Dark Angel

by Heaton, Felicity

  He blinked and looked down at her, a troubled edge to his expression. “I thought she was dead.”

  “What made you think that?” The woman had looked very much alive to Serenity, although there had been something off about her, something that she couldn’t quite place her finger on.

  “An angel I was close to… I thought him dead, but then I saw him in Hell.” He looked back over his shoulder in the direction the car had gone. “I believed that the only reason Rook would fall was that she had been killed.”

  Serenity’s eyes slowly widened as the strange sensation she’d had about the woman grew clearer and she had a flash of what she had seen.

  “I think I know the people who were with her.” She hoped she was wrong though. “My coven sent out a warning and the grapevine is full of stories about them.”

  “About who?” Apollyon’s blue eyes dropped to her again, and they were definitely brighter again, filled with a need to know.

  “Some sort of circle that has been taking witches, doing something with them. I think the man who was holding her arm matches the description my coven were given of one of the people behind the disappearances.”

  His eyes grew brighter still, the paler flecks swirling against their dark backdrop. He wanted to fight again.

  “I’ll help you find them.” Because that way, he would stay with her a little longer.

  “It’s dangerous.” He frowned down at her.

  Serenity shook her head. “I’m stronger now. I can handle it… and I want to help you, Apollyon.”

  He looked as if he wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

  Had no one ever helped him before? Not even his friends?

  The one he had called Rook, or the others he hadn’t seen in some time?

  He had said that he had been their team leader. Was it possible he was more accustomed to helping others than having others help him because of his position?

  She stepped towards him, closing the gap between them, lifted her hand and placed it against his cheek, her eyes locking with his. “Let me help you, Apollyon.”

  He hesitated for only a heartbeat before he nodded.

  Relief poured through her, lifting her heart again, because now she would be able to spend more time with him.

  Apollyon scooped her up into his arms, cradling her, and smiled. “It is a nice night for a flight.”

  Serenity looked up at the dark sky. It was still clear. It was a nice night for flying, but she felt as though she was falling. She leaned her head against Apollyon’s shoulder, holding his neck with one hand and his breastplate with the other, not wanting to let him go.

  He hadn’t said what happened next, and she had seen his reluctance to place her in danger in his eyes, and feared that if she let him go, he would hunt for the witch alone.

  She was afraid that this would be the last time that she flew with him.

  She was terrified she would never see him again.

  CHAPTER 13

  Apollyon beat his black feathered wings and took off with Serenity, carrying her high above the roofs of the old buildings that lined the Champs Elysees. The Louvre shone in the distance, the pyramid golden and the windows of the older classical stone building still full of warm light.

  He turned with Serenity and flew towards the Eiffel Tower at a slow pace, enjoying the feel of her in his arms and the warm summer breeze against his face.

  She was quiet, nestled in his arms, deep in thought. Distant from him.

  He didn’t want to disturb her, so he carried her, cradling her close, careful with his precious cargo. He wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to help him, but he wasn’t even sure he would be allowed to pursue that mission. He wasn’t free to do as he pleased.

  The city passed below him, a stream of lights and noises, and he kept his focus on the distant tower, considering everything that Serenity had said.

  She had relieved him of his duty, even if she didn’t know it.

  She had told him it was over.

  Now, he could only remain with her for so long. His position protecting the bottomless pit in Hell would call him back there whether he liked it or not. Without a reason to remain on Earth, a duty to fulfil there, he would have to return.

  Even though he didn’t want to go back.

  Apollyon glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, wishing he could see her properly and that she would speak to him. The air felt heavy, hard to fly through, and he ached inside with a need to stay with her.

  She looped her arms around his neck and it struck him that neither of them knew what to say.

  Not even flying past the Eiffel Tower drew a reaction from her tonight. She didn’t smile. She remained with her head on his shoulder, her breathing slow and soft, and her fingers still against his neck.

  He wanted her to smile again.

  He wanted things to be as they had before Edward had spoken to her.

  Apollyon flew higher, leaving the world behind and seeking the silence he could only find when he was looking down on Earth from the skies far above.

  Serenity held him tighter and curled up in his arms.

  “I will never let you go,” he whispered close to her forehead and held her safe in his arms. He stopped his ascent and hovered above Paris, his broad wings beating slowly, just fast enough to keep him stationary. “You do not need to fear, Serenity. I would catch you if you fell.”

  She pulled away from him and he adjusted his grip on her, holding her side so she didn’t slip from his arms. Her hazel eyes were wide but he knew it wasn’t because she was trying to see him in the low light. It was because she was surprised that one of them had found the courage to say what needed to be said.

  “Would you?” Her eyes searched his.

  He knew what she was asking.

  He nodded. “I would. If you took the leap, I would catch you.”

  He drew her closer to him, so she was safer, and looked deep into her eyes.

  “My duty is done... I will have to return.” His voice grew tight and he frowned as need collided inside him, a thousand dreams he wasn’t sure would come true. “I wish it did not have to be this way though.”

  She shook her head. “No. Can’t you stay a little longer?”

  “How long?”

  She smiled and softly whispered, “How about forever?”

  “It sounds wonderful.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and then sighed as he pulled away from her again, his eyes meeting hers. “But it is not that easy for me to leave Hell.”

  “I take it back then.” Her grip on his shoulders tightened, her desperation flowing into him through her touch to mingle with his own. “My vengeance isn’t done.”

  Apollyon shook his head, sorrow beating inside him as he held her closer again and he wished she could mend everything so easily. “It does not work that way. The contract is broken.”

  Paris stretched out before them over one hundred foot below, the lights twinkling and bright, all of it on display for Serenity, but her eyes were on him, laced with tears now that tore at him. He wanted her to smile again. He wanted her to be happy. He wanted to love her and be with her.

  If he could, he would bring her here every night if she asked that of him. He would do anything for her.

  His eyes gradually widened.

  Drifted to her.

  “Call to me.”

  “Apollyon?” she said with a confused crinkle between her fine eyebrows.

  “No. Call to me...” His eyes darted between hers and his pulse quickened.

  It could work.

  His fellow warriors had to have done something similar to change their allegiance from their master to the object of their love. They couldn’t have just quit. Angels didn’t get that sort of choice. Damn it, maybe they did. Some must have forsaken their wings. Others must have found a loophole or something that allowed them to remain on Earth and serve there instead.

  He could do neither of those things. His duty was eternal, unbreakable. He had been born with
a purpose and he couldn’t deny it.

  His life was servitude, spent as his master commanded.

  But perhaps it was possible for him to retain his eternal duty and serve a different master instead.

  Serenity had commanded him to help her gain revenge. She could command him to be hers.

  “Like you did before at the fountain when we met. Wish for me or whatever you did.” He desperately searched her eyes. “Tell me to be with you forever, until you no longer need my services.”

  Serenity closed her eyes and held her hands over her heart. A pale light began to glow there, steadily growing in strength until it lit her hands and her face, and shone on him too. Magic. It was how he had heard her call. Her power had amplified her voice and his feelings for her had made him be the one to respond.

  Apollyon watched her, listening to everything, desperate to hear her call again and to answer it. It was quiet at first, as it had been when he had been in Hell, but then he felt it within him, beating in his heart, compelling him to obey.

  He seized it, greedily accepted it and swiftly responded to it before it could fade or slip through his fingers.

  He bound them by a contract that was unbreakable.

  Eternal.

  He was her warrior now, and forever.

  “Look at me,” he whispered.

  The light in her hands faded and then winked out of existence.

  “Did it work?” There was such a beautiful look of hope in her hazel eyes.

  He smiled to see how much this meant to her and how much she wanted it.

  He nodded. “What is your command?”

  “To stay with me until the end of time.” A smile curved her lips and he was glad to see it.

  “I can do that.” He didn’t even stop to consider the implications of what he was doing.

  His old master would find someone else to guard the bottomless pit. There were at least a dozen angels who wanted the position more than he did now. He was tired of being in Hell. He wanted to stay here in Heaven with Serenity.

  Apollyon kissed her, slowly and lightly, a bare meeting of lips that warmed him through from his heart outwards. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders and she kissed him back, her lips soft against his, and slid her arms around his neck. He beat his wings and flew with her, spiralling down towards Earth and smiling while he kissed her.

  She clung to him in a way that he would never grow tired of and would always adore. It wasn’t fear that made her hold him so tightly. It was love. They were both falling.

  Spreading his wings, he carried them upwards again, over the rooftops of Paris.

  As the sounds of the world drifted around them, Serenity broke away from his lips and looked out over the city. He focused on her, eyes tracing her profile as she gazed at the city.

  She was smiling again, her eyes twinkling with the happiness that he could feel in her, and he couldn’t help smiling too.

  He didn’t need to look to find the way back to her place now. It was so much easier to find things from above and once he had flown somewhere, he rarely forgot the way. He watched her instead, using his senses to guide him to her apartment.

  When they were close, he looked for her apartment and swooped down to land gently on the black metal railing around the balcony. He stepped onto the tiles with her and set her down on her feet.

  He folded his wings and focused on them, forcing them away. They went reluctantly, disappearing into his back.

  Serenity stroked his bare arms, her eyes on his shoulders. They lifted to meet his and there was a note of sadness in their hazel depths.

  “Will you have to lose your wings?” She looked as if she didn’t want that to happen, as if the thought he might truly saddened her.

  Which brought a small smile to his lips.

  When she had first met him only two days ago, she had been afraid of his wings and what they represented. Now she looked as though she wanted them back this instant.

  “No.” He ran his fingers through her long blonde hair, enjoying the silky feel of it. “If I did that, I would not be able to take you flying.”

  She pressed her hands against his chest armour, tiptoed, and kissed him.

  “You make me feel as though I’m flying when my feet are firmly on the ground,” she whispered against his lips and he kissed her again, harder this time, stirring the passion that burned so fiercely between them.

  He wasn’t sure it would ever fade, felt certain it would always blaze so brightly, threatening to consume him at any moment.

  “If you are flying now, then how will you feel in a minute?” He swept her back into his arms, carrying her into the apartment.

  She giggled and kissed him, her mouth warm and sweet against his, pushing at his control. He wanted to lay her down right there in the kitchen and make love with her.

  “Wait.” She wriggled out of his arms and pulled him back to the balcony.

  She grinned and kissed him again. He frowned but didn’t stop her. What was she up to?

  His eyebrows rose as she tiptoed and started to unbuckle his breastplate.

  “Here?” He cast a glance around at the small balcony and then to the ones either side. They were all dark, with a small solid wall and section of the roof between them, but it didn’t mean that someone wasn’t going to walk out and see them.

  “No one will see us.” Serenity undid the first of the buckles and smiled wickedly at him. “If you won’t hide us, then I can.”

  He hadn’t thought of that. He could easily mask them from mortal eyes as long as he was concentrating.

  Serenity swept her hands across his collarbones to his other shoulder and a hot shiver cascaded down his spine and tripped over his chest, causing his eyes to slip shut.

  If he could concentrate anyway.

  Serenity snapped her fingers and a thick padded blanket covered the balcony tiles beneath their feet.

  If she wanted this moment to be romantic, he could help with that.

  He focused and used his powers to make candles appear, lines of them along the walls and clusters in the corners of the balcony. Their flames burst into life, lighting the darkness with a warm glow that chased up Serenity’s bare legs and shimmered in her golden hair.

  She looked at the candles and then back at him. She clicked her fingers again and his clothes disappeared.

  Two could play this game.

  Her dress was gone in an instant, shortly followed by her high heels and then her underwear.

  She gasped and covered herself.

  Apollyon covered them both, masking them from mortal eyes, and pulled her flush against his bare body. He claimed her lips with his as he stroked his hands down her sides to her hips. Her skin was warm beneath his fingers and she shivered when he caressed her waist and then skimmed his hands around to her bottom. The feel of her belly against his hips stirred his cock.

  He was about to kiss her again when she dropped to her knees in front of him and took his still-hardening length into her hot mouth.

  Damn.

  He swallowed hard as blood surged through him and his cock twitched as she sucked it to hardness. It ached and he ached with it, wanting to sheath himself in her again, knowing this time that he didn’t have to leave her and that they would never be alone again because now they had each other.

  When it became too much, he pushed her back so she released him and kneeled before her. He kissed her again and she eagerly accepted it, clutched his shoulders and leaned into it as her lips brushed his.

  He pressed forwards, forcing her to lie down, and covered her with his body, groaned at the feel of her cushioning him as he kissed her. She moaned softly into his mouth and then rolled with him, so she was on top, and straddled his hips. All of his fight left him as he looked up at her.

  He frowned as he ran his hands up her thighs, drinking in the stunning sight of her. She looked beautiful sitting on him, confidence sparkling in her hazel eyes, her body bare and open to him.

  Serenity trace
d patterns on his chest with her fingertips, teasing his nipples before running them down towards his hips, drawing his attention there. Her warm heat covered his shaft, trapping it between their bodies, teasing and torturing him.

  He rubbed against her, thrusting slowly through her slick folds, enjoying the feel of her astride him. Her eyes slipped shut and she leaned her head back. Her sweet low moan was too much for him, igniting a powerful need to be inside her. He wanted to hear her moan like that as he joined them, wanted her to ride him just as he had been aching for her to in the exotic club.

  Her fingertips grazed the lines of his hips, ran around his navel and then up the valley between his abdominals. His gaze remained fixed on her face, absorbing the way she watched her fingers with hungry eyes. She splayed her hands out and swept them over his chest, her teeth tugging her lower lip at the same time, and then leaned over him.

  Apollyon closed his eyes when her bare breasts brushed his stomach and slid his hands down her sides to her bottom. She ran her fingers into his long dark hair and brought her elbows to rest either side of his head. Her warm mouth found his, tongue sliding between his lips, and he moaned as she kissed him. It was slow and sweet, calming his urge to be inside her.

  When she kissed him like this, he could wait forever.

  It stole his attention and his heart.

  He frowned when she moved away, kissing down his jaw and then his neck, over his chest. Her tongue swirled around his left nipple as she sank lower, her fingers running over his stomach, tracing maddening lines across his skin that had his need ramping up, until he was desperate to feel her against his hard length again.

  As if she knew his need, she sat back on him.

  She smiled wickedly and wriggled, tearing a groan from his throat as her warm heat enveloped his cock again. He had to be inside her now. He couldn’t wait any longer.

  He took hold of her hips and lifted her. His erection sprang up, hard and eager, and he shivered as she lowered her right hand and gripped it, positioning it beneath her. He moaned when she sank down onto his length, easing back onto it, drawing out the joining. An exquisite torture. He held his hips steady, resisting the temptation to thrust into her welcoming body.