Reluctant King (Reluctant Royals Book 1)

by Montana Ash

  “He left Brax exposed,” Draven frowned, sounding almost angry. “Abraxis was the last direct family member left. Mikhail being gone only caused Brax to be in more danger.”

  “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” Sabre raised her hands in supplication. “We’re talking about man-logic here. I just did as I was told.”

  “How did he even know you were a resurrection angel? Because, babe, I have to tell you; that is just fucking amazing. Your wings are the most magnificent things I have ever seen. They are so beautiful – just like you,” Brax enthused. “But that is one huge secret in itself. The last resurrection angel seen in Purgatory was thousands of years ago and gifted from the Heavens to my great-times-a-hundred grandfather to be his guardian as the direct offspring of Cerberus and the first King of Purgatory.”

  “Mikhail knew the same way that you know everything about Draven,” Sabre admitted.

  “Huh?” Brax still looked confused.

  “Oh, don’t be so daft, Abraxis!” Draven scolded, “Sabre is obviously Mikhail’s guardian angel.”

  “What? That’s impossible. Mikhail doesn’t have a guardian …”

  Sabre winced when Brax’s words slowed down before stopping altogether. He spun her around so she was facing him and she could see the heavy, very displeased frown on his face.

  “You’re his guardian angel,” Brax stated.

  “Yes.”

  “You’ve always been his angel.”

  “Yes,” Sabre confirmed.

  Brax threw his hands up in the air in defeat, complaining, “How come I didn’t know about you? How come nobody knew about you?”

  Sabre was worried about the next part of the story because it was just plain crazy. “Well, this is where it gets a little tricky. You see, your dad knew about me. You know how your father was a little clairvoyant? Yeah, well. He knew who I was the moment he laid eyes on me when I was fourteen.”

  Brax was already shaking his head, “Fourteen? What?”

  “I know this is a lot to take in, but just let me explain. Please?” Brax obligingly nodded his head, but Sabre thought it was probably more automatic than anything else. She had a funny feeling all forms of higher functioning had currently shut down in Brax’s overwhelmed brain. “Remember I told you I met your father once? I was there to kill a visiting dignitary at the time. Maliq caught me in the act but like you said before, he let me go. Because he knew who I was to Mikhail. He knew I was his guardian. Mikhail was only two at the time. Actually, all three of you were only two. But I knew who Mikhail was the moment your father placed him in my belligerent, bratty, teenage arms.” Sabre smiled, remembering the tiny dark-haired toddler with the shining green eyes reflecting the light and growling like a little beast from Hell. Sabre had fallen in love with him in that very moment. But it was a very different type of love than she had for Brax. She hoped she wasn’t going to have to make that distinction to Brax – that he understood the bond between guardian and demon. Knowing that was a potential issue for another time and not wanting to borrow trouble, Sabre continued on for her captive audience, “Maliq knew my powers of resurrection were going to be needed in the future. It was his greatest regret that his sons were going to be plagued with death and hardship and he fought to make sure it wasn’t so. Unfortunately, we can’t fight fate – even the great Kings among us.”

  Sabre knew she was overwhelming Brax with a lot of information. Information he would be well within his rights to disregard and simply not believe in. Unfortunately, everything she had just told him was the truth. She kept her eyes on his, begging him to believe her, and was relieved when he gave a tiny nod of his head and a quirk of his luscious lips.

  “You’re a freaking guardian angel like Mr Stick In The Mud here?”

  Jinx’s voice broke off the silent conversation, making Sabre chuckle, “I am. Though, given my other vocation, I don’t think you should be comparing me to him.”

  “Absolutely not,” Draven sniffed in disdain.

  “So, you really do kill people too? I mean, I know you’ve brought some of them back – which is super amazing and something I want to talk to you about more. Because, well, my girlfriend can bring people back from the dead! How cool is that?”

  Brax’s words had the room laughing but had Sabre ducking her head. He had sounded so proud when he said that. It had been years and years since anyone other than Mikhail had been proud of her and she loved the warm-fuzzies she was feeling. Still, she felt it best to be honest; “Yes, I really do kill. And maim. And torture. But only those with stains on their souls and trespasses in their actions. Full disclosure; I kind of like it.” Draven coughed and Sabre glared at him, “Fine. I love it. I love it, okay? And I’m damn good at it!”

  Brax chuckled and drew her in close once more, “Ah, my murderous little sugarplum. Still, all those lives saved. One miracle after another – and each and every one of them kept your secret. That’s a hell of a lot of loyalty there, Sabre.”

  Sabre shrugged, yawning wide, “I always explained the situation; that I was forced to kill them but that they were good peeps so I made the executive decision to bring them back. I also threatened them with a more eternal death if they didn’t keep quiet. Most of them joined Hound and his merry band of men, aiding you in secret.”

  “Hound? That guy again?” Brax scrunched up his nose, “I gotta be honest, other than a few pieces of miscellaneous information here and there, the guy hasn’t been all that effective.”

  Brax’s words startled a laugh out of Sabre, “Oh, I dare you to say that to his face,” she snickered.

  Brax ran his eyes over her for a moment before sighing, “Hound is Mikhail, isn’t he?”

  Sabre grinned and pinched his cheeks, “Look at you; not just a pretty face. Yes. Hound is Mikhail.”

  “I’ll kill him,” Brax snarled, baring his fangs.

  “That’s fine,” Sabre agreed. “I can easily bring him back.”

  The room lapsed into a comfortable, yet contemplative silence. It was inevitably broken by Jinx, because what teen could stay quiet for long? “Now what?” she asked.

  Everyone looked to Brax because whether or not Mikhail was still alive, and therefore the rightful king, Brax was still the one currently with his arse on the throne.

  “Now we find Carlisle so I can kill him,” Brax eventually said.

  “I like this plan,” Sabre enthused.

  “I thought you would,” Brax grinned down at her. “Then we find that mysterious, sinister, motherfucking elf so I can kill him.”

  “Even better,” Sabre agreed.

  “And then … we go find my brother so I can kill him,” Brax said in conclusion.

  Sabre clapped her hands in glee, “There’s so much killing in this plan. This is the best plan ever!”

  Draven rolled his eyes, muttering, “Of course you think that.”

  Raising her middle finger and firing it at the rude angel, Sabre turned to Brax, smoothing her palms over his chest and tweaking his nipples on the way, “Hmm, that plan is deliciously violent. I’m not rubbing off on you, am I, my demon?”

  Brax groaned, clutching her hips in a steel grip, “Not yet, you’re not. But I really wish you were,” he rumbled, seductively.

  And just like that, all Sabre wanted to do was wrap herself around him – naked of course – and never let him go. Boosting herself up, she ignored the other occupants in the room and proceeded to maul Brax’s handsome face.

  “Annnd that’s our cue to leave,” Gage made a gagging sound in the back of his throat.

  “Dear Heaven. They look like a couple of seals slapping up against each other. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”

  The room went silent, Sabre and Brax stilling. Sabre pulled her mouth from her man’s and turned incredulous eyes to Draven, “Did you just make a joke?” She was beyond shocked.

  Draven sniffed and picked an imaginary piece of fluff from his sleeve, “I did not. I was serious. You two look ridiculous.” And with th
at, he spun and left the room.

  Sabre stared blankly at the space he left behind, hearing Jinx giggle as she walked past, patting her arm. “I’m glad you’re not dead, Sabre.”

  “Yeah. Glad you’re not dead,” Gage repeated, hooking an arm through Jinx’s as they continued to leave the room.

  Mercy gave them both a jaunty salute as he too, left. And then they were blissfully alone. Sabre, still being clutched by the butt cheeks by Brax with her legs locked tightly around his waist, grinned up at him. “Now … where were we?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Brax was breathing and sweating as if he had just run a marathon. He was gratified to see the assassin was in no better condition, even in her currently half-comatose state. The pair of them had wasted no time in getting to the make-up sex. Brax was pleased to note make-up sex was as good as all the movies and romance books would have you believe. It had been a day of ups and downs that was for sure, and it was starting to take on a surreal quality as he lay entwined with the mate of his choosing. Sabre was in fact not a fallen angel. She probably had more Grace in a single feather than Draven did in his entire wing set. Not that Brax would ever be stupid enough to say so to the angel in question. But resurrection angels were so rare and a gift given directly from the Heavenly plane, that they were practically a thing of legend. Add in all those gold feathers that Brax saw and he figured Sabre was not only the most powerful angel in Purgatory, but also the most righteous.

  Said legend suddenly gave out a decidedly indelicate snore and Brax cringed when drool hit his chest. “Oh, yes. A rare jewel indeed, sent directly from the Gods themselves,” he muttered. He was not sorry in the least when Sabre bolted upright, hastily wiping at the drool on her chin.

  “Huh? What? What do I need to kill?”

  Brax laughed, “Down, tiger. Nothing needs to die. I was just thinking out loud.”

  “Oh,” Sabre pouted, her short hair sticking up like she’d stuck her finger in a power socket.

  Grinning, Brax reeled her in for a long, tongue-filled kiss. Pulling back, he marvelled at Sabre’s blemish-free skin. Draven may have been a bit of a tight-arse, but he was the best healer in all of Purgatory. Brax knew the other angel would have worked hard to ensure not even a scratch remained on Sabre’s body after finding out they had so badly misjudged her. “I’m not dreaming am I? Mikhail is really alive and you are his guardian?” Brax couldn’t help but ask again, perhaps for the tenth time that evening. Sabre didn’t seem to mind his repetition, leaning forward to cup his cheek as she replied patiently;

  “Yes. Your brother is alive and well. I really am his guardian. And I really do love you,” she added.

  Brax swallowed tightly, “Thank all the Gods.”

  After some serious heavy petting that resulted in mutual orgasms, Brax relaxed back against the sheets, content to hold and be held. He was in a mild state of doze when Sabre surprised him by talking.

  “You really don’t mind? About me being me and everything I’ve done?” she asked, rather abruptly.

  Knowing truth was the foundation he wanted laid in their relationship, Brax rolled to his side to face her before he answered, “I wouldn’t say I don’t mind, I mean … you shot a cross bolt through my brother’s heart.” Sabre winced, ducking her head, but he wouldn’t let her hide. Lifting her chin with his thumb, he nudged her head up. “But I understand duty more than most. So, if there is one thing you can count on, Sabre, it’s that I understand you. I know you. And I love you anyway.” Tears rushed to Sabre’s eyes and the fact she didn’t bother to hide them from him, spoke volumes. “Still, I can’t believe even my lieutenants didn’t contact me to tell me they were alive,” Brax mused, thinking of the two dhampirs who had been killed at the same time as Mikhail. They had been unlucky enough to be on guard duty. Brax grunted, “Especially Shiloh.”

  Sabre tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, “Especially Shiloh? Why her especially?”

  “Ah, well …” Brax made an effort to stay very still, like prey hiding from a predator.

  “You were lovers!” Sabre accused, her fingers twitching as if imagining a weapon between them.

  Brax stifled a laugh, lest she decide to use her imaginary weapon on him. The fact that she could literally kill him and bring him back from the dead made her all the more dangerous. And sexy, he added, definitely more sexy. “Very briefly in our youth. Before I was even General of the Horde. It was one night and exactly two times,” he rushed to explain.

  Sabre harrumphed at that, “Only twice in one night? Woman has no stamina. No wonder she was so easy to kill,” she muttered.

  Brax could no longer contain his laughter and he fell onto his back, his hilarity shaking the bed. “You know, green looks good on you,” he pointed out between gasps. He suddenly gasped for an entirely different reason when the vixen climbed onto his chest. Her knee slipped between his legs and nestled against his balls. Brax quickly shut his mouth.

  Sabre tapped his chin with a wicked finger, “I am not jealous. Such fickle emotions are beneath me. I simply wish I didn’t bring her back, that’s all. Should have left her all stabby and stuff.”

  Brax ran his hands along the outside of Sabre’s thighs, before trailing them up her back and hooking them over her shoulders. Dragging her down so he could feel the heat of her breath against his own, he said, “Sabre?”

  “Yes?” she whispered.

  “I love you.”

  Sabre’s lips smiled against his before moving across his face like a blessing; “I love you more.”

  Sabre and Brax will return in Reluctant Royals, book two,

  Reluctant Assassin

  ALSO BY MONTANA ASH

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  REVOLUTION

  The Familiars Series (paranormal reverse harem/polyamorous romance)

  IVORY’S FAMILIARS

  With T.J. Spade

  (Paranormal/fantasy reverse harem/polyamorous romance)

  FORBIDDEN HYBRID

  FORBIDDEN HEX

  TINK AND THE LOST BOYS

  FOLLOW MONTANA

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