by Ella Summers
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The Master Interrogator was kneeling before me, putting himself at my mercy. But that wasn’t half as shocking as his confession that he was in love with me.
Damiel looked up at me, but he stayed on his knees. “Say something, Cadence.”
“I can’t believe you did that,” I gasped.
“I was selfish.” He lowered his head again.
“You weren’t selfish. You did this for me. You did it to protect me, even when I wouldn’t believe you about my father’s schemes. And you did it knowing I might never forgive you. That isn’t selfish. It’s selfless.” I set my hands on his cheeks and lifted his gaze to mine. “Damiel, what did you feel when I kissed you earlier?”
“Hope that you might feel the same way about me as I do for you.
“And dread that you were playing me, that you knew what I’d done and were punishing me for it.
“Despair that you might never care for me as I do for you.
“And bliss, as I forgot it all, everything I was thinking, and just kissed you. As I felt you sinking into the kiss, it was so easy to not worry that it might not be real. I didn’t care. I just wanted to keep kissing you. To hold you. To pretend that you were really mine.”
My eyes stung with the tears I was trying desperately to hold back. “You fool, Damiel Dragonsire, of course I’m yours. From the day we met and every moment since then.”
He kissed the top of my hand. “If this is how I am to die, then I can wish for no greater end than to be with you.”
A tear splattered my cheek. “Stop it. You’re making me weep like a little girl. You should have been a dramatic actor. Or a poet.”
“Cadence, my love.” His voice was serious, even reverent. “Is there anyone else I should know about?”
“Anyone else?”
“Any lovers that stand in my way. I don’t share well with others.”
“Oh, really?” I chuckled. “I’d never have guessed.”
“This is no laughing matter. The Legion decides whom its angels will marry, but they place no restrictions on how many lovers an angel may take. I need to know about any and all of your lovers.”
Angels were nothing if not blunt.
“There are no lovers,” I told him. “One of you drama kings is quite a lot more than I can handle, thank you.”
“And the lovers who came before me?”
“Why?” I laughed. “Are you going to hunt them down and kill them?”
His face was impassive. “That depends.”
“Oh, gods. You’re serious.”
“Of course I’m serious. After all, I did promise to answer your questions fully and truthfully.”
“And I promised to answer truthfully as well. So here goes.” I drew in a deep breath. “You know who my father is. You know he controlled my life, every second. Every friend. No one ever got close to me that he didn’t allow. As soon as a man kissed me, he mysteriously vanished. I should have realized what was going on.” I sighed. “But to make a very long story short, there haven’t been any lovers. I have never been intimate with anyone.” I timidly met his eyes. “You must think that pretty stupid for an angel.”
“No,” he said solemnly, his hand stroking down my face. “If I did, then I would have to find myself ‘pretty stupid’ as well.”
I gaped at him, not sure I’d heard him correctly. “Wait, so you’ve never…”
His dark, decadent smile was in complete contradiction to the confession he’d just made. “Don’t look so surprised, love. You know I trust basically no one. Did you think I would make an exception for trusting someone with my body?”
“But you’re so…” I moved my hands to indicate his sexy physique. “And you’re so confident.”
One eyebrow slanted upward. “You need to have sex in order to be confident?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. This was the biggest surprise of all that Colonel Damiel Dragonsire—Master Interrogator for the Legion of Angels, insanely powerful and universally-feared, the boldest, sharpest, sexiest, most seductive angel I’d ever met—was a virgin. Never in a million years would I have guessed that.
“The way you kiss,” I told him. “It’s…”
“Pleasing to you?” His voice was a slow and silky caress.
“Yes.” I blushed. “You obviously know what you’re doing.”
“I’ve kissed plenty of women. I am quite familiar with the female body.”
His hand stroked across my jaw.
“Its weaknesses.”
He traced his finger down my neck.
“Its features.”
Both hands plunged over my shoulders and slid down my arms.
“Its soft, tender spots.”
His touch teased the outer boundaries of my breasts. I gasped.
“Its needs.”
His eyes boldly followed wherever his hands went.
“And how to satisfy those needs.”
His fingers kissed my ribs and crested my hips.
“But I never dared give in to my own desires.” His gaze ensnared mine. “I never trusted anyone enough to surrender myself to her.”
I lifted my hands to his face, stroking his jaw. There was a prickly stubble, a sign that he hadn’t had a chance to shave recently. It was so unlike the Master Interrogator, who was always so perfectly groomed, so immaculately dressed, so spotless. I liked him like this, a little wild, a little unhinged.
I traced my finger across his lips. “And are you ready to surrender yourself now?” I asked in a rasped whisper, each word scratching my throat.
He kissed my finger on his lips. “To you, yes, I surrender.” His eyes glowed with magic. “Completely and unconditionally.”
A twinge of happiness released the tension in my chest, at the same time as apprehension tightened it.
“And are you ready to surrender yourself?” He watched me closely.
I swallowed hard, then repeated his words back to him, “To you, yes, I surrender. Completely and unconditionally.”
A smile curled his lips, a smile free of pretense. A smile that burned with true emotion. The hard Interrogator mask he wore faded away. Right now, he wasn’t putting on a show. He wasn’t exuding menace or inciting fear. He wasn’t trying to convince everyone that he wasn’t human at all, that there was nothing to him but the cold, merciless, perfectly-in-charge angel.
No, right now there was no one else here. It was just Damiel. And the smile of true happiness that shone out from his soul.
“So, how do we…do this?” I gasped as his lips kissed down my neck.
The deep buzz of his easy chuckle rumbled against my throat. “We’re highly-trained elite angel soldiers, Princess.” His hands dove under my sleeves, slipping off my jacket. “I think we can figure it out between the two of us,” he added with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
Nervous, anxious, and pretty damn impatient too—I wasn’t even sure where to put my hands. I kept moving them.
He pulled my arms around him and set my hands on his back. “You’re overthinking it, Cadence.”
“I am not overthinking anything. I just want this to be perfect. For you to think it’s perfect,” I added, feeling suddenly very shy.
“Here I am, alone with the woman I love. How could it be anything but perfect?”
“I…”
His mouth captured mine, swallowing my words.
A deep groan broke his lips. I moved my hands to his head and began to massage deep, slow circles into his scalp.
His strong hands stroked my back. His kisses grew faster, more impatient.
His mouth dipped to my neck, trailing soft, butterfly kisses all the way down, leaving a hot brand wherever his lips touched my skin. I felt something sharp and hard.
His fangs, I realized. All angels had them. It was part of our vampire magic.
Damiel’s fangs had descended. Slowly, they teased the throbbing, pulsing vein in my neck. I knew what he intended to do.
And I wanted it. My instincts were demanding it, even as the voice of propriety screamed protests in my head.
“Damiel, wait,” I gasped. “It’s against regulations.”
“I am well aware of the Legion’s regulations, having written many of them myself.” He spoke with an easy, sensual arrogance, slowly undressing my proprieties one protest at a time. “This regulation in particular—the one forbidding one soldier from drinking from another—is intended to prevent intimacy inside the Legion. Its purpose is to keep us each separate, alone. The exchange of blood creates a bond and those bonds between soldiers weaken the Legion as a whole.
“But it’s too late for that, Cadence. It’s too late for me. The rules don’t apply to us. We were meant to be together. We were destined to be one.” His fangs teased my vein. “I want you. I want to feel your blood and magic burning through my veins. I want to feel my blood and magic inside of you. I want our hearts to beat as one, our blood to flow as one, our magic to merge as one.”
“Well,” I said, breathless. “When you put it like that…”
“So I have your permission?”
“You have a lot more than that,” I told him. “You have all of me.”
Smiling, he dipped his mouth to my throat once again. Twin peaks of pleasure exploded as his fangs sank into my skin. Fire flashed through my body, the euphoria overwhelming, unstoppable. At the same time, I could feel my magic and blood inside of him, colliding and merging with his.
Moaning, I clutched tightly to his hot, hard body. My fangs descended, searing my gums with savage need. I had to taste him too. That desperate, devastating urge overwhelmed my mind and overrode all my previous protests. I wanted him, and I was going to take him.
I sank my fangs into his shoulder, relishing in the satisfying pop as I broke the surface. He moaned against my neck, a buzz of pleasure on my skin. His blood flooded into my mouth, the taste as sweet as the gods’ Nectar.
Why did his blood taste like Nectar?
I must have been thinking very loudly because he responded, your blood also tastes like Nectar. My guess is it has something to do with our Immortal blood.
I hardly heard his words. The magic in his blood ignited mine, drowning me in an ecstasy of intense sensations. I couldn’t fight it. I didn’t want to fight it. The urge to drink from him was purely primal. I had to have more.
I drank from him and he from me. Each draw of his mouth shot a fresh quake through my body. Each drop of blood set off a tiny explosion inside my mouth, igniting raw and wild urges that I’d never experienced before.
My magic crashed against him, each burst creating something new out of the two of us, binding us. I clutched him to me. He was mine. All mine.
He gripped me so hard that his fingernails cut into my back. But it didn’t hurt. No, I was desperate for him to grip me harder. To make me his as I was making him mine.
But it wasn’t enough. It could never be enough. Hunger, savage and insatiable, ravaged me. We weren’t close enough.
He broke away from my throat and kissed me roughly. His hands tore at my clothes.
I returned the favor, relieving him of his shirt. “I can taste my blood on your lips,” I said between kisses. “Can you taste yours on mine?”
He captured my wrists and pinned me to the ground. “Stop inciting me, Cadence.”
“I am doing no such thing.”
His huge, hard body loomed over me. “Because inciting me is very dangerous.” His hands grabbed the wristband of my panties and tugged them down my legs. He considered the lacy blue garment for a moment. “This is not a regulation undergarment.”
I gave my brows a sassy tilt. “I didn’t anticipate an underwear inspection.”
He tossed my panties over his shoulder. “You should always be prepared for anything.”
“Am I in trouble?” I sat up, arching back against my arms.
His eyes dipped to my chest. “You’ve made the Legion’s wickedest angel fall desperately in love with you. Yes, Princess, I think it’s safe to say that you are in very big trouble.”
The closures of my bra popped open. I didn’t even see his hands move.
His eyes slid down the length of my naked body. “You are so beautiful.”
His fingers closed over my nipples, pulling them into hard points. A sudden, unexpected surge of pleasure shot through me, and I cried out. My whole body quivered with denied desire. Never before had I felt anything so intense, so thoroughly consuming.
His hands went lower, slowly parting my legs. My breath catching in my throat, I looked down. He was now completely naked—and completely ready. My body shook.
He must have seen anxiety in my eyes because he said, “We don’t have to go further now.”
“Chickening out?” I teased him, my heart hammering against my ribcage.
His eyes flashed. “Say that again. I dare you.” His hand caressed the inside of my thigh.
“Scaredy-cat,” I whispered, gasping in anticipation.
Heat blossomed between my legs, insistent and impatient. His fingers slid closer. Ever. So. Slowly.
“I didn’t quite catch that, Princess.”
My body quivered so hard I felt I might burst. I was sure I would die if he didn’t… Didn’t what? I couldn’t say what I needed. Just that I needed him. Desperately. Instinct took over, bypassing my mind and compelling my body into action. I ground my hips against him.
“May I?” he asked, his eyes serious.
“Oh, gods, yes,” I growled out.
A smile stretched his mouth. He looked at me like I’d just offered him the most precious gift in all the worlds. Very carefully, he lowered me onto the blanket, as though I were made of delicate glass. He kissed me softly on the lips.
His hands closed around my wrists. He thrust into me.
I cried out. It hurt in such a delicious way, like fire against silk. I’d never felt anything so good before. I planted my hands on his hips, pulling him closer. I tilted my hips up toward him, drawing him in deeper.
He thrust into me again and again, fast, forceful, and brutally relentless. Each stroke of his hard flesh against my soft core shot a blinding, searing flash of pleasure through me. My whole body pulsed with hot, hungry vibrations. I surrendered to lust and made peace with the wanton desire taking me over.
My throat was rough, my voice ragged. He was shouting out as loudly as I was. Our cries were in sync, our bodies one. He was mine.
Mine.
The word echoed in my head every time our bodies crashed together.
Mine.
I wasn’t sure if it had come from my mind or Damiel’s.
Mine.
I screamed out. Every muscle in me contracted. A shockwave of hot ecstasy burst inside of me, washing over my body. Damiel expelled a rough growl, then collapsed on top of me. The warmth of his blood and magic pulsed through my body.
Damiel rolled off of me and drew me into his arms. His chest rocked, his breaths uneven.
“Are you all right?” he asked me cautiously. He was looking at me like he thought I might jump up and run away.
“I’m not the one out of breath,” I teased him.
“Sure you are.” He chuckled darkly. “But what can I say? You take my breath away.”
“Charmer.” I felt a tad lightheaded. I told myself it was from the rigorous workout I’d just had, not in response to his smooth tongue.
His finger traced a line down my arm. “I promised myself I would take it slow and easy and not lose myself to my savage desire.”
I smiled at him. “I didn’t mind.”
“I couldn’t take it slow.” He looked upon me with doting eyes. “I was utterly unprepared for the wondrousness that is you.”
“Oh, gods, Damiel. Stop it,” I said, my eyes wet.
He took my hands in his. “It’s the truth.” All arrogance and charm vanished from his face. This was Damiel, raw and unscripted. “I fear I was so lost in the moment that I totally neglected your needs.”
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“My needs?” I laughed. “Damiel, you gave me what I’ve been needing my whole life, and I didn’t even know it: someone to truly connect with. Someone to share blood, body, and soul with. You didn’t neglect me. Not at all. You completed me.”
Smiling, he stroked my cheek. “As you complete me.” He drew in a slow, deep breath. A chuckle buzzed on his lips. “And if I’m not mistaken, we’ve just completed each other. Or perhaps I should say conquered.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve marked each other, Princess.”
Angels marked people to claim territory, to brand those under their protection: children, subordinates, lovers. Usually, the magic mark was made by exchanging blood. Intimate connections, however, were forged in other, more intimate ways, generally accompanied by an outburst of feelings.
Sex.
But for two angels to mark each other simultaneously—that had never been done before, at least not as far as I knew. Then again, there had never been two bonded angels before. Well, that certainly explained the possessive urge I’d felt as Damiel and I had made love. Mine. I’d claimed him as mine. And he’d claimed me as his.
I touched his face, brushing back a strand of hair that had fallen over his forehead. “Are you certain that we marked each other?”
“Quite certain, Princess. I can smell your mark on me and mine on you.”
“You’re mistaken. That’s just blood and sweat.”
“An angel’s mark is unmistakable. Magical.”
“Yes, it is. But I’m not really smelling it right now. I don’t think it stuck. We might have to…” I lifted my brows and gave my eyelashes a coy flutter. “…try again to make it stick.”
Comprehension flashed in his eyes. He’d finally caught on.
“You’re right, of course. I think our marks are already fading.” He trailed a fiery fury of kisses down my chest, between my breasts. He peeked up from my bellybutton. “We’d better reenforce those marks a few more times.”
I laughed as he grabbed my hips and pulled me on top of him.
19
Angel Marked