“Wha…” Ash just looked confused. “What kids?”
“The hellhounds were chasing a couple of kids as I was flying over.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Princess. Hellhounds live up to their name. They’re the hounds of hell, sent to sniff out specific prey. The only way they would’ve been chasing random kids is…” As his voice trailed off, he began scanning the area nervously.
“Ash, would you care to share with the class?” I sniped.
He looked right at me and said very steadily, “Don’t freak out, just act like everything is normal and stay calm. It was a trap. The only way they’d have been chasing random kids is if they weren’t random, and since very few demons have deals with children… It’s likely they were demons pretending so they could see what happened. They wouldn’t have been expecting me. They probably weren’t expecting you, either. Given your surprise heritage, they would’ve expected a wolf, if that, but if they hid and watched, then we’ve lost the element of surprise, which sucks. What I don’t know is how they knew where you were.”
Ash scanned the deceptively serene night again, then whispered, “Alleyway.” As we made a run for it, I realized we were both very naked. Oh, God. It just figured. Being chased through the city streets by blood-thirsty demons buck-ass-naked.
Poof. Jade. My God—er—Goddess… literally… When did my life get so weird?
“Here,” she held out stacks of fabric, and once we took them, she grabbed both our shoulders and... poof.
Inside an office. When I looked out the window, I recognized the building across the street.
“We’re back at the club?” I asked.
“My office,” Ash clarified, and I looked at Jade. I really wished I hadn’t though. She was pissed.
“I don’t know exactly what went down out there, but this one”—she emphasized her words by jabbing a deadly finger in Ash’s direction—“went offline. You’re mine. I can always feel you, and I can always find you. That, and only that, is the reason I allow her to go traipsing around with just you. Then I hear demons and this one”—she turned her jabby finger on me—“screeching in Cherubim form, and I turn up to find you both naked amidst a bunch of burning hellhound corpses. I don’t know what happened, and at the moment, I don’t really care because you are both alive and in one piece, but it is never to happen again. No more fighting. No more running away! Whatever this is, handle your issues. You’re safe here, for now. End this shit tonight. I’ll be back in the morning. Bye.” Poof.
“Jade out,” Ash whispered after a moment of silence.
I looked at him incredulously, to which he shrugged, and we both fell apart laughing. When my laughter finally died off, I pulled myself together and asked the question that was still bugging me.
“Okay, what happened out there? There were so many, and you were nowhere near me. There’s no way you could’ve made it in time. Unless…” My eyes widened as the ramifications of what I was suggesting settled over me, and I looked at Ash in unabashed astonishment. “You let him out,” I whispered in wonder.
Ash looked at me defiantly, like he was ready to be reprimanded or punished or lectured, but I was proud of him. He must’ve seen it in my eyes too, because he looked suddenly confused, unsure.
“I’m so proud of you. You were so afraid of him, of being able to control him, but I knew you were strong enough, Ash. You’re the same, one and both, like me. And you did it. He didn’t take control.” Then I blinked and looked back at him, “Or did he? You’ve been way funnier since I woke up, and a lot more relaxed. Actually, don’t tell me. If this is him, it’s a massive improvement over the original. I don’t wanna know,” I chuckled, and something soft, like fabric hit me square in the face.
When I looked down, there was a pile of clothing, which confused me for a second. Then I realized Ash had thrown the only thing he had in his hands: his clothes. Then I remembered why he had a pile of clothes and realized we were both super naked. Super. I hugged my clothes to me, suddenly, trying to cover myself.
“Don’t get shy now, Princess,” he growled at me, dropping his head like a predator. He sauntered toward me like just that, a wolf stalking his prey.
I felt my breath quicken and my limbs started to tingle. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. I was rooted to my spot like a tree in the path of a bulldozer. A beautiful, confusing, incredibly masculine, and exceptionally naked bulldozer.
How can someone be ‘exceptionally’ naked, you ask? You’re either naked or you’re not, right? Well, not when Ash did it. Trust me, he was exceptionally naked.
When Ash reached me, he said, “I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass. And I’m sorry I’ve been so stubborn. I was trying to do what I thought was right by you, but I was allowing myself to be ruled by the fear of something that needn’t be feared. He is a part of me. We are the same. And we love the same. I let him out to save you, because we could only do it together. He will never let any harm come to you, so we’ve come to an agreement.”
“And what’s that?” I breathed, terrified and excited all at the same time. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? Or was my heart going to get crushed again?
Then he took the pile of clothes from my hands, tossed them to the floor, and pressed his naked form against me, pressing me into the wall at my back. He was saying what I thought he was saying. Definitely no crushage here.
“No more fear or trepidation. You are ours. All of ours. Our mate. My mate.”
Nowhere else to go. I shivered.
“I love you Alex. I will love you for all eternity, and that is exactly how much time we have left. You and me, forever.”
There were no more words after that. My lips slammed into his, unable to wait any longer. Ash grabbed my upper thighs, supporting my weight as I wrapped my legs around his waist. He slid one arm under me and one around my waist as he deepened our kiss, pressing my back into the wall. I could feel his length, hot and hard between my legs. I couldn’t wait any longer for him. It felt like I had waited centuries. I heard myself or my Guardian in my mind whispering that he was ours, he was mine, and that he always had been.
I reached between us, taking him in my hand and guiding him to me. He groaned against my mouth and leaned back slightly to look at me. Once he caught my eyes, we stared at each other, unwavering, as he slid inside me in one smooth motion. I gasped as he groaned, then his eyes rolled back in his head for a moment. A cacophony of sound escaped us like a seductive symphony sound-tracking our initial moment together. He caught my eyes again and slid out and back inside me slowly, lovingly, then reclaimed my mouth, gently.
His body felt tense, rigid like he was holding something back, and I had an idea what it might be. So the next time he slid out of me, I grabbed his ass with both hands and pulled him roughly into me. He grunted coarsely, and his breath hitched before tilting his head back enough to meet my eyes. I knew the challenge he would see there. The fire, the intensity, the fervor, everything about how I wanted him was evident in my eyes, and I wanted him to see it. I didn’t need kid gloves. I needed him. Now.
“I am trying not to hurt you,” he whispered with some effort.
I felt my eyes blaze to life, and in my new, very cool, echoey voice, I responded, “I am nephilim. I am the Guardian. You cannot hurt me.” I pushed every ounce of power I had toward him, making my point. His body wavered under the sudden barrage of power, and he looked at me with wonder in his eyes. I smirked, but met his gaze solemnly, and in my own voice, I whispered, “Don’t hold dare back.”
And he didn’t.
If he wasn’t already against me, I’d say he launched himself at me, and even so, that’s how it felt. His mouth slammed into mine as he tightened his arm around my waist and slammed his hips against mine with all the power of the immortal being he was. We both were. I met him with everything I had, and the pleasure that shot through me was so intense that I cried out. Again and again, harder each time he thrust into me as I clawed at his back, desperat
ely trying to pull him closer.
The sounds of our mating echoed off the walls of the office around us as I was given momentary reprieve to breathe. His mouth brushed across my jawline and down to my neck where he nipped and kissed, then sucked so hard I knew there would be a bruise later. He ran his tongue up my neck and past my jaw, reclaiming my mouth, and we clashed together, a tangle of teeth and tongues.
He bit my lip as he plunged deeper into me, and I whimpered in delight as he increased his pace and the force behind each thrust. His body slapping against my core each time he drove into me was driving me quickly toward the edge of ecstasy. I was helpless beneath his onslaught, but deliciously so. Every nerve ending was lit up. I could feel everything. I could feel the warmth of my body increasing beyond what was humanly possible, and seconds later wings and a tufted tail exploded from my flesh eliciting a sound from Ash that was perilously close to a whimper.
I could feel him trembling, feel his body temperature rising. He was dangerously close to a shift, but I was fairly certain his Other had mingled his human and wolf forms into a partial shift the same way mine had. Either way, at this point I was beyond caring. As long as he was Ash, and he didn’t leave or stop, I didn’t really care what he looked like or what happened at this moment. A marching band could wander through, and it wouldn’t distract me right now.
Abruptly, his trembling increased, and he raised his head and released a roar that rattled the windows and shook the floor and walls. It was part wolf and part something else, and it made me shiver but not in fear. I felt a new wave of wetness release between my legs as an enormous pair of gray wings exploded from his back. My eyes went wide in wonder, but for only a second as I succumbed to the assault of his body on my senses. He pounded into me mercilessly as a savage scream tore itself from my throat. An intense wave of pleasure washed over me. My head slammed backwards as my back arched and my core pulsed rhythmically.
A winged, animalistic Ash roared his release and latched onto my shoulder, his wolf claiming his mate. A second wave of pleasure ravaged my body as his teeth penetrated my flesh, and I cried out again, my voice sounding more like my cherubim’s falcon-like scream than my own as it mingled with Ash’s chilling roar. My mind snapped acutely into focus, and I heard a whispered chant, echoed in Ash’s voice, in my mind. Mate...
Then I felt it. Like an avalanche, everything between us fell away. I could suddenly see clearly into Ash’s mind, his heart, even his soul. We were joined in a way I could never have imagined. Our souls were melded together like Siamese twins. I would always be able to find him. I could feel everything about his being, who he was, where he was, what he was.
Death, my mind whispered. Angel. Mate. That sobered me up instantaneously. No longer was I wrapped up in our moment, our beginning. I didn’t fear him. He was mine. He would never hurt me, but this sudden influx of information took precedence.
“Ash? Are you okay?” I whispered. He lifted his head from my shoulder and looked at me.
“I’m so far beyond okay, my love. I thought I would break you, but you were right. You are mine, and I am yours. Now we are both and one. We have been destined for millennia. We are perfect together, and now we are mated. I know you’ve felt my origins, you know who I am, but I can also feel that you are not afraid of me, even knowing who you hold.”
Ash didn’t quite sound like himself, but I guessed this could do a number on anyone. It had changed everything for him. For both of us, really. He was no demon. He was an angel. But there was something more. There was something I could feel inside him that felt off, but he lowered his mouth to my neck and began kissing that sensitive spot just behind and below my ear, and I stopped caring.
Still buried inside me, he began moving again, sliding slowly in and out of me, then used the arm still wrapped around my waist to lift me from the wall and carry me to the sofa. He held me tightly and braced with his other arm on the couch to lower me gently onto the sofa without having to separate us. He laid over me, letting his full weight rest on my body as he slid fully back into me. Then he kissed me, fully sheathed inside me, and I could feel his arousal hitting its full heights again. The smell of him, the feel of him, his weight, his skin, his sweat mingling with mine. This man was all I’d ever need. We would be fine as long as we were together.
I felt myself warming, my wings, tail and feathers retracted as did Ash’s wings and suddenly, we were just us. Ash and Alex. The two people who’d met at the wedding, and once long before that. His eyes glazed over, then closed momentarily, but when he opened them an instant later, they were clear and soft. He sighed and leaned in to steal a kiss before whispering against my mouth.
“I could live forever inside this dream.” It struck me as curious, but then Ash kissed me. Our passion rose quickly as he filled me, and I arched my back, giving him full access. His head fell to my throat and his tongue danced across my sensitive skin as he thrust inside me again and again.
I forgot everything but the sensation of his flesh against mine, the sound of his heartbeat erasing any questions I might’ve had. We spent the remainder of the night reinforcing our newly found truce, our freshly mated bodies and minds held in perfect unison by the strength of our bond as we learned the taste and texture of every inch of the other’s body.
Dawn’s early light trickled through the barely attached blinds of his office window to the sounds of our professed love and devotion. Ash rolled to the outside, snuggling me between his chest and the back of the sofa, his desire seeming to be momentarily sated. He held me the same way he had all those nights I’d cried my eyes out mourning Andrew. Something began to tickle the edges of my consciousness, yet again, but I was interrupted by Ash.
“How much of my long life are you going to torture me with this dream of perfection?” he asked, punctuating his question with tender kisses along my shoulder.
I turned slightly allowing him better access and said with a smile, “I will torture you relentlessly throughout your long life, but this is no dream, lover boy. This is the real thing. No going back. We’re mated, now.” I continued to smile mischievously up at him as I reached up for a kiss, but he stilled and pulled back.
“What did you say?”
“Which part did you miss? I didn’t stutter. Now get back over here,” I reached for him again, but his hand on my shoulder held me back. His finger trailed lightly across the scar left behind by his already healed bite, and he looked down at my shoulder. He tilted his head, his eyes widened, and then things went bad. Very, very bad.
“What the hell is that?” he whispered.
“What?” I asked trying to turn my head to see my neck where he was staring, but I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Ash, I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing there,” I said patiently. Something was going on with him, but hell if I knew what. There weren’t even any bruises left from the night before. There was nothing there but my pale skin and—
“Is that a bite mark?” His voice was shaking, and his hand was trembling. I could feel the chill of fear in his veins through our bond as easily as I could smell it. “Why do you have a bite mark?”
“Ash, what are you talking about? You know what it is. You put it there. Why are you acting like you don’t… remember…”
Because he didn’t. I knew as soon as I asked the question, and I suddenly couldn’t manage to draw a breath. I could feel his confusion, his terror, his absolute horror at what had happened. Whatever had gone down tonight, we were mated and Ash hadn’t chosen it.
“Oh, God... This isn’t happening.” I whispered, but no amount of denial was going to undo what had been done. “It wasn’t you,” I whispered with finality.
Nothing had changed. He still didn’t want me, didn’t love me, didn’t need me like I needed him. And now we were mated. We were joined forever, literally for eternity, and I was bound for all time to a man that didn’t want me. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think beyond the chaos of frenzied emotions,
which I realized a moment later belonged to both of us. I had no control over them.
“Enough!” I screamed against the influx of feelings from both of us. It’s easy to accept the addition of more positive emotions from someone, not so much to take on their fears and baggage. I took a deep breath to calm myself, then started again. “Enough. Just speak. What happened?”
“What did he do to you? What did I… What have I done?” He started to get up, and I grabbed him by the throat, eyes blazing, wings and tail bursting forth from my flesh.
“So help me God, if you move before you explain yourself, I will kill you where you lie.” The hissed threat left my lips before I even realized what was happening. The Cherub inside me wasn’t feeling super angelic at the idea of her mate being taken away, and for the first time since we’d bonded, she felt separate.
“Ash, I can only restrain her so much. She’s facing losing her mate, so you need to explain. Quickly. And choose your words carefully.”
“I let him out. It was the only way. They were going to kill you. I had to let him out, or I wouldn’t have made it to you in time. He just took over. He hid me away in visions of you until he finally relented, I guess. I tried to fight my way out, but he’s so strong, and I was with you, and I just got confused. I got lost and gave in to the dreams until he eventually went back in his cage and let me take over again, but I honestly can’t tell you when that was, Alex. I just thought it was all another—”
“Dream,” I finished for him.
“Yes,” he whispered, his voice dripping with shame. “How long have we, um…” He swallowed and planted the heels of his palms over his eyes. “How long have we been here?”
“All night. We’ve been together all night. And you thought you were dreaming. The whole time.”
“Alex…”
“Right. Not the whole time, just the time it was actually you. The rest of the time you actually were dreaming. Of me. Which is fine as long as you don’t have to actually be with me.”
Veiled Guardian: A Borne of Angels Novel (The Awakening Book 1) Page 22