How to Seduce an Angel in 10 Days (10 page)

He fingered his guns, antsy to be away from the situation.

Tally smiled at him softly, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. His palms flattened against the guns again. He found their smooth grips to be comforting.

“I’ll prove to you I’ve changed, Tally. If you give me the chance.” Tristan looked wistful.

“You’d better go if the Pantheon is waiting,” she said softly. “Thank you for your forgiveness—it means a lot. Will you do one more thing for me?”

Tristan nodded.

“Tell your mother I’m sorry. I’d do it myself, but if I were her, I wouldn’t want to look at me.”

Tristan grinned. “Oh, when she saw I was still alive, or angelic, she said I had it coming for being so awful to you. Of course, if I’d really been dead, she would be implementing your demise as we speak.”

“Damn, Belledare. Do you ever shut up? Let’s go if we’re going,” Falcon interrupted.

“I have a bad feeling about your going,” Tally said and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Falcon wondered if the act quieted that feeling.

Falcon kissed her gently. “Everything will be fine, but stay here where you’re safe.”

Tally seemed startled by this display of affection. “You don’t have to treat me any differently because we fucked, Falcon. Or because Tristan called you on it,” she whispered in his ear before she stepped away from him. “Be safe. Both of you.”

Falcon wasn’t sure what to make of any of this, not the new direction his brain was determined to take, his jealousy, or this new side of Tally he’d seen. She’d been so strong and yet so soft; she was breakable and invincible all at once. There’d been a quiet wisdom in all of her words, until it had come to discussing what was between them.

She’d called it “fucking.” Was that what it had been? If it was something more, what was it?

He understood now why ancient warriors didn’t have sex before battle. It really did suck out one’s manhood.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A Bird in the Bush Is Worth Two in the Hand

T
ally was surprised by how quickly Falcon returned. Things had either gone very well or very badly. From the sour look on his face, she imagined it had gone very badly. Or was he still irritated about Tristan?

“What’s wrong?” She bit her lip.

“Aside from the fact I went to my first meeting with the Powers smelling like sex?”

“Why didn’t you do a grooming charm on the way?” Tally put her hand over her mouth to try to keep from laughing.

“I never use manual grooming charms. I have them set to automatic at my apartment.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s funny. It’s nice to see these things don’t happen to just me.”

“Well, that’s what’s wrong, Tally. It seems like you’re always getting screwed. At the meeting, Ethelred convinced the Powers that the gypsy prince won’t turn werewolf in his presence.”

“I don’t like the sound of this. Did they not see what just happened at the cabin? Ethelred was there when he turned!”

“I know that. But it’s Ethelred’s problem. He should have allowed for the curse when he made the deal with Emilian’s father. If Ethelred had been on the ball, he would have used the deal to cleanse the entire line of magick and we wouldn’t be dealing with this right now. This is his mess and The Powers want to let him clean it up.”

“What does this mean?” Tally swallowed hard, fear crawling up her throat and cutting off her air.

“It means the prince and princess have to always be in his presence to keep the Beast from manifesting. The Powers want them to move in here.”

“No,” Tally said flatly. “No. I won’t. I can’t. Not after what happened at the cabin. It’s not fair to ask it of me, either.”

“And I’m not going to make you. The Powers suggested that you suspend your time with Ethelred until after this is over.”

“Why does—” Tally didn’t finish her question because she already knew the answer. She’d been about to ask why everything was always more important than she was, but even the Powers put everyone else first. She understood this was an end of the world thing, but Tally’s redemption was just as important. There were other ways this could have been handled that didn’t screw her. But it didn’t matter. “Never mind.”

“Look, I came up with something else. I told Ethelred that maybe you’d consent if he’d give up his claim on his days with you and you could spend the rest of your parole with me.”

Falcon’s words did nothing to soothe her fears. In fact, it sounded like he believed that if Ethelred had his shot, she’d fail. Maybe she was just being oversensitive because she was afraid of being anywhere near Emilian Grey.

“Why do I have to consent?”

“I don’t know. That’s just what the Powers demanded.”

“Can we go somewhere else?”

“Yeah, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

“For now, can we go back to your mother’s? I know that’s not living without magick, but I feel safe there.”

“It’s always been your home, too, Tally.” He pulled her into his arms and she sagged against him with a sigh.

Until she realized he really did smell like sex.

She wrinkled her nose and gave a delicate cough.

“Yeah, witchling. You smell like that, too.”

She gasped. “I don’t.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. You do.”

Tally gasped again and slapped his shoulder as they landed on the small balcony that led to Falcon’s room in his mother’s house.

“Do you think we should tell your mom we’re here?”

“Nah, she’ll figure it out when we come downstairs.”

“One of these days you’re going to literally scare the life out of her. Then you’ll feel bad for being such a rotten son,” Tally teased.

“She’s made of sterner stuff. Believe me, we tried when we were eight.” Falcon snickered. “She broke a wooden spoon on my butt.”

Tally couldn’t resist a peek at said part and leered over his shoulder. “It doesn’t look any the worse for wear.”

“Wench, we’ll see about that.” Falcon swatted her bottom.

Tally squealed and twisted away from him into his room. “Says the boy who keeps an apartment even though we all know he really still lives with his mommy.”

“Boy?” Falcon’s eyebrow arched.

“Yep.
Boy,
” she reiterated.

“Little girl, you’re about to be in big trouble.”

“Oh, yeah?” Her voice was almost a whisper and Tally realized she sounded like she was begging for attention on the most primal level.

Their first experience hadn’t been as wonderful as she’d hoped. Not that it had been bad, but Tally knew fear had held her back. She’d been so afraid of her own body, of its responses, and whether the great and terrible evil would come back. It had been quite the mood killer.

Regardless of what Falcon said about how long it had been for him, she knew it had to have been a relief that she was just a witch and didn’t morph into something horrible. She knew there was wildness between them that burned hotter than any fire even the Devil could summon.

She wanted to explode with him into that possibility—to burn with him. “It doesn’t feel like I’m in trouble.”

“I’ve got to get clean before you can be in any serious trouble,” Falcon said as he wandered into his bathroom, pulling his shirt off as he went. He emerged with a towel and a clean T-shirt in hand. “I’ll even let you have the first shower.”

“Such a gentleman,” she said with a cheesy Southern belle accent.

“Not really. There’s a peephole.” Falcon smirked.

“If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask. In fact, you could use a grooming charm on both of us.”

Falcon appraised her for a moment. “First, I like the hot water, and second, nothing’s ever that easy.”

“But why isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t make the rules.”

“Yes, you do. You’re Cupid,” Tally pointed out.

“Yes, but I’m more like a gardener. Or so the
Heaven’s Helper Manual
says. I just water the ‘seeds of love.’ I don’t plant them, unless it’s a special circumstance. For those cases, I have lust bullets.”

“I don’t want to have that conversation now.” Tally grabbed the T-shirt from him and headed into the bathroom.

“What conversation?”

“Which one do you think? You said you water the seeds of love, nurture them, and then you said that you had lust bullets if there were no seeds to water, correct? There’s a huge difference between lust and love,” Tally said as she foraged for some shampoo underneath the sink. “And I was only talking about a grooming charm and some wham-bam, thank-you, ma’am. I didn’t bring up that nasty ‘L’ word.”

“Right, but sometimes people need the taste of lust to get at something that means more.” Falcon held up his hands. “Not my words, the manual. You know I don’t buy into the propaganda. So, no ‘L’ wording here. Wait, isn’t that a show about lesbians?”

Tally raised an eyebrow and scowled. “Of course, you don’t buy into the propaganda. But I don’t see how you can be an effective Cupid if you don’t believe in love. Especially when you started the conversation and now you’re talking about lesbians.”

“I don’t have to spew the party line to enforce it—and it’s never a bad time for lesbians or Valkyries.”

Tally rolled her eyes. “So not going there. But I have to know, why serve the Kool-Aid if you’re not going to drink it? Seems like a waste of time to me.” Tally shrugged.

“Dying wasn’t on my schedule the day they were handing out job assignments.”

“Oh. There is that. I don’t know if it matters, but I’m sorry,” she said, looking down at her hands.

“It’s not your fault.” Falcon leaned across her to get—she wasn’t sure what he was reaching for; all she knew was that he was in immediate proximity and she wanted to touch him.

Tally felt bad about perving on him while she was apologizing for almost killing him, but hey, he was the one who took his shirt off, revealing all of his rippling Cupid muscles. She wondered if all angels were built like gods, though Falcon had been eye candy before his job change.

“No, I have to take responsibility for what I did. I caused a lot of damage.” Tally left her thoughts about Tristan unspoken.

“Heaven got two more civil servants out of the deal,” Falcon said as his undid the button on his leathers. “Look, this leather is really chafing, so the sooner you hop in the shower, the sooner I can peel these off.”

“I think you’re dirtier than I am anyway—you go ahead. Wouldn’t want you to get a rash on your
cupidity
.” Tally sat back down on the bed, which had been made with military folds.

“Yeah, I’d rather not rash that up, either.” He flashed a wicked grin. “I’ve still got to prove myself.”

“What do you mean?” she asked while watching the planes of his back shift as he finished undressing.

“I know our first time could have been better for you, Drusilla.” He was matter of fact.

“What are you talking about? I had my first orgasm that wasn’t from my own fingers with you.”

“You don’t have to soothe my ego, sweetheart.”

Oh, the way he said “sweetheart” made her whole body melt like chocolate on a warm day, sweet and languid.

“I wouldn’t have minded if there’d been more, but I’ve been accused of being a greedy witch. Honestly, I’ve never felt anything like the things you did to me, for me. You were the first person I slept with because it was what I wanted instead of what I thought I was supposed to do.”

“You didn’t want Belledare?”

“I wanted him to want
me
, if that makes sense. Wow, now I’m channeling Cheap Trick. Will the torture never end?” Tally looked down at her hands.

“In essence, you’re a virgin,” Falcon replied.

“What? I’ve slept with—” She snapped her mouth closed. That wasn’t exactly what she wanted to say about herself. “What I mean to say is, my experience is fairly extensive. How could you say I’m a virgin?”

“If I’m the first that you slept with out of desire, then the emotions you think you feel will be very intense.”

“That I
think
I feel? Are you kidding me? You’re almost as big of an asshole as Tristan. If you give me the don’t fall in love speech, I swear to Merlin, I’ll kick you in your chafed-up cupidity.” Her leg twitched as she thought about doing just that.

“Sensitive much? I’m being honest with you.”

“This raging honesty includes telling me what I’m feeling while still trying to get into my panties?”

“Tell me what you’re feeling, then, if you’re so sure I don’t know.”

He was in her space now, sucking all of the air away from her, out of her lungs and out of her mouth. She couldn’t form words, but the heat of his nearness caused her to tighten her thighs. It didn’t matter that he smelled like a mangy werewolf; it didn’t matter that he was giving her the asshole speech—none of it did. All that mattered was the spark she felt every time he was near her.

Tally didn’t know what demon possessed her, but she settled his hand between her thighs. She was so wet she knew he’d have it on his fingers even through her jeans. “This is what I’m feeling. This is what I want.”

His pupils dilated at the contact, as if touching her was a hit from a drug, and Falcon’s wings exploded from his back in all their angelic glory. He began to stroke the rough material and it moved against her mons; she gripped his shoulders for support to lean into the caress and give him better access to her clit.

“This is all you want from me?”

“Yes.”

He rubbed harder and she dug her nails into his shoulders while she bucked her hips against him. She was going to come for his hand right here in his bedroom. Tally could see his heartbeat in the wide column of his neck. It pulsed in time with the rise and fall of his chest and she knew he was just as aroused as she was; he wanted to be inside her as badly as she wanted him there.

He didn’t use magick to strip her, but his own hands. His fingers were nimble and quick, still damp with her desire as they pushed the fabric of her T-shirt up over her head and then shoved her jeans down past her hips. His touch was experienced, but unhurried and his knuckles grazed her thighs as he undressed her.

Even the barest touch of his skin to hers sent erotic awareness through her touch receptors and it was as if his hands were everywhere at once. Falcon hauled her tight against him and hoisted her legs around his waist, the leather of his pants a contrast of sensation on her bare slit.

Tally cradled the back of his head with her palm and her mouth crashed into his, almost violent with need. She tasted him, her tongue tracing his lips, and she nipped where she tasted. Her small acts of brutality invited his own and he tangled his fist in her blond curls and angled her head back to expose her throat.

He bit down on the tender skin and she jerked against his erection and he moaned. Falcon began to chant and Tally found herself lifted from him, held aloft in the air by some unseen force. Her limbs felt posed, yet cushioned. Her thighs were spread wide and her womanhood was at Falcon’s eye level.

She’d never done this before, not with all the warlocks she’d been with. None had either known this magick or wanted to use it with her. Tally had a moment of fear, but she trusted him. All he’d done thus far was bring her pleasure.

He pulled her closer, used her hips to position her so that his mouth was at the apex of her thighs. The first touch of his tongue was like flint to steel. She was ignited by the spark. Tally gasped and he brought her tighter against his mouth. He explored the velvet petals of her labia with his tongue and slipped between them to taste her honey before sucking her clit into his mouth. She ached for more and wanted to be filled by him with his fingers and cock, but he kept his attention focused on her clitoris, her channel sodden with need.