“You’re half human,” Raven corrected. “And yes, I want you to braid it. Nothing fancy. I just want it out of my face.”
She felt her legs wobble. The way he looked at her made her hot. “Um, okay. And maybe you could tell me what exactly being a Nephilim means?”
“Later. Right now, I want my hair braided. We have to leave. We’ve been here too long already.”
“How long exactly have I been here?”
“Day and a half.”
She climbed onto the bed and gazed down at him. His raven hair was long and seemed like spun silk. She’d never known any human with such hair as this. It hung down his back. While it wasn’t pin straight, neither was it curly It was the perfect mix of both, and when she touched it, another shiver of pure pleasure rocked her body. She sent the brush over his hair in long strokes, and he tilted his head back for her, moaning deep in his throat.
“Nice,” he said.
Heat swept through her, and she bit her lip hard to maintain her self-control. She had to get a hold of herself. For the love of God, all she was doing was brushing his hair. She couldn’t brush his hair without getting aroused? Maybe her wanton behavior was something to do with being Nephilim. But no, she couldn’t believe that, couldn't believe she was only half human.
Suddenly, she didn’t want to leave this room. What she wanted was to tell Myrddin and Aliceanna to leave, then close and lock the door behind them. Then she’d spend the rest of the day enjoying Raven’s body. In every possible way, she’d let him show her pleasures she’d never dreamt of. That was what she wanted. Instead, when she placed the second band at the bottom of his braid, he got to his feet and smiled down at her.
“You have a very dirty mind,” he whispered so only she could hear. Her face heated with embarrassment. “Let’s go,” he said out loud.
* * *
“I don’t like motorcycles,” Charity gasped from her perch on the oversized bike. Sitting in the size fives was proving to be somewhat difficult, but she wasn’t about to let that redheaded witch know that. The only thing Charity liked about being on the motorcycle was having Raven’s thighs pressed tightly around her. Already she could feel a hardness against her as Raven worked himself over the seat looking for a comfortable position. A part of her wished he’d find a good position and stay still. The way he moved behind her was torture.
When he finally found a position he could live with, he leaned forward and grasped the handles. Though the day was cold and she had on a heavy winter coat, heat enveloped her as his chest came into contact with her back. Her arms scorched where he touched her and warmth spread over her body at the feel of him surrounding her. It was intimate, being this close to him, and she felt safe, as if his body would shield her from any danger. She’d never ridden a motorcycle with a man before, and while she didn’t relish the thought of speeding down a highway on any open vehicle, she could get accustomed to this feeling.
“A car would be too constricting,” Raven was explaining in a low voice. “If I need to escape with you, I’ll have to fly. Cloaking spells are tricky things, Charity, and Myrddin’s may not hold as well when we’re moving. Should Azriel find us, I can escape more easily on a motorcycle. Anyway, I had Myrddin and Aliceanna ride the bikes here for this express purpose.”
He revved the engine and started forward so fast she bit her tongue in surprise. Myrddin and Aliceanna had already set off together on their bike. As Raven shot forward, Charity gripped his legs. Even though she knew she couldn’t possibly fall from her position between Raven’s thighs and the safety of his arms, she felt safer feeling his muscles constricting beneath her hands.
“If you need to speak to me,” he was saying to her, “speak into the mic in the helmet, and all of us will hear you.”
She didn’t say anything, couldn’t. She was too terrified. The sleek bike sliced through the air under Raven’s steady hands at top speed. The winds swooshed around their bodies and created an icy air pocket under her shirt and coat. She shivered.
Again she wondered how on earth she had come to this. Sure, she had said she wanted adventure. She’d thought she was meant for better things. Better things meaning a career change, adventure meaning a grand European vacation, not finding out that you’re only half human and that some crazy demon angel is out to get you. She didn’t want to be the person Raven had said she was. She couldn’t be that person. She was too ill-equipped. The person Raven described would need to be capable, confident, and courageous, three things she most assuredly was not. She was nervous, self-doubting, and cowardly, and she wanted to go home.
They were passing a dense wood when Charity located the small mic in her helmet and began to speak. “Are we almost there?”
“It’s been ten minutes,” Raven said. “I’d say we have another ten.”
She sighed.
Worse still, when Raven realized what a loser he’d kidnapped, he’d loathe her. He wouldn’t be able to get rid of her fast enough. The thought of those sable eyes looking at her with anything other than the tenderness she’d seen so far filled her with dread. She had to try. She had to try to be the person Raven thought she was. What did she have to lose? Her fiancé was gone, and she didn’t lament the breakup of that relationship. Her job was a joke. Even if she hadn’t taken two weeks off for her honeymoon, she’d have been happy to turn in her resignation. When she put things in perspective, the choice was simple. Either go back to Baltimore and continue life as a data entry clerk, or stay with Raven, Aliceanna, and Myrddin and become the kind of woman she’d always dreamed she could be. Capable. Confident. Courageous.
“What exactly are Nephilim?” she asked.
“I will explain it all to you later. For now, enjoy the ride,” Raven answered.
“I’m sorry, but how do you think I can do that? Twenty minutes ago, you told me—“
She nearly slid off the bike in surprise when she felt Raven slide an arm around her waist.
“Shouldn’t you be using that hand?”
“I should,” he agreed, then proceeded to show her just how he intended to use it when he undid the button on her jeans.
Startled and aroused, Charity wasn’t sure how to respond. “Um, I don’t think that’s such a good idea just now.”
“Relax, Charity, and enjoy the ride. Do you forget what I am? I don’t need my hands to steer this bike.”
“Hey, hey,” Aliceanna protested, “do we really need to hear this?”
Raven didn’t respond. Instead, he slid her zipper down and eased one hand into her pants. She gasped when his fingers found her clitoris. He gasped when he realized just how wet and aroused she was.
“Naughty girl,” he said in a low voice.
“Oh, gosh, that feels good.”
“Hey,” Aliceanna protested. “We have a job to do.”
The trees whooshed by, but Charity didn’t notice them anymore. Neither did she notice just how fast they were riding or think about Nephilim. He tickled her sensitive nub with his thumb, numbing her to all but the feel of him near her. Desire shot through her body as he touched the folds of her cleft with the skill of a pianist. She thought she’d go mad from the pleasure of it.
“You like that, don’t you,” he told her.
She didn’t have to answer. Her body was doing all her talking for her. When he eased a finger deep inside of her, she let out a chirping scream. “Oh, God, Raven, what are you doing to me?”
He couldn’t answer that. A better question would have been what was he doing to himself. A question he had no better answer for. True, he figured pleasure was the best way to hush Charity, but he was so attracted to her that he couldn’t seem to stop himself. It wasn’t only that she was beautiful. There was an innocence about her that drew him. She was so pure, so unhardened by the world. And pleasure seemed to be a new concept to her. All he had to do was look at her, and she seemed poised to climax. It was so sexy to him, so irresistible. He wanted her badly. How would he ever turn her over to Figlio when he
came? Would Figlio realize the treasure he, Raven, would be giving him, or would he see her merely as a pretty face? Charity deserved to be treasured, and more than anything, Raven wanted to be the one to treasure her. But he knew he couldn’t. All they would ever have was this: talking and stolen kisses. Anything more was foolishness. His place was in the heavens, and when this was over, that was precisely where he would be returning.
He eased another finger inside of her.
“What are you doing?” The voice in his ear shattered his concentration. He felt Charity stiffen. The voice had come from Aliceanna.
“Aliceanna,” Raven’s voice was soothing, “what’s the problem?”
“Son of a bitch,” came the female response.
“What’s the problem?”
“Raven.” It was Myrddin now. “We’ve got company.”
Charity wanted to protest as Raven slid his hand from her and set his full attention on the road, but she knew that would be foolish. Something was wrong. Aliceanna hadn’t sounded annoyed, but frightened.
The trees loomed high overhead, curving over the road and blocking out nearly all of the sun. They were cast in a premature gloom Charity hadn’t noticed until now. The narrow, two-lane road seemed to have been cut directly through the center of a great forest. Thick thatches of brush grew along the road’s edge. Deep within the wood, all was black and foreign, and Charity suddenly realized this was the perfect place to stage an attack. Still, she didn’t see anything that could pose a threat to them. Trees, bush, small animals and birds, but that was all.
“Who?” Raven was asking.
“Don’t slow down, Myrddin,” Aliceanna said. “Go faster.”
“We need Raven,” was Myrddin’s response.
Raven revved, and the bike shot forward. “Azriel,” he growled. “Hold on to me, Charity. Do not, under any circumstances, part from me. Do not look at Azriel. Do not talk to him. He can speak to you without any of us hearing. If he does, ignore him. He is a liar. Do you understand?”
She felt the perspiration forming on her forehead and tried to stay calm. Cold fear began to creep up her spine.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she panted. “I won’t listen to him, and I’ll stay by your side at all times.”
“What are they?” Aliceanna was asking in the headphones.
“I don’t know,” Myrddin said.
“Rags. The stench of them.”
“Azriel has gone completely mad. They’re creatures from the Void.”
“Vampires?” Charity wondered in a small voice.
“No, Charity, a real threat. Ghouls.”
I want to go home, I want to go home, she thought.
Then, she saw them. Making their way through the wood. There had to be at least a hundred of them. A hundred loping horned figures moving forward through the trees, matching their speed perfectly And they had wings. Their mouths hung open and scraggly hair hung around faces that had gone putrid with decomposition. They were still a way off from the road, but it was only a matter of time.
Charity felt a scream bubbling up from someplace inside of her, a scream of pure, unadulterated fear. Fear unlike anything she had ever felt in all of her days. She swallowed hard to quell it.
The bike tilted hard to the left as they made their way around a curve. Raven had to slow in order to keep from losing control as he navigated the near one hundred eighty degree turn. When they hit a straightaway again, Myrddin and Aliceanna came into view. Raven hit the gas hard.
“I see you,” Raven said into the mic. “Keep going Myrddin. Aliceanna, make sure you hold tight to Myrddin. I don’t want you falling off the bike.”
“Let me use my magic, Raven. Let me fight them off,” Aliceanna said.
“No! They’re not close enough to harm us. They’re trying to run with us, but they’re not making any attempts to approach the road. If you strike out at them, they may attack.”
“I don’t want to wait until it’s too late. We can handle them.”
Again they had to slow to traverse another curve.
“No. They’re not my concern.”
“He’s right,” Myrddin said. “Can’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?” Aliceanna asked.
“The wind. Look at the sky.”
“I can’t see the sky. There are too many damn trees.”
“Look through the breaks in the trees, then. I don’t see the sun. The sky isn’t blue anymore, it’s gray. And the winds have picked up.”
“Azriel’s near,” Charity said.
Something coursed through Charity, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t—put a name on it. She felt her loins heat. Her breasts began to ache. Try as she might to tell herself that her body wasn’t responding to his presence, she knew it was a lie. She still remembered those lips, so close to her own, the strength of his body as he pressed it against her, and the comforting sound of his voice. Azriel, Azriel, and Azriel. She gasped at the thought of him.
Thunder boomed overhead, and streaks of lightning had the world flickering from light to dark as though she was in a discotheque. The gloom deepened until Raven was forced to flick the headlights on. The loud buzz of the motorcycle was soon lost beneath the high-pitched squall of wind.
“Yes, Azriel’s coming,” Raven said. “Save your magic for him.”
Raven kicked the motorcycle up a notch, but Charity knew it was useless. Already the wind had reached gale force. He was having a difficult time keeping the bike steady let alone getting it to go faster.
Azriel was close.
Thunder boomed.
“We have to stop,” Myrddin said. “The wind’s too strong.”
“We can’t stop. The ghouls’ll be all over us,” Aliceanna protested.
In the wood, they had come to a halt and stood watching. Charity guessed they knew the time for action was near. Surely the presence of the those gargoyle-like creatures was a clear indicator that Azriel wasn’t an angel. At least not like Raven. Azriel was bad, evil.
Slowing the bike, Raven gazed out to the left at the lines of creatures staring at them. “Ready yourselves,” he said into the mic. Then, without warning, a horde of the things were lifted as if on marionette strings and propelled into the trees. Their decrepit bodies made soft thuds at impact. Raven jerked his head to the right and repeated the process.
Angry growls rose from the trees as the things started forward.
In the headphones, male and female voices began chanting in low tones. They were nonsense words to Charity. All consonants that didn’t hold any meaning to her ears. Trlcktrok, flricktov, and things like that.
All talking ceased, however, with the squeal of tires. Charity looked ahead and saw that Myrddin had stopped his bike. Before them, a tall figure stood in white. Flecks of electricity crackled through his platinum hair as gales of wind whipped around his body.
Aliceanna let out a tiny mew of distress.
Raven slammed the bike to a stop inches behind Myrddin and Aliceanna. As the roar of the motor smoothed out to a soft idle, the wind died down and the sky lightened. Azriel’s hair settled against his chest, and a slow grin spread across his face.
“Don’t look at him Charity,” Raven said.
“You cut me to the quick, old friend,” Azriel said to Raven. “Besides, she likes looking at me. Don’t you, Charity?” In a move that would have impressed Mikhail Baryshnikov, Azriel stepped forward, executed a perfect ballerina spin, then bowed low to the ground.
Charity, unduly impressed at his agility, dropped her eyes and began staring at the ground. She had been looking at Azriel and imagining what it would be like to have a man that powerful inside of her. Wondering how good such a creature as Azriel could make her feel.
Sudden shame washed over her at her thoughts, and she decided if she was going to make it out of this alive, she had to do exactly what Raven told her to do. But even as she made this silent declaration, she was lifting her head to get just one more look at Azriel.<
br />
“Let me hurt him, Raven,” Aliceanna was begging. Her hands were raised before her face and curved into claws.
“Hush, witch.” Casually, Azriel lifted a hand and flicked it in Aliceanna’s direction.
Aliceanna’s hands shot up to her mouth, and she fell backwards. She slid off the bike and landed on the ground. Eyes wide with fear, she began rolling as she pulled at her mouth.
“Bull’s eye,” Azriel announced.
Charity slid off the bike instinctively wanting to help her, but Raven gripped her by the shoulder.
“Stay with me,” he told her.
“She needs help,” Charity protested.
“Remember what I said.”
She stilled and realized already Myrddin was on the ground beside Aliceanna. He was trying to help her, but Aliceanna was too frantic.
“You devil,” Myrddin yelled at Azriel, eyes narrowed to slits. He spun to Raven. “He took her mouth. That devil took her mouth.”
“Shall I take yours, too, warlock?” Azriel asked. “Your curses have no sway over me. I am more powerful than anything you have ever encountered in your pathetic little life.” He sauntered to the fallen forms and hunkered low to the ground to speak directly into Myrddin’s face. “I could smash you to bits.”
Myrddin stiffened. Charity could see his shoulder muscles tense as the sorcerer struggled to maintain self-control. She sensed that even if Aliceanna didn’t realize the folly of mindless action, Myrddin did. He would not let his emotions rule him. “As you will, demon.”
“Precisely, sorcerer. Now if I could just bring my old friend around to that way of thinking.” He rose and gazed at Raven who stared placidly back.
“Parlor tricks.” Raven said, disgust evident in his voice. He waved a hand in Aliceanna’s direction, restoring her mouth, but he didn’t take his eyes off of his adversary. “Ghouls, mouth stealing, what’s next?”
“I don’t know, Raven. That depends on you.” Azriel stepped forward, grinning like a loon. “Join me.”
Aliceanna sat up, panting. Her face was streaked with tears, but she got to her feet. Her chest heaved, and she stood with her fists clenched at her sides. But she made no move to retaliate.
The Nephilim War: Book One Page 6
