by Lexi Ostrow
He turned to Audrey, her dark hair was perfectly in place, and not a ruffle was out of sorts on the ridiculous day dress she wore. Her face was stony, not a trace of emotion on it as he walked towards her.
“Are you sure this is the life you want?” Thomas heard his voice crack as he asked the question.
When her eyes lifted to his, he saw the tears in them and sucked in a breath, bracing himself for the worst outcome. Despite all they had been through, he loved her. That did not mean he would condemn her to a life of constant danger simply to keep himself happy. He would find another way to get the ichor to her.
“I want this, Thomas. I want you. Nothing is certain in this life and you—and Layel—protected me in this instance. I will stand by your side for as long as you will have me, even knowing that I am forever tainted.”
The tears that glistened as she spoke almost brought him to his knees. As Layel had done moments prior, he swept his wife up in an embrace, tugging her against him. She kissed the side of his throat, and he just squeezed her tighter.
“We’re in this together, you know that right?” He dropped a kiss on top of her head.
She leaned her head back and smiled at him, a smile that was so full of hope and happiness, he knew just by looking at it that they would conquer whatever came their way.
“I do know that, Thomas Agardawes, Guildmaster, and leader of the Alliance of Silver and Steam. I will always know that.”
As their lips pressed together, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. “We’ve had a terribly long time of it. I do believe you were interested in bed before Layel departed.”
She laughed as he started to walk briskly to the door. “Yes, husband, take me to bed. Let’s put this day of demons behind us and start tomorrow anew.”
Epilogue
Thomas felt the muscles in his body tighten as Audrey’s body rocked and thrust up and down the length of his shaft. Sweat beaded betwixt their bodies, and he was breathing so hard, he feared he might pass out.
Audrey, for all her gloriousness, had no problems continuing to slide her body up and down his prick. Her hands ran through her dark locks, and the small belly, the only true sign that she carried a young, was a beautiful site, no matter what activity they were doing.
His mind raced, thoughts scattering like ashes in the wind as Audrey’s pace thundered and sped up. Moans of delight, of almost reaching fulfillment, slipped from her mouth, and Thomas dug his fingers into her hips, helping to push and pull her body along his hard length. Over and over, their bodies came together in a tangled mess of arms and intertwined legs.
Soundlessly, Audrey came. He knew she’d reached the edge because he couldn’t deny the way her body pulsed around his, driving him closer and closer to his own release. Furiously, he thrust up into her body, sliding out to the tip and slamming home to the hilt, drawing out a gasp of pleasure from Audrey as he sunk in at a different angle, his own release slamming through him in hot, brilliant waves.
Panting, she rolled off him and lay beside him on the bed. The sound of their breathing was simultaneous and then tapered away into a beautiful rhythm that spoke of their joined hearts. No words passed betwixt them, just an intertwining of their hands as they lay, content in their bed.
The sun was going down outside, he could see it through the barely open slats in the window. He and Audrey had yet to return home. It had been a week and a half since they had last seen Layel, or any demon really. Thomas still felt safer, locked away on the upper floor of the Guild, surrounded by people and knowing that Gerard and Luis were as close as they could possibly be, should Seraphina strike once more.
Audrey kissed the hollow of his neck, and he shivered at the way the hair on her head tickled his chin. She laughed and placed a chaste kiss to his lips. “The sun is almost down, husband.”
He groaned playfully and tugged her legs up onto his own. Their skin was chilled from the sweat, but he loved the feel of them touching, flesh to flesh. Playfully, he ran the tips of his finger over her stomach, and she flinched at the sensation.
“Our child is going to hate you for that, you know?”
He chuckled and kissed her before finally standing, despite how comfortable he was. “Yes, or perhaps it is their mother who will?”
“Damned straight,” she said with no actual malice in her voice, despite the way she scrunched her face to try and seem annoyed.
“I just wanted to spend a little longer with you, doing that,” he said with a wink. “Tate assures me that if we do not start to seek separate chambers, he will sleep with us so that our child can grow properly.” He shook his head laughing, “I bet one day, years from now, we’ll look at all our medical tactics and think how foolish we were.”
He tugged on the stark white tunic and his dress slacks and belted them before turning around to see Audrey sitting up in bed, running small circles over her stomach.
“It’s going to be a girl, Thomas. I can tell, you know.”
“We’re going to be all right, Audrey. You know that don’t you? All of this, the Alliance, the Guild running, a family . . . we’re going to do this. You and I together.”
She smiled brightly at him, and he felt as if the sun were no longer going down, but rising on him and him alone. That was how his wife made him feel. Connection to Layel or not, there was no question of the love that they shared.
“Will you be dressing to join me in meeting the new members?” he asked with a raised brow, she didn’t appear to be moving, despite being the one to point out the sun was almost down.
“I would like to, though I think, at least for now, you were correct. I do not belong out in that world.” She visibly shuddered, likely thinking about how close Seraphina had come to ending their child’s life before it had even begun.
He walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I like that you see things my way. One day, Audrey, one day you will get to be a part of the Alliance. For now, I like the idea of you pretending the world is simply as it always was and taking care of yourself through your pregnancy.”
The shrill scream of the alarm clock began to sound in the room. Thomas’ hand shot out and slapped the damned device off the nightstand. Someone, likely Louis, had thought it a proper idea to utilize to two chiming bells that could be set to trigger based on the alignment of the crystal inside the clock.
“Bloody fucking clocks,” he grumbled as he headed towards the door and opened it. “I love you, Audrey.”
“And I love you, Thomas. No matter what.”
With a smile on his face, he closed the door and walked the short distance to the golden lift doors. Antonio had seen to it that the device worked, or as well as it could before the new arrivals came.
Noisily, the doors slid open, and Thomas said a small prayer before stepping inside. The pulley system wasn’t inherently flawed; it just seemed so simple compared to their current inventions. Standing in it, as it dropped to floors below, unnerved him. The doors opened, as jerkily moving as when they’d closed, and Thomas stepped into the lowest level of the Alliance. An Imp sat beyond the door, locked away for study. One Layel had not killed that night.
He wasn’t certain whose idea it had been to guide the newest additions down there to show them what they would fight, but he had readily agreed.
Standing just in front of the door were his men—Louis, Antonio, Gerard and Jules. In front of them, dressed in plain black capes, as if they were apprentices of a guild, stood five men and one woman. He was taken aback as he noticed the slender form of the female, but he said nothing as he walked by them to stand with the current members. Times were changing, and women needed to be as prepared as the men.
He looked at their faces and noted the determination in the hard expressions they all wore. Their world was about to change forever, they had accepted the tale when they’d been approached for membership, now it was time to see if they could handle the truth.
“Thank you for coming tonight. Night will become your f
riend, a blanket to protect you from the things that lurk in it. It will also be your greatest enemy, as it will hide those you seek and empower them far more than the daylight would. This is why we work at night.” He gave a nod to Gerard, who slipped a key into the padlock on the dungeon door. “Tonight, you embark on a life that will be filled with more danger and adventure than you ever thought possible. Crystals light these halls, not the flickering flames of candles, and demons are our targets, not the criminals that reside in men.”
Six pairs of eyes watched him, slightly enraptured, but certainly following his every word, waiting for the surprise jest. It would never come.
“This way of life is very real, and if you seek to join it, step into the room and be confident that you are ready to handle everything that is the Alliance of Silver and Steam.”
Seraphina sat, staring at the Pure Angel tied to the chair mere meters from her. His eyes were as hard as diamonds, glaring at her as if it would break the ties that bound him and set him free. She had gone too far and through too much trouble, seeking out Izazal and rendering him unconscious to allow him to slip out of Hell.
“Bitch, this will not work,” he spat at her as she drug the tip of a dagger slowly over her inner wrist.
“Oh, but I do believe that is where you are wrong, my dear, Izazal.” She stood and sauntered over to him, noting the way his eyes followed the sway of her hips and feeling a rush of desire pool betwixt her legs. “I have been going about things wrong. If I am to take care of the human problem, I must first rid myself of you, of the Pure.”
She put her wrist to his lips, and her eyes rolled slightly into her head with pleasure when his tongue lapped along the slice. Shivers and tingles raced over her as he drank and confirmed just how wrong he was.
Pulling back her wrist, she noticed the warm glow in his brown eyes, saw the way her ichor began to mix with his own in them, linking them further.
“It’s time for you to fall. I cannot simply cut your wings, intent has to be rooted in your heart. So I will break you. I will break each and every one of you until your feathers turn obsidian black, and the humans have no one left to protect them.”
“Falling doesn’t have to be completely your choice. I have learned things down here. Things to ensure I get what I want. With the help of Lucius and his mate Greyston, I will bring in each and every Pure Angel. I will share my blood, bring you to paramount levels of pain and have you begging me to let you fall before I’m through with you.” Leaning down, she let her lips touch his, loving the taste of her own blood.
He growled deep in his throat, but when he strained against the demon cuffs that bound him in place, his fingers landed gently on her arms. When he tugged her closer, she allowed her body slide against his, reveling in the feel of his erect prick pressing into her.
“I knew you always wanted me,” she whispered in his ear before sliding her arse backwards, dragging it over his length and nearly coming from the sensation.
“I will not fall,” Izazal said through teeth clenched so hard, the color left his face.
Seraphina ground her core against him, letting her wetness press over the small loincloth that covered, and was tented by, his shaft. She shivered in delight and did so a third time before stepping back and standing once more.
The look in Izazal’s eyes was pure satisfaction. He might hate her, but his eyes held a different emotion altogether. Desire.
“Oh, Izazal,” she said, a sensual grin sliding over her face as she walked to leave the cell she held him in. “We are going to have so much fun making you fall.”