by Gina Kincade
“Audrey?” Layel’s voice was soft behind her.
Her body froze, tensed up as if she’d had a bucket of icy water dropped over in the bath. He was back, and this alley was likely far too small for them. His fingers brushed the nape of her neck and she shuddered. A jolt of pure desire shot through her, and she knew it was for his blood, but she didn’t know if she’d be able to turn any advances from him down as her craving spiked once more at his touch.
“Audrey, are you all right?” his voice was calm; there was no trace of anything in it, not even possible concern.
Hers was not. “How can I be all right? My husband was left to fight two creatures, demons that shouldn’t exist but do. And do you know what I was thinking? I was debating what would be the best way to have your blood. If seducing you was the best option or simply striking at you with something.” Her body shook as the tears began to fall harder. She turned her head to the side and was shocked at the understanding she saw in his eyes. “How could any of that possibly be all right? Even in this moment, I’m wondering if you wouldn’t feed me, instead of asking where my husband is.”
Her eyes lingered on him, not caring that her compulsion for his blood was nothing compared to the way staring at him made her feel.
Layel’s shoulder sagged, and a look of genuine sorrow marred his beautiful face. “You lay dying, and in my haste to keep you in this world, to do my duty, I damned you. I know what’s been happening to you, and it was wrong of me not to speak to you. I had just assumed that staying away would be safest.” His touch grew firmer on her shoulder. “Some of my blood dripped into your mouth. An Angel’s blood is addictive. It will drive you mad with desire. I had hoped we could move you past it, had wanted you to break free from the madness, but I do not think it is possible.”
The tears were falling faster, though her errant sobs had ceased. It took all the willpower she had, but she closed her eyes, and then averted her gaze towards the ground before opening them once more.
He’d done this to her. It was as if it were her curse for getting to live when she was meant to face the cold hand of death. “I am not supposed to be alive.”
Layel’s fingers bit into her shoulder as he shook her. “Never say that. I have damned you, but you are meant to live. Your life can continue on, you will just need my blood—or that of any Angel who has tasted my blood. With it, everything will stop. The craving, the slow descent into madness, even the agony.”
“And what if I don’t want it?”
He pulled back as if she had stricken him. When he spoke, his words were all anger. “Then you will likely kill yourself trying to seek it out.”
His words were harsh, but she couldn’t imagine that Thomas would want her sinfully and sensually drinking another man’s blood. It made her no less demon than the creatures he hunted.
Every part of her body was trembling with urgency, instead of fear or anger. She couldn’t help but stare at his neck, watching the pulse of his carotid artery. She bit down on her lower lip and gagged as the taste of her own blood filled her mouth. The affliction could only be quelled by a demon, and she was so tired of fighting off the desire. She felt as if her throat was drying out and she swallowed, trying to wet it.
Layel’s face softened as he watched her. “I can fall to protect you, Audrey, to help you. The Alliance doesn’t need a Pure Angel on their side. One that could access Hell in its entirety would be of much more use to them.”
Her gasp cut through the quiet in the small alley he’d brought her too, but her words cut sharper still. “I love my husband. My life is with my husband. If all the time I have left is meant to suffer for the sin of living when I should have been killed, then I will accept it.”
AUDREY’S WORDS SHOULDN’T have stung as much as they did. He felt nothing emotional towards her and respected her love for Thomas. Yet, he could not deny their connection. It might have been the trouble of sharing blood with a human. It might have been because she was the first and only human he’d fucked. Whatever it was, her words cut far deeper than any blade ever had.
She was strong, incredibly so. But, Layel could see the way she swallowed as if she was parched and slowly dying from thirst. Even in the strength of her conviction, he could see the desire shining in the back of her eyes. Desire for him, for his blood.
There was not a doubt in his mind that Audrey would not make it long if she did not accept his blood regularly, weekly even. He ground his teeth together, frustrated at Audrey and at Thomas for not allowing him to stay and fight. Even if the man had seemed to finally have control over the crystal weapon.
He needed to show Audrey, needed her to know what it would be like. He steeled his emotions over as he pulled a dagger from his boot. “You’ll thank me for this later, even if you’ll hate me for it now.” Without another word, he sliced the sharp blade over the inside of his wrist and felt the blood begin to pour.
There was no need to cup a hand under his wrist to catch the ichor. Audrey was beneath his hand, mouth latched around his wrist the moment he’d drawn blood. Her lips wrapped around him, almost viciously, as she sucked on the cut. He felt his blood being pulled into her mouth, and the sensation was so erotic for her, she groaned hoarsely, never breaking the connection of their skin.
His prick was rising, responding to the sensual slide of her mouth over his arm and the way she’d risen and pressed her body against his as she drank his blood. His eyes slid slowly shut, his lips parted, and he let out a groan as he sunk his free hand into her dark, curly hair. He couldn’t focus on how much blood she’d taken, or even on the fact that he had now completely damned her to a life of craving that only the most severe torture could wring out.
“Audrey, Audrey that is enough.” As gently as he could, he tore his hand away from her mouth.
She cried out, but the look in her eyes was as sane as the eve he’d met her. His own heart stopped beating rapidly in his chest. He’d soothed the craving that dwelled inside of her, but he’d also shown her something she might not have liked—her own weakness.
She stared at him, her green eyes twinkling with something that wasn’t quite anger, but rather close. Her hands went to her lips, and when she felt them slick with his blood, she paled, and her eyes narrowed. “What did you do to me?”
“I showed you your demise,” he murmured, taking no joy at the moment.
Her eyes searched his, and she squeezed them shut. He watched a lone tear slip past her beautiful lashes and skim over her cheek to the ground. “Everything feels so silent,” she admitted.
Whether it was to herself or him, he wasn’t certain.
“It’s so . . . calm.”
Layel felt his heart breaking for her predicament. He didn’t deserve his wings. This alone should damn him, but it would not. He’d acted out of anger, but also out of the need to help her. He would remain Pure. He doubted he would ever truly fall.
He went to touch her, and she slapped at his hand, shoving it away. “I don’t want that again. I don’t want that ever again. Not that way.” Fire blazed hot in her eyes.
A sinking feeling took root in his stomach, and it was he who paled. “Audrey, whatever you are thinking, I have shown you that you need my blood to keep you from going mad.”
There was nothing akin to madness in her eyes at that moment. In fact, despite the anger radiating out of them, they almost looked serene.
“I have been attacked, not once, but twice. If I need Angel’s blood, then I will get it on my own, from the dead body of a Fallen. I will not stay out of this fight any longer. I have a right to protect myself.”
Bloody hell.
“Audrey you ca—” Thomas’ voice rang out in Layel’s head, from the location of the Clockwork Guild, stopping his words. “This is not my fight. This is for your husband to deal with. He is alive and waiting on us.”
She paled at the mention of Thomas, and he felt like a prize arse. The blow had been meant to show her how quickly even love was erased with a blo
od craving, but he should not have done it. Not in a moment when she was so weak.
Her lower lip shook, but she held her hand out to him as if understanding that he needed to touch her in order to flash them both. He’d never know how Seraphina had learned to do otherwise.
Taking her hand in his, they went from a smelly alley in Whitechapel, to the office Thomas had claimed below the grand hall. He sat, not a speck of blood on him any longer, behind the ornate desk. His eyes were calm, almost detached.
It was as if he was not truly alive until he saw Audrey, standing slightly behind Layel. His face lit up, and he almost jumped over the desk to get to her. Layel stepped to the side and felt a small pang of hurt when Audrey dropped his hand and collided with Thomas.
He watched, awkwardly so, as they embraced and their mouths tangled together in a kiss so passionate, Layel did not want to see it. If he were to banish from his mind the thought of taking care of the small human female, he needed to seek out a Pure Angel, a male to lie with so opposite the human woman, she would no longer plague him. She’d turned down his blood, but if she changed her mind, he could give it to her in chalices until she died.
Uncomfortable as he was, he was lost in his own thoughts until Thomas cleared his throat.
“Thank you. For back there. Had you not arrived, I know neither Audrey nor I would be alive now. I was wrong to speak to you as I did. We are not safe without you and I, for one, need a good deal more time with these blasted guns if I’m to use one again.”
Despite himself, a smile tugged at Layel’s lips. “My time here is all but done. All of the things I promised to give you to protect your kind against mine have been created. I will be at your disposal as needed, but a short time from now, I will return for the final time with book upon book of demons. I had not wanted the information written down, but there is no way two men are enough. Your group will need to grow, but that is not of my concern. I alerted you to the growing danger. I helped you as much as I could. Now, it is time for me to return to my own life. To the battle against the dark demons that I have been fighting with my brethren for centuries.”
Thomas nodded, eyes almost sad at Layel’s words. “Now, I would like to take my wife to bed. We will be staying here tonight. I will not have us where the demons can find us. My name is known, we will be safe nowhere. But, with more hunters—not warriors, but hunters—we can return home safely one day in the future. I hope.”
Thomas said the final words with very little belief in them. Layel felt terrible for uprooting their lives, but he knew humans needed to start helping themselves. It was late in the night, he would do his own hunt to be certain Seraphina was quiet for the day, and then he would return to his home. He had gaps of time to explain for, and he wasn’t used to having to explain to anyone.
He started to flash to the streets and stopped. “Oh, and Thomas, be careful with your wife. I have a feeling there is a conversation coming your way, one that cannot be avoided.”
The look of abject horror on the other man’s face almost made him chuckle. Except, Layel knew what Audrey wanted, and it was going to be a long conversation for the pair of them.
Chapter Eighteen
“Thomas!” Audrey growled as she crossed her arms over her chest.
He sighed as he rose up from the chair and closed the spaced betwixt them. Wrapping her in his arms, he rubbed her back and placed a kiss on her lips, ignoring the familiar spark of pleasure when he did. “Audrey, we have been over this for the better part of a week. It is absolutely out of the question. You cannot join the Alliance, you cannot fight with the Alliance, and you certainly cannot keep pestering me on the matter.” There was no annoyance in his voice, just exasperation.
“Gerard has already agreed to help train me,” she grumbled against his chest.
He chuckled and let go of her. “There are so many things in life that would be so simple if only you were in full control of them. But in this, Audrey, you aren’t. I will not protest to you learning about the demons. In fact, I should have insisted upon it from the start. If you would like to learn to defend yourself with the guards, that is also a splendid idea, so long as I am present to be certain they behave appropriately.”
Her eyes widened as if she’d thought the conversation were going to end differently than the past eleven times. It was not.
“But,” he continued, “you will not be hunting. You will not be in the labs where things could spark and explode either. I love you, Audrey, I will hardly be out in the streets myself. I am doing what I think is best.”
She stamped her foot like a child and glowered. “I am my own woman, Thomas. I should get to decide what’s best for me.”
“You are my wife, Audrey. We have found love, but that does not mean you do not have to cater to my authority. The world might be changing for us, but it is not for the whole of humanity, and we cannot behave differently simply because our situations have changed. I am your husband, and I will not have you endangering your life any more than you have,” his voice rose slightly as his anger began to get the better of him.
They faced one another, stared at each other really, for what felt like an eternity. Neither was willing to cede, and therefore, neither was likely to win. He would not allow her to fight for a reason he wouldn’t voice.
Her behavior had seemed to taper out as if the craving had run its course. Thomas knew Layel had speculated she might not be all consumed by it, as it had happened so few times. She was his wife, and he’d been ecstatic to see the change in her. While her behavior was part of the blood craving, Audrey had put on some weight and still had fits of nausea. He was almost certain there was a child growing in her womb, and they would not be fit parents if they did not take care to protect the unborn child.
“Say it,” she said all at once.
His eyebrow raised, “Say what?”
“Tell me that you know. Tell me that Tate has already spoken to you, and the reason you are being such an unyielding arse is because you know that I am pregnant.”
His hand circled around her as he let out a whoop of joy. Carefully, he picked her up and spun her about the room before kissing her lips. She laughed and twined her arms around his neck.
“So Tate did not speak on it to you then?”
He nuzzled her neck and kissed the tip of her nose. “No, I can assure, my physician did not.”
“Oh, do not be angry, I wanted to tell you. I was just hoping you would give into my demands first.” She punched his shoulder playfully, the tension from a mere minute earlier completely dissipated at the news.
“I had thought as much, even when you were—” he broke off. She did not know he knew about the cravings, was uncertain if she even knew about them, and while a secret didn’t sit well with him, this time could be an exception. “When you were still a slim woman.”
She gasped, her eyes open in mock horror, “Thomas Agardawes, did you just imply that I have put on child weight?”
He tugged her against him and kissed her, the kiss longer this time. “I very much did. How long have you known?”
“Only since yesterday after tea. I had trouble closing my corset, even with the acolyte’s help, and it has been some time since I have had my monthly bleeding. It is not as if we have not been rather active in that area as well.” The brilliant light in her eyes seemed to snuff out, sadness closed in on her expressions far quicker than the joy at telling him had. “Thomas. . . .”
“I know, Audrey. Even if you do not think I would have thought of it, I know.” He hadn’t admitted it to himself, until the moment he’d realized what she would ask. There was a distinctive chance that the child would be Layel’s. If Angels could conceive with humans, which he had a strong feeling they could. “I will love the baby no matter what. He or she will still be my child, no matter what.”
He meant the words with a fierceness he couldn’t have explained to her if she’d needed reassuring. Audrey was his wife, and Layel was a part of his family in some twist
ed way. What had transpired was not ideal, but a child would not be at fault. There would be little way for them to tell, unless Layel could know on sight. So for the time being, the news that his wife was pregnant was nothing short of a miracle.
“Do you mean that?” she asked, tears brimming in her eyes and a small smile on her lips.
“Every single word, my love. Every single word.”
He brought his mouth to hers, slanted their lips together and kissed her deeply. Her mouth opened, and his tongue slipped in, dancing expertly with hers. Her hands unwound from his neck and slid down his back, pressing him closer to her. With a small growl, he nipped at her upper lip and spun them, leaning her down and pressing her back against the desk.
They were both breathing heavily. Thomas could feel his body growing slick with sweat under his clothes, and his shaft thickening as their bodies ground together as they kissed. His hips rolled against her body and desire flared to life inside of him. He had to have her, had to touch her.
Pulling back, he whispered in her ear, “I need you, Audrey.”
She rolled her hips against him and nipped his earlobe by way of answer. His mouth crashed back down onto hers, hot and hungry. Her fingers played at the buttons on his shirt, and he shrugged it off as he felt her hands pushing it over his chest. Everywhere she touched seemed to heat up and spark with need. It had been a little over a week since they had last made love, and his body was not interested in waiting, regardless of where they were.
Her lips left his, and she trailed kisses down his neck, over his collarbone and over his pectorals. Sitting upright, she forced him to stand up as well and continued to place wet, heated kisses over every meter of his exposed chest. Her fingers were nimble as they undid the closure on his trousers and hasty as she shoved them down.