She had thought drinking blood would be gross, but it wasn’t. From Ash, it was sweet like a dessert wine, thick and flavorful, and tasted like nothing she could ever hope to describe. As she swallowed, he held her tight to his throat and growled deep in his chest. She could feel his erection pressing into her stomach and that made her wrap her arms around him tighter. Her body was alive with passion, tingling everywhere, but especially in her core.
Ash prepared himself for pain. He knew many people allowed vampires to drink from them, but still, she was going to put those tiny razors in his throat. But when she bit him… Dear God. He was unprepared for the sudden and complete onslaught of lust that filled his body. He wanted her to bite him and take from him. He wanted it more than his next breath.
Without disturbing her feeding, Ash picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He walked carefully until her back was against the wall, holding her butt in place while he ground his cock into her core. He could feel her heat through their clothes and it made him crazy. As he held her to his throat, every pull from her mouth made his cock jerk in his jeans. He held her there, feeding her and dry humping her like a boy.
Then, she moaned around his neck–and that was his undoing.
Ash threw his head back and roared as the biggest orgasm of his life crashed into him. He kept grinding his hips into her; he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop himself nor did he want to. This is what life was about. Being everything for his woman and the feeling was extraordinary.
When she had taken her fill, Elizabeth pulled her teeth from Ash’s throat. She instinctively licked every last drop from his skin, and when she looked to see what kind of damage she had done, she was relieved to see there was none. His arms made a steel cage around her and when she looked up into his eyes, they were glowing red. She had only seen it once before and he was pissed then. She knew that the red of his eyes had nothing to do with being pissed off now though. His wings were slightly opened behind him, twitching and moving of their own accord. He rested his forehead on hers and said, “Damn, woman.”
Elizabeth giggled. He loved the sound of her laughter. He was going to see to it that she did it more often. First, even though he had just come in his pants like a teenage boy with his first trip to second base, he was still as hard as stone. He carried her over to his bed and sat down with her legs still wrapped around him. He moved his hands from her backside up to her face and brought her lips back to his own.
Moving his hands over her back and then up to the hem of her shirt by her neck, he grabbed the material and ripped it down the middle before pulling it off her arms. Then, he flipped their position so that he was on top of her, legs still around his hips and their mouths still fused together.
Ash finally let her up for air only long enough to rip her panties off her body and toss them aside. He shucked his own pants and then crawled back over her. “Mine,” he growled into her ear before running his tongue over the shell. “Mine, mine, mine.”
“Yes,” Elizabeth cried out when he bit the cord of her neck. “More!” So he did. He licked, nipped, and sucked at her neck. When she demanded that he suck harder, he obliged. He knew she was going to have one hell of a mark when it was said and done, but it would be his mark.
He kissed down her chest to her breast, massaging them with his hands, and then took one pert nipple into his mouth. Her cry of pleasure spurred him on. He bit gently with his teeth and her back bowed off the bed. Her hips rose forcefully off the mattress, grinding against his stomach. He could feel her wetness as she bumped against him with her core.
He paid homage to the other nipple as well. Then, he shifted his weight off her and to the side so that his hands could have free reign of her body. He traced her stomach and her hip, and then dipped his hand between her thighs. She was hot to the touch and soaking wet. Ash bent his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth again, this time while exploring her sex with his fingers.
“Ash,” she moaned, “please. More.”
He slipped two fingers inside her. She was a snug fit and he knew exactly what she needed from him. He flexed his fingers inside her in a come here motion, while sucking hard at her nipple. The heel of his palm kept pressure on her clit while she writhed under his attention.
“Yes!” she cried out as her body began to shake. Her sex clamped down like a vise on his fingers, and Ash watched the beauty of his mate’s orgasm at his hand.
He stroked her gently while she floated back to her body. “That was nice,” she said with a wicked smile.
“Nice?” he asked, pretending to be taken aback. “I’ll show you nice.” He climbed over her and she locked her ankles behind his butt.
“Better show me fast,” she suggested. “I forget easily.”
“You are never forgetting anything about me again,” he promised as he positioned himself at her center. Then he pushed inside. He wanted to draw it out, but as before, he couldn’t. He pushed his hips forward, shoving his cock deeper and deeper inside her. She grabbed his ass and pulled him into her as well. Faster and faster he thrust, and when he could hold out no more, he reached between them, took her clit between his fingers, and squeezed.
“Oh, fuck yes!” she screamed as she orgasmed again.
Ash was pounding into her, grunting his mantra with every thrust. “Mine, mine, mine.” Then, he jumped off that cliff with her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ash sat at his desk with Elizabeth at his side. She was returning a few work emails and putting in for her vacation time. She had not disclosed her new vampire status yet. Even though she knew most of her coworkers wouldn’t mind the change, she feared some would. She thought some would even fear her, which was just silly in her book.
He admired the dark lines that wrapped around the back of her neck, resembling angel wings. It was her mating mark. It appeared one morning after a long night of lovemaking, and an identical mark appeared on his neck as well. She was his, and he was hers.
“How you holding up, Love?” he asked her, taking her hand.
She turned and looked at him with a quirked brow. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“You know, after everything? Are you ok?” he asked. His woman had been through a ton of shit, and even though she smiled at him a lot, he worried.
She graced him with that lovely smile. “I’m good, I think,” she answered. “It’s been crazy, but as long as I have you, I’m ok. As long as we’re together, I can handle anything.”
He loved that woman.
He had already checked his own emails. Only one thing stood out to him, and that was a response to his reply to a satanic cult. Apparently, they didn’t care for his “Dear Pathetic Fucks,” response. He wasn’t concerned, though. He didn’t believe that the threats made in the email could actually be followed through on. Not without the help of someone actually in Hell, and Ash had made damn sure no one would dare stand against him for a long time.
Antonio strolled into his office, unannounced as usual, and Ash actually met him with a smile. “So, I was thinking,” Antonio began talking, but Ash didn’t really hear what he was saying. That angel could talk! How many times did Ash consider killing him? Once? Twice? Six hundred and forty three? He was glad he didn’t now. If it hadn’t been for Antonio, he would never have gotten Elizabeth back. However, he could sure be a pain in the ass.
Ash was grateful that God had put that little loophole in his request. Ash thought that being with him would put Elizabeth in danger, but being away from him had made it worse for her.
She didn’t really talk about what she had been through, but she didn’t have to. Ash had seen it all in her head. He figured out that they could communicate with their minds, much like Antonio could with his mate. Still, he worried. He knew that Marcus had left scars on his woman that no one would ever see, but were there nonetheless. Scars he couldn’t heal. Pain he couldn’t conquer. He thanked God that she was so much stronger than he was. She was his strength. It took him a wh
ile to figure it out, but now that he knew it, he never planned to let her go.
She was everything to him, and without her, he had nothing.
Ash watched as Antonio paced his office, talking. He pushed his hair over his shoulder and Ash thought once again that the man needed a haircut. A slow smile spread across Ash’s lips. With a tiny flick of his wrist, he sent the smallest bit of his power in Antonio’s direction.
Elizabeth snorted and then covered it with a cough.
“You okay?” Antonio asked her.
Elizabeth pressed her lips together hard and nodded. She wanted to laugh so badly, but she managed to hold it in.
“What?” Antonio asked. He looked at Ash, who was wearing an identical expression. Their lips were closed tight, but their eyes were bright with unleashed laughter. “What is so damn funny?”
Ash snickered and then cleared his throat. “Nothing, man, go on.”
Antonio shook his head and kept talking. He paced until he walked in front of the mirror. Then, he stopped dead in his tracks. Backed up slowly. Studied his reflection. “What the fuck?” he shouted. He turned on his heel and glared at Ash. “Fix it now.”
Ash burst out laughing. He couldn’t hold it anymore. Antonio, the big bad warrior angel, was standing in front of him with a bald head. But that wasn’t where it stopped. His wings were no longer the huge, white, majestic angel wings, but gossamer fairy wings that glittered with every color of the rainbow. They shimmered and flapped furiously behind him. The chain mail was gone, replaced with a pretty pink tutu.
“I think it’s an improvement,” Ash choked out between laughs.
Elizabeth couldn’t speak. She was leaning over sideways in her chair, laughing so hard that tears were running down her cheeks.
“What the fuck did you do to me?” Antonio demanded, putting his hands on his hips. The image was so less menacing with the tutu.
Elizabeth thought she was going to die. “I’m gonna pee my pants!” she wailed.
Ash grabbed her and hugged her close while laughing his ass off. “That,” he said, pointing at Antonio, “is for all the shit you gave me.”
Antonio glared at him.
“What?” Ash wailed, “No snarky comeback? No crazy butt-dance?” he leaned back and drew in a deep, wheezing breath. “Big bad warrior has nothing to say?”
Antonio was pissed. Almost. But being the prankster that he was, he could appreciate the merits of a good prank, and Ash had gotten him good. He kept his hands on his hips and leapt into the air like a dysfunctional swan. Then he bent at the knee for a little bow. He raised his head and grinned at Ash before joining them in their laughter.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ash pulled at the knot on his tie again. “Stop it,” Elizabeth told him. “You’re going to make it crooked.”
“I hate this thing,” he said as he allowed her to fix it again.
“I don’t care. Leanne said wear it and you are gonna wear it.” Elizabeth turned around so that her back was to him. “Now, finish zipping me up,” she said.
Ash’s brain shorted out for a moment when he saw the expanse of skin on his mate’s back. Her dress was blood red, with a deep V back that stopped at her hips. He reached over and pulled the zipper up the last inch until it was securely in place. “You look beautiful,” he told her. And she did. Her dark hair was twisted on top of her head with little curls hanging down to framed her face. She was wearing minimal makeup, just enough to accent her eyes. Little teardrop diamond earrings hung from her ears and a matching necklace graced her chest. The little diamond charm sat just above her cleavage. He, on the other hand, was stuck in the standard wedding penguin suit. “You would make any female vampire jealous.”
“Smooth talker,” she said with a playful swat at him. “Come on, it’s almost time.”
They went into the room where Leanne was waiting for them. Ash’s breath caught when he saw his sister in her new wedding dress. This one was pristine white, without tears or bloodstains. Would he ever get the sight of her that day out of his head? He doubted it, but seeing her like this was a good start. “Lele,” he breathed. “I can’t believe it. You’re all grown up.”
Elizabeth sneaked out silently as Ash entered the room.
Leanne smiled at Ash. “I’ve been grown for a while now,” she reminded him. “You’re not very observant.”
“Tell me about it,” he grumbled. “You sure about this?” he asked her.
Leanne stood from her stool and took both of Ash’s hands into hers. “Yes. I want you to know something, Big Brother.”
He smiled down at her. “What’s that?”
“I know what you did for me,” she said. Ash raised a brow at her and she continued. “When we were kids. I remember. I saw it too. You saved me back then. I never really knew the price you paid for me until just recently, but I wanted you to know that I knew it.” She fidgeted with his tie. “I don’t really understand what happened between you and Elizabeth, and I won’t ask, but I am so glad you finally found each other.”
Ash had hoped his sister would never know his life. His real life. His heart sank that she would have to know that kind of evil really existed in the world. He had always hoped that she was too young when their parents were killed to remember it. He had been wrong. He had been wrong about so many things.
“No,” she said, laying her hand on his chest and stopping his pity party. “You protected me and you saved me. Twice. I love the life that you have given me and I want you to know that I am going to live it. I am going to live it every day and I am going to do it in a way that would make you proud of me.”
“I am already proud of you,” he croaked. He was not going to cry. The freaking leader of Hell did not cry. Damn it. He looked down into his sister’s eyes and felt the pride swell his chest. He couldn’t be more proud of her if he tried. Not only was she kind, caring, and beautiful on the inside and out, but she was strong. She had witnessed the horrific death of their parents and had been kidnapped and beaten, but here she was, smiling and ready to take her life by the reins and live it. He was truly blessed to have her in his life.
“Now, let’s get me married.” Leanne took his elbow. “Pastor McCoy cancelled at the last minute so we had to get someone new,” she told him. “I don’t know his name though.”
“I’m sure he will do fine,” Ash told his sister as they walked through the church. They stopped at the heavy doors leading into the sanctuary.
“You ready?” the usher asked.
Leanne nodded and Ash gripped her tighter. The ushers opened the doors as the music played. He had to will his feet to move with her, but when he saw the pastor waiting at the altar, he grinned from ear to ear.
The pastor was a lean, blonde man, with clear blue eyes that spoke of centuries of wisdom and love. When He looked directly at Ash and asked, “Who gives this woman to be wed today?” Ash had no qualms about handing his sister over. “I do,” he said confidently. He smiled at James and saw the happiness in the man’s face. The same look Ash knew he wore every day with Elizabeth. Some things, he thought, are just meant to be.
He looked around and noticed that one of the groomsmen was in fact, Jake, The Flame. Ash shook his head with a smile when he saw the man making googly eyes at one of the bridesmaids. Antonio was sitting in the back, grinning like the idiot he was. Ash, of course, did give him back his wings and his hair. The sight of him with no hair and the pink tutu was enough to keep Ash smiling for the next six months, he thought.
He returned to his seat, next to his mate in the front row, and watched as his sister’s union was blessed in the best way he could imagine. The “pastor” even gave Ash a covert wink when the ceremony was over. He took Elizabeth’s hand and squeezed it in his own.
Yes, some things were just meant to be.
Ash was happier than he had ever been. He was on cloud nine, so when the explosion tore through the building, he never saw it coming. The foundation rocked as the church exploded, burying everyo
ne and everything under its rubble. No one even had a chance to run.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jake felt the rumble under his feet just before everything went to hell. He had been lucky enough to be standing away from the heavy beams that supported the roof of the church. He got to his feet and tried to shake the ringing from his ears. He finally got his eyes to work and saw what had become of the church. Smoke was everywhere. Fire was chewing up the insides and there were people trying to get to their feet.
He heard a small cry of pain from behind him. Jake trudged through the rubble and found the source. A small girl was trapped under part of a pew that had blown to pieces. Jake knew he shouldn’t move her, but one look over his shoulder at the fire that was growing in intensity quickly changed his mind. He grabbed the heavy wooden bench and lifted it off her. Then, he scooped up her small body in his arms and ran her to the door. Or at least, where the door used to be. He took her a safe distance from the disaster and handed her to a man on the street. “Here, get her some help,” he demanded before running back in.
***
“Why can’t we help?” Ash demanded. Elizabeth was holding his arm as they watched the catastrophe unfold in front of them.
“Because it is what is meant to be,” God told them. “We must allow the events to unfold as they are meant to.”
“I don’t like it,” Ash grumbled.
“I know, my son,” God told him. “I have faith in you.” Then, He disappeared.
Ash watched in horror as people milled out of the ruins. He needed so badly to go and get his sister and her husband out of the mess, but neither Elizabeth nor Antonio would allow him. He watched as one body after another was pulled from the rubble.
Then, finally, Leanne walked out. She was dirty and limping, but otherwise seemed to be unharmed. Ash hated that he couldn’t let her see him. He wanted her to know that they were ok. She looked in his direction and nodded once. Did she see him?
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