His heart stuttered. “Ye—ye canna mean that.”
She made a face. “Oh, you’re right. I changed my mind. I hate your guts now.”
“What?”
She swatted his shoulder. “When I say I love you, you should accept it. If you don’t, then you’re calling me a liar.”
“Nay, I—” Tears stung his eyes. “Ye still love me?”
She gave him an impatient look. “Only a man with a good and noble heart would punish himself for centuries. Your wife and daughter would not be pleased to see you wallowing in misery.”
“I’m no’ wallowing,” he grumbled. “I fought a battle earlier tonight.”
“You’ve kept a black pit of suffering in you for so long, you have trouble accepting love when it falls in your lap. It’s time to stop the suffering. You have a woman here who loves you.” She crossed her arms with a huff. “And I’m getting really tired of waiting for my blow job.”
He laughed.
She gave him one of her radiant smiles. “That’s more like it. You have centuries ahead of you, Connor Buchanan. They should be filled with love and laughter.”
He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair, his tears mingling with her damp hair. “Ye are the light in my darkness. I love you more than I can say.”
“Will you become one with me?” she whispered.
He leaned back. “We . . . canna . . .”
“I want to.” She caressed his cheek, wiping his tears away. “If I ever make it back to heaven, I want to know that I gave you everything I have.”
“But what if it . . . soils yer—”
She touched his mouth. “I’ve come to realize that joining with you could never be a soiling of our love, but a celebration of it.”
His heart swelled and he squeezed her hand. “I like the way ye think.”
She smiled. “I thought you would.”
Marielle jolted when she felt his tongue against her private parts. Good heavens! She clutched the blanket in her fists.
Connor was amazing her with his speed and determination. In a frenzy of movement, he had undressed her and himself in just a few seconds. Then in a whirlwind of sensation, he’d tumbled her down on the blanket and kissed her all over. Her nipples were red and hard from his suckling. Her heart pounded from the wild things he’d done with his fingers. Still reeling from that climax, she’d watched him kiss his way up her bare legs to her thighs.
And then . . . his tongue. Good heavens, the things this man did with his tongue. She gasped. She moaned. She cried out for mercy, and he kept going, kept taking her higher and higher. She was spiraling toward the heavens, flying without wings. She screamed, but instead of plummeting to Earth, she landed in his arms.
“Oh, Connor.” She gasped for air. Her heart thundered, and her body rocked with spasms.
He leaned over her, smiling. “No speaking in tongues?”
She smiled back. “Magnifique.”
“Wrap yer legs around me.”
“Mmm?” She did as he asked, then jolted when she felt him pressing against her. And the two shall become one. “You didn’t want your blow job?”
“I want inside you. Now.”
“Oh.”
He looked at her closely. “Did ye change yer mind?”
“No.” She gasped when he nudged at her. Her grip tightened on his shoulders.
“Am I hurting you?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s just strange. As an angel I never even noticed this sort of thing. It seemed so . . . unimportant. But now, it . . . it seems like a really big thing.”
“Aye. It is.”
She searched his eyes and saw so much love and tenderness there. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He rested his brow against hers.
He plunged into her. She gasped. He gasped, too, their breaths intermingling.
“You’re inside me,” she whispered, then hugged him tight with her arms and legs. Even her inner core squeezed tightly around him.
He groaned.
The small amount of pain she had felt faded away. The discomfort of feeling overly stretched melted away. She smiled. And the two shall become one.
She patted his back. “I’m comfortable with you now. Thank you.”
“Comfortable?” He propped himself up on his elbows and frowned at her. “Ye’re no’ excited?”
“Excited?”
“Aye. I’m so excited, I’m about to explode.”
“Oh. Of course.” That was how a man spilled his seed inside a woman. “You can finish up whenever you like. I’ll be fine.”
“Fine?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
He cursed under his breath.
She wondered what was wrong. They were one now. How could she be confused about what he was thinking if they were one?
“Ye want to feel fine?” He pulled out a bit, then plunged back in.
She gasped.
“Was that fine?” He ground himself against her.
“Oh!” She clenched his shoulders.
He dragged himself out slowly, then slammed back in.
She squeaked.
He set a steady pace. “Are ye feeling fine yet?”
“Yes!” Good heavens, he was doing it to her again, making her fly, but now it was even better. He was soaring with her.
He pounded into her, and when she screamed her release, he shouted and let himself go. The feel of him climaxing inside her made her own release go on and on.
He collapsed beside her, breathing heavily.
She smiled, gazing at the stars overhead. She’d done it. She’d become one with Connor. For all eternity, she would know they were one.
Her smile faded. If the Father could forgive Connor, He might forgive her, too, and tell the Archangels to let her back into heaven.
But how could she leave Connor?
Chapter Twenty-three
When Marielle fell asleep in his arms, Connor didn’t see any reason to move her. He folded the blanket over her and let her sleep, sprawled across his chest, while he gazed up at the stars.
It was a miracle she still loved him, and a part of him wanted to hold on to her forever. But it was her heart’s desire to return home to heaven, and he had sworn to help her. He wouldn’t break his pledge. He was haunted, though, by the thought that time was running out. If she became too human, would the Archangels accept her back?
After a few hours, she stirred. They gathered up their clothes, and he teleported them back to the cabin.
There were three missed calls on his cell phone and an angry text from Angus. Where the hell are you?
Connor warmed up another bottle of blood and made the call.
“Where the hell have ye been?” Angus demanded. “Ye missed our strategy meeting for tomorrow night.”
“I had to guard Marielle.”
“Ye could have brought her with you. And ye should have answered yer damned phone. We were worried something had happened to you.”
“How is Shanna’s father?” Connor asked, attempting to change the subject.
“He’s in a vampire coma, but his wounds appear to be healing. We’ll know for sure tomorrow night if he’s going to make the transition.”
“Did everyone make it through the battle all right?”
“Aye, just a few cuts and scrapes that will heal in death-sleep,” Angus answered. “I ripped my kilt, and when I tried to order a new one online, they said it would be three months before I could get it.”
“Three months?” Connor had never heard of it taking so long.
“Aye, apparently there’s been a sudden rush on kilts. Forty-three orders from some town in New York.”
Connor grinned. The lad from the ice cream shop must have told a few friends, and the news had spread.
“Anyway, I want you and Marielle here tomorrow after sunset,” Angus ordered. “Everyone’s gathering here at Romatech. We’ll have some time to prepare before the sun sets at Mount Rushmore.”
“Ye think it’s a trap?” Connor asked.
“Aye. So we’ll be arriving in two different groups. If the first group is trapped, the second group should be able to set things straight.”
“Makes sense to me. See you tomorrow.” Connor rang off.
He settled on the couch next to Marielle. “We know where to find Casimir tomorrow. Ye could stay here—”
“I want to be with you.”
He brushed her hair back over her shoulders. “I hate to put you at risk.”
“I have to be there when Casimir and the Malcontents are defeated.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Casimir asked you all to come to Mount Rushmore. I lost my wings near there. I believe I will get them back at the same place.”
He groaned inwardly. Then she was hoping to leave him tomorrow night. He was sorely tempted to beg her to stay with him. But how could he? How could he expect her to give up an eternity in heaven for the short life of a mortal? If he truly loved her, he would let her go.
“Not again,” Marielle grumbled when Connor handed her a dagger.
“Aye, ye’re no’ going without a weapon.” He strapped a belt around her waist.
It was Marielle’s seventh day on Earth, the day humans called Friday. Just before dawn, the ladies had brought Brynley to the cabin as usual, and she had guarded the cabin during the day.
Just after sunset, Connor had emerged from the closet and guzzled down a bottle of blood. Now he was arming himself and Marielle before teleporting to Romatech.
“I want to go, too!” Brynley announced. “I kicked ass last night.”
Connor gave her a worried look. “Can ye shift again tonight?”
“Yes! I can shift for three nights at the time of a full moon. Tell Phineas to get his tight ass over here and pick me up.”
Connor arched a brow. “I’ll pass yer message on to him.” He grabbed on to Marielle. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t forget about me!” Brynley shouted. “I’ll kick Phineas’s ass if he doesn’t . . .”
Everything went black, and Brynley’s shouts faded away. Marielle stumbled when they arrived on the grounds at Romatech.
“Come.” Connor led her through the side entrance.
So many Vamps were arriving, the MacKay security office and hallway were jammed.
“Once ye’re fully armed, go the cafeteria!” Angus shouted.
Marielle accompanied Connor to the cafeteria. He introduced her to other Vamps along the way: Jack, Zoltan, Mikhail, Kyo, and a man Connor referred to as Russell, the new guy. They had come from Eastern Europe, Russia, and Japan, and Connor explained how they’d spent hours teleporting west and following the moon in order to be at Romatech at the correct time.
Then he introduced her to Jean-Luc, Dougal, J.L., Rafferty, and Colbert. They lived in Texas, California, and Louisiana, so they had spent the night at Romatech.
Connor was introducing her to the cat shifters, Carlos and Rajiv, when she spotted Phineas and waved him over.
“Yo, what’s up?” Phineas did a knuckle pound with Connor.
Marielle lifted her fist, and with a grin, Phineas tapped her knuckles softly. “Looking good, angel.”
“Brynley wants to fight again,” Connor said. “Do ye have time to teleport her here?”
Marielle tried to remember Brynley’s exact words. “She said you should get your tight ass over there and pick her up.”
Phineas’s eyes widened. “Is that what she said?”
Connor snorted and gave Marielle a wry look.
“I was trying to be accurate,” Marielle replied. “I believe those were her exact words.”
“Tight, huh?” Phineas smirked. His cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. “That’s probably her now.” He put the phone up to his ear and deepened the tone of his voice. “Hello, baby. The Love Doctor is at your service.”
He jumped. “Oh, hi, Angus. Sir. Yes, sir. I’m right on it.” He turned off the phone. “Shit!”
“What’s wrong?” Connor asked.
“Stan’s emergency button went off in the office,” Phineas grumbled, his face showing a hint of red. “I have to see what’s going on.” He vanished.
“Who is Stan?” Marielle asked. She didn’t like the worried look on Connor’s face.
“Stanislav is our mole at the Russian coven in Brooklyn,” Connor explained. “Maybe he knows something about Casimir’s plan for tonight.”
“You still believe it’s a trap?”
Connor shrugged. “It could be. But Casimir is still in a bad position. He lost over half of his men last night. We have plenty of excellent fighters, so we shouldna let this chance go by. The bastard needs to be killed once and for all.”
Marielle nodded. There was no denying the fact that the world would be a much safer place once Casimir was gone. “Oh, there’s Roman.”
As Roman walked into the cafeteria, he was greeted with multiple questions about his wife and father-in-law.
Roman raised his hands to quiet down the crowd. “I just left Shanna and her father. He’s doing as well as can be expected. His stomach wound is completely healed.”
“What about his rotten personality?” Jean-Luc asked.
Roman snorted. “I’m afraid there’s no cure for that.”
“Is he pissed?” Jack asked.
Roman smiled. “He’s adjusting. He had one bottle of blood, then asked for some Blissky. He’s . . . upset, but not just because he’s Undead now. He’s angry about missing the battle tonight.”
Roman worked his way through the crowd, greeting the Vamps and shifters. He pulled out his cell phone and frowned at it, then approached Marielle and Connor. He smiled at her, then nodded his head at Connor.
Connor nodded back.
Marielle sighed. Things were obviously still tense between the two men.
“Shanna asked me to thank you for your help in saving her father’s life,” Roman told her.
“I am so pleased he is doing well,” she replied.
“Shanna was too upset last night to realize what you had done.” Roman gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sure it was not an easy thing for you to do.”
Marielle nodded. She didn’t want to admit her fear that taking a vampire’s life had ruined her chances of returning to heaven.
“After we returned here last night, Father Andrew came by to console Shanna and pray with her,” Roman continued. “He has an unusual view on the situation. He believes you were meant to save Sean, just like you did me, and that your destiny will continue to be linked with ours.”
Marielle glanced at Connor. “Perhaps.” She still wasn’t quite sure she could actually leave him.
Connor’s eyebrows lifted with a questioning look.
Roman glanced at his phone again and sighed. “I don’t know why he’s not answering. There must be some sort of emergency at his church.”
“Ye’re trying to call Father Andrew?” Connor asked.
“Yes.” Roman frowned. “He should be here by now. He wanted to give us a blessing before we go.”
“Is everyone ready?” Angus shouted as he entered the cafeteria.
Everyone let out a loud whoop.
“Take a seat,” Angus ordered. When everyone was seated, he continued, “Ye’ve either been assigned to my team or the second much larger team, led by Robby. The second team, comprised of Vamps and shifters, will arrive ten minutes after the first. So if we get in trouble, first team, remember we have to last ten minutes.”
Connor took Marielle’s hand and squeezed it.
“Phil has contacted his werewolf friends in the area, and they have set up a beacon in a wooded area close to the monument,” Angus explained. “That is our focal point for teleporting.”
Phineas rushed into the cafeteria, and everyone sat up.
“News?” Angus asked.
“Yes,” Phineas replied. “Stan reports that Nadia received a call from Casimir. She and her coven
have been ordered to go into battle.”
Angus nodded. “Casimir is desperate to increase his number.”
“Stan said if he has to kill anybody, it’ll be a Malcontent,” Phineas continued. “So he’s asking everybody here to remember which side he’s on and not to kill him.”
Angus snorted. “So the main reason he called you is he’s worried about his own skin.”
Phineas shrugged. “Partly. He’s also worried about Nadia. Casimir has given her a special assignment to carry out. Stan doesn’t know what it is, but he says she’s dizzy with excitement over it.”
Angus muttered a curse under his breath.
Phineas stiffened. “Oh, I gotta go.”
Angus frowned. “We’re about to leave.”
“I’ll hurry. Big bad wolfie-girl needs a ride.” Phineas vanished.
“Is he talking about my sister?” Phil called out.
Everyone chuckled.
Seconds later, the Vamps and shifters all turned to look out the cafeteria window. Marielle assumed it was due to their superior hearing, since she hadn’t heard anything.
Outside by the basketball court, Phineas had returned with Brynley. An angry Brynley who was shouting at Phineas. She shoved him, then he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the cafeteria door.
“Don’t ever leave me waiting like that again!” Brynley yelled as Phineas opened the door.
“Don’t ever attack me again!” Phineas pushed her inside.
Brynley raised a hand to strike him, but he caught her wrist.
“Snout-face,” he hissed.
“Bloodsucker,” she growled.
Angus cleared his throat.
Brynley looked around and saw everyone watching them. Her face turned a shade of pink, but she gave them a big smile. “Hi there! I’m ready to fight.”
“We can see that,” Angus said dryly. “Brynley, ye’re on Team Two. Phineas, ye’re Team One.”
Phineas nodded and released Brynley’s wrist. “Be careful,” he mumbled.
She cast a worried look his direction. “You, too.”
A timer went off, its peeping noise filling the cafeteria.
Angus punched a button on his wristwatch, then motioned for his wife, Emma, to join him. “That’s it. The sun has set on Mount Rushmore. Team One, time to move out.”
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