Angel Of Fate (Fate Series Book 3)

by Kentowski, L. J.

  “No, it’s not.” The shout had come from Braydon. “I need to talk to her. I need to know she’s okay.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you already.” Hunter’s voice was low, calm, but deadly. “I still might, but if you come anywhere near her, I’m going to make your death as painful as possible.”

  “She’s filled with Nergal’s essence, Hunter,” Hadraniel said. “She was going to kill us all. She declared herself our enemy now. We can’t just let her leave.”

  “We’re all your enemy,” Hunter retorted. “You don’t have a choice here. We’re leaving. Your only choice is whether you want to pursue us now and die, or wait for us to come to you when we’re ready.” He paused for a moment. “Eric, I’m taking her home. Gather with the others nearby and take the Sword with you.”

  “Okay, baby,” he said into my hair. “Let’s go.”

  And then I disappeared into sweet nothingness.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Hunter continued to hold me close, but eventually I lifted my head from his chest so I could see where we were. We had reappeared in a living room of some huge mansion I’d never seen. All the furnishings were modern, rich in comfort while the structure of the place seemed to come from medieval times. Incredibly high ceilings, arched doorways, and rooms as far as my eyes could see.

  “Where are we?” I asked, my throat feeling gritty, my voice small and cracked.

  He pulled me away from his chest and lifted my chin until our eyes locked. “Home,” he said.

  “Since when?”

  “Since we escaped Hadraniel’s jail after he betrayed us. It’s always been my home, however. I only stayed in the apartment next to yours to be close to you. Eric and the others live here, as well. This has been our headquarters while searching for you.” He rubbed both my cheeks with his thumbs as he stared into my eyes. “But you’re here now. You’re home, with me, where you belong.”

  It was all too much. After everything that had happened in the last few months, hell, in the last few days, for me to feel like I belonged… anywhere… was unreal. One minute I was hell-bent on a mission to take over the universe and the next I was back in the arms of the man I had once planned to spend the rest of my days with. I didn’t know where I belonged, or which fate was true. How could I, when they both felt so… so me?

  “I’m not sure where I belong anymore, Hunter.”

  His hands clamped the sides of my head, and he forced me to look back up at him. “You belong with me, Cassandra. Only with me. I will pledge the rest of eternity to get you to remember that if I have to, but you will remember. I promise you that.”

  “The evil, it’s inside of me now. I mean, it always was, but Nergal he… you don’t understand.” He couldn’t possibly.

  “I don’t understand?” he said, his eyes narrowed, his jaw tense. “I live it, Cassandra. Every damn day. Have you forgotten what I am? Where I came from? I was the right hand of Nergal, for fuck’s sake. I was made for evil, but I chose you. Every day since I met you, I’ve chosen you over that pull to do what I was meant to do. Every day I fight it. There are times it took every bit of strength I had, but it got easier the more I fell in love with you. I know what Nergal did. I can sense it in you, but it doesn’t mean you have to be like him. What runs through your veins, Cassandra, it doesn’t matter. What your heart beats for is what matters.”

  He did know. How could I think he wouldn’t? He was a demon, a seeker, someone who drained the life of guardians and brought them over to evil. In the beginning, that’s all I could see, but once I’d fallen for him, he’d become like an angel, my guardian, and I forgot all about his past.

  Maybe this was my fate, to come to a point where I completely lost my soul, and he’d be here to put me back on the right path. Was it possible I was meant to fall so far down to appreciate the goodness I had in my life and realize how easy it was to be that person? Evil had drained the life out of me. I’d never been so exhausted. I also knew if I continued down that path, it would always be that way, constantly fighting for power. And I’d be alone.

  Looking back at Hunter now, seeing the unconditional love in his eyes, my heart beat again. And it didn’t want to me to be alone. I knew at that moment that it wanted to grow stronger every day with the love I saw in those eyes. I wanted him to make it beat and keep it beating. I wanted him to be the guardian of my beating heart. I wanted him to be the guardian of my fate.

  Tears slowly made their way down my cheeks as I gave in to this man before me and let him take the control I’d tried so hard to maintain during the last few days, or weeks, however long it had been. It felt so incredibly good to let it all go.

  Hunter lowered his head and kissed the tears when my emotional dam crumbled. He continued to rain kisses on my cheeks, trailing them down to my jaw and softly brushing his lips against my quivering mouth.

  “Just let go, baby,” he whispered against my lips. “I’m here now. I’ll always be here. I love you, Cassandra.”

  He kissed me. One kiss, then another, and another, until I had to have more, and pressed my mouth firmly against his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held his head against me.

  “I love you,” I cried against his mouth. “I love you so much,” I said while pressing my lips hard against his. He needed to know exactly how much.

  When he tilted his head, we both opened up, allowing our tongues access into each other’s bodies, encompassing each other’s souls. They thrashed together, seeking, exploring, relearning the depths of emotions we once had for each another, our moans vibrating in a frantic, erotic symphony.

  “You need to remember us,” he said as his hands slid down over my ass, and then farther, until he lifted me up, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist, not once breaking our lips apart. Once my ankles were locked around his lower back, he carried me, to where, I had no idea because I didn’t want to miss his mouth on mine to find out. At some point, however, I knew we were climbing from the rise and fall of his thighs against my backside.

  Finally, he leaned me over and my back hit something soft. When he lifted me up and I released my hold on him, we were in a large, luxurious bed. As I lay there, my legs still parted, bent at the knees, I looked past them at my beautiful god, standing at the foot of the bed, admiring me as if I were the only thing on this earth.

  He leaned over and placed his hands on my knees. “You’ve been gone for too long from me, Cassandra. I’m going to have to reclaim every inch of you.” Upon saying it, he slid his hands down my thighs, toward the very place that throbbed longingly for him.

  His thumbs came together over my core, and he applied the right amount of pressure to shoot a wave of pleasure up my body. No sooner had it subsided, than he slid them over it again. I was amidst another wave when he scooted up and unbuttoned my jeans. I lifted up as if on automatic and let him slide my pants down, taking the panties with them. I was gloriously bared to him, and his eyes filled with pleasure as he soaked up the sight. My hips moved of their own accord while I watched him send another wave of pleasure through me. The anticipation of his touch was almost unbearable.

  “Lift up,” he said, hoarse and demanding.

  I did, and he grabbed my T-shirt by the collar with both fists and ripped it with ease down the center. Letting out a moan of appreciation, he leaned over me, grabbed the back of my head, and slammed his mouth into mine. I was lost in his kiss, completely, utterly absorbed in the delicious taste of him. His other hand eased down over my breast, and I pushed into his hand as he molded his palm to it.

  A groan and a deep growl vibrated from my throat. His touch was magic, consuming, but teasing because he knew I needed more.

  “Hunter,” I breathed into his mouth, pleading.

  His hand shifted in between my breasts, and then his fingers latched on to the bra there. I knew what was coming, but I reached behind me and undid the latch before he could rip the lace garment from my body. When the straps slipped down my arms, he pulled it off,
sending it across the room.

  He leaned back, breaking our kiss, and hovered over me, his hands planted on either side of my hips, his eyes heating my body as he studied every single inch of me. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he whispered, and then his eyes locked onto mine. “Don’t ever leave me again.”

  “I didn’t leave—” I started, wanting to explain how it hadn’t been my choice, but he shook his head and raised his hand to my forehead.

  “You did, Cassandra. You left me long before you were physically gone from the Sanctuary. Here,” he said and brushed his fingers across my forehead. “And here,” he moved his hand down and covered my chest with his palm.

  He was telling me he knew I’d begun to barricade him from my thoughts and my heart in the days before Hadraniel had taken me. I couldn’t argue with him. At the time, I’d become so self-absorbed in my own thoughts and needs, I built a wall around my heart and allowed it to rot until it was so black and hard, I didn’t feel anything.

  Could it be by doing that, I’d made it easier for Hadraniel to take me and throw me to the wolves?

  I reached my hand up to his face and brushed my thumb over his cheek, his lips. “I’m sorry.” It was all I could say. No words seemed good enough, really. “Never again.”

  “I’m going to spend every second of every day making sure,” he said. That was when he stood and started undoing his pants.

  The image was hot, but his words made me chuckle. “So, I’m never leaving this bed?”

  He winked at me with a sexy little smirk. “If I could get away with that, I would, but no.” Dropping pants, I watched as his hard, beautiful manhood bobbed out and settled straight ahead. “I thought this would be a great way to start, though.”

  I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, all of him. He was a gift, an undeniably gorgeous gift the universe bestowed upon me. Better than any piece of metal could ever be. With him, I had all the power I would ever need.

  “God, I love your plans,” I said with a grin of my own.

  He crawled between my legs and then on top of me until his face was over mine, his forearms planted on the bed at either side of my head. “I love you,” he told me, and then placed his lips on mine for a long, sweet kiss.

  “I love you,” I said back, hoping he could see how much I meant it when he lifted his head and gazed down at me.

  He smiled, and I returned the expression, reveling in the sight of him being happy.

  We stayed that way for a while, savoring the moment, looking into each other’s eyes, feeling the unbelievable amount of love and adoration we felt for each other.

  How could I ever have thought anything was better than this… than being with him like this? No power had ever been greater than the love we had for each other. Neither of us had to fight for it, it just… existed. We were always meant to be that way and always would be. That was the greatest emotion possible. I knew now, it was all I ever wanted.

  Hunter pulled back and sat up on his knees between my legs. Placing his hands on either side of my neck and caressing his thumbs against my lips, I teased them with my tongue. His eyes clouded with even more desire, and he slid his palms down until his hands cupped both my breasts. His damp thumbs teased my nipples, sending a direct bolt of desire between my legs. I arched my back against his hands, filling them, encouraging him to pinch my nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. The pain came quick and I cried out, but he leaned over and suckled each one until it subsided into such an intense erotic sensation, it resonated throughout my entire body.

  Hunter leaned back again and let his hands slide down my body with the movement until they were hovering over my most sensitive spot. My breathing became heavier, and I swore if he didn’t move I’d pass out from lack of oxygen. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long. With his eyes on mine, he shifted the thumb over my entrance, and I moaned with the pleasure it created. After a few torturous strokes, he finally used a thick finger to enter me, and then another. My hips launched up, wanting deeper, oh so much deeper. Plunge after plunge I rode his touch, the burning in my core getting hotter and hotter until I thought I might self-combust.

  When his lips met my sensitive nub, I lost it. Sparks lit up behind my eyes from the most intense orgasm I’d ever had. My body had elevated to some other plane, one made of pure, senseless, erotic pleasure. I was floating in another realm, fully aware of the sensations of my body, but unable to control them or bring them down from their sensual high. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to come down.

  Before I could get my bearings, Hunter grabbed my boneless body, lifted me up, and spun us around until he was lying where I’d been, and I was straddling his waist. His incredibly hard, unrequited desire was flush up against my sensitive core, sending new waves of longing through me.

  My hands went to his chest. His eyes were equally hard and lustful as his erection beneath me.

  “You’re mine,” he said, his voice low and gravelly, “but you have all the control right now.”

  “Do I?”

  “Yes, but if you wait much longer, that could easily change. I’ve been without you for far too long, Cassandra.”

  “Hmmm,” I teased, and slowly fluttered my fingers over his hard chest, down his defined abs. Gyrating my hips ever so slowly, I watched as his eyes took on a glow I’d never seen before. His chin raised causing his head to push back into the pillow behind him, and he let out a long, low moan. I was in control. Complete control. He surrendered everything to me, not only his body but his entire being. I witnessed what his body was feeling, but my soul knew what he was giving me much more than my eyes could ever see.

  The now familiar power within me began to pulse. It was like a beacon, reminding me of where to go and what I needed to do to get there. That old nightmare vision of me in this very position, holding the Sword of Death up above Hunter, ready to plunge it into his heart, flashed in my head. I reached across the bed and over the side of the mattress. My movements were robotic as if on autopilot.

  A hand clamped over my wrist and stopped my movement.

  “What are you looking for?” he asked, his eyes no longer glowing, only curious.

  I couldn’t speak, I could only stare back at him, trying to bring myself back to reality. My chest heaved up and down as though I’d been running and couldn’t catch my breath. What the hell was I doing?

  “Cassandra, talk to me. What’s happening?”

  I still couldn’t find the words to answer him. How could I tell him what I thought I was doing, what I was feeling? What was I feeling? Guilt? Regret? Disappointment? I didn’t even know. A moment ago I wanted nothing more than to touch the Sword, have it in my hands. Killing him wouldn’t have caused me to blink. But now, I was so relieved the Sword wasn’t within reach.

  Hunter shot up to a sitting position and grabbed the sides of my face. “Dammit, tell me what the hell is going on. I am not letting you go again. You can forget about blowing this off. We’ll stay here like this until you talk to me.”

  Tears streamed down my cheeks as I stared back at him. “I… oh, god, I’m so broken,” I sputtered as I cried.

  He pulled my face forward and kissed me. “Tell me, baby,” he said against my lips. “Tell me so we can fix you.”

  “I don’t know if it’s possible,” I said. I was crying all out now, ugly crying. “It’s a part of me now, he’s a part of me.”

  He pulled back and watched me, so sincere and full of love. “That doesn’t have to change who you are, Cassandra. You’re strong enough to be whatever or whoever you want to be. You decide. You control how it beats your heart. You control your fate.”

  “But how? How do I let go of the spontaneous impulses? Jesus, Hunter, if the Sword had been here, I would have killed you.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have.”

  He sounded so sure. How could he know?

  I cast my eyes down, ashamed. The confidence he had in me was undeserved. He obviously didn’t see how weak I’d reall
y become.

  He lifted my chin to look him in the eyes. “I know because you had that chance and you chose not to. That blade was almost an inch in my chest, but you pulled back. You’ve already proven you’re strong enough to overcome the urges.” He rubbed my cheek with his thumb. “It’ll get easier, I promise.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know because I’ve been fighting those urges ever since I met you. The urges barely register now. I don’t know why. Maybe my love for you has grown so much there’s no more room in there for anything else. I don’t care why because I couldn’t change it if I tried. I love you more than my own existence.” The love in his eyes held mine. “It’s your turn, Cassandra. Choose me. Let me be the love that fills your heart and leaves no room for anything else. Let me be the guardian who saves your soul from the shadows that chase it. Choose. Me.”

  Looking back at him, his naked soul bared to me, the love and promise in his eyes confirmed every single word he said, scattering my doubts to the far corners of my mind. They disappeared far enough away to ease the weight on my heart and allow me to remember how to let him in completely once again. I knew those doubts would always linger, but I also knew I could trust this man to keep them where they belonged, tucked away in the recesses of my mind, only there to remind me of how much I needed him with me.

  He was my everything. The love of my life, my hero, my savior, my angel. And I knew he’d watch over me the way all angels were meant to do. With Hunter, my fate seemed filled with light. It would be suicide to live any other way.

  I looked deep into his eyes and remembered the way it had always been there between us. It was so familiar and filled me with all the love I needed.

  “You’ve always been my choice, Hunter,” I said as I wrapped my hands around his neck and breathed him in. “I just needed to open my eyes and let the light back in. Your light.” I kissed him for as long as my lungs could take it. “I love you.” The whisper tickled against his lips.