Lost In Time: A Fallen Novel

by Palmer, Christie

  When he finally came to his senses, he rolled off her. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  Celeste said something under her breath he didn’t catch, but before he could question it, she was speaking. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I was the one who attacked you.”

  She scrambled to collect what was left of her clothing. “Celeste, I wasn’t apologizing for having the best sex of my existence. I was apologizing for crushing you, after I came.”

  Celeste just stared at him for a moment as if he had changed and was speaking a different language. “Aren’t you repulsed at what happened?”

  Marcus felt his mouth sag open. “What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing.” Celeste shook her head and then crawled over the seats giving him an amazing view of her ass. Making him want her all over again.

  She turned in surprise as she rifled through a duffel bag. “What are you doing?” she snapped.

  Marcus smiled, He really liked it when he caught her off guard, she was such a snappy thing. “Hmm” he said leaning forward in the cramped space. He didn’t touch her, but he noticed the goose bumps rise on her arms and legs.

  “Celeste, I want you. I want you more than I want my next breath.” And then he tongued her earlobe, making her shake.

  “Marcus,” she breathed.

  “Hmmm?” He wasn’t really in the mood for conversation. His hands pushed her back against the duffel. She turned and scrambled away from him, putting the luggage between them. But all he saw was the angry scaly red welts that covered her lower back. Shame, and irritation shot through him.

  “What the hell happened to your back?” All thoughts of having sex with her flew out the window. He reached for her, but she avoided his hands.

  “It’s nothing,” she said, still avoiding him. She grabbed for the bag and swung around, hitting him in the head. He tumbled into the luggage.

  “Bloody hell,” he growled. When he untangled himself, she pulled a t-shirt out and put it on. “Celeste,” he said her name very slowly, trying to gain control of his temper. “What is wrong with you back?” She shrugged her shoulders as an answer. “Woman, one of these days I am going to shake the holy shit out of you.” He knew her well enough when she dug her heals in, she wasn’t going to tell him a thing about her back until she was damn good and ready.

  He climbed over the seats and pulled his clothes back on. She threw one of his t-shirts in his lap as she passed him and climbed into the front seat. She sat down and pulled her seatbelt on as if they were going for a Sunday drive.

  Marcus pulled on the t-shirt and climbed out of the SUV. He stomped around it several times, knowing that if he got in he was going to kill her.

  On his third pass, she rolled her window down. “Did you forget where the driver’s seat was?” she asked.

  Marcus was so not in the mood for her smart mouth and ignored her as he continued to count and walk around the car. What was he going to do with her? One minute she was screaming his name in passion, and that he belonged to her, and the next she was acting like they were on a first date, and an uncomfortable first date at that.

  More secrets. She was wrapped in them. They surrounded her, and she had built her life on them, and he was beginning to realize he may not be able to get through to who she really was, touch the heart he desperately wanted for himself.

  He had no idea how long he had been pacing when Christian appeared. “We have a problem,” he said.

  “What?” Marcus growled. Of course they had a problem. This whole mission was one big problem.

  Celeste climbed out of the car, and Marcus stepped away from her. He needed to be away from her and her smell for a moment and the mere fact that she was so close was slowly driving him nuts.

  “Jessica’s Touched?” he asked, looking at both of them.

  “Yes?” Celeste answered.

  “She isn’t just Touched. She’s a Descendent.”

  Marcus threw his hands in the air. “Of course she is,” he snarled and turned he slammed his fist into the brick wall of the building they were parked in front of. It crumbled in that spot to dust.

  “So like, a real Descended?” Celeste asked.

  Christian must have said or done something to confirm her question, but Marcus didn’t see it with his back turned to them. Celeste’s next comment let him know her fist question had been answered.

  “We need the Elements.”

  Marcus agreed and pulled his phone from his pocket. Ryder picked up on the first ring. “Damn, man, do you have any idea what time it is? And if you wake up Kyra, I’ll kill you.”

  “We need the Elements,” Marcus stated, deciding to ignore Ryder and his threats.

  “Yeah?” Ryder asked, the one word dripped in sarcasm. “Then give them a call and leave me and my woman alone.”

  “Ryder,” Marcus heard Kyra snap from somewhere close. And then she was on the phone. “What is the problem?”

  Marcus explained the situation. “If Celeste gets within a mile of her, Calliope will be able to sense her. And Jessica will be able to sense everything else Other coming at her.”

  Kyra laughed softly. “Everything but an Element, that is.”

  Marcus could have kissed her. “Exactly.”

  “Well then, I think I am going to need Fiona’s help on this one. Give me twenty minutes and have a couple of the Reapers met us at the gates.”

  “Thank you, Kyra,” Marcus said with genuine empathy.

  “Explain to me why every woman you met falls at your feet?” Celeste snarled.

  “Seriously?” Marcus asked. “You’re worried about other woman falling at my feet, when there is a crazed Reaper stalking the night of Boston, and you are worried about Kyra?”

  Celeste had folded her arms over her chest as he shouted at her. “Just making an observation. You know what, Fallen? I really don’t have any idea how the hell you stayed celibate for five hundred years, what with every woman on this plane wanting to get ahold of your large cock.”

  “Gods,” Christian muttered, looking up into the night sky. “I don’t want to be a part of this conversation.”

  Celeste turned on him, and the look in her eyes had even Marcus stepping back. “You slimy overrated, high intensity blow it up son of a bitch laughing your ass off in the grass somewhere.” She slammed her fist into Christian’s face, who stumbled back. She followed that up with a punch directly in his stomach. As he doubled over, she gave him a knee to the face that sent the Reaper several feet away.

  Marcus grabbed Celeste before she could attack her brother further. “Have you lost your mind?” he shook her slightly before letting her go. He moved to Christian and offered him a hand. The Reaper took it, and Marcus pulled him to his feet.

  “Has a bit of a temper,” Christian groused as he spat blood from his mouth.

  “Really?” Marcus asked with sarcasm. “I couldn’t really tell.”

  “I swear, I’m going to kill you both,” Celeste said as she climbed back into the SUV and slammed the door.

  What crawled up her—” Christian stopped when Marcus rose an eyebrow at him.

  Something is wrong with her,” Marcus admitted. “She has soars on her back that she won’t talk to me about.”

  Marcus was surprised when Christian’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Man, don’t touch my sister,” he said, shaking his head, and then swore. “Aww. If you’ve seen her back that means—” he shook his head. “I wanna vomit man.”

  “Explain to me what is wrong with her back?”

  Christian shook his head. “It’s where the change starts. Hurts her like hell, but when she needs sex that’s where the change starts.”

  Marcus couldn’t process the information for a moment. “So you’re saying when her back looks like that, she needs sex?”

  Christian nodded. “It happens faster here on this plane. That is why she lives in the Infernos and rarely comes here, only for sex, because of the change, at times she can’t control her urges as much here as
she can in the Infernos.”

  “And Tracing. Explain that to me,” Marcus demanded.

  “Man, you’re full of questions,” he sighed. “Tracing is the ability to locate someone on any plane of existence. It’s done with a transfer of blood, and something unique to Reapers. If I were to take your blood, I would be able to locate you anywhere in the world, on any plane. I could link myself to you in a way that would make it so if you shifted to a different location, and I was close enough, I would be able to catch a ride. Being Traceable is the last call. Once a Reaper has a Trace on you, its game over. You can’t hide. All the Reapers are Traced to each other, one word, and we can be there for each other.”

  Something clicked, and for a moment Marcus saw red. Celeste could Trace him. It was why she had been able to Flash out of the car and then back to him in the house in New Orleans. It was why she could find him anywhere. He smiled. She had to care a little if she had taken his blood. But how long had that been possible and when had he shared his blood with her?

  Marcus had a hundred questions, but Kyra appeared with Fiona, Victor and Garrett.

  Marcus swore. “Where is Ryder?”

  Kyra smiled. “He couldn’t come with us, not enough Reapers.”

  “You do realize he is going to try to kill me now, don’t you?” he snarled at Kyra.

  Kyra only smiled back. “Yes, of course I realize that, but this is far more important than the fact that Ryder doesn’t like me to be out of his sight for more than ten minutes at a time. He will be fine.” She patted Marcus on the arm.

  Marcus swore to himself. “Keeps getting better.”

  Kyra laughed at the look Marcus gave her. “I will calm him down.”

  Fiona stepped forward and smiled, and Marcus leaned down and kissed the older women’s cheek, then heard a bellow of rage from the car. He just hoped that Celeste stayed in the car for the moment.

  “What have you found out?” Marcus asked.

  “We placed wards around her apartment that will repel Reapers,” Kyra explained. “Jessica isn’t very nice, by the way. She was really pissed, but Fiona convinced her to work with us as long as her ward never finds out what is going on.”

  “I gave her a charm that the ward can wear when she is outside of her home, and the wards we placed there will make her invisible to Reapers. But it will only last six days.”

  “So now we have a time constraint,” Marcus said.

  “Yes, but we also have a plan,” Kyra offered.

  “What plan?” Marcus asked.

  “We need to lure Calliope out into the open so Celeste can fight him with the Sword and kill him,” Fiona said. “Jessica has offered to work with us, but it means her ward will be spared. She doesn’t want her ward to know anything about what is going on. She doesn’t know who she is.”

  Marcus raked a hand through his hair. “How is that even possible?”

  Fiona shrugged her shoulders. “We do not need the answer to continue nor is it any of our business.”

  Marcus was going to shake Jessica until her molars rattled. She was making things difficult because he was a part of the mission.

  “When do we need to put this plan into action?” he practically growled.

  “Tomorrow,” Fiona said, looking down at her watch. “Four hours.”

  Marcus nodded, and they made plans for everyone to meet up. And then he was left standing on the sidewalk alone glowering at the SUV and the very pissed Reaper who sat within it.

  Marcus started to put some things together with the way that Celeste acted. She had always been the one to care for him when he was punished in the Infernos. Why she hid things from him, and didn’t allow him to get to close he didn’t know.

  A smile spread across his lips, she loved him. Gods how stupid he had been. The woman in the dark robes he had imagined as Jessica, had fantasized over, had been Celeste. Somewhere deep inside he had known it when he laid eyes on her that first night. But he had been so crazed with lust he hadn’t been able to put all the pieces together. She was a fighter and wanted nothing less from her partner. On the other hand, she was a woman and a Sex Demon demanding things he hadn’t understood until then.

  Well, he knew what to do now, by the gods. He was going to get her to confess her feelings and open up to him before they headed out on this death mission. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight, but neither was he going into a fight without knowing exactly how she felt about him either.

  ****

  Celeste watched Marcus out of the corner of her eye. He hadn’t said anything since climbing behind the wheel of the car, but had a smirk on his face which made her feel as if she was about to be bested at a game before she was given the full set of rules. That only pissed her off.

  When they pulled up a ramp, and Marcus got out to throw open a large elevator door that would fit the SUV, she half expected him to push the button and be gone, but nothing like that happened. He casually walked back to the SUV, opened the door, winked at her and climbed behind the wheel.

  The elevator took them and the SUV, now turned off, up to the thirteenth floor.

  “Home sweet home,” Marcus said as the elevator stopped, and he climbed out of the vehicle. “This is my exclusive elevator, doubles as my garage. I’m starving. Would you like something to eat?”

  Celeste nodded, but didn’t immediately follow him as he shut his door and headed off into the recesses of his condo. She took a look around. It was all slick, black surfaces with silver highlights. She would have thought a Fallen’s home would be filled with everything light.

  Climbing from the vehicle, she moved into the main part of the condo. Medieval weapons of all kinds adorned the walls from floor to ceiling. She was stunned as she looked over the massive array of deadly weapons. Even from where she stood she could tell they were honed to deadly sharpness and she didn’t doubt he could pull any one of them down and regardless of its age kill with it.

  She felt Marcus behind her. “Have you carried each one of these into battle?” Somehow, she knew the answer before he nodded confirming her question.

  “How many are there?” she asked in awe, turning to him.

  He smiled a gentle smile that melted her heart. “Too many to count, but enough to spread across a two story building wall.”

  She chuckled. “I can see how one could lose count.”

  Marcus stepped up into her space making her suck in a deep breath. He leaned forward, and she froze, unable to move as his breath brushed across her cheek. “I didn’t say I didn’t know exactly the number of weapons on the wall. Just that there were too many for someone to count, it would be a useless endeavor.”

  Celeste leaned back. “Then how many are there?”

  Marcus kissed her gently on the lips. “Six.” He kissed her again. “Hundred.” Kiss. “Eighty.” Kiss. “Four.” The last kiss he lingered for several moments, and Celeste felt like her legs had been locked in place, and someone had glued her feet to the floor. Wasn’t she mad at him? His hands had worked around and were massaging her lower back turning her into putty and easing the pain there. He rubbed the exact spot that ached so horribly with need and sexual frustration.

  She was saved when some kind of bell went off in the other room. Marcus sighed and leaned back. “You, my dear, have just been literally saved by the bell.”

  Celeste watched him walk away and couldn’t stop herself from following him. Her back ached and she just needed him to touch her there some more. She didn’t care how mad she was at him at the moment.

  His kitchen was done out in all silver metal and nickel. Matching the inner man, she thought.

  “How do you explain your collection to other woman?” she couldn’t help but ask.

  Marcus placed something in the oven and turned to her. “Not a problem I’ve never brought anyone here before.”

  Celeste was shocked. “Not anyone? Not one of the Trackers? Not a friend? Nobody?”

  Marcus nodded. “My inner sanctuary.” He motioned to
the room around him.

  Celeste was touched he would trust her enough to bring her here. “Thank you.”

  Marcus moved over to her. “For what?” he asked, leaning in he breathed deeply.

  Celeste shivered unable to control her reaction to him. “For bringing me here, it shows trust. And I’m not really sure if I am deserving of it,” she said honestly. “We fight a great deal, and I didn’t know if that would translate over into trust of any kind,” she said honestly. She knew she could trust him, knew if she put her life in his hands he would do everything possible to make sure she came out of the situation without a scratch on her. How she knew that she couldn’t explain, but it was something about him. But she didn’t know if that trust was returned until that moment.

  Celeste felt a wall she had constructed hundreds of years ago start to crumble just a little, and her flight or fight sensations kicked in. She took several deep breaths. This is Marcus, she reminded herself. He would never hurt her. So, she planted her feet and refused to move away from him as he moved to stand in front of her.

  Marcus gave her a surprised look. “Celeste…” He used the tone of voice someone might use if talking with a small child. “I trust you, and I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you.” He watched her closely as he said the words, not wanting to scare her away, but he also wanted to make sure she truly understood how he felt about her.

  She shook her head and turned away from him. “Marcus, you shouldn’t fall in love with me.”

  “And why is that?” he asked her.

  “Because my destiny is written and it doesn’t involve you,” she said with emotion in her voice. “Can’t we just have sex and that be enough?” she asked, turning back to him.

  He could see the emotion and turmoil in her eyes, and knew getting her to admit she wanted him for sex was a big point for him and, for tonight, that was enough. He reached over and flipped off the oven. The lasagna he had thrown in there would have to wait.

  Turning back to Celeste he smiled. “Yes, Celeste we can just have sex.” He swept her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on this shoulder. “But I’m telling you right now,” he whispered into her hair, drawing in the scent that was uniquely her. “It’s not going to change how I feel. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to get you to open up and fall in love with me.”