Death Before Dawn

by Amelia Hutchins

  “Jesus,” he groaned as he watched me try to take more of him into my mouth. I was clumsy at best, but he didn’t seem to care or notice. He rocked his hips and then withdrew as I fought to keep him where he was. “Emma, I’m holding on by a thread, and you’re about to snap it.”

  “So,” I whispered as I stood up, hooking my fingers in the waistband of my shorts as I slid them down and stepped out of them. He scrubbed his face with his hands, and shook his head.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured before he pulled me close and claimed my lips as I lifted myself and straddled his hips. I felt his cock pulsing against my entrance, seeking to plunge into the wetness he’d inspired, but he didn’t. He just kissed me as his hands explored the curves of my ass. He walked us towards the bed, and when I tried to push his rock-hard cock inside, he withheld. How the fuck! He hadn’t had sex in, like, forever—give or take a few centuries? Why wasn’t he giving me what I needed? “You’re mine, now,” he growled as he sat me on the bed and pushed my legs apart.

  His head slowly lowered to my pussy, his mouth dropping sweet kisses to the sensitive flesh inside my thighs as he slowly worked my body. His fingers pushed inside and I cried out at the intrusion, right up until his tongue slowly licked it from the top to the center. I trembled as he slowly licked, sucked, and teased a massive storm that threatened to explode inside of me.

  “I need you,” I whimpered, and he laughed against the delicate flesh. I rocked my hips, desperately trying to encourage him to enter my body. He held my stomach down, preventing me from moving as he slowly, torturously licked my heated flesh.

  “You taste like heaven and you move like sin, woman,” he whispered hoarsely. “I can’t wait to hear you screaming my name while I ride your body.”

  “And you can, just get in me!” I urged. I was out of my mind with the need to come. Nothing in my life had ever made me feel like this. I felt like if he didn’t connect with me, I’d die. I was trembling and shivering like a drug addict chasing my next high. There was something primal happening, something that tugged at the back of my mind, but I didn’t know what it was, nor did I care. He parted my legs as he moved up, pushing the head of his cock into my tight sheath. “Yes!” I screamed, trying to hurry him the fuck up. What the fuck was wrong with me?

  “No going back,” he warned. “I can feel it, our souls connecting. You’re mine, Emma, swear it to me.”

  “I swear,” I gasped, and felt something connecting, igniting as he pushed himself inside. I screamed, and my body exploded violently. I held on to him as I felt myself fragment; pieces of me seemed to be reaching for the constellations on the ceiling. His face loomed over mine and I watched thin, lacy, glimmering black lines appear on his face and fanned out across his arms as white ones spread across my own. They mingled, danced and frolicked together as he continued to thrust inside of me. His entrance was painful; he stretched my body further than ever before. Tears slid from my eyes as I sobbed and pain rocked through me, but it wasn’t from him. It was from inside of me. I somehow knew that my soul was opening for his, allowing him to see the pieces of me no one else had. I looked into his eyes as he strained over me. His eyes were obsidian, peppered with glowing red, like the stories told of demons of old. For a moment, I swore I saw huge black wings on his back, but once I looked into his eyes, I was lost.

  He hadn’t been lying; from the moment I was born, his life had revolved around mine. He’d watched me, loved me from afar, and he’d held back even though it caused him suffering. He’d known I was with Jaeden, and he’d let me choose that path instead of forcing his will on me.

  I tried to pull away, to let his secrets remain his own, but I wasn’t sure how to. I felt my body shattering again, shudders from another orgasm that ripped through me, and his followed it a moment later. As our racing hearts slowed and our bodies cooled, I realized we were bound together, as if some hand of fate had locked us together.

  When he finally tore his eyes from mine, he lifted me. I was trapped on his cock; his hands were the only thing making my body work as he used my hips to guide me over his swollen cock. Being with him terrified me, but more than that, I knew I belonged with him. Everything in my life had driven me to him, even before I was born.

  “Emma,” he whispered against my forehead and I moaned his name as he sucked my neck softly, letting his blunt teeth nip at the flesh. “I’m so fucked, I want you so fucking bad,” he muttered hoarsely, driving me onto his shaft harder and harder until I screamed his name as I exploded again, milking his cock as he came with me. “Not done,” he growled as he pushed me flat on the bed, and I got a closer view of the huge black wings behind him.

  “You drink too much Red Bull?” I mumbled, wondering if I was hallucinating.

  He laughed, and closed those beautiful wings over me. He pulled my legs up and entered me hard; I cried out as the air left my lungs in a whooshing sound, and his hands captured mine, the black and white lights beneath our skin reaching for the other, meeting at the tips of our fingers as our eyes locked together.

  “I have lived my entire life knowing that death would never experience life unless I found you, and here we are,” he whispered. “My soul and yours, locked together, little phoenix,” he murmured through each thrust.

  “You make it sound as if we were fated in the stars?” I grinned wickedly with a thickness that made my voice all seductress, and a little Emma.

  “Fate’s a fickle bitch, sometimes we have to give her a push and show her what is right. I was afraid you’d reject me, because you’re pure, perfect and so fucking beautiful. Now you’re mine, there’s no changing it,” he whispered as he leaned over and kissed me.

  He flipped me over onto my stomach, and pushed my legs apart, lifting my ass, and nudged his cock against my opening. He slapped my ass and I cried out; my hand instinctively moved to rub my ass, but he captured both of my hands in one of his, holding them against my back as his other hand threaded through my hair.

  “Scream for me, Emma,” he rasped as he thrust into my core, as he pulled my hair and kissed my neck softly. The contrast was overwhelming. Gentle kisses and complete domination. He was in control, while reminding me that I was safe. It undid me. My toes curled, and I detonated, screaming incoherent words as my entire body was covered in tiny bumps and shattered with multiple orgasms that left me a quivering mess of pleasure.

  “Again, Emma,” he demanded, and it continued until we exploded again into a heap of limbs and both of us gasping for air. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve never been so fucked in my entire life.”

  I laughed, and laughed some more until we were both laughing. “That was…wow. That was fucking scary.”

  “We mated, Emma, our souls are now connected; more so than they’ve ever been before.”

  “You should have told me that,” I whispered.

  “Would it have changed your mind?” he questioned, and I felt his insecurity. He had a vulnerability that left me feeling as if it was my own.

  “No, but it would have warned me that shit would get seriously crazy during it. At one point, I thought I saw wings behind you.”

  He laughed.

  “I’m not yanking your dick,” I giggled.

  “No, not now, but feel free to do so.” He pushed his already hard cock against my thigh.

  “The black and white—things?” I asked as I took his cock in my hand and stroked it, watching as he shuddered from the slow, sensual strokes.

  “Souls, we’re the only ones of our kind that connect on that level,” he whispered.

  “So, that was our souls?” I asked.

  “Yes, you might say it was a physical representation of them,” he murmured as he rolled on top of me and thrust inside. “Fair warning, little one; I have centuries to make up for, and you will get no sleep this night.” His husky laughter swept through me,
wrapping around me as he growled deep in his throat.

  I cried out, meeting him thrust for thrust as he took me until the sun began to rise the next morning. This man was insatiable, and very capable of carrying out his threat. He’d continued until I was nothing more than a boneless mess, and even then, he took what he needed as I held on to him, allowing him everything he needed from me, and more.

  Chapter 23

  I awoke sore, my body one solid ache. I smiled like a cat who’d indulged in a little too much cream. I sat up, slowly, taking in his room for the first time. I paused, blinked, and blinked again to rid the sleep from my eyes. Nope, still there.

  Thousands of pictures of me decorated the walls of his room from floor to ceiling. Most of them looked to be from before the virus hit, but a few were more recent. One was even from the battle where we’d fought the rogue wolves. Someone had taken it right before the battle had begun.

  “Gunpowder and lace,” he mused from where he’d awoken to watch me gawk at his walls. “That’s one of my favorites. It’s the day you rose. You stopped hiding and took control. You also reminded me why men shouldn’t allow women onto the battlefield.”

  “And why’s that?” I asked, getting heated at his sexist opinion.

  “Because the combination is a very strong aphrodisiac,” he murmured against my ear as his fingers slowly danced upon my skin.

  The tips of his fingers controlled me more than any restraint ever could have. It was as if his fingers knew exactly where to touch, and when, to entice my center. I craved his presence, not necessarily the sex, but being able to sit beside him, to feel him there. I’d never felt that way with Jaeden, and that I did with Azrael frightened me. I liked the idea of doing mundane things together. Just sitting together felt magical, and the idea of leaving it behind caused a tightening in my chest that I couldn’t explain. When I was with him, hours felt like seconds, but the moment he left, time stretched on endlessly.

  He rolled me beneath him slowly, giving me enough time to change my mind. His lips found mine in a slow, tantalizing kiss. His teeth pulled on my lip and I spread my legs, giving him access to what he sought.

  “You’re a little gunpowder and lace, Emma. So soft and yet once that fuse is lit, you light up,” he whispered huskily. He nudged against my pussy and pushed inside. When he was buried in my depths, he lifted his body up and looked down at me with a look I couldn’t understand. His feelings, though, I felt them. They created warmth inside of me that made my entire body quiver and tremble. “I didn’t just fall in love with you, Emma. I’ve always loved you. From the moment I saw you, I felt you were the one for me. That one day we’d be together because, for me, there would be nobody else. I walked into this with my eyes wide open and my heart even more so. I chose to take every step beside you, even when you weren’t aware of it. I believe in fate and destiny, but even without them, I’d still choose you over anyone else. I know you don’t feel the same yet, but I’ve had a lot longer to understand everything about you, starting with your beauty all the way to your flaws. I know you still love Jaeden, I can feel it. I’m not asking you to love me right now, but I’m asking you to try and love me a little, too.”

  I swallowed tears and shook my head. This wasn’t the time or place to discuss this. I didn’t love Jaeden as I had, and I was beginning to think it was because of Azrael and the fact that I didn’t feel as if I had to always be on guard with him. Things between Jaeden and me had changed; they’d started to the moment he’d walked away and left me broken.

  “I’m afraid to love you,” I replied honestly with a slight tremble to my tone. “I’m afraid you’ll break me into teeny-tiny pieces, and I’m not strong enough to handle it.”

  “I can’t hurt you without hurting myself,” he said softly, with a gentle smile. “I can’t betray you, and I won’t ever let you down like he did,” he promised, and I felt the truth in his words. “I’ve spent centuries looking for the one woman I could hold, and be with; do you really think I wouldn’t move mountains to get to you, and do anything to keep you?” He began to thrust himself into me, slowly. Deliberately.

  “Azrael,” I whispered roughly, but he covered my mouth with his, stopping anything else I might have been about to say in the process. I felt his need to please me. I felt his insecurity, which only turned me on more.

  I kissed him back harder, which ignited a need in him that made his motions faster, harder, and before I knew what was happening, I was screaming and clinging to his massive body as I yelled his name on repeat, like a scratched record.

  “That’s it, give it to me, I want all of you,” he murmured as he lifted me against his chest, in a half kneeling, half seated position which pushed him even deeper into me. He used my hips as I clung to his muscled shoulders, driving his cock deep into my depths.

  I felt his pleasure building. I opened up my mind to feel even more of the connection we shared. It was as if my own orgasm was growing but inside of him. I lifted my limp head to watch as his muscles clenched, tightened, and he roared his own release. I exploded again, as if our orgasms had been linked. He undid me.

  This creature that had so much arrogant confidence and self-control came undone. And, in moments like these when he was unguarded, I was able to see that he had insecurities that endeared him to me. Where Jaeden had held back a part of himself from me, Azrael gave me everything. Where Jaeden had always wanted control, Azrael had it naturally. A single touch made me bend to him, and he didn’t force it, didn’t ask for it.

  “I wish we could stay like this,” he rumbled against my ear. “We need to present you to our people.” He caressed my back and shoulders gently. “As greedy as I am to keep you all to myself, it’s time you met some of them.”

  Wait up, go back. I had people, and didn’t need any more people, per se.

  “Sentinels?” I asked, knowing he wasn’t referring to the people in the bunkers.

  “Yes, but you have nothing to worry about. They’re going to adore you. You are everything our kind stands for. If they can accept me, Emma, you have nothing to worry about.”

  “Other than them knowing that I was sleeping with the enemy and that my mother is a crazy bitch? That one Sentinel I met didn’t seem very happy with me.” I pointed out as he watched my walls slam up. I wasn’t much of a people person. I’d never been good with them before the world went to shit, and my people skills hadn’t improved since.

  “I’ll be with you every step of the way,” he whispered as he lay down beside me and smiled as he wound a strand of my hair around his finger. “If you don’t put on clothes soon, we’ll never leave this bed, ever,” he warned and I laughed, turning to look into his seductive eyes.

  “We could just forget the world,” I replied, knowing I never could. The thought was nice, but I needed to find Grayson, and I had to get home to Addy before she ended up birthing puppies without supervision.

  “There is a pack and suitable travel clothing waiting for you in your room; once you are ready, we will head out,” he informed me as he got out of bed and headed into the other room. I watched his firm backside until he was out of sight. I rose from the bed, enjoying the ache he’d created throughout the night.

  I milled about his room (yes, I was snooping), finding a few familiar things. Like a couple of my missing panties that I’d brushed off before, thinking Jaeden had done it. I also found my senior portrait that had been taken off my dresser. He also had the one from the wall, the one where I’d been in the meadow. I frowned, and figured I’d ask him about his sticky fingers later.

  I showered and dressed in jeans that hung low on my hips, with a belt to keep them from sliding down. Next, I picked a white tank top and found weapon harnesses similar to what I normally wore—only better—laid out on the bed. I slipped them on and snapped the fully-loaded weapons into my holsters. One thing I had to acknowledge, the man knew his weaponry. I
looked a wild mix between country girl, and apocalyptic fashion queen. I snorted, because that was something that should never go together. Apocalypse and fashion queen. I turned, slipping my boots on, and wiggled my toes in the familiar leather boots. I shoved the rest of the ammo, weapons and some practical clothes that were suitable for travel into the new sturdy pack that he’d left out for me.

  “Might want to put your hair up for the ride,” he commented from where he leaned against the doorframe in a black V-neck T-shirt with loose fitting jeans and leather boots. I liked him out of his armor, but I really liked him out of his clothes.

  “Why?”

  “Ducati; you’re on the back. I want to feel your arms around me for a while,” he replied with a wicked smile.

  “And where are we going?” I countered.

  “Provo.” His eyes held mine meaningfully before he turned, and left me with my heart in my throat.

  “Wait, come back here!” I shouted, already chasing after him as I struggled to pull the heavy pack on my back. I caught up to him and turned him around. “My mother was following a route to Provo. Not to mention that we had a lead that those Sentinels who were in cahoots with her were there.”

  “They are not with your mother, never have been. They’ve been looking for her. As soon as we were able to prove what she’d done, she was marked for death. Hayden had been hunting for traces of her and her conspirators when he discovered you. After that, he shadowed you on and off for a few weeks before you met him to see how loyal you might be to her and if you were part of her conspiracy. Your loyalty to those who fought with you was the only thing we questioned after that.”

  “Hayden, huh? How’s his arm?” I smirked, knowing Raphael had managed to shoot him with an arrow in the shoulder.