RiskingEternity (3 page)

She made a small sound and her hand came up, fingertips grazing his bare arm until she cupped his shoulder. Her delicate touch held him in place more effectively than brute force ever could. His flesh thickened, the hard length of him pressed against the soft towel separating them.

He needed more. More heat, more contact, more of her intoxicating taste. It had been too long since he’d lain with a female, centuries since a cherub had graced his side or his bed. The pull of this woman was simply more than he could resist. More than he wanted to resist. He sent more of his power over her, let it shimmer over her, awaken her nerve endings and spark arousal.

Easing the terrycloth aside, he slid his hand over her still-damp
skin,
creamy flesh sprinkled with cinnamon freckles, and marveled at her softness. He ducked his head, took one hard nipple in his mouth and moaned at the sweetness of it. She cried out in orgasm, her body shuddering under his. He’d forgotten how tempting human pleasure tasted. May the Heavens help
him,
he hadn’t touched a human since the Most High had declared human and angelic offspring to be forbidden.

Ah, the prohibition. He released her nipple and squeezed his eyes shut tight. The closest thing to Heaven he’d touched in two hundred years and she was forbidden to him. He forced himself to stand, to move away from her.

He looked at her again, the towel twisted around her body and one pink nipple still gleaming from his mouth. She was too lovely, too tempting. He shot a thought at the lights, willing them to turn off, but they only flickered. He’d used too much of his weakened powers burning the chemicals from her.

He returned to the bed and removed the damp towel before pulling back the covers to tuck her in. It was best to cover the temptation. She trembled with delicate shivers. Considering the amount of blood she lost, she would need as much help as she could get keeping warm. Using the towel he pulled from her, he wiped the rest of the water from his body before retrieving his clothing from the bathroom.

A wave of dizziness washed over him as he pulled on his jeans. He needed to rest and allow his power to be replaced.

His feathers ruffled in irritation.

Dominicus
returned to the woman’s side and laid a hand on her forehead. The chill of her skin was worrisome. She was far too cold. Too tired to do anything else, he slid under the covers. He spooned behind her, drawing her into the heat of his body and eased one wing under her. Pillowing her head with the warmth of his feathers, he pulled the other forward and spread it over them, blanketing them against the too-cool room.

Alone with his thoughts, doubt and guilt assailed him. He’d killed a human and taken physical pleasure with another. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t come. She had, and the kiss had crossed from healing to carnal.

As if that violation was not enough, he’d crossed a boundary of friendship and taken advantage of
Renatus
physically. Even worse, he’d stolen power from
Renatus
and betrayed their relationship for this woman. That broken trust was the sin he felt most acutely this night.

Too soon, exhaustion claimed him and he fell into a troubled slumber, holding Maggie in his arms and sheltering her under his wing.

Chapter Three

The chill woke her. Opening her eyes cautiously, she checked the clock.
Noon.
What an ungodly time to be awake on a weekend.

How did she get home? There was some guy who hit on her at the bar, bought her a drink, but things got fuzzy after that. She hated it when she drank too much. She always ended up doing something stupid.

Maggie rolled out of bed and stumbled woozily to the bathroom to find her robe. She flipped on the lights and braced herself for the bombardment of pain against her
hungover
eyes, only to stop in surprise when it didn’t hurt. When did hangovers stop being miserable? She didn’t have a headache, and her stomach wasn’t rolling. The only thing hurting was her chest. She rubbed the aching spot just to the left of her breastbone.

Her hand stilled at a small patch of uneven skin. Pulling the robe aside, she examined the spot in the mirror. It was small and silvery. The circle of skin almost looked like a scar, but she’d never been hurt there, and couldn’t remember ever seeing it before. How weird.

She quickly brushed her teeth, holding onto the vanity for support. She might not be hurting, but she was wrung out. Head spinning, she took a step and crashed into the wall. Shit, that hurt.

Caffeine.
That would fix everything. She just needed her morning cup of wake-up. Opening the bedroom door she was stopped by the scent of freshly brewing Columbian roast. Did she manage to set the timer on the coffeepot last night? Somehow, she doubted it.

Crap, she hoped she didn’t bring anyone home with her. That had happened once before, and she still cringed at the memory. The humiliation of finding a strange man in her bed left a dark stain deep inside her.
Please God, don’t let me have done that again.

“Hello?” She looked around cautiously.

No one.
The apartment was empty. She wilted in relief. The timer on the coffeepot had been set after all.

She shook her head to clear it and reached in the cabinet for her favorite yellow mug.

“Good morning, Maggie.”

She spun with a scream, the cup flying from her hands to shatter against the floor.

The beautiful man standing in front of her didn’t seem to notice her alarm.

“I trust you slept well?”

“Um, yeah.
I did,” she stammered, unable to look away. Suddenly, bringing home a man didn’t seem quite so bad. Hell, her taste was improving. Black hair hung around his shoulders, so rich and thick she wanted to sink her fingers in and never let go. Stubble covered his strong jaw and eyes as blue as the Heavens hinted that this was a man who could corrupt the most jaded of women.

And damn if she didn’t want him to give her his best shot.

Lust pooled in her belly, warm, wet and creamy. She wanted to nibble on his full lower lip and see if it tasted as good as she thought it would, to crawl all over him, to see if he looked as good out of that black t-shirt as he did in it.

“Let me take you to the couch and I’ll bring you your coffee.”

“Oh, but—”

He swept her into his arms and carried her out of the kitchen. “There is broken glass and your feet are bare.”

She’d never been swept into anyone’s arms before. Holy crap, that was sexy. She was a big gal, tall and well, rounded, but he didn’t seem to notice as he carried her across the small apartment. And he didn’t just drop her on the couch like most guys would, either. He set her down carefully, like she was something precious and fragile.

Dazed, she stared at him. He felt even better than he looked. She needed to figure out his name and how to keep him around a while.

A steaming cup was placed in her hand. The coffee was rich, with just enough hazelnut
creamer
to make her mouth water. If he cooked, she was going to chain him to the bed, leave him just enough slack to serve her. But first, she needed to find out his name.

“Listen, this might sound really rude, but last night is a bit of a blur.”

“Last night was hard on you,” he replied, sitting beside her.

She blinked in surprise.
Hard on her?
Hard like how?

Visions of rough sex filled her brain but there were no aches to go with it. Actually, they were no gentle-sex aches either.

“Um, yeah, I guess.”

“You are recovering well. I’m happy I was able to help you.”

Recovering? Help her?

Jumbled images of a man handing her a drink filled her head, him following her from the club and…
Something else happened, she was sure.

“You brought me home and put me to bed, didn’t you?” That he hadn’t taken advantage of her condition was left unspoken.

“Yes. You needed assistance.”

“And you helped me.” She shook her head to clear it. She’d never met a man in that club who’d help a woman without getting something in return. “Well, I’m really grateful for your help.” It was time to drop a little hint, let him know she wouldn’t mind some advantage-taking, especially if it meant more time with this
hottie
. She leaned in and suggested, “Maybe we can spend some time together. Give me a chance to thank you properly.”

“Stay safe. Take care of yourself. That will be enough thanks for me.”

“Can’t I just do one little thing to thank you?”
Or two or three little things?

“What is this little thing you have in mind?” He smiled at her and his gaze dipped to her chest before returning to her face.

“A kiss.”

He jerked backward with a hiss. Crap.
Wham, bam, no thank you ma’am.
She’d read that one wrong.

“Sorry, forget I mentioned it.” The heat of embarrassment washed over her face and she wished she could take the words back.

“I cannot easily forget such a tempting invitation.”

“But you don’t want to.”

“I want to, lovely, but I didn’t help to earn this kind of gratitude.”

“I know. That just makes me want to kiss you more.”

He leaned in toward her, stiff and awkward. This wasn’t going to go well. He probably had pulled back because he already had a girlfriend.
Or a boyfriend.
Maybe he wasn’t into women. That would be a little better than him thinking she was ugly.

No way was she going to let it stop her, though. She’d probably never get another chance to taste a piece of candy like this again and she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. One innocent kiss, just a little nibble and no one got hurt. She wouldn’t even use tongue.
Much.

Maggie leaned in and brushed his mouth, keeping hers gentle. Oh God, his lips were luxurious, as soft as angel wings and twice as heavenly. Heat sparked, arcing through her and pooling in her core with a hum of energy. She slipped her tongue over his lips, unable to resist stealing another taste.

With a moan, he angled his head and the kiss went from angelic to pure sin. His tongue slipped over her lips, dipping into her mouth. Heat sizzled between them, sending a stab of arousal spiking through her. A strange crackling sensation danced over her tongue and through her body, setting every nerve ending ablaze. Just like that, she was ready, needy, poised on the brink. Another sizzle of electricity crackled in her mouth and tension twisted, tightened. It broke over her and she screamed her orgasm into his mouth.

He pulled back, leaving her bereft.

“Be careful, Maggie” he whispered. “There are more dangers in this world for you than you could possibly imagine.” Without giving her a chance to respond to that cryptic statement, he stood, walked to the front door and left without looking back.

She sank into the couch with a dazed sigh. He was delicious. Honest, gorgeous and, oh God, he made her come with just a kiss. Imagine what he could do if he used a few more body parts. It would be easy to fall for a guy like—

“Shit—his name!”
If she hurried she might be able to catch him. She ran to the door and swung it open, but there was no sign of him. The courtyard was still.

“I am so stupid.” She sagged against the doorframe and banged her forehead against it. A prime piece of man candy like that and she didn’t even get his freaking number. Jeez, she could hear herself whimpering.

Wait, that wasn’t her. Glancing down, she found a black and tan puppy sitting on her doormat, staring at her. Its ribs showed through the fur and its tummy was gaunt. Brown marks over its eyes twitched, giving it a worried expression. “Oh, aren’t you adorable!” She reached down to pet it but it shied away from her.
“And not too friendly, apparently.”

Too bad the apartments didn’t allow pets. The poor little thing looked like it needed someone to take care of it, and she could use some companionship. Maybe if she had a puppy she wouldn’t feel so lonely.

The puppy’s tongue lolled out in a pant and its mouth seemed to grow, strangely large for such a small dog. Ropes of drool hung between sharp teeth and Maggie wrinkled her nose. It was a slobbery little thing. Then its mouth closed and the little dog cocked its head to the side. Ears perked, it studied her intently, a faint red gleam to its eyes. Unnerved, she took a step back. Its pink tongue flicked out for one last lick of its little black nose, then the pup stood and padded away, disappearing down the steps.

“That was pretty freaking weird.” Shaking her head to clear it, Maggie looked over the yard one more time, hoping to see the stranger’s black shirt through the bright pink of the crepe myrtles. No one was there. With a dejected sigh, she stepped back in the apartment to finish her coffee.

* * * * *

The puppy paused at the foot of the stairs to flash Dom a triumphant smile before disappearing with a shimmer. The warning was clear. Lucifer had no intention of giving up his prize.

The devil wasn’t going to have a choice.

Settling into the shaded corner of the empty balcony, he watched the apartment across the courtyard. A peek through the walls allowed him to watch Maggie as she wrapped her arms around herself. The Hellhound had unnerved her, but the demon’s next visit would be different. Evil could be sweet when it wanted to seduce.

He had to make sure that dog never crossed her threshold.

“You cannot keep her from her fate.”

Dominicus
’ stomach jumped at
Ren’s
sudden appearance. The infuriating seraph had a talent for surprising him.

“You speak as if it was preordained and free will
had
no place in the realms and mortal plane.”

White wings twitched.
Direct hit.
The Most High valued the free will of His creation.

“This is not about free will. The human does not owe her life to her choices, but to those of a divine being.
Yours.”

“Am I not part of creation? Do I not have the right to exercise free will?”