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

by Jillian Neal

  Gazing at her sweetly he whispered, “If I am, then it’s because of you.” He held her while she calmed, and eventually she let him wipe away the last of her tears.

  Dan lifted the old sewing machine from the box. “If you don’t want the other one, I’ll take it back and get you something else.”

  “I want them both.”

  Dan was thrilled that she was so happy with her gifts. “Good.”

  “You have one more.” She blushed violently. “And it didn’t cost me hardly anything, except maybe my pride and a lot of my dignity.”

  Extremely curious now, he lifted the rectangular package and tore the paper away to reveal a small four-by-six photo album, with a heart imprinted in the brown leather cover. She bit her lips together and drew a deep breath.

  He opened the cover to reveal a black-and-white photo of Fionna’s back. She was seated on her bed, wearing nothing but a pair of white lacey thong panties.

  “Oh, my God,” Dan panted. His heart began pounding in his chest. He turned the page to find another black-and-white shot of her lying on her back on her bed, at her old house. Her head was flung back, her legs crossed, with her wearing the same panties, thigh high stockings, heels, and long strands of pearls spilling between her breasts and over her nipples.

  Dan’s entire body seized as his pants tightened and tugged at his zipper. “Please tell me Garrett Haydenshire didn’t take these for you.” He was unable to take his eyes off of the provocative photos.

  Fionna laughed. “No, I had them done a couple of months ago. I just didn’t have anyone to give them to. I just wanted them. There’s a great boudoir photographer in the city. She’s amazing.”

  There were shots of her standing, pulling one side of the thong down, of her in a corset, shots of her shapely legs crossed, wearing sky high heels, and of her posed on her stomach completely naked, propped up just like the photo she’d taken when she was a toddler on the beach. There were two close-ups of her stunning cleavage, with a single drop pearl tucked seductively between her breasts. A ravishing, artistic shot of her up on the bed on her knees with her legs spread. She was covering her breasts with her arms but her gorgeous ass was on full display. There was another one of her naked, standing in front of an antique mirror. Yet another of her near a window, wrapped in nothing but a sheet that was draped around her curves. The last was a shot of her in the corset, thong, and heels, staring at the camera and blowing a kiss.

  “Can I take this with me to Vegas?” He quoted her, while he flipped to the front of the album and started the erotic picture show over from the beginning. “You are unbelievably gorgeous, and this,” he held up the photo album, “this is amazing Fionna. I will never be able to stop looking at these.”

  She laughed again and gave him his smile.

  “Well, you have to put it down eventually, because then you can play with the real thing.”

  The next time Dan awoke, a hazy grayness had settled in their room. Time seemed as variable as the light. The bleak skies reflected the ashen snow on the ground. The dismal, monochromatic world offered him nothing that made him want to leave the sanctuary of their bed. He blinked several times, and tried to see the clock without disturbing Fionna, who was sound asleep on his chest.

  Quickly deciding that he didn’t give a damn what time it was, he settled back against the pillows and concentrated. Her energy was running in the customary soothing flow against his skin. At some point, he planned to personally thank Fionna’s Tutu for teaching her that the healthiest way for her to sleep was naked. It was an otherworldly gift to be able to feel her intoxicating rhythms move against him each and every night.

  When her guard was lax and she was at peace in his arms, he could feel the overwhelming love she miraculously held in her heart, all for him. How could anyone love and accept him like that, with all of his hideous flaws?

  As he lay there, pondering her rhythms, they began rolling with slightly more heat and stronger arcs. A flutter of sensation moved between her legs. The soft purple energy over her body took on a fuchsia warmth. Dan’s heart sped. Her body gave a slight roll and shifted towards his in her slumber.

  What are you dreaming about, baby? He had to order himself not to awaken her and demand that she recall everything that was happening in her subconscious mind. He wanted to know what fantasies beckoned her and if she dreamed of him.

  A moment later, her eyes blinked open hesitantly. The coy grin and shy delectation in her eyes let him know that he had indeed played a role in her fantasies.

  “Hey, baby doll, did you sleep well?” Dan cleared his throat and tried to dislodge the intimacy and yearning that had settled there.

  She nodded languidly and stretched out over him, like a contented kitten, eager to be stroked. He obliged.

  As her consciousness awakened fully, she leaned up on her elbow. “How are we going to share a suite this weekend, if we have to be even more careful there than we are here?”

  Though he was far more interested in discussing her dreams, than what the next few days would hold, he knew they needed to plan.

  “As one of the new owners, I volunteered to arrange the suites for everyone.” She grinned and nodded her understanding. “I called in a favor from a buddy of mine who works for the Vegas branch of Iodex. He checked out the hotel for me. Guy by the name of Barron, excellent officer. I wish I could get him up here to Elite. But anyway, he got a blueprint of the Venetian and made a trip out there to secure everything for me. We’re staying in two suites that are next door to one another. They can be combined via a door between them, but they’re usually reserved separately. I have them listed as separate rentals, obviously, but I do happen to possess a fair amount of knowledge on how to get through doors that are supposed to stay locked. It shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll always enter our separate doors. Once we’re inside, I’ll be all over you.”

  “You’d better be,” Fionna snuggled into his strong embrace.

  “Barron took care of casting the security cameras near our rooms, as well. They’re running a loop of the empty corridor. None of the Venetian security personnel know that they aren’t really recording anymore.”

  “I think I would think this was really, really cool if it weren’t my life.”

  “I’m sorry, baby.” Apparently, he would never get accustomed to the guilt over the way their relationship had to exist.

  “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry. I don’t mind.”

  He tried to believe what she was saying, but he was far too accustomed to the feeling that he would simply never be good enough, for someone as miraculous as the angel lying in his arms.

  Mile High

  By the next morning, Fionna’s energy seemed to have completely recovered. They added a few things to the bags for their trip, and ate a quick breakfast. They rushed out to the Ferrari, and Dan sped through the grey remnants of snow that had all but melted away.

  “Did you bring your picture album?” she teased as Dan moved to exit towards Alexandria.

  Chuckling, he took her hand. “No, baby, those are for my eyes only. Besides, I’m hoping to get to see a whole lot of the real thing.”

  A few minutes later, Dan parked and casted the Ferrari in the parking deck and grabbed their bags. They joined the crowd waiting to board the Angels plane. It was a large, plush aircraft with everything from bedrooms to a fully stocked kitchen, and comfortable bench seating for everyone.

  “Hey, man, you have a good Christmas?” Garrett shot Dan a knowing grin.

  Either Chloe or Fionna herself had clearly let Garrett in on the photo album Dan was being given.

  “Very nice, and you?” Dan ignored Garrett’s wry smile.

  “Odd,” Garrett sighed.

  “Odd?” Everyone took another step towards the plane as the pilots and coolant officers boarded.

  At that moment, Emily and Rainer joined the waiting line of Angels and their companions.

  “Adeline okay?” Garrett turned his attention to
Emily.

  “No, not really.”

  Fionna and Dan glanced at one another, not certain if they should be listening in.

  “Logan and Lucas had rather heated words last night before dinner,” Rainer, often the diplomat, brought them into the conversation.

  Dan grimaced. “How bad?”

  “Things have been getting more and more tense every day the Caliph’s son and his serving staff have been at Mom and Dad’s,” Garrett elaborated.

  “Lucas was kind of upset with the whole Christmas deal at the Haydenshires’.” Rainer tried to explain what Dan assumed was probably just a rapid escalation of irritation, with everyone living in relatively close quarters.

  “He kind of thought everyone should have given gifts to everyone else,” Emily sighed. “So, when the only gifts for Adeline were from him and his family and, of course, Logan, he kind of got mad.”

  “He doesn’t understand Mom and Dad’s thing about not living lavishly even if they are the ruling family, and then Logan…” Garrett shook his head and began laughing.

  Rainer joined in. “Yeah, probably not his best move, but hey, that’s Logan.”

  “What did he do?” Fionna’s intrigue sparkled in her eyes.

  Emily and Garrett both guffawed.

  “He didn’t know Lucas could see him,” Rainer immediately came to Logan’s defense, reflecting the depth of their abiding friendship.

  Emily regained her composure, though she was still laughing. “Logan was sitting on the couch, watching the twins play with their new train table, and Adeline came into the room. Everyone else was in the kitchen or out playing in the snow.” She was overcome by another fit of giggles.

  Garrett stepped in, shaking his head at his little sister. “So Logan, genius that he is, didn’t realize that her dad was watching them from the kitchen. Lo grabs her and paddles her ass. She tackles him. They start making out on the couch while Logan’s rubbing other things.”

  Dan joined in Garrett’s hysterical laughter. “Nice job.”

  Fionna and Emily giggled uncontrollably.

  “Yeah, her dad kind of lost it, and Dad stepped in. But I’ll tell you this; it wasn’t what Logan did that got Lucas so riled; it was the big ol’ grin on Adeline’s face when he did it, that pissed her daddy the fuck off,” Garrett stated knowingly.

  “Poor guy,” Dan lamented. Logan was relatively naïve, but he was genuinely a hard-working, honest man who Dan had a tremendous amount of respect for. He was a hell of an officer.

  “Yeah, I still think Logan is confused,” Emily goaded, “you know, just because you married her doesn’t mean you can grab all of that whenever you want.”

  “Wait… what do you mean?” Rainer feigned confusion, making everyone laugh heartily.

  They climbed up the stairs of the plane.

  “Yeah, but I don’t think it was that Logan smacked her ass or whatever. It was really that Lucas hasn’t ever seen anyone act so relaxed in a house full of people,” Emily confided in Fionna.

  Knowing that Emily was usually very wise for her years, Dan thought she’d probably hit the nail on the head.

  Trying not to think about the bedrooms on the plane, or what he had promised Fionna they would do on the flight, Dan helped Fionna onto a bench seat, facing Rainer and Emily. Chloe and Garrett took a set of seats across the wide aisle.

  He was surprised by the obligatory and somewhat aloof smiles he received from the Angels and their companions as they all stowed their luggage and boarded the plane. They’d all seemed much friendlier the last time he was at the arena.

  Fionna giggled in response to his knitted brow. “You’re an owner now, so they’re all on their best behavior, until they figure out that you aren’t a prick.”

  Dan chuckled. Trying not to be intimidating didn’t come easy. He’d spent the last twelve years perfecting his image as a hardass.

  Medio Sawyer made an appearance, and urged the women to play well and represent Arlington in everything they did all weekend. It was a lecture Dan found rather amusing, considering the fact that his own daughter was likely to be the one causing trouble.

  The team was then informed that one of the coolant officers’ wives had gone into labor Christmas Eve, and that the flight would be slightly longer, as he’d been unable to be replaced the day after Christmas.

  Dan was impressed that the women seemed perfectly fine with that, and that they all wanted to make certain that the man’s wife and baby were doing well.

  One of the co-pilots moved from the cockpit to the vast seating quarters. “We’ll be taking off in a few minutes, ladies. Buckle up and stow everything. Let the flight attendants know if you need anything. Good luck tomorrow. We’ll all be rooting for you.”

  “I’m gonna run to the restroom,” Fionna stood and grabbed Emily’s hand.

  “Apparently, I’m going to the restroom as well,” Emily laughed as she laid her purse in her seat, and followed Fionna to the bathroom. Rainer and Dan shared a shrug as they watched the girls disappear.

  Garrett spun out of his seat and landed in the seat that Fionna had been occupying. He gave Dan a goading grin.

  “My girlfriend is sitting there,” Dan huffed wryly.

  Garrett laughed. “Hey, I was gonna offer you some sex-on-a-plane tips.”

  Rainer cracked up.

  “I most definitely do not want those, especially from you.”

  “No, man, I’m serious. There’s an art to it.”

  Dan rolled his eyes.

  “First, don’t try to take her clothes off standing up. Put her in the bed and then strip her.”

  “Leave now,” Dan jerked his thumb back to Garrett’s seat.

  Ignoring Dan completely, Garrett continued, “I’m serious. Turbulence; think about it. She could get hurt. You could get hurt.”

  “I could hurt you,” Dan stated angrily as Rainer continued to guffaw.

  “Yeah, and let the plane get leveled off first; doing it on the climb can mess with your head. And it has to be in the bed or the chair. Up against the wall doesn’t work; I’ve tried,” Garrett continued with his informative lecture.

  Having no desire to hear about Garrett’s escapades on the Angels jet, Dan narrowed his eyes in disdain. The girls returned just as the engines began to roar.

  “Thank God. Now maybe he’ll shut it.”

  Fionna grinned and then promptly crawled in Dan’s lap as Garrett was still in her seat.

  “Even better,” Dan grinned as he cradled her head on his shoulder. The pilot made the final walk-through. He chuckled as he took in Fionna curled up in Dan’s lap.

  “Fionna, sweetheart, I have no doubt that Officer Vindico will keep you safe, but I can’t take off until you’re in your own seat with a seatbelt.”

  “Sorry, Morgan,” Fionna shooed Garrett out of her seat.

  The plane began its ascent, and Dan held Fionna’s hand. He wanted to be in contact with her constantly for the two-and-a-half hours they would be in the air.

  “You okay, baby?” Dan whispered in Fionna’s ear as she leaned and lifted the armrest between them. She laid her head against his chest.

  Fionna nodded as Dan wrapped his arm around her, understanding that she wanted to be in contact with him for the same reasons he’d wanted to hold her hand. He could tell from the way Fionna curled into him that, had they not been on a plane full of her friends and teammates, she would have climbed in his lap and curled up in her customary ball.

  The players all seemed to tuck into the people seated nearest them, and began discussing the exposition or what they’d received for Christmas.

  Rainer let his head lean back in his seat. He closed his eyes as Emily reclined in his lap. Smiling, he reached and pulled a blanket from the seat beside her and covered her in it.

  Fionna’s eyes darkened as she gazed up at Dan. He could feel the timid hunger swirl in her energy. The need began to surface as she grew more comfortable with the idea of using one of the bedrooms on the plane.

/>   Dan’s heart pumped against his ribcage. He kept her tucked to his chest and brushed her hair away from her face. Leaning his head down, he kissed her temple and then whispered, “Tell me what you want, baby doll.”

  Her body gave a slight tremble in his arms. The movement made Dan want to throw her over his shoulder, carry her to one of the bedrooms, and make her scream out his name. She moved her head to his shoulder to carry out his request.

  “I want you,” she whispered heatedly, letting her hot breath and her tongue caress his earlobe discreetly. She settled back on his shoulder, to make certain that no one was paying them too much attention. Leaning back in, she continued, “I want you to make me feel how hard you are. I want you to make me suck you. I want you to lick me until you can taste all of me. I want you to tell me to come for you,” she drawled in low breathy whispers of ecstasy that drove Dan wild.

  He clenched his jaw, forcibly quelling the thundering growl that built in his chest. He gazed at her with a look that said he’d drink every last drop of her gorgeous body and then devour anything she had left.

  “I want to be all alone with you.”

  Dan shifted to try to hide the effect her pleas were having on his body.

  “I want you to take my clothes off, and then I want you to take me, and mark me, because I’m yours. I want you to fuck me until this plane lands.” Her eyes were ardent and craving.

  Dan tried desperately to draw a deep, steadying breath by reminding himself that he had to walk to the rooms in the back of the plane. Fionna unbuckled, and shot him a grin that was somehow wickedly virtuous. He ached. She stood and held out her hand to Dan with an expectant degree of sass.

  Rainer grinned, though he kept his eyes closed as Garrett began to chuckle. The embarrassment made Dan able to stand and take her hand.

  “Fiii-oooon-nnnaa,” drawled from several of the Angels as they began to laugh and whistle. Garrett guffawed.

  “Geez, Fi, let him get his clothes off first,” he sneered loudly, and everyone else on the plane cracked up. Dan popped the back of Garrett’s head as he went by, only serving to make him laugh harder.