“So, we are still in our world?”
“Yes. Just on the other side of the bubble for whatever reason.”
Abby felt a caress on her mind. Abby, can you still hear me?
Yes.
Good. He reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. Remember, we are wed and should act accordingly.
She would have no trouble acting. Her only concern was how she was going to keep a wall around her feelings so she didn’t get snared in Cade’s net. It would be far too easy to fall for him. Abby almost wished she was still of the opinion that fallen angels were evil. However, she was learning that was far from the truth. At least in the case of those she’d met. Sure, there were probably some who fit the image she had always held in her mind, but not Cade and his friends.
They were instructed to sit on the heavy blankets thrown on the ground. Cade next to the king and Abby on Cade’s left. She settled next to him and stared at the mound of food that was being placed in front of them. While Cade had released her hand, it now rested on her thigh and sent searing heat between her legs.
Damn him.
The wall she was trying to build between them was crumbling. Did she dare tell him about her demons? Particularly one named Cassiel?
Cade liked the heat of Abby under his palm, but he needed to pull his focus back to the situation at hand. He accepted a piece of the roasted pig when it was offered to him. Opening his mind, he tried to reach any of his brethren, but he only got static. Apparently, the shield caused interference. He was smart enough to realize that there would still be angels out there watching the area, and there was no way the fire would go unnoticed. Whether or not he and Abby would be spotted was another thing. Even if they were, what could angels on the other side do to help them get out? Likely nothing, since none had been able to get close without damage to themselves. Cade still had no idea how he and Abby ended up here, or why for that matter.
Finally, the king looked at him. “Is the room to your liking?”
“Your hospitality is generous,” Cade replied in the ancient language.
The king gave a curt nod. “Good. Then you will wake my daughter so I can go back to sleep.”
“Tell me the story of your daughter.” He’d given the right prompt because the king offered a big smile.
“Arsenia is my most precious treasure. An inquisitive child, who often got herself into trouble, but she is the light of my eye.” He stopped to take a bite of food. “When she reached young adult, she became gravely ill and would have walked into the afterlife except I am a selfish man.” He wiped his mouth.
“I sacrificed my youngest daughter in exchange for my eldest.”
Cade was grateful Abby didn’t understand their conversation as she would have been mortified at the murder of a child. He, however, understood the ancient religions. Didn’t mean he agreed, but he understood. “What happened then?”
“The medicine man put her to sleep and said when she woke she would be cured. He said a warrior with dark power and wings would wake her.”
“How did the rest of the village come to sleep?” Cade realized there had to be some stronger power behind all of this. No ordinary medicine man would have been able to pull off a task like this.
The king pulled back his shoulders. “I ordered it done.”
That would be the only answer Cade would receive. He wanted to ask about the snake but knew the king’s answer would be no different than before. He still wondered if Lucifer was somehow behind this. The king himself may not have made a deal with the devil, but his medicine man likely did. Or at least a very powerful demon, who could put to sleep an entire village and keep them hidden away from prying eyes. It did explain why the civilization had vanished.
“Why do you think I am the one to wake your daughter?” Logical answer would be because he and Abby had somehow found their way in.
“You are here. I thought you would come the last time I saw you, but it was not time yet.” His reply was matter-of-fact.
Suddenly it hit Cade. This was the man he saw staring up at him when the black power grabbed hold of him. “You will take me to your daughter?” Though he doubted he could wake the female, he couldn’t assess anything until he saw her for himself.
“Tonight.” The king raised his golden cup. “We celebrate. Tomorrow you will wake my daughter.”
The festivities went until late into the night when Cade finally led a very tired Abby back to their room. Once there, she fell back on to the bed.
“So, when do we get out of here?”
“Tomorrow I see his daughter and try to determine how she sleeps.”
Abby pushed herself to sitting. “Can’t you just open a portal and take us out of here?”
“Do you think I haven’t tried? Nothing happens. I can’t communicate with the others from in here either. All I get is static, like there’s too much interference. The good news is, I seem to have all of my powers just not my weapons.”
“Well I guess that’s something.”
Cade walked to the other side of the mattress and began to pull off the tunic.
“What are you doing?”
He looked at her over his shoulder. “Undressing for bed.”
Chapter Fifteen
The thought of seeing Cade naked again sent her heart racing. “You can’t sleep here.” She’d never keep her hands off him.
His shadowed jaw set and a brow arched. “This is the only bed, and I don’t intend to sleep on the floor. We are both adults, so we can make this work.” He pulled the fabric over his head and bared that glorious ass for her. Abby had to bite her lip to keep from groaning. The way he had kissed her earlier came back to sear itself in her memory and between her thighs. She looked around the room. There was no chair or any other furniture to sleep on, and the floor was out of the question.
“Okay, but put your jeans back on.”
He stared at her over his shoulder for a long moment but eventually pulled the denim on then crawled into bed. “Kill that lamp, please.”
Abby was quick to oblige before she slipped into the bed still fully clothed.
“You’re not undressing?”
“You’d like that,” she retorted.
“I will not lie, I would like it very much.”
She lay there on her back and stared into the pitch black. Worry flooded her and she prayed her family was safe. “Do you think if you wake this princess we will get out of here?”
“I wish I had the answers, but I swear to you I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
And she believed him. “I’m worried about my mother and sister.” A rustle and she knew he turned to his side to face her.
“There is no reason they shouldn’t be safe.”
Silence ticked by until it became deafening.
“Abby?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me, truthfully. What are you afraid of?”
She swallowed. “I need to explain that we’ve crossed into some sort of Twilight Zone?”
“That’s not what I meant. You were skittish before we ended up here.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she scoffed. But her reserve was dwindling.
“I’m a warrior, I can small fear and you reek of it. Have ever since you came back from Cassiel’s.” There was a moment of silence then... “Did he hurt you?”
He’d chipped away the last of her wall. The floodgates opened and she began to shake, tears rolled down her cheeks to wet her hair. Before she understood what was happening, she was in a pair of strong arms, hands stroking her hair.
“Tell me,” he whispered.
And she did. Cade never spoke, only held her tighter as she shared the entire ugly event between sobs. When she finished, he kissed the top of her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“I will kill him.” His voice was a knife-edge, slicing through the darkness. Power slid across her skin and cocooned her. It was then she realized how strong he really was––t
his man whose arms of steel wrapped around her.
“Logan saw, didn’t he?” A lethal whisper.
“He touched my mind and saw it all.”
“That is why he told me to protect you and yours.” He squeezed her tighter to him. “I would do it without his command. Always.”
Her shoulders were lighter, the burden she’d carried finally lifted. It felt good and right to confide in Cade, and she was glad Cassiel would never be able to do to another what he had done to her. Death seemed too good for the bastard. She snuggled into Cade’s warmth, head on his chest, and fell asleep to the heartbeat of a true warrior.
Cade plotted Cassiel’s long and slow death as Abby slept peacefully in his arms. First order of business, to get them out of here. Now that he was aware of what happened, he too worried about her family. He’d always thought Cassiel a bastard, but even this was beyond what he ever thought the elite angel capable of.
He slid his fingers through the thick mane of hair that tumbled down her shoulders, and she snuggled into him even further. Determination pulsed in his veins. He’d not only get her out of here, but make sure she stayed safe as well as her family. He may be fallen, but it was apparent he had more morals than Cassiel.
Rotten fucker.
Abby stirred, her dress lifting as she threw her naked thigh over his leg. He bit back a groan. His cock a steel rod, pressing against his jeans. He tried to shift so he could relieve the pressure.
“Cade?” Abby mumbled.
“Shh, go back to sleep. Everything will be fine.”
“I feel your power snapping in the air.”
“Sorry. I’ll try to tone it down.”
She sat up and he knew she was trying to study him in the pitch dark. The lantern hanging on the wall flared to life and Abby gasped.
“Did you do that?” she whispered.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“While I can see in the dark, you cannot. Not yet anyway.”
She focused on his naked chest, licked her lips then moved her gaze to his obvious erection. He held his breath, fearful she would bolt, but this woman was full of surprises.
“You’re nothing like him.”
He didn’t need to ask who she referred to.
“Will you make him hurt?” Her gaze met his.
“As much as is your desire. He had no right to violate you and threaten your loved ones.” Cade shifted up to his elbow. “A mate is to be treasured. Showered with love. Cassiel is a fool.”
“I chose wrong when I thought I wanted him. You have showed me how to protect myself, and even now you watch over me. You’re more man than he will ever be.” She placed a palm on his chest. “Please forgive me for thinking because you are fallen you are less.”
“There is nothing to forgive.”
“Your desire...” Her eyes flicked back to his painful erection. “I... You stir something inside me no other man has before.”
“It’s obvious what you do to me, but you realize if we take care of our needs then we start a bond.” Cade had thought earlier he wanted to just piss Cassiel off and keep the bastard from having Abby. Now, he realized he had wanted her for himself. Still did but it was her choice.
She gave him a weak smile then looked across the room. “I wouldn’t want to do that to you. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”
He sat up, cupped her chin, and turned her to look at him. He was about to take the biggest chance of his life. Bigger than falling. “The choice is yours, and you can always walk away, but no matter what I’ll be here for you. Even if you choose to leave me, I will always watch over you.” He moved his fingers along her chin and over her lips. Damn, he’d never wanted a woman more. “But be warned. I will do everything in my power to encourage you to stay.” And he meant it. “Either way, I will kill Cassiel for what he did to you as soon as we are free from here.”
She threw her arms around his neck, pulled him to her, and planted a kiss on his mouth. “I need you,” she whispered.
I must be crazy. But Abby had always been a free spirit and this thing between her and Cade... It felt right. She knew every word he spoke was truth and he desired her. Cade nuzzled her neck. Kissed his way upward, sending shivers down her spine each time his lips touched her skin. When their mouths came together, it was in gentle kisses, and she knew Cade feared hurting her.
“I’m not going to break,” she said between breaths.
He pulled away and began tugging at her sash. “You will tell me if I go too fast.” He tossed the fabric to the floor.
“I don’t think you’re going fast enough.” She fumbled with the button on his jeans. “Damn thing,” she muttered and he laughed.
“I can fix that.” His gaze narrowed and suddenly their clothes melted away.
“How?” It was all she could manage because her mind could only focus on his nakedness. She’d seen his backside earlier, but the front was magnificent. There was no missing his desire for her now. Abby suddenly felt self-conscience. While she had always been told she had a nice body, her hips were too wide.
“You are perfection.” He cupped her face and kissed her as he pushed her back to lie on the bed. She ran her hands down his arms, his biceps so large she couldn’t get her fingers even halfway around.
Cade pressed his tongue along the seam of her lips and she opened, accepted the sweep in her mouth as she tasted his power. It spoke of lightning and sin. Crackled in the air around her and she hoped she didn’t get singed. Frightened is what she should have been; instead she surrendered to him. Embraced what he was and knew deep in her soul he would never let anything happen to her.
He lifted his head and stared in her eyes. Flecks of darkness swirled in their depths. “Are you sure about this? I can’t go back to the clouds. If you stay with me, it will be in Lulerain.”
She slipped her fingers through his hair. The feel of silk on her skin. “For once in my life, I’m going to follow my heart instead of doing what others expect of me.” Her mother would be mortified. Mating with a fallen angel. “Promise me my family will be safe. Don’t let Cassiel hurt them.” She was angry the angel could still get to her through them.
His jaw hardened and again his power snapped, charging the air. It was a living entity. “While I live and breathe, they will be safe.” He kissed the marking on her breast. Ran his tongue along the outline of the single wing that marked her as nephilim. An angel’s eternal mate.
His lips wrapped around a nipple, and his tongue flicked at the tender peak.
She arched into him. Clawing at his back, she begged for mercy. “You make me ache,” she whispered.
Lifting his head, he growled. “Then I will have to ease your pain.” He moved to the other breast, teasing the nipple into painful hardness. She paid him back by digging her nails into his back. He laughed. “Ah, you can’t hurt me, ma moitié.”
“Ma moitié?”
“My other half,” he whispered.
Her heart melted.
Cade kissed a heated path down her belly, stopping at her pelvic bone. Abby moaned as his fingers glided along the inside of her thigh. He lifted her right leg, kissed her calf then blazed a wet trail with his tongue back up her leg. He spread her legs wider. Blew heated air across her sex.
“I hate you,” she cried in frustration.
He only responded by offering a wicked grin before he gave the same loving, torturous attention to her other leg. Abby thought she was going to burn alive if he didn’t offer her some relief. Lucky for her, he planted himself between her thighs. Licked along the edges of her folds. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and held tight when he flicked his tongue across her nub.
Slow wet circles around her clit, until she thought she would faint from frustration. He held her on the edge, and every time she thought she might tip, he pulled her back.
“Remind me to torture you later,” she gasped.
He chuckled and then gave her what she desired most. Sucking her clit into his mouth, she
shattered into delightful bliss. Falling off the edge, she was swept away on a tidal wave of the purest pleasure one could ever experience.
Cade was reluctant to pull himself from between Abby’s thighs, but his cock throbbed and his desire to thrust himself deep inside her was an entity of its own. He finally forced himself to rise, the honey taste of her still on his lips. He took a moment to drink in the sight of her. Skin flushed, lips parted with a sigh. Eyes still filled with desire as she reached up and ran her fingers across his chest.
He pressed the tip of his shaft to her entrance. Heat sparked between them.
“Are you positive?” He posed the question, not sure he could stop from thrusting into her if she said no.
She opened her eyes fully. “I choose you.”
It was all he needed to hear. “You are ma moitié.” He slid, one slow inch at a time. He wanted to savor her as her heat wrapped around his cock. It took every bit of strength not to give a single thrust, but he somehow managed, giving her body a chance to adjust. Accept him.
When he’d finally planted himself as far as he could go, they both sighed. Cade ground into her before he pulled back and began a deliberate steady rhythm. He wanted to take things slow their first time. Make sure she received her pleasure. Opening his mind he reached for hers, connected, and let his emotions sweep over her.
Abby’s lids snapped open. Her eyes a molten copper and her gaze never left his.
I knew you were fire.
“I feel like I’m burning alive.” She thrust her hips and met him with a hard smack.
Abby dug her nails into his back as she came undone once again. Her sheath an inferno that pulsed around his cock and he couldn’t stop the riptide that pulled him under. His release barreled into him like a tidal wave. When they both finally came back to earth, he rolled, pulling her with him so she was seated on top, and then it hit.
A piece of his soul was ripped free of his body while hers gently slid into place. Abby’s eyes were wide as she stared at him.
Surrender To Darkness (Eternally Mated Novel) Page 11