But he would have let her decide her own fate. Now, neither of them would ever know if this was ultimately the path she would’ve chosen.
Though maybe…
Michael stirred as an idea came to him. Frowning, he went to his dresser and removed a pair of slacks, sliding them on. Then he left to search out his brethren.
He found them in the kitchen, as he’d suspected he would. “Good evening.”
Jason and Ethan’s expressions looked relieved as they greeted him.
“I sense that you mated your woman,” Ethan noted.
Much to Michael’s surprise he felt a wave of heat creep to his cheeks. “Yes.”
“Good for you,” Jason mumbled around a thick slice of French bread. “I was beginning to think you were cursed to never get laid again. And I wasn’t looking forward to living in a constant state of arousal if she remained here.”
“You’re saved.” Michael cocked a brow at him before turning to Ethan. “Where are Aaron and Lucas?”
“Still out hunting.”
Michael nodded. He knew all too well what they were searching for. The same thing he himself had sought for some time. Thankfully he’d found his mate. Though I may not get to keep her.
“Ethan, I—”
He cut off at the sound of the kitchen’s surveillance system. It was Seth, Gabe, Nate, and Zach back from their mission.
Mere minutes later, the four joined them in the kitchen. Seth took one look at him and clapped him on the back. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” He gave an uncomfortable shift in place.
“What did you learn?” Ethan asked them.
“Nothing good,” Seth replied.
“What is it?” Michael asked them.
There was a beat of silence before Gabe murmured, “You may wish to sit down for this one.” He pointed toward the living area and one-by-one they filed out of the kitchen.
Instead of taking a seat on the leather sectional or in one of the recliners, Michael opted to stand in one corner of the room. He was physically tired, yes, but also mentally wired. A side effect of melding essences.
Impatience coursed through his body. He wanted to get back to Eva. “What have you found?”
Seth was the first to respond. Like Michael, he’d foregone a seat. Instead he paced throughout the cavern, looking like a caged beast. “We’ve discovered the Tribunal has built an underground prison somewhere in Alaska.”
Jason cocked a brow. “What for?”
“We’ve learned they plan to covertly begin executions,” Nate answered. “They’ll secretly gather the human figureheads—the presidents, prime ministers, and rulers who still hold symbolic power—and bring them there for mass
execution. With the world leaders suddenly missing, humans will turn to angels even more for protection.”
Michael furrowed his brows as the words penetrated his mind. “But what then?”
“They will use this as an excuse to cut off reporting and news programs,” Seth muttered. “For safety reasons, they’ll say. This way, word won’t immediately spread when entire sections of the population start disappearing.”
“Damnation.” Michael ran a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling soul-weary. “So the prison will be the base of human extinction?”
“Yes,” said Seth.
For a long moment no one spoke. Finally Michael broke the silence. “We must destroy the prison.”
Seth nodded. “We’ll divide the territory of Alaska among the lot of us. We’ll find the facility, sooner or later.”
“Hopefully before the Tribunal starts in on its plan, “Aaron mumbled.
Michael sighed. “We aren’t strong enough to fight them as is. Every one of us needs to find a mate if we are to stand a chance of defeating them.”
There was murmured assent among the group.
“At least you’ve found your mate,” Ethan commented from where he sat on a recliner, leaning forward. He spoke in a jovial tone, clearly trying to lighten the somber mood.
I’m not so sure. To Ethan he said, “You have your mate too, if only you weren’t too stubborn to claim her.”
Ethan shook his head. “No. Tayla hates me. She blames me for her father’s death still.”
“Hate and love are two sides of the same coin,” Jason commented dryly.
“He speaks the truth,” Michael said to Ethan. Running a nervous hand through his hair, he broached the subject he’d wanted to address earlier, before they’d been interrupted by the arrival of the men. “Still, if you are so determined to keep away from Tayla, I wonder if she would be willing to help Eva.”
Ethan lifted a brow. “Help her how?”
“Tayla could teach her to survive in the world as a nephilim. How to ensure she stays below the radar of other angels.”
Now Seth turned to look at him. “Why would she need that?”
Michael took a breath. “Because she might not wish to stay here.”
As he’d feared, with those words all eyes turned to him. The men’s expressions ranged from shock to disbelief. Almost in unison, they said, “What?”
***
It was close to sunrise by the time Michael finally returned to his living quarters. He’d been up half the night with his brethren as they took turns arguing with him, trying to get him to change his mind about the solution he was going to offer Eva. But he wasn’t about to change his mind. She should have a choice.
Her life would never be risk-free. Being nephilim saw to that. But she might desire to live a less dangerous life than one at the side of a Fallen. Especially now that the angels were preparing to act on their plan to exterminate humankind. His life, all their lives, were about to become exponentially more dangerous. And if she chose to live without him, he would respect her decision, no matter how much it would kill him. At least her life would be safer that way.
He kept his movements stealthy as he stalked into the bedroom. Eva still lay in his bed, just as he’d left her. He couldn’t help but smile at the evidence of how thoroughly exhausted she was.
This may be your last night together.
His heart rebelled at the thought. How empty his life had seemed until he’d found her. The last few days with her had been Heaven on Earth, the one bright spot in a life that had of late been filled with such turmoil. She’d been everything he could’ve wished for and more. Intelligent, kind, courageous, trusting. That he might have to continue living without her was incomprehensible. But he couldn’t think of that now. He had to be strong.
Tomorrow she will have a choice. But for tonight, show her how you feel.
Yes. He would.
Michael slipped off his slacks before lifting the sheet and sliding onto his side of the bed. His weight sunk the mattress a few inches. She moaned and flipped her head in his direction, but didn’t wake. Resting his head on his hand, he watched her for some time. Her chest rose and fell with every breath, and every now and again she would let out a little snore. No doubt she’d be embarrassed to know that, but personally he found it irresistible.
He reached a hand under the sheet to trail along the silky flesh of her stomach. His fingers drew lazy circles around her belly button.
Eva stirred, giving him a sleepy smile as her eyes fluttered open. “Can’t sleep?”
“I can go for days without it.”
She blinked at him, an expression of wonderment crossing her face. “No kidding?”
Grinning, he slid his fingers lower to the tiny pearl just above the entrance to her womb. Little electric tingles shot through his fingers with his every touch, and he knew she felt it too when she moaned, tilting her hips up toward his hand.
“You’re amazing,” he told her. She was so responsive to his touch. More than any man could hope for.
“Me?” She let out a soft, tinkling laugh and undulated her hips against him. “I’m just trying to keep up with you.”
That was all the invitation he needed. He slipped under the sheet and came to rest between her legs. Placing his hands on the backs of her thighs, he parted her and drank in the honeyed scent of her arousal before touching his tongue to the spot his fingers had just left.
“Don’t stop,” she moaned.
As if he would. He flicked his tongue against her sensitive bud before driving it inside her, readying her to accept him into her body. When she cried out and her legs convulsed around him, he increased the intensity of his thrusts, building her pleasure to a screaming crescendo.
“Oh God!” She tangled her fingers into his hair and held him to her as she rode out her climax.
Her heady taste and the sound of her ecstasy drove him to the brink of madness. His erection burned hot and heavy. He ached to be inside her.
“Please, Michael,” she gasped. “I want you inside me.”
Only a fool would hold back now. Since he wasn’t one, he rose up, moving her knees to the side as he positioned himself at her entrance. Then, with agonizing slowness, he pushed inside. When she uttered a sharp cry, he pressed his lips to hers, drowning out the sound of her pleasure.
Her walls closed in around him, squeezing him like a fist and urging him deeper inside. He lost all sense of reason as he focused on the feel of their joined bodies.
“Harder,” she panted.
Rising up to his elbows, he tilted his hips, withdrawing and then plunging. Again. And again. Sweat beaded on his chest and her nails dug into the skin of his back, urging him forward with its blend of pleasure and pain. For a moment time stopped. Nothing existed but him and her and the feel of their bodies straining for mutual release.
She screamed and wrapped her legs around him, riding out another climax that had her walls convulsing, milking every bit of pleasure from him. With a hoarse shout, he joined her over the edge. He was dimly aware of her urging him deeper inside as he poured himself into her, slowly pumping until he was at last spent.
Her chest heaved as she unwound her legs from his waist, rubbing her hands lazily down his back. “Wow, that was…unbelievable,” she murmured with a soft laugh.
It was. Too good to be true. And he couldn’t help but wonder if this time tomorrow he’d be lying in his bed alone, lamenting the loss of a woman he’d only known for a few days but already couldn’t imagine living without.
Sudden moisture burned against the back of his eyelids. He blinked it away before crushing his lips to hers, focusing all of his emotion on the joining of their mouths. No matter what happened tomorrow, he hoped tonight, this moment, would be something she would never forget.
Chapter Thirteen
For the first time in a very long time, Eva awoke with a sense of lightness in the pit of her stomach. To think, just a few days ago she’d been dead-set aga
inst joining Michael. Against living a life on the run. Well so far her new life beat the old one by a landslide. If she was back in her apartment right now, she’d be getting ready for another day of work at the coffee shop. As it was, she faced a day of lounging around with her hunky angel and maybe even going for a skinny dip in the stream.
Speaking of, where was he? Lifting her arms over her head, she let out a big yawn and stretched. The movement pulled on her thigh muscles, eliciting a twinge of pain. Lord, she was sore.
What did you think? You spent all day yesterday making love to an insatiable angel. It’ll be a miracle if you can still walk.
Despite the fact she was alone, she felt telltale heat creep to her cheeks, especially when she realized the other Fallen would immediately know once they saw her that she and Michael had slept together.
One thing was for sure, living here would never get boring.
She slid out of bed and, after working some of the kinks out of her muscles, strode over to the dresser where Michael had stuck some of the clothes he’d “borrowed” from his sister yesterday. After slipping on a gray tank top and a pair of black sweatpants in a lush, soft fabric that hugged her curves, she lifted the gauzy fabric separating the bedroom from the sitting area. He wasn’t there either, which she’d expected since she hadn’t heard a peep. She left the room and went in search of him.
The cave was eerily silent as Eva made her way down the stairs. Had the other angels made it back yet? She’d thought she would be seeing more of them, especially since there were so many living here. Then again, she hadn’t expected their compound to be quite this big. She made it to the ground level, to the cavern that acted as a living room, before hearing any noise at all. Soft echoes of several voices drifted out from the kitchen area, but she couldn’t make out anything being said. With a deep breath, she pushed past the swinging door and walked into the kitchen.
The voices immediately quieted and four men turned to face her. Michael was one of them, and she recognized Jason and Ethan, but the fourth man was unfamiliar. None of them looked happy to see her, giving her the vague feeling she’d just walked in on an argument.
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