Darque Wants (72 page)

Adelaide could hardly think, she could barely deny how badly she wanted him, and now, he was offering information that could save the war and for what, a measly ten minutes inside of her? It was a fair trade. “Fine.” She whispered as her eyes flickered shut and she waited for his kiss.

When it never came, she opened her eyes to find him staring at her, an impish grin on his face. “What the hell?” she demanded.

He shook his head in wonder. “I can’t believe it. You would actually have sex with the angel who tried to kill you if it meant information.”

Adelaide scoffed, looking away from him. She had never felt more embarrassed in her life.

“I don’t know what happened to you to make you hate yourself this much.” He continued. “But, I think it’ll work out just fine for you, because General Constantine is working out a treaty with your general. An alliance. An agreement that could end this and all wars to come.” He chuckled at this. “And I can bet that his final bargaining chip will be you.” Samson returned to his place in the back corner as he said this.

Adelaide could hardly think straight, she was so stunned. Somehow, here she was again, being tossed between monsters.

Daman was giving her up… again.

Chapter Six

Adelaide ran through the camp, heading straight for the General’s tent. Her heart pounded against her rib cage, begging to be set free. Her skin was on fire as her Energy coursed through her veins, setting her skin on fire and casting everything in front of her in golden hue. She weaved in and out of the groups of soldiers that dotted the pathways, knocking over buckets and pissing demons off. But she didn’t care. She needed to get to the General before it got to be too late, before he finalized the plans. She had half a mind to fly the rest of the way there, but by the time she could work herself into a running start, she was skidding to a stop in front of the tent. She could hear a murmur of voices. One of them was Daman’s and she was coming for him.

“How could you?” she roared as she barged into the tent.

The five demon officers that were gathered around a strategic map looked up, their intense gazes interrupted by temporary expressions of confusion.

The general stood in the center of them, his fist on the table as if he had just finished illustrating a pivotal point. He looked up at her, then exchanged a look with Daman, who charged at her from around the table, his brow raised in agitation.

Adelaide pointed a sharp finger at her. “No.” She ordered. “You will not drag me out there like a child. I demand to know what you are planning!”

The general shook his head and scoffed, but didn’t even respect her enough to respond, instead, turning his attention back to the map. “Now, they are going to want Ellesmere because the weather is suitable for their skin…”

Daman wrapped his arms around Adelaide’s waist, but she became so heated that her wings expanded to their full span, shoving him away from her. “You realize the vampires will kill all of us!” she yelled. “I can’t…” but Daman pressed his large hands on her lips, pushing her words, along with her tongue deep back into her mouth.

She turned her face red trying to talk around her hand, but this proved all but impossible. She curled her hands into tight fists, slamming them into his chest and torso, but his ghostly body became elusive to her hits. She could not strike him fast enough to make a difference. When it became clear to Daman that Adelaide was not going to give in, he picked her up, effortlessly resisting her flapping wings and thrust her out of the tent, shutting the flap behind him.

Adelaide hit the ground hard with her hip, the deep thump reverberating through her bones. “Daman!” she cried, tears streaming down her face as she pushed through the pain and stood up ignoring the tingling in her bones.

“How dare you embarrass me in front of the general like that?” he demanded, jutting his finger at her.

Adelaide glared at him. “You can’t do this! You can’t make this deal!” she screeched. Her voice rang through the air, but it wasn’t enough. For once, Adelaide desperately wished she could do something more to undo what had been done.

“It is not my decision to make!” Daman replied as he lifted Adelaide over his shoulder and pressed through the tents back to their home.

Adelaide felt the blood rush to her head as she gave up fighting him on this. If he dropped her, she could break a bone, and that would be an even more damaging distraction from what was going on.

As soon as they got inside of their own tent, Daman slammed her onto the bed. Adelaide sat up, pressing her palms together. Tears poured down her cheeks, wetting her shirt as she pressed her hands together and begged him. “Daman please don’t let this happen! You can still win against them, you know you can. This is just an act of weakness and that’s all. You have to push through and come up with something else.”

Daman’s chest rose and fell as he sucked in a deep breath, clenching his jaw and he leaned over the mattress so that his eyes met hers. “This is beyond our control. You have to understand that.”

But Adelaide could not accept this as an answer. She threw her arms around him, slamming her head against his chest. “But Daman, you can’t let them take me all over again! You can’t!”

“What are you talking about?” Daman asked, pulling her away from him so that he could hold her at arm’s length.

Adelaide hiccupped before she explained that, “When I was talking to Samson, he said Constantine was going to take me again. He said that was the only way that he could make the deal.”

Daman shoved her back onto the bed, Adelaide’s head yanking back as she fell. He stood back up and turned his back on her. “You were talking to another angel alone?”

Adelaide glowered at him. She couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. “I resent that!” she snapped. “Don’t you trust me?” she asked.

When he didn’t respond, she added, “Why won’t you fight for me?”

Daman shook his head, turning to face her. “Because this isn’t about you.”

Adelaide’s heart exploded in her chest. She scurried across the room at him, swinging her hand to slap him in the face, but he grabbed her wrist right out of the air. “You’re weak!”

Daman slapped her.

Adelaide’s eyes went wide as her hand flew to the stinging cut on her cheek. It flashed gold as her body rushed to heal it.

“He wouldn’t even want you if you hadn’t have already had sex with him!” he roared.

Her jaw dropped. “He would have killed me if I hadn’t!”

Daman frowned at her, shooting her a tired glare. “I don’t know if I believe that.”

“I never would have cheated on you if I knew there was another way!” Adelaide cried, but the words felt wispy and meaningless coming out of her mouth.

“You didn’t even look for another way, because you knew that was an option.” Daman argued.

Adelaide struggled to look for any kind of response to this… but, all of the sudden, the past was too blurry to understand.

Daman didn’t wait for her reaction. He let out a deep, dark sigh, then pushed open the flap. “I have to get back to that meeting.”

Adelaide practically jumped towards him, “But you’ll fight for me won’t you?” she pleaded, her eyes wide and desperate.

He turned and looked down at her, his gaze boring deep into her soul. She had his attention, but she knew that she did not have his heart, at least not at that moment. “I have enough things on my mind without having to think about your own impossible fears.” He snapped.

“But-“

But he left before she could finished her sentence.

Chapter Seven

Adelaide prayed to the gods that she had been wrong about what Constantine would want, but the next morning, when the vampire shadow had descended on the demon camp, Daman helped her pack her things, because she was right all along and he didn’t fight for her. She sat at her dressing table, combing her long blond hair in front of the mirror. The rhythmic movement helped to calm her nerves. Her Energy sizzled just under skin as she practically vibrated with anxiety. Her eyes rimmed with tears, but she had already cried as much as she could the night before. Nothing more could come out.

“There.” Daman murmured, as he dropped a small duffel bag next to her. “Here is everything.”

Adelaide nodded without looking at him and stood up, grabbing the duffel bag and stepping outside. She could tell by the bright, white sky that somewhere beyond the shadow, there was a sun that she could not see. “Do you want me to walk you to the edge?” he asked.

“I’m on my own. I’ve always been on my own. I can walk a thousand yards by myself.” She replied, without even slowing her step. She continued walking beyond Daman, who, surprisingly, didn’t raise his voice to protest.

Adelaide sucked in a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for staring Constantine in the eye again. It was already awkward enough meeting her one-night-stand all over again, but the fact that he was taking her as some sort of glorified war prisoner made it a hundred times worst.

“We meet again.” Constantine declared as he stepped off of his chariot and crossed the field to meet her.

Adelaide gulp, pasting a strong smile on her face. “I see you haven’t lost your charming creativity.” She replied as she ignored his outstretched arms.

He shrugged and followed her to the chariot. “I see you haven’t lost your intolerable sarcasm.”

Adelaide scoffed as he joined her on the chariot. She dropped her duffel next to her feet and clasped her hands on the gold-plated handles. “What is pulling this?” she asked as she glanced over the front edge of the chariot at the ropes that seemed to be free-floating.

A mischievous smile spread across Constantine’s face. “Demons. Your general gave me two of his best runners. They are phasing right now. That’s why you can’t see them.”

Adelaide shook her head. She wondered how she was going to possibly survive an eternity with this vamp. “Oh God how I hate you.” She whispered as he launched the demons into action.

They sped off, the force of it yanking Adelaide’s neck back. They raced across the field and into the forest in less than a minute, reaching the outskirts of the vampire camp in a fraction of the time it would have taken Adelaide to fly the distance. She stepped off of the chariot, sighing at the perpetual shadow. She could never get used to this.

“They’re pretty convenient aren’t they?” he asked as he led her down the aisle of tents towards his own. 

Adelaide’s only response was to roll her eyes at him. As she glanced around her, she noticed that only a fraction of the structures that were up when she was around were still there. The vampire force was preparing for the end of the war. “If you ask me, the whole thing is disgusting.” She replied.

Constantine let out a dark chuckle as he stopped in front of a tent and pulled the flap back so that she step inside. Adelaide noted how strange the whole place looked without a bed. Instead of that, the center-piece of the room was a kind of large, circular settee covered in black and gray fur. She had her own personal vanity on the front wall, completely with her own mirror and a strange set of makeup. A simple-looking armoire stood in the back corner of the room, marked with her name.

“Watch your mouth, or I’ll put you with the prisoners.” He replied.

Adelaide bit her lip. “How long have you known about this alliance?” she whispered.

He shrugged as he closed the flap behind her. “You’d be surprised how quickly you can move when you don’t have to sleep.” He replied.

Adelaide nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

Constantine made his way to her in a flash, hugging her from behind. Her spine tingled as he pressed his nose into her neck and took his big waft of her scent. “I can’t believe how much I’ve missed you.” He whispered.

Adelaide didn’t know what it was, but she instantly felt on fire for him. She didn’t want to admit the fact that she wasn’t entirely dreading the prospect of sleeping with him again. “Oh really?” she asked.

He turned her around so that they were facing each other.

Adelaide rested her head on his chest. He smelt of metal and of rain and grass. She was just too tired to fight… way too tired. “I can’t do this.” she whispered.

He tilted her chin up to face him. “Where is the fire I saw in my little fallen angel? Where are you Adelaide?”

She didn’t know how to respond. He was her captor, not her lover and she hated how he was trying so hard to blur those lines. “With the love of my life.”

He chuckled at this. The sound filling her head. “There is no winning you is there? I ended a war for you.”

Adelaide blushed. She couldn’t believe such kind words could come from his dead lips.

His eyes widened at this. “See, there it is. You’re smiling with your eyes.” He whispered as he kissed her on the cheek.

Adelaide sucked in a deep breath. “Wow.” She whispered at the chill that went down her spine. She could feel herself melting into him.

“Now kiss me.” He breathed. Without waiting for a response, he pressed his lips against hers. He slid his hands down her torso, exploring her body with his fingers. Adelaide could feel her life force brimming underneath the surface. She wanted him. Against her better judgement, against her own moral disgust, she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted another creature.

Almost of their own accord, her wings fanned out to either side of her. Her energy slipped through her fingers as she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him against the settee and mounted him. It felt so good not to think for once. Before she could make herself comfortable, he flipped her over, lying on top of her and ripping her shirt open. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she deftly unbuttoned his shirt, effortlessly peeling off of his shirt and throwing it off the bed. He gazed down at her. “Oh you are exquisite.” He mumbled as he kissed every inch of her body from the tip of her chin down to her waist. Once he reached jeans, he unbuttoned them.

Adelaide moaned at the titillated release of pressure. She clutched at the fur as he peeled off her pants and discarded them on the floor. At the sight of her red underwear, he smiled. “You women wear so much clothing.” He murmured right before he licked her vulva through her panties.

Adelaide let out a low moan, wondering to herself how anything could feel so good. She grabbed his head and pulled him up to her face. “I’m not a woman. I’m an angel.” She hiss before she kissed him.