Repent in Love (9 page)

“Where is Patricia?” Mort peeped back toward the door. She
had already sensed her, and Osce’s essence was strong in the air.

“With O. They’re having coffee. She’ll be along shortly.”

Morta thought about it for a moment and decided to put her
two cents in. “Why won’t he declare himself to her? He shouldn’t be concerned
about Uri anymore.”

“One thing I’ve found since being exulted is things happen
up there,” Yael said as her head tilted skyward, “in their own time. We cannot
force them, and neither can we stop what will be.” She walked into one of the
small changing areas and began to undress without closing the door.

Mort turned away to hide the smile that curved her lips.

Yael grinned. “Don’t you dare laugh at my panties.”

“I’m not, they’re nice. What there is of them.”

“Ramiel likes lace.”

“I think I’m going to buy some like that.” They were
virtually see-through.

“Buy at least a dozen, mine get… They tear awfully easily.”
Yael’s face turned beet red.

“What?”

“They’re not made very well and they rip easily.”

Nona came out of the changing room, wearing a revealing top
over her jeans. “I’m going to get this in gold to highlight my complexion. I’ll
be right back.”

Yael had donned a dark red sheath that clung to her broad
hips and grazed her mid-thigh. The short concoction fit her like a second skin.
Mort watched as she checked herself at all angles in the mirror—such a womanly
thing to do. It made her want to be more feminine.

“You are aware Marmaroth is here?”

Morta didn’t expect that but she managed to mumble, “Yes.”

“You must continue to stay with Uri and see that no more
harm comes to Marcan.”

“I’m not sure—”

“You can protect him. Use your feminine wiles if necessary.”
Yael’s eyes gleamed. “Considering how happy you are today, that won’t be hard
for you to do.”

“This can’t happen. We both know that.”

“Morta, what
can’t
happen is any more harm to
Marmaroth’s son. Are you aware of the power he wields over you and your
sisters?”

“I will let no harm come to Uri either.” She leveled a look
on the other woman.

“Good, then you understand. Stay with him.”

Knowing what she did now, Morta wouldn’t leave Uri for the
world.

Yael’s amber eyes turned dark, and her body shuddered.
“Leave.”

“What’s happening?” Mort felt disoriented and her skin
prickled. She was unable to summon her strength to vanish. “I can’t.” Sweat
poured from her pores. Peering at the other woman, she practically heard the
wheels turning in her mind. She’d definitely be communicating with Ramiel.
Mort’s breath hissed from her at the sudden appearance of a glowing form. He
was clad in black leather from head to toe, and his hair was the shade of
new-grown wheat, and it streamed behind him as though caught in a whirlwind.
Not the normal color that graced archangels’ heads. Except Ramiel and Sam, all
had black-as-night hair. Yet his essence and the glow both told her he was,
indeed, an angel.

Nona picked that time to return and she froze in the doorway
of the dressing room, her body trembling all over. “Why are you here?”

“I’ve come to see the Fate who would cause my son pain.”

“Your son has committed many sins against his own kind. He’s
not been exactly angelic.” Nona’s words sounded far away.

Mort could barely drag air into her paralyzed lungs.

“He will answer to me for his vile behavior. No one else.”

“This is not the time or place.”
Holy shit
. Osce
stood just outside the door with Patricia tucked behind him.

The angel craned his head in the exulted’s direction.

“Perhaps you are right. Another time.” He spun to glare at
Morta with midnight blue eyes. “Be careful what wheels of destiny you set in
motion. I will bring them to a screeching halt.” A serene smile lit his
extraordinarily handsome face as he gazed at her. “I believe Uriel seeks me,
so, we’ll finish this later. Oceola, it is good to see you.”

His large golden wings unfurled and he vanished, leaving a
warm blast of air in the room filled with the scent of jasmine.

The clarity of who had stood before her doubled Morta over.
Her hands flew to her throat and she gasped for air. Only one being could hold
this power over her but having been the third born of the sisters, she’d been
too young to remember him.

This was the angel who could thwart the Fates.

Marmaroth.

Marmaroth had found Morta.

Uri had to meet him as an angel.

His eyes blazed like the searing tip of a blow torch.
Sweeping into the air, he released his charcoal-fringed wings. Their breadth
covered the sun and threw Central Park into darkness. He entered the outer
atmosphere with a blast that sent rain pummeling down on the northeastern part
of the United States.

“Ease up.”

Ramiel is not who he wanted to deal with right now, but for
Mort, he’d deal with the Father himself.

“Don’t try and stop me.” Uri’s wings propelled him toward
Florida, each powerful stroke taking him closer to his Fate. Suddenly his chest
constricted and he was drawn to a dead standstill. “Ram, I will fuck you up if
you don’t release me. Now!”

“This isn’t the way to handle it. Michael will bring
Marmaroth to heel.”

“Would you have waited for his intervention on Yael’s
behalf?” Uri spun faster than the human eye could see and the air grew freezing
cold. The grip on his body snapped away and Ram was encased in an ice capsule.

Shit, these are Morta’s powers!

Her magic was in him and somehow he’d captured Ramiel, the
most powerful of archangels, in a bubble of ice.

“What the fuck?” Ramiel was caught off guard as Uri pushed
him back into space.

Uriel turned his attention to reaching his destination
before the angel he sought disappeared. He burst through the clouds in time to
intercept Marmaroth hovering over the building.

“I wasn’t going anywhere,” he fired at Uri.

“Don’t ever touch her or go near her again. I’ll kill
you—and your son.” Blue fire from Uri’s eyes cast a specter of pale blue light
on the other angel’s body.

Marmaroth’s soft laughter filled the sky with a rumble. “We
can’t kill each other, Uriel. Do you really think you can stop me?”

“
We
can stop you.” Uri spun to see Morta right behind
him.

The angel before them could take all of her power, strip her
to nothing and bring misery to her door. Yet here she was at his back. Her long
white hair whipped in the air and gave her an ethereal look he hadn’t noticed
before. It struck him to the bone. Her pale beauty mixed with the look of
determination on her face froze him in the moment.

Morta had placed his life before hers.

His heart lurched in his chest, tears wet his eyes.

I love her.

Something happened that Uri had never experienced before. An
unbelievable power surged through his veins and he threw it all at Marmaroth.
The angel tumbled through the sky, landing on top of the building far beneath
them.

Together, he and Morta could topple worlds.

Without giving the angel sprawled on the building beneath
him a backward glance, he boomed, “Never come near her again.” He swept Morta
into his arms, pulled her tight against his body and enclosed her in his feathers.
He streaked toward Heaven. Michael’s power ruffled the edge of his wings as he
flashed by. Undoubtedly to collect the angel Uri had left in his wake. He would
have a bit of a reprieve but sooner or later he’d be pulled away to explain
what had happened. Right now the unknown power surging through him made him
feel invincible and able to hold off any of those above. Well, almost any.

“Uri, where are you going?” Morta was breathless.

“To my heavenly domain.”

“Take me back.”

“Do you really want to go back there?”

She buried her face in his neck, peppered it with hot
kisses. “No.” A nervous giggle slipped from her mouth and hung in the starry
sky “I did want to get some fancy underwear though. Yael says it works
wonders.”

“The only wonder I need is you.” He eased into her mind and
had to use every bit of his strength to keep it from her. Uri stole the
thoughts of every filmy garment she had tried on. His cock stiffened and
pressed into her belly.

“You have a dirty mind,” she chuckled.

“What?”

“I doubt that swelling comes from anything pious.”

Laughter flowed from Uriel making the stars and the moon
shine brighter in front of him. “I intend to piously worship at your sweet
fountain.”

He entered his domain and locked it tight with the strongest
shields he possessed. No one would be able to enter except the general. Uri
felt her lending assistance in the task and wondered if she’d helped earlier.
That wasn’t possible. Unless… He didn’t want to think about that right now.

As he settled on his feet in the domed foyer, Morta’s hiss
reminded him his angelic likeness adorned his palace here. Unlike Ramiel, whose
painting hung in his home in Florida, Uri didn’t want his portrait below.
Staying as far away from Michael and Ram as possible, Uri had not seen it or
his heavenly home for hundreds of years. Still holding Morta in his arms, he
glanced up and saw the younger likeness of himself immortalized forever in
stained glass. His blue eyes were crystal clear and full of wondrous ideals. He
was going to make the world a better place for every man, woman and child born
on Earth. Every being in the universe would repent and live happily ever after
because of him.

What had happened to him? To them all.

Her words drew him back to the moment. “You are the most
beautiful.”

“That was a long time ago.”

Her fingers tangled in the back of his hair, pulling him to
face her. “I didn’t say you
were
. I said you
are
the most
beautiful of all the angels.”

He covered her mouth with his and pried at her lips, seeking
entrance to taste the sweetness hidden there.

The brief thought of not having furniture in his home
entered his mind. Uri couldn’t think straight with Mort so close. He
transported them to the bedroom and in a blink he furnished it with a large bed
and placed a big golden chest in the middle of it.

Breaking their kiss with reluctance, he set her on the bed.
Hundreds of candles appeared and flared to life, giving the space a bright, but
soft, glow.

She turned and looked at the glittering chest. Kicking her
shoes off, Morta quickly crawled to it. While she flipped it open to delve
inside, he pulled his wings in.

Without looking back, she said, “Don’t, not tonight.”

He unfurled them and waved them through the air, trembling
at the knowledge he was going to take her in his angel form.

“You were in my mind and I didn’t even feel it.” She hurled
the colorful pieces of flimsy lace and silk underwear all over the place, like
a child ripping into Christmas packages.

“I still have some secrets.” She’d emptied the box of all
the goodies he had fabricated for her. Sitting back on her heels, Morta
appeared thoughtful.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Here, up here, will they leave us be for a little while?”
She turned to look at him and her eyes were clear, unafraid.

“Did you assist me with Ramiel?” he asked. She might be
holding a few secrets of her own.

“I’m not sure. I felt him trying to restrain you.” She
hunched her shoulders. “I only know I wanted you with me.”

“You’re not afraid now.” Uri could tell by her eyes.

“I need to be with you for as long as they allow it.” She
lowered her chin and pretended to study her fingernails. “Something’s
different. I felt a strange power when I thought Marmaroth would attack you.
That scared me.”

He understood. Uri thought back to how easily he had evaded
Ramiel and Marmaroth. Would it be that way if the angel came for either of them
or for Marcan again? What
had
happened? If it was what he thought, he’d
never voice it aloud.

Meshing, the coming together meant for angels only.

Removing her dress with magic, he slipped into the bed. He
wanted to touch her, hold her and forget everything else. Sitting with his back
against the headboard, he said, “Come here.”

She eased up the mattress, turned and settled between his
legs where her butt pressed on his erection. Surprised as hell, he wanted to
give her comfort more than he wanted to be inside her. That confused him.

Wrapping her in his wings, he held her.

She didn’t speak right away.

“Why did you stay away from Heaven?”

How should he answer? Michael and Ram had gotten on his last
nerve with bullshit. But that wasn’t all of it. “I’d developed an unhealthy
attraction to a certain Fate.” Lifting her hair, he planted a kiss on the back
of her neck. He traced a line with his tongue and felt her tremble when he
reached her earlobe.

“You need an interior decorator to make your palace
livable.”

“Volunteering for the position?” He nibbled softly on the
lobe of her ear and used his teeth to pull the earring off. He removed it from
his mouth and held it up in his finger. The diamond doubled in size and
sparkled, casting prisms of white light around the room.

“You could do it with magic.” Her laughter rang out.

“I want you to do it. I’ll always have it to remember you
by.” He turned her so he could see her violet eyes. “No other woman will ever
be here.”

Were those words enough to express what he was beginning to
feel?

* * * * *

His voice had grown soft and wistful. Morta caught a glimpse
of his thought about meshing. It was what had scared her earlier. She was
afraid of it happening too. If somehow she had helped him and the power
displayed today was an example of what they could do should they completely
mesh—she certainly understood Michael’s fear. Repelling Ramiel with his powers
was something akin to a miracle.

Had they done that?

Keeping this from her sister Fates would be the hardest
part. They had a connection to one another and it was a constant struggle to
keep them from her mind. That was another reason she intended to stay at Uri’s
palace. Mort needed some space from Decima and Nona. More than anything, she
had to figure out how to stop any further meshing.

Trying hard to concentrate on what he had said about
decorating, she thought about another woman here, in his arms. No, she’d never
allow that. Best thing for her to do was to stay right where she was.

In Uri’s house. In his bed.

“I’d love to decorate the old-fashioned way.” Moving a
little to the side, she wound her arm behind his neck and pulled him closer,
wanting to taste his lips. Using her tongue, she prodded her way inside his
mouth and tangled with his for supremacy. Though Morta knew already he’d always
have the upper hand.

She stroked the tips of his wings with her other hand and
Uri shuddered beneath her. Afraid she caused him discomfort, she pulled away.
“I’m sorry.”

“Christ, honey, it felt exquisite. Angel wings are very
sensitive. Don’t stop.”

Her fingers smoothed and stroked the feathers lingering on
the darker tips. “That’s why the light demons damage you so easily?”

“Yes.” His hands moved to her breasts, plucked softly at the
nipples. “Your touch is so gentle.”

Uri rolled the stiff bud between his thumb and finger before
he pinched it hard. Bowing from the bed in pleasure, she moaned. “Mmm, I like
that.”

His lips moved down her neck and he nibbled on her skin,
leaving warm kisses on her shoulder.

“There is no need to be so tender with me.” He bit her,
hard. Liking the pleasurable pain he gave her, Morta grasped a handful of
feathers in her fist and tugged hard.

“Shit, yes,” Uri groaned.

One of his hands drifted down her belly and slipped between
her legs. He drove his fingers through the damp crevice and found her clit. Uri
played with it, plucked and pinched it until Mort thought she would scream. Not
done with her, he pushed two fingers into her pussy. Her body tried to lift but
he held her firmly trapped between his muscular thighs with her back to his
chest. He continued to push in and out of her, going deeper each time.

His other hand massaged her nipple and drove her wild with
need. She wanted more.

“Uri?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Baby, tell me what you want.”

“You, you, you.” He pulled his fingers out so quickly, she
hissed, “No!”

“I’ve got more for you.” Uri placed a hand at the small of
her back and nudged her forward. “Get on your knees.”

She rose to her knees and leaning forward, she spread her
thighs as far as possible.

“Damn, you’re beautiful.” Uri’s shaft brushed her ass as he
slipped behind her. She peered over her shoulder to see him grasp his cock.
Using his hand, he guided the tip through the wet folds and cream slid from her
body.

“Love me, Uri, please, love me.”

He eased the head into her pussy then pushed hard, burying
his length in her. Hesitating for a moment, he backed out and shoved in again
so hard she exhaled loudly.

“Yes,” she murmured. Leaning her chest on the mattress, she
gave him total access to her core. “Again.”

Uri didn’t disappoint her. He slammed his cock into her
pussy again and again.

“You like it hard?”

“Unh,” she groaned, unable to give voice to what she felt.

His thick shaft pumped into her, his hips slamming against
her butt. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her still as he continued
to jam his cock back and forth, going deeper with each stroke.

“Shit, you’re tight. Take it all, honey.”

His other hand lightly slapped her buttocks which made her
buck back into him and capture even more of his cock. He did it again, harder
this time.

“God, yes,” Mort moaned.

He smoothed his fingertips over the fiery red spot on her
ass, stroked down the back of her thigh. “You’re hot, and so wet.”

Gripping her tighter around the waist, he lifted and hoisted
her back each time he jammed into her. He penetrated so deep she didn’t know
how long she could take it. Over and over, Uri drove into her, giving her more
pleasure than she dreamed possible. The rhythm he set was maddening as he
pistoned in and out of her.