Reaver (45 page)

The cock-severing chastity belt Limos had been forced to wear when she’d been betrothed to Satan

would be perfect.

For his part, Raphael was wearing only a pair of crimson silk lounge pants, and she had a sneaky

suspicion he was commando underneath.

“Let’s just do this,” she ground out.

“So eager.” He smiled, but it wasn’t a nice one. “I’d think you’d be worn out from your earlier

activities with Reaver.” He moved toward her, his predatory intent clear. “That ends now. If he so

much as kisses you, I’ll destroy him.”

She hissed. “I’m coming to you because we had a bargain, and this is for Limos. But if you ever lay

finger on Reaver, know that you will have to take me by force for the rest of my life.”

Reaching out, he hooked his arm around her waist and tugged her against him. “Oh, I don’t think

so.” He nuzzled her ear, and it took everything she had to not recoil. “Once you’ve had me, you’ll beg

to join me in my bed.”

What. A. Douche. “My loins are aquiver with anticipation.”

His tongue traced the shell of her ear as he guided them toward the massive bed in the center of the

room. With every step, her heart sank and her gut twisted, and a bleak, wintery feeling washed through

her.

Over the thousands of years she’d been a fallen angel, she’d had to bed some extremely unpleasant

males, and she’d learned to cope, usually by playing a role that allowed her to separate herself from

her actions. But she couldn’t do that with Raphael. She didn’t think she could ever do it again.

Not when Reaver was the one on her mind and in her heart. Just like when she’d lost her wings, she

knew this had to happen. But it felt like the worst betrayal she could imagine, and she wondered what

would be left of her when it was done.

Raphael’s hand slipped between them to cup her breast, and a sob wedged in her throat. Panic

closed around her like shrink-wrap. Blindly, without thinking, she shoved against him with all her

strength. He released her and she stumbled backward, her breaths coming in ragged gulps.

Anger twisted Raphael’s beautiful face into something dark and terrible. “How could you have lain

with demons and animals, and yet, you find me repulsive?”

Animals? He thought she’d slept with animals? It took her a moment of thinking through her panic

attack to realize he meant shapeshifters and weres. Angels had never considered human-animal

hybrids to be anything other than abominations.

“I find you repulsive,” she ground out, “because you’re holding lives over my head.”

He snorted. “And no demon has ever done that to you?”

“Of course they have,” she shot back. “But they’re
demons
. It’s what they do. You?” She looked at

him with loathing. “You think you’re superior, but ultimately, you’re worse. I don’t know what

happened to you while I was gone, but you’re not the male I remember.” She moved closer to him, not

wanting to miss every emotion play out on his handsome face. “
I’ve fucked demons who were less

disgusting than you.
”

Thank you for that one, Yenrieth
.

Raphael’s fury rose up, becoming a tangible storm in the room. Electricity sizzled on the surface of

his skin, little streaks of lightning that made him glow like someone had plugged him into a wall

outlet.

“
You
are what happened.” His voice warped with the force of his anger, and an icy tremor of fear

rippled down her spine. “You should have been mine a long time ago.”

Damn, she’d screwed up by taunting him. This wasn’t about her, and she needed to remember that.

This was about keeping a promise and giving Limos back her baby.

Suck it up. Apologize. Give him the best damned night of his life, even if you have to throw up

afterward
.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was halting, stale. Apologies had never been something she’d offered easily,

and if she’d said those two words more than a dozen times in the last five thousand years, she’d be

shocked. “I’m just… nervous.” She fluttered her eyelashes and played contrite and cowed.

His expression softened. “Understandable. It’s your first time with an archangel.”

Oh, gag. How could he walk around with a head that big and not lose his balance? “Yes.” She forced

a smile. “That’s it.”

He returned the smile. “Come here.” When she hesitated, only for a heartbeat, he repeated his

command, but this time with a sharp edge. “Come. Here.” He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, she

was standing in front of him.

Wearing only her bra and underwear.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled. A rumble came up from his chest, and he lifted his lids. The crystal

blue of his eyes was stained by angry crimson flecks.

“I can smell him on you.”

“Not
on
me.” She lifted chin and met his gaze with defiance that flew in the face of the apology

she’d just offered. But dammit, she wasn’t going to apologize for being with Reaver. “
In
me.”

“I will erase him.” The dark, dangerous tone in his voice accompanied a menacing step into her.

His intent was clear, and she felt herself slide into acceptance. This was it. She’d given herself over

to Sheoul once, knowing she was condemning herself to an eternity of absolute hell.

Somehow, this was harder.

Raphael wrapped his fist in her hair and yanked her head back. She closed her eyes so he wouldn’t

see how much she despised him as he slanted his mouth over hers.

“
Raphael
.” The impossibly deep voice rattled the entire room and made every organ in Harvester’s

body quiver with raw terror. “Release her.
Now
.”

An invisible, electric force pulled them apart. Raphael flew backward, crashing into a marble table

that held what was likely a priceless Chinese vase.

Priceless before it shattered on the floor.

Harvester spun toward the newcomer, her initial terror turning to shock at the sight of the male

filling the room with the sheer force of his presence.

“R-Reaver?”

He sauntered over to Raphael, who was sitting, stunned, in the splintered remains of his vase.

Power, as potent as the sun, radiated from Reaver. With a flick of one finger, he lifted Raphael off the

ground and suspended him in the air.

“I could have handed you over to Satan.” Reaver flared his wings, and Harvester gaped. Gold. They

were… gold. Never before had she seen such a thing, but she knew angelic history the same as

everyone else.

Only Radiants possessed gold wings.

Dark spots appeared before her eyes, and she swayed. In an instant, Reaver caught her, lifting her

into his arms and holding her protectively against him. Still, his gaze was locked on Raphael.

“Obviously,” he told Raphael, “I didn’t betray you.”

Raphael swallowed, and the sound echoed as if they were in a canyon. “I didn’t destroy you. I could

have, but I didn’t.”

“Actually,” Reaver drawled, “you couldn’t have. But that’s not important. What’s important is that

I
can
destroy you. It would be wise to keep that in mind.” Very gently, Reaver put Harvester down and

eyed her clothing. Or lack thereof. “You’re wearing my lingerie for him?”

She shrugged. “I believe in subtle protests.”

His lips twitched. “You’ve never been subtle in your life.”

“Yes, well—” She broke off with a gasp. “You have your memory back.”

“I do. I’m not sure it’s a good thing, but it gives me a starting point for making amends. To you,

especially.”

He waved his hand, and suddenly she was clad in a slinky black dress and knee-high leather boots.

A sensual breeze blew up her skirt and between her thighs, and wow, the naughty boy had outfitted her

with crotchless underwear as well.

“That’s better,” Reaver said. He turned to Raphael. “As for you, I don’t owe you jack shit. But I’ll

be the bigger angel and forgive you for having me tortured. I’ll also give you the courtesy of a

warning.” Raphael dropped to the ground in an ungainly heap. “Touch Harvester again, and I’ll

castrate you. She’s mine. She can’t break the deal she made with you, but I can.”

Harvester’s heart soared. Reaver had offered to castrate an archangel for her. How sweet was that?

As Yenrieth he’d only brought her flowers and honey cakes. Oh, yes, she liked the way Reaver rolled.

Raphael settled himself on his knees and bowed his head. “She’s yours.”

“Yes,” Reaver said roughly, as he hooked her around the waist and tugged her close. “She is.”

Reaver flashed Harvester from Raphael’s obnoxiously opulent mansion to Limos’s place, popping

right into the living room. They didn’t have much time to spare, and he wasn’t going to waste a

second. Harvester had a million questions, he knew, but they’d have to wait. After they were done

here, he’d explain everything.

And then he’d make love to her for a solid month.

Arik padded out of the kitchen, a platter of sandwiches in one hand, a TV remote in the other.

“Jesus Christ!” He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Reaver and Harvester in the living

room. The sandwiches flipped into the air, but with his super-duper mind powers, Reaver caught them

and plopped the plate onto the coffee table.

This Radiant thing was so cool.

Apparently, Arik wasn’t as impressed. He rounded on them, one hand clutching his chest. “What the

hell? Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack?”

“I could fix it if you had one,” Reaver said. Yup,
so
cool.

“I’ve always said angels were assholes,” Arik muttered.

Limos darted into the room, clad in her samurai armor and wielding a katana. When she saw Reaver

and Harvester, she grinned and put away her blade.

“I knew it!” she said. “Ares and Than were all, ‘Dad is acting funny. I think he’s going to do

something crazy.’ But I knew you wouldn’t leave us again. Reseph did, too.”

Dad
. The word melted him on the inside. Oh, he knew she wasn’t telling the story right; Ares and

Than would have called him Reaver. But Limos had made the switch, and he knew she wasn’t going

back.

That was even cooler than the Radiant thing.

“I never wanted to leave you,” he said, leaving it at that. He gestured to Harvester. “Harvester has

something for you.”

Limos loved presents, and behind the lingering sorrow in her eyes, a spark lit. “What is it?”

Harvester held out her hand. “Come here.”

Thousands of years of distrust sat heavily in the space between them, and Limos hesitated. Reaver

didn’t blame her for that, and when she shot him a questioning glance, he nodded, hoping this would

be the first step toward a fresh start.

Warily, Limos lay her palm in Harvester’s. Reaver took Limos’s other hand and summoned his

power.

Worry etched deep lines in Arik’s face as he moved behind Limos and gripped her shoulders

protectively. “What’s going on?”

“Shh.” Harvester produced a cloudy marble and very gently pressed it against Limos’s abdomen.

“Close your eyes.”

A low-pitched hum filled the room, and Reaver’s energy flowed in a hot stream into Limos, where

it twined with Harvester’s into a massive, undulating ribbon of power. The life Harvester had been

carrying in the little marble settled inside Limos’s womb, and under Harvester’s hand, Limos’s belly

began to swell.

Harvester smiled, her genuine delight in returning Limos and Arik’s child to them radiating in an

angelic aura all around her. It was just as he remembered her so long ago, and his heart tripped all

over itself.

As if she knew he was watching, she cut him a glance that was
nothing
like he remembered from

Verrine. No, the wicked gleam in Harvester’s eyes promised the exact opposite of
angelic
, and he

flushed hot. He couldn’t wait to get her alone. Couldn’t wait to start making up for five thousand years

apart.

Limos gasped as Harvester cut off her power and stepped back. “Do you want to know if it’s a girl

or a boy?”

Arik, looking poleaxed, stared at Limos, who was staring at her belly. “What just happened?”

“Your baby didn’t die when Lorelia punished Limos,” Harvester explained. “She stole it as part of a