An Angel All His Own (The Gifted Realm Book 5)

by Jillian Neal

  Just a little over a week before, he’d set out to take her out of that bar and rock her world; whether it was his fault or not, it was her foundation that had been shaken.

  “Fionna,” he whispered, “we’re going to get through this. I will not let Wretchkinsides take your whole world away from you, baby. I know there’s a lot of crap going on right now, but I am right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

  Fionna nodded against him. “The Angels aren’t my whole world, Dan.”

  He rubbed her back tenderly with his hands. “You told me before dinner that all of the Angels loved your cooking and to you that was the whole world.” He wanted her to know that he understood.

  “They used to be.” She eased her head up to gaze into his eyes. “But they aren’t anymore, and that’s what scares me.”

  Dan felt his heart stutter and then begin to fly. “You know, baby, if I’ve learned anything from all the hell I’ve been through for the last decade, most of it at my own hands, it’s that this world is kind of a scary place. Sometimes, it’s just too damn much to deal with on your own. I just wish I could make you believe that I’m here, that if you need something to hold on to or to hold you tight, because you’re scared, that you don’t have to do this all alone.”

  She was silent for the length of one heartbeat as she nodded against him. “I know you are, and you have no idea how much that means to me. It’s just been a lot lately. My life was kind of a mess before you came home with me from Anglington’s.”

  “Just hold on to me, baby. I’m right here. You can tell me about your life before that night. Even if you think you somehow screwed it up, I’ll never think that, and I’ll still be right here.”

  She shivered in his arms, and Dan immediately reached and pulled the sheets and comforter over them. He tucked her under his chin and forced heat out from his body. He felt her relax in his substantial arms.

  “It is kind of weird with Fitz here,” she finally confessed what he’d felt from her all evening. She’d hidden it well. Fitzroy would never have known anything at all, but Dan had felt it as soon as he’d touched her. He would have preferred she tell him what was such a mess about her life before him, but he didn’t want to pry.

  “I mean, Chloe’s stayed here tons of times, and Garrett.”

  Dan clenched his jaw so tightly his molars ached.

  “In another room or on my couch,” she giggled. She felt the jealousy as soon as it permeated his energy.

  “Sorry, honey; I’m working on it, but I told you I was possessive. I wasn’t lying.”

  A broad grin formed on her face. He was certain her smile could light the entire world.

  “I think it’s sweet. Just don’t go overboard with the whole ‘you’re mine, and you can’t talk to anyone else, and here’s what you’re going to think, and do, and eat, and wear’ thing.”

  “I said I was possessive, not a douchebag with some kind of psychotic disorder.”

  “Sorry,” she let her bottom lip slide between her teeth. “Still occasionally have issues from a guy I dated for a few months last year. I told you my life was kind of a mess,” she admitted hesitantly. “He was super weird, and kinky, and he really freaked me out.”

  “I need to never ever meet anyone you ever dated before me because, at this point, from the stories I’ve heard I just want to kill them all very painfully and very slowly.”

  “Yeah, if you ever met him in a back alley I would be hard pressed to tell you not to.” Her entire frame gave a chilling shudder, and Dan’s blood boiled as he began considering what this asshole might’ve done to her.

  “See, you can’t be mad at Garrett, mainly because you’ve been friends since you were five, and you work together, but also because that guy attempted to lock me in a room of his house. I threw a shield and knocked him backwards, then I called Garrett and he put him in the hospital for a very long time.”

  Dan leaned up on his elbow. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “Fionna, honey, where did you find these ball sacs?”

  “He wasn’t Gifted, but right up until that night at Anglington’s when you saved me from that drunk guy, I’d kind of decided that all guys were douchebags, or at least the ones that I seemed to attract.”

  Dan hated to agree, but she did attract them. She was just too sweet and too empathetic. She didn’t like to look for the bad in people, even if it was very obvious. She exuded innocence, even if she wasn’t exactly innocent.

  He tightened his hold on her. If she was in his arms, she was safe, he reminded himself as she continued. “So, anyway, the two concussions, broken teeth, and ribs took a while to heal. I’m pretty sure the places where they stitched his lips back together will always be scarred. Oh, and he still hasn’t had sex or maybe even peed at this point,” she giggled. “But I met him at this gym I joined because I wanted to take these intense mixed yoga classes. I was going through a Zen period.”

  “Honey, if you want to do yoga, I’ll buy you any DVD you want or, hell, fifty of them, but guys who hang out at gyms just to meet women or to watch them work out are eternally douchebags.”

  “You’re not kidding. The guys who hang out outside of the naked yoga classes are super gigantic assholes.”

  “See, now, I’m incredibly turned on, and infuriated all at the same time. You’re confusing my entire body.”

  Her laughter gave him solace momentarily.

  “I will definitely be finding out this guy’s name from Garrett, and I just think I might call in a few favors from the Non-Gifted police chief. I can fix it so that he gets a ticket every time he opens his car door. After that, I think he might have a very unfortunate encounter with me and a metal baseball bat.” Dan rather enjoyed the thought. “But since I’m not a super, gigantic asshole, do you think I might get to see any of these naked yoga moves?”

  “I’m not Zenning anymore.” She gave him that naughty grin that made him ache. His groin was suddenly on high alert. “I’m in a whole new phase now.”

  “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

  “The you phase.”

  “I was kind of hoping that I’d be more than a phase,” he corrected her and felt her energy soar.

  “You definitely are.” She lost all traces of humor instantly. “I kind of think you could be my whole life.” She laid her heart out on the line for him. She stepped off of the ledge and then waited in terror to see if he was going to catch her or if he would let her fall.

  “Fi, my whole life used to be about catching Wretchkinsides and taking down the Interfeci. That was all that mattered to me, but in one quick night you turned me upside down, baby.

  “I don’t remember ever feeling anything like this before. I never believed that anyone could make me feel the way you make me feel. When you walk into the room, I ache for you. When you laugh, my entire world feels right again. And, my God, when you’re under me, honey, when I’m deep inside of you, I swear I’ve never felt anything so incredible.

  “When you’re not with me, all I can think about is how badly I want you back in my arms, but I do have to finish what I started. I owe it to Amelia and to all of the other people they’ve destroyed. I owe it to you because I want you to have all of me, and I know that I won’t be able to give you that if he’s still carrying out his heinous crimes. But, sweetheart, please know that you’re my whole world. My whole life belongs to you as soon as I finish him.”

  “I know that, Dan, and everything that you have given me is more than I ever could’ve hoped for. I love you so much,” she whispered softly. “But someday I would really like all of you.”

  “That’s definitely my plan. I swear.”

  Deep

  Dan sat up and removed his shirt. “Can I get a good night kiss, Miss Styler?”

  A grin formed on her face, that had been thoughtful a moment before. “I was kind of hoping for more than a kiss.”

  Dan chuckled as he let his hands caress her curves. “You sure, baby? I don’t want you to do an
ything you’re uncomfortable with. I’ll take Fitz to my house tomorrow night. We can wait; it’s fine.”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  Dan pulled the light from the small lamp beside her bed. It wasn’t what she wanted. He could feel the need surface, like glowing embers that only needed to be stirred to be ignited. It had been there all along, under the worry, embarrassment, trepidation, and stress. She’d let him erase all of those, at least for the moment, but she needed something more from him. He was only too happy to fulfill her every desire.

  This time she didn’t need wild, forceful, earth-shaking, bed-breaking sex. She didn’t need to be marked, and spanked, and commanded; though, she did usually prefer that. It was the last thing she needed that night, and it was the last thing Dan wanted. He was, yet again, shocked by the realizations he continued to have.

  She needed slow and sensuous love, intimate time to be cradled, worshipped, restored, and reassured. He desperately wanted to make her feel his deep love and adoration so much more than he wanted to make her feel him deeply.

  After deciding to start with an innocent kiss, and then to let her take him anywhere she wanted to go, Dan caressed her face tenderly. He moved so that he could stare into the depths of her eyes lit by the moon.

  Hesitating for a moment, letting her anticipation build as her breath picked up pace, he closed his eyes and brushed his lips across hers. A slight moan escaped her. She responded heatedly. A low groan thundered from him as he felt her energy flowing into him. He parted her lips and swept his ravening tongue into her mouth.

  He slid his hands from her face, down her neck, touching her skin tenderly, feeling her energy begin to swirl in need. “You are so beautiful, Fionna.”

  She panted and reached for him. She trailed her fingers up his cock, so softly the feeling was torturous. He wanted more. He shuddered from the overwhelming sensation.

  “I’m going to take this off, okay?” He whispered his plan as he let his fingers tease her breasts. They were swollen and throbbing under the satin and lace she’d bound them in. She nodded and watched his every move. Her eyes were dark but fearful. “I’m right here, Fi, and I’ll stop if you want me to.”

  If she needed a night to cocoon herself away, as long as she’d let him hold her and keep her safe, he was perfectly fine with that. He would only go as far as she was comfortable.

  There was a very distinct difference between love and lust. Both certainly held their place in a relationship, but Dan understood the chasm between the two more, in that moment, than he ever had in his entire life.

  “I don’t want you to stop,” she begged in a desperate whisper.

  Dan kept up the gentle mating of their mouths. He dipped his tongue between her lips slowly. He tasted her and explored her mouth, learning every part of the women he loved.

  Letting his fingers trace over her breasts, he took his time pulling the ribbon between them. She gasped and arched her back as he watched them spill out, all for him. “You are just so damn gorgeous.”

  She began to writhe. He cupped her breasts, lifting their weight tenderly as he began his massage. He listened to her moans become frantic and breathy.

  Moving over her, he swirled his tongue down her neck as he trailed his fingers over her fevered flesh. “I want to suck you, baby. I know they hurt. I know you’re tender. Let me make it better.” He kissed and licked fiery trails from her neck to her darkening nipples.

  She trembled and her heavy breasts danced before his eyes. He groaned from the seductive show.

  “Please,” spilled from her lips. He groped her left breast as he spun his tongue over her right, puckered and pleading for his attention. They needed to be tended to thoroughly, needed to be sucked and licked until she felt relief.

  He drew her right breast into his mouth, drowning it. He began with soft suckles and then took her with more force. A loud moan of deep satisfaction echoed from her.

  Dan concentrated. He pulled the erotic energy from her breasts, but used his own to force a sound cast. He locked the sound waves inside of his shield, which he set over them.

  Her eyes flashed as she felt him encase her in his love and in his ultimate protection. To his relief, that was all she felt. The very last thing he wanted was to do something that would only add to her unnecessary embarrassment from earlier.

  He lifted his head away, and she bucked in ardent desire for more. Dan granted her left breast equal attention. She trembled. Her body was unable to remain still. She rolled in rhythmic waves against him.

  He let his hands work down her stomach and abdomen then he reached up the slight shorts she was wearing. He massaged her backside greedily, having to remind himself to take it slow. But she wanted more. She began arching her back to push her cheeks into his hands as he plied and groped her.

  He pulled his hands away and slipped them up the satin fabric until he reached the tiny tied waistband. He pulled the ribbon here as well.

  “I’m gonna take these off, baby.” He forced soothing rhythms through his shield, making her drunk with his energy. “Then I want you to let me taste you. I’ll make it feel so good, baby. Get you nice and wet so you can take me.”

  She cried out for him, her body starved for his fullness. He pulled the shorts away from her, as a growl thundered from his chest without him meaning for it to escape. “Let me see you.” He separated her legs and traced his fingers over her lips, barely touching her. “So damn beautiful.” She was swollen, fevered, and just beginning to glisten for him.

  He positioned his head between her lush thighs and licked up her slit. He felt her pulse against his lips, as he fought with every fiber of his being not to move over her and push himself between her folds.

  He wanted to feel the heavenly pulses that she gave him, wanted to feel her clench tightly around him and the rhythmic tugs of her body as he pushed her over the edge. He dipped his tongue slowly between her lips as she screamed out for him. She reached and grasped his hair. She pushed him deeper. Her hunger drove him. He separated her with his thumbs and teased her clit with the tip of his tongue. Her entire body trembled. He coaxed and sucked until she was begging for release.

  It was elusive. The past few days had taken their toll. She was still tender and tight from her cycle. He pulled his face away and replaced his tongue with his fingers.

  “I’m gonna give it to you, baby. You need to relax for me.” He dipped his fingers deep inside of her and moved over the spots that would get her where he needed her to be. With his thumb he spread her nectar up over her clit and rhythmically worked her over. He just had to be patient. She throbbed, and he leaned down to tend her breasts again. Her body began pulling his fingers deeper. He returned his tongue to her now-pulsing clitoris.

  “That’s it, honey. Just feel it. I’m right here. I’ll do this all night if that’s what you need. In my hand. Just give it to me like my good girl.”

  He had her. She spilled herself out. The pent-up need, desire, stress, and the voracious hunger dripped down his fingers as she cried out his name. Her body contorted deliciously as she unfurled. Dan felt his own energy hit its highest peak as he watched the erotic display.

  “Give it to me. I want it.” She wrapped her right hand around his steal hard strain. Dan groaned. He clenched his jaw and ordered himself not to give in to her commands.

  “Honey, I don’t think you’re ready. I’m trying to be gentle. You’re still so tight. I don’t want you to hurt tomorrow.” He knew perfectly well what would happen if he surrendered to her wishes.

  A whimper of frustration shook through her.

  “I already set the cast. I don’t want you to be gentle. I want to feel it tomorrow. Every time I move I want to feel you.”

  White-hot fire burned violently from his groin. It was too much. He just wasn’t strong enough to fight her desires. She was simply more than he could withstand. No amount of power or energy would ever grant him the ability to turn down such pleasure. He positioned himself over
her.

  “You’re sure you’re ready for me?” He forced himself to ask once more.

  “Now!” she commanded again.

  Moving with delicate precision, Dan separated her lips with his fingers and pushed inside of her. A low, hungry moan escaped him. The sensation was blissful ecstasy.

  “God, you feel good.” He pushed further, unable to help himself as he drowned in her exquisite energy. The liquid heat formed around him so tightly, he could hardly move as she encased him.

  “Yes,” she gasped as her eyes flashed and then closed in her pleasure. Their energy joined readily and seemed to bring her elation as he felt himself fill her with his love. He began to pump, pushing deeper with each pass, and then pulling away, watching himself coated in the heavenly nectar of her. He had to look away, lest he lose it all.

  “Harder, please.”

  A voracious growl seared from his chest, as he reared up on his arms and transitioned until he was pounding into her. All thoughts of being gentle dissolved in the liquid heat that was inhaling his body. She was screaming out his name, bucking underneath him, meeting his every thrust, and begging him for more. She trembled suddenly. Her body writhed as she gripped the sheets. Her mouth hung open in a moan that wouldn’t come as the climax robbed her of breath.

  “Good girl. Give it to me. Just let it go for me. It’ll feel so much better when you give in,” his words drove her over. Her body contorted again, and she clenched around him. The rhythmic shudders that rocked through her felt exquisite. Her orgasm pulsed so fiercely that he lost it all. He buried himself inside of her. He flooded her body with everything he was, as she gasped for breath.

  Dan moved off of her quickly and cradled her on his chest. He lambasted himself for what he’d just given into. His cock gave a slight throb as he made his exit. He could have gone again but not after what he’d just done to her. His secondary rhythm strands were ready to step in, but she wasn’t up to that.

  She gave him a satisfied sigh. Her energy rolled in languid waves all around him.