Azrael's Light [Demon Runners of Unearth] (Siren Publishing Classic) (11 page)

He stood in the copper firelight and removed his coat. The muscles of his chest bunched and stretched as he pulled his dark shirt over his head. His hair cascaded down his back and chest in a curtain of silk as he returned and sat beside her.

Without warning, he pulled her into his arms and pressed her solidly against the warmth of his hard chest. She couldn’t contain her moan of pleasure as his heat seeped into her pores, bringing her a small measure of blessed relief. She forced herself to keep her heavy eyelids open and face
him. The concern in his face melted her. His delicious scent cleared the fog from her head, and the frigid tension in her muscles eased as he swept soft touches up and down her back.

Silent, he stripped her bare. With sure hands, he spread her flat on her belly and straightened her cramping limbs with care. A heavy fur slid along her skin, covering her from her ankles to the back of her neck. Sandwiched between the sweet softness of the bed and the warmth of fur, her trembling eased. Beginning with her toes, he massaged heat into her feet, soothing away her pain. His attention to her feet, then her legs, transformed her pain into erotic torture.

He smoothed the frost from her calves and pressed kisses to the back of her knees. Each gentle motion of his hands on her legs rocked her body against the silk. The movements echoed across her mound, her belly, and her breasts. Languorous heat replaced icy tension as he pushed the fur higher until it lay on the small of her back, leaving her bare from the waist down.

She tried to turn and face him, but heavy hands pressed her hips flat into the bed.

“But I want to see—”

“No.” He held her as if waiting until he was satisfied she’d obey. Then the bed dipped as he shifted to sit between her splayed legs. His hands returned to knead the tops of her thighs, turning her legs into melted butter. When his thumbs slid down to skim the creases where her inner thighs met her sex, her will crumpled.

He seemed to need to do this for her. She had no idea why, but she needed the comfort as well. Why not accept it and enjoy one of the few pleasures she might receive for the next century or two? Physical relationships fell in the unnecessary attachments category and would be cut from her life, just as her friends would be.

Hot palms pressed on her inner thighs and spread her legs farther apart, exposing every inch of her pussy. Gentle thumbs traced the outer folds of her sex in a repetitive, hypnotizing motion. She melted beneath his attention, becoming a liquid and pliant slave. As he worked the heat back into her body, each movement rubbed the tips of her breasts against the sheets, sending more electric sensations to her pussy.

She ached to wrap her arms around him and pull him into her. Unable to fight the urge, she turned to reach for him. In response, he growled a terse “No” and then bit her on the cheek of her ass in a punishing sting, making her wild with need.

Helpless, without pride, she begged, “Please, I need you.”

“You have me.”

“No, I need you inside me. Now.”

“Here? You want me here?”

She nodded. It was all she could do not break down and sob her plea. The trembling of his hands across her ass gave her the smallest flicker of hope he would give her what she needed.

“What part of me do you want in here?”

A single digit slid inside her pussy, slow and sinuous. Curving forward, it brushed the most sensitive spot of her body in a whisper soft caress, electrifying her. He held her trapped on the brink of something both wondrous and terrifying. And he knew she was helpless to do anything about it.

“Tell me. Is this what you crave? Or is there something else I have that you need?” Low, husky, and sinful, his words held as much devastating power as his touch. Another touch so terribly light she feared it was only her imagination feathered against her G-spot. She clenched, trying to hold it closer but he pulled it out with tortuous care. Mindless, all she could do was whimper as the wicked digit denied her.

“Not good enough for you, princess? Well, we can’t have that, now, can we?” The bed dipped, and one muscled arm slid up her side. A hand tucked under to find her breast, and devious, damp fingers found an aching nipple. With a light tug and a firm grasp, he sent ripples of ecstasy barreling into her pussy. The fur on her back slid away and was replaced with the hot press of his body against hers.

“Is this what you want? It’s all I have, but surely it will feed your hunger.” The blunt head of his cock nudged between the slick folds of her pussy. “Answer me, Diane. Will this suffice?”

“Yes, Azrael, gods, please.” The head of his cock pressed in and he paused. He nuzzled just beneath her ear and between his shaky breaths kissed her there tenderly. His free hand palmed the area between her hips and tilted her pelvis just so.

“I’ve got you. Let go.” And he plunged his cock forward, filling her and stealing her breath. Biting her shoulder in a careful grip, he rode her in a ruthless, merciless pace. He filled her with his heat and surrounded her with his warmth. Each thrust of his cock forced the remnants of the chill farther away.

It was exactly what she needed, a wild tempest blowing all the worries, stress, and fear from her mind. Each pounding thrust cranked her pleasure tighter, until he arched, sank in tight against her ass, and released his bite in a harsh groan.

Her breath stuttered, stopped, and left her body in a rush. Every muscle she possessed tightened and released in a blinding explosion of joy.

He shattered her body and heart.

Muscles shaking, chest heaving, he wrapped both arms around her and rolled them to their sides where they waited for their hearts to slow. As the room spun, she held his arms tight against her abdomen, her anchor.

She could happily lounge in his arms for days and absorb his every touch, but she had more important things to worry about.

They needed to be on their way and looking for her niece.

* * * *

Relieved to see his hands were no longer shaking, he took her chin in one and turned her to face him. Her eyes shone back at him in the dim firelight. The cloudy haze of pain was gone, and now their true brilliance stunned him. It appeared that her powers had returned and repaired the damage. Her Light called to him and struck him stupid with its vibrancy.

“I wish I’d known your powers were bound. You left me in the dark, pissing me off. The knowledge might have saved us some time.”

“The point of living on Earth as a mortal was to escape the elder gods’ notice. When I left Unearth, the only thing I wanted was to be left alone. I couldn’t advertise that I hid there as a mortal.” Shadows flickered behind her eyes. Did she really bear such a great heartache?

“Will you be at full strength soon? I hate to rush you, but as soon as you can, we need to find Alia. I think you were right. We’ll do better if we work together.” He couldn’t help but hold her tightly for just a few more moments. He’d needed the contact as much as she had needed the warmth.

She’d scared the shit out of him back at the lake. He was the Runner. He should have been the protector. Yet he’d stood there, worthless, while she’d protected him. For a brief fraction of time, the trees’ dark silhouettes reminded him of the bars of Abaddon’s inner gate. He’d watched Andras reach his hand past that unforgivable barrier from which there was no returning. In a bright flash, his friend was gone. Forever. His own stupidity and the resulting loss had nearly crippled him.

And a near-mortal woman had been the one to step up. Had he lost his touch? He shook his head.

What the hell had gotten into him? Here he was cuddling Lilith’s twin sister. Not only was he trying to warm her, he was enjoying it. Her shivering had stopped, and there was no reason to continue holding her, but he couldn’t make himself remove his hands from her hair and let her go.

Now he understood why she’d looked familiar to him back at the club. Her facial features were similar to Lilith’s. But where Lilith’s pale features were cold and often filled with selfishness, Diane’s were filled with warmth and compassion.

How could twin sisters be so different?

For now, he’d just attribute it to stress and his being long overdue for a break. One of her hands had released their tight grasp of his shoulder and had begun to sweep the lightest of touches across his bicep. With each butterfly-soft caress, he thought less about the job he had to do and more about getting back into her body.

They needed a distraction now.

“Tell me about Alia. I’ve never heard the story of how she came to be. All of Lilith’s offspring are those cursed Lilitu demons. She pops those little things out like popcorn. How did Lucifer’s one true daughter come to be? She looks like she’s from a god’s bloodline and nothing like one of Lilith’s generic spawn.”

“As far as we can tell, she was a gift to Lilith and Lucifer for the one unselfish act that they committed together. Lucifer willingly gave me his permission to pass through the gate between his realm and Earth whenever I please. I should have told you that before we went to the lake. I forget that most everyone in Unearth has forgotten me. Time passes so quickly on Earth.”

“But you know as well as I that he guards his realm fiercely. It has been thousands of years since he has given anyone permission to come and go as they please.”

“Yes, that’s what made his gift so generous. I suspect he did that for Lilith as much as he did for me. Her gift to me was the binding she placed on my powers. She set me free to live on Earth. Our guess is that unless the Fates have a larger plan that we are unaware of, Alia’s birth was an attempt to encourage the couple to try more selfless acts.”

“I can only guess how well that worked on Lilith.” Azrael could only wonder if Diane and Lilith realized The Fates always had a larger plan in the works. Always.

“The only thing I can say is that from day one they have tried, to the best of their ability, to be good parents. Alia has never lacked a parents’ love. It’s just not in their nature to extend that love to others.”

A soft knock sounded at the door. Without waiting for an answer, Lilith barged in and stood in the firelight at the end of the bed. Nibbling on a fingernail, she actually managed to look a touch guilty for once.

“I explained everything to Luc. It’s not necessary to hide, but he’s not in the best of moods, so I’d tread lightly if I were you. He’d like to see you both as soon as you’re able. He’s impatient to leave again and even with your help I won’t be able to keep him here.”

“Sis, what is going on here? Why did she run away?”

Lilith’s shoulders slumped. Her hair slid forward and reached for the ground, nearly making it.

“It’s my fault.”

He rolled his eyes at a confession that was far too late.

“I think that’s the only part we’re clear on. What exactly did you do to make her runaway?”

“I accidentally bound her to Belial in a mating covenant.”

What. The. Fuck. His throat seized, blocking the air that tried to leave in a rush. Diane popped up, clutching a fur to her chest.

“Sis! Why would you do that? You had to have known that was a horrible idea. She just turned three hundred a few years ago. And Belial? Dear gods. He may be a good-looking general, but he’s selfish and half-crazed. No woman in their right mind would want to be near him.”

Even through her upset, Azrael could see the love that Diane had for her sister.

“I attended a poker game at Loki’s, and wasn’t paying attention. I drank what I thought was a glass of wine and was tricked into speaking the binding covenant Luc and I used for our ceremony. Someone bewitched me, and I used Belial’s and Alia’s names instead of ours.”

“Are you crazy? Everyone knows not to drink the wine at Loki’s parties! The wine is always replaced with his own brew of spirit mead. Are you okay? Did anything other than the speaking of the bonding words take place?” Loki had never outgrown his prankster ways, which was why most claimed he threw the best parties, but everyone knew you weren’t supposed to drink the wine there. The spirit mead was the demon equivalent of the human’s date rape drug.

Speechless, he gripped Diane’s hip beneath the fur in silent support. “No, physically, I wasn’t touched. Not even Belial would be stupid enough to go there. He just peppered me with so many questions about our ceremony and Alia that my head spun. I wasn’t even aware I spoke the bond words aloud. I think I would have rather he touched me. I fear my daughter may never forgive me. And if anything happens to her, I will never forgive myself.”

“Sis. I don’t know what to say. I love you, but what will it take for you to wake up and see the chaos you leave in the wake of your thoughtlessness?”

“Luc’s waiting for you two. We had better not keep him waiting.”

“Give me a few minutes to get myself together, and I’ll be there.”

Lilith looked unhappy at the delay, but knew better than to protest. She left in silence. She rose from the bed and headed for a door opposite the one Lilith had used.

Focused on the sway of the sexiest ass he’d ever seen, he almost didn’t see her wipe her eyes right before she closed the door.

Fuck. And why did he care? He shouldn’t.

But he did.

Alone, he stood and watched flames riot in the fireplace. This gorgeous duo of women had turned his life upside down in no time at all. The blonde threatened to end the world as he knew it with her careless disregard. The brunette had become everything he hadn’t known he’d wanted. What he needed. And he had no idea what to do about either one of them.