Angel's Shield (8 page)

She met his gaze. He froze, but she grabbed Haniel’s hands and
used his strength to lift her hips. Before Jeremiel could back away, she
impaled herself on him, face going taut with pain.

“Oh my God, Charmeine,” he gasped, trying not to move. “What have
you done?”

Haniel, thankfully, immediately understood. “You’re a virgin?” he
asked her, holding her hands tightly.

She smiled tightly. “Not anymore.”

“Dear God,” Jeremiel said, thighs flexing against what his body
wanted. He needed to thrust, to fuck into her again and again, but he refused
to hurt her.

“Please don’t stop, Jeremiel,” she said, licking up Haniel’s dick.

He shivered, unable to stop himself, and then began to move
gently. Too gently. He groaned, leaning his head against Haniel’s hip. “I don’t
know if I can do this.” He was going to cum, right the hell now.

Haniel grabbed his hair and held him tightly. “You can. Just go
slow.”

Jeremiel nodded, his cock sliding in again. There was no
resistance anymore. He glanced at Charmeine, hoping she was okay. She’d let go
of Haniel and was watching him. “I’ve got you,” Jeremiel said, trying to
reassure her.

She bit her lip as he sped up. She liked that, he could see it on
her face. Haniel let go of his hair and moved down until his mouth was just
over her pubic bone. Jeremiel slowed down even more, anticipating the moment
Haniel’s lips would touch them both. He didn’t have to wait long. His best
friend moved closer, then licked over Charmeine’s clit lightly. She cried out,
bucking until Jeremiel had to grab her hips. His cock swelled even more. Then
Haniel moved his mouth down and as Jeremiel pulled out, he licked the shaft.

“Fuck.” Jeremiel lost it. He shoved back in uncontrollably, only
to be stopped by Haniel’s hand. He’d wrapped it around the root of his cock,
keeping him from hurting Charmiene. He cupped Jeremiel’s balls, then leaned
down to lick Charmiene again. He did this over and over until Jeremiel thought
he’d lose his mind. He was so close, yet Haniel kept him from going over the
edge with his tight fist on his dick. It was agony and ecstasy, all at the same
time. Watching Charmeine thrash on the bed, he knew she was feeling the same
thing.

“Please,” he panted, all control lost. His legacy marks burned,
almost feeling like he had to shift, but that was impossible. He hadn’t lost
control of himself in years. When Haniel guided him out of Charmeine and into
his mouth, he growled as the sensations spreading from his cock through his
spine triggered the change. He reared up, hands going wide, and abruptly his
wings erupted more violently than he could ever remember. It didn’t hurt, not
exactly, but it wasn’t precisely pleasant.

“Oh my God,” Charmeine breathed, staring as his wings spread out
behind him. “You really
are
an angel.” Her incredulous tone told him she
hadn’t really believed it.

Too late now to deny anything,
Jeremiel realized. He shuddered, cock still aching, even as he
stretched out, working free the kinks in his wing bones. Haniel had backed off,
eyes bright with joy and a touch of sadness. Jeremiel touched his face, and
Haniel smiled, thank God. Then he guided Jeremiel’s prick back down into
Charmeine’s soft heat.

She trembled as he entered her, so swollen he knew she could feel
every ridge and bump as he let himself sink inside. Haniel lay down beside
Charmeine, hands on his own dick. When Charmeine reached over and wrapped her
fingers around his cock, Haniel groaned, spine arching. He rolled closer,
fingers going to her clit. He was incredibly thick and Jeremiel knew he was
close. Watching them touch each other triggered his climax and he cried out,
wings almost taking him off the bed as the pleasure ripped through him.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Haniel murmured, but Jeremiel barely heard him.
His cock pulsed once, twice, then again and he fell forward, trying not to
crush Charmeine.

“Gorgeous,” Haniel said, kissing Jeremiel’s jaw.

Charmeine squirmed beneath him, and with an act of extraordinary
will, he moved off her, falling to the bed. She protested, but Haniel was
already moving, rolling her so that her back was to Jeremiel. He cradled her
with arms and wings, and then Haniel was sliding inside her. The look on his
best friend’s face was almost more than Jeremiel could bear, but he couldn’t
turn away. He loved him. The realization nearly broke him, but he shoved the
thought down before he could lose it. He already knew he loved Haniel. This was
nothing new. Not really.

“Charmeine, you’re so beautiful,” Haniel said, fucking her slowly.

She wrapped her legs around him, pushing her ass into Jeremiel’s
body. He didn’t mind, not at all. He grinned and held her steady as Haniel
fucked, and then he slid his hand down to play with her clit. She hadn’t
climaxed again, so she was past due. He rubbed gently and she writhed. When
Haniel’s breath started to hitch, he circled the swollen nub faster. Charmeine
grabbed his arm and squeezed. She was almost there.

Haniel dropped his head onto her shoulder and thrust in short,
hard movements, his strength rocking the three of them on the bed. Suddenly,
Charmeine stiffened, and Jeremiel felt the way her pussy clenched on Haniel’s
dick. She orgasmed, shoving pleasure through him, as though their minds were
connected, not just their bodies. Shockingly, his half-hard dick throbbed
against her skin, and then Haniel cried out, too. Jeremiel held his breath as
he hung onto them, then had to let go as fire raced over his palms.

“Oh God,” Charmeine moaned, half-pleasured, half-pained. Jeremiel
gasped as his cock twitched with another orgasm. Haniel slumped over them, face
twisted. When Charmiene groaned again, he looked down and froze. Her arms and
shoulders were on fire.

****

Charmeine grabbed onto Haniel and Jeremiel, not understanding what
was happening to her. Her skin felt like she’d been branded, but the pain faded
almost immediately. Light shined through her fingers and she flinched until she
realized it didn’t hurt. “What’s happening to me?” she asked, still shaking
with the aftereffects of the most intense orgasm of her life. Pleasuring
herself never felt like this.

“Jesus,” Haniel said, falling back. He clapped a hand over his
right arm, grimacing. Light flowed from the legacy marks on his left arm and
his shoulders, but his right remained dark. It looked wrong, like a dark cloud
eclipsing the moon. She reached out to him, wanting to smooth the pain from his
face, but then Jeremiel writhed on the bed, his wings gleaming with a rainbow
of light. His arms and shoulders glowed, the marks almost incandescent. Haniel
shied away from her touch.

Charmeine shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The light
on her arms began to fade and she stared down at her skin, shocked. Legacy
marks swirled up her arms to her shoulders. They were dark, then light, then a
swirl of colors. Every time she tried to focus on them, it was as if they
changed. They looked like iridescent feathers streaking her skin. She
swallowed, hard.

“Charmeine, are you all right?” Haniel asked. “We didn’t hurt you,
did we?”

She looked at him. His glow had faded a little, but his face was
still tense. “I should be asking you that,” she said, reaching out to him
again. This time, he let her trace her fingers over his arm. “What are you?”

He took a deep breath. “I was an angel.”

“You still are,” Jeremiel said, shifting beneath them. His wings still
glowed faintly. He was so beautiful it hurt her eyes to look at him. He kissed
her shoulder.

Haniel frowned. “I used to be able to fly, but a demon burned the
marks right off my arm.” He lifted his right arm. “Our Omega healed the
demon-fire damage, but he couldn’t repair my lost legacy. I can’t shift
anymore. Can’t fly.”

Charmeine smoothed her fingers down his skin until their palms
touched. “That doesn’t make you any less an angel. You were born to the skies.”
She looked away, avoiding Jeremiel’s gaze. “I yearned to fly my whole life, but
I’m only human. I’ll never know that joy.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Jeremiel said softly.

She turned to him. “What do you mean?”

He lifted her hands, turning her arms this way and that. “Look.
You have the full complement of legacy marks now. I don’t know how or why—”

“Were there angels in your family, Charmeine?” Haniel asked,
interrupting his friend.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She thought of her
grandmother, how the old woman had always hinted about her first love. She’d
sworn he was an angel, though no one believed her. Charmeine always thought her
grandmother meant he was just a really good person. She didn’t think her
grandma meant it literally. “Maybe. My grandmother had an affair with someone
before she married my grandpa. She said he died, in some war, but the timing
was always strange.”

Jeremiel and Haniel exchanged glances.

“Valoel,” Haniel murmured.

She sucked in a breath. “How do you know that name?”

“You recognize it?” Jeremiel asked.

Instead of answering, she climbed off the bed and grabbed a small
picture frame from her dresser. She brought it over and sat down, showing them
the photo of her grandmother when she was young. “This is my grandmother. She
was nineteen when this was taken.” She flipped it over and pried open the back.
Another photo slipped out, grainy and faded. “This is the man she claimed was
my real grandfather. Valoel.” She picked it up and showed them. “She swore he
was an angel. I thought she said that because he died before they could be
married. That he was a good man.”

“That’s Valoel,” Haniel said, taking the picture from her. “I
recognize him from the archives.”

“Archives?” Charmeine took the photo back and tucked it in its
place. Her hand shook. How could she be an angel? Even if Valoel was her true
grandfather, all the rest of her forebears were human.

“Castle Archangel is the seat of our people. There are books there
and some of them have photos of the angels from the early twentieth century.
Valoel was one of our explorers. He went missing decades ago.” Jeremiel’s voice
was soft. “We thought he faded, like so many others.”

She frowned. “You keep saying that. What exactly do you mean by
faded?”

Haniel’s shoulders went tense. “A lot of us commit suicide by
giving up. It’s easy to just fly off, then let go. Our bodies fade into mist
and God takes us back.” He shook his head harshly. “I think it’s cowardly. We
need our people to be strong, now more than ever.”

She bit her lip, afraid of what he meant. “Demons?” she asked in a
small voice, thinking about how she’d felt something watching her now and again
the past several months.

Jeremiel nodded. “Yeah.”

She shook her head, not wanting to go down that road. “None of
this makes me an angel. I can’t fly. The whole idea is crazy.”

“But you have legacy marks now.” Haniel traced his hand over her
arm. “Only angels have these marks.”

She shivered. “I don’t understand how that happened. And I
certainly don’t know how to shift.”

“There’s precedent. Our blade master’s mate was half-human,
half-angel. Nathaniel was born with legacy marks, but couldn’t fly.” Jeremiel
paused. “When he bonded to his mate, he gained the ability to shift into
angelic form.”

She stared at him. He was serious? “What do you mean by
mate
?”

“Some of our people have true mates, bonded lovers chosen by God,”
Haniel explained.

“Wait, no.” She stood up and started pacing the room nude, then
put the photo back on her dresser. Her grandmother stared up at her from the
picture, smiling serenely. Charmeine felt anything but. “You’re saying we
mated?” She grabbed a pair of her sweatpants and pulled them on, then shrugged
into a t-shirt. She didn’t feel comfortable being naked right now.

Jeremiel stood too, his wings taking up most of the space in the
room. She stared at him, mesmerized despite her misgivings. He was so
beautiful. The feathers were all different colors: grey, black, white, blue,
even dusky pink on some of the edges. “I think we may be bonding, yes,” he
said. He, too, put on his shorts. He picked up Haniel’s and threw them on the
bed.

So much for the afterglow,
she thought sadly. She would’ve liked to cuddle for a little bit.
She glanced at Haniel. His face was closed down, eyes shuttered. “But that’s
impossible. There are two of you. How can we be bonding?” she asked.

“Obviously you and Jeremiel are destined for each other,” Haniel
said. He rolled away from them, jabbing his feet into his shorts.

Charmeine shook her head. “No, no way.” She wrung her hands
together. “No.”

Jeremiel nodded. “I agree with her. If we’re bonding, it’s all
three of us.”

Haniel stood up abruptly. “Are you crazy? I’m not even a true
angel anymore!” He headed for the door.

Charmeine laughed shortly. “I’m not an angel at all.”

He stopped just inside the doorframe, back bowed. Charmeine
waited, but he didn’t move. She was about to speak when he spun around. “Do you
hear that?”