I WAS A mere boy of thirteen when I was kidnapped.” The memories of his past haunted him daily. His usual vice of drinking himself into a stupor wasn’t going to work with Bels around. It wasn’t as if he wanted her to see him as a drunken pile of emotional mess anyway. Her touch was comforting, as she cupped his hand in both of hers. The singing vibration her nearness caused had settled to a low hum, yet still thrummed beneath the surface. He inhaled another deep breath and continued with his history. “I don’t remember when or who took me. Christ, I barely remember how long I was kept for.”

“It’s okay. Take your time, and try to tell me whatever you can remember. Usually the most vivid stuff is the most prevalent.” Her lithe voice was soft as silk, gentle as a summer’s breeze.

Clearing his throat, he stretched forward, artfully hiding his need to shift his swelled sex. “It was so bloody dark, and I was chained to the wall in these ancient manacles. The scent of blood stung my nose and I remember being so cold, it bit down into my bones. The woman came to me. At first, I couldn’t see her. Only hear her as she moved about the room. For a minute, I almost began to believe all the old folk tales about elementals and banshees were true. Her voice was all over the place. First, it seemed she was in front of me, then behind me … across the room, then next to me. How she could move so swiftly was beyond me. Then, two red glowing orbs lit up the darkness. The closer they came toward me, the brighter they got. Next thing I remember, two torches exploded on either side of me. The flames pitched high enough to touch the ceiling. For as bright as the flames were, they barely lit the ground around me. It wasn’t until the woman was standing directly in front of me, I finally saw her face. It was like the darkness followed her, shadowing her movements and simultaneously repelling the light. I tried to jump back, but I knocked my skull against the stonewall. It was then I realized I’d never make it out of the dungeon alive.”

“But you did.”

“Aye, I did. What she did to me, Bels, it still haunts me.” Her eyes flared, waiting for the plot to unfold. He enjoyed her eagerness to hear a story. Still, he hated the fact it was his story. “She asked me if I was a virgin. At first, I didn’t understand what she meant or why she was askin’. When I finally understood, I told her I was. She laughed, but the way it sounded scared the ever-livin’ shite out of me. I mean, here was this woman wearing a barely-there dress, her assets on display, and I was a typical kid becoming interested in lasses. I didn’t know what to expect. For all I knew, she wanted to have her way with me while I was in chains. Who knows these days?”

“Well, did you?” Her silver brows arched up. A spot of something resembling jealousy or perhaps curiosity lingered in her question. “Have sex with her I mean?”

“Aren’t we the inquisitive one? I’m quite the ride, I hear.”

Her expression twisted once again, as she burst out laughing. “I have no idea what that means!”

“A bit of slang. It means I’m sexy,” he drawled, half-expecting her to smack him for good measure.

“Debatable.”

Touché. She was a quick one, and it was something he was coming to fancy about her more by the hour.

“So do wish to hear the rest of my sad tale, or should we discuss my grand looks instead?”

“By all means, please continue.” She motioned him to keep going with her hand, before grazing her lower lip with the pad of her thumb. Licking his lips, his mouth watered, desiring another taste of her sweet honey kiss. Slowly, he leaned in, closing the distance. “So what happened next?” she breathed, her words hitching in odd ways. He was getting to her, and they both knew it.

“Kiss me, and I’ll tell you more.” Maybe it was a cheesy challenge, but the woman stoked up his internal fire to inferno levels and made him beg for more.

She closed the remaining inches until her lips were a mere breath away from his. Her rose-colored lips quirked into a lopsided smile, issuing their own challenge. “Tell me more, and maybe I’ll let you kiss me,” she murmured. All it would take was a subtle slip of his tongue to feel the warmth of her plush mouth and lavish the seam, waiting to be welcomed in.

His pulse kick-started the liquid fire, shooting it through his veins and hardening every muscle the longer they remained there. One word bounced around his head, as he took in each bump and curvature of her exquisite face. Mine! Without thinking, he reached up, fingering her soft silken hair, as his hand made its way around the back of her skull. With a gentle coaxing, he fused their mouths together. His body instantly reacted to hers, growing harder still, and melting with her touch as she slid her hands over his chest and up to his shoulders.

Each time he kissed her was better than the last. And with nothing but time to spare, and Bels on twenty-four-seven guard duty, he relished the idea of picking up where they had left off. “Ashe,” she whispered against his mouth. “I need to hear the rest of your story.”

Dammit. Here he was ready to face plant into her heavenly body, and she was putting the brakes on … again. What was so damn important about his past anyway? Aside from the possibility he had vampire DNA running through his blood.

“Please,” she urged, pulling away.

The hunger in him demanded more. His mind rallied against his body’s needs, but couldn’t deny it wanted the same thing. Defying what was right, he pulled Bels closer, crushing her breasts against his chest. He continued pressing seductive kisses along the column of her neck. The delectable aroma of her blood, flowing beneath her creamy flesh, elicited another craving, hard to ignore. The beating of her pulse against his lips nearly sent him over the edge. His canines pushed down from his upper mandible, piercing his lower lip, and aching to slice through the delicate sinews of her neck. “I’m sorry, milady. I can’t help myself.” Her shuddering breath rattled against his chest, spiking up his need another notch. “But I will stop, if it’s what you wish.” His voice dropped lower, as did his lips. Her buttery-soft skin, tasting of the same honey sweetness, was drowning Ashe in his growing addiction.

A swell of dread swallowed him. Rearing back, he cupped his mouth, and ran for the bathroom. “Ashe! What’s wrong?” Bels called after him.

He slapped on the lights, and pushed his face in front of the mirror, examining his dental work. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! This can’t be happening!” Hysteria was clawing up his throat by the time Bels’ face appeared over his shoulder. Her mouth he had reluctantly released now hung agape. “Please tell me I’m not one of those Dhampyr things? Bels! Please tell me!”

“I can’t.” She was staring at his reflection as hard as he was. Trepidation riddled the air, as he tongued the elongated bones. “I need you to tell me everything. Don’t leave out any details.” Ashe bobbed his head, and dropped it down to his chest. The hot stab of fear he was a monster after all pricked at him with vengeance.

Bels led him back to the couch, leaving a full cushion of distance between them this time. She leaned forward to massage his hand. He didn’t mean to, but his eyes dipped low, catching the swell of her breasts peeking out of the tops of her pink lace bra, hidden behind her matching V-cut tee shirt. “What the feck am I doing?” he scolded himself, not realizing he had spoken aloud.

“Having a mini panic attack, now try and relax,” she offered, and it was then he realized she had heard him. Groaning, he smashed backwards against the cushions, immediately hissing from the pain and regretting everything which had brought about his sinking mood. “Here, spin around.”

Lifting his head, he stared back at her, questioning where this was going. “Why?”

“Just do it. I’m not going to hurt you.”

She made a good point. Bels hadn’t so much as said one condescendingly cruel word or physically assaulted him, so why would exposing his back to her make him feel so vulnerable? He hesitantly twisted around, propping one leg up on the cushion.

“Now, drop your shirt.”

“Excuse me?” What the hell is the matter with you? Five minutes ago, you were ready to tear off your clothes for her, and now you’re afraid of getting naked with her. Mate, you have serious problems.

“You heard me. Please take off your shirt. I’ll be right back.” Before he could ask where she was going, she launched off the couch, heading back into the bathroom. A few seconds later, she reappeared with a bottle of lotion in hand and a smile across her resplendent face. The sinking feeling slowly dissolved realizing what she was up to. “Now, please finish telling me your story, and I’ll massage your back. Fair deal?”

His piteous tale in exchange for a beautiful angel rubbing his back? Hell, fair wasn’t the word he would’ve used. Ashe smiled impishly over his shoulder, and then removed his tee shirt. Bels shifted down behind him, and it was the first time he noticed her weight didn’t move the couch, like his did. In fact, if he hadn’t seen her sit down, he wouldn’t have known she had. “Are all angels as gracious as you?”

“Um, hello? Do you not remember my brother Roc? He’s a total tool.” Although she laughed, he didn’t mistake it for humor. Not with the undertone of bite in her voice.

“What I meant was, when you sat down, it didn’t shift the weight. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re weightless. I don’t understand how it’s possible. I see you here, flesh and blood. I can feel you, taste you …” Her blush deepened to his new favorite shade of scarlet. “To me, you’re nothing like I would’ve expected. You’re as real as I am.”

“What were you expecting?” The sound of lotion dropping into her palms—and the friction she caused by rubbing them together—made him wish the roles were reversed, and he was giving her the massage.

“I don’t know actually. I suppose I’ve always depicted angels as those cutesy cherub things. The kind you see floating around on clouds. I didn’t think angels were real. Demons, on the other hand … well, I knew in my gut, when I was in the dungeons of Dunluce Castle, the moment the female bite me, she was a demon.”

“Wait … did you say Dunluce Castle? As in Antrim County, Northern Ireland?”

“Yeah, why? What’s so important about Dunluce?” His heart was pounding, hearing Bels ask about the place. A well of memories filled his head, recalling every vivid detail, all over again. The musty sent of wet stone, and the tinge of metallic copper of spilt blood. How his eyes burned the first time he saw daylight once he was rescued. Most of all, it was the unmistakable sound of wet lips suckling against his throat, which shot shivers—strong enough to shake the couch—rocking through his body.

“It’s nothing.”

He spun around to face her, seeing the lie in her eyes. It was his turn for a reassuring touching. Scooping up her lotion-covered hands in his, he kissed the tops of them. “Kakabel, what’s going on? You can talk to me.”

She released a pent up breath and with it, he assumed her guard. “I was there recently, for work.”

“When? Why would you have to go there? It’s desolate a pile of stones now.” A fresh wave of panic flooded his system. “Bels, why were you there? Do you have another person to watch over?” The latter, he didn’t want an answer to. He wanted to believe he didn’t have to share her attention.

“No, we were there for a meeting a couple of months ago. I had this odd sense you had been there before.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I already knew you were from Ireland by the time we went. While waiting for a Fallen to show up, I went for a walk along the shore. When I glanced back up at the ruins, I felt this odd connection, as if you had been there. Maybe a part of you remained behind. Who knows?”

The remorse in her eyes, for what had happened to him, knocked him over the edge. He caressed her cheek, as the concern for him bled from her face. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured, making her blush return. “I mean it. You are. Inside and out, Bels. I’ve never known anyone who shows such compassion without judgment. How did I get so lucky to have you as my angel?”

“Ashe, come on.” Her smiled lifted even as her eyes dropped lower, breaking their connection. “So let’s go back. You were chained up, and she was asking you if you were a virgin. What next?”

Humble was the word of the moment. Clearly, she was uncomfortable with his compliment, but he wasn’t going to let it stop him from doting a million more on her, as long as she stayed in his life. His lungs seized realizing he had not a clue how much longer she was going to stick around.

“How long are you going to be here with me?” he rushed out. The sense of urgency sang down his spine as he repeated the question. “How long?”

“I-I don’t know, Ashe. Normally when a Darkling turns, we watch over them from afar. Of course, we intervene when necessary, but usually, we let them do their own thing.”

“So, what you’re telling me is there’s a chance once I change, I may never see you again?” There was no way in hell he was going to allow that happen. She was his, even if she didn’t know it yet. His heart wasn’t his anymore. Each beat made the point all the more obvious. “I don’t want to lose you, Bels. I can’t.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Her sweet smile did little to alleviate the fear, but he’d lay off until the time to pour open his vault of feelings was appropriate. “I’m all yours.” It was all he needed to hear, before sealing her vow with kiss.

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“I hope you do,” she countered, and pressed another kiss to his lips. “Now turn around, and finish your story.” He wasn’t overly convinced she meant what she had said. It didn’t matter. He did. And he’d make good on his promise.

 

 

HER BREATH HITCHED as Ashe pulled his lips away. A warm rush flooded her core, as he stroked her cheek once more, before turning around. God, what was she getting herself into? Making promises she knew better than to.

The lotion between her palms was nearly gone, soaking up in her skin. A few more pumps and she was ready to warm up the white gel, and start in on relieving Ashe’s aching back. Lifting her eyes, she found the twin mounds of his wing anchors pulsating violently. “Do they hurt?”

“What? Oh … yeah. I had an X-ray done a while back, thinking I broke something. The tech, Andrea, said she couldn’t see anything wrong. I would swear I saw extra bones in my shoulder blades. Sounds crazy, right?”

“No. You’re right. Those are your wings. Soon you’ll face your final test, and what pops out will define who you are meant to be. I’ll try to be careful around them.” Starting at his waist, she slid her hands upwards along his spine, over his shoulders and biceps, and back down his ribs. The delicate bones beneath his pale skin stood out starkly, much more then she remember last time. It was obvious he had dropped weight, but what had caused it? “How have you been feeling lately?”

“Fine. A bit famished. Regardless how much I eat, I can’t seem to put on weight though.”

“Odd. Well I guess I’ll have to do my best to keep shoving food down your throat, before you wither away. Are you going to keep telling me your story?” It wasn’t like she wanted him to. Each syllable was coated in terror. If she could, she’d happily wipe those memories from his mind.

“Oh, sorry. Yes. So she came at me, her eyes glowing red, and all I could think was, ‘she’s a demon’. Truthfully, I was scared out of my head, but I didn’t want her to know I was.”

Bels dug the heels of her palms into the ropes of muscle at the base of his lower back, and worked over knots, expelling low groans from Ashe. “Good God your hands are truly amazing.”

“I’ll keep going if you do.”

“Fine,” he sighed, and cocked his chin over his shoulder. “If you insist, milady. Something about her name is on the tip of my tongue. I can’t quite reach it. Anyway, I recall her laughing at me, as if I was nothing more than a toy for her to play with. She moved incredibly fast, striking my neck hard. I remember thinking she had broken every bone in my body when she pinned me to the wall. Then everything went black. When I came to, I was lying on the ground, shivering. A slice of sunlight cut through the darkness, revealing the bodies scattered about the floor. I was bit a weak and confused, but alive. Next thing I know, a heavy set of footfalls stomped toward me. He said, ‘Hang in there, kid. You’re almost out … Consider yourself lucky. You’re the only survivor.’ I wasn’t sure why he came to me, but I’ll tell you this, I don’t think I would’ve lived.”

Her gut jumped a mile with the news. She didn’t remember hearing anything about a rescue. “Who was it? What was their name?” The questions fell out of her mouth before she gave him time to answer for himself.

“I don’t recall. He was massive and wearing a dark cloak. He never said his name, only he was there to get me out. Oh, and he hoped I survived. Wait … wait … I think he had a tattoo on his finger. Some odd markings, I’m not sure what of.”

“Tattoo, huh? How did he find you? Was anyone else around when you left the dungeon?”

“No. No one. He carried me to the edge of the forest. I could see a farmhouse not far from where he set me down. I never saw him again after he left me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was an apparition. Who knows … maybe he’s an angel like you.” He barked out a laugh, but the humor was lost on her.

Bels kept searching over Ashe’s flesh for any markings Cassiel had suggested might be there. She came up short once again. Her inquisitive eyes followed the trail of her hands upwards toward his shoulders once more, gently going over his anchor sites. A prickle of worry was quickly replaced when the sound coming out of Ashe from the touch wasn’t one of pain. Instead, a low purr vibrated throughout his chest. “Oh!” A tad unusual. “Did I hurt you?”

“Milady, your touch could soothe the most savage of beasts.” His voice took a seductively dark turn, as he reached back to stroke her fingers. Her core welled up, achy and hot. Why did he have to be her first charge in a thousand years? The lines of duty and lust were ever blurring. The internal war she fought within herself daily—to stay on task, focus on keeping him safe, and not fall for him with each encounter—was a struggle and she was losing.

In the back of her mind, she thought about Remi. What he must have dealt with when it came to his feelings for Ferrian. She remembered quite well how overprotective and defensive he was, how irritable he behaved when anyone who threw out a gibe or questioned his motives. At the time, Bels assumed he was losing his damn mind. Knowing the rules, she couldn’t understand why an angel would risk their wings by falling in love with their charge. Now, those same rules and theories seemed like constraints. She ran through the list once again. Never cross the boundaries of your job. Never mix work with pleasure. Angels aren’t allowed to bed or fall in love with their charge—mainly due to the risk involved, should the Darkling transition into a Daemon. No angel could walk away once their heart was given to love. Falling for your charge was grounds for dismissal of position, and wing removal with the added bonus of spending an eternity on Earth to live among the mortals. Fanfuckingtastic.

Over time, Heaven had lost more Guardians to the plague of love than they were comfortable with. Once the Counsel of the Seven seized control, organizing a new army, Michael, along with Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Sargiel, and Oriel scribed the rules, and worked on developing a cross breed, now known as the League of Guardians. A small cadre of specialized angels—both trained as Battle Angels, and held the natural gift of guardianship—were set apart from the rest. Given a strict set of rules to live by, Bels had known all her life what she was, and was meant to be. Thinking back to the day she signed the contract, and willingly bound herself to her calling, she now believed she had set herself up for failure.

Pulling herself out of her reverie, she concentrated on doing what she was sent to do: her job. It happened to be a real bitch when her desires wanted her to shove aside duty and throw caution to the wind. She cleared her throat and slipped her hand out from under his. With a couple deep breaths, she refocused on Cassiel’s request to find any sort of markings on Ashe.

“Do you, ah, happen to have any birthmarks or scars?” she asked meekly, hoping she didn’t sound like a total loon. Ashe turned around, with an odd smile slashed across his face. She backed away, tucking her hands into her lap, hoping a little distance would sever the yearning to roll up on him, and seal their lips together.

“I do, actually, although they aren’t terribly impressive.” His dark eyes burned with heat, locking her in. “Should I give you a guided tour?” he hummed, making the searing throb deep in her core, which she was trying to extinguish, flare up with building intensity. “Or I could let you find them yourself.” He lifted her fingers to his mouth, grazing each one with his lips before kissing the tips. “What would you like, milady?”

You, in the bed, buck-ass naked, right now.

She tried to swallow down the lump lodged in her throat to answer, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge. Ashe didn’t make it any easier on her. He brought her hand up to caress his face, as his lips purchased a newly found sensitive patch of flesh the pulsing beat in her wrist hid. A charge of electricity sang down her spine, and spider-webbed across her arms and legs. Her panties moistened more with each passing second.

Ashe grazed her palm around his neck, devastatingly slow, inhaling her skin until their hands cupped the tight muscles and tendons in the back. “Do you feel that?”

It took a moment to figure out what he meant. Then again, it was a toss-up between the fire coursing through her veins, the heat radiating off his body, the tenderness of his touch, or the sexual charge in the air.

“I got this when I was only a babe.”

“H-how?” The word fell out in a broken stutter.

“Me máthair said a loose dog came at me. His claws cut me deep.” Her eyes flared, but he didn’t stop milking the moment, as he dragged their hands over his shoulder and down to the side of his ribs. “This one,” he traced over a thin jagged scar with her fingers, “I got scaling a chain linked fence as a lad.”

If he kept going, there would be no hope of her keeping the boundary lines in check. He challenged her at every turn, almost provoking her to react. It was a losing battle; the draw to him was undeniable. She leaned in closer, inhaling a richer, spicy scent. All hints of the ocean brine she had come to adore was gone. Ashe guided her hand farther around his back until she had no choice but to follow. Her chest collided with his, her lips locked on to his. With an urgent sweep of her tongue, she sliced her way in, ready to taste and explore. He released her hand, and scooped her up against him. Sinking one hand through her hair, he held her in place as she continued with her sensual assault.

The low groans rumbling through his chest tickled the tips of her nipples, making them peak into hard little beads. His leg wrapped around hers, hauling her back with him. She tried to stop herself; stop her hips from rolling against his, grinding against the rigid shaft between them. Another moan bubbled up from him, and damn if she didn’t love it. The promise of pleasures unknown to her filled her with eagerness to succumb to every single one of them.

The decadent sensation of his body beneath hers, especially when he met her core with his sex, had her pulse spiking, sending all reasoning out the window. “Bels,” he groaned against her lips. Opening her eyes a sliver, she found his swimming with want, gazing back at her. Arching her back into him, she writhed against his body, relishing the erotic sounds it brought out.

Time ceased to exist. Wrapped up in each other’s arms was where she wanted to be. Her mind melted away the rules she had always adhered to, and surrendered to Ashe … until the chirping beep jarred her. Shaking it off, she resumed the tongue play. A second chirping beep stopped Ashe this time, breaking off their kiss. “I’m sorry. I have to check this.”

She pulled back, staring at him. Her brows lowered in to a deep V as he reached across the table and snagged his cell off. “Is everything all right?”

“Not sure.” He lifted the device and read the screen. His eyes popped open, as his chest heaved with shuddering thick breaths. “It’s work. I-I have to go. It’s an emergency.”

“Ashe, what’s wrong?” She climbed off him, giving him room to leave. Her heart was pounding, not knowing what would cause the sudden panic. “Ashe, talk to me, what’s going on?” He jumped off the couch, and ran to his room. She trailed after him, watching the storm brewing in his agitated movements as he searched for his shirt and sneakers. “Ashe, it’s not safe for you out there. Please, tell me what’s going?” She didn’t like sounding so desperate, but she didn’t give a shit about any human emergency when it came to his life.

“Amy text me … Jovie’s back in the ICU on life support. I have to go!”

“Oh my God, what happened?”

“Someone found her beaten and unconscious. Look, I’m sorry. I have to go.”

Her heart dropped. She hadn’t thought the child’s time to leave this world had been so close. Ashe pushed passed her, heading for the door. Bels tore her coat off the hook, and fell in behind him. “I’m coming with you. Don’t even think about arguing with me.” He wheeled around on her, his chest pumping hard with each breath. She waited for a rebuttal, but it didn’t come. Crushing her against him, he kissed her once, but there was no passion in it.

“Thank you,” he whispered, taking her hand.