“You will explain your actions, Consort. You were told not to meet with Satan.”
She plopped down on a chair and undid the straps on her sandals. “I met with Peter.”
“You were informed Peter Nathanson is the human name my brother wears. You permitted his touch.”
“So?” She stood and started for the bedroom only to find Lucifer standing between her and the door. “Move.”
“You will answer me.”
“Are you sure you want to go there, Angel boy? How about I enjoyed kissing him, and his touch was heavenly? Please, get the fuck out of my room.”
“You are dishonest, Analise Saria,” Lucifer said, his fingers pressing lightly on her shoulders. “The contact caused you pain because you are my Consort.”
They were both stunned by the angry growl pouring from her throat. Her cat was awake and pissed. Analise jerked from Lucifer’s hold and slammed her fist against his chest. He didn’t even flinch and her knuckles hurt, which detonated her last, working nerve.
“What part of ‘get out of my room’ and ‘stay out of my head’ don’t you get, Seraphim? I didn’t invite you here and I sure as hell don’t have to answer to you about what I do. We aren’t married or even engaged. And even if we were, I still wouldn’t obey. Whatever you may or may not believe, today was not about you. It was about me.”
“I am aware of that fact, Analise Saria,” Lucifer stated. “What has happened and will happen has always been about you, the effects of my brother’s rebellion on angels and humans alike. This truth does not alter the fact you disobeyed me.”
His tone was monotone and exasperatingly stubborn. Did anything affect his marbled heart? She turned her back to him. “What-the-fuck-ever. I’m going to shower, and when I come out, I expect you to be gone.”
Lucifer stared at the door to the bedroom. After a minute or two, he heard the sound of running water and Analise Saria’s angry mutterings. A wise Seraphim would allow her anger to dissipate before attempting to reason with her. Only once had he been unwise. Rubbing his chest, he walked over to the large glass window and considered where he erred.
He assumed Analise Saria would heed his warnings about his twin. Instead, she challenged his word and did as she wished. Lucifer palmed his face. If only she were more like Lilith, who understood angelic prophecy and her duty. Analise Saria’s insistence on her humanity was proving to be an obstacle.
“Why are you still here?” Analise demanded, walking out of the bedroom.
Lucifer turned. His heart stuttered for a second. His life mate was lovely even dressed in a white shirt two sizes too large and a pair of green trousers that barely covered her slender bare feet. Her fingers gently combed through long spirals of hair, a stark contrast to the ferocious snarl on her face and the fear in her eyes. Lucifer realized it was a mistake to compare Analise Saria to Lilith.
Analise Saria was a different type of warrior. She wore stoicism like armor, always shielding her heart and soul. This was the gift her humanity had given her—the ability to survive the deaths of those she loved with soul and reason intact. She deserved more courtesy and respect than he gave her. He treated Lilith with dignity yet he approached his true Consort as if she understood her role. As Analise Saria’s life mate, he hadn’t bothered to explain what being an angelic Consort meant yet expected her to behave like one.
He hadn’t even spoken the words to bind them. There was no excuse for his boorish behavior, and it unnerved him. He was at fault.
“I wish to apologize,” Lucifer said.
Analise stared at him, blinked several times, and walked over to where he stood. She narrowed her eyes. “You’re apologizing?”
“Yes. My behavior toward you has not been appropriate to my life mate and Consort. Therefore, I must apologize.”
“Whoa, so not appropriate. Let’s see, the words were you will obey me or I will not allow it.” She glowered at him. “I’d say your behavior was fucking inappropriate. Would you have treated Lilith this way?”
Lucifer studied Analise’s mouth. A desire to kiss her kidnapped his reason. He wanted to taste the passion he had experienced in the cave, to feel her heat pressed against him. Shaking his head, he forced his attention back to her question.
“No, I would not,” he answered. “Lilith was an archangel. I overlooked the fact you are human-born. Humans appear to thrive on challenges to authority. I am unaccustomed to challenges.”
Analise walked over to the bar and removed a bottle of wine. Opening it, she poured herself a glass. “Welcome to reality, Seraphim. Would you like a glass?”
He nodded and seated himself on the larger of the two chairs. It was uncomfortable, but he would tolerate it to make peace with his Consort. Analise handed him a glass and made herself comfortable on the suite’s sofa. “Apology accepted.”
After taking a sip of wine, he lifted his gaze to her. “Tell me about your parents, Analise Saria.”
She stared at him. “The Drakes? What do you want to know?”
“I speak of your true parents, Kella and Richard Willoughby.”
She sipped some wine, then set her wineglass on the coffee table. Her eyes misted before she shook her head. “I don’t talk about them.”
“Tell me, Analise Saria. Tell me about those you love. It will help me know my Consort.”
“Perhaps I don’t want you to know me. It would be better if you found another Consort. I’m sure there’s an angel somewhere who’d be better at it than me.”
The sound of her laughter was bitter to his ears. He remained silent, patiently waiting for her decision. Analise’s hazel eyes studied his face for a long moment. Curiosity flared inside him. What did she see when she looked at him in the way she did? Before he could ask, she spoke.
“They loved each other deeply, my dad and mum. Richard Willoughby met Kella Marcus at a conference in Algeria. She was one of the foremost scholars of Algerian Amazigh culture. My father was a geneticist engaged in collecting data on desert-dwelling peoples.”
“The Drakes?”
“Wilfred was my father’s cousin. He and Lydia were also academics. Lydia and my mother became close after I was born. Martine Drake was two years older than me. Our mums decided we would be BBFF.”
“BBFF?”
“Black best friends forever,” Analise translated. “They were right. The Drakes adopted me after my parents died. Martine would tell me I was her baby sister and her best friend.”
Lucifer watched grief take over Analise’s body. It was subtle but there. He joined her on the sofa and draped his arm across her shoulders. His fingers toyed with her hair as she tucked her knees up under her chin. “When the Drakes died, I blamed myself.”
“Why would you do such a thing, Consort?”
“Because I never told them what happened the day my mum and dad died. If I had, the Drakes might still be alive.”
“What happened?”
“I was supposed to be asleep. My parents were arguing with some men. Mum telepathically ordered me to the safe room. I wasn’t to leave until she or Lydia came for me.” Analise shuddered but forced herself to keep talking. “One of the men said he’d cut dad’s throat if mum didn’t bring me to them.”
“How long were you in the room, Analise Saria?” Lucifer asked.
“Lydia said it was three days. She and Wilfred came late at night and took me from Cambridge. We flew to California where my life as Analise Willoughby was supposed to end while Analise Drake took center stage.”
Chapter 13
“Fate had other plans it seems,” Analise said bitterly. “Do you want to know why I didn’t want to return to Chaco Canyon? Because both times I was there, family died. The day Lydia and Wilfred died, I was there. The tribal police and a social worker showed up and took me into custody. I returned to California to discover my adoptive parents murdered the same way my parents had died. I knew then I was the cause.”
“How can you be so certain? You were a mere child,” Lucif
er stated.
“I was sixteen, not a child. The police found an Amazigh amulet on Lydia’s body and a feather between her and Wilfred. My mum gave Lydia the amulet. It’s design was meaningless to the police, so they returned the amulet to Martine who wore it until the day she died. Martine’s death was different but I knew it was the same killer. The police found a feather and added to the evidence bag.”
“What did it look like, Consort? The feather.”
A shudder went through her before she spoke. “It was identical to the feathers left behind when my parents and the Drakes died, black with white edges. It belongs to Azazel.”
“How do you know this, Analise Saria?”
“My mum told me stories about the angels when I was little. She said telepathy and shape-changing were angelic and gifts to the descendants of the first Saria, the mother of the People. Mum taught me her people’s beliefs about angels, demons, shifters, and the undead. She said it was important for me to know the differences in the wing color of angels.”
Analise took a sip of her wine. “She told me about Satan and the Fallen. He was as familiar to me as my father’s imaginary dragon Oglethorpe, which is why it’s hard to believe Peter is Satan.”
Lucifer chortled. “A dragon named Oglethorpe?”
“My father was English and imaginative in his storytelling,” Analise said with a giggle. “Mum did say Milton’s version of the Fall was fairly accurate, but evil wasn’t Satan’s only gifts to humankind. What she didn’t mention was a twin brother.”
“Your mother was Tamahaq,” Lucifer said. “The poet Milton’s depiction of my brother’s ambition and pride is required reading for young angels since the Expelled involved themselves in human history and evolution. The problem is the near-deification of Satan.”
“What do you mean by deification of Satan? I don’t think anyone familiar with Satan considers him a god.”
“Did your ancients consider Hades a god? Do humans still consider him a god?”
“Well-executed, Seraphim.”
Lucifer did a half-bow, pleased that he brought a smile to Analise’s face. “May I continue your lesson?”
She smacked his thigh. “You’re walking on thin ice, Angel boy.”
A puzzled frown creased Lucifer’s forehead, then faded. “Satan did bring the idea of good and evil to humans, which results in his other contributions being overlooked. My brother and the others seeded unfettered emotions, a sense of pride in individualism, and what many humans believe is a divine or cosmic purpose to their existence.”
Lucifer inhaled. “My twin believes in his invincibility because, among humans, he has faced very few challenges. Thus, his representation as a deity in many cultures, although often under different names. Few people realize a portion of humankind has been molded into a weapon in his war against the Enclave.”
“The Enclave?”
“The birthplace and home to angels. It is the world my brother fights to control or destroy,” he explained. “Should our war come to your world, humans will be the first species to be extinguished.”
Analise twisted so she could see his face. “Why?”
“Have you ever wondered why human beings obsess over angels?”
She shrugged. “I assumed it was an attempt to have intermediaries between humans and their conception of an omnipotent force that controls all life. I always thought angels represented the middle philosophical ground in theology between Fate and free will.”
“So academic,” Lucifer said, brushing his lips against her temple. “It is more basic than philosophy or religion. Humans and angels share a genetic connection.”
“You’re joking.”
“I do not make jokes, Analise Saria,” he said. “Whatever jokes. . .ah, you mean humor.”
He waited patiently for her laughter to die. “Human science hasn’t discovered the key yet, although your company is very close to discovering the genetic tie between angels and humans. Evolution influenced the form each species took.”
“Are you telling me angels believe in evolution?”
“Creationism as well. Why should we be closed-minded simply because humans are?”
Analise playfully slapped his leg. “I’m human.”
Lucifer reached over and cupped her chin. “No, you are not human, although you behave like one,” he said. “May I kiss you, Analise Saria?”
She stared at him. “I don’t know if we should.”
Lucifer’s head lowered until his mouth touched hers. “We should.”
Analise’s heart fluttered at the sensuality of his lips on hers. Letting Lucifer kiss her probably wasn’t a good idea, but the feel of his mouth on hers triggered the need she’d been fighting since New Mexico. She sighed with pleasure as he nibbled her bottom lip. His touch was so much better from Peter’s.
You should not be thinking about my brother, Consort.
Sorry.
Lucifer’s fingers massaged her scalp as his tongue slid between her parted lips. It was a deep kiss, slow licks of heat inside of her mouth. His tongue caressed hers with unhurried strokes as if he possessed all the time in the world.
Tasting you must never be rushed, Consort. Besides, I do have all the time in the world.
She vowed to keep her thoughts tightly contained. You may have, but I don’t. Her right arm slipped between his back and the sofa. Analise shifted, trying to position her body against his.
“Are you uncomfortable, Analise Saria?”
“A little.”
He ended their kiss and rose. Taking her hand, he tugged her to her feet. His fingers brushed her hair before tangling themselves in her curls. He tilted her head and lowered his mouth to hers. “Is this better?”
“Umm,” she murmured.
“Shall I continue?”
“Yes, please.”
His tongue traced the curvature of her mouth. “Such exquisite manners, and such a beautiful mouth.”
His kiss continued from where he left off and her world exploded. Analise was not prepared for the powerful effect of his physical touch. The ache for Lucifer had always been there, on the surface of her skin, in her head, and deeply buried in her soul. Realization sank in. Her dreams hadn’t created the need. The inexorable pull of Lucifer had been born with her, a timeless resident in her memories. She and Lucifer had been destined for each other.
You are thinking too much, Consort.
He flicked his tongue across hers and then captured it, his teeth taking soft erotic bites that sent currents of desire shooting through her. Her body leaped like a wild cat to capture the delicious sensations, collecting each pulse and directing it to her core. Throbbing nerves repeatedly seized and released, and wetness gathered between her thighs.
Breathe, Consort.
Analise sucked in a hasty breath and with it the intoxicating smell of him. His scent invaded her lungs as she breathed, coursing through her body as if to mark indelibly each cell. Her senses clamored for more of the intoxicating assault that left her incapable of coherent thought. He smelled so good. She inhaled deeply, wanting to take him into her lungs, into every inch of her. Palms pressed against his silk-clad back, she savored the warmth of his muscles.
His tongue was a silent marauder, demanding and claiming his rights and promising bliss in exchange. Her flesh thrummed in response, her body soaking up what he offered the way desert-parched plants gobbled gentle drops of rain. He made her feel so good, it felt like—
Ecstasy?
Analise scraped his tongue with her teeth. I thought we agreed you wouldn’t invade my thoughts.
Lucifer’s tongue dragged across the top of her teeth before withdrawing from her mouth. He lifted his lips from hers. “You demanded. I do not agree to demands.”
“Kiss me,” she said.
“With pleasure.”
Lucifer’s tongue swept inside her mouth, plunging and laving. She flicked her eyelashes up. A demand, not a request. She heard his soft laugh in her mind and sent him a satisfi
ed grin.
Coils of lust-infused energy gathered at the pit of her stomach. Her pajamas were wet where flesh met cloth. Her clit needed appeasement. She flashed him a mental picture. Lucifer lifted his head. “Are you certain, Analise Saria?”
Her fingers traced his spine. “I think it is time to abandon dreams.”
“This is not where I would make love to my Consort for the first time. I prefer to be in my bed.”
“It’s perfect,” she said. “In this room we are on equal footing.”
He kissed her thoroughly before he put distance between them and followed her into the bedroom. His hands gripped her waist. She stopped and looked at him.
“I would see you naked.” He waited until she nodded. “I must hear your consent.”
“You have my consent, Dream Candy.”
His low moan sent a surge of lust through her. She stood still while his palms guided her pajamas from her hips to her ankles. He kneeled and lifted one leg, then the other to slip off her pajama bottoms.
“You have such beautiful skin,” he said, standing to ease up her T-shirt up. She gasped when cool air caressed her skin as he tugged the shirt off and tossed it on a chair. “So beautiful.”
Lucifer’s mouth met hers in a tender kiss. A kiss so sweet, it bypassed her heart to take up residence in her soul. Their dream passion was always edgy, a bit rough and earth-shattering right down to his kisses. The kiss in New Mexico was possessive, demanding, and ruthless. This time was different. Everything about this kiss was an unspoken oath.
Analise didn’t want the promise his kiss bespoke; she wanted the security of his arrogance. That was something she could resist, something she understood. Against what he was doing to her mouth, there were no weapons to protect her heart.
He eased his mouth from hers and his hand cupped her chin. “Tonight, I make love to you as my Consort, Analise Saria.”
Lucifer’s heart constricted as he watched desire and anxiety ripple across her face. Her vulnerability touched a chord deep inside him. He waited for and protected his life mate from any male who thought to claim her. Two years he saturated her dreams with his voice, his mental touch filled with erotic images of their bodies making love. With each joining, she gave him a part of herself, becoming his life mate.
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