For Want of an Angel

by Rosalie Lario

  He strode to the couch and folded his long frame onto it, resting his elbows on his thighs and clasping his hands. The stiff muscles in his bare back betrayed his tension.

  Oh boy. Whatever he was going to tell her clearly bothered him a great deal. For a moment, she considered telling him she’d changed her mind, that she didn’t want to know. But the truth was, she did.

  Samantha took a seat on the couch next to Aaron. “What is it?”

  “I’ve told you before that we were condemned, not for our hatred of humans as the Consortium claims, but for our vocal protest against the Tribunal’s plan to eradicate them.”

  She wanted to denounce his words with every fiber of her being, but that little part of her that was able to sense truth screamed that he was telling it. The thought that humans might have willingly ceded control to the very beings who ultimately sought to destroy them was heartbreaking.

  “Go on,” she said stiffly.

  “When the Tribunal ordered us condemned, we were shackled and imprisoned. Sentenced to death.” He glanced down at his clasped hands, his right thumb worrying the left. “Our prison was a straw-filled hut. Two iron poles were drilled lengthwise deep into the ground, and those of us who’d been condemned were shackled to it. Then the Tribunal set the hut afire.”

  “Fire?” she gasped. “I don’t understand. Why do that?”

  “Fire destroys an angel’s regenerative ability. It’s the only way angels can be killed.”

  Whoa. Leave it to the angels to withhold that particular bit of information. As far as she’d known, angels were wholly immortal—unable to be killed.

  “Eventually a blast loosened the pole that half of us were chained to.” Something dark and desolate flashed in Aaron’s eyes when he looked toward her. “We escaped. Our burnt and scarred flesh healed, as did our charred wings...but we retain the scars of that day. Our wings never returned to their original color. We will always carry the mark of our condemnation.”

  God, what a horrible story. She couldn’t even imagine being locked in a room and left to burn. Having to watch while others she loved met the same fate. With all her heart, she wanted to decry his story. Declaim it as false. But she couldn’t. Her gut told her otherwise.

  Samantha gripped her fingers to her knees, resisting the urge to reach out and grasp Aaron’s hand. “What about the rest of the Fallen? The ones shackled to the other pole?”

  He glanced down, frowning. “They were caught in a direct blast of fire before I managed to escape. I watched them die, helpless to aid them.”

  Suddenly his words from the other night crept into her mind. He’d said that angels lost their strength and immortality without a mate. Which must mean...

  Oh no.

  “Did you have a mate? Was she one of the ones who...who didn’t make it?”

  Aaron’s mouth tightened and his shoulders tensed. “I did have a mate. She was not one of the condemned.”

  “She...what?”

  Lips pressed together, he met her gaze. “She sided with the rest of the angels. Chose to leave me to my fate.”

  What?

  If that was true, then...

  “That bitch!”

  Her words startled a chuckle from his lips. He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve often thought that myself in the years since.”

  Samantha shook her head. How could anyone, much less Aaron’s mate, choose to leave him like that? Simply stand by while he died a tragic, horrific death?

  “I don’t believe it,” she whispered.

  “Don’t you?” For the first time since they’d landed, Aaron reached out and grasped her hand. The low vibration his fingers let out sent a tingle of awareness through her whole body. “You can sense that I speak the truth, can’t you?”

  “You said that before. Said that it was because I’m nephilim. What do you mean by that?”

  His fingers traveled up her arm, sending tremors through her spine. “Angels have the ability to sense emotions in others. It’s a trait that most nephilim carry as well.”

  Her breath caught, because his words made so much sense. She’d never given much thought to her ability to sense the truth in others. Hadn’t analyzed it enough to even realize it was emotions she was picking up on. But now that he’d pointed it out, it seemed obvious.

  “Holy cow, I can sense what people are feeling!”

  Aaron let out a low laugh. “Yes, you can.”

  Which meant what her gut told her was right. He spoke the truth. The Consortium, the angels who ruled over Earth...

  They really were the bad guys.

  “Oh shit.”

  He cocked a brow and nodded. “Exactly.”

  Heart heavy with trepidation, she stared at Aaron. Studied the strong lines of his face. The man was like a work of art, and from everything she’d learned, he was a truly good being. He’d given up his people, his old life to come to the aid of humans. The thought that the woman he’d loved, who was supposed to support him above all, had cast him aside made Samantha’s heart ache for him.

  “I...” Her words of condolence died on her lips. A simple sorry just didn’t seem to cut it.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  Oh, that’s right. She didn’t really have to say the words, did she? He could sense her sympathy.

  And maybe I could sense his emotions too, if I focused on them.

  Aaron’s lips parted and his hand trailed to a stop, resting lightly at the underside of her elbow. His eyes narrowed, gaze trained on her face, and a wave of heavy tension filled the room.

  For the first time in her life, rather than simply dismissing it, she focused on the tension, mentally waded into it as if it were a thick mist she navigated through. To her surprise, a barrage of emotions wound through her. Sadness, fear, hope. Desire.

  Pure, unadulterated desire.

  He wanted her. Wanted her with an intensity that made her breath catch.

  Her womb clenched in primitive response and a sliver of static electricity singed the air. Then came the startling realization...

  If she could so clearly sense his desire for her, then he knew full well how much she wanted him.

  Chapter Eight

  As if she’d said the words aloud, Aaron’s lips curved into a smile.

  “Yes,” he said softly. “I feel it too.”

  Her eyes widened as she silently stared at him. They both felt it—this thing between the two of them.

  The electric current ping-ponging back and forth between them wound to a fury crescendo, and suddenly it felt like an invisible thread of connection tightened, shoving them together. She threw herself into his arms. Her hands circled his neck while his closed over her waist, crushing her to him. The first touch of their lips ignited a starburst of fireworks that left her body quivering for more. She moaned and opened her lips, and his tongue slipped inside, tangling with hers, plundering the depths of her mouth.

  The hot, molten steel of his bare torso seared her chest even through the fabric of her turtleneck sweater. What had previously been the perfect material to protect her from the autumn air had now become far too hot for her heated flesh. She needed it off. Now.

  He must have sensed her unspoken plea, because his hands slid down to the hem of her sweater and he tugged it upward, breaking apart from her just long enough to pull the sweater over her head and toss it behind him. And then his hands were on the bare flesh of her back, hot and smooth and oh so good. His fingers flicked the snaps on her bra open with an expert precision she didn’t care to think about, and then the satin barrier was gone, leaving her breasts in full contact with his bare chest. They hardened with an almost painful intensity, the hypersensitive tips grazing his pectoral muscles. He groaned and pressed her to him, trailing his hands down to cup the globes of her ass.

  Every nerve ending on her body felt electrified. The places where their bare flesh made contact tingled and pulsed. What would it feel like to be completely skin-to-skin?

  More than likely it
would be a total sensory overload that would cause her brain to short circuit. But like a moth to the flame, she was drawn to him. Wanted more of him.

  She broke away from his kiss long enough to whisper, “Please.”

  Aaron groaned loudly, pulling away so he could examine her face. His topaz eyes flashed with unmistakable arousal. “I want you so badly, Samantha.”

  “I want you too. Now. Please.”

  A look of indecision momentarily crossed his face, but then he pulled her close and made as if to rise.

  She tugged him back down. “Where are you going?”

  “Bedroom,” he whispered, the urgency in his tone betraying his desire for her.

  “No.” She shook her head. “Too far.”

  A harsh sound escaped his lips and he crushed her to him, sinking them both onto the braided wool rug. With one effortless shove he moved the coffee table off the rug, clearing the space for them.

  “Aaron,” she pleaded. She wanted him—no needed him—inside her now.

  When he pushed off her and sat back, she moaned in protest, but then he made quick work divesting her of her shoes and socks before removing his own.

  She lay back, panting, and simply watched as the gorgeous being before her stood and undid the zipper of his jeans. His blond hair glimmered in the light of the moon streaming in through the windows, and his topaz eyes glittered with determination.

  God, he was so incredibly beautiful. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined a lover so damn near perfect. And for tonight at least, he was hers. All hers.

  He slipped out of his jeans, leaving him with nothing other than gray boxer briefs that did nothing to hide the impressive bulge beneath. A gasp escaped her lips at the thought that that was going to be inside her. And then he slid his underwear off his body in one fluid movement, and all thought fled.

  Wow. The pure masculine beauty of his body put every other man she’d ever been with to shame. There was simply no comparison.

  He stood proudly before her, allowing her for one moment to take in her fill before parting his lips with a hesitant look. “Samantha, are you sure...?”

  Was she sure? How could he even ask?

  “Hell, yes.”

  Chuckling softly, he knelt before her once again. His fingers crept to the waistband of her leggings, and he slowly—far more slowly than she cared for—tugged the material down her body, bringing her little black thong down with them. Finally the constricting fabric was gone, leaving her with nothing but her and him and the glory of this moment.

  He spread her knees, but rather than settling between them as she’d expected, he brought his face down between her thighs. Her murmur of protest died with the first long lick of his tongue. Coils of red-hot electricity spider-webbed through her body, tearing a ragged cry from her lips. She hadn’t even considered how the hum of energy between them would feel with his tongue down there, but oh wow, was it mind-blowing.

  His tongue slid slowly inside her, moving in and out in a smooth rhythm that left her gasping for breath.

  “Please.” She lifted her head and tangled her fingers in his short hair, mindlessly directing his movements. He let out an appreciative groan and shifted his head, feasting on her like a man starving. The sensation of his mouth, the slow liquid slide of his tongue, was just too much to bear.

  When he flicked his tongue across her clitoris, her whole body clenched on a wave of ecstasy. She cried out loudly and threw her head back as her release overtook her. Her legs trembled wildly from the force of her orgasm.

  Aaron at last halted his sweet torture, lifting his head to spear her with a look of blazing passion. “You taste so sweet, beloved. So perfect.”

  How he had the ability to utter anything more than monosyllables at this point was beyond her. Summoning the last of her strength, she tugged on his hair. “Come here.”

  “Mmm.”

  His lips spread into a slow grin as he slid up her body until the tip of his rock-hard cock rested right at her entrance. She gasped at the hot and heavy feel of him. Lord, he was big.

  So big.

  His lips met hers, his tongue slipping inside just as his cock pushed into her. She cried out into his mouth at the incredible sensation of him slowly filling her. The feeling was so intense it rode the boundary between pleasure and pain, yet she ached for more.

  One thing was clear: no mere human man could compare to an angel. At least not this one.

  “More. Now,” she heard herself say in a hoarse, barely-recognizable voice.

  Aaron groaned and obliged, shifting his hips so he was fully seated within her.

  “Oh. That’s it.”

  That’s it.

  She spread her knees further and dug her fingers into his hips, urging him to go in as deep as he could.

  He let out another heavy groan. “So intense, beloved.”

  “Harder. More.”

  He shuddered and obeyed, sliding out until nothing but the tip of him remained inside her then driving back in. Repeating that movement over and over until he pounded into her with a hard, ferocious rhythm that drove her hips down into the rug with every deep thrust. She straightened her legs out to the side, spreading them wide to allow him deeper penetration. Desperately wanting every little bit he could give her. He responded by shifting the angle of his hips so he drove her further down, fucking her more thoroughly than she’d thought possible. Her climax came swift and furious, driving through her

  “Yes! Yes,” she screamed, though she’d never been a screamer before. But then, she’d never had an angel before, had she?

  “Saman—” Aaron stiffened and let out a roar, dropping his head next to hers and clutching her tight while he pistoned in and out of her. His heavy shudder preceded the rush of hot liquid inside her. He remained tense above her for several long moments before collapsing on top of her.

  Even though she could barely breathe, she hugged him close, not wanting to lose the closeness between him.

  Sanity returned slowly, making her all too aware that she’d just made love to an angel—one who believed she was his mate. But this wasn’t meant to last. It couldn’t.

  Could it?

  After all, he was an angel and she...wasn’t.

  Not really, at any rate.

  No, it couldn’t last. But she would enjoy him while she had him.

  Even if that only meant a few more days.

  Chapter Nine

  When Samantha awoke late the next evening, she immediately became aware of a pair of arms wrapped around her. She blinked her eyes and looked around the room. After making love on the rug once more, she and Aaron had finally tumbled into the apartment’s bedroom, only to end up repeating their lovemaking on the queen-sized bed until well after the sun had come up. She’d been so lost in him that she’d barely taken stock of her surroundings.

  Not good, Samantha.

  One didn’t become one of the best thieves around by being unaware. The fact that she’d allowed Aaron to distract her spoke volumes about her innate trust of him.

  No, not just trust. She needed to be honest here.

  If she let herself, she could easily end up falling for this beautiful angel.

  Well, that just meant she’d have to guard her heart more than ever, because the last thing she needed was to fall in love with a man who faced imminent death at the hands of the Consortium. She’d lost enough people in her life already.

  Samantha slowly squeezed out from under his grasp, wincing at the slight twinge in her thigh muscles, and turned until she faced him. Still asleep, he rolled onto his back. The white sheet now rode dangerously low on his hips, allowing her a full view at the perfection of his body. A lock of blond hair had crept down over his forehead in his sleep, giving him an innocent edge that contrasted sharply with the pure sinfulness of his body. His chest was completely smooth, the perfect showcase for his chiseled muscles and taut honeyed skin. And the impressive bulge below the thin sheet told her he would wake at full attent
ion.

  God, he smelled so fucking good.

  As if he sensed her gaze on him, he tensed and shifted, his eyes fluttering open. He looked at her and blinked, then broke out into a soft grin. “G’morning.”

  “It’s night.”

  He laughed and rolled over onto her, brushing her hair off her neck so he could place a soft kiss there. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Perfectly,” she said, arching up toward his touch.

  “Me too.”

  “Passed out is more like it,” she confessed with a blush.

  He lifted his head with a laugh, then sobered as he stared down at her. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

  She averted her gaze, though she couldn’t help the smile that crept to her lips. Part of her wanted to preen under his intense gaze, but she couldn’t help but be conscious that he wanted more from her than she was able to give. She would not fall for this man.

  “I guess we should be leaving soon, right?”

  He grinned and pressed his weight down on her. “We have time.”

  The tone of his voice left no doubt about what he thought they should be doing with that time. Amazingly, even though her body felt sore and well-used, she found herself responding to him. Her hips arched up of their own accord, causing her center to brush up against that part of him that was definitely now awake. She bit back the gasp that longed to escape.

  “Aren’t your friends expecting us?”

  “Yes,” he murmured, lowering his head to press another soft kiss to her neck. “But they can wait.”

  Well, when he put it that way...

  What difference does an hour make?

  Not like it was a lifelong commitment or anything.

  *****

  Several hours later, Samantha rode in Aaron’s arms, her eyes wide with wonder as she took in the majestic Adirondack Mountains below. Tall and green, they lined both sides of the valley Aaron flew over.

  “This is beautiful,” she said.

  “Wait until you see it in the daytime.” With a muttered, “Hold on,” Aaron started his downward descent.