by V L Moon
A fire danced merrily in the hearth when Malachi stepped into the appointed meeting place. A chair sat before the flames and kneeling before it was Laziel. The expanse of the angel's long lustrous hair splayed like a sheet of black silk as the angel finger combed the strands to assist with the drying. Laziel didn't turn at Malachi's entrance; the angel simply waited. After crossing the floor, Malachi sank into the provided chaise lounge, shoulders still tense. A brush appeared over Laziel’s shoulder bringing a smile to his face.
Many nights had been spent in these same positions. Loz, the angel's feminine incarnation, loved having her hair brushed. Since Laziel was the more dominant of the two identities, it was most often he who sat before Malachi's ministrations. It was one small thing he could do for the angel that the celestial truly enjoyed. Malachi owed the male so much. A few hours spent handling a brush seemed trivial in comparison. Besides, Malachi found the task soothing.
Taking the brush, he carefully worked it through the heavy mass. Neither of them spoke, lost in their own musings. When it hung in shiny curtain of ebony satin down Laziel's back, Malachi sat back spreading the long tresses over his lap. Lulled by the ambiance of the fire and the rhythmic brush strokes, the blood hunger no longer pained him as it had in the shower. Yet, it still lurked just beneath the surface.
When the soft click of the brush hitting the side table echoed in the room, Laziel reached up with one hand and pulled the curtain of hair to the side, exposing the strong bronzed column of his angelic throat. Malachi leaned forward, his fangs elongating, his mouth watering for the first joyous taste of his angel's blood. He slid a hand onto Laziel's shoulder then down onto the angel's chest. Reverently, he tugged Laziel back and settled the angel between his spread thighs. His tongue laved over the pulsing length of Laziel’s vein, his saliva preparing the area for his bite.
He knew the angel felt a tingling, electric sensation; they'd discussed it a few times over the years. Firm lips brushed the intended target, a signal to Laz of where he intended to bite. Beneath his palm, Laziel’s chest rose and fell to the rhythm of a heart that pounded strongly against Malachi's palm. Swift and sure, he struck, his fangs sliding deep into the angel's throat. Malachi sucked hard filling his mouth with the tangy metallic flavor of Laziel’s nourishing blood. A moan drifted into the air. His? Laz's? Unsure, he moved to release Laziel, but the angel's large palm cupped the back of his head holding him to the celestial’s throat.
“Drink.” The angel's deep baritone brooked no argument. Deep in the thrall of the hunger, Malachi relaxed again cradling his angel to his chest as he drank. The quiet intimacy of the moment soothed his weary soul. The close contact with the person he loved most in the world eased the aching loneliness in his chest. Here, with Laziel, he'd found his one oasis of peace.
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Firelight glistened reflecting off the many unique antiques and tapestries adorning the sumptuous library. The oxblood furniture along with the warm overtones of the cherry wood bookshelves parlayed comfort and seclusion, the opposite of the outside world. Everything that bound them together lay eternally ingrained within the many different pages of each unique book that lined the walls. A warming glow shimmered around the room from candle and flame. This was Laziel’s sanctuary; the only place a celestial and King experienced a perfect world meant for two.
In front of the roaring fire, he sat, transfixed by the flames. Delicate waves of simmering heat rolled over his glistening skin, but the burning ache in his chest felt no warmth from the lick of the flames. Here was the angel’s shelter, a place where things were made better and stronger and where the ghost of an angel’s love danced in the darkened shadows. Laziel was lonely. For hundreds of years, he’d yearned for the one constant in his life to give something, anything, to show that the heaviness weighing down his heart would one day be returned by the vampire.
So easy to love, but the drowning consumption of his love for the King slowly tore at the purity of the angel’s heart. Naked, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, Laziel felt no shame or discomfort in his masculine nudity. When the enticing flicker of Lachi's hungered tongue played over the surface of his beating vein, stirrings…deliciously sweet and highly intoxicating, won over the customary routine of Malachi taking his vein. Something inside Laziel changed. Every tantalizing lick of Lachi's smooth warm tongue brought on round after round of low pleasured moans that softly lifted, filling the surrounding ambiance of the fire lit room with a delicate scent of the angel’s arousal.
Its purity sent a spread of ambrosia sweetened air over each dip and muscled curve of their virtually fused forms. Any notion of gaining control of the incredible swell of feminine emotion vanished. Laziel’s body glimmered, emanating a halo of soft golden light. The hidden feelings he harbored for Lachi spilled forth, allowing the shimmering apparition of his femininity to draw forward. Lachi drank deep unaware of the change taking place within the passion fuelled safety of their private place.
Lorenza, Loz to the vampire King, arched the line of her spine, relishing in the inviting warmth of Malachi’s addictive bite. The small purr from deep within his throat as he drank deeply brought a feminine sigh of contentment. The instant Lachi retracted the long ivory length of his fangs; Loz pined, missing the wondrous glow of their joining. The warmth of Lachi’s tongue again rode over her throat to close the punctures. When he leaned back, she shifted. Slowly, with the dark rich glow of her eyes diverted in a somewhat submissive pose, Loz turned and placed a slender hand prominently over the solid strong beat of Lachi’s heart.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Malachi raised his head from Laz’s…he blinked once, twice…Loz’s throat and pulled back slightly keeping his confusion firmly in check. Over the centuries, Loz had made numerous appearances, but never during a feeding. Eyes downcast, the angel's feminine form turned placing a dainty hand over his heart, and then stilled. Malachi covered the hand with one of his own.
“Good evening Loz,” he murmured low. The angel's head dipped in acknowledgement, but she refused to speak. Malachi studied the bent head. Sadness seemed to permeate the air around his angel. WTF? With great care, he tilted the familiar yet more fragile chin up so he could see into the celestial's eyes. Tears swam in their depths. The same loneliness that beat in his chest dwelled there in the gaze so intently locked on his. The concern he felt earlier instantly slammed back into his frontal lobe.
Though in female form, this was still Laziel. The angel was hurting and Malachi, self...absorbed in his own troubles, failed to notice. Without a second thought, he pulled the angel into his lap tucking her head beneath his chin. The soft curves easily conformed to his larger frame as she snuggled into him. Sitting back in the chair, he settled them both more comfortably, keeping his arms loosely linked around her more slender form.
He wanted to ask questions; find out what if anything, he could do, but he refrained. If Laz, or Loz, wanted him to know, eventually, the angel would spill. Otherwise, he would only be interrupting their quiet time with useless questions. So, he remained silent, comforting the angel the only way Laz allowed. Only the snap and crackle of the fire broke the quiet. Sated by the feeding and warmed by the fire and Loz's naked form, Malachi drifted to sleep.
He didn't know how long he slept, but the feel of fingers trailing over his face, and the soft sound of his name brought his sleep heavy eyes open. Loz still sat in his lap, but faced him now, the long curtain of hair hiding the ample swell of peaked naked breasts.
“Loz?” he questioned, his voice gravelly from sleep. Fingertips played over his lips and shushed him. Trusting the angel, Malachi closed his eyes again relaxing even more under the soothing feel of the female's warm touch. He heard the soft snap of a bottle opening, and then warm liquid and smooth palms. The minty fragrance filled his nose. Carefully, Loz massaged in the special oil meant to help heal the bruises that marred his flesh. From neck to toes, Malachi's angel caressed him, fingers kneading, stroking as she applied the
liniment.
Finished, she stood framed in the dying firelight face turned away from him. Malachi stood and crossed to stand behind his angel and raised his hands up and placed them on her shoulders. Pulling Loz back to his chest, he brushed a tender kiss over her hair, but when he spoke, it was to the male counterpart. “If you wanted to be held, Laziel, you only had to ask. You don't have to change yourself for me. Don't you know I'd give my life for you?”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
“Your life is my life. It’s why I exist…why I breathe, yet you still don’t see. I feel what you feel, see what you see. Bleeding for your survival is a gift bestowed by me…for you, only for you. You are the only one to truly see ME; the broken pieces of an existence hidden within these four walls. Lachi, this room is all the existence I have, the only place I can be me. Keep it that way…please.” With a long exhale, Loz’s female form sagged and leaned into the broad expanse of Lachi’s warm chest.
The angel smiled, somewhat contently, she heard the song of angelic blood as it pulsed in the veins of her male, strengthening him, empowering him with celestial purity and life. It ran through Lachi’s veins, nourishing him from the inside out. Loz sighed. Of its own accord, her heart skipped, and then altered so that its rhythmic pulse matched Lachi's heartbeat. They were joined for eternity by an irrevocable tie that nothing save death...their death could undo. Turning to face Lachi, Loz looked deeply into the fathomless pits of his ebony eyes and thanked the Creator for sealing their fates together and tying her to the male holding her so carefully.
“You should sleep. Tomorrow will no doubt serve up more of the same chaos fate seems to have in store for you.” Loz reached up to place her fingers over Lachi’s lips, hushing the King’s protest. She smiled, knowing the blood gifted to the male would ensure a restful sleep. The air around her brightened and sparkled and the full weight of a more masculine hand rested against Lachi's chest. The glow dissipated and Laziel stood revealed. Lachi’s eyes lit and his nostril’s flared. Laziel turned and leisurely guided the vampire King toward their connecting bed chamber, where they would rest wrapped in each other’s arms, flesh against flesh, touching intimately as their mouths sought the other’s taste.
The morning would bring a new day; a day to face the undeniable truth that there was a treasonous killer in their midst. Even as the vampire settled, Laziel lay awake. He hated the gift of foresight, knowing all before it happened, and though he could not directly intervene in the whims of Fate, the knowledge helped to keep the vampire King safe. He lazily stroked a hand down the hard contours of Lachi’s back. A murderer lurked within the King’s Council, a bastard whose treachery was soon going to be rewarded by the interment of his son into the Vatican enclave where Lachi ruled their race.
Great…just fucking great.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
CHAPTER SEVEN
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Two days later, the hatred and fury brought on by Arial’s disclosures still writhed like snakes in Malachi’s gut. The threat against Laziel consumed him. Afraid he’d sever Darklon’s head from his shoulders if he saw the bastard, he secluded himself either in his chambers or his office, avoiding any contact with the Elders. Tonight, the avoidance ended at the Elder’s Ball, and as much as Lachi did not want to attend, the angel’s reluctance was magnified tenfold.
“I’m not fucking doing it, Malachi Denali. You’ll be surrounded. All of Darklon’s get will be in attendance, not to mention, every henchman nestled in his filthy pocket.” Laziel scowled. “It’s too dangerous. Anything can happen. And I’ll be trapped in that body.” Defiant eyes bore into Malachi. The angel resumed his march back and forth across the office, wings out and on magnificent display while irritation rippled in waves through the room. Although Malachi wanted to rise and stroke those feathers until Laziel relaxed, their very presence indicated the strength of the celestial’s agitation.
“Laziel.” The name, spoken quietly, stopped the angel mid...stride. “If Loz doesn’t accompany me to the ball, I will have no choice but to accept Ms. Stroner’s generous offer to attend me for the evening. If you’re adamant about this, I need to call her now.” He lifted the phone receiver and brought it to his ear. The explosion was immediate and expected. He sighed when the phone crashed against the wall behind his head.
“Over my dead fucking body!” Laziel slammed both fists down on the desk and leaned down until they were face to face. Menace filled eyes gone emerald green. Malachi arched a brow and leaned back in his chair.
“I thought that would be your response, so the choice is made. I will pick Loz up at the apartment rented for her on the other side of the city.” Malachi rose from his chair and planted his fists on either side of the angel’s clenched hands. “Together, we will attend the fucking ball and shut down the bullshit Darklon is spreading about my reluctance to find a mate. And you know as well as I do, no matter your form, you are never trapped or defenseless. Now stop sulking.”
Their face off was interrupted when the heavy office door crashed open.
“Sire? Is everything okay?” Ms. Stroner’s refined voice floated into the silence.
Bent over the desk, midnight wings wrapped around to encompass Malachi from the intruder, Laziel hissed. Cocooned in the sea of feathers, Malachi caught the celestial’s chin between his fingers and kissed him hard before stepping clear and circling to stand at the angel’s back. His secretary stood by the door, her statuesque form overshadowed by the two guards glued to her back with guns drawn.
“Everything’s fine, Ms. Stroner. Saul, Jaku, I appreciate your quick response, but if you’ll excuse us, we were in the middle of something.” A brush of air over his cheek and the female’s widening eyes told him the angel now stood facing her. He could only image the ferocity of Laziel’s scowl. The angel’s jealousy amused him and quieted him at the same time. Slipping an arm behind his back, Lachi stroked his fingers down the angel’s bare stomach. Meant to soothe the angel, the contact immediately brought his own cock to attention. Ms. Stroner’s gaze faltered and she nodded.
“I’m sorry to have interrupted.” She stepped around Saul, the head of Laziel’s guard and moved toward the door, her movements jerky and stiff. Malachi cursed and strode toward her. Capturing her chin much the same as he had Laziel’s, Malachi peered into vacant eyes.
“Out.” His gaze flicked to the guards. A brow rose in question when Saul lingered, staying close to Ms. Stroner’s side. A low growl of warning came from behind him and finally lit the fuse under Saul’s feet. Reluctantly, he backed as far as the door, flicking another glance at Malachi’s secretary. He seemed worried. Malachi focused his attention on Kimberly. Tentatively, he eased into her. Dark and ominous, the other vampire’s taint blanketed her subconscious. His will dictated her actions.
“The bastard has her again,” he murmured low.
Behind him, Laziel let loose with a string of curses. Malachi crossed to where Ms. Stroner stood and placed his fingertips at his secretary’s temples. He caught her gaze ensnaring her with his mind. Meticulously, he unwound and eradicated every tendril of the other vampire’s influence. When he released her mind and dropped his hands to step away, she blinked confusion in her dark eyes for just a moment.
“Not again?” Desperation colored her words.
“I’m afraid so, but I’m getting better at recognizing the effects. Laziel would have known when you walked in, but our angel is a bit distracted with thoughts of the ball. It appears he’s been called away and will not be able to attend.” He didn’t miss her look of relief before she nodded. “Also, I, umm, I will need a new telephone, if you could please order one.”
“Yes, Sire.” She disappeared through the door followed closely by a grim looking Saul. His protective stance around the female did not go unnoticed.
“Two guards, one of them Saul, is to be with you when I’m not.” Malachi turned to find Laziel sporting a ferocious frown.
“If it makes you feel better, fine. However, it’s insul
ting that you think I need protection. Is your training so lacking that I cannot keep myself from harm.”
The angel gave him a haughty look. “My training is superior, as you well know. But, the guards will explain why I’m not at your side. You need to be ready with a response when asked.”
Malachi grimaced unwilling to concede the point. He rarely, if ever, went out without the angel.
“It’s none of their damned business, and that’s just what I’ll tell them. Now, go and remember to wear something sexy, Loz needs to stand out.” Malachi closed the distance and leaned forward to lick the angel’s pebbled nipples. “But cover these up; they are for my eyes only.” A heavy hand landed on his ass, the stinging blow sending more blood coursing into his already throbbing cock.
“Smartass vampire.” The exasperated tone belied the desire flashing in Laziel’s eyes.
“Hold on to the wicked thoughts I see churning in those eyes of yours. We’ll explore them after the ball.” Lachi kissed him hard pouring his arousal into the lip lock before pulling back, eyes glowing and possessive. “I’ll pick Loz up in an hour. Is that enough time?”
Coyly batting thick lashes, Laziel smirked. “Maybe, maybe not. You can’t rush beauty.” He brushed a thumb over Malachi’s lips. “Don’t forget your cape, Batman.” With a last saucy kiss on Malachi’s nose, Laziel disappeared.
Before heading to his chambers to change, Malachi rounded his desk and dropped heavily into the chair. Frustrated and tense, he tunneled his fingers through his hair. Danger lurked, casting a shadow over the entire Vatican enclave. The malice and venom bore down on his shoulders more heavily every hour that passed. Darkness twisted through the underground tunnels and dwellings, drawing power from the unrest created by Darklon’s machinations. The Elder had to be stopped, but due to the archaic policies he strived to change, Malachi’s hands remained tied. A fist slammed into the desk causing the loose pens and paper clips to bounce. As if on cue, the computer beside him chirped, a notification of an incoming email. He rolled the mouse and waited for the screen to wake.
