by Rosalie Redd
The flick of his tongue along her folds made her buck and bite back a moan. Seth held her in place with steady, strong hands. Another swipe of his warm and wet tongue crested over her clit, and a cry burst from her lips.
Seth relentlessly licked and sucked, twirling his tongue along the most sensitive part of her.
Hannah squirmed under his onslaught. Muscles tight, she jerked and thrashed, the new sensations ripping through her body in a torrent.
A rush of blood like she’d never experienced headed south, stars burst in her vision, and warm wetness coated her inside. The blissful, pulsing release lasted for several long seconds before the wave receded, leaving her limp and happy.
As a warm glow spread through her body, Hannah relaxed into the pillows. “Wow, that was fantastic.”
“Was that your first orgasm?” Seth’s deep voice rumbled in the space between them.
Hannah’s cheeks heated. She nodded.
“Well, I’ll be. You never,” he held up one finger and flexed it, “did this on your own?”
Hannah bit her lip and gave her head a quick shake. She hated admitting that she’d never given herself an orgasm, but she refused to lie to him.
A flash of pride crested over his features so fast, she almost missed it. “I’m honored you let me be the first.”
She sat up then trailed her fingers down the side of his face, enjoying how the stubble tickled her fingers. “I’m glad it was you. I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else.”
Seth’s eyes flicked back and forth as he studied her. Maybe he didn’t believe that she’d wanted him to be her first. After a long moment, he lowered his gaze. “How’re you feeling, darlin’?”
She’d felt wonderful under his focused attention, but now, a hollowness ached in her chest as if something tried to claw its way out from the inside. Her heart skipped a beat. Would her soul rip apart at any moment?
Hannah didn’t want Seth to see her unease, so she put on her best smile and gripped the waistband of his jeans. “Relaxed and ready for more.”
Seth curled his fingers along her nape and brought his lips to hers in a passionate kiss that left her breathless. She liked his devoted attention and hated herself for wanting more from him than he would be able to give.
A long moment later, he released her and stepped off the bed. With a hard yank, he unhooked his belt and popped the buttons on his jeans, shoved them down, and tossed them onto the chair with her pants.
His erection stood straight from his body. Veined ridges covered the long, hard length all the way to his round, plump crown. The velvety tip glistened with a bead of moisture.
“Oh. My. God.” Hannah clamped her hand over her mouth. Mortified she’d spoken the words, she dared a glance at his face.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” A sexy smile drew across Seth’s lips.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve never seen a man’s erection before. Not in real life anyway, and you’re so big.” She leaned forward to touch him.
A gasp escaped him, and he stepped out of reach. “You have wings…”
CHAPTER 16
Seth held his breath. He fixated on the set of wings tattooed over Hannah’s left shoulder blade. Outlined in black ink, the white feathers sparkled in the lamp’s soft glow. How had he not noticed this before? Caught up in Hannah’s safety and well-being, he’d focused on giving her an orgasm she’d never forget. At least he’d succeeded at that.
“You have a wing tattoo? How? When? Why?” The questions tumbled from his lips.
Hannah withdrew her outstretched hand, the one she was about to wrap around his hard, straining erection and rubbed her other arm. She met his gaze. “Aunt Sally took me to get it after Uncle Frank hit me that one time. It’s a reminder that my guardian angel watches over me.”
He stared at her tattoo in disbelief. His wings, her wings, the similarity was uncanny. Could this get any weirder? No. Well, never say never. He’d seen a lot of strange things over the years. This was just another one you didn’t want to examine too closely.
He opened his mouth, but words eluded him. After a long silence, he untied his tongue and cleared his throat. “They’re very nice.”
Her gaze slid to the spark stone on his chest before heading south and resting at his semi-engorged flesh. A flush spread across her cheeks, darkening into a red rosiness and accentuating her full lips, small pixie nose, and gorgeous eyes.
“But they pale compared to your beauty, Hannah. You’re a rare gem among many.”
Hannah’s eyes widened. She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, pulling at the plump flesh.
As if it had a mind of its own and wanted to join in the fun, his erection jerked. She placed her fingertip over the sensitive slit on the end of his crown, swiping away the moisture that had beaded there.
Ripples of sensation tracked all the way to his balls, tightening the sac taut against his skin. He closed his eyes and moaned. Gods, she’d be the death of him yet.
“Did I do something wrong?” Her voice held an edge of uncertainty.
He opened his eyes and met her gaze. “No, darlin’, you did everything right.”
At his encouraging words, her features brightened, and she wrapped her fingers around his hard length, capturing him in her grasp. She drew her fingers from his balls all the way to his tip and back again. His moan turned into a groan, one that rumbled deep in his chest.
“Your skin, it’s so soft, yet you’re as hard as steel. I had no idea…” A bead of sweat rolled from her forehead and down the side of her face. She was sick, not in the body, but in the soul.
Although he didn’t want to sully her with his tainted flesh, he’d made her a promise, one he intended to keep. If taking her virginity would break Marco’s hold, then he’d do it and try not to lose his heart in the process.
He clasped his fingers over hers, drew her hand away, and encouraged her to lie back on the bed. With a tenderness he had no business feeling, he crawled onto the sheets with her.
She peered at him, her brow furrowed over those green eyes he’d lost himself in the first night they’d met. “What’re doing?”
“Tonight, my darlin’, is all about you.” He lay on top of her, one leg between her thighs. As he brushed her hair away from her features, he studied her, committing each and every detail to memory.
He wanted to remember her, like this, in the long days to come while trapped at his post, for sure as the sun rose in the sky, he’d earned a long stay in his stone gargoyle. She, however, was worth any amount of time in the darkness.
As he brushed the tip of one wing across her breast, the feather-light caress flared the flames between them. She toyed with the ends, tracing her fingers from the tip of one feather, over the interconnecting bones, and along one wing. Everywhere she touched burned like a deep, sensual fire.
His spark stone flared a brilliant red, casting a glow over her features. The ends of his wings followed suit, blazing in a deep shade of crimson.
Hannah gasped. “Your feathers, the silver tips changed color. How?”
He smiled. “As I mentioned before, they’re sensitive—”
She stroked her fingers along the tips once again. Sexual electricity rippled between them, and the silver ends of his wings changed from red to green to yellow before returning to the deep russet.
“Your wings are so beautiful.” The admiration in her gaze became quizzical. “How come they didn’t change when I put on the salve?”
“The pain kept them in their silver state.” His heart pounded as she stroked along the silver tips once again. He remained still.
“The changing colors remind me of rainbows. Rainbows need sunshine and water to exist. The happy and the sad. A balance. As do we all.” Hannah’s whispered words burrowed deep into his chest, unlatching the lock around his heart.
Seth cupped her head in his palm and brought his lips to hers, devouring her with all the passion he’d kept trapped in his heart. He’d thought h
is Emily was the only one able to unlock the craving inside. How wrong he’d been.
Hannah moaned and writhed under his passionate onslaught. She thrust her fingers in his hair, her nails digging into his scalp and holding him there. He deepened the kiss and slid his free hand along the soft contours of her ample bosom and over her flat abdomen until he cradled her firm behind in his palm. With a quick tug, he drew her close.
The skin hot and stretched tight, his erection pressed along her thigh. She squirmed underneath him, driving him crazy. He broke the kiss, and he trailed his lips along her jaw with butterfly soft nips until he reached her ear. “I can’t get enough of you.”
She arched against him, and a soft giggle eased from her. “That tickles.”
Her endearing words carved notches into his heart, marking him in ways no one else ever had. She was so young, so innocent, and so beautiful, on the inside as well as the outside, and he cared for her more than he wanted to admit.
Seth drew away enough to look at her. He stroked a finger along the bridge of her nose then over her bottom lip. “You’re so much fun to tease.”
The smile she gave him sent a tremor of delight over his wings. A spark of sexual energy crackled loud in the air.
Hannah’s eyes widened. “Your wings. Light, like lightning bolts, sparked from the tips.”
Seth’s chest tightened. “Only for you.”
“Really?” Hannah bit her lip.
“That’s never happened before.” He winked at her. “Must be your charm.”
He brushed his fingertip along her collarbone and over her shoulder then pressed himself against her, letting her know how much he wanted her. A veritable whirlwind of emotions flashed across her face—uncertainty, fear, acceptance, love. Had he really seen that last one? Was it possible she wanted someone as tainted as him?
“There’s good in everyone, Seth, including you.” Hannah’s earlier words flitted through his mind.
The pink in Hannah’s cheeks had spread to her neck and across her chest. A thin sheen of sweat coated her skin. He wanted to believe that was from his devoted attention to her, but he understood the sickness took its toll.
Although he didn’t want to rush her, waiting any longer to take her virginity wasn’t an option.
He kissed her again, enjoying how their tongues tangled together, stroking each other in just the right way. As he broke the kiss, he eased his hand from her bottom and spread her thighs.
She tensed beneath him.
“It’s all right, darlin’. You’re doing great.” He smiled at her and, with his free hand, stroked his fingers along her collarbone. Sex for the first time might be painful. She was smart enough to know that was a real possibility, but he’d do everything in his power to make sure she experienced as little discomfort as possible.
The tension drained from Hannah’s muscles. A smile full of trust and faith curved her lips. “I believe in you, Seth.”
His lungs stalled even as his heart swelled. Love, an emotion he hadn’t experienced in over a hundred years, filled the empty spot deep in his soul.
I love you, Hannah.
He wanted to say the words, but she couldn’t love him in return, not with his jaded past. Instead, he’d show her just how much she meant to him.
Seth showered her with kisses as he inched closer to her opening. With all the tenderness she deserved, he slid his finger between her folds. Wet and warm beyond his dreams, she was ready for him.
As if she read his mind, she arched into his palm and spread her legs, further opening to him. He repositioned himself over her, giving him easier access, all the while caressing her with his attentive kisses.
Stretched tight with need, his erection strained against his inner control. He circled his finger around her clit, and the nub hardened. Faster and faster, he stroked her while ravaging her with kisses. She trembled beneath him on the edge of another orgasm, and he waited to enter her until she broke their kiss.
“Seth, oh God, Seth!”
As she screamed his name, he nudged inside her tight entrance. He drove onward against the pressure. Like a rubber band pushed to the breaking point, the tension released, and he slid all the way inside her.
He held himself still.
Hannah’s orgasm pulsed around him, her sweet channel stroking him with each beat. He peered into her eyes.
Love reflected in the depths of those beautiful emerald greens.
Wrapped in a bubble in this precious bit of time with her, he allowed himself the briefest glimpse of what it might be like to love someone again and be loved in return. How he longed to stay here forever.
Worry for her broke through his thoughts. “Are you all right, darlin’? Did I hurt you?”
She smiled and shook her head. “I felt a tightness and a quick pang, but it didn’t last. Did you, um, you know…”
He returned her smile. “Did I come? Is that what you’re asking?”
She bit her lip, drawing the plump bottom flesh between her teeth in the endearing way that drove him crazy.
“Not yet. I don’t want to hurt you if you’re sore.”
Her eyes sparked, and she circled her hips as if she’d done this many times before.
He groaned. “Gods, Hannah, what you do to me.”
She quickened the pace. From the satisfied and happy look on her face, she didn’t seem to be in pain. He took that as a good sign and settled into a rhythm. As he stared into her eyes, he crested over the brink and lost himself to the beautiful young woman who now owned his heart.
CHAPTER 17
M arco hid from his prey in the doorway of the closed Books and Curios bookstore. The glow from the streetlight across the street didn’t penetrate the small stairwell and reveal his location. That was good. Better to catch his prey that way. This time of night, only the brave or the foolish ventured into this part of town.
Soft, feminine laughter echoed down the street, followed by an answering male chuckle. A couple, arm in arm, stumbled over the sidewalk, holding each other upright. Their combined snickers and the way they clung to each other indicated their level of intoxication as well as their lust.
Marco traced his fingers over the handle of his cane. Nestled in the crook of his arm, the handle’s smooth, bone surface calmed his racing heart. Soon, very soon, he’d score another kill to add to his record. Although these two didn’t seem inherently corrupt, he’d at least obtain a small power boost from their deaths.
He peered at Zain, his partner in crime, who hid behind a dumpster along the adjacent alley kitty-corner from the bookstore. His dark form blended in with his surroundings, but Marco caught the glint from the stud embedded in his nose. Zain bent his head in an almost imperceptible nod. He was ready.
Good, so was Marco.
He tightened his grip on the cane’s handle and withdrew the sword’s blade.
The couple’s footsteps neared.
Marco burst from his hiding spot and raised his sword.
The man, wearing a blue suit and a white button-down shirt, stopped short. His eyes widened.
In a short skirt that showed more leg than it covered, the woman released a loud, nervous laugh.
As if her voice had sprouted knives and scraped over his flesh, the skin on Marco’s back tightened. “How irritating. Perhaps you’d sound better without your tongue.”
Her companion bolted down the street, leaving her behind.
Coward.
Marco pointed after the man. “Zain, he’s yours. I’ll take the woman.”
Zain slipped past like a shadow.
The woman quivered from head to foot. She conveyed her plea for mercy within her wide eyes, and fear, hot and bitter, radiated from her pores.
Marco inhaled, enjoying how the smell flushed through his lungs and into his bloodstream. A heady sense of excitement traveled along his nerves.
The woman took a step back and held up her hands. “I…I have money. You can have it. Just let me go.”
He slid
his finger along the edge of his blade.
“I have no need for money, dearest one.” He met the woman’s gaze and smiled. “But your soul is an entirely different matter.”
She turned and bolted, her heels clicking on the pavement. Catching up to her took little effort. He grasped her arm and spun her around.
The sound of her scream rebounded against the building until it skyrocketed into the night air.
Marco’s skin crawled as if ants had clamored up his arms and across his nape. He clamped his palm over her mouth, silencing her. “I can’t take any more of that screeching. Let’s fix that irritating sound from ever happening again, shall we?”
The woman struggled in his grasp but was no match for his preternatural strength. He squeezed his fingers along her jaw, forcing her mouth open.
She inhaled, the whites of her eyes reflecting the streetlamp’s glow.
Before she could release her lungful of air and issue another wild wail, he snagged her tongue between two fingers and sliced through the organ with his sharp nail.
Like a piece of uncooked liver, the flesh landed on the pavement with a sickening plop. Blood, along with a slew of unintelligible sounds, dribbled from her mouth.
The high of the impending kill lightened Marco’s chest, and a giddy laugh bubbled from his throat.
He placed his palm over the woman’s mouth and nose, blocking out the air. She struggled, but then her muscles relaxed.
As the woman’s eyes glazed over, a quick zing flickered through Marco’s nerves. Her good soul had departed for the Otherworld, but not before he’d received a nice boost.
The body started to disintegrate in his arms, and he released the corpse. It slid to the ground in a pile of dust.
A warm breeze blew across Marco’s cheek. The distinct scent of aged stone followed in its wake. Gargoyles…
Marco gripped the hilt of his sword. He glanced over his shoulder and down the alley.
Two dark forms sped toward him at inhuman speed.
He focused on the closest adversary—a dark-skinned guy with short-cropped hair and a crooked nose. The glint in his eyes promised Marco pain and a swift death.