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The realisation that something as simple as believing in myself was the key to all my power gave me a renewed sense of enthusiasm. I knew I could tackle this situation head on and come out on top.
I decided to give something a try. Lucia had been tamed by my magic which meant effectively that I controlled her. Certainly, the behaviour she’d expressed so far gave the impression that she served me, and anyone associated with me. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and reached out to her with my mind.
When she replied instantly, the grin on my face had never been so big. She had witnessed Wanda hiding one of the daggers and low and behold, both of them were together. In less than five minutes, she’d not only brought the two daggers but also my soulmate and the third dagger.
“Thank you, Lucia,” I said. “Could you keep an eye out on the perimeter please and make sure we don’t have any unwanted guests attempting to stop by?”
“Of course,” she said, before gliding out of my crypt to start her border patrol.
“What have I missed?” Ronin said, walking to me and handing me the third dagger.
“Oh, nothing much. I had a chat with God and basically realised that I can do whatever I want.”
He raised a sooty eyebrow and smiled. “You had a chat with God?”
“Yep. Right in the heart of the Gardens of Eden. Turns out he wants my help.”
A soft chuckle sounded from him. “Forgive me, I’m not being rude, but what?”
“I pretty much responded in the same way. He admitted that Heaven has lost faith in him and as a result, he has no power.”
Ronin’s jaw dropped. “He has no power?”
“Well, he gets drips from the human’s following him but it’s nowhere near enough to power him. It’s taken him fifty years to save up the power to get me up to Eden.”
“Wow.”
I nodded. “I know. That’s when I realised that all we need is a little belief, a little bit of faith in ourselves and what we’re capable of. We don’t need this soulmate bond to define us and whether we live or die. We define us.”
He took a hold of my hand and kissed the back of it. “I admire your determination, I really do, but we’re talking of literal life and death trials here. Those realms are going to push us to the brink of death and then some.”
“I know,” I said. “But I know we can get through this. I’m not going to allow some rumour to scare us into ruining our relationship.”
“Relationship.” He pulled his lips into a thin line and pondered over the word for a few seconds. “I never thought three days ago that I would be in a relationship. Definitely not one for life.”
A vice of fear clenched my heart. “Is that a problem?”
“No, no, of course not,” he said, scooting closer and taking hold of my other hand. “It just sounds strange to hear it.”
“Is this where you tell me you’re a commitment phobe?”
He laughed. “No, far from it. There’s just such a lot changing right now, my feet haven’t touched the ground since the moment I met you.”
My heart skipped a beat at hearing his words. Warmth spread through me, igniting my soul with fire. “I know the feeling.”
“If you think, I mean really think, that we can do this without being forced to...you know...then I trust you.”
My eyes filled with water. “Really? You trust me that much?”
“More,” he whispered, leaning in close. “I believe in you.”
He brushed his lips over mine with such a soft sweeping embrace, he stole my breath away. As our minds reconnected, I revelled in the closeness, welcoming the strengthening mental link between us.
When he dropped my hands and wrapped his arms around my waist, desire flooded me in an instant. I loved the feeling of his big strong hands holding me tight and when he pressed his body against mine, I found myself secretly begging for us to be skin to skin.
His tongue stroked mine with a gentle but firm hunger. I couldn’t hold back any longer. My craving for intimacy was becoming too much to bear. With our lips still locked together, I pushed him back onto the divine softness of my bed.
Breaking our kiss, he breathed, “What...what are you doing?”
I ran my hand over his chest, the hard muscles beneath his t-shirt making my want for him even greater. “I want to feel you...” I lifted the bottom of his shirt and settled my hand against his bare stomach “...skin to skin.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“I don’t care. I want it. I’m burning up here with this desperate need f—”
He pulled me back down to his lips, claiming me with such a carnal desire, my last hold of self-restraint was completely obliterated. His kiss turned frantic as I yanked at his t-shirt. He brought his hands up to the back of my corset, his hands struggling with the delicate hook and eye fastenings.
“Here,” I said, waving a hand over myself.
“Whoa,” he whispered.
I’d stripped my dress, leaving me bare and naked leaning over him.
“You know, half the fun is the undressing,” he said, stroking his hands up and down my back.
“I can put it back on,” I said, smiling.
He shook his head. “No, no, no. No need for that.”
“Your turn,” I said, waving a hand over his clothes.
His clothes disappeared, leaving before me the fine perfect form of a man. Ripped arms, toned pecs, chiselled abs, a delicious V pointing down to his groin, I couldn’t help but give a groan of satisfaction.
“My oh my,” I said. “The Universe loves me.”
He roved his eyes over my body and bit his lip. “I think it loves me too.”
I looked down at his crotch, eager to see what treat lay waiting for me. I was not disappointed. Fully erect already, just looking at him excited for me made my longing for him even greater. He was well endowed and the thought of the pleasure he could give me made my insides quiver in anticipation.
He pulled me down so I was laying on top of him. The second our bodies connected, bare skin to bare skin, a new wave of want rushed over me. I wanted more of him, I wanted him touching me everywhere possible all at the same time.
Kissing me again, he slid his hands down to my lower back and then cupped my ass. He groaned and squeezed me harder. I moved my kisses down to his neck, gently nipping at the soft flesh between his neck and shoulder. His breaths became short and shallow, spurring me on further.
I suddenly remembered that Lucia was walking the perimeter and would be coming back by any minute at which point she would get a full-on view of my bare ass.
“Lucia!” I yelled, grabbing the duvet to cover us over.
Ronin looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Bringing another woman into the bedroom when we’ve not even been together yet? This is interesting.”
I slapped his shoulder playfully. “No. I don’t share so get those ideas out of your head right now.”
He grinned at me as he stroked his fingers along my thigh. “Aww, baby. So possessive already.”
“I’m not possessive, I’m territorial. There’s a difference.”
He chuckled and kissed my shoulder.
Lucia appeared in the doorway. “Yes, Makeysha?”
“Lucia, do you think you could find Caesar? He’s here in New Orleans, isn’t he?”
“Of course, Makeysha.” She clasped her hands together in front of her and then said, “May I please say something?”
I faltered for a second, surprised by her question. “Yes, of course.”
“Whilst sealing your soulmate bond makes you immortal it also has repercussions.”
I almost choked on the word. “Repercussions? Like what?”
“From what my parents told me and Kaspar, once you consummate the bond, it consumes you day and night until there is a product of it.”
My jaw dropped. “What? What do you mean ‘it consumes you day and night’? And what ‘product’?”
“You will indulge in physical relations with one another until a product of that is created.”
I sat, open mouthed, not knowing what to say.
“And by product,” Ronin said, his voice very low and quiet. “You mean—”
“A child,” Lucia replied.
I sprang away from Ronin like he’d just grown thorns. “Whoa, now this is a whole other level of crazy. That’s not possible.”
“It is. I assure you, where a soulmate bond is formed, there are beings created as a result. My brother and I are living proof of that as are all the other First Creations.”
My head spun like I’d just been hit with an eighteen-wheeler. “Wait, what? That’s wrong. Only three instances of soulmates have been recorded.”
Lucia offered a sad smile. “That you were allowed to know of, yes. God is not the honest being he tries to make Heaven think he is.”
I pursed my lips. After my discussion with him earlier, I had to agree with her. “I thought the First Creations were what Lucifer made?”
Lucia shook her head. “All of the First Creations are the result of soulmates being forced apart by their war. All of the mothers were in the early stages of pregnancy when it happened, and they all sided with Lucifer.”
“So why aren’t all First Creations warlocks like you and Kaspar?”
“Lucifer did intervene but only with the permission of the mothers. He mixed dark magic and infiltrated the growing foetuses in the womb to make us what we are.”
“He did kind of create you then?”
Lucia nodded. “In that way, yes. But we were already conceived. He just...tweaked our genetics if you like.”
“If your parents reconnected, would there be more of you?”
“Potentially, yes. However, no one really knows what we would have been without Lucifer’s intervention.”
I didn’t know what to do with this information overload. Everything I’d ever understood and known seemed to be crashing down around me, again.
“I’m sorry if I alarmed you,” Lucia said. “But I felt I needed to warn you. Given the task ahead, you will not survive Lucifer’s realms if you’re consumed with thoughts of intimacy.”
“But...but if we get pregnant, that means a Nephilim...” Ronin said, his voice now almost a whisper.
Lucia shook her head. “Nephilim are the result of ‘sons of God and daughters of Men’. You are not that.”
“So...so what would it be?” I asked, panic coursing through me like a tidal wave.
“I’m afraid I cannot answer that, Makeysha. You are an angel and your soulmate is a human graced with angelic powers. It would definitely be extremely powerful, that I do know.”
I looked at Ronin, speechless. He shrugged his shoulders and gave me a cheeky grin. “I could live out the last days of Earth in bed with you.”
Resisting the urge to laugh, I threw him a dirty look instead.
“Also,” Lucia continued. “The closer Ronin is to death, the greater the desire to complete the soulmate bond will become.”
Tears flooded my eyes instantly. “You mean my powers are overwhelming his body?”
Lucia nodded. “Yes, just as Wanda predicted. The urge to have intercourse will only become greater over the coming days.”
“Until?”
“Until you give in or he dies. I shall go and find Caesar now.”
With that, she gave a slight bow and disappeared into the twilight leaving us revelling in her bombshell of information.
“Great,” Ronin said. “So if we’re not immortal going into Lucifer’s realms then we’re probably going to die. However, if we make sure we’re immortal, we’re not going to get to Lucifer’s realms because we’re going to be at it like rabbits whilst the world ends around us. Either way, people die. Fantastic.”
“Quite a quandary, isn’t it?” I said, furiously blinking away my tears. “Just when I thought things were going well.”
“It’s true what they say—if it’s too good to be true then it often is.”
“The First Creations are children of soulmates...look how powerful they are.”
“But they were angel on angel pairings. This is something different.”
“I know...that’s besides the point anyway. I am not having a child.”
Ronin gave me an unimpressed look. “I am not having a sexless relationship.”
“There is a little human invention called a condom, you know.”
“Makeysha, I have a feeling that a bit of ultra-thin latex isn’t going to stop you getting pregnant. It seems the Universe has made things this way for a reason.”
Growing more annoyed and frustrated by the second, I threw the covers off me and waved a hand over myself, redressing myself.
“Feeling different?” Ronin said, checking out my clothes.
I looked down to see a vibrant red jumpsuit covering me. “Oh! Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But it looks good. Leave it on.”
Smoothing the soft fabric down with my hands, I found myself quite enjoying the injection of colour into my otherwise dark life. “I think I like it.”
“Do I get some clean clothes please? Seeing as you made mine vanish.”
“I quite like your birthday suit in all honesty.”
“Whilst that news delights me, I’d rather not have everyone staring at my junk.”
I giggled and gave him some fresh clothes. He’d barely stepped out of the bed before Lucia was back, complete with none other than Caesar at her side.
“Well, this just gets even more interesting, doesn’t it?” I said.