CARA
SHE AWOKE WITH SIMON’S warmth spooned behind her, his arms securely embracing her as if trying to prevent her escape. Still asleep, she listened to his rhythmic breathing. Her anger from last night faded and she inhaled his familiar scent.
She kissed the arm closest to her lips. “I thought you were sleeping at the loft?”
He squeezed her closer. “I couldn’t sleep without you next to me. I’m sorry I doubted you,” he whispered in a sleepy voice from behind her. “Will you forgive me?”
“Maybe,” she said softly. “What happened last night? I remember seeing you…”
“Kai drugged you. How are you feeling?”
Whatever pain she’d had last night was gone. “Fine.”
He kissed her hair. “Tell me what to do for complete forgiveness. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
She relaxed back into his naked body. Her hormones awakened from the touch of his skin against hers, and a small smile formed on her lips. “Whatever it takes?”
Shifting her hair out of the way, he touched his lips tenderly to her neck. “Whatever it takes…” She could feel him harden behind her, his naked arousal pressing against the small of her back.
Desire hit her in a deluge. Reaching behind her, she lifted her nightshirt and wrapped her hand around his thick girth. Guiding his silky tip underneath her, she slid back onto him.
Enveloping him in her slickness, her nerve endings exploded with need.
He let out a sharp groan. His hands found her hips, and he rocked his full length into her, cradling her body. His movements were focused, slow, and loving.
He nibbled her ear and whispered, “Don’t ever leave me, Cara. I can’t breathe without you.”
She found his hand and brought his large, perfect fingers to her lips, kissing each fingertip. The feel of him was exquisite inside of her, her love for him bubbling up and overwhelming her. “How could I? My soul is inside you.”
Snuggling her close, his arms flexed around her as he plunged deep, yet gently. Sounds of pleasure vibrated from his lips. Another wash of heat spread through Cara as his penetrating thrusts found their mark. Without warning, Cara caught the wave of her orgasm and stifled her cries as she clutched him tightly with her warmth.
His hips pumped harder and he rocked himself in as far as he could go, widening and filling her before he quietly exploded with a powerful shudder. His body went slack behind her. He pulled her closer, wrapping her inside of the muscled columns of his arms.
Purring in her ear, his heart beat rapidly against her back. “Was that a good start?”
She smiled. “I’d say so… You’ve never been so quiet, though.”
“I said I’d do whatever it takes to show you. Alerting your former lover we’re making love would be very bad form. And I understand how that might make him feel.”
“Thank you. That was kind and very thoughtful.”
“I want to be the man you deserve…” His voice trailed off.
She twisted her head around to look up at him. Anger no longer burned in his eyes. Instead, they reflected a fierce love that shone brighter than anything she was accustomed to seeing. Any residual doubts she had melted away.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said.
“Enough said.” His lips came down on hers in a kiss before the couple settled back with their limbs tangled into a satisfied heap.
“Tell me about Isaac,” she whispered, enjoying his warmth around her. “How is he?”
“He’ll be out today. The knife wound was deep. It pierced his heart, so they wanted to keep him overnight.” He let out a breath. “Something odd is going on. The Dark Ones put on a good show for us, but my gut’s telling me something isn’t right.”
Her brow knit. “How so?”
His fingertips stroked her hair. “A rogue Nephil who we think works for the Dark Ones lured Isaac and Zeke to a warehouse and then helped them to escape. Why not just kill them?”
“Zeke mentioned that the rogue’s been shadowing you since the Sentinel found me,” Cara said.
“Yes, and it’s been one of the most puzzling issues plaguing us since then. He’s been spying for certain, and out of nowhere feeds us information on Saturday. Odd. Very odd.”
“What about the Nephilim with the black wings? You think maybe they wanted us to know they’ve succeeded in making the vaccine?”
He sighed. “I’ve thought about that. It’s possible but to what advantage?”
“Maybe this was an act of intimidation. To let us know they plan a full attack on the Guardianship during the battle,” Cara said, moving her feet against the soft skin of his under the covers as she thought.
“But we already anticipated that. Though, to your point, the entire exercise reeks of a peacock preening. The only plausible explanation is that they’re trying to throw us off track, confuse us as to their true objective.”
“Did Isaac say anything about the Nephilim? Zeke seemed to think their enhanced strength wasn’t quite up to par. It’s not like they can use the angelic weapons…”
“The Dark Ones have an arsenal of their own. As we have our weapons, they have theirs. Had Kai not injected you with the Nephilim DNA, you would’ve died from Achanelech’s demon blade. Make no mistake, angel essence is what saved you.”
A chill rippled through Cara. “I didn’t know that.” In her opinion, there was way too much she still didn’t know. Definitely her fault. She avoided asking the questions for fear of the answers. But ignorance could cost them their lives. It’s about time she took her head out of the sand and got educated. She chose one of the questions that had been niggling at her. “Lucifer was cast out of heaven with one third of the Heavenly host. Where are they hiding? Between soulless, possessions like Melanie, and demons, I can’t keep it straight. Explain it to me so it sticks.”
Simon nibbled the back of her neck. “You sure you don’t want breakfast first?”
She sighed. “Not this time.”
He tightened his arms around her. “I’ll give you the abridged version. For every one of the three hundred Angelorum, there is a Dark One manifest on Earth… like Achanelech and his consort. They live among humans. The others live in the corridors between Hell and Earth, accessible by one of thirteen portals across the seven continents. North America has only one; it’s located close to San Francisco. Some places have two, such as South America and Europe, and then there are the places with three—Asia, since it contains the Middle East, and Africa.”
Cara sniffed. “Let me guess. There’s a correlation between the number of portals per continent and the human atrocities that happen there?”
Simon gave her a squeeze. “We believe so. As such, the Angelorum chose to reside in France near one of the European portals.”
“They have only one compound?” Cara asked.
“Yes, but that’s recent. Around the time I was born, the Angelorum decided to settle together in the current compound.”
“Why did it change?”
Simon’s chest rose and fell behind her. “I don’t know, love. That’s a better question for Constantina. But to answer your original question, if summoned, a disembodied fallen angel—now considered a demon—can temporarily inhabit a soulless or possess a human conduit like Melanie Solomon. In their native form, they look like what attacked you in your apartment. That’s the simplified version.”
“Thanks… I think.” Somehow, that didn’t make her feel much better. If there were only three hundred fallen manifested like Achanelech that explained a few things. Like why the entire world wasn’t teaming with Dark Ones.
At the mention of Melanie’s name, Cara heard Kai open the guest room door.
“Our company is awake. How about that breakfast?” she asked, giving his arm a kiss.
He nuzzled her hair with his nose. “One more thing. To stay in human form and heal from injuries, the Dark Ones need a steady diet of human souls.”