For Love of an Angel (The Fallen Warriors Series) (6 page)

Her eyes widened and she gave a nervous gulp. "Cursed?"

Chapter Six

M
ichael’s gaze on hers was bright and candid. There was no doubt in Eva’s mind he was determined to be truthful with her.

She pushed her plate away and sat straight back in her chair. "What do you mean when you say I would live a cursed life if I decided to be your mate?"

He closed his eyes, and a weary expression came to his face. Somehow she’d never imagined angels would feel that sort of emotion. How little she knew about his species.

"Think of what you know of the Fallen," he finally replied, skewering her with his intense gaze. "Of everything you’ve heard. We’re hunted, now more than ever. My former brethren feared what would happen if we were able to amass any sort of offense against them. Anyone who joins us will be hunted."

Of course. That was no more than what she’d already deduced for herself.

"It’s not just that." His chair made a groaning sound as he dragged it back. Lifting to his feet, he raked a hand through his hair. She couldn’t help but stiffen when he strode forward and squatted in front of her so he was at eye level. "Eva, me and the rest of the Fallen, we’ve decided we can’t simply stand back and allow our former brethren to destroy humans. We’re determined to fight them. If you join with me, you join the war."

Eva blinked as she absorbed his words. "Seems to me I’m already at war, except no one else around me knows it."

He took a deep breath. "I can promise I would protect you with my life, but I couldn’t guarantee your safety."

His words rang of truth. "Do you have a plan for defeating the other angels?"

"Humans grossly outnumber angels. Even with our superior strengths and abilities, we couldn’t stand against a united front of humans."

"So you plan to make a worldwide revelation about what the other angels really intend to do to us?"

 The problem is"—he fidgeted and looked away—"so far no human we’ve informed of the truth believes us. Not with the propaganda spread about the Fallen, and not when it’s too easy to believe they will be protected by the angels."

He looked so disheartened by what he told her that Eva couldn’t help but reach out and touch her hand to his shoulder. "I believe you."

His eyes trailed down to her hand before he returned a heated gaze to her face. Like a switch had been flipped, the air was once again fraught with sexual tension. "As I said, you’re special."

She squeezed her legs together to calm the sudden ache between her thighs. "I understand the danger in what you’re doing, but I have to ask, why the need for a mate? I would think you’d be focused on the fight."

With a sigh, Michael rose and stalked out of the room.

Had she offended him somehow? Puzzled, she rose to her feet and followed him to the living room.

He strode to the window and surveyed the now-dark sky. "There are some things you should know about angels," he said without looking her way. "Our immortality and our strength, they aren’t necessarily infinite."

She furrowed her brows. "Huh?"

"Sex." He turned to face her. "Sex is a necessary part of our livelihood. With it, we’re  strong. With the exception of being burned alive, we cannot be killed. But without sex...after a certain number of years our strength and immortality begin to fade. Eventually, after hundreds of years, it’s lost all together. We grow old, we die. Just like mortals."

She simply stared at him. Finally realizing her mouth was open, she snapped it shut. "So you’re telling me you’re looking for a mate because it’s been a long time since you...you know...did the deed?"

He laughed. "Many years, yes."

Eva blinked at that astounding revelation. The walking orgasm standing in front of her hadn’t gotten laid in years? It seemed too crazy to believe. How was that even possible?

While some small part of her couldn’t help but be delighted that he’d chosen her of all people to break his fast, she had to know. "Why look for a mate? I mean, what you’re describing sounds sort of permanent. More than a one-night stand at least. But this world is full of women, and I’m sure a good number of them would fall all over themselves to have a chance with you. Why not just pick a new one every night?"

A flash of temper sparked in his topaz eyes. "You would prefer that to me choosing you?"

Her cheeks blazed so hot she probably looked like a tomato. "No, I’m not saying that. I just..."

Before she could blink he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. One hand wound through the curls of her hair. With a gentle tug, he pulled her head back so she looked him straight in the eyes. "I told you. You’re special. And I want only you."

"I..." Her voice came out as a nervous squeak, and she pressed her lips together to keep more embarrassing chatter from escaping. She lost her ability to think around this man. This
angel
. Especially when he said things like that.

He bent forward until his mouth was inches from hers. The heat of his breath sent a shiver down her spine.

"Do you want me too, Eva?"

Want him? Just the whisper of his breath and she was already halfway to oblivion.

His tongue snaked out to flick lightly against her lower lip. Moaning, she tugged his head down, crushing his lips to hers. He touched his tongue to hers, teasing, withdrawing, driving her crazy. At the same time his hands seemed to be everywhere.  On her back, at the curve of her backside, cupping and kneading her breasts. A shiver of longing wound through her whole body making her legs go weak.

Eva dropped one of her hands from his shoulder to his smooth, hard chest, memorizing the curves of his pectorals, the defined ridges of his abs. And yes, as she’d suspected, even his ass was rock-hard. The man was a fine work of art. Before she could think further about it, she brought her hand to his front, sliding it down the fabric of his black slacks. Once she felt what was there, she broke away with a gasp.

"Dear lord! Are all angels built this way?" If so, then maybe they
should
be worshipped.

He looked down at her with a husky laugh. "Not disappointed then?"

She gulped.
No freaking way.

Smiling softly, he lifted a hand to her chin, rubbing his thumb along her moist lips. "You didn’t answer my question. Do you want me?"

The question behind the question was clear. He wanted her to sleep with him. She didn’t know about tomorrow, couldn’t make any promises about that. But now, right now...

"Yes."
Oh hell yes.

With a triumphant grin he lifted her into his arms, exiting the living room and stalking down the short hallway toward her room. Once inside, he laid her on the bed and dropped a knee to her side to support his weight as he covered her body with his. Pressing his lips to hers, he drove his tongue inside her mouth, tangling it with hers. Feeding her desire for him. Then he trailed kisses down her throat, over her breasts through the fabric of her black cotton work shirt. Her fingers shook when she helped him tug it over her head. He tossed it to the side and made short work of divesting her of her plain black bra.

"You’re exquisite, beloved." He ran his thumbs over the hardened peeks of her breasts before sliding down to flick his tongue across one of the buds.

Her world dissolved into a blinding haze of sensation. Vibrations pooled on his tongue, setting her sensitive flesh ablaze with ripples of energy. It was unbelievable, the things he could do. The way he made her feel. Like she could spend forever in his arms.

Forever?
She banished the thought before it could fully form. If she chose to join him as his mate, odds were her forever wouldn’t last that long at all. No, enjoying the pleasure he gave her was one thing. But she wasn’t about to risk her heart.

"More," she gasped, arching up toward his mouth.

His husky chuckle vibrated against her flesh. Lifting his head, he moved to the other breast, giving her a long, slow lick before blowing on the flesh. When she shuddered, he closed his mouth over her again. Teasing, tugging, nipping. Oh, she needed his mouth on her. Lower.

She lifted her hands to his shoulders, pressing downward. But instead of taking the hint, he grabbed her wrists in his hands and moved up her body, edging her arms up so they were imprisoned over her head. He nipped at her lower lip, then snaked his tongue inside her mouth, kissing her with an intensity that left her breathless. Finally he broke away.

"Just so we’re clear, beloved," he murmured against her lips, "you’re agreeing to be my mate, right?"

His words cut through her desire. She shot her eyes open to look at him. "Wait—what?"

"Will you be my mate?"

Her sense of self-preservation activated, taking the edge off the sharp ache of her passion. She wasn’t ready to make a decision like this. She couldn’t say yes. "I...no...we both want each other. But I can’t...can’t we just do this, without having to make a commitment?"

A myriad of emotions flickered in his eyes while he looked down on her. He looked uncertain. And hungry. For a moment she thought he was going to agree, but much to her consternation he pulled away.

"No."

"What?" She stared in shock as he lifted off her and rose from the bed. Here she was, half-naked and panting on the bed, practically begging him for it, and he was going to refuse? "You’re not serious, are you?"

A tormented expression crossed his face. He reached into his slacks and painstakingly adjusted himself. "If you were any other woman, I would most likely take you up on your offer of sex with no strings attached."

Eva winced at his callous description of her offer. But in the end, he only spoke the truth, didn’t he?

"However, I’m finding that this isn’t enough for me." He shot her a look blazing with intensity. "Not with you. With you, I want all or nothing."

When he stared down at her as if waiting for her to speak, she realized he was waiting for an answer. All, or nothing.

She couldn’t accept his offer. She wasn’t ready. Would probably never be. "I’m sorry..."

Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Me too, beloved. Me too."

With those words, he turned and strode out of the bedroom, clicking the door shut behind him.

After several long moments, Eva trusted herself to move again without having her legs collapse underneath her. He’d left her high and dry, and dreaming of his electrifying touch. That jerk. But in a way, she understood. He’d been straight with her all along. It was a mate he was looking for, not a fast lay.

Well, if she wasn’t going to have sex, "Might as well take a shower." A really, really cold one.

*****

Michael was back in the prison. It was little more than a hut, really, with thatch-covered walls. The straw littering the floor prepared with ultimate flammability in mind. The only things of substance in the small space were the two long, iron poles drilled lengthwise into the Earth. So deep the Fallen didn’t stand a chance of escaping the manacles that kept them imprisoned, crouched low to the ground.

Part of him recognized this wasn’t real, that he had somehow fallen asleep and was caught in the grip of an all-too familiar nightmare. But he couldn’t awaken, and he couldn’t stop the fear that seized his heart.

They were all going to die.

When had they been brought in here? They must have been drugged. The last thing he remembered was being dragged through the square. Then nothing until he awoke here.

It was too dark to see anything other than the basic outline of bodies, some awake or in the process of waking, and others still unconscious.

Just then a loud roaring sounded in his ears, following by a blinding flash of orange.  "Fire," one of his brethren yelled out.

Damnation, they’d set the hut on fire! Flashes lit the room as torch after flaming torch was thrown in through the air holes built into the roof. Smoke billowed upward, winding around the room and making it impossible to see.

Screams filled the room, followed by pleas for help. But Michael was only focused on one thing. His mate. "Ada! Ada, where are you?"

A cough sounded out from somewhere to his right and a familiar voice spoke up. "I think she’s still unconscious. I saw her on the opposite side of the room chained to the other pole."

"Mara!" He crawled on his knees until he made contact with the figure to his right. "Is that you?"

"It’s me," his sister replied. He heard in the choked sound her wordless plea for help. For salvation.

"Hold on." He wrapped his hands around the pole and pulled upward with all his might. "I’m getting us out of here."

"It’s no use," she said in a hopeless tone. "We’re going to die."

"No we’re not," he snapped. "Wrap your hands around the pole. We’re getting out."

A sudden explosion rocketed through the room, knocking him to his side in a wave of heat that seared the flesh from his bones. He must have lost consciousness for a moment, because when he next took note Mara was shaking him awake.

"Michael...Michael, get up! The blast bent the iron. I think we can break it!"

Agony erupted along every inch of his body when he sat up, disoriented and still blind from the smoke.

"Come on, help me," Mara urged while she yanked on the pole beside him.

"Ada," he mumbled, trying to turn his body toward the other side of the room.

Mara stopped her struggles for a moment. "I’m sorry, Michael."

Her soft sobs speared through him, sending throbs of foreboding all through his flesh . Still, he wasn’t prepared for what she said next.

"That blast, it caught her directly. She’s gone."

"No...no!"

Michael jarred awake with that word on his lips. With a muttered oath, he shot up from the couch. To think he’d actually let himself fall asleep. It was unforgiveable to drop his guard like that when Eva lay asleep and vulnerable no more than a few yards away.

"Remain vigilant," he admonished himself. Rising, he silently glided toward her room and opened the door, needing the reassurance that she was safe and in bed.