by Evi Asher
“Get to your feet, necromancer. I don’t like fawning Eternals.”
Laz got to his feet. “Thank you, Reaper.”
“Grave,” the blond man corrected. “I’m not on duty at the moment—well, not on that duty, anyway.”
“You are Death,” Athera said with a note of awe in her tone.
Colt was disgusted to see that she was staring at the reaper with the starry-eyed glint of a hormonal teenager.
Grave gave her a crooked grin. “Yes, and I leave many woman smiling with their last breath.”
“Arrogant much?” Colt asked, and Laz shot him a warning look, which Colt ignored. “Where is Angelica?”
“She’s safe at the mansion. You are in the valley of the Unnamed Oracle,” Grave said. “I was pulled off guard duty and sent to fetch you.”
“Take me to her,” Colt commanded, only to have Laz give him a withering look. “Please.”
Grave grinned again, and Colt thought he must not get much interaction if he was finding them all so amusing.
“Follow me.” Grave turned and led the way.
“Is he really Death?” Athera asked Laz in a whisper that Colt could almost not hear.
“Yes, and he would give zero fucks about ending all of us. So keep your tones civil.” He glared at Colt with the last.
Colt shrugged. He didn’t give a damn who he pissed off as long as he got his mate back. He ignored the scenery. Something was off here. Why was this place here? Again, he didn’t care—but he had a bad feeling that they wouldn’t be allowed to leave when it pleased them. Something big was up here.
Chapter Six
A long hot shower and eating some of the food that she found in her room made Angelica feel much better. Her fatigue seemed to evaporate and her brain felt alive, alert and lacked the fuzziness it had had before. Now she could plan.
Plan one. How to get out of there and back to Colt. She did a circuit around the room, looking for a way out.
It was a large space, dominated by picture windows on the far wall of the room. A bed was in the middle of the room, and when Angelica had first walked in, she’d been so tempted to climb the two steps up to the dais the bed rested on and curl up under all those thick, warm looking covers.
There was a small table and chair by the picture windows. The cushions on the chair—like the covers on the bed, were a pale pink. Angelica remembered being told about the Oracle’s pink obsession.
Scarlet had discovered it when the Unnamed Oracle waylaid them during her own flight from the Enforcers and Jasmine.
Angelica moved over to the window to see if there was any way out there, but there was no way to open any of the windows, and the view from them showed her that the drop down was vertical. So, unless she threw the pink chair through the window—using a bit of creative opening—and sprouted wings, she’d break something after falling to the ground.
Feeling a building sense of frustration, she walked to the door and pulled it open. A male she didn’t know stood outside the door, on guard.
“Where is Grave?”
The male with spiked dark hair, turned his yellow eyes on her. “On another duty. Please return to your room.”
“And if I don’t?” She knew the answer, but she had to try anyway.
“I’ll return you myself.”
Angelica stepped back and slammed the door closed in a fit of pique.
She walked back to the large windows and looked at the view. Her room faced the back of the house. Rolling lawns and green trees stood between the house and snowcapped mountains. At another time, she could have stood, entranced, for hours admiring those white-sprinkled peaks. It really was beautiful, and strangely, looking at them gave her a sense of peace.
She was distracted from her view of the mountains when a commotion started outside the door. She turned her head to listen while she looked at the door.
“She in here?” Was that Grave’s voice?
“No, you aren’t going in…” he said and was cut off by a low growl, making the hairs on Angelica’s arms stand up.
“Fine. Tell Nocton to call me when you are done.”
The door opened and Colt stepped into the room, shutting the portal while his eyes scanned the room. Angelica wondered if he was looking for her, then she was sure when his eyes focused on her and a low moan escaped him.
“Geli!” His long strides made the room feel small because he was in front of her and pulling her into his arms in a nanosecond.
He crushed her in a hug, dropping his face into her hair and breathing in deep. Angelica didn’t know what to do. Here was her mate. He was safe, and she hadn’t seen Kate when that door had opened. He’d come after her. The joy bubble in her chest grew and she wrapped her arms around him returning his hug.
“Don’t scare me like that again,” he murmured.
Angelica tilted up her head to look him in the eye. “There is something you need to know about Kate.”
He let out a low growl. “Not now. There is something else I need to do first.”
His lips lowered over hers, gentle pressure that soon became harder, and Angelica was hopeless to deny him. She opened her mouth letting him in. She didn’t know what she’d do if he never kissed her like this again.
* * * *
Colt almost sagged in relief. She wasn’t pushing him away. She was kissing him back, and with a hunger that had him shaking with need. He lifted his hand to cup the back of her head, weaving his fingers through her lustrous hair and pulling her close. He slanted his mouth over hers, searching for her tongue. He tasted her sweetness and almost moaned again—she tasted of strawberries, and her body felt warm like sunshine. How was it possible to crave one person so much?
You crave her because she’s your one true mate. You know that’s one of the signs.
Colt ignored his inner voice and ran his free hand down Angelica’s side, then slid his palm around and hooked his thumb under her breast, hefting the weight of it before curling his fingers around to kneed and rub it.
Angelica moaned in response and the sound nearly undid Colt.
He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Angelica’s
No, he would keep control of himself this time, he would give her the experience she should have had the first time.
“Colt?” She asked in a quiet voice.
“I want you so bad, I’m scared I’ll hurt you again.” He felt her stiffen in his arms. “No, Geli.”
She started to pull away and he swooped in, kissing her until they were both panting and breathless. If he had to kiss her all day and night he would, but he wasn’t going to let her get away from him again.
It was Angelica who moved it forward this time. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders. He’d been so intent on getting to her, he hadn’t even taken it off.
Then she hooked her fingers in the hem of his shirt. He lifted his arms and broke the kiss so she could pull his shirt off. He pulled her back into his arms, his biceps bulging with the urge to hold her as close as possible.
He kissed down along the line of her neck and the slope of her shoulder, his fingers hooking and yanking her tee-shirt up and over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and Colt groaned as he leaned back to stare at her breasts. Her nipples were already hard pebbles, but he saw them tighten even more as his eyes caressed them.
He bent his head forward and captured one between his lips.
“Oh, Colt” Angelica wrapped her fingers into his hair.
He lightly bit at the nipple in his mouth while he pinched the other gently, and then licked it when she gasped.
He flicked his tongue over the hard peak, then moved to give the other breast the same attention. His hands moved down, unbuttoned, and tugged at her jeans. They pooled on the floor and she stepped out of them.
He stepped back to look at his mate, standing in front of him in just her panties, and he felt his cock jerk in his jeans.
He needed to keep control, or he’d fuck this whole thing up agai
n.
Angelica lowered her eyes, a sweet shy gesture that made his heart leap in his chest.
“Oh, no, my Gelibean.” He lifted her chin and forced her to look at him.
He took a step back and reached for the button on his jeans. It was a moment’s work to step out of his jeans, then he stood before her, his shoulders back, his cock proud and erect, and he wanted her to like what she saw.
He felt himself get even more aroused when her eyes roamed his body, coming to rest at his erection.
He saw her swallow and he couldn’t take it anymore. Colt stepped forward and swopped her into his arms. He carried her up the steps to the bed and put her down gently, then started kissing her again.
Angelica kissed him back, but her hands weren’t still as she moved them over his body, caressing each muscle and hard plane, her nails scraping down his spine, and he had to bite back the urge to sink into her up to the hilt and take her.
He moved his kisses lower, lavishing attention on her breasts as she arched her back for him. Colt trailed kisses down her ribs and over her stomach toward her hips. He let his tongue tease the skin under the edge of her panties and she let out a small sound of complaint, her hands fisting in his hair.
She might not be sure exactly what she wanted, but he was sure what he wanted to do to her.
Hooking his fingers in her panties, he made one quick ripping motion and they were gone.
He lifted his head and grinned at her. The obstacle was gone.
Colt realized his expression must have been something else, because Angelica moaned and dropped her head back.
“Please, Colt,” she pleaded him.
He kissed along her hips and her legs fell open for him. He could feel himself grinning, but when he looked down at his mate’s sweet sex, he clenched the bedding, his knuckles whitening at the grip he held on it.
He lowered his head and lapped up Angelica’s taste for the first time. A groan of pleasure escaped him and he angled his tongue up to her sensitive clitoris, flicking it over the little nub.
Angelica gasped and arched off the bed. It made his chest and other parts of him swell with pride that he could evoke that kind of response from his female.
He leaned in and captured the little nub between his lips, sucking it gently.
Angelica screamed his name as the orgasm took her, her body arching up toward his mouth as she shook with pleasure.
Colt lapped up the fruits of his work and savored the taste of his beautiful woman.
“Colt.” She had that sound in her voice, the tone that told him she wasn’t done with him, that she wanted more.
“Not yet, Geli-baby. This time I want to be sure you are ready for me.”
“I am,” she begged.
“No.” As he said it, he inserted one finger into her sex and Angelica went wild.
“Oh, gods,” she hissed.
Colt grinned as he started to stroke her inside, feeling all the slick wetness. He inserted a second finger, and Angelica cried out.
“More.”
He spread his fingers inside her. He was not small by any means, and he would never hurt her as he had the last time.
“Please, Colt. I need you.”
Those words were his undoing. Three little words, I need you, and he was toast. He would do whatever she wanted, however she wanted it.
Colt removed his fingers and climbed her body. He kissed along her collarbone and up to the corner of her mouth.
“Are you sure you want this now?”
“Yes.” She pulled his head down and kissed him so hard he nearly burned up.
Thank god, because you weren’t going to last much longer, the voice in his head said.
Colt broke the kiss. He wanted to look into her eyes when he slid inside her.
He reached down between them and gripped himself, sliding the engorged head of his cock along her wet slit. Angelica lifted her hips trying to force him in.
“Wait.”
The muscles on the arm he was using to hold himself up strained as he fought the urge to slam home.
He slid his cock along her again, this time allowing the blunt head to penetrate her.
She was so damn tight, he gritted his teeth.
“Colt, don’t make me beg.”
He lost it. Without another thought, he slammed his erection deep inside her, touching her core, and Angelica screamed out in pleasure, her nails digging into his shoulders.
“More,” she begged.
He gritted his teeth, a drop of sweat trickling into his eye. He pulled back and pushed forward again.
“Gods, yes, that feels so good, Colt.”
Colt started to thrust in a rhythm and Angelica met him with raised hips at the apex of every thrust. He lowered himself to kiss her as he thrust and it was his undoing, because she took those nails and sank them into his ass to pull him closer.
Colt’s whole body stiffened as the climax hit and Angelica called out his name as she followed him over. He could feel her muscles milking him and he’d never felt anything so fucking good in his life.
Exhausted, he dropped down and rolled to his side, not pulling out of her. He pulled her close.
When he had caught his breath, he said, “We need to talk, Gelibean, but not now—now we are going to sleep just like this, because I’m never letting you go again.”
She didn’t answer. He looked down and saw her eyes were closed. His mate was already asleep. She must feel safe in his arms. Colt couldn’t help the grin that pulled the corners of his lips up. It felt so good to have her where she was, and it felt even better to know she wanted to be there.
Chapter Seven
Someone pounding on the door woke Angelica. She tried to sit up and realized something was holding her down. She was lying on her side, so she lifted her head, Colts had his arm draped over her ribs. He’d pulled her right against his chest and held her there as if he were scared she would vanish if he let go.
He barked in the general direction of the door. “Go away.”
Grave’s voice came from the other side of the door. “No can do. You’ve got five minutes to get decent or I’m coming in there.”
Angelica felt a hot blush suffuse her cheeks. They were naked, and Grave knew it.
“We better get dressed before he keeps his word,” she said in a hushed whisper.
“I don’t want to.” Colt leaned his head down and nibbled on her shoulder.
Angelica felt a tingle shoot down her body, but the threat of embarrassment made her fight the feeling.
“No, we have to get dressed.”
“We still need to talk, Angelica,” Colt said with a note of warning in his tone as he sat up, resting his weight on his elbow.
Angelica scooted off the bed and rushed to the bathroom to get fresh clothes.
“I know,” she called out while she was pulling on a pair of jeans. “We will talk, but not right this second.”
She heard a growl from the other room. Colt appeared at the bathroom door—he hadn’t bothered putting any clothes on, and it caused Angelica to almost trip as she hiked her jeans up. He stood with his forearm pressed against the doorframe above his head, and he was gorgeous. The male made her want to strip off her clothes, drag him back to bed and have her very wicked way with him.
Now that she had experienced what sex with him could be like when they did it right, she was afraid she was addicted.
“You like what you see?” His lips curled and he raised an eyebrow.
Angelica made herself look away from him and tug her tee-shirt on.
“Don’t pretend you don’t.” Colt stalked toward her. “Or I’ll have your body confirm it for me.”
Angelica held out her hand palm toward him. “Stop.”
He obeyed the command but he didn’t look happy about it.
“I like what I see, okay.” She sounded flustered even to herself.
“But I don’t want Grave walking in on us, so please be patient.”
Her words seemed to satisfy him and he turned to go put his clothes on.
Angelica brushed her teeth, then made room for Colt at the basin as he did the same.
“I’m coming in.” He didn’t give any more warning than that as he stalked into the room.
Angelica gave him a dirty look. “Having a little patience would probably not kill you.”
“There is nothing that can kill me,” he shot back.
She rolled her eyes at him, but left that one alone.
“What’s so damn urgent?” Colt stepped out the bathroom pulling his shirt on.
“The Unnamed Oracle is ready to see you, she was ready five minutes ago, and you keep her waiting at your own peril.”
“Fine, lead the way.” Colt walked past Angelica.
“Wait.” Angelica stopped the two males. “Is this why she didn’t see me when I first got here? She was waiting for Colt to get here, too?”
“Ath and Laz are here as well,” Colt told her.
Angelica frowned, but looked at Grave waiting for an answer.
He shrugged. “I don’t know what goes on in the Oracle’s head, but yeah, if I were guessing, I’d say that’s the reason.”
“Okay.” Angelica frowned. What did the Oracle want with them? They weren’t looking for her.
As if he had read her thoughts, Colt said, “Let’s go see what the lady wants.”
“About time.” Grave shook his head and led the way out of the room and down the staircase.
Angelica tried to take in the house as they walked, but she was too distracted by her own curiosity. She wanted to know what use she and Colt could be to the Oracle. Or did she have the answer to a question they hadn’t thought of?
Did it have something to do with Michael’s ghost? He’d been quiet since she last told him to leave her alone, and she felt guilty that she was relieved. She didn’t want anything more to do with the ghost other than keeping her promise to him and taking him back to the mine.
She felt something strange and looked up. Colt was looking at her with a small smile on his lips. She blushed.
Gees, he’s seen you naked, twice, and you blush because he’s looking at you. Get your priorities straight, female. She scolded herself, but she knew she was blushing more because she remembered what had happened between them the night before.