His Angelic Mate [Paranormal Protection Unit 7] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Honor James

  “We did what we could, angel,” he pointed out softly to her. “I know it’s not a lot, but it’s what could be done. Hopefully they can figure it out and get her the treatment needed.” Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he breathed her in and smiled. “We need to go and get you some shoes.”

  “Yes, shoes. Boots. Do you think that they have ones like yours but in pink?” She looked down at his boots and then said, “Or maybe not. Yours are very manly. I don’t think that I would look right with such manly boots, do you?” The heavy combat boots looked delicious on him, but would likely look silly on her.

  “They are not for everyone,” he agreed, looking down at his boots. “But we will find you something just for you,” he promised. Taking her hand in his, he led her across the street to the shoe place and inside. Moving to the women’s section, he pointed to all she could choose from. “Boots, shoes, runners, cute little whatevers-they-are.”

  “Will it be as fun as clothing shopping was? I really liked that a great deal.” Cin had loved putting clothes on and taking them off, trying things on and seeing herself in the mirror as she did so. She knew she was battling vanity right now, but she could fight it later.

  “Don’t know,” he told her honestly. “I always know just what I want when I go into a store and just get it.” Grabbing a pair of boots, he passed them over. They looked a little like his boots but more feminine and with heels. “Give these a try on, sugar,” he told her quietly.

  She looked at the boots and then saw another pair over his shoulder. Taking the ones he gave her as well as moving past him, she pulled off a pair of boots that looked so soft, were white with pink embellishments, and perfect. “These are perfect,” she told him and took a seat. Humming happily to herself, she tried on the pair of boots that Talon gave her first and wrinkled her nose when she stood. “I don’t think I would be able to fight very well in these.” The heel put her off balance. “I think that I need flat ones, like these,” she said, holding up the ones she had chosen. Pulling off the boots Talon passed her, she gave them back and tried on the ones she had chosen. Standing, she moved around in them and then, because the space was wide enough with no people, moved through a couple of fight moves. “Perfect. I want these,” she told him with a grin.

  “Get a few more shoes, darling. Sometimes boots will be too heavy to wear. Try on some runners and flats.” He pointed to more pastel-colored items. “You’ll want a couple different pairs to go with your outfits, too. Sometimes you need to pair them appropriately, in looks and feel.” Sitting down, he waved her onward. “Try on different ones and figure out what styles suit you best and you like the most.”

  “I only want the flat ones though. I don’t think that heels would be good for me at all,” she said as she moved to the runners and selected three pair and then to the flats where it seemed she got a pair in each color of the one style she liked. Looking at the mountain of boxes, she grinned. “I like shopping. I think that we should shop often.” She turned to Talon and added, “Do you think you should call Quincy and ask him to add more gold to my card?”

  “You’re still okay, darling. You barely dented what he put on the card,” he told her honestly as he stood and grabbed up a stack of boxes. “Come on, sugar, let’s get these bought, dumped in the car, and then we are buying you a suitcase.” Or twelve. “Much less conspicuous than have nothing but baggies and boxes for your clothing.”

  “Oh do I get to pick those out as well? I would really like to get some that are pink or white or, oh do you think that they have them in red? That would be a beautiful color, don’t you think?” Since she wouldn’t be wearing it, she would love to have the bright colors in her luggage.

  “I’m sure they have red,” he murmured quietly. “They usually do.” Setting the box pile on the counter, he turned and got hers before digging out her card for her again. “We’ll take a look and see what you like the best and go from there.” He smiled down at her as he leaned in to kiss her gently. He couldn’t seem to stop kissing her. He was bloody addicted to her mouth.

  Cinnamon looked up at him and smiled. “I bet that you never dreamed that you would be going on vacation with a woman who liked such loud and girly things, huh?” She had seen the wince and knew that the reason he chose dark colors was to blend. Well Cin was doing anything but “blending.” She was her own person, and it was screamed with each item of clothing she bought, from shoes to her jacket, and now it seemed with her luggage as well.

  “It’s definitely a different experience.” He smiled at her. “Not that I mind it in the least,” he stated, holding her in close. “I’ll just have to remember to wear my shades around you all the time,” he teased with a grin, brushing his lips to hers lightly.

  “Oh, I should get some of those, too.” She went from one topic to another like a child with ADHD. It was all so new to her though. It was such a wonderful experience that she wanted to catch everything. She wanted to be a part of everything, and more than anything, wanted to belong.

  “We will get you a few pairs,” he promised her softly. “We’ll do it when we go to the mall to get you a few other personal items.” Mainly for personal hygiene, but that discussion would be for later, after they had lunch.

  Cinnamon nodded and leaned into him. Sighing happily, she passed her card off without even thinking of the cost and just soaked up being held by the best man ever born, by a man she loved with all her heart. “I love you, Talon,” she whispered softly.

  Smiling, he held her close. “I love you, too, Cinnamon,” he whispered against her soft hair. Rocking her in his arms while they waited on everything to be bagged, he breathed her in. They would figure it out, work it all out, and he’d tie her to him, keep her with him for the rest of time, and life would be perfect. Or as perfect as he could make it for her.

  Turning her face up to him, she smiled. When her shoes were bagged up, she took one bag and let Talon take the other three bags. “Let’s get these into the Hummer, and then we can go and find luggage and then food. I’m finding I really would like to try more food.”

  “We’ll get you something to eat, I promise.” He smiled. Taking the bags to the Hummer, he tossed them inside and took her bag to add to the growing heap. It wasn’t even a pile any more. It was more of a mountain. Looking around, he found a bag place. “Come on, sugar, let’s get you a suitcase or two as well as a purse and wallet so you can keep your money and card in there plus your sunglasses that we will get down the line.”

  “Well I should have just brought my pouch then.” She was confused, and it was obvious. “Why would I buy a purse when I have my pouch that could hold anything that I wanted it to hold?” She shrugged though and added, “Except my clothes and shoes. Those I want in new luggage.”

  “Because purses are not merely for holding things, they are a fashion accessory as well,” he said to her. “You can get them in many different shapes, sizes, and colors depending on your mood. You can mix and match them with your clothing choices for a splash of color or to accent your shoes or whatever it is women do with the things. Trust me, a purse of any size, shape, or color is going to be a lot less obvious than your pouch in this world, darling mine.”

  “All right, I will trust you on that,” she said with a smile. “We will go and choose me some purses so that you don’t have to keep handing over my card and cash.” She nodded. “And to hold my sunglasses and whatever else I might find to put into a purse.”

  “I’m sure there will be many things,” he told her honestly. “Women seem to keep their whole lives in their purses,” he revealed, leading her toward the luggage place. Opening the door, he let her go first and pointed out a few things. “Suitcases, purses, and wallets,” he told her and waved her on. “Shop to your heart’s content, angel mine.”

  She looked over the things there and grinned. “Oh I think suitcases first.” She immediately gravitated toward the bright red metal cases that she saw on display. “Those, I like those a great deal.” They were red an
d shiny. Oh she liked them a great deal.

  “I’ll grab them, love. Go look at the purses,” he said, turning her toward the other side of the store. Releasing her to search through the many colors, he collected the set of suitcases. One large, one medium, and a carry-on should be enough for her. The medium would hold all her shoes easily, and the large could hold her clothing and any accessories she collected along the way.

  Cinnamon began to look through the handbags and found three that she liked. The rest she just didn’t care for at all because they were all black, brown, or a puke green. Moving back to Talon’s side, she slipped her hand into his and gave him a squeeze. “Now, I need something like you have to put my card and ID into as well as cash. Will you help me find something like that?”

  Looking down at the bags she’d picked, he took her to the shelves with the wallets. “Any of these will work for you, darling. Just pick one or two you like. You can move them between the purses so you don’t need as many, but they should complement all the purses you chose so you don’t clash.”

  She narrowed it down to one wallet just at a glance. Grabbing it, she passed it to him. “This one.” She didn’t like this part of shopping as much as she had shopping for clothes and shoes, but it was a necessary part of it all, she was sure.

  “All right, let’s go and buy this, and then we will drop everything in the Hummer and go get something to eat. After we’ll find a place to sleep for the night and you can organize everything into your suitcases.” They would have to make a stop before that, too, but he didn’t think she’d enjoy the pharmacy where they’d be getting her a toothbrush and such.

  “Oh and when we stop for the night will we do more of what we did in the front seat? I really, really very much want to see you naked, too. I want to make love with you, Talon. I want to know if you have orgasms like I did.”

  And just like that he was rock hard again, not that he’d softened much since he’d given her her first ever orgasm. “I do, darling, but I know with you there with me they will be so, so much more,” he whispered.

  Chapter Ten

  They’d eaten, done the pharmacy with numerous explanations for nearly everything in the store. Some he’d been okay with, but apparently even with him being several centuries old, feminine hygiene got him all tongue-tied. He’d covered it rather well, he believed. Oh it could have been better, but he’d given her the explanations she’d wanted and left her looking concerned and worried. Apparently where she came from such things were not a concern for the women. Why have menstruations when living a perfect existence that didn’t require sex?

  That bugged him a bit, not in regards to Cinnamon, because he was seriously jealous when it came to her, but who would give up sex? Yeah he hadn’t had it for a while, but even he had needs, and once in awhile he found a willing female who wasn’t looking for any ties and they would have a good romp together, satisfying both their needs. Shaking his head, Talon carried in the last of the bags to the motel room he’d chosen. It was quaint, small, clean, and gave him six escape routes should they be required.

  Cinnamon was still poking around the room asking him random questions about what this was or what did this do or why would they just leave something like that in the room. It was adorable, her nearly insatiable need to learn everything all at once. Setting the last load on the bed, he dropped his saddlebags over the back of a chair and stuck his head in the bathroom to see what she was doing. Sniffing soaps from the looks of things. “You don’t need to use those, love. They are generic items left for those travelers that hadn’t planned to stop and are caught without them. We did purchase you ones from the pharmacy that you liked, remember?” Talon said, watching her face as she wrinkled her nose up at the smell of the little bottle of shampoo.

  “I am very glad, because these really do not smell very nice at all. I really like the ones that we chose at the pharmacy.” She loved the sweet honeysuckle scent they chose together. “I think that I like it the most because we chose it together.” Cin turned her face up to him and smiled. “I want to try a shower, Talon. Will you shower with me?”

  Sucking in a breath, he let it out on a hiss. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, sweetheart. First and foremost, you touch me and your first time won’t be as I want it to be. Secondly”—he eyed the tub space—“That doesn’t even look big enough for me to be in it by myself. I’d be terrified of moving in case I clocked you with an elbow or something.”

  She looked at the space and then him once more. “Are they normally larger than that? I just assumed that all bathrooms would be the same, here and everywhere.” This was actually the first bathroom she had been in that had a bathtub. The only other one had been at the restaurant when she had to go to relieve herself.

  “This is what’s called the builder or standard bathroom, cheap tub, toilet, vanity, and sink all crammed into as little space as possible. Trust me, when you’re as big as I am you always go custom,” he told her with a sigh. “I already miss my bathroom.” Talon pouted slightly as he stared at the lack of clearance space in the tub and shower space. He would have to remember to keep his head bent just so he didn’t bang his skull.

  “Oh then I look forward to seeing your bathroom. You will let me, right? It’s not one of those spaces that will be off limits, is it?” She knew that some people had spaces that they didn’t let another living being in if they could help it, and the way that he spoke of his bathroom, it might be one of those places. “Which would make me sad, because I would really like to be able to shower with you one day.”

  “You are welcome in all spaces in my home, Cinnamon. I hope that it will be yours, too, one day,” he told her softly. “I want you there. I think you might like it,” he said with a smile. Leaning in, he kissed her gently. “Have your shower and then I will attempt to have one as well. Just remember, be careful and test the water before you step under it. You don’t want to be burned.”

  “Right, you showed me that. All right, you go and do whatever you need to, and I’m going to have a shower.” She gathered up her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and sponges before heading to the bathroom with a jaunty little pep in her step.

  Smiling, Talon snatched up a robe he’d bought her and held it out. “So you don’t have to get dressed again,” he told her quietly. “Just gather up your clothes and bring them out when you’re done, darling.” Stepping back, he pulled the door shut and moved to sit on the bed to wait for her.

  “No clothes tonight between us, right?” Cin asked through the door. “Tonight it will only be us, right? Skin to skin, loving each other?”

  “Absolutely, but I don’t want you getting cold while you wait for me to shower, thus the robe to wear in the interim.” Going through the bags, he began to pull tags and fold everything up neatly. It was something to do, something to keep his mind off the fact she was naked, wet, and sliding silky soap over her perfect skin behind the bathroom door. The very thin, very fragile bathroom door.

  In the shower, Cin turned her face up to the spray and let it slide over her body. Running her hands over her wet and slick skin, she touched herself all over. She let her fingers trail over her breasts and then down between her legs. Slowly she stroked herself for a moment and then bit her lip with a whimper of need. “Right. Clean. Get out. Get Talon clean. Make him show me just how good it can be between us,” she rattled off and shook her head as if coming out of a trance.

  Fully clean, she got out of the shower, brushed her hair and teeth before sliding into the robe and walking out into the room where Talon was. Looking up at him, she smiled. “I like showers,” she admitted. “I think I will like them more with you. I like the way that it felt to run my hands over my wet body, so I know that showering with you will be much better because it will be you touching me instead.”

  Swallowing hard, he nodded. “It would be much better,” he rumbled out softly. “Might not be as good as a bubble bath, but it would be close,” he said. “I uh”—Talon cleared his thro
at—“I folded all your clothes and got rid of the tags. Everything is in the suitcases if you need anything,” he said, getting off the bed and grabbing his shaving kit. “I’ll be right back.” And with that he made a break for the bathroom. She hadn’t dried very well, the silk robe sticking to her damp flesh and lending his imagination way, way too many details. “Mother of the Gods,” he wheezed out as he cranked the shower on. “She’s trying to kill me.”

  “Thank you for folding up everything for me,” Cinnamon called through the door and grinned. Removing the robe, she pulled the bedding back and climbed in. Wrinkling her nose, she said, “I would have thought the bedding would have been more comfortable.” She shrugged, however, and settled back against the headboard to wait for her Talon to return to her.

  “Hotel bedding is mass produced for ease of cleaning and uniformity,” Talon told her as he pried himself out of the jeans and finally took a full breath. “The beds are chosen in the medium range in the hopes of pleasing as many people as possible without upsetting those who prefer firm or soft in the process. It’s all mass marketing at its best, babe,” he said before stepping into the tub and nearly strangling himself on the curtain rod.

  “Well I don’t like it,” she admitted to him. “Where are we going anyway? Will the next place we stop at be more suited to you and your big body?” she asked happily. “Because I truly do want to shower with you. Maybe we should bathe in a waterfall together. That would be wonderful, don’t you think?” A bit cold, but wonderful nevertheless.

  “At this time of year we’d end up getting frostbite, not an experience you want to have I can assure you,” he called as he managed to dunk his head under the spray. Scrubbing quickly, he rinsed and got out, remembering at the last minute to duck his head before stepping out. Grabbing a towel, he dried off and wrapped it around his hips. Picking up his clothing, he snatched up the bags and stepped out into the room, dropping everything in a chair. “I will find us a better place for tomorrow evening that has larger bathroom spaces.”