by C. S. Wilde
And because Liam watched her, he knew she would peak soon. He slowed his rhythm. “Why, princess, so eager for an encore already?”
“Oh, you demon!” She slapped his strong chest. “Don’t you dare stop.”
He did! His body went still.
“You vile creature!”
Liam raised one tantalizing eyebrow at her. “You lack control, princess.”
Oh, she would show him. Ava closed her legs tightly around his waist as her wings flashed free. They propped her to the side so that she turned Liam on his back, pinning him on the bed.
She sat astride his perfectly defined body, his length still locked into her.
He watched her with shock and lust, his hands digging into her thighs. The naughty glint in those green emeralds told her he wanted to turn around and pin her back to bed. Before he could move, Ava began riding him in smooth, calculated strokes.
His back arched, and his features crumpled. “Fuck, Ava. It’s too good.”
She felt him inside her so fiercely that the edge he’d stolen from her bloomed once again between her thighs.
Liam’s beautiful face contorted into something close to pain as he squeezed her bottom. He was holding his release, waiting for hers. But his release was hers to have, and she would have it whenever she wanted.
She struck against him relentlessly, moving her hips in circles as she took him, and when she clenched her belly muscles around him, her own release took her at once.
The tsunami of pleasure that rushed across Ava blinded her. She felt herself shivering but still moving around him in a trance. She faintly heard Liam bellow, “Hells, Ava!” and then his release burst inside her, filling her with delirium.
Still reeling in her orgasm, she vaguely noticed she had stopped moving, barely feeling her own body—it seemed lighter, so her wings must’ve slipped inside her light.
Gentle arms wrapped around her, and then she was lying on her back. When she came to, Liam was lying atop her. Still inside Ava but watching her, propped on his elbows.
Childlike wonder glimmered in his eyes. “You’re everything.”
“I can be that and more.” She moved her hips sinuously around him.
He kissed her slowly, gently. “Being here with you feels so good. After all I’ve been through, I …”
“This room, this happiness, is ours.” She cupped his cheeks. “Focus on that, not the past.”
He nodded and kept kissing her.
Ava’s time without Liam had been miserable. She didn’t want to remember it, not now. Not ever again.
She caressed his temples, playing with the strings of dark hair that hung over the sides of his perfect, oh so perfect, face.
He looked down at her chest, then at his. “Do you feel this?”
She understood what he meant: the light and dark connecting them, the balance, the sense of peace that had taken them both.
“Yes. It’s strange, but it feels so natural.” She brushed her thumb over his bottom lip. “Like this is how we were always supposed to be.”
His gaze locked on hers as he moved his hips forward again and again.
She gave him a lazy grin. “Hmm, already?”
He shrugged and kept thrusting, growing inside her. “This soulmate bond is no joke.”
He gazed at her breasts, and this time his focus was ravenous. He bent down and took one nipple in his mouth as his thrusts increased.
She felt him, all of him, rubbing against the walls of her intimacy; wet sounds and sensations exploding inside her. When he drowned at the curve of her neck and tilted her hips up, bringing her closer to him, Ava lost her mind.
“Liam, Gods!”
She could feel it coming, the explosion of ecstasy as he mercilessly slammed into her. Liam propped himself on one elbow and lifted his head, watching her with bewilderment as his thrusts increased.
Her rapture hit her so hard she couldn’t do much to stop it.
You lack control, princess.
She didn’t care. Ava saw white and screamed so loudly her throat felt raw.
Liam smiled ferociously as he kept thrusting. “You coming …” He hissed through his teeth as she tightened her legs around him, closing on his length. “It’s too fucking much, Ava!” He hissed again, his face crumpling in frenzied pleasure.
“Hmm,” she moaned, still reeling in her surprise release. “Tell me again about control, my love.”
His pitch-black wings spread behind him, spanning from almost the windows to the door. If Ava could paint him right now, she would. Liam was night and darkness, and he was loving and he was hers.
“Say that again,” he grumbled, edging on his own release.
She nibbled his lips and whispered, “My love.”
With one mighty thrust he exploded inside her, a part of him becoming hers. “Ah, Ava!” He kept thrusting as his release slowly subdued.
Still sweating and panting, Liam removed himself from her with a displeased grunt. His wings disappeared in a blur of shadows, and he dropped on the mattress beside her, taking Ava in his arms.
She rested her face on his chest.
Heavens, Justine was right. Sealing the mating bond was a unique, brutal, experience.
“Oh, princess.” His tone was a soft caress. “We make this an art.”
“We really do,” she giggled, the bond between them pulsing, their essences synced. “I’ve never felt this happy before. Actually, that’s not true.”
“That time at the Legion?”
She nodded. Their first time.
She should’ve known he was her soulmate then. Why had the bond taken so long to snap into place?
Liam seemed to guess her thoughts. “Maybe we weren’t ready.”
“Or maybe we both had to ascend.”
She felt him nod. “It’s a reasonable explanation. Though I have no idea how this soulmate thing works.”
“I think we just found out.” She ran a finger down to his navel.
A smooth, feral chuckle rolled up his chest. “That we did.” He watched the ceiling, even though it had nothing out of the ordinary to show him. His mood grew somber; she could feel it through their bond. “I’ve missed you,” he said quietly, more a confession than a statement. “Not just as a lover but as a friend. You always stood by me, you always had my back, even if it put you in danger.” He held her tighter in his arms as if he were afraid she would break if he let go.
She stamped a kiss on his lips. “Partners?”
He smiled at her as if she had said the most silly and yet beautiful thing in the world. “Forever.”
Justine had mentioned that the mating bond could be consuming, but Ava had never expected it to be this ruthless.
Days passed in a blur of moans and tangled sheets. She did things with Liam she had never imagined, things that stole Ava’s sense of self, things that put color in the world.
They made love relentlessly. Gods, they made love on his old couch, atop the kitchen counter and the dining table. They made love on the window sill while masking their essences, and they made love in Liam’s shower again—this time they broke the shower head.
Oh, and that thing he did with his tongue …
The muffled air in the apartment reeked of sex and sweat. Ava loved it. She never wanted to leave this nest; their nest.
But eventually, they must.
One afternoon, splayed in bed after another furious round of lovemaking, she pressed her face against his chest.
Would he love her less if she told him?
She pondered for a while, listening to his slowing heartbeats. Eventually, Ava figured she would never know if she didn’t say it.
“I’m tired of fighting for what’s right.” Guilt took over the space her words left behind. Vera would be so disappointed, but Ava owed honesty to her soulmate. “We’ve given up so much, and we almost lost each other because of it. What you told me about the Gorge, what you had to do and endure …” Something shattered in her chest. “I wish we co
uld run from it all.”
Liam stilled, and Ava wondered if he thought she was a terrible, selfish person.
He released a pondering breath, then drew invisible patterns with his fingers on her upper arm. “Gods, Ava, I want nothing more than to run away with you.” He kissed her forehead and held her tightly. “But we have to go back at some point. Master is still at large, and there’s Talahel to deal with.”
“Jal phoned you yesterday, didn’t he?” she blurted.
Ava was in the shower when she’d heard the line ring. She asked Liam who it was, to which he shrugged and said, “Takeout might be late.”
Her soulmate might be a smart detective and a cunning man, but he was also a part of her. Ava knew he’d lied, but her trust in him didn’t waver.
It never would.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” he explained. “Also, I was about to join you in that shower, and talking about Jal would’ve killed the mood.”
She slapped his chest tenderly.
“Anyway, Jal told me he’s running out of resources to make Hauk speak,” he said. “The asshole finally agreed to reveal where Master is, but only to me.”
“That’s progress, I suppose.” She bit her bottom lip. “I have news, too. Justine sent me a mental message yesterday. Agathe will read Talahel’s mind tomorrow in an open session at the Order. I must be there, if only to see him fall.”
He gave her a weary sneer. “I can relate.”
“Our damned duty …” She buried her head deeper into his chest.
“Yeah, but when all of this is finished, we’ll take some holidays. What do you say? Just the two of us.”
She would love to go away with him, but it was wishful thinking. “Even if everything works and our enemies are defeated, the Order will never allow us to be together,” she said quietly. “You’re a demon, and I’m an angel.”
He nuzzled her cheek. “I’ll never allow anything or anyone to keep me from you.”
She wouldn’t, either.
Ava kissed the curve of his neck, gently biting his skin. Liam inhaled sharply before letting out a soft groan akin to a lion’s purr.
Her hands drifted down his chest, across his navel, slowly going toward his crotch. She felt how ready he was as her palm closed around him.
She kissed his lips, then crawled down the bed, stopping before his length. “Your stamina amazes me, demon.”
Ava had started something on their first day here, and she needed to finish it. So she bent over and took his fullness into her mouth.
Liam clawed the sheets, his head snapping back as she sucked all of him, her lips tightening around his throbbing shaft.
His eyes rolled to the back of his skull and he grumbled, “What you do to me, woman.”
A warm and giddy sensation invaded Ava’s chest. She didn’t care what would happen tomorrow. Today, the world was theirs.
For as long as they would have it.
35
Liam
Jal was waiting for him when Liam stepped in the Legion’s hall.
The fresh scent of pine wafted from the wooden walls and floor. Liam inhaled deeply as he observed the golden chandelier on the ceiling and the wine-colored carpet with the symbol of the Gods beneath his feet.
It felt as if he hadn’t been here in decades.
“Your holiday of fuckery did you good.” Jal tapped him on the back. “You look like a new man!”
“I feel good. Really good.” A smile creased his lips. “Finally, after the—”
“—humongous shitstorm you went through?”
He gave him a rueful grin. “Always the master of words, demon.”
Jal shrugged. “It’s a gift. Demon.”
Liam watched the vast foyer. He’d hoped to see Archie today, but the old man had called in earlier and asked if he could accompany Ava to the Order.
Princess had gladly obliged and said, “I would love to spend some time with the man who raised you.”
Liam knew the reason behind his father’s request, of course. Archie wanted to be near in case things went south at the Order. This way, the old man could watch over Ava while Liam interrogated Hauk.
A pang of anxiety swirled in Liam’s chest. What his father thought of Ava meant the world to him, although he had a feeling Archie already approved of her.
Jal led Liam to the wooden door underneath the indoor balcony, which took them to the underground area.
They soon stopped before a training room with a green padded ceiling and floors to match. Inside were Jophiel, Lilith, and a demon with red hair sitting on a metal chair.
Damned cuffs strapped Hauk’s wrists and ankles to the seat. The asshole deserved blessed cuffs that would burn his skin, but Liam supposed Jophiel lacked the cruelty to do it.
Pity.
From what he could see through the window, Lilith tried to interrogate Hauk, but the demon kept his head low and unmoving. If he didn’t know better, he would say Hauk was either dead or sleeping.
Scabbed patches ran down the demon’s arms and left cheek. Hauk was still recovering from the damage Liam’s hellsfire had inflicted. He hoped the bastard was in pain.
Jal opened the door, and when they entered the room, Lilith’s chest puffed with pride. “I was right. You and angel girl are soulmates.” She glanced at Jal with victory stamped on her face.
The demon showed her his tongue, and Liam wondered if they had placed a bet on it.
Scratch that. They absolutely had.
Jophiel smiled at them the way a father did with his children. The Seraph looked tired, but at least golden cracks didn’t break through his skin anymore.
Jal had once told Liam that Jophiel felt a great deal of pain when he used his powers. They deteriorated his health too—the price of having Seraph’s light trapped in a human body. Using his powers back at the Gorge had clearly taken a toll on him.
A naughty grin spread on Lilith’s lips, drawing Liam’s attention. “Sooo, I heard the sex is amazing.”
He crossed his arms, unfazed. If she expected him to blush, she should’ve known better. “Mind-blowing.”
Jal hooted, but Jophiel shook his head in an exasperated manner. He laid a hand on Liam’s shoulder and said, “The soulmate bond is rare and strong, but your connection with Ava goes beyond that.”
Liam frowned. “How so?”
“I’m not sure yet. Perhaps the answer lies in your essences, and why the light and dark are so vigorous within both of you. Still, your connection is a beautiful thing that calls for celebration.” He clapped his hands and turned to the demon sprawled on the chair. “Everything in due time, however.”
Liam nodded and walked to Hauk, then crouched before him. From the floor, he could almost see the demon’s face.
“I heard you were asking for me, boss,” he mocked.
Hauk’s hazel eyes snapped open. “Where’s my wife?”
Dhalia.
“She’s being taken care of,” Jophiel said with a certain defiance. “You should see what a drop of my Seraph’s essence does to a poisoned demon. She’s recovering from what you did to her.”
Relief washed through Liam’s core, and he made a mental note to go check on Dhalia later. Not only to make sure she was okay, but also to beg for her forgiveness.
Not that he deserved it.
Hauk bared his teeth at Jophiel. “No! She’s Master’s gift to me!”
“Not anymore, she isn’t,” Liam snapped. “Speed this up, will you? Take us to Master so we can finish this.”
“Oh, no, you got it all wrong.” Hauk’s eyes widened, and Liam saw a hint of blue breaking through the hazel. “I’m bringing Master to you.”
The demon thrashed wildly in his seat, nearly breaking through the cursed cuffs.
Liam jumped to his feet and stepped back. A cold sweat broke out on his skin as the demon shrieked a raw, desperate sound. Dark throbbing veins spread over Hauk’s body.
All at once, the demon’s spasms waned and he fell limp on
his seat, his labored breaths wheezing through his throat.
“Hauk?” Liam asked.
“He left the building.” If evil had a voice, this would be it. A deep, guttural tone that was all levels of wrong. It raised the hairs on Liam’s neck.
If he recalled his Selfless lessons correctly, a demon couldn’t be possessed by another demon, especially if said demon wasn’t nearby.
What if Master was in the Legion?
Despair took over, and Liam gaped at Jophiel. As if guessing his thoughts, the Seraph shook his head. If there had been any hostiles within these walls, he would’ve sensed them.
Master was far away.
“Hauk gave him permission to be possessed,” Jophiel explained before turning to the demon, his expression a mask. “You can’t find out where we are, so why possess your henchman? Your theatrics must be taking a toll on you, Wraith.”
Liam swallowed dryly, trying his best to hide the fear that ate through his chest. Wraiths were the equivalent of Seraphs, powerful demons who ruled the Hells.
Master laughed. “I simply wanted to say hello. I’m not devoid of social manners, Seraph.”
“Playing games is a Wraith’s specialty,” Jophiel went on, not an ounce of fear or doubt in him. “Forgive me for being overly cautious. Which of the three Wraiths are you? Malachia? Beruben? No, they have a sense of duty, and they absolutely hate Earth.” He scowled at the demon. “Ah, Soleigh. You’ve always been more reckless than your brothers.”
Master blew air through his lips. “Soleigh is weak; they all are.” He leaned forward, facing Jophiel with unnatural sapphire-blue eyes. “You call me Wraith, but I am so much more. I’m the end of this world. I’m what keeps you up at night. I am—”
“—fucking humble,” Liam interrupted, arms crossed to feign nonchalance when all his instincts told him to run from this room and never stop.
Master’s attention snapped toward him.
Liam held his gaze and went on. “Look, we’ll find you eventually, and we will send you back to wherever you came from. Why don’t you save us some time and surrender yourself?”