Aequitas Betrayal

by Mason, a. c.

  Guiding his hand higher with her own, she caressed her inner thigh with it. “A long time.”

  Gaze locked with his, she moved until her lips were so close, he felt her warmth. Lightly, she skimmed her lips over his. How his body wanted her. Hunger caused him to press forward, meet her soft mouth. Lips, warm and smooth, met with his as she released his hand at the edge of her little hairs. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she kissed him deeper. Why couldn’t he hear her thoughts? She must have something to hide? His hand itched to move further, to brush past the coarse curls and find her wet with want, but he held back, could not allow himself.

  Wrenching his lips from hers, he grabbed her shoulders. “Auria?”

  “No.”

  Her index finger moved along his stomach, down and over his erection, causing it to twitch.

  “I-I...” He cleared his throat, then swallowed as she wrapped her hand around his shaft.

  Bucking forward, she leaned her lips to his and grinned as she regained some of the distance. Anger stirred in him. “You don’t even know my question.”

  “I can hear your thoughts. You don’t need to ask, and quite frankly, my thoughts are irrelevant.”

  “Then I can’t proceed.”

  “I’m fully aware that you’re able.” With one movement, she ripped his frock from his body.

  Erect and filled with desire, he wanted her, but not like this. “That wasn’t what I meant and you know it. Is what you think of this so offensive, you intend to withhold thoughts from me?”

  “Can we focus on the pleasure we are about to share, and less of this other stuff?”

  “No.” Closing his eyes, he focused on the calmness of his angel half. As his wings forced their way through his back, the pressure wrenched him, and as they expanded, his muscles ached, stretched beyond comfort. Unfolded, they flapped softly. Yanked back from his seat, he remained suspended in the air. Weird. He hated heights.

  On her feet, she smiled, scooped up her frock, then looked up at him. “Nice wings.”

  Well, at least he amused her.

  She strolled over to her dresser, removed a pair of white leather pants and a tank top and put them on. “You’re going to need to learn to control such emotional outbursts.”

  Crashing onto the bed with a hard thump, he turned to her.

  Bright white teeth shone at him as she giggled. “I was right. You’re a quick study. I will go pick up your clothing. When I return, I’m going to the warrior training area.” Halfway out the door, she paused, eyes sparkling. “You’re welcome to come along.” The door swung open and she exited.

  Alone, he sat on one of the chairs and licked his wounds, hoping to repair his crushed ego.

  How would he get through to her? She couldn’t bully him and he didn’t enjoy manipulation.

  Despite everything, he smiled, unable to stop himself. Auria. More precious than a glacier, like the mysterious gems her eyes reminded him of, black onyx.

  Chapter 6

  Once outside the door of her quarters, anger grabbed hold. Gabriel! She knew he had something to do with this. Every ounce of self-restraint kept her from stomping to him like a child.

  Fury raged in her body. He’d manipulated her, clear as day.

  Faced with the door to his room, she took two long, concentrated breaths.

  Gabriel slipped into her mind. “Enter.”

  “I despise when you do that.” The door opened for her, and she made her way inside, huffing as she approached him.

  “Yes, I know,” Gabriel said, as his servants scurried off like cockroaches.

  The door closed behind her. The room remained as bare as when she’d left the comforts of his bed, like all quarters lit by torches and containing only the necessities: a small table with four chairs to her left, a large bed straight ahead, dressers and wardrobes placed against the stone walls.

  That damned bed. After her mother’s death, for the first time, she’d felt safe. But safety had its price. Images better left forgotten, those illicit acts they’d shared.

  “Fond memories?” he taunted, coming out from the shadowy corner with a grin on his face.

  Ignoring his jab, she turned to him. “What is he?”

  “I assume we are speaking of Etienne?” Gabriel raised his hand over his mouth, parting his lips widely, fanning himself in an exaggerated gesture.

  “Who the hell else would I be talking about?” Knowing better than to ignore his pointless questions, she took a seat at the small table to her left. “Yes.”

  “One of your kind.”

  “And what else?”

  “Why do you ask?” He shrugged. As he looked at her, his eyes widened.

  Shaking her head, she asked, “Why do you insist on trying to talk me into circles? I’m not one of your groupies, dazzled by every syllable that comes from your mouth.”

  He moved closer. “You were once.” How she hated the smile that always graced his lips when he brought up her once blind devotion. Now he stood behind her, sparing her the sight. A slight relief. “My question stands.”

  Eyes closed, he took a deep breath and inhaled her scent, which always gave her the creeps.

  “Why do you ask?”

  She cast her gaze to the ceiling. “Something is familiar about the taste of him. Unrelated to the taste of you, which I know all too well, nor that of Asmodai.”

  “You do love reminding me you left the comfort and safety of my bed to be Asmodai’s pet.”

  Gabriel’s fingers trailed up her exposed nape.

  “Enough!” Moving away from his caress, she looked up at him. “I wasn’t his pet, I was a project.” Gabriel hovered, likely unable to accept she’d left the pampered life he’d given her to be pushed to the brink of insanity. Nor would he ever be able to help continuously bringing it up.

  “Let’s get back to why I am here, if you can get over your pouting for a few moments. What have you done and what is he? Who else’s blood runs in his veins?”

  Gabriel took a seat across from her. “I did nothing. How easily you forget those you’ve discarded.”

  As she looked at his calm eyes, sadness filled her. She discarded no one. Rather, did her best to push them away, and never failed. “Haith.”

  Gabriel’s knowing smile twisted his lips. “So you do remember?”

  The memories flooded her all at once. Haith had given up his quest to be close to her and taken a living human lover—strictly forbidden, of course. The orders were clear: hunt him down and release his soul. Putting down someone so close never got easier. Hours of battle ended with her the victor. His words that night haunted her. ‘I forgive you.’ What had he meant? Three decades later she was no closer to understanding. She reached out to Etienne’s mind and searched his memories.

  His mother’s face matched the young girl she had found Haith with. “How is this possible?”

  “Why do you think we forbade such a union?”

  Oh no. She’d killed Etienne’s father. “Why make me his partner?”

  “Come Auria, you must know the answer.”

  All too well. Preservation. If he turned out to be more powerful than the others, she was the only one who could destroy him. But as his partner, Gabriel insured she would be compelled to save him from himself. Whatever he might need, she would provide. Nor could he harm her once he knew she had murdered his father. Gabriel had been biding his time. “Foolishness on your part.”

  “You two were always meant to be together, and in the end nothing will keep you from each other.”

  The door began to open. Gabriel’s way of telling her this discussion was over. She rose from her chair and exited his chamber.

  ****

  By Etienne’s constant adjusting, she could tell he wasn’t comfortable in his new look: tight black leather pants, white cotton wife beater, black leather trench coat and heavy boots. The leather clung to his flesh, outlining his muscles. Sexy. But the way the material defined his large penis sent a thrill through her every time he
r gaze rested there. His look only served to accentuate his masculinity, making him appear dangerous.

  She liked it.

  As they entered the large dome-shaped training chamber, the senior warriors sparred with the junior recruits on the cotton-layered floor. All wore their standard cotton wife beaters and thick, cotton, loose fitting pants. They stopped and bowed to her in perfect unison.

  “As you were.” Walking past them, she noticed they all eyeballed Etienne. She continued on to her office, amused.

  “I guess you’re pretty accustomed to men doing as you tell them.” The sharpness in his voice made his displeasure evident. “You’re the only human who’s a warrior?”

  She glared at him. “Yes, and the only one to ever hold a senior military position. You’ll probably be put on the council with most of our kind. A sensible choice, given you were Chief of Police, in a decision maker role.” Though physically agile enough to be a warrior, they would never place married partners in the same field, to avoid any possible friction.

  “I was a beat cop, then a detective before I became the Chief. You’re a General. How many battles have you seen lately?”

  His sarcastic tone raked her nerves. No one had spoken to her in such a manner for centuries, and twice today he’d offended her. “Every one of them! I’m on the front line of every battle. My hands are covered in the blood of those we have taken and men I have lost.” Opening her mind to him, she allowed her memories to flash images of those battles she had been in, chopping off heads, tearing out hearts and bleeding out the fallen, causing the release of their souls.

  Battlefields covered in bodies, brutal executions and freeing the dying from their suffering flashed in her mind, which she ensured he saw too. He stumbled back, blood dripping from his nostrils, and tilted his head forward, pinching his nose in a fruitless attempt to stop the flow.

  Sitting upon her desk, she reached into her top drawer for a hanky. “Come here.” She spread her legs and allowed him to move closer, then pulled his hand from his nose. As she cleaned his face, he stared. “What?”

  “You keep telling and showing me things that you feel will push me away.”

  “Is that how you perceive it? If that were the case, wouldn’t I have just allowed you to hear my thoughts earlier when you were so insistent?”

  “No, because sleeping with me is something you want to get over with, so you can get back to whatever it is you’d rather be doing. It’s easier if I don’t like you, and the same in terms of me.”

  “I like you just fine.” Actually, she enjoyed him very much, as weird as it seemed. He didn’t appear to want to butt heads with her and remained rather calm. Something which she could not fight. How could she get through to him? Madness would consume her too if he broke. Was she coming on too strong? He couldn’t be so complex. All she needed to figure out was what got him off and become that. “I’m being kept from nothing. No one has crossed the line, or needs to be hunted down. It will make things easier if we just get it over and done with.” Withdrawing her hand from his face, she put the cloth down. Why was she even offering herself? Hurt pride. Maybe she’d grown to believe all males wanted a turn.

  “What do you hunt and what is our purpose?”

  “There are rules. The worst thing that can happen to an angel is not becoming a demon. They are also held by rules. Higher level beings are not permitted to interfere with physical life forms, nor are they to enter their realms. Only we are permitted those rights, but these are forgivable.

  When an angel or demon feeds on physical life forms for sport cannot be forgiven. Draining them not only of blood to end their life, but ingesting the victim’s soul, traps it within. Collecting souls gives those who ‘break’ great power.”

  “So ‘break’ means much more than just my demon half taking control?”

  “Yes. Both halves will be lost to a hunger greater than you’ve ever known, a complete insatiability.” Why were his eyes looking at her with desire, slowly moving over her, if he had no intention of acting on it? How infuriating. “In the beginning, ten males had been chosen. Within two hundred years they all broke. Then five females and five males. One male coupled and became the only male they didn’t lose. Once they realized the males needed the females, the survival rate significantly improved. Females don’t break, but appear to suffer from loneliness.”

  “But not you?”

  Solitude equaled safety. “Not loneliness.” She smiled. “Acting this way is pointless. We will have time to get to know each other, after.” Arm around his shoulder, she pulled him closer, then wrapped her legs around his.

  “Hmm, I don’t think it’s pointless for me to want to get to know you first.”

  “Unnecessary.”

  “Maybe for you, but not for me.”

  She moved up to his neck, felt his warm flesh beneath her fingers. The sound of his heart pumping just a little faster with each beat echoed his desire.

  “I’m attracted to you and I want you,” he said in a low tone, then wrapped his rough hand around hers. “Don’t keep making me push you away. I won’t take part in your games.”

  Retracting her hand, she released him from her legs and looked away. If only this were one of her games, then his rejection wouldn’t be upsetting. She didn’t know the rules and definitely wasn’t enjoy playing. “Games?”

  “Intentional or not, I’m not in the mood to be toyed with.”

  “What kind of game would you be up for?” She raised an eyebrow. “You know martial arts, right?”

  “Yes, and...?” Fear plagued his gaze as he backed away from her.

  “Let’s spar.”

  “Have you lost your mind? I won’t get physical with you.”

  Laughing, she hopped off the desk, walked to the door and stopped. “Either you will, or any one of the others will. They have been trying to pin me for centuries. We’ll just grapple.” She strolled out.

  ****

  He followed her out into the training room, grumbling the entire way. Right. Like he wanted another man’s hands all over her. There were about fifty males, and none appeared to be human.

  Some looked long and willowy like Taj, others were as pale as Deimos with a huge body, and still others, short like Myna. The males stopped, turned in her direction and bowed to her.

  “Meka and Jutee will demonstrate pinning methods,” she said. By their size and looks, from Deimos’s home world, two stepped forward and the group formed a half moon. Auria watched closely until the largest of them was pinned by the smaller.

  He should have been watching the two struggling warriors, but couldn’t. The way she moved and her intensity attracted him as no other woman had before.

  “Good, you all saw how Jutee used the leverage in his body, as well as his maneuvers to pin Meka. Now everyone practice with your partner.”

  Heat rushed in his body as she approached, the thought of her form held to his thrilled him.

  “If you fear the others will judge you, I will not force you to grapple with me.”

  A tenderness in her eyes not present before touched him. She didn’t intend to humiliate him.

  Man enough to be secure about being with a strong woman and proud if she shone, he relaxed.

  “What’s the worst that can happen? You on top of me? Me on top of you? Either sounds like a good time to me.”

  Her head cocked as her eyes widened, and happiness rose in his chest.

  Planting his feet on the floor, he kept his gaze on her as she moved toward him. Her hands grabbed him by the upper arms and pulled him forward. The strength she used seemed to equal the force she’d used in the park, but its impact did not compel him to the ground.

  Interesting. Doing the same to her, he forced her to the floor. Whoa...Cool. Now able to match her strength, he paused and she pinned him.

  Anger blanketed her face. Her cheeks flushed deep crimson and eyes narrowed. The others watched as she rose and strode into her office.

  The large creature appro
ached, holding out his hand to help him up. “I’m Meka. Don’t worry. None of us have ever managed to pin her, either.”

  “Thanks.” Once up, he made his way into her office and sat at her desk.

  “Auria?” From her reaction, she believed he didn’t even put an effort into pinning her.

  “No,” she said, glaring.

  “I hesitated, surprised about my new strength.”

  “Don’t bother. I’m not interested in excuses.” Bringing her index finger to her lips, she hushed him. “Shh.”

  The door to her office opened. Gabriel entered, wounded, with four large claw marks across his face. Blood dripped from the gashes and stained his robe.

  ****

  Pushing Etienne back, Auria moved to Gabriel. The scent of his attacker caused her to fear the worst. “What has he done?”

  “Deimos escaped. Not before killing Raj and his two guards.”

  This wasn’t possible. Raj and he were best friends. She rubbed her eyes. “I will hunt him down myself.”

  A spike of disapproval flashed from Etienne. “I can’t have my wife going after her ex-lover.”

  Was he for real? Whatever, he didn’t get it.

  “No, General, he wants you to go after him, and you’ve not yet joined with your partner. What if you don’t return? Etienne will be lost. It’s too great a risk to take. I’ve sent Meka after him,” Gabriel said.

  She and Etienne were linked to each other until she died. Deimos might keep her alive just long enough for Etienne to break. Was she the only one there thinking straight? The strongest of them physically, more than brute force would be needed to take Deimos down. “Meka isn’t ready to hunt one so close to him. Deimos is his superior.”

  “Well, he’ll have to be, because you will not go after Deimos. That is an order. It’s a trap,” Gabriel said.

  Like she didn’t know that? She didn’t need Gabriel to tell her. The only one capable of taking out Deimos was her, and Etienne stood in the way. “Fine. When the body count racks up and you come to your senses, Gabriel, you’ll know where to find me. In my quarters, playing bed nurse.”

  With that, she stormed out the door.