“No,” he said, his voice gruff, his need ratcheting up with ridiculous speed.
He took the stairs two at a time, up to the third floor. When he stepped into the darkened theater, he could see the tops of the heads of those planted in the recliners scattered about. All were raptly focused on the screen in front of them.
With only a smidgeon of remorse for ending their movie night early, Obsidian stopped the movie with his mind.
“I need my mate,” he announced.
The rustle of movement followed as everyone heeded his warning, making their way out without a single argument. Reidar and Winnie were the last two out and they closed the door behind them.
Penelope smiled as he neared.
“I can feel you,” she whispered as he lifted her up and took the seat she occupied, settling her on his lap.
“You’ll feel more of me in the very near future,” he promised, claiming her mouth.
His amsouelot settled in his arms, her lips grazing his softly before her tongue joined the mix. Obsidian sighed, content for the first time in hours. Her mere presence settled him, renewed the strength that was lost with worry.
As the kiss ignited, Penelope repositioned so that she was straddling his hips in the oversized recliner. His palms itched to touch her smooth, warm skin, so he indulged them, sliding beneath the soft T-shirt she wore. Caressing her back, he pulled her in closer so her breasts were crushed to his chest, her tongue teasing his.
“I’ve been thinking about something,” she said, sitting up when he tugged the T-shirt over her head.
“What’s that?”
She reached behind her, unclasped her bra. His eyes skimmed her perfect breasts as she revealed them slowly. He palmed one, then the other, loving the sweet sighs that escaped her as she pressed into his hands.
“About how I want a future with you.”
He held her stare, felt foreign emotions churning with him.
“A family,” she whispered, pressing her soft mouth to his. “But I don’t know what you want.”
“You’ve been thinking about this?”
A slow smile formed on her face. “More and more every day.”
Obsidian was fairly certain his heart grew two sizes right then.
“What do you want?” she repeated.
“You,” he admitted. “To make you happy.”
“What about babies?”
Pausing in his pursuit to seduce her, he studied her face. “There’s no rush, ayreme. We’ve got eternity ahead of us, but if you want babies, I’ll give you babies.”
“But what if it happens now? We’re not using any protection.”
He grinned, his hands resuming their exploration of her breasts. “I can’t get you pregnant yet.”
Her eyebrows shot upward. “How do you know?”
“Because you’re human.”
She nuzzled his neck, her lips grazing the sensitive spot below his ear. “I’ve been thinking about that, too,” she whispered. “About how I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I want it to be a long one.”
Obsidian cupped the back of her head, slid his lips over her neck. “You know what that means.”
“I do.”
She moaned softly, tilting her head to give him better access to her neck. He could hear her pulse as it sped up, her need growing with every passing second.
“I want it, Obsidian. I want to spend eternity with you.”
His fangs punched out, the need for her blood becoming impossible for him to ignore. He teased her, scraping the sharpened points over her neck. He wouldn’t bite her. Not yet, but he loved how she gave herself over to him, trusting him completely.
“I need you naked,” he said gruffly, barely resisting the urge to sink into her vein.
“What? You can’t use magic to strip our clothes off?”
“I could,” he admitted. “But I much prefer stripping you myself.”
For the next few minutes, Obsidian did just that. In a tangle of limbs, he worked her leggings off while she rid him of his shirt. His jeans only made it down to his thighs before she eased herself onto him, his cock sliding into the luxurious heat of her body.
“I love you, ayreme.” He buried his face in her neck, held her against him as they rocked together.
Her fingernails lightly scraped his scalp, sending tingles over his skin.
“Obsidian…” Penelope moaned, pulling back and planting her hands on his knees, her back arching so beautifully.
Gripping her hips firmly, Obsidian drove up into her, mesmerized by the bounce of her breasts, the sleek lines of her body as she moved atop him, taking him to the hilt.
“It’s not enough,” she rasped.
Much to his disappointment, she dislodged him from inside her as she got to her feet. And when she bent over the chair in front of them, her sweet ass teasing him, Obsidian forced his weak legs to hold him up. In one quick move, he was ramming deep inside her, holding her hips, angling her for optimum penetration as he fucked her roughly from behind.
“Yes! Obsidian … more!”
He gave her what she asked for, slamming his hips forward as he jerked her back. In no time at all, he was soaring, his climax just out of reach. He drove into her, surrounded by her sweet cries as she pleaded for more, taking everything he gave her.
And when she came, Obsidian plunged forward, draining himself inside her.
Even then, he couldn’t seem to stop. Dragging her to the floor, he mounted her from behind, fucking her relentlessly as she begged him to never stop. She overwhelmed him, his love for her strangling him, the fear for her safety blazing in his veins. Her cries of pleasure spurred him on, had his cock throbbing as another climax threatened.
This time when she came, Obsidian let it all go, throwing his head back, a thunderous roar escaping as his emotions overwhelmed him once more.
A few miles away in Telluride, Colorado
When the others had returned from the theater—evidently exiled by Obsidian—Eclipse had found himself in need of air. Without telling anyone, he’d slipped out of the mansion and into the night, dematerializing and taking form a few miles away, figuring some reconnaissance wouldn’t be a bad thing.
For nearly an hour now, he’d been wandering Colorado Avenue, not entirely sure what he’d been hoping to find. He ended up near the Telluride Theatre, where it seemed half the town was. It was an odd outing for a Monday night, but he’d grown accustomed to the frequent gatherings the small town was fond of. On a positive note, it made it easy for him to move around, camouflaged by the humans who were constantly out and about.
As had been the case for the past couple of weeks, his efforts to find his amsouelot had been a complete bust, not a single sign of the female he was searching for, though Miklós assured him she was here.
He could admit, when Michael had told them they had to locate the amsouelots, his first thought had been how hard could it really be? Sure, he liked to give the archangel shit, so he’d pretended otherwise, but deep down, he figured it would take no time at all. Considering the access they had, it should’ve been simple.
Not the case. Searching for a single female was like looking for a specific needle in a haystack of identical needles. Even though the names weren’t as common as, say, Mary Smith, there were a surprising number of people in North America with the same name. And since they had nothing more than names on a list to go by, it was a tedious process to weed through them all.
Figuring he couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer, Eclipse was about to dematerialize to the mansion when he caught the scent of a female. He glanced toward one end of the alley, then the other. There was no one there, yet the lavender scent grew stronger.
As he strolled toward Colorado Avenue, Eclipse scanned the shadows to no avail. Perhaps he was losing his mind. Maybe knowing Obsidian had found his amsouelot was playing tricks on his mind. His own desperation to find his female had grown to epic proportions as of late.
He was
alerted by a panicked squeak seconds before two humans appeared.
A blond male had his arm around a female as he dragged her backward in Eclipse’s direction. The streetlight glimmered off dark metal in the male’s hand.
A gun. Great.
Good news was, the human male had no idea Eclipse was there, even as he jabbed the muzzle into her kidney.
“Don’t you dare scream, Amber,” he seethed. “I’ll shoot you where you stand. Dear old Dad won’t be too happy about that, will he?”
The female whimpered, but she didn’t scream.
“I figured for sure Daddy would keep a better eye on his little girl, so imagine my surprise when there you were.” The male backed her toward the wall, spinning her away from him and pinning her there with his hand around her throat, gun aimed at her chest. His smile was grotesque, as was the scent he put off.
Nothing good was going to come of this.
“Not sure why he never mentioned how pretty you are,” the male taunted, his thumb scraping over her chin.
“What do you want?” she asked, eyes wide.
“To warn your father. He owes me quite a bit of money, sweetheart. Makes me angry when he tries to hide from me,” he told her, his smile morphing into something vile. “Though a conversation could cover it, I’m thinking something a bit more … tangible.”
“I don’t know where he is.” Her voice was barely audible, distorted by the hand still around her throat.
“No matter. Once I’m done with you, he’ll find me.”
The female glared at him, even though her life was at risk, the muzzle of the gun pressing against her chest as the male stepped toward her. His hand shifted from her throat to her jaw, gripping firmly and forcing her head into the brick at her back.
She inhaled sharply, the crack of her head against brick making Eclipse wince.
“Bet you’ll be nice and sweet, huh?” he snarled.
“Fuck you,” she snapped.
The male cackled. “Got some backbone in there, do you? I look forward to beating it out of you. But first, perhaps we’ll have a little fun.”
The instant his hand lowered between her legs, Eclipse willed him backward with his mind.
The human stumbled a few steps, then spun around, aimed his gun at Eclipse. “You better back off, man. I won’t hesitate to shoot you in the face.”
“Too late. You already hesitated,” Eclipse snarled.
“Last chance.”
Exactly.
Something compelled Eclipse to look over at the female. Their eyes met, held, and in that moment, he felt a strange constriction in his chest. He’d never felt anything so potent in his seventeen hundred years, but how could that be? She wasn’t the female he was looking for.
Was she?
A gunshot rang out, and it was then Eclipse realized he’d taken a step forward. The bullet slammed into his shoulder. He stumbled back from the force of the round. The bullet wouldn’t kill him, but it damn sure had the ability to piss him off.
He glared at the male.
“I warned you. Back off or you’ll get another!” The male’s voice trembled.
In a move not visible to the human eye, Eclipse moved behind him. Without hesitation, he snapped the little fucker’s neck, allowed him to fall to the ground.
The female’s terrified eyes landed on him, widening in horror. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she fought for air.
As though pulled by invisible wires, Eclipse took a step toward her. She didn’t move, regarding him closely. He watched as his hand lifted brushing over her temple before curling behind her head. Something warm and wet met his touch and he pulled back, the scent of her blood sending all sorts of red flags.
Had it been any normal night, Eclipse would’ve quickly erased her memory of the event, walked her back to a populated area, and sent her on her way. But there was something in her ocean-blue gaze that held him there, captivated him. Not to mention, the bullet lodged in his shoulder had his vision dimming slightly.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice higher than before, her fear and concern evident.
Eclipse had to get back to the mansion before he couldn’t dematerialize. The pain bloomed hot and bright, his circuits going haywire.
“Go,” he snarled at the female. “Run far and fast.”
She nodded, even as she took a step to the side. Her gaze dropped to his shoulder once before she glanced down at the dead male on the ground. Her self-preservation finally kicked in as she began shifting away, putting distance between them.
Eclipse stared after her, not bothering to stop her retreat, still stunned by this overwhelming need for her. He lifted his fingertips to his lips, tasted her blood on his tongue. A fierce heat bloomed inside him but extinguished a second later, overcome by the pain in his shoulder.
He took a deep breath and set his mind to getting to safety.
PENELOPE SAT AT THE KITCHEN ISLAND, SHARING the morning meal with Obsidian and Magnar, Eclipse’s ladeare, the only two who’d stuck around long enough to eat. Everyone else had scattered, likely seeking sleep or some peace and quiet.
“And then,” Magnar continued his story, “we were…” His gaze shot upward, looking over Penelope. “Whoa, man, you look like death warmed over.”
Penelope turned at Magnar’s words, surprised when she saw Eclipse stumbling into the room, blood covering his gray T-shirt.
Oh, God. He was injured, and based on his glazed eyes, he was in tremendous pain.
A gasp escaped her throat as she got to her feet, confused as to what to do to help him. A strange sense of urgency overcame her, and Penelope moved toward the injured man. She wasn’t a doctor, but surely she could assist somehow.
“Sit down,” she urged, nodding toward a barstool.
Magnar retrieved a chair from the breakfast nook, spun it around so Eclipse could drop into it. He didn’t.
Figuring he was weak from blood loss, Penelope stepped closer, wanting to offer assistance.
From behind her, Obsidian hissed, “Don’t touch him.”
Penelope frowned. “He’s injured.”
“I don’t care. You can’t… Don’t, ayreme.” Obsidian glared at Magnar. “Where’s Stygian?”
“He went out,” the ladeare told him. “Said he had business to attend to.”
“Fuck.”
Penelope had no idea why Obsidian needed Stygian. His brother was injured. Surely he was capable of doing anything Stygian could.
“What happened?” she asked Eclipse, keeping her distance, ignoring her natural instinct to help him.
“Human. Shot me.” Eclipse peered down at his shoulder, but he seemed too weak to do anything about it.
“The bullet’s still in there?” Obsidian asked.
Eclipse nodded, his expression remorseful though Penelope had no idea why he’d be sorry. “Tried … to get it out. Too…”
Weak? Injured? In pain? She wasn’t sure what he’d meant to say, but he didn’t continue as he finally lowered himself into the chair, hissing.
“Do something,” Penelope ordered Obsidian even though she had no idea what he could do. “He’s been shot.”
“It’ll be fine,” Eclipse rumbled. “Bullets won’t kill me.”
Maybe not, but Penelope figured having one lodged in his shoulder wasn’t going to help him, either.
“We need to get the bullet out,” Magnar stated firmly, his gaze landing on Obsidian.
A silent communication seemed to play out between them, one Penelope wasn’t privy to. Based on Obsidian’s expression, it wasn’t good.
“Obsidian, you have to help him,” Penelope urged, realizing she was quickly moving into panicked territory.
“I can’t,” Obsidian countered, glaring at the man.
“Because you don’t know how?” she prompted.
He stared back at her, silver irises glowing brightly.
“You have to help him,” Penelope said, though she didn’t think Obsidian meant he physically
couldn’t do it. Something was going on, something no one was telling her. “You can remove it, can’t you?”
“Yes,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “I’m capable, but…”
“I tried to get a hold of Stygian,” Magnar stated, his voice lowered, his concern evident. “He’s not answering his phone. You’ll have to do this yourself.”
Obsidian shook his head.
“Just do it,” she ordered. “Get the bullet out.”
Without a word, Obsidian moved toward Eclipse. Although he looked angry, his hand was gentle as it settled on Eclipse’s shoulder.
Though she wasn’t sure why, Penelope could suddenly feel Eclipse’s pain. It was so powerful her knees buckled, dropping her to the floor.
“Stop,” Eclipse ordered, teeth gritted in pain.
When Obsidian removed his hand from Eclipse’s shoulder, the pain stopped.
Ah, crap. That was why Obsidian said he couldn’t do it. The pain Eclipse felt was transferred to Obsidian. In turn, she was feeling it, too. It was something she’d been picking up on over the past couple of days. She was more in tune with Obsidian.
Penelope looked up at the man she loved. “Do it,” she insisted. “But be quick about it.”
“No.” Obsidian refused.
“Will it stop once you’ve healed him?”
He swallowed, held her gaze. “Yes.”
“Then do it. If you don’t, I will,” she informed him as she got to her feet, though she didn’t have the first clue how to remove a bullet. “And we both know what’ll happen if I touch him.”
No one moved, the only sound Eclipse’s harsh breaths. The man was in pain and it killed her to see it.
“Do it,” Penelope demanded.
Obsidian growled but placed his hand on Eclipse’s shoulder once more.
Penelope staggered, but remained on her feet, gritting her teeth as her body endured the torment of the bullet Obsidian was willing out of his brother’s body.
It only took a minute, but it felt like an eternity.
The sound of metal clanging on the tile signaled it was over, and suddenly the pain disappeared.
“Do that again and I’ll kill you,” Obsidian growled at Eclipse before lifting her into his arms.
Protected in Darkness (Misplaced Halos, 1) Page 27