“Jesus, Braydon,” I said, putting my hands there to catch my balance. “A little space, please?”
But he didn’t give me any space. Instead, he grabbed my wrists, gluing my hands to his chest. My palms burned as if they’d been placed on a hot stove, before a tingling sensation washed over them, settling in my fingers like tiny icicles prickling from the inside out.
I snapped my head up to meet his gaze fixed on mine, a determined gleam in those sexy eyes. No time to process it before his mouth came down hard on mine. The burning sensation seared the tender flesh of my lips, just as it had my palms, and I welcomed the same tingly feeling that followed, almost making me want to moan from the relief of it. Or had I actually moaned?
My breath caught when he pushed back.
“No us, huh?” Braydon said with a self-satisfied smile.
“I don’t… that wasn’t…”
“Bullshit, Cassie,” he said. His fingers dug into my upper arms. “You’re throbbing right now, and I’m the only one here. You want me. You need me.”
I wanted to deny it. Dammit, why couldn’t I get the words out?
I stood there like some dumbstruck lover as he raised his hand and lightly brushed his knuckles down my cheek, my neck, farther… and, oh God, those damn quivers followed their path and left me taking short, quick breaths.
“Be with me, Cassie. Let me show you how you were meant to feel. Right here. Now.”
What the hell was wrong with me? My body had completely taken over and shut down my brain. He was right, I was throbbing. Everything was pulling me toward him. My skin begged to be caressed, my nipples ached to be tugged, and the pressure low in my abdomen was almost unbearable. Those feelings weren’t supposed to happen. Not with him.
Somehow I managed to shake my head. Denial followed. “I can’t. I belong with Hunter.”
His lips curled at the mention of Hunter, and then his finger quickly trapped my lips before I could say more. “See, Cassie, that’s exactly why you need me. Being with him, that… demon… has caused the darkness within you to spread.” His finger left my lips and slowly slid down my neck to my chest while his gaze remained transfixed on its movement. My heart rate increased when he inched his fingertip between my breasts. He splayed his fingers wide below my breasts, nearly covering my stomach, and continued the descent on my body. “It’s stretching within you, trying desperately to extinguish your light. It’s feeding on your feelings for him, and if you let it go any further, that light will be gone from you forever.”
How had his hand gotten so far down, so close to the place between my legs that was screaming to be touched? I couldn’t breathe, but I was afraid to release the breath I’d held for fear he’d finish the obvious path he was on. At the same time, I thought I might die if he didn’t. He’d watched his own hand all the way down my body, but almost as if the last layer of my composure called to him, he snapped his gaze back up and locked it with mine. The passion in his eyes was so intense, I let out a whimper before I could catch myself.
That was all the invitation he needed. His hand cupped between my legs, and he moved into me as he applied pressure to my core. I cried out, the pleasure had reached a level too much for me to keep inside.
“I can help you stop the darkness, Cassie.” The wind of his whispered words blew gently across my ear. His lips barely brushing against it, sending shivers down my body. “With me, your light will always shine. There will never be darkness. Let me show you.”
My body said his words were true, that everything was exactly how it was supposed to be. Hunter was darkness. Braydon was light. That if I didn’t choose now, right this second, I would lose myself in the darkness and never find my way back. I didn’t want to be bad. Every ounce of my soul wanted to be good. And being there with Braydon felt so good at that moment. Too good.
What was I doing? Inside, I wobbled like a rag doll, my emotions tossing and turning from one minute to the next, completely out of control. My body was responding on its own to caresses it had no business experiencing. I had to stop it. Now.
Somehow my brain connected with my limbs, and I put my hands out, pushing Braydon back. He was surprised by the rejection, and I used the space to catch my breath. Air to my brain cells… that’s what I needed.
“This isn’t right. I can’t do this.”
“It is right. You know it.” His hands moved to rest on my hips. “It’s more right than anything I’ve ever felt. I can tell you feel it too. Just let go.”
I almost got lost in his words again, his soulful eyes reaching in, taking hold of my muddled emotions. It wasn’t helping any.
“Why are you doing this to me? You barely know me. You’re an angel. You shouldn’t even want to be with me.”
“Does it feel like we barely know each other, Cassie?”
He was right. A definite pull had existed between us from the moment I first saw him. It was almost palpable. And familiar. Familiar because I had the same kind of pull with Hunter. I was very confused. They were such opposite entities. How could I feel the same pull to both? Or was it the same? I didn’t know anymore. I couldn’t think.
“No, it doesn’t,” he answered for me when I couldn’t. “Look, I don’t know what it is either. It just is. Everyone has a guardian. Maybe I’m yours.”
No. No. I wouldn’t believe that. It was etched in my heart. Hunter filled that role. I refused to give up that conviction. This had gone too far.
“You’re wrong. This is wrong.” I pushed his hands off my hips and stepped out of his reach. I half expected him to come at me again, but he remained where he was.
He dropped his head to his chest with a defeated sigh. I should have left. Instead, I stood there like an idiot watching and waiting for what I didn’t know. He slowly shook his head before looking back at me. Taking his bottom lip in with his teeth, he studied me.
“You’re making a big mistake, Cassie.”
“No,” was all I could say. I had no reasoning to back it up. Just, no.
“I guess I have no choice but to let you go,” he said. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“I’m sorry, Braydon.”
I turned to leave, so on edge and not trusting myself to stay and hear anything more.
I’d gotten a few feet away when he called my name. My heart dropped. I didn’t turn around… couldn’t look at him again and froze in place, unable to take another step.
“This isn’t over.”
I fought the urge to turn and ask him what that meant but had no courage or energy. Or maybe I just didn’t want to know. It was hard enough walking away from him, and for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why that was. I was making the right decision. Hunter would always be my choice.
***
My thoughts were locked in the gardens with Braydon, although somehow I put one foot in front of the other and returned to my quarters.
What was I thinking? Why did I keep reacting the way I did with Braydon? My heart should be leading me to Hunter. It was with him, always had been. So, why was it so difficult to walk away from Braydon?
Fingers grappled my wrist and twisted my body around. I would have fallen if it weren’t for the solid body I’d been pulled into.
“Where were you, Cassandra?”
I looked up into Hunter’s steely gaze with a gasp.
“Hunter.”
“I’ll ask again, where were you?” His words were low and controlled, a tone he used to provoke the truth from someone, holding promises of extremely unpleasant things to come from lies.
If I lied, he’d know.
“The gardens. I… it’s one of my favorite places here. I wanted to go there one last time. I figured I wouldn’t have the chance tomorrow and you were busy and…”
“Alone?”
Oh. God, did he know? I searched his face for signs I’d been caught, but in typical Hunter fashion, he was a stone.
“Yes. It helps clear my head being there alone.”
; “Apparently, it didn’t help you tonight.”
“Excuse me?”
“You walked right past me, Cassandra.”
I let the breath I’d been holding in ease through my lips. It didn’t appear he knew I’d been with Braydon, but I needed to tread carefully as Hunter liked to play with his prey before he pounced in for the kill.
“I’m sorry, Hunter. You’re right, it didn’t help too much tonight. As much as I want to go, I’m still worried about what we’re leaving behind.”
“Such as?”
“My mom and dad, the Sword. What if Caleb has figured it all out and is just waiting for us to leave so he can come for the Sword? My mom and dad are still here. They could be in danger. We won’t be here to protect them.”
Hunters gaze softened on mine as his hands reached up to cup my face.
“They’ll be fine, baby. They have an army of angels here to protect them. Hadraniel won’t let anything happen to them.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because Anael will make sure of it. And as much as he doesn’t like anyone to think it, she has him by the balls again. Just like you have mine.”
His sexy smile filled me with relief, and I laughed.
“I hardly have your balls.”
“You have my everything, Cassandra.” He leaned in and gently placed his lips on mine for a sweet kiss. “Now let’s go back to our room so we can practice on how you hold them.”
“Yes, let’s.” I shot back my own mischievous smile. “I’ve wanted to perfect my grip.”
A growl rumbled deep in his throat, and I was caught off guard as he lifted me off my feet and tossed me over his shoulder, caveman style.
I couldn’t stop the little shriek that escaped my mouth, along with the laughter that followed. “Hunter, what are you doing?”
“You walk too slow. And my pants are way too tight to wait for you.”
I slapped him on the ass.
“I’m going to love paying you back for that,” he said, rubbing my own.
I laughed again, but a shiver of pleasure went through me from his promise. I had no doubt he’d own up to it.
And he did. Several times throughout the night. We had wild, ribald sex, and made sweet love for several hours, despite knowing we had to rise early. He made me forget all my worries, as he always did. I knew as I closed my eyes to sleep, exactly why I was making this choice—I loved Hunter—with everything I was, good and bad.
Unfortunately, my subconscious didn’t take the hint.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Something was wrong. I knew it the second I woke. My body was covered in a film of sweat, and I couldn’t stop shaking. It had only been a few hours since Hunter and I went to sleep, but it was enough for a nightmare to sweep in and leave me emotionally scarred.
This was the first time my nightmares hadn’t been about sticking the Sword through Hunter’s heart, but the relief in that was outweighed by the horrific feeling of being torn in two. And it was quite literal. Fragmented images hit me like strobe lights, disjointed, fleeting images, revealing snippets of the scene I was thrown in. While my vision was hampered, the violent, physical torture was not. It was constant. Like a rope in a strongman’s tug-of-war, I was pulled at the wrists by Hunter and Braydon, stretched until my muscles were slowly tearing apart. Back and forth they pulled, their matched strength evident as my body ripped more every second.
It hurt like a son of a bitch, but that torment paled compared to the white-hot pain radiating from the blade of the Sword that lay within my belly. As my gaze followed the long length of glistening steel, an evil laugh echoed from its holder. I flinched at the familiar sound and slowly peered up into Nergal’s lecherous smile. He tugged at the hilt, and my body flung forward as much as Hunter and Braydon’s hold would allow. I could swear I heard something crack inside of me, but the pain by now was so extensive, anything new probably wouldn’t register.
Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, I was yanked backward and a piercing heat flamed from a point on my back as if the Sword had been yanked from it. I looked down and the hilt was still in Nergal’s hand, but he’d come within a few feet of me. Another laugh came from behind, and I stiffened. It was as familiar as Nergal’s but so unexpected, I had to crane my neck to confirm my suspicions.
I wanted to scream at the sight. Hadraniel stood behind me, the hilt of the Sword in his grasp, a similar cynical smile on his face as Nergal’s. The Sword had morphed into something similar to a two-handed saw, hilt at each end, its blade extended through my body. Hadraniel tugged at it one more time, and I felt the cut deep inside, both physically and emotionally.
“Why?” I managed with a guttural breath.
My answer was deafening laughter from all of them… as they ripped me apart.
Disoriented and scared, I checked around the room, half expecting to see Nergal standing at the foot of the bed dangling the Sword at me, but I was alone.
Where was Hunter?
The clock on my nightstand indicated eight o’clock. Then, it finally dawned on me, this was the morning we were supposed to leave. I scrambled out of bed, grabbing scraps of clothing off the floor to wear, all the while thinking something had happened, an incident of some sort that would prevent us from finally getting out of there. Why else would Hunter leave me to sleep so late?
“Hunter,” I called out, my voice full of desperation.
When I heard nothing, I started for the door, determined to find him, wherever he was.
Just as I reached for the doorknob, the bathroom door opened and Hunter walked out, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. On any other given day, the sight of him recently showered, jet black hair, dripping rivulets of water down his muscled chest and arms, would have caused my heart to race from a dead stop. Today, the sight of him there, in the room, made me groan with relief.
“Where are you going, Cassandra?” Hunter asked, studying me.
“I… I woke up… I didn’t know where you were. I thought something might be wrong, so I was going to look for you.”
“Like that?” He scoped out the length of my body and back up. One eyebrow arched as he looked back at me… expecting something… maybe a different answer.
I looked down at myself, totally oblivious until then that I was about to race out of the room in a T-shirt and panties.
“Oh, crap. I didn’t even think.”
“You must remember to do that, Cassandra. It’s a good idea, and I would not have been happy.”
“But you’re happy now, right?” I said with a mischievous smirk after my gaze eased down at the bulge tenting his towel.
Hunter stalked toward me. “You make it difficult not to be.” He tugged me against him with one arm wrapped around my waist, the other snaking up my shirt, as he nestled his erection into the V between my legs. My body instantly tingled.
His mouth came down on mine, and I opened up to his demanding tongue. He possessed me with it, claimed me. The arm around my waist slid to my hip. One finger hooked under the side of my panties.
“Don’t we have to go?” I breathed against his lips, barely able to stop myself from getting lost in his lusty passion.
“They can wait. I can’t.”
He wouldn’t get an argument from me and was making damn sure of that with the way he was playing with my nipple.
I moaned and leaned back into him, plunging my tongue deep into his mouth.
Pounding at the door gave us pause. We both froze, and I mentally groaned at whoever was behind it.
“Must they always pick the worst times to knock on that damn door?” Hunter growled, more to himself than to me. After a minute, he said, “Fuck it. Ignore them.”
He picked me up and started toward the bed, but another round of pounding ensued. “Hunter, Cassandra, there’s a matter I need to bring to your attention. Open the door.”
Hunter frowned at me as he cradled me in his arms. “I might kill him this time.”
<
br /> “It sounds important. We should probably let him in.”
“This is important, or haven’t you noticed.” He wiggled my backside against his very hard, very ready erection.
I laughed. “Yes it is, and we’ll have plenty of time after we get out of here to be alone, with no one who would dare knock on our doors.”
His jaw clenched in his typical I’m not happy about this way, but he swung me around and set me down on my feet anyway. “Get dressed. I’ll let him in. It better be important,” he said with conviction.
I found a pair of sweatpants and put them on as Hunter went to the door.
“This better be good,” Hunter said to Hadraniel as he opened the door.
Hadraniel glanced down at Hunter’s towel before rolling his eyes and looking back at him. “It’s not good. In fact, it’s very bad. I thought you’d want to know before you left. The demon we were holding captive has escaped.”
My first thought was Hunter had killed him after I’d left them alone the night before but rethought that possibility when I saw Hunter’s angered features. “When and how?”
“Sometime during the night,” Hadraniel answered. “And I don’t know how. We’re still investigating.” He was looking at me as if gauging the authenticity of my reaction, and it pissed me off.
“Why are you looking at me? You think I had something to do with it?”
“Now, why would I think that?” he asked with enough sarcasm for me to know it wasn’t a question but an accusation.
I straightened, slamming my hands on my hips, fixing him with a pair of narrowed, glowing eyes.
“Look, assho—”
Hunter stepped in front of me to face Hadraniel before I could finish. “I can assure you, Cassandra was too busy last night to free any demons. You’d be wise not to accuse her again. If the demon escaped, it was from your proven lack of security. Or maybe this is just your attempt to get us to stay.”
I stepped to the side so I could see Hadraniel’s reaction to Hunter’s accusation. He didn’t seem fazed, but not much bothered Hadraniel. I didn’t think he’d have anything to do with letting a demon go, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t done something else, like kill him.
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