She whimpered before each movement of my tongue only to cry out after.
And suddenly my vision turned to her pleasuring me. I could barely keep my composure.
“Two—” she panted. “—can play that game.”
“I adore games,” I fired back with a wicked laugh, in the vision I entered her hard and fast, only to go so slow that the air around us exploded. “Care to play one or two? I have time…”
“Cassius, I swear—”
“No swearing.” I pulled her to her feet and pushed her against the wall, her back was to me as I pressed up behind her. “You can always end the game… concede to the winner.”
“Never.”
“Too bad,” The vision shifted as I kissed around her neck, while I kept her pinned to the wall.
“Fine!” she yelled, “Just please… please Cassius.”
With a growl I turned her around just as she jumped into my arms, we staggered back against the wall and then fell to the floor in a heap of arms and legs as she straddled my body then moved against me.
Our white eyes locked, and a knowing smirk crossed her face.
Oh yes, being human had been worth it.
For this? I would serve a sentence of a thousand years.
For one night with my true mate? Perhaps, a million.
“Yes.” She hovered over me, slowly allowing me to enter her. Stephanie’s slow movements nearly killed me as I lingered between ecstasy and greediness. I moved faster and faster, gripping her hips, holding her in place as the air between us cracked and sliced like lightning in the sky.
I moved tentatively, and she matched the movement, but the slowness was destroying me, so I imagined us against the wall, and there we were, against the wall. Using it to my advantage I pressed her back against it and moved her body in perfect cadence to my heartbeat—to hers, only to have her explode around me, tiny pieces of crystals exploded in front of my face as the air stilled.
Slowly, I dropped her to her feet.
We stared at one another, both exhausted.
The darkness surrounded us.
But we.
We were light.
Stephanie
I SHOULD BE EXHAUSTED. Instead, it felt like someone had just zapped me with adrenaline. It was an odd sort of balance, to experience a beautiful moment with Cassius only to have it dampened by the darkness that being mated to him had unlocked.
It crept.
Like a slow choking blanket… it tempted, told me that if I’d just give in to the evil side of myself, I’d be complete.
And then, Cassius would smile in my direction and bring me back.
How long had he been trying to exist like this? Constantly battling the innermost darkest parts of himself? Alone?
“A very long time,” he answered. “Eva helped.”
“I would have liked her, I think.” I led Cassius back to the bed, we both lay down and stared at one another.
“She was strong.” Cassius touched his fingers to my face. “Like you.”
I kissed his fingertips.
The door burst open.
Ethan stood there with Mason on one side Alex on the other and Genesis in the back trying to peek over their shoulders.
“The hell?” Ethan roared. “What did you guys do to my house?”
For the first time since we’d lain down, I glanced around the darkened room.
All of the lights were completely shattered. The walls were lined with ice, the window was completely frosted over, and the walls had cracks running up and down them as if an earthquake had occurred.
“We, um, had a…” I elbowed Cassius. “Fight.”
“Is he dead?” Mason wondered aloud. “What I mean to say is, did he survive this… er, ordeal?”
“Yes, did the King last his first bout of lovemaking or shall I call the time of death?” Alex joked.
Cassius swore under his breath then in an instant rose to his scary full seven-foot height and glared down at them.
Ethan and Mason took a cautious step back while Alex stood there with a stupid grin on his face. “So, sex heals all, hmm?”
“I made myself a promise Alex, care to know what it was?”
“Sex before your old as hell anatomy falls off?” he guessed.
Cassius’s grin widened. “I think I’ll enjoy this.” With a wave of his hand Alex’s voice was gone.
“Frozen voice box… it may take a few hours to thaw, if it ever does.”
Alex’s eyes widened.
“But all Sirens have are their voices and good looks!” Genesis argued from her spot in the hall.
Cassius’s eyes softened. “Perhaps he’ll learn to choose his words more wisely in the future then.”
Alex stomped out of the room, while Cassius faced everyone. “It seems that I am… restored.”
“How?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Sariel took pity on your weakness?”
“More like—” Cassius glanced back at me. “—I accomplished what I was sent to do as a human, and he restored me.”
“She’s trained?” Ethan nodded seemingly impressed. “Fantastic.”
“Yes,” I lied, and the air immediately turned bitter, while Cassius laughed inside my head. “But it might be good to get a few more sessions in this evening, just in case.”
“And by sessions you mean…” Ethan pointed between the two of us. “Never mind, don’t tell me.” He raised his hands above his head. “If you tell me the mental image will permanently ruin my existence.”
Genesis sighed behind him. “That’s so romantic though, don’t you think? That they’re finally together?”
A sudden wind whistled along the hall and swirled into the room.
“Sweet hell,” Ethan muttered as Cassius tossed clothes in my direction. The air had shifted.
“What?” I glanced around the room. “What’s wrong?”
“Angels,” Mason spat. “Or just one in particular. Seems he’s paying us a visit. Damn it, I only set the table for six. If he wants ham he’s shit out of luck.”
“Yes, because I’m sure that’s what’s on his mind,” Cassius hissed. “Ham!”
“Says the one who tried to chase a blue jay with his pitchfork!”
“I had no pitch fork!”
“Yes, a lament I’m quite familiar with.” Mason rolled his eyes. “If only I had a pitchfork, a bow and arrow, a gun, I could hunt my own meat. Thank God your appetite will disappear, I was afraid the goldfish was next.”
Cassius shared a glance with me. “We have gold fish?”
“Goldfish.” Genesis laughed. “Mason likes to see how long he can keep them alive.”
“So they’ve died before?” Cassius asked.
“It’s not like he revives them, just buys more.” Genesis shrugged. “Now, you both need…” She glanced down and coughed. “Clothes.”
Ethan was already stomping down the hall, most likely making Sariel aware that his sudden presence in his house wasn’t welcome.
“Cassius?”
He turned, his muscles rippling beneath his simple black T-shirt. As a human it had fit him perfectly. As an immortal, it was almost like his muscles were straining to break free. Give him a cape and he’d be able to star in the next Avengers movie, no problem.
“It’s about Alex. Look, I know he drives you crazy, he drives everyone crazy but… since Sariel is here, can you just… un-freeze him with your Dark Ones Mojo?”
Cassius tilted his head, a look of complete seriousness crossed his face. “Mojo?”
“You know.” I lifted my hand in the air and twisted as power swirled to my fingertips. “When you do that.”
“You have the power to do it, too.”
“I do?” I twirled my hand again, my fingertips heavy as if something needed to release from them.
Cassius crossed his arms. “Will it.”
I closed my eyes and flicked my wrist willing Alex to speak again.
“Son of a bitch!” Alex’s voice erupted from downstairs.
r />
“Think it worked?” I laughed.
Alex cursed so loudly I was surprised Sariel didn’t silence him forever.
“A bit too well.” Cassius held out his hand. “Now, let’s go face Sariel.”
I sighed. “You think he’s going to be angry.”
Cassius didn’t answer right away. “I think that I often under estimate Sariel…”
“Is that good or bad?”
“I never know.” Cassius led me down the stairs. “Until the exact moment it happens.”
Cassius
HE WAS GOING TO be angry.
I knew it in the way the tense air pumped around me, fanned, as if Sariel’s feathers were flapping against the air—assaulting would be a more accurate word.
I clutched Stephanie’s hand as we entered the kitchen.
Had Sariel’s face not been void of any sort of happy emotion or amusement, it would have been funny, seeing an Angel seated at the kitchen table, tapping his rather large fingertips against the wood table only to get agitated and take a sip of coffee then shiver as if the taste not only repulsed him but offended every fiber of his being.
Purple and blue feathers shuddered, as if they, too, experienced the taste of the coffee and found it lacking.
Mason’s jaw ticked as he braced himself against the counter, his muscles bulging with the need to fight and protect his family.
The only family the Wolf had.
What a sad, mismatched bunch. What a weird world, to live in a world where the Wolf’s pack consisted of Sirens, Dark Ones, and Vamps.
Mason’s eyes flashed to mine before his fingernails dug into the granite counter tops, leaving little marks of agitation before the oven made a loud ding. Sariel’s eyes jerked to attention, locking with mine.
I smirked. “Staying for dinner?”
“It smells…” His nose curled up. “Like meat.”
Mason let out a loud, aggressive snort. “It’s ham.”
“I don’t care to eat animals.”
Alex plopped down next to Sariel in an entirely too careless manner. “Hear that Mason? He’s not going to eat you.”
Another growl erupted from the kitchen as Mason started tossing around pots and pans, purposely slamming them against the granite so they made a loud noise.
His thoughts were just as loud.
But I chose to ignore them, shutting off what I knew wasn’t my cross to bear. To listen in on Mason’s thoughts was to experience raw pain over and over again. There was never a pause in his emotions, in the bleeding of his soul, the only balm in his otherwise dark life.
Was Genesis.
Proven yet again, when she quietly joined him in the kitchen, pressing her hand against his.
Light burst, pushing its way through his dark morose thoughts, calming the beast inside as they continued working in silence.
“Interesting.” Sariel’s eyes narrowed in on them.
Clearly he noticed the same exchange.
“Why are you here?” I pulled out a chair and all but shoved Stephanie into it then managed to push it away so that I was between her and Sariel, exactly where I needed to be.
“I think you know why.” His voice held a raw destructive edge as his eyes flashed white. The blue and purple feathers shuddered red before returning back to the violet hues.
I made eye contact with Ethan as he moved himself between Genesis and Sariel and stood directly behind the Angel, ready to make a move if I needed him to, ready to commit an unfathomable crime in order to not only protect his mate, but mine.
I’d underestimated his friendship. Greatly.
To kill an Angel is inviting a soulless existence, death, nothingness.
But he’d do it.
For his family.
“I’m restored,” I finally announced.
“Not that.” he snapped. “Do I look like an idiot?”
Alex opened his mouth to speak but I sent him a seething glare of shut the hell up before he pouted and waited for more information.
“No,” I answered for everyone. “But you’re making Genesis nervous. You know it’s impossible for a human to be in your presence too long without… heart problems.”
“Genesis,” Sariel said her name with reverence. “How are the twins?”
All talking and thinking ceased in that damn room.
“Healthy.” She answered in a bold voice. “Thank you for asking.”
Sariel’s eyes went white. “It will be a hard birth.”
“If it were easy men would do it.”
Alex burst out laughing.
While Sariel’s mouth curved into an amused smile. “I think you’ve made your point.”
Genesis bowed behind him while Mason started slamming plates again.
“We can talk about your mating at a later date. Right now, I have more pressing matters…. say, matters that deal with life and death, the death of a certain Demon, and the secrets he may or may not have spilled before his blood stained your hands.” Sariel said the words with such indifference, my body trembled.
Did lives matter to him?
And why did they suddenly matter to me?
Why did I suddenly care about the Demon’s blood downstairs? Or the lives that could be lost because of the secret he held?
Why did I care?
The answer?
Came to me as Stephanie lightly brushed the back of my neck with her fingertips.
Her.
It was because of her.
I cared because I loved her.
Her love made me feel.
All the things I’d pushed away.
The Darkness told me it was dangerous to feel.
The Darkness was right.
Because in feeling—I cared—I wanted fairness. I wanted equality. I wanted peace.
Hell, I wanted the impossible.
“So.” Sariel stood, his feathers brushing from one edge of the room to the other, nearly pushing Mason to the floor as they spread wide in their vibrancy. “I simply came to ask what you’ve done. What all of you—” He turned only slightly since his wings blocked his ability to twist completely around. “—have done.”
“We–” I stood to my full height, which matched Sariel’s, though I had no wings; being a victim of the curse I was semi grounded. “—can ask the same question of you… can we not?”
Sariel’s face twisted into a knowing smile. “I always wondered when this day would come. There were times I doubted it. Especially when Eva came along, throwing you off your purpose, your destiny.” He shook his head. “And now look… still weakened by emotion. Will you never learn, my son? Emotions are frivolous, a curse upon the human race, one you bear because of your parentage. Give into that emotion, and you will only feel pain.”
“I’d rather feel… something,” I answered.
“Oh you will…” He glanced behind me at Stephanie. “Believe me, it will be the greatest pain of your existence. Now.” He rubbed his hands together. “Direct me to the blood. If you would.”
Mumbling out a curse, I clapped open my hands. “No need.” The blood from downstairs spread between my fingertips, the different flecks of colored dust spread around the table. A possibility only because the blood was mixed with Angel blood.
Sariel stumbled backward.
“I think that means he didn’t know,” Alex whispered loudly.
“Don’t Angels know everything?” Genesis mused out loud.
“Do I look all knowing?” Sariel fired back. “Believe me, life would be so much easier if I saw every angle. I see three and a half.”
“Three and a half?” Genesis asked. “Three and a half what?”
“Sides.” Sariel picked up the dust between his forefinger and thumb, rubbing it together as the red parts of the blood stuck to his fingertip, clearly wanting to bond again with its true purpose. “I see every side, but half of a side is missing. It keeps me loyal.”
Alex coughed wildly, and I shared an amused look with him while he shrugged his s
houlders.
“The Demon…” Sariel sighed. “Are more trouble than they are worth.”
“And we keep them around because… why?” Alex yawned. “Just say the word and I’ll go all Siren on their asses.”
“I think they’d enjoy that way too much,” Ethan teased.
“No.” Sariel dusted his hands together. “We do this the right way. There’s no need to start a war, and there certainly isn’t any need to exterminate an entire race just because they’ve been bad. Think of what would have happened with Dracula.” All eyes turned to Ethan.
“Horrible example,” Ethan grumbled.
“Cassius, since you’ve discovered the answer to your little riddle, your thirty days are now over.” He snapped his fingers. “You are fully restored and are ordered to immediately investigate, with your mate’s help, the sudden influx of Demon.”
“And the Angel blood?” Mason asked. “Where the hell are they getting it?”
“Cease from cursing in my presence,” Sariel snapped. “And if I knew I’d tell you.”
A wry grin widened Alex’s mouth. “That damned missing half side of things…”
Sariel shot him a withering glance, and the grin faded.
“So, it’s only us then?” I braved the question. “Just me and Stephanie?”
Silence answered us, and then, “You have your orders. Keep me updated.”
He moved away from the kitchen, as his wings disappeared, replaced by a leather jacket and dark-wash jeans.
“So he uses the front door now?” Alex asked.
My skin prickled with awareness. It was too easy.
The entire thing was too easy.
And if there was anything I’d learned in my time on earth, it was that things were never as easy as they seemed.
“Wait here,” I whispered to Stephanie, following Sariel out the door.
His footsteps crunched against the gravel and then he stopped, lifting his eyes heavenward as stars shone down on both of us. Only I was still blanketed in darkness—the light couldn’t shine on a Dark One.