For Love of an Angel (The Fallen Warriors Series) (13 page)

Smiling, he recalled the loving way she'd responded to him.  She'd seemed as eager as he for every round of their love play.

His smile faded as he recalled her earlier words.
I want control over my life.
That he regretted more than anything. It had never been his intent to force Eva into a life with him. True, he'd thought she would willingly choose him because their essences called to each other so strongly. But he would have let her decide her own fate. Now, neither of them would ever know if this was ultimately the path she would've chosen.

Though maybe...

Michael stirred as an idea came to him. Frowning, he went to his dresser and removed a pair of slacks, sliding them on. Then he left to search out his brethren.

He found them in the kitchen, as he'd suspected he would. "Good evening."

Jason and Ethan's expressions looked relieved as they greeted him.

"I sense that you mated your woman," Ethan noted.

Much to Michael's surprise he felt a wave of heat creep to his cheeks. "Yes."

"Good for you," Jason mumbled around a thick slice of French bread. "I was beginning to think you were cursed to never get laid again. And I wasn't looking forward to living in a constant state of arousal if she remained here."

"You're saved." Michael cocked a brow at him before turning to Ethan. "Where are Aaron and Lucas?"

"Still out hunting."

Michael nodded. He knew all too well what they were searching for. The same thing he himself had sought for some time. Thankfully he'd found his mate.
Though I may not get to keep her.

"Ethan, I—"

He cut off at the sound of the kitchen's surveillance system. It was Seth, Gabe, Nate, and Zach back from their mission.

Mere minutes later, the four joined them in the kitchen. Seth took one look at him and clapped him on the back. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." He gave an uncomfortable shift in place.

"What did you learn?" Ethan asked them.

"Nothing good," Seth replied.

"What is it?" Michael asked them.

There was a beat of silence before Gabe murmured, "You may wish to sit down for this one." He pointed toward the living area and one-by-one they filed out of the kitchen.

Instead of taking a seat on the leather sectional or in one of the recliners, Michael opted to stand in one corner of the room. He was physically tired, yes, but also mentally wired. A side effect of melding essences.

Impatience coursed through his body. He wanted to get back to Eva. "What have you found?"

Seth was the first to respond. Like Michael, he'd foregone a seat. Instead he paced throughout the cavern, looking like a caged beast. "We've discovered the Tribunal has built an underground prison somewhere in Alaska."

Jason cocked a brow. "What for?"

"We've learned they plan to covertly begin executions," Nate answered. "They’ll secretly gather the human figureheads—the presidents, prime ministers, and rulers who still hold symbolic power—and bring them there for mass execution. With the world leaders suddenly missing, humans will turn to angels even more for protection."

Michael furrowed his brows as the words penetrated his mind. "But what then?"

"They will use this as an excuse to cut off reporting and news programs," Seth muttered.  "For safety reasons, they’ll say. This way, word won't immediately spread when entire sections of the population start disappearing."

"Damnation." Michael ran a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling soul-weary. "So the prison will be the base of human extinction?"

"Yes," said Seth.

For a long moment no one spoke. Finally Michael broke the silence. "We must destroy the prison."

Seth nodded. "We'll divide the territory of Alaska among the lot of us. We'll find the facility, sooner or later."

"Hopefully before the Tribunal starts in on its plan, "Aaron mumbled.

Michael sighed. "We aren’t strong enough to fight them as is. Every one of us needs to find a mate if we are to stand a chance of defeating them."

There was murmured assent among the group.

"At least you’ve found your mate," Ethan commented from where he sat on a recliner, leaning forward. He spoke in a jovial tone, clearly trying to lighten the somber mood.

I'm not so sure.
To Ethan he said, "You have your mate too, if only you weren't too stubborn to claim her."

Ethan shook his head. "No. Tayla hates me. She blames me for her father's death still."

"Hate and love are two sides of the same coin," Jason commented dryly.

"He speaks the truth," Michael said to Ethan. Running a nervous hand through his hair, he broached the subject he'd wanted to address earlier, before they'd been interrupted by the arrival of the men. "Still, if you are so determined to keep away from Tayla, I wonder if she would be willing to help Eva."

Ethan lifted a brow. "Help her how?"

"Tayla could teach her to survive in the world as a nephilim. How to ensure she stays below the radar of other angels."

Now Seth turned to look at him. "Why would she need that?"

Michael took a breath. "Because she might not wish to stay here."

As he'd feared, with those words all eyes turned to him. The men's expressions ranged from shock to disbelief. Almost in unison, they said, "
What
?"

*****

It was close to sunrise by the time Michael finally returned to his living quarters. He'd been up half the night with his brethren as they took turns arguing with him, trying to get him to change his mind about the solution he was going to offer Eva. But he wasn't about to change his mind. She should have a choice.

Her life would never be risk-free. Being nephilim saw to that. But she might desire to live a less dangerous life than one at the side of a Fallen. Especially now that the angels were preparing to act on their plan to exterminate humankind. His life, all their lives, were about to become exponentially more dangerous. And if she chose to live without him, he would respect her decision, no matter how much it would kill him. At least her life would be safer that way.

He kept his movements stealthy as he stalked into the bedroom. Eva still lay in his bed, just as he'd left her. He couldn't help but smile at the evidence of how thoroughly exhausted she was.

This may be your last night together.

His heart rebelled at the thought. How empty his life had seemed until he'd found her. The last few days with her had been Heaven on Earth, the one bright spot in a life that had of late been filled with such turmoil. She'd been everything he could've wished for and more. Intelligent, kind, courageous, trusting. That he might have to continue living without her was incomprehensible. But he couldn't think of that now. He had to be strong.

Tomorrow she will have a choice. But for tonight, show her how you feel.

Yes. He would.

Michael slipped off his slacks before lifting the sheet and sliding onto his side of the bed. His weight sunk the mattress a few inches. She moaned and flipped her head in his direction, but didn't wake. Resting his head on his hand, he watched her for some time. Her chest rose and fell with every breath, and every now and again she would let out a little snore. No doubt she'd be embarrassed to know that, but personally he found it irresistible.

He reached a hand under the sheet to trail along the silky flesh of her stomach. His fingers drew lazy circles around her belly button.

Eva stirred, giving him a sleepy smile as her eyes fluttered open. "Can't sleep?"

"I can go for days without it."

She blinked at him, an expression of wonderment crossing her face. "No kidding?"

Grinning, he slid his fingers lower to the tiny pearl just above the entrance to her womb. Little electric tingles shot through his fingers with his every touch, and he knew she felt it too when she moaned, tilting her hips up toward his hand.

"You're amazing," he told her. She was so responsive to his touch. More than any man could hope for.

"Me?" She let out a soft, tinkling laugh and undulated her hips against him. "I'm just trying to keep up with you."

That was all the invitation he needed. He slipped under the sheet and came to rest between her legs. Placing his hands on the backs of her thighs, he parted her and drank in the honeyed scent of her arousal before touching his tongue to the spot his fingers had just left.

"Don't stop," she moaned.

As if he would. He flicked his tongue against her sensitive bud before driving it inside her, readying her to accept him into her body. When she cried out and her legs convulsed around him, he increased the intensity of his thrusts, building her pleasure to a screaming crescendo.

"Oh God!" She tangled her fingers into his hair and held him to her as she rode out her climax.

Her heady taste and the sound of her ecstasy drove him to the brink of madness. His erection burned hot and heavy. He ached to be inside her.

"Please, Michael," she gasped. "I want you inside me."

Only a fool would hold back now. Since he wasn't one, he rose up, moving her knees to the side as he positioned himself at her entrance. Then, with agonizing slowness, he pushed inside. When she uttered a sharp cry, he pressed his lips to hers, drowning out the sound of her pleasure.

Her walls closed in around him, squeezing him like a fist and urging him deeper inside. He lost all sense of reason as he focused on the feel of their joined bodies.

"Harder," she panted.

Rising up to his elbows, he tilted his hips, withdrawing and then plunging. Again. And again. Sweat beaded on his chest and her nails dug into the skin of his back, urging him forward with its blend of pleasure and pain. For a moment time stopped. Nothing existed but him and her and the feel of their bodies straining for mutual release.

She screamed and wrapped her legs around him, riding out another climax that had her walls convulsing, milking every bit of pleasure from him. With a hoarse shout, he joined her over the edge. He was dimly aware of her urging him deeper inside as he poured himself into her, slowly pumping until he was at last spent.

Her chest heaved as she unwound her legs from his waist, rubbing her hands lazily down his back. "Wow, that was...unbelievable," she murmured with a soft laugh.

It was. Too good to be true. And he couldn't help but wonder if this time tomorrow he'd be lying in his bed alone, lamenting the loss of a woman he'd only known for a few days but already couldn't imagine living without.

Sudden moisture burned against the back of his eyelids. He blinked it away before crushing his lips to hers, focusing all of his emotion on the joining of their mouths. No matter what happened tomorrow, he hoped tonight, this moment, would be something she would never forget.

Chapter Thirteen

F
or the first time in a very long time, Eva awoke with a sense of lightness in the pit of her stomach. To think, just a few days ago she'd been dead-set against joining Michael. Against living a life on the run. Well so far her new life beat the old one by a landslide. If she was back in her apartment right now, she'd be getting ready for another day of work at the coffee shop. As it was, she faced a day of lounging around with her hunky angel and maybe even going for a skinny dip in the stream.

Speaking of, where was he? Lifting her arms over her head, she let out a big yawn and stretched. The movement pulled on her thigh muscles, eliciting a twinge of pain. Lord, she was sore.

What did you think? You spent all day yesterday making love to an insatiable angel. It'll be a miracle if you can still walk.

Despite the fact she was alone, she felt telltale heat creep to her cheeks, especially when she realized the other Fallen would immediately know once they saw her that she and Michael had slept together.

One thing was for sure, living here would never get boring.

She slid out of bed and, after working some of the kinks out of her muscles, strode over to the dresser where Michael had stuck some of the clothes he'd "borrowed" from his sister yesterday. After slipping on a gray tank top and a pair of black sweatpants in a lush, soft fabric that hugged her curves, she lifted the gauzy fabric separating the bedroom from the sitting area. He wasn't there either, which she'd expected since she hadn't heard a peep. She left the room and went in search of him.

The cave was eerily silent as Eva made her way down the stairs. Had the other angels made it back yet? She'd thought she would be seeing more of them, especially since there were so many living here. Then again, she hadn't expected their compound to be quite this big. She made it to the ground level, to the cavern that acted as a living room, before hearing any noise at all. Soft echoes of several voices drifted out from the kitchen area, but she couldn't make out anything being said. With a deep breath, she pushed past the swinging door and walked into the kitchen.

The voices immediately quieted and four men turned to face her. Michael was one of them, and she recognized Jason and Ethan, but the fourth man was unfamiliar. None of them looked happy to see her, giving her the vague feeling she'd just walked in on an argument.

"Good morning," she choked out.

The lines furrowing Michael's brow smoothed as he shot her a smile that didn't quite look sincere. "Good morning, Eva." There was a beat of tense silence before he motioned toward the stranger. "You haven't yet met Seth. He returned last night, along with Gabe, Nate, and Zach."

She recognized the name. This was Michael's neighbor, the one he'd borrowed the leather pants from. Seth wore another pair now in a shade of charcoal gray. She had to admit, he wore them well. From what she'd seen so far, angels appeared to be spectacularly well made. 

When Seth gave her an amused grin, she realized she'd been staring. Flushing, she tore her gaze back up to his face.