A_Taste_of_Decadence_ARE

by Blake_Harte_Quinn_Ryan_Rylon

  He nodded, and Lily gripped his hand tighter.

  “Thank you for bringing our Lily back, young Shade Griffin. It’s lovely to finally meet you, Lily dear.”

  “What do you mean?” Fear and anticipation laced her voice.

  “It was told to us many centuries ago that a lost child would be brought to us by a blue-eyed warrior with a lightning-quick determination. Welcome home.”

  “You knew this would happen?” Shade asked.

  The woman shook her head. “No, not quite like this. Once the storm approached and you consummated your binding, we knew Lily was ours.” They both blushed at the mention of just how they’d consummated. “Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Agda, the brownie council leader.”

  Lily bowed her head, and Shade followed. Power and warmth resonated from the leader. This brownie was no weakling. Brownies are fierce warriors, and it would probably be best to give her proper respect.

  “You know me?” Lily asked.

  “Of course, child. As brownies, we’re connected and can feel each other. Though you’re still so new, you may not notice it yet. But, you will. We will always be here if you need us. Come and meet some more of your family. Shade, you are welcome, as well. You are family now that your true half is with us.”

  Lily’s grip tightened on his, and she looked up at him. Moisture filled her eyes, but she smiled. “I’m home.”

  He kissed her cheeks and brushed the tears from her lashes. “Yes, you are.”

  “Come with me?”

  “Always.”

  They met the rest of the council and various others. There were brownies everywhere, young, old and new, like her. The brownies were tall, short, and all sizes in between, as unique and interesting as every species imaginable. Each home was a rounded dome set between two trees or rocks, the front doors wooden with vines of ivy decorating the outside.

  The people wore clothes mostly brown in color, and the fashion was a mix of the past with the present. Some wore garb that looked like robes, while others dressed in jeans and T-shirts. Truly eclectic, but fitting. Each brownie would come up to them smile, hug, and touch. They were truly a warm race.

  They loved his Lily because she was one of them, and for that Shade knew he could trust them. After all, they were her family. Distant family, yes, but family. They ate around a fire in the center of town, the group coming together in a party to celebrate the return of one of their own. They roasted a large pig on a spit and had every type of bread and cream he could think of, and there was music and dancing.

  Shade laughed when he noticed a few of them counting the veggies and pieces of cheese on their plates to make sure they were even.

  “You’re not alone,” he whispered and cuddled her close.

  She smiled, her body glowing gold with peace. “I know. I’m so happy right now.”

  He kissed her softly and met Agda’s eyes. She smiled warmly, and Shade nodded. This woman understood his Lily, and for that he was grateful.

  A young male brownie, who appeared to be about ten years old, walked up to them, his body gold, and a small smile on his face.

  “Lily? Would you dance with me?” The boy darted a glance at Shade as if asking permission.

  “Oh, I don’t know the steps.” Lily burrowed into his side and Shade kissed her temple.

  “Try it out, baby. I’m sure he’ll take care of you.”

  Lily kissed his chin then nodded to the boy. “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Timmy. And I promise to take good care of her.” He held out his hand and Lily walked to the circle that surrounded the fire and danced to the music performed by the brownies.

  “You love her,” Agda said as she sat near him.

  “With everything I have.”

  “Then take care of her. We’ll always be her people and be here if she needs us. But she belongs by your side.”

  Shade nodded, his gaze not straying from the green-eyed beauty as she laughed and danced.

  “Good. Then I can let you leave with your neck intact.”

  Shade laughed. “You know, even a warrior like me knows when to be fearful.”

  Agda patted his hand as if he was ten years old, not a thousand years old. “That’s why you’ve made it this far. Smart cookie.” She walked away and Shade turned his attention back to his Lily.

  Afterward, they walked back toward his bike. Conversation was easy. She bounced as she told him of the brownies she’d met even though he’d been by her side the whole time. God, she looked beautiful with a smile on her face. Their fingers intertwined, she leaned into his side, and he let out a sigh. He could almost forget the world around them and the dangers that lurked. Almost.

  “Shade, before the sun goes down, will you take me flying?” Lily asked, surprising him.

  He stopped beside his bike and rubbed a thumb on her cheek. “Now?”

  “Please? If it’s not too much trouble.” She grinned and kissed his jaw.

  “Sneaky, sprite. You’re buttering me up.”

  She licked his ear, and he groaned. “Yep. Is it working?”

  He caught her lips and kissed her hard. “Yes,” he said when he pulled back breathless.

  She smiled, and he took off his shirt. “Sexy.”

  He grinned. “Good to know.” He let his wings emerge, the feel of them sliding and stretching was like breathing fresh air.

  Her hand came up to touch the wings, awe on her face. She pulled back, and he grabbed her hand. “Touch me.” Everywhere.

  Her fingers danced along the edge of his wing and trailed down. He bit back a groan.

  “Does that feel good?” she asked.

  “Almost too good. You’ll need to stop, or I’m going to bend you over that bike and show you how good.”

  Her eyes widened, but she didn’t pull back her hand. “Maybe next time.”

  His cock hardened almost to the point of pain. Fuck. He gripped her waist and shot up into the air, startling a squeak out of her.

  “Shade, don’t drop me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck but still looked at the ground, a smile on her face.

  His arms tightened, and they flew higher. “Never.”

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, her core directly on his cock. “Shade.”

  “I have an idea,” he growled. Cautious of the air draft he glided in, he trailed his hand around her panties and touched her core. Wet.

  “Up here?”

  He kissed her neck, and she arched against him. “We’ll have to be careful, but we’ll be fine.”

  “I trust you.”

  Hope and need warred within him. Trust. She trusted him. He kissed her and dropped a few feet. Her scream caught in his throat.

  “Undo my pants, but don’t let them fall past my ass. That wouldn’t be good.”

  She laughed and did as she was told. His cock fell into her palm, and she squeezed.

  “Fuck, don’t do that or it will be over before it’s begun.”

  She laughed and held onto his back pocket.

  “Dammit, I don’t have a condom.” Disappointment ran though him.

  “It’s okay; I’m on the pill.”

  “Thank God.” He lifted her slightly, moved her panties to the side, and filled her. Bare. Silk. Hot. Need. Goodness.

  All his.

  “Shade.”

  “Lily.”

  He dipped lower in the air so she slid off his cock slightly. She clenched around him, and she smiled. “Don’t leave me.”

  “Never.” He arched back up in the air fast, the momentum forcing her on his cock, hard. They gasped and he smiled.

  “Do that again.” She moaned.

  “Oh, I plan to.” And he did. Over and over again, until the both came in a sweaty tumble of wind and limbs. He lowered them to the ground near his bike, and he slid out of her.

  “Oh, my God. We’ll have to do that again.” She stood on wobbly legs and tucked him back into his pants.

  “I like the sound of tha
t.”

  He put his shirt back on, and they got on his bike and headed home. They’d needed that. A moment to themselves. The world would come at them soon, but for now, they had each other.

  He pulled into his driveway, and they went back inside.

  “I should call my friends.”

  “I already did.”

  She stopped and turned toward him. “When?”

  “While you were sleeping. Faith almost killed me through the phone, but I told them you were okay and that I’d take care of you.”

  “They believed you?”

  He nodded. “They didn’t seem to know what had happened yesterday morning.”

  She shook her head. “That’s between us.”

  He kissed her softly. “I’m sorry, Lily.”

  “Stop apologizing. Just don’t lie to me again.”

  “Okay.” He brushed a finger down her neck.

  “Okay? That’s it?”

  “You’re my true half. I don’t need anything else.”

  “Okay, we need to talk about that. I mean, I don’t know about you or your family. Talk to me.” She furrowed her brow and he kissed the line it made.

  He let out a breath, sat, and pulled her onto his lap. “What do you want to know?”

  “Tell me about your family.”

  He rested his cheek on her head. She had to ask that, but it was past time he told her. “My family passed away during the Angelic Wars.”

  “The what?”

  “The Angelic Wars. A faction of angels tried to break off and control our brethren, thereby humanity.” One sentence to describe centuries of pain and loss? How trite. “If they controlled the angels, they could control humanity by destroying it.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “My parents died early on in the war, but they had long, enriched lives.”

  “That doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

  She kissed his jaw and he closed his eyes.

  “I also had a sister,” he said, his voice gruff.

  “Had?”

  He nodded. “She married Ambrose.”

  Lily held his face in her hands, her large green eyes filled with tears. “What happened to her?”

  “Ambrose and I were off at another battle, when a group of rogue angels went to Ambrose's and killed Ilianya, my sister, and their two children. She was pregnant at the time.” Pain sliced and clawed at him. Tears threatened, but he held them back.

  “Oh, God, Shade.” She kissed him, tears running down her cheeks.

  “I wasn't there, but my fiancée, Cora, was.” God, why hadn’t he been there?

  “Fiancée?”

  “Cora didn't make it either.” Images of her broken body filled his mind. Blood, glass, rocks…everything.

  “Oh, Shade. I'm so sorry.” She held him, her body his support as he fought for strength.

  “Ambrose broke down and hasn't been the same since.” His friend hadn’t laughed or truly smiled in years. While Shade had put on a facade, Ambrose had just shut down.

  “What about you, Shade?”

  “What about me?”

  “What about your feelings?”

  “I'm fine,” he lied.

  “No, you're not.”

  He kissed her, but she pulled back, sorrow on her face.

  “How do you know me so well?”

  “Because I just do.”

  He looked off into the distance. “They were so small, Lily. How could someone hurt such innocent people like my sister and her children?”

  He closed his eyes, his body shuddering at the onslaught of memories. He’d been the one to find them. The children on the ground, his sister covering the smallest one with her body. Cora on the ground, reaching for the other.

  Gone.

  Lily, her body warm against his, held him while he broke down.

  “I’m used to being the one consoling,” he rasped out.

  “That's why we’re a team.”

  He chuckled wetly. “I like that idea.”

  Chapter 21

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Jamie asked as she paced in Shade’s living room.

  They’d called her friend over that evening because Lily couldn’t be cut off anymore. She needed her friends or, as Shade had put it, her family. They were her lifeline. Of all her friends, Jamie was the most like a sister. Plus, she’d already told the other woman a lot about Shade. As soon as they’d called, Jamie had run over and wouldn’t stop pacing.

  “I’m telling you now,” Lily answered.

  Jamie let out a breath and plopped on the couch. “That doesn’t really answer my question.”

  Lily sat beside her friend and wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry. Everything happened so fast, and then I needed time to absorb it all.”

  Jamie leaned closer. “Fine. Don’t let it happen again.”

  Lily grinned. “I promise, if a rouge angel attacks me, I’ll call you the second I can reach a phone.”

  “That’s not funny!”

  “All I can do is laugh about it. If I didn’t, I might go a bit crazy.”

  “So, Shade’s taking care of you?”

  Lily warmed at the thought of her blue-eyed angel. “Oh, yes, he is.” She blushed as Jamie gave her a knowing look.

  “Oh, do tell.”

  “Shade is…well, he’s…”

  “Did I hear someone call my name?” Shade came from the back of the house, a cocky grin on his face.

  Damn, those super-hearing ears of his. Freaking angels.

  “Go back in your room. Lily was just about to dish on you.”

  “Jamie!”

  “Yes, Jamie, I would suggest you let your friend off the hook.” Ambrose’s deep voice startled them, and they looked back at him. “I already have to deal with sleeping in the next room. I do not care to listen to their sexual exploits again.”

  “Ambrose,” Shade growled.

  Ambrose merely raised a brow. He pulled the axe from around his back and sat. Jamie gasped, but Ambrose polished it, unconcerned.

  “You have an axe,” Jamie stated.

  Ambrose blinked, and Lily bit back a grin. She’d only known the angel for a little while, but she already knew he was a supernatural of few words and a large weapon collection. Odd how the sight of a large weapon didn’t freak her out so long as the weapon was in his hands. Talk about life changes.

  “Observant.”

  “Stop acting like an ass, Ambrose,” Shade scolded.

  Ambrose lifted his other brow. How did he do that?

  “Do you usually carry large pointy things around like that?” Jamie asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Talkative, aren’t you?”

  “I’m a regular old chatter box.”

  Shade let out a laugh. “Was that a joke, old man?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “You did it again,” Lily teased.

  “Don’t count on it happening again,” Ambrose said.

  “Of course not,” Jamie agreed.

  “Well…” Shade froze, his body tense, a frown on his face, and the room quieted. “Lily, take Jaime and stay behind Ambrose and me at all times.” He tossed her a set of keys. “Go if I tell you. Take Ambrose’s car.”

  “What’s going on?” She walked to him.

  He crushed his mouth against hers, the urgency of it sending tremors of fear down her spine. He pulled back and brushed her bangs from her face.

  “We’ve got company.”

  “Do you know who?”

  “No, but they’re getting closer.”

  She nodded and pulled Jamie to her side.

  “What does he mean, Lily?” Jamie whispered.

  “I think Striker, that angel behind this, may be coming. I’m not sure, but whoever it is, isn’t our friend.”

  “I believe it’s Striker.” Shade looked down at her, and her breath caught. “I will protect you.”

  “I know.”

  Ambrose raised the axe he’d been polishing, a cold frown on
his face. “They’re here.”

  A crash from the front of the apartment made the blood in Lily’s veins freeze. Shade and Ambrose would protect them. If all else failed, she’d figure out how to find her strength. Hopefully.

  A metal canister rolled into the room, and Shade yelled, covering Lily’s body with his. The canister exploded, sending a dust that smelled of sulfur through the room.

  “Shit, demon’s dust.” Ambrose growled and fell to the floor.

  “Demon’s what?”

  Shade coughed, blood trickling from his mouth. “I’m sorry.”

  Her pulse raced. “Shade! Oh, God.” Jamie ran to Ambrose’s side. The other angel lay on his back, blood pooling around him from his pores. Lily held Shade’s head in her lap, tears running down her cheeks. Was he dead? She felt for a pulse, her body relaxing when she felt the faint flutter.

  “Oh, he won’t die…yet.” A man walked into the room, an even scarier looking man trailing behind him. “It’s demon’s dust, made up of one hundred bodies of demons burned alive. Very rare, and very potent.”

  “You must be Striker.” Her voice didn’t betray her fear; good for her.

  “In the flesh. I’m sorry that our first meeting will also be our last. Don’t worry though. Your death will help us all.” He gave a laugh of pure menace. “Well, at least it will help me.”

  The other man cleared his throat and glared at Striker.

  “Oh, and, of course, my friend, Law, here.”

  “I am not your friend.”

  Striker let out a breath. “Fine. My ally, Law, here. Better?”

  “No.”

  “Whatever. We’re here to kill the girl.” Striker turned to Jamie and tilted his head. “Kill the spare woman first then this one will feel distraught over it. Then kill her.”

  Law raised his brow. “Is that all?”

  “For now.”

  Law smiled and pulled a sword out of who knew where and stalked toward Jamie. He lifted the sword, and Jamie screamed before ducking.

  “Bitch!”

  “I’m not going to sit here and die for you!” Jamie ran to the kitchen while Lily lifted Shade from her lap to chase after them. Jamie lifted a butcher knife and held it in front of her.