by Ashur Rose
“That makes me feel a little better.” The idea that one of those things might have had its mouth on her was vomit-inducing.
“It shouldn’t,” he said, but he added nothing further. Carefully lifting her sticky hand away, he took in the injured flesh. His breath hissed in. “That looks bad.”
Lilith turned away from the black wounds.
“Let me try something,” Iain said. He closed his eyes, taking long, deep breaths. A glow like the one from his eyes now wavered around his hand, like a heat mirage in color. When he placed his luminous palm over the wound, Lilith barked in pain.
“Damn it, I should’ve known. I’m sorry I hurt you.” He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
“What was that?”
Iain shook his head. “We need to get you medical attention. An emergency room.”
Without apparent effort, Iain scooped her into his arms and quickly made it to the front door. She flung her arms around his neck.
“You’d better hold on tight. This will be a rough ride.”
“I wouldn’t” —she paused to squint against the wound on her shoulder— “have it any other way.”
He looked down at her face, beyond the smile she used to hide her pain. “I’m pleased to see you have a sense of humor about this.”
“It’s the only way I can keep from crying, Iain.”
She heard a sound like unfurled canvas and saw Iain’s wings unfold and stretch to take the wind.
“If you can, keep your hand somewhere on my skin,” he said, facing the breeze.
“Why?”
“I’ll need to see. This will take more delicate flying than I’m used to.”
She didn’t understand. “What?”
Instead of answering, Iain jogged into the wind, hunkering down as he did. When he reached a full sprint, his wings thumped the air, beating once, twice, and the two of them left the solidity of the earth with a stomach-dropping lurch.
“Holy shit!” Lilith cried.
“The hand, the hand,” Iain urged.
She placed it on his cheek. Beneath them, the city shrank, becoming a dark geometric pattern as Iain pumped for altitude. As they rose, she could see a dark strip on the horizon—Lake Michigan. Iain flew toward it, each beat of his wings drawing them higher.
As they neared downtown, the tops of buildings rushed dangerously close. Lilith saw the bridge that crossed the expressway before Iain banked north. Within the circle of her arms, she felt his chest expanding hugely, his breath coming in gasps.
Below, Lilith saw the DuSable Bridge spanning the Chicago River. To her right, the higher windows of the Equity and NBC buildings reflected their passage. Beyond, Chicago Harbor and the Navy Pier spread into the water.
Iain lost altitude as they jerked and bobbed through downtown. They passed between skyscrapers along North Fairbanks, dropping and dropping, the height still dizzying, enough to kill them if Iain should fall. Instead, he grunted and swore, muscles strained, teeth bared. He climbed and climbed. Lilith saw why. He was headed straight for a building.
With a gasping roar, he barely topped it. Inches below her feet, she saw orange roofs, huge fans of HVAC spinning and a brief expanse of huge white tiles, and then they plummeted over the edge.
She didn’t have the breath for screaming as they dropped, her heart in her mouth, down, down, down toward the street. Even Iain gasped.
He twisted and maneuvered, wings beating furiously. His feet hit a breezeway only two stories above the pavement. His legs were forced to run across the entire length of it. He stopped himself with a hand to the building façade.
Traffic flowed beneath them, ambulances and emergency vehicles among them. “Northwestern Memorial,” Iain panted. “I hope.”
Lilith squinted and saw a sign for East Erie Street. She nodded. “You’re right.”
He scooped her up again, running back along the breezeway. Yards from the opposite façade, he leapt, wings thrumming and pounding. With jerking rises and falls, he landed them on the sidewalk in front of the emergency room entrance.
It was not the rough ride she’d been hoping for.
“Can you walk?” Iain steadied her with an arm across her back.
She inhaled. “Let me make sure I’m not going to puke first.”
At the intake desk, a distracted nurse asked for her name.
“Nurse, this patient needs immediate treatment.”
Frowning, the nurse gave Iain a look. “You’ll need to sign in and wait your turn. We have a lot of patients this evening.”
In return, Iain removed his shades and set his gaze upon her. “Immediate treatment,” he repeated firmly, slowly, his words drawn out and deep.
To Lilith’s surprise, the nurse’s face slackened. Her hand reached for a phone. “Yes, she needs to be taken care of right away.” Her voice sounded faraway, even when she spoke into the phone. “Triage, stat.”
Iain kept speaking. “You’ll also need to delay your request for payment until after she leaves.”
The nursed nodded. “Go ahead through that door, miss.” She pointed.
“I will be with her the whole time,” Iain said.
“Of course you will,” the nurse said as Lilith and Iain stepped into the triage alcove.
A young doctor appeared, glancing at the wounds on Lilith’s shoulder.
“You need to treat her immediately,” Iain said in those same slow, low tones.
The doctor’s eyes unfocused. “Let’s get her into a bay right away.”
The doctor led them deeper into the maze of the ER. In the bay, he applied his skill, cleansing her wounds and prepping it with a numbing agent before he closed them with sutures.
The nurse took over once the doctor tied the last stitch.
“Is that dressing waterproof?” Iain asked the nurse.
The nurse looked at him. “Yes, sir. It is.”
“Good,” he said.
Lilith sat on the side of the treatment table, looking up at Iain.
“Why is that good?” she asked.
Iain looked at her and gave her an expression that made her stomach clench.
“Because you smell of shade filth, della. And when I get you home, I intend to bathe it all off.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
LILITH AND IAIN
IAIN’S GAZE HAD FORCED two paramedics into giving them a lift to the loft in their bus. The flight over had been rough and he didn’t want to agitate Lilith’s wound again.
On the landing, Iain lifted Lilith off her feet and strode up the stairs to the top floor. He set her on the couch. “Let me make a few preparations, della. Rest for a moment; I won’t be long.”
Lilith shivered, anticipation making her muscles tight and loose at the same time. The ER had already given her a local anesthetic, so she was feeling no real pain other than the hot throb between her legs. Her nipples hardened against the fabric of her top. In spite of everything, she wanted nothing more in life than to be stroked senseless by this haunted, otherworldly man.
Only a few moments passed, but she could no longer keep herself still. While she was familiar with the ensuite bathroom off the bedroom, Iain had gone through a different door. On tiptoes, she moved to it, opening it just a crack. Steam already filled the room.
Silently, she moved inside, taking in the shape of him, the V from his shoulders to his rippled abs, narrow hips, the bulge of his firm ass snugged in blue jeans. She wanted to sink her teeth into his neck as he took her. Lilith’s hand trailed between her legs. She was so wet. The slightest touch of her fingers against her closed sex nearly forced a moan out of her.
“Iain,” she whispered. “Come over here and fuck me.”
Iain turned from his task at the sound of her voice. Instantly, his fangs descended and his cock writhed in response. He homed in on her, hearing her breath catch as she parted her lips, the sound of her bare feet tiptoeing across the tile floor, the tiny clicks of her fingernails against the buttons of her shirt as she unfastened them
.
Damn. She was making her move on him and it would take all his willpower to resist. Although he could find no better way to end a night of killing shades than by burying himself between her legs, he’d have to wait.
She came to him, touching his face and he saw that she held her bottom lip between her teeth. He groaned at the sight, his erection painful. “I told you not to fucking do that,” Iain whispered, drawing her hand away.
His face neared hers, and she craned up, her lips gently touching his. Gentleness soon went out the window. She threw both arms around his neck, mashing her lips into his. He marveled at their softness, the silkiness of her tongue, the heat of her mouth.
With deft fingers, he undid the rest of her buttons and dragged her blouse away. A tiny cry entered their kiss. She ground her lips against his, ravenous. The distraction did not keep him from unsnapping her bra and flinging it.
Her breasts were softness defined, opposed by the stiffness of her erect nipples as his fingers caressed them, each digit roving the rigid flesh with a spark that went through each of his fingertips.
“You can see me, can’t you?” she asked into his mouth.
“Only when we touch.” He pressed his lips to her shoulder. “When we kiss.”
“Well, don’t take your hands off me.”
He complied, nuzzling his face into her neck and grazing her delicate skin with his teeth. She gasped as he worked his way to her breast, where he licked and bit.
At the same time, his hands slid down her body, feeling the swell of her curves. Hooking his fingers in her skirt, he tugged it down past her broad hips until gravity took it to the floor.
Sliding his palm down her flat stomach, Iain reached beneath her waistband to the soft, hot flesh beneath. Lilith whimpered as he teased her folds. She groaned as he opened her and cried out as he slipped two fingers inside, cradling her clit.
Her body rocked in time with his gentle motions. Her tongue slid down his throat as she mashed her hips against his hand. His other hand pinched and teased her nipples.
When her muscles twitched, breaths coming in gasps, he withdrew his fingers, leaving her on the edge. Kneeling, he drew her damp panties to the floor, and braced her with a hand on her hips as she stepped out of them. He looked up into her gaze, and through their touch, he saw his own hunger mirrored there.
When he stood, Lilith drew closer to him, frantically unbuttoning his jeans. His cock busted free, and she gripped it fiercely, its width too large for her hand. She gazed at his hugeness, her hand quivering. She dropped down, swirling the head with her tongue, delighting in his breathy, helpless moan.
She took him into her mouth. And she groaned, feeling her tongue slide over his cock. He felt a tremor rage through him. She gripped the wide base of his shaft and swallowed him, deeper and deeper.
Fingers knotted in her hair as he responded instinctively, hips thrusting forward. She withdrew. Looking up at his expression, she whispered, “Forget the shower. Take me to bed.”
Iain bent and lifted her from the floor, carrying her into the steaming shower. The shower was huge, more than big enough for the both of them. He grabbed a natural sponge and doused it with soap, the scent of it rushing to her head.
He lathered her, every inch of her. Hands caressed her curves as he rinsed her.
“You’re torturing me,” she whispered in his ear.
He remained silent, trying to focus his energy on the task at hand and not the thought of his cock buried inside her. Iain dumped shampoo in his hand and massaged it into her hair. He kissed her hard—the edge of his teeth grazing across her lips, his tongue probing. A privilege, he thought. A privilege to share the same space as her, to touch her. And then his knees buckled, nearly taking him to the floor as she gripped his throbbing cock.
“I can’t stand any more, Iain. I need you inside me.”
Iain’s cock hardened even further at her words, hard enough to smash bricks. “I want nothing more, but I can’t.”
Her face pressed against his neck, as she pumped his cock gently with her hand. “Please.”
“Patience,” he said, his voice strained. She was his pure. “Not until we covenant.”
His heart quaked as she bit his neck. “I don’t understand.”
“You will. Until that time—”
Lilith faced away, her palms against the stall wall, bending over until her face pressed against the tile. Water splashing over her ass hypnotized Iain. As he watched, she reached behind herself, grabbed his cock and pulled him between her.
He allowed himself to be dragged closer, unable to refuse such a persuasion. Lilith pressed against him, gently moving back and forth.
She didn’t know anything about covenanting, but it aroused her further that he wouldn’t penetrate her without it. It must be some kind of promise, a vow. What Lilith did know was that she couldn’t take it anymore.
Following his wishes, she pressed her ass against his pelvis. His length brushed against her vulva, making her bite her lip. Fully saddled on his length, she grabbed the head. She ground against it, opening her sex to the friction. Grinding back and forth, Lilith slid her clit along his shaft, locking her thighs tightly around Iain’s cock.
Iain took up her rhythm, held by her thick thighs that were tighter than a fist. The feel of her clit grinding along the top of his shaft made his knees go weak. He palmed the sides of the shower walls for balance.
He leaned back, the leverage crushing his member into her slick heat.
“Right there!” Lilith shouted.
The hand clutching his head tightened, her hips pumping furiously, bearing down on him. Friction from her folds, from the tiny, barely yielding gap in her thighs, overcame him. From his core, he felt the beginning edge of a racing explosion, the light dazzling behind his eyes.
Lilith quaked, muscles beyond her control as she succumbed to ecstasy. She rocked, hearing her soft ass slap furiously against Iain’s hard flesh. Fire erupted from her center, exploding outward. A scream came unbidden to her lips as she shuddered, her orgasm a singular presence overwhelming her mind.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
IAIN
AS THE LAST RAYS of the sun left the sky, Iain rose from his perch. He found he had more spring in his step, his mood lighter, as he dropped down the spiral stairs into the loft two at a time.
He expected the scent of coffee drifting in the air, but there was none. Deciding to surprise his Lilith, he felt around his kitchen and filled the machine with grounds and water. Surprising her with breakfast would be better, but he didn’t have the sight or knowhow to cook.
Iain looked at the bedroom door, thoughts of last night’s exertions making his dick stand upright. He’d put her to bed after their shower. Licking his lower lip, he crept to the door to wake her up. He thought about her, sleepy, hair matted, her form warm and inviting. His hand fell to the knob, then pulled away. His brothers would be here soon, and he wasn’t interested in them finding him coupling with Lilith. Instead, he dressed and poured two mugs of coffee.
Balancing one cup in the crook of his elbow, he quietly opened the bedroom door. The curves he expected to see beneath the covers were not there. The ensuite bathroom stood dark and empty. Where was she? He felt no flare in his spectra.
“Lilith?”
Iain moved around the bed. He dropped both mugs. Lilith lay on the floor, her body twisted in a fetal position, covers trailing from the bed.
In an instant, he was at her side.
“Are you ill?” Gently, he lifted her back onto the bed. Her body practically burned at his touch, her skin flushing with intense fever. At once, he saw the source.
The dressing on her deltoid was soaked in black ichor, the shoulder around it greenish blue. Pulling the gauze away, he saw the sutures split, the long scratches scabbed over in green, granule matter and seeping something resembling motor oil.
He saw darkness trailing away from the injury. Arteries and veins had been infected. It could only mean
one thing.
“Poisoned.”
Iain nearly leapt out of his skin.
Raze moved beside him, carefully prodding the skin around the wound.
Steele and Cree stood in the doorway. Iain quickly covered her body.
“You took her to the hospital?” Raze asked.
Iain nodded. “They treated and stitched the wound.”
“It would’ve been enough,” Raze stood. “But the shade who clawed her must’ve been an older creature. Old enough to develop venom glands in its claws.”
“If they need her, if she’s the key, why would they poison her?” Cree asked.
Raze shrugged. “They could take her more easily, I suppose. Or perhaps this is part of the ritual for freeing Zorn. Shades’ motives escape me. Either way, the creature didn’t poison her accidentally.”
“Fuck!” Iain pounded a huge hole in the plaster, rage moving through him like wildfire. “I should have known! I should have done something!”
“Woah, bro.” Cree put a hand on his shaking shoulder. “How could you have known? Did she seem sick last night?”
“No. She seemed… full of life, of energy.”
“And if you did know, what were you going to do? Pop down to the corner drug store for supernatural antivenin? C’mon, Iain, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Cree punched him in the shoulder.
While his brother’s words calmed him, Iain still felt a weight on his soul.
“The poison is becoming systemic.” Raze carefully lifted both of Lilith’s eyelids. Her eyes were rolled back in her head. “Conjunctiva is still clear, but she doesn’t have much time. She’s too far gone for a mage.”
Iain understood. Only her pure could cure her now. He was her intended, but until they covenanted, he could do nothing. His only hope lie in a grouchy Fae and the mercy of a goddess who’d exiled him from his home world.
The Sanctum buzzed with conversation, tinkling with glass and silverware, beings standing three deep at the bar, the siren band back in full harmony. The Banes stared around, confused. Jenny the waitress, in her beauty form, appeared in front of them.