18 COLD SHOWER #2
The worry and disappointment weighed so heavily upon him, it took a monumental effort just to drag his body from beneath the bedcovers. But it was nearly midday. He had lain in idle distress long enough.
Dressing in whatever clothes were strewn about the chamber, he retraced the path he had paced for hours every day he’d waited. He stopped at the window, parting the curtains to peer out at the lane below.
There was, of course, no sign of her.
His initial disappointment had given way to concern and eventually fear. They always prioritized their short encounters, for they were only able to enjoy them once every few months. It was the most they could risk sneaking away from their respective duties without drawing attention to themselves.
He missed her desperately when they were apart, and he knew she felt the same. That knowledge was the only thing that got him through the months of separation.
She had never missed a meeting before.
With each day that passed, the ache of worry knotted itself deeper in his chest until it hurt to breathe. His inability to act felt like a noose around his neck.
What could he do? Being what he was, there was no one he could go to to inquire her whereabouts. He could only continue to reassure himself that she would come at any moment with a logical explanation as to why she’d been detained, and he would chastise himself for assuming the worst.
Yet today, on the seventh and final day, those assurances no longer appeased him.
They were supposed to be enemies. Meeting as they did was dangerous for both of them—for her most of all. Their worlds had no place for each other.
But that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t search for her.
He turned from the window and began gathering his things, finally accepting that she wasn’t coming. He vowed he would not rest until he found her. He needed to know she was safe, that no harm had befallen her.
If anyone had dared to hurt her, the most precious thing in all the worlds to him, he would rain worse than hell upon them. The vengeance he wrought would make Lucifer’s wrath look tame in comparison.
A knock upon the door drew his thoughts from bloodlust, and his heart quickened with hope.
It would be just as he’d expected—she had been held up, and now she would offer an explanation as to where she’d been, and all would be right in his world once more.
When he flung open the door, however, it was not the face of his love that met his gaze.
It was a man—an angel. There was no mistaking what he was. He stared at Raum, eyes burning with loathing and … triumph?
“Where is Shamsiel?” he demanded.
Raum’s heart turned to stone and yet continued to beat at a frantic pace.
They had been discovered. It had finally happened.
But how? They’d been so careful. They had taken every precaution, ironing out every wrinkle in their plans over the decades they’d been arranging their secret trysts.
Was this why Shamsiel hadn’t come? Was she being interrogated at this very moment?
They had discussed this eventuality long ago, had decided the best course of action in the event their forbidden affair was discovered. But even if they hadn’t, Raum already knew …
He would die before he betrayed her.
Looking the angel in the eye, he adopted a bored expression and said, “Where is who?”
Raum suddenly snapped awake, eyes popping open as if his consciousness was flipped on by a switch. A beam of sunlight streamed across the white ceiling. It took a moment of staring at it for him to realize where he was and how he’d gotten there.
What the fuck was that dream?
Weren’t vivid dreams supposed to have meaning? Because there was no reason why his subconscious would fabricate something so fucked up. Sex dreams were one thing, but this … This wasn’t even like a dream.
It was more like a memory.
A cold wave of dread washed over him before he quashed it with denial. He was pretty sure if he’d had some forbidden relationship with Sunshine back when she called herself Shamsiel, she would have mentioned it to him.
Come to think of it … He didn’t know why or when Sunshine had changed her name. Dan had told them she used to be called Shamsiel, but he hadn’t explained it beyond that.
And then there was the angel who’d knocked on the door. His face was obscured in Raum’s mind, and with every minute he was awake, it faded further until he couldn’t recall it at all.
It was the same with the first memory he’d had after his memories were wiped. He’d woken up with no idea what had happened to him in the last three centuries—except for a vague recollection of an angel telling him he was being punished for a grave transgression.
What transgression? It had always bothered him. How terrible could it have been that it warranted wiping his memory?
A chill ran through him.
His mind started to make a leap, but he erected a mental barrier before it could.
The dream wasn’t a memory. It was just a vivid remnant of Murmur’s venom, one last fever dream before he worked it out of his system. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.
But it could be.
A warm body stirred against him, and the sound of a sleepy mumble had him glancing down.
Sunshine lay tucked under his arm, using the space between his pec and shoulder as a pillow. Her hands were curled beneath her chin in an oddly adorable way, and one of her legs was draped over his, the tangled sheets exposing the light-brown skin of her thigh.
The sight of her triggered what memories he’d retained from the previous night. She had shown up and busted his ass out of the dungeon, and then she’d finger painted a hellgate with demon blood, and—
What about the book? He frowned and tried to remember. She’d said she had it, hadn’t she? She said she’d found it.
Then why was she still here?
If she had it, then she had what she needed from him. But she hadn’t left. She was still here, and she’d kissed him in the shower before crawling into bed with him when she could have slept anywhere else in the world.
The knowledge did something to him. Warmth sparked in his chest, equal parts soothing and uncomfortable. He couldn’t identify the emotion for shit thanks to centuries of being numb as an ice block, but it felt … good.
It made him happy. It made him hungry.
He rolled onto his side, shifting Sunshine’s position because he wanted to get a better look at her. And touch her. And maybe taste her a little.
He’d gone to sleep naked because his clothes were filthy, and he hated wearing clothes to bed anyway. He sure as hell hadn’t expected Sunshine to climb in beside him and cuddle up with his morning wood, not that he was complaining.
She, on the other hand, wore a slinky little nightgown that clung to her curves perfectly. Even better, it had ridden up past her hips in sleep, and he could just glimpse the edges of the black lace underwear she wore beneath it.
He smiled inwardly. For a pure, heavenly angel, those were some pretty sexy pajamas.
He ran his hand up the silky fabric, starting at her hip, dipping into the curve of her waist, and then sliding back to the bare skin of her shoulder blade. In response, her spine arched, and she exhaled a contented purr.
He pet her a few more times, watching her react to his touch. If he was seducing her, she was seducing him twice as much. All that sighing and soft moaning was almost more than he could take.
Finally, her eyes opened, and she tipped her face up to meet his gaze. “Hi.” A lazy smile curved her lips.
He stroked her neck with a light touch and watched her lids flutter, and then he brought his fingers to her chin to tilt her head back. The touch was all he needed to communicate his intent, and he saw her eyes flare slightly with the realization. He waited for her protest.
Instead, her hand lifted. She placed her palm on his pec. He stayed still and watched, letting her lead the show for now, and he was rewarded by her hand sliding up to grasp the muscle between his neck and shoulder. He reminded himself again: She stayed. She’s here because she wants to be.
She squeezed slightly—an invitation. So he leaned down and kissed her.
She kissed him back like she was hungry for more, and he decided he was done holding back. No more playing nice. Sunshine had put on sexy lingerie and crawled into bed with a demon. She could face the consequences.
He tightened the fingers at her chin, pinching slightly to let her know he wanted control. She sagged like she would have melted away if he wasn’t holding her in place.
How did she know to do that? It was the sexiest possible response she could’ve given, like she’d taken the fantasy straight from his head.
He released her chin and wrapped a palm around the back of her neck, remembering how he’d held her in Naiamah’s lair and how desperate he’d been for more.
He’d had to stop then. He wasn’t stopping now.
He deepened the kiss, prying her lips open with his own and dipping his tongue into her mouth. When it brushed against hers, she gasped into his mouth. So responsive. The way she reacted to him made him feel fucking invincible.
Tightening the grip on her neck, he rolled on top of her. Her legs fell open to cradle his hips, and feeling those soft thighs wrap around him was nearly enough to make him lose it right there.
He broke the kiss just to look at her, resting his weight on his elbows and lifting his torso off her.
She looked like a goddess with her hair spread all over the pillow and her breasts spilling over the top of her nightgown.
Her dark eyes were hazy with arousal, her swollen lips parted slightly, her chest moving with heavy breaths.
“Raum …” Her voice was husky, soft. Not quite shy, but she wasn’t playing games either.
This was trust, he realized. She shouldn’t be doing this with him. It was forbidden for her. Yet here she was, letting him pin her down and hold her by the neck, surrendering to his kiss. Because she trusted him.
He wanted to reward her.
He wanted to make her decision to stay the best one she’d ever made. He wanted to make her so drunk on pleasure that she forgot he was a demon, her enemy, and all the other shit that made this a terrible idea.
Shifting his weight, he reached down and gripped the flesh of her hip, taking a moment to squeeze and revel in its softness. Then he slid his palm up to her waist, pushing her nightgown up with it.
He bent and kissed her again because he couldn’t seem to stop for long. This time, it was her tongue that snaked into his mouth, making him groan. She clenched his shoulders, and her hips came off the mattress, seeking friction.
He’d give her friction. But he wasn’t going to jump right to the main event. Who said sex had to be the main event anyway? Given the chance, he would happily eat pussy until his face fell off.
Picturing Sunshine’s legs over his shoulders while she came in his mouth was more than enough to determine what he was doing next.
He broke the kiss and levered back onto his knees. Her hands fell away as he sat up, and a line appeared between her brows. She had no idea what he was planning. He would enjoy surprising her.
Hooking his fingers on her lacy underwear, he slid them down until her spread legs prevented him from going further. Dutifully, she lifted them, pushing her bent knees together so he could slide the underwear the rest of the way off and toss them away.
Trying not to fall on her like a ravenous beast, he put his hands on the inside of her knees, guiding them apart while he stared into her eyes.
She stared right back at him and let them fall open.
His gaze snapped to what he most wanted to see … Her glistening wet pussy. Her skin was darker there than the rest of her body, the hair above trimmed into a neat triangle. Her inner labia were bigger than the outer and hung out a little. He wanted to suck on them. Fuck , did he ever.
She was an angel, supposed to be free from sexual desire, and yet she trimmed her pussy hair into a perfect little triangle and owned black lace underwear?
If Sunshine was innocent, then he was the fucking angel.
He released her legs, a dark satisfaction filling him when she left them apart for him. Then he reached between her thighs and spread her pussy open.
“God damn ,” he breathed.
He’d never seen a sexier thing. Because a sexier thing didn’t exist. Except maybe the sight of his cock sinking into that perfect hole, but that would come later.
Right now, he had other plans.
“Raum …” She was pleading with him, squirming a little at the way he held her open. But she stayed right where he wanted, and that made him a happy demon.
Time to give her a reward.