Whitelighter

by Angie Derek

Lily almost laughed, realizing he was envious of her gift. She’d spent the last two years on the run for her life because of what she was. “You helped me because of what you can see. Your gift. If you hadn’t, I’d still be running down dark alleys dodging pets and vamps.”

  “I doubt that.” He looked back out the window. “The next step is to get you out of town.”

  “Actually,” she hesitated at his narrowed eyes, “I can’t leave town yet.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “We left someone behind and I need to meet up with her in the morning.”

  “I’ll take you there.”

  “It might be better if we went on our way without you. I’ve complicated your life enough.”

  He shook his head. “I stick with you. I get what you’re saying, but you’re stuck with me for now at least until we get you to safety.”

  “I’m never safe.” The words would have depressed her if she allowed them to, but she always shoved the feelings down when they wanted to emerge.

  He grinned. “I guess you’re stuck with me for a very long time.”

  His smile did funny things to her insides as a tingle went down her spine and everything within her started to ache. Reyes’ smile faded as he moved away from the wall to take the single step needed to close the distance between them. His hand raised and his fingers caressed down her cheek.

  He sucked in his breath. “Fascinating.”

  She stared up into his eyes. “What?”

  “It’s like a rainbow.”

  “Should I tone it down?” She wasn’t sure she would be able to. Her power seemed to be surging along the path his fingertips took down her cheek.

  “No, it’s beautiful.” His head dipped closer. He hesitated a second before his lips captured hers.

  Warmth spiraled from the pit of her stomach out through her body, surprising her with its intensity. More than her magic flowed through her veins. It took her a single stuttered breath to realize it was desire. Every nerve in her body went on instant alert.

  His hands framed her face, his fingers caressing her cheeks as he drew back to look in her eyes. His lips hovered over hers. “Beautiful.”

  Her eyes locked with his, unable to pull away from the matching desire she could see building. She closed the inch gap between them to capture his lips again. She wanted the warmth his gaze promised. His tongue traced her lips and she opened her mouth to give him admittance. An ache formed between her legs. His tongue swept into her mouth and his hands moved away from her face.

  Flicks of heat followed the trail of his fingers as he slid them down her arms to her waist. He pressed her tight against the length of his body. Her entire body tingled and the ache between her legs grew more intense. She closed her eyes to focus on the feeling.

  His kiss seemed to go on forever, yet was over too soon when he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “Sorry.”

  She opened her eyes and met his. “For what?”

  “I shouldn’t have kissed you.” His hand came up to caress her cheek.

  “Why not?” She narrowed her eyes and tried to pull her thoughts together to figure out why he was apologizing.

  His eyebrows came together in a frown. “Because—”

  She didn’t give him the chance to continue his excuse. Going up on her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her lips against his. She didn’t want him to stop kissing her. He didn’t fight or resist as she feared, but took control of the kiss as he had before. His hands explored her body slowly. They squeezed and molded, pulling her impossibly closer. Her power flowed through her veins enhancing the pleasure his touch triggered. His lips left hers and worked down to lick and nibble on the hollow of her neck and shoulder.

  She caught her breath as her entire body began to throb. Edging close to him, she rocked her hips to bring relief to the throbbing. It didn’t help. She wrapped a leg around his and he hoisted it up higher, shifting his own hips so his erection pressed right where she needed. She rubbed against him, the ache increasing even more, almost giving her the relief she needed, but not quite.

  “Damn,” Reyes ground out, pushing her up against the wall and pulling her other leg up so she straddled him. His breath heaved as he surged against her. “Lily, I want you.”

  His words spiraled straight through her body and she moaned. All shyness and inhibition gone in the desire she could feel radiating from him which matched her own desire. “I want you too.”

  He dropped her legs and unbuttoned her pants. She should have been helping him with the issue with clothes being in the way, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his face. Her hands moved over his shoulders, pressing and testing the strength which had held her pinned a moment ago. He pushed her cargos off her hips and they puddled to the floor.

  “Step up,” Reyes whispered, his lips capturing hers again.

  The conscious part of her kicked free of the pants, but the rest of her focused on his lips and she pressed against him.

  The kiss grew more passionate and his hands moved up her naked hips to grab the bottom of her shirt. Breaking the kiss, he pulled it over her head. She felt the loss of his lips immediately and wrapped her arms securely around his neck to prevent him from pulling away again.

  His body pushed against hers making it obvious she’d missed him chucking his own pants completely. She slid her fingers under his shirt, wanting to feel his skin. He shuddered and claimed her lips, his tongue thrusting in as he lifted her up to pin her against the wall.

  Her legs wound around his waist without a thought. His erection pressed against her. His hands lifted and shifted her slightly, allowing his erection to press where she ached. His breath came out in ragged gasps. His eyes held hers as he lowered her down onto him.

  She whimpered quietly at the invasion. As much as she wanted him inside her, it had been so long it might as well have been her first time.

  “Shh.” Reyes kissed her cheek, his chest rising and falling with his labored breath.

  Squirming, she took a shallow breath as the pain started to subside and her body accepted him. He slowly lowered her until he was fully sheathed inside her.

  He held her still, his lips moving across her cheek to reclaim her mouth. The tension inside her built and she rocked against him. Her movement was all his body needed. His hands held her legs around him as he pressed her into the wall before slowly withdrawing and thrusting forward again.

  The orgasm hit her. He swallowed her cries with his kiss, holding her tight against him. He drove more forcefully into her several times. His tongue tangled with hers. His groan moved up his chest as he surged into her a final time.

  His lips left hers and his ragged breathing sounded in her ear as he held her against the wall. Slowly his hands shifted her and he eased back, setting her down. But he didn’t release her, his arms came around her to pull her into his embrace and his lips brushed against her forehead.

  She sighed an odd feeling creeping its way into her chest. A wave of exhaustion crashed through her body distracting her from whatever she had been feeling.

  ****

  Reyes held Lily as she fell into a deep slumber on the makeshift bed he’d made on the floor. Her light dimmed when she slept. The distinct pattern of her aura vibrated clearly without her power flaring. He caressed the length of her arm and looked toward the window.

  Her pants were on the coffee table next to them. He frowned, thinking of the implications of her needing her clothes within arms reach. She was so used to being on the run. She’d fallen asleep quickly in his arms confirming his suspicions that she’d been functioning on sheer adrenaline. She must have been using her whitelighter ability to keep going long past mortal capabilities.

  Inhaling the citrusy smell from her shower earlier, he untangled himself, careful not to disturb her as he stood. He needed to sleep as well since they would be heading out in the morning. But he couldn’t relax until he checked the window one last time. The parking lot con
tained the two cars it had before they’d come along with his truck on the side of their room.

  He padded quietly to the bedroom and looked in on the small sleeping bundle. Her aura wasn’t as bright as her sister’s, but her colors swirled strongly. Satisfied she slept peacefully, he went back to the inviting, if incredibly uncomfortable, bed he’d made on the floor. The room was hot and stuffy. No air conditioner. The open window let in a slight breeze as well as any sounds to alert them if someone entered the parking lot.

  He stepped into his boxers before stretching out next to Lily. She’d insisted on pulling on her own panties and a shirt before allowing herself to succumb to sleep, another sign she was ready to leave in a second’s notice. He caressed her arm again before flopping onto his back. It was too hot to cuddle. The feel of her skin under his fingers would have to satisfy him for now.

  It took him a lot longer to fall asleep than it had taken Lily. He would be lucky if he slept an hour before daybreak came.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The light filtering in woke Lily from her short sleep. The unfamiliar weight of a man’s arm weighed heavily across her waist. For a second a sliver of panic worked its way into her heart and then memories of the night filtered through her. The panic changed to a warm, but slightly embarrassed feeling. Her cheeks heated as she shifted to look at him. His arm tightened as he came awake instantly.

  None of the confusion she’d felt waking up seemed to go through his eyes as they focused on her lips. His face filled her vision and he kissed her. Slowly and leisurely. His arm tightened to bring her fully against him.

  Sophie let out a soft cry from the other room. Lily pulled away immediately and rolled to her feet. She was in the bedroom and scooping her sister up in a few seconds. Sophie cried into her, coming out of the nightmare.

  “Shh.” Lily soothed, pushing Sophie’s sweaty hair off her forehead. “It’s okay, baby, you’re safe. Sissy has you and won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Sophie whimpered, but opened her eyes to look up at her sister. She then looked around the room in confusion. Her gaze locked on Reyes standing in the open doorway. He smiled reassuringly. Lily found she couldn’t draw her eyes away from him. She hadn’t consciously realized how striking he was with his dark hair and eyes until this moment.

  “Who’s he?” Sophie whispered.

  “He helped us last night, sweetie.”

  Sophie’s forehead wrinkled as she frowned at him, but smoothed out after a moment as if remembering him. Lily hugged her until the tension eased from her body.

  “I'm hungry,” Sophie whispered into her ear.

  “Me too. Let’s get dressed and we’ll find something to eat.”

  Reyes headed into the bathroom with a quick smile and wink. He shut the door and the shower turned on.

  “Is he staying with us?” Sophie asked.

  “For now.” Her thoughts strayed to what she’d done in the night. She pushed the images aside and focused on her sister. “Let’s get you dressed and then we can see about finding something to fill your tummy.”

  She tickled Sophie’s stomach on the word tummy. Sophie laughed, throwing herself out of Lily’s lap to the middle of the bed. Lily looked at the cheap watch on her wrist and frowned at the just after eight a.m. display. She couldn’t believe she’d slept this late even with everything that had happened throughout the night. They’d be safer from any packs of vamps now, but Brenda would be worrying about them. Jumping up from the bed, she pulled out the extra change of clothes from her sister’s backpack. It felt almost routine except for the addition of the man she had just met, but already slept with.

  She didn’t sleep with men she barely knew. Her previous experience had been two boyfriends in high school before her world had come crashing down. Last night’s encounter had been nothing like what she had previously experienced.

  But why him? She didn’t even know if she could trust him. He hadn’t done anything overt to violate her trust except help someone he didn’t know. Normal people didn’t drop everything to help a complete stranger as he had. Just because she was drawn to him on a primal level didn’t mean she should automatically trust him.

  The shower turned off and she realized she’d been sitting there staring at the bathroom door as her doubts ran through her head. Sophie stood next to the bed watching her.

  He stepped out, dressed in faded jeans and a blue shirt, and all her doubts fled at the sight of him. She could use any help he was willing to give. His lips were curved into a frown, but raised up as Sophie peered at him. “You ladies ready to eat?”

  Lily scooped Sophie up and thought briefly of giving her a shower as well, but they needed to meet up with Brenda. Hygiene could wait until after. “One second.”

  He headed into the living area. Sophie jumped up and stepped into the leggings Lily held out for her. She strapped her sister’s sneakers on her feet next and set her on the floor before following Reyes out into the room. The sight of her pants on the coffee table made her realize she’d completely forgotten to finish dressing herself.

  Her cheeks heated as she hurriedly pulled them on and shoved her own feet into her sneakers. Reyes looked out the window and didn’t appear to notice her discomfort.

  He turned. “Where to?”

  She took a deep breath as she looked into his eyes. They were the same. No evasiveness, just the desire to help. She made the leap to trust him once more. “The arboretum.”

  “Why are we going there?”

  “My friend will be waiting for us.”

  His eyes narrowed on her, but flicked to Sophie for a moment. “We’ll get something to eat first, then head to the arboretum.”

  She nodded, relieved he wasn’t going to push her on who her friend was. She slung both her backpack and her sister’s over her shoulder. He opened the door and they filed out of the room to walk the short distance to his truck. He tossed his bag on the bucket seat in the back and reached for Sophie. Lily hesitated at not having her sister in her arms.

  “She’ll be safe there.” He pointed at the front dash. “Airbags.”

  Her sister rarely spoke in front of others beyond basic needs. She smoothed a hand over Sophie’s tangled hair. Reyes raised an eyebrow and she nodded, passing Sophie gently off. He buckled her in the middle so she could see out between the two bench seats. Smiling, he produced a small stuffed cat with a flourish.

  Sophie hesitated a moment before allowing him to give her the toy. Reyes stepped out of the opening and gestured for her to climb in. Lily slid into the seat. She sucked her breath in when his hand moved to her arm and the familiar trail of fire followed the path of his touch. An answering flame reflected in his eyes. She held completely still as he buckled her in.

  Pulling back, he whispered in her ear. “Just seeing if I was imagining it last night.” His lips curved. “I wasn’t.”

  He shut the door and moved around to the driver’s seat to pull out of the parking lot.

  ****

  A quick drive through a fast food chain was all the breakfast Reyes allowed them. They’d finished eating by the time they reached the parking lot of the arboretum. Lily hesitated, looking around for any sign of danger.

  “What now?” Reyes asked.

  “We go in. She’ll find us.”

  “Others could find you as well.” His voice clearly showed he didn’t like this idea.

  “We can’t leave her.” She smiled at Sophie. “Right, sweetie?”

  Sophie nodded solemnly, the cat clenched in her small hand. “Brenda protects us.”

  He started to say something, but instead climbed out of the truck. Lily followed suit and got Sophie out. They didn’t have to wait in line to get in since it was still early. Picking the wildest trail she could find, they started walking. Sophie actually wanted to walk too. Lily let Sophie skip a few steps ahead of them as Reyes slowed her down with a hand on her arm.

  “Who is she?” he whispered.

  “Our protector,” she answered
in her own low voice.

  The jungle quickly surrounded them and she tried to keep her ears alert to any out of place sounds.

  “Where was she last night?”

  “Leaving a trail for the vamps to follow so Soph and I could escape.” She kept her gaze on her sister even though her body was focused completely on Reyes.

  “They could—”

  Something hard shoved Lily and she sprawled onto the dirt path. Sophie let out a small scream. On instinct, she scrambled forward to scoop her sister into her arms. Prepared to run for their lives, she spun to take in the new threat.

  ****

  Reyes stared into the burning eyes of a vamp. She had him pinned flat on his back, one hand wrapped around his throat.

  “Wait. Stop,” Lily said, her voice forceful and determined.

  The vamp snarled in his face. “He smells of you.”

  “Yes, he helped us.”

  The vamp’s eyes narrowed and she sniffed again before looking up disdainfully. “You mated with him.”

  Seeing her attention shift, he tried to flip her off, hoping her diverted attention would give him the chance he needed. But she didn’t budge. He couldn’t budge, his arms still effectively pinned by her knees and he was rewarded for his effort by a sharp pain lancing up his left arm.

  He sucked in his breath and his vision blurred.

  “Yes.” Lily’s voice was soft.

  “Good thing or he would already be dead.” One moment he was trapped and then in the next, the vamp was off him and several feet away.

  “Reyes!” Lily dropped down on her knees next to him. Her hands glided gently over his arms as spots filled his vision. “You broke his arm!”

  He breathed through his teeth. So, that explained the shooting pain. He needed to get up, but when he tried to move the pain seared his nerves. He closed his eyes against the spinning world.

  Lily’s hands were feather light and warm as they rested on him. The throbbing pain diminished until it was manageable. The warmth from her hands encircled him. He opened his eyes with a jerk. She was blinding with the shining light radiating from her.