Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) (11 page)

“Brother Aaron received a message from King Louis of France,” Naomi began as she set the basket on the bench beside her. “A man named Leon of Le Puy is making inquiries regarding an infant girl who was born in
Jerusalem
nineteen years ago.”

“And you believe this infant girl is you?”

“I don’t know what I believe. Brother Gabriel seemed…this is not why I was looking for you.”

He grinned, a slow, salacious smile. Her nipples tightened against her chemise and she fought the urge to cross her arms. Attempting to hide the distinct bumps would only draw attention to her breasts, so she kept her hands in her lap.

“Brother Gabriel won’t answer my questions. I was hoping you would—” In three long strides he stood before her, his hand cupping her cheek. She turned her face away. “Please don’t touch me. That is not why I came looking for you.”

“Little liar,” he taunted, drawing her to her feet. “We were parted for less than a day and already you crave my touch. Did you dream about me again? Is that why you were searching for me? So I could show you what it feels like in reality?”

In a flurry of angry movements, she snatched up the basket and threw the figs at him. Gideon only laughed and batted each aside.

“You arrogant beast. I want nothing from you but information. When will you accept that fact?”

A fig bounced off his cheek and Gideon reacted instinctively. He slapped the basket from her hand and shoved her against the curtain wall. His hands pressed against the stones on either side of her while he glared into her eyes.

Fear exploded all around him, the rancid smell, the icy tension, the unwanted stimulation. “Do not push me too far, Naomi. I will retaliate.”

He knew she was terrified—his senses didn’t lie—but her expression revealed none of her fear. Her wide blue eyes sparked with defiance and her shoulders remained stubbornly squared.

“You don’t mean me harm,” she said emphatically. “Not physically at least. It wouldn’t serve your purpose.”

“You have not begun to comprehend my purpose. Only a fool would believe otherwise.” He didn’t touch her, but a heated current flowed between them. He didn’t need to touch her to feel her.

“If hurting me would accomplish what you have set out to do, you would have ended my life last night.”

He moved closer, his craving for her a sweet agony. His clothing brushed hers. Her scent filled his nose and all he could see was her eyes. “Shall we speak of last night? What has Gabriel told you? Did he explain what you saw?”

“He wouldn’t speak of it.” Her lips parted and her tongue darted out. “But you want me to know.
That’s
why I was looking for you. Why do you want me to know…? What is it you want me to know?”

The stones were cool beneath his palms but desire raged through him. He wanted to kiss her, to touch and taste her. He wanted to feel her silken heat close around his shaft while his fangs sank slowly into her throat. Channeling the urgency of his need into his hands, he drove his fingernails into the wall.

“You drew me there last night. I know you did. I would not have left the infirmary otherwise.” She prompted him when he didn’t speak. “So explain what I saw.”

“You saw an angel lose control.”

She laughed. The sound grated along Gideon’s frayed nerves.

“You expect me to believe you’re an angel?”

“I didn’t say I was an angel,” he said.

“Brother Gabriel is an…
Gabriel,
as in the Holy Scriptures?”

“Angels are not accurately represented in the Scriptures, but aye, some of what Gabriel has done is recorded there.”

She swallowed and Gideon watched the movement of her throat. Her lips parted then pressed together. He could almost hear the questions racing inside her mind.

“How can you be his brother if you aren’t an angel? Are angels born? I don’t understand any of this.”

“Angels are not born, they are created. Gabriel and I were created together. Brother is simply the easiest way of explaining the bond that lies between us.”

Her gaze shot to his as he spoke the last. “A bond so strong that you seek to destroy him? Gabriel told me you hope to punish him by…”

When she couldn’t find the words, Gideon assisted her. “Possessing you.”

“If you’re not an angel, then what are you?”

“There are words for what I am,” he told her. “But I don’t think they would mean anything to you.”

“Are you a fallen angel like Lucifer?”

The question tore through his senses. Rage flared as his mind filled with unwanted memories. “When an angel Falls, he forfeits his immortal soul. If Gabriel is to be believed, my soul is still intact. At least for now.”

As his explanation grew more specific, her fear rose again. He watched the pulse pound along her throat and felt each of her anxious breaths against his skin.

“Why are you angry with Gabriel?”

He could no longer ignore his need to touch her. Retracting his nails from the stone, he framed her face with his hands. “He betrayed me. He has chosen to participate in my punishment.”

“Punishment? Why are you being punished?”

Gideon lost interest in the conversation. “I have a bad attitude.”

Naomi’s head throbbed as she tried to assemble all of the fragments of information. The warmth of Gideon’s palms against her cheeks distracted her, muddled her thinking.

His face descended slowly. She knew he meant to kiss her, but she didn’t turn away. The harder she fought, the better he liked it. The faster she ran, the more persistently he pursued.

The first brush of his lips was soft and teasing. She inhaled his unique, spicy scent and allowed her mouth to relax, neither responding nor resisting.

“Your skin is so soft,” he whispered. His fingertips danced along her jaw to stroke the column of her neck. “I want to touch you, Naomi. I want to touch all of you.”

She shivered. Already liquid heat and tingling anticipation stirred within her body. He had to be a sorcerer. How could she hope to resist such skill? “You can make me want you, but it will never be more than physical desire.”

His arm slipped around her waist, pressing her against his body. “What makes you think I want more?”

His mouth sealed over hers before Naomi could respond. The taunting tenderness was gone. She did her best to hold her emotions back, to feel no more than the slide of his mouth against hers and the slow stroke of his tongue. But heat and friction gradually wore her down. She felt tingling sparks shoot down her spine and her toes curled into the grass.

His fingers raked through her hair and splayed across the back of her head. Forceful now, his mouth urged her to accept the warm penetration of his tongue. A sharp, hollow ache erupted in response to the intimacy. She groaned and arched her body into his, needing to feel the unyielding contours of his form. Everything about him was hard and hot.

He tore his mouth away from hers and Naomi murmured a breathless protest. How was he able to command her senses so effortlessly? Her head spun and all she could think about was getting closer to him, having more of him.

He tilted her head and stroked his tongue along her throat. She had never realized her neck was so sensitive. Her breasts began to ache and the material of her chemise irritated her nipples. He scraped his teeth across her skin and Naomi moaned.

Gently his hand cupped her aching breast. Even through her clothing the pressure felt wonderful. She wanted to strip naked and offer herself to the moonlight, the night wind and this man. Wild, primal urges, frightening in their intensity, made her arch into his hand.

“Touch me, Naomi. Put your hands on me.”

She didn’t question the command but burrowed through layers of clothing until she found bare skin. He groaned. His fingers plucked her nipple and she parted her legs, allowing his muscular thigh to rub against her aching sex.

“Here. Touch me here.” He brought her hand down along his body, frantically pushing layers of clothing out of the way. Naomi gasped. She could scarcely close her fingers around him. Hot and hard within the circle of her fingers, his shaft jerked as if it had a mind of its own. Curving his fingers over hers, he showed her how to move, how to stroke him.

Fascinated by the mystery that was Gideon, Naomi moved her hand up and down along his shaft. He rocked his hips while he explored her body with an ever bolder touch. He found her knee and pulled her leg up, angling her calf across his hip. Feeling the cool brush of the night wind against her heated flesh, Naomi released his cock and murmured a breathless protest.

“Our first time will not be against a cold stone wall. Trust me. I’ll not hurt you.”

His fingers parted her passion-slick folds and she whimpered, clutching his shoulders for support.

“Keep your leg up,” he said.

Then she felt him rub something hot and blunt against her. “You said—”

He silenced her with his mouth. His tongue thrust deeply while he traced her slit over and over, sliding between her folds without pushing into her smoldering passage.

Her leg shook and her fingers dug into his tense shoulders as he carefully worked between her thighs. Her delicate folds surrounded him, stretching wide to accommodate his breadth. Then his fingertips stroked that secret knot of nerves and her core exploded with sensation.

She felt full and yet incredibly empty. Her inner muscles tightened and she wanted him there deep inside her, as he was meant to be.

His fingers pressed harder, circled faster as he slid between her folds. All she’d have to do was shift the angle of her hips and he’d fill her, ending this teasing farce.

He snarled and shook his head as if he’d sensed her brazen thoughts. Then he moved both hands to her hips and held her perfectly still as the slick pressure of his shaft continued to caress her.

Tension gathered deep inside her, each sharp stroke accenting the building urgency. She panted, restless and dizzy.

Then suddenly the tension burst, blasting trough her body with staggering intensity. She arched her hips, head thrown back as spasms of pleasure ripped through her.

Jerking his pelvis backward, he dislodged her leg as he frantically stroked himself to completion. He shuddered and groaned. His seed arced from the tip of his cock and splattered in the dirt.

She was enthralled by the sight, so primitive and carnal. Yet still she ached, wanting to feel those hot spurts erupting deep inside her.

His powerful body shook and his fingers worked until the last drop of his release escaped. Then he blew out a heavy sigh and righted his clothing.

Stunned by what they’d just done, Naomi hurriedly straitened her skirts and glanced around. She’d been so lost in passion, half the order could have strolled by and she’d not have noticed.

He curved his fingers around the back of her neck and kissed her gently. “When we do this, really do this, it will be so much better.”

He pulled her into the circle of his arms, hugging her to his tall, warm body. She pressed her face against his chest, embarrassed yet unafraid.

Suddenly his head snapped up and he spun around. “Who goes there?” His voice cracked with authority.

She covered her mouth with one hand. Had someone seen them? What was wrong with him? She saw no one.

He spread his arms, his stance protective. “Show yourself!”

“There’s no one here,” Naomi whispered, but even as she said the words the hairs on her arms and at the nape of her neck prickled. She could sense something.