The Angel of the Lighthouse (9 page)

“And then what?”

“It melded with another soul. Somewhere in the world it waits, in the form of my perfect partner.”

Skye felt a blush heat her cheeks. “Perfect partner?”

“My best friend, the person who will know me and care for me. The person I can cherish and protect. Out here, I do not believe I will ever find them. But every time I see my star, I remember, and I hope.”

The golden glow faded, and in the light of the setting sun, Skye could almost see the weight settling on his shoulders. She felt for him, and that decided her. She turned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

His mouth was warm and dry against hers. For a split second time seemed to stand still, and Skye began to worry that she had made a terrible mistake. But then he was returning the kiss softly, gently, as his arms came up to rest on her curvy hips. Heat raced through her, a gentle warmth that seemed to penetrate her whole being. On the edge of her hearing, she could hear music – crystal chiming, wind whispering through feathers, and the roar and crackle of a hot burning fire. A pain that she hadn’t even realised she was carrying was lifted, and she felt complete. On instinct, she deepened the kiss, pulling herself closer, her clothes rubbing against her skin in delicious, erotic ways. She could feel Aries’ erection pressed against her, growing larger as she ground herself against him. Everything felt right.

With a shudder, Aries pulled himself back and away from her. All trace of the human was gone now, and only the angel remained, wreathed in liquid fire. Hurt blossomed in her chest at the rejection, but strangely, Aries’ face was filled with love.

“My soul,” he murmured. “My heart, my soul!”

He stepped forward again, scooping Skye from her feet as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. Golden fire flowed over her again, burning away the hurt. He spun on the spot, holding her in tight. She looked up at him, and saw his perfect face smiling down at her. Like a key turning in a lock, the knowledge clicked in her mind, even though it was hard to believe. She was the third part of his soul. She was his best friend, his perfect partner. She was his one and his only. Joy bubbled up within her, and the music swelled audibly. All that had been bothering her; all the lingering darkness that she felt had tainted her was gone now.

Cradled tightly in his arms, Skye smiled. Aries smiled back at her, still looking a trifle stunned over the revelation. As if he thought she would disappear or break, he bent his head and kissed her again. It was gentle, it was tender, and Skye returned it, sinking into the fire of arousal that was slowly consuming her.

When they parted for breath, Skye knew what she wanted. “Make love to me, Aries,” she said, and her voice was quiet and husky.

In response, fire sprang up all around her, answering the call of its golden-eyed master. It blocked the windows with light, and sealed the trap door. It coated the floor, but only gently warmed the air. Tenderly, Aries lowered her to the ground. The fire licked at her skin, but it did not burn her. It was soft, cushioning the stone beneath her, and she stretched, luxuriating in the unexpected comfort. She reached for the waistband of her trousers, but Aries knelt beside her and caught her wrist.

“Let me,” he said. She nodded and lowered her hands, letting the flames play with her fingers. He started from the bottom, pulling off her socks and shoes. His warm fingers caressed the sole of her foot and curved around her heel. He pressed a light kiss to her toes which made her shudder, both in pleasure and from the tickling sensation. He moved upwards, taking hold of her trousers. There he hesitated, until she arched her hips upwards in unspoken invitation. With her permission, he slid her trousers down and set them off to the side.

The air was warm on her skin, and feathers brushed her as Aries knelt above her. His wings flared above her and she couldn’t resist raising her hands to touch them. He shivered as she brushed against them, and gasped as she reached around to where they joined his skin. The transition area was seamless, skin and wings merged, but by the way he moved, they were erotically sensitive. His eyes were opened wide and Skye smiled at the sight of the immortal angel, her angel, starting to slowly come undone at her touch.

She trailed her hands up and down his ribcage and around his back, and he moved to allow her better access. With him lying beside her, she could run her fingers along the length of his wings, letting the soft feathers tickle her nerve endings.

“Enough,” he finally whispered. “Enough, my soul, before you drive me to complete distraction. This should be your time.”

Carefully he raised her up, and pulled off her top. Her bra followed and then she was being lowered to the floor again. The flames leapt up to meet her, and she noticed that her skin now held the faintest sheen of gold. With her body fully exposed to Aries now, she felt shyness starting to creep in. She knew that she wasn’t conventionally pretty, and Lewis had harped on about her weight and her looks often enough. But Aries was simply looking at her with awe in his eyes.

“My soul,” he muttered again. His hand descended to curve around her cheekbones and trail downward, down her neck, over her breasts and around her curves. She felt worshipped as her skin warmed and glowed under his touch. Arousal pooled low in her belly, a warm heat that threatened to build into a bonfire. He was gentle, almost overly so as he traced the contours of her body. He seemed fascinated by every curve and she couldn’t help but lean into his hands with pleasure. The more she moved, the more he touched.

Somewhere along the line, he had lost his clothes, and when he lay down beside her again, his bare skin touched hers. She could feel him pressed against her from her shoulders to her feet. The proof of his arousal was resting against her, and the slow burn within abruptly turned into a heated ache.

She rolled to face him, and slid her hands between them, down to cup his hard length. He was silky soft to her touch, and the heated ache between her legs intensified. She wanted him as she had never wanted anyone before. Carefully, she guided him to her entrance.

“I want to feel you inside me,” she whispered. “May I?”

The kiss he gave her was sweet and gentle, a blessing, benediction and encouragement, all in one.

Her body was ready, willing and eager to accept his cock. It felt right, the two of them joined like this, and Skye felt a surge of contentment that came from both within and without. Just the feel of him sliding deeper within her was sending flares of pleasure throughout her body. The look in Aries’ eyes thrilled her to the core. His eyes were glowing golden, his wings folded out of the way. The flames of their bed leaped and danced over him. Slowly, he flexed his hips a small amount, and Skye was ignited. Everything turned into a fire-filled blur.

Skin rubbed against skin, hands caressed, teeth nibbled. It was glorious. They moved together out of tempo at first, but they soon found their harmony. She had never felt like this before, never felt this good with anyone else. Aries completed her, made her utterly whole. As the heat built over her body, she couldn’t tell where she ended and Aries began. She could feel his orgasm building, in counterpoint to her own.

They reached their climax together, intertwined with waves of fiery delight bouncing back and forward between them, amplifying to almost pain. Skye clung tightly to Aries and shuddered, muffling her cries with his lips. As rippling aftershocks vibrated through her, gradually easing in intensity, Skye found herself relaxing down, slipping into a half doze even as she still cuddled in tight.

In this half dreaming state, she found herself accepting the truth. Everything that had happened to her since arrive at the lighthouse was unbelievable, difficult for her logical and rational mind to accept. Demons and angels had never been part of her serious and sensible life. But lying in the arms of her angel lover, satiated and content, she knew that it was real. This was her life, Aries was her life, and she did not regret leaving her old one behind.

“What are you thinking, my soul?” Aries whispered in her ear. He sounded curious. She rolled around to face him, pulling him in close and resting her head against his neck.

“That we’re perfect,” she said. “I believe in it.”

“Believe in what?”

“Everything.”

Aries laughed quietly, and his expression relaxed. He shifted again, and once more his wings unfurled, steel grey feathers expanding in a rush of air. His skin shimmered golden as if his fire was lining his skin. Skye reached out and traced the almost flickering pattern over his skin.

“My angel,” she said, and took a chance. “Now, and forever.”

More than human eyes widened with surprise, and then filled with sheer delight.

“My soul,” he said possessively. “Now, and forever.”

Heady with relief, Skye poked him gently in the chest. “You can explain to my parents.”

“Gladly, my soul. Will they be sorry to learn that you left Lewis?”

“Hardly,” Skye said “Dad will probably dance with glee. Then interrogate you to make sure you’re good enough for me.”

“As he should,” Aries said gravely, but amusement danced in his eyes.

“Then I’ll have to help you find your family,” Skye said.

A bright and beaming smile spread across Aries’ face at the thought of it. “To see them again…” he said, in a wondering tone. “In your dream, did you see my brother?”

Skye shook her head. “I didn’t, but I knew it was him.”

“Have you had such dreams before?”

Skye thought back. “I’m not sure,” she said doubtfully. “I’ve dreamt strange things, parts of other people’s lives. I’ve dreamt moments in my life before they happen. But it’s hard to tell what’s just a dream and what might be something… more.”

Before her meeting with an angel, Skye would never have considered the thought that her dreams might be something more than just the idle wandering of her subconscious. But now, she was starting to wonder… was she actually seeing flashes of the future?

Any further discussion was halted as a rapping at the trapdoor broke into their conversation. Out of reflex, Skye tried to cover herself with her hands, but found that the fire had beaten her to it.

“What?” called Aries.

“If you two have finished, I need to talk to you downstairs. Meet me when you’re decent,” Jack called through the door.

“Sure,” Aries called back, sounding totally unruffled.

Skye chuckled as the mood was effectively dispelled, and she sat up slowly, the cool flames clinging to her skin. She poked one on her shoulder curiously, and it transferred onto her finger. Aries sat up beside her.

“Made a friend?” he asked as he began to gather up their clothes.

“Seems like it,” Skye said as she accepted her clothes and began to pull them on as best she could one-handed. She kept the little flame flickering on her finger, transferring it from thumb to index, from right hand to left hand.

Aries rose to his feet, and Skye paused for a moment to admire his striking, sensual figure. Her body still hummed with the aftershocks of her orgasm, and a pleasant achy warmth still filled her.

Aries shrugged on his shirt and pulled on his jeans, offering her a hand up. She accepted and they finished getting presentable. The flames that had contained their little bower were dying back now and fading away, revealing the stone walls and floor again. They made their way down the lighthouse stairs, and Aries opened the door for her.

Skye stepped out into the sunlight, and the world around her seemed somehow brighter again. The little flame tickled her hand, despite Aries snuffing of its larger counterparts. Carefully, she closed her fingers around it, keeping it safe from the breeze coming off the ocean. Aries stepped out of the lighthouse, the door thudding closed behind him.

“Wonder what Jack’s up to,” he said, looking around for the other man.

“Can’t be anything too serious, can it?” Skye asked.

“Not likely. He’d have sounded more panicked.”

Skye turned on her heel and looked around the area. Jack was just stepping around the back corner of the lighthouse, striding towards them, and Skye raised a hand in greeting. Aries half turned, his own smile forming on his lips, only to die quickly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words emerged, only a cry of pain, as with an overhand swing, Jack drove a knife into Aries’ side.

Skye was frozen, her vocal cords paralysed at the sight of the red blood staining the ground. Black faced, Jack twisted the knife even deeper and Aries fell to his knees. His face was locked in a rictus of pain, and blood bubbled over his pale lips. Skye watched as Jack withdrew the blade in another rush of blood. The knife gleamed unnaturally, blood on the blade vanishing, leaving only gleaming glyphs behind. Uncaring, Jack turned his blank eyes towards her and stepped forwards as Aries slumped facedown to the ground and did not move again.

A rush of primal terror from her hindbrain broke her from her frozen stance and Skye broke into a run, fleeing from the blank eyed, blood-splattered figure. She couldn’t see where she was going through the tears that fell, but she simply ran.
Find help; find help,
her mind chanted. In her panic, she couldn’t place where she was, or where the cottages were. Her foot slipped on a patch of mud and she pitched full length to the ground, jarring her body as her ankle twisted in pain.