by Azure Boone
Dorn nodded. "Sounds good. Who are the other two?"
"That's your call. Come get me thirty minutes before time to roll. I need to explain to Skylar why I've been away from the bed so long." He didn't wait for Toren or anyone else to approve, just headed straight down the hallway to the room he and Skylar occupied.
As the discussion continued, Samantha's tension leached into Toren. By the time they'd decided the best way to proceed once the auction was underway, he was ready to explode. And worse, he'd been delegated to the sidelines. Dorn and Lucian were going in with Ezekiel, so Toren would have to be on hand in case they needed him.
Sam's muscles ached with the need to go to Kassie. She bit the inside of her jaw, refusing to say more about it. She'd be damned if she got between the archangels catching that demon guy they wanted. But it seemed to her any kind of creature deserving to be called an over lord couldn't possibly be interested in some insignificant human woman, and was highly unlikely to notice if anyone went to that insignificant woman and took her away from a traumatic scene. And still there was nothing she could do. Just wait and pray.
She listened to the men making their plans with half an ear, while the rest of her mind wandered with random memories of Kassie. Dammit, she should have insisted on bringing Kassie with them when they left. Then she wouldn't be sitting here driven to distraction with worry. She really should be listening, in case she had to play some part in the auction.
"Since we have all that settled, now we need to figure out what to do for the situation with Toren's quad. He's on stand-by for the auction, technically freeing him up." Dorn glanced at Samantha. "I suggest he and Samantha go to her ranch and retrieve her family member."
What? Samantha couldn't believe her ears. Had the blue angel really said what she thought he had? "You're serious?" Excitement roared through her blood. "When?"
Dorn flashed something that almost looked like a smile which quickly faded. "You'll have to wait until we're established at the auction and ensure Hetarne's presence. We can't be sure how long that will take. But we figure most of the heavy weight spiritual scum will be focusing their guns on that arms deal, as important as it is."
The excitement ebbed at the angel’s wait word, leaving Samantha tired. No, exhausted.
The meeting broke up and Dorn and Troy had a quick consultation before calling Ezekiel to join them. In a matter of moments they joined hands and all three dematerialized in a cloud of blue haze.
Samantha sighed for what felt like the ten millionth time and stood. "I can't stand doing nothing." She started pacing, taking advantage of the big room. “I can’t stand seeing every damn thing either, it’s creeping me the hell out, I don’t want to see people’s innards, can’t you…zap that out of me? Give me something else more useful and practical? Like a gun or knife?”
The expression Toren suppressed indicated the depth of his amusement at her concept of the powers she'd been blessed with. "I have no control over it. I’m sorry baby. Though if the pattern holds from those who've already gone through this, your new abilities will be specifically matched to some task you'll take on.”
God, he called her baby all the time and it never failed to calm her. And arouse her.
He rose and came to her. “I know waiting is one of the hardest things to do in any situation. And this is worse than most." He slid his arms around her waist from behind. "I'm sorry."
She gave in and let her body relax into his arms. "I'm sorry too. I know you would go ahead if we could."
He drew her back against his chest and dropped his head to let his mouth wonder along the side of her neck, nuzzling her for comfort. "I would. I care for Kassie a great deal. She's a uniquely good person and she seriously smoothed the way for me when I arrived at the ranch. I was so lost, I had no clue what to do."
Despite her worry, a smile tugged at Sam's lips. "I know.” She snickered a little. “The look on your face when you tasted coffee. Hilarious. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where you were from that you'd never had coffee before."
He chuckled. "I made a note for the other archangels to sample coffee before they have it in front of anyone. The taste is truly unique." He rocked her in his arms a little. "Come sit with me?" When she nodded, he led her to one of the couches and sat, patting the seat beside him.
Sam sank into the deep coffee colored cushion, letting his greater weight pull her close against his side. He tucked his arm around her and rested his chin atop her head. The little kiss he planted there morphed into his lips sliding back and forth against the stubble of her regrowing hair in that one bald spot. She knew he kissed there because he loved her and that tempted her to forget the rest of the world. She could easily spend eternity lost in the sensations he created in her body.
Seeming to sense the change he created, his breath exhaled slowly and his fingers on her body went from simple caresses to sensual ones. It took only one second for her body to interpret what that could turn into, making her stomach flip-flop, hard.
Toren sensed that too.
“Oh wow.” Sam looked up at Toren and he leaned and pressed his lips into hers, his mind not detouring from where she clearly wanted it to be.
“What?” he whispered, still nibbling seductively at her lips.
The delicious distraction almost made her forget. “I…I can feel you.”
He brushed his nose along hers, trying to capture more of her mouth. “Mmmm. Then you know how much I need you right now.”
Sam closed her eyes through the pleasure that stormed her body. “Yes.”
Toren got up and lifted her to her feet and drew her to his side, pulling her to their bedroom. When he locked them in he turned and looked at her, his gaze a white-hot flame over her body as though he could see straight through her clothes. Could he?
“If I wanted yes,” he said in answer to her wonder.
She gasped. “I know you want to, so…”
He smiled and stared at her chest. “Yes. I do. And I am. But no, I didn’t before this. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever not done.” He bit his sexy lower lip and angled his head a little. “Undress for me. Slowly.”
Sam’s clit ached so hard from the husky command, she whimpered from it while immediately complying.
He seemed to think his own clothes right off his body. More fascinated with his body than the trick, Sam’s fingers trembled with the need to hurry while she took in his starkly beautiful nakedness. And hard-on.
She noticed controlling her eyesight around him was easy. Like his presence aided her ability. She dropped her bra on the floor after removing her shirt then went to work on sensually sliding her jeans down.
Toren began slowly circling her like a predator. Her skin felt the vibration of his mercury power flowing through him. She even felt it concentrated in his cock! Heaven help her.
“I know you can feel it...how bad I want you. How hard I want to take you.” He stood at her shoulder and rubbed his cock on her ass. She went to touch him and found her arms unable to move. She gasped in excitement. “You also know…” he stroked along the crack of her butt, “that I need to hear you scream from it.” He opened her ass cheeks and slid his hot length between them, groaning in her ear. Before she realized it, her back was in the corner and he lifted her on his waist. He looked between them where his cock was pressed against his stomach then moved her wet folds along himself.
“Oh God,” Sam moaned.
He groaned with lusty satisfaction, his hooded white gaze slowly burning up her body, stopping momentarily at her breasts before meeting hers. His sexy lips parted with eager breaths as he worked her sex over the thick ridges of his cock until she was burning up with need and thrashing her head.
Using his powers, he moved her arms over her head and pinned them to the wall. He again roamed her body with his gaze, a low growl tickling over her skin as he did.
“Fuck me,” she whispered, licking her lips in hunger.
He
looked between them and placed his thumb on her clit, wiggling it relentlessly at the speed of a vibrator on high. When she gasped helplessly near orgasm, he stopped.
He leaned and nibbled her nipples next. One then the other, making her beg. “Please fuck me.”
He bit her nipples hard enough to make her gasp, then licked and growled all over them. He finally grabbed her waist and moved her into position. He looked up into her face when he was ready and leaned in. He nibbled at her lips, his breaths heavy, cock poised at her opening. His groans were lusty, the intent to torment her clear in the sound. He stayed that way, kissing her lips with the threat of his cock plunging deep inside her at any second.
“God Toren, fuck me. Please fuck me.”
The emphasis she put on the F word made his gasps come harder, hotter, faster.
Hands on her waist, he pulled her down onto his cock and her mouth flew open with her cry of dizzying pleasure. She thrashed her head, feeling him throb hard while deep inside her, his grunts sounding more like chokes as he fought the orgasm waiting to run him over.
Seeming to gain his control, he let his head fall back and moved his hips in reverse before thrusting them hard and fast, his cock slamming home and devastating her. She gave one scream from it and she knew that’s what he wanted. That right there. The way he wanted to break her with ecstasy as his weapon was diabolical in a very good way.
“Oh please. Fuck me, fuck me, please,” she moaned desperately.
He gasped and kissed her hungrily, like her mouth suddenly offered the last meal on earth and he had ten seconds to eat it. He finally gave in to her. He grunted with every hard and fast flick of his hips, right in her mouth. He never moved from her mouth even when his thrusts were so fast she screamed. He stayed right there, tasting, licking, sucking at her mouth.
Then she broke from that place inside her, losing track of time and place. Only aware of his orgasm as it hit, the sensation of his gentle nips on her mouth and chin as he came so very hard, his groans sounding like metal warping.
Time passed, but she had no idea how much. Minutes, hours, or days. Time had no meaning as long as she was safely in Toren's arms. And that’s where she ended up somehow after their mind-blowing love making. Snuggled in his possessive embrace in the bed unaware of anything but the steady beat of his strong heart and deep even breaths.
Until something made his body stiffen, interrupting the little forever. "It's time,” he whispered in her hear. “We can go and get Kassie now."
** ** **
Toren tried his best to convince his wife—how he loved that word—to stay behind while he went bring Kassie back to her. Even knowing his body suffered physical pain when he separated from her, a fact that gained momentum with every passing second—he had to try and convince her.
Of course she wouldn't hear of it. She actually threatened to beg Peggy into transporting her to the ranch if he refused to let her accompany him. The very thought of Samantha at Peggy's sometimes jealous and always unpredictable mercurial nature gave him chills. Peggy might do exactly as Samantha requested. But she also might flash her into the middle of a six-lane highway at rush hour or to the bottom of a river.
He let his head drop for an instant in a gesture of submission. "You win." He paused to give her a deep and lingering kiss, then flashed them out in a swirl of silvery particles.
The tool shed closest to the house seemed the best place to materialize without being seen. Once there, he paused a moment to probe the vicinity with his angelic senses on the lowest possible level. The method returned only the barest of information but was better than using his full abilities and giving the demons a big flashing arrow pointing to his location.
Samantha moved away from his side a little, prompting him to focus back on her.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for a weapon. Something doesn't feel right."
Damn. He hadn't explained it to her. "If you need a weapon, just think it. I'm not entirely certain how it will work with you, but instinct or something like it will lead you." He returned his attention to their surroundings.
A single human female presence in the house projected terror in a tsunami of emotion that rolled into Toren with enough force to nearly knock him over. Kassie!
Other, less than friendly, psychic fingerprints lay all over the place while the sulfurous stench of demon permeated the air. A horse squealed and hooves rang against wood as a man cried out in pain. Sounded like someone had encountered Samantha's Glory.
The temptation to flash Samantha back to the hotel was nearly overpowering. One glimpse of the stern determination in her face convinced him not to raise the question. Fine.
The need to keep Samantha safe forced him to consider their options in advance rather than just wading in and letting the situation dictate his responses as he normally would. "We'll have to get to the house on foot."
She glanced up at him, eyes widening in surprise. "Why not just flash into the kitchen? No doubt that's where she is."
"Initiating a flash generates a good deal of angelic energy. Enough to paint a big neon sign inviting any demons in the area to the party. With just the two of us, we don't want that kind of attention."
Sam nodded and put a finger across her lips in a gesture for quiet, then pointed to the shed's door.
Toren stopped to listen, not bothering with angelic senses. A moist whuffle sound repeated several times around the edges of the door as some animal sniffed out their presence.
Toren followed the example and inhaled deeply through his nose, drawing in the beast's scent. A heavy layer of musk infused with the smell of carrion nearly hid the sulfurous odor that warned of demonic influence.
Damn. Whatever stood on the other side of that door was definitely a threat. Probably a big one.
Time to move before it multiplied.
Judging from the smell, the thing on the other side of the shed door was probably one of what the others had nicknamed monkey men, like the one he and Samantha had encountered torturing the steer. The memory of that thing shaped the next few seconds. Facing a few of them in combat didn't concern him overly much. The after action reports he'd seen from the others detailing hundreds, even thousands, of the creatures definitely gave him pause.
A stir in his spirit alerted him to Peggy’s presence. Relief swept through him. He’d never actually needed her assistance in battle, but she'd save him time, effort and skin on numerous occasions. At the moment, he deeply welcomed her presence to help him keep Samantha safe. He couldn’t be too careful with her.
Toren's armor sprang to the surface as his body geared up for battle. His leather duster, reaching to mid-calf, morphed into a coat of mercury chain mail, the cloth flowing like mirrored liquid. In his right hand, a heavy spear materialized sporting a point so long and fine it was better classified a blade. The gun occupying his left hand resembled a giant revolver, the cylinder as big around as a basketball. Modeled after the M32 multiple grenade launcher, the weapon took massive fist-sized bullets loaded with compressed spiritual power that would blast just about anything back to hell.
The thing sniffing at the door was still there, occasionally poking at the door with a cautious finger or grunting. So far it must be alone and unsure what occupied the shed. Otherwise, it would have taken the door down and attacked already.
He moved to kick the door open before it summoned more of its kind, but a glance at Samantha gave him pause. With the clothing and her slim figure and short hair, she would have easily passed for a young male gunfighter from the Old West. Jeans, hat and boots with roweled spurs looked perfectly at home with the matched six-shooters on her hips. He couldn’t help be impressed with how quickly she’d managed to use her instincts and power. He wasn’t at all sure what she was capable of but the choices she'd made said she wasn’t sure either and limited her options because of it. Staying within her comfort zone for her first battle showed good instincts for tactical strategy.
>
Noticing his gaze on her, she shrugged as if to say It’s all I could do.
He leaned close and projected his feelings at her. Would she be able to read them? “I’m happy if you're happy. Just as long you don't forget you're a woman. My woman."
She narrowed her gaze at him and mouthed, “I know I’m your woman!” Then smiled proudly about it.
He nibbled at the delicate lobe, thrilled with the little shiver that ran through her. "Ready?"
Samantha nodded and drew her pistols and took a deep breath.
Toren hefted the M32 into firing position, lifted the spear, and reared back on one foot to kick the door outward.
The door splintered and flew out and the beast on the other side gave a shrill cry of shock. The surprise only lasted a whisper of a second, though, and it came back snarling.
Toren slipped the blade of his spear between the creature's ribs to puncture its heart. The creature exploded in a flash of light and smoke just as its twin skidded into reach.
The newcomer flew at Toren with claws and teeth bared.
No time to raise the spear or the M32, he braced for impact.
Instead of hitting his chest, the thing dropped to the ground at his feet, still twitching while the sound of revolver fire faded. Toren turned in time to see smoke wafting from the barrel of one of Samantha's guns. Judging by the size hole in its chest and the way the skin sizzled at the wound’s edges, she was packing some serious spiritual firepower in her little antique looking weapons. Nice.
With a nod of gratitude, Toren sprinted for the house.
** ** **
Sam stayed close on Toren's heels but before they made five of the hundred yards to the house, dozens of the monkey things appeared. Some dove from behind cover and others seemed to materialize from thin air. All of them were terrifying, huge mouths full of vicious-looking teeth ready to rip and tear flesh. Well, she had every intention of keeping all of her skin, and Toren's, in one piece.