Chapter 46 – Oliver
MAKING LOVE
OLIVER
Vale crashes to the floor as her energy continues to pulse inside us. I hold her hips down, keeping her there as I come so deep inside her. It feels like my balls tighten up until I squeeze out the last drop. I don’t think I have anything left to give my mate, which has never happened before.
The energy doesn’t seem to dissipate. I stand up as it makes its way into my chest, wrapping around my heart.
I hold one hand to my chest as it squeezes, taking my breath away.
I’ve never taken so much of her energy, but tonight she can’t stop feeding it to us.
My other hand flies out, hitting the floor-to-ceiling mirror to steady myself, and I see her.
She’s sprawled out on the floor. Her heartbeat may be steady, but I believe she’s unconscious. She’s not moving.
Feed her, the beast snaps at me.
Oh, God, I’ve hurt her.
Blood! You idiot! Feed her your blood.
I pull her into my arms as I tear open my wrist with my teeth—Or is it the beast? I struggle to find where I end and he begins—then press it to her mouth. Her eyes flutter as her lips open around the wound.
We did it! We’re the same!
I shake my head, trying to push the monster down deep so I can concentrate on Vale.
I will not be pushed aside. She’s our mate!
“Shut up then so I can concentrate. She needs us.”
Complete the bond, she’ll be fine. Little one is strong this time, he says, but his words don’t make sense.
“What do you mean ‘this time’?” I ask, but all he does is growl. He’s getting angry and pushing at my mind, fighting me.
Complete the bond! he roars. Do it now!
I lift Vale up higher into my arms as I sit against the mirror. Her head is in the crook of my arm, and that’s when I notice how pale she is against my midnight skin. My jaw clenches at the sight. I take in a deep breath as I press my wrist closer against her mouth.
“I need my skin back,” I say, the words tumbling out.
This is your skin!
I clench my jaw. “It isn’t! I’m not a monster!”
Vale’s mouth suckles harder at my wrist, her blunt teeth abrading the wound, making it sting. Her mouth is hot, searing the skin. Her eyes open wide as she stares up at me, then she narrows her gaze. For a moment, I swear flames dance in her eyes.
My skin heals, and she kisses my wrist. “You’re not a monster, Oliver.
You’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever known.
You’re so kind and loving. You’re the best, no matter what skin you’re in.
I love you. You’re beautiful as a man and you’re beautiful as the demon.
That’s the truth. I want you to see what I see when I look at you. ”
Vale smiles with a calm I wish I knew. I’m worried for her, though she just snuggles deeper into my arms. “I love you, Ashmodai.”
“You know my name?” It’s all I can think to say. I should be expressing words of utter love and devotion, but that name on her lips distracts me.
“Is that the name your mother gave you?” she asks as she burrows into my chest, trying to get closer, always closer. She doesn’t explain how she knows it.
I nod my head. “When she was pregnant with me, she was very sick. We very nearly died. My grandfather saved us, and she honored him by giving me his name,” I explain, hoping she won’t have questions about him.
Vale reaches up and cradles my jaw in her palm.
“I’m glad he saved you so we could find each other one day.
I don’t want to be in a world without you.
” She yawns and stretches her arms above her head.
My blood has healed her body. Her thighs are creamy without my handprints now.
There’s a part of me that’s almost sad that the evidence from our lovemaking is gone. I want my mark on her skin.
“Feel better?” I ask as I stand, then set her on her feet.
Vale lifts her face to look into my eyes and smiles brightly. “I’m great, just tired. I think you exhausted me,” she says, then giggles. Her cheeks flush a delicious shade of pink that makes me hard again.
“Come, let me clean you up, then I’ll take you to bed. You’ll sleep beside me tonight.”
“We won’t get caught? Not that it matters now.”
I shake my head as I turn the water on in the shower. “Not tonight. Tonight, you’re entirely mine.”
I gently wash Vale’s body, being careful in this form. I’m stronger as the demon. I’ve never lived in this body, not truly. The beast coos at Vale, growling low in his throat when she moans. He loves her.
She tries to wrap her arms around my neck, but I’m so tall she can’t. She gives up and wraps them around my waist as I wash her long hair.
“This is nice,” she sighs against my chest. “Every touch feels so good. I don’t want you to ever stop touching me.”
Her words fill me with pride. I don’t want to stop touching her either. I’m finding it hard not to continue fucking her. In fact, even now I wish I was buried inside her.
“Was this night good for you?” I ask, hoping I haven’t ruined it. I hope it’s been special. I hope I’ve given her what she wanted, what she’d dreamed of.
I feel her smile over my sternum and feel an ache in my chest. I have to breathe deeply to calm my heart from racing.
“I can count the best days in my life on one hand. Tonight is number one. Everything else pales in comparison to being loved by you,” she explains as she wipes her eyes. “You’re in all my best days now.”
I lift her chin and bend forward. I kiss her reverently. She’s right. I’ve lived for two thousand years, and these past few weeks have been the best of my life. I love knowing that we share a future together.
The night I met her she couldn’t have told me what she needed.
She was quiet and nervous, full of anxiety.
Her hand shook in mine. But Vale’s grown so strong.
She called me out on my bullshit. She drove me wild.
I love her for it. If I’m honest though, I loved her then as well.
I think I’ve loved her since the moment I first saw her.
I didn’t know it could happen to me. I had to learn how to accept her love.
“Vale,” I whisper against her lips, then kiss each cheek. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. You’re part of my best days as well.”
She tries to wipe her eyes again, but I grab her hand to stop her. “Don’t hide those tears. Don’t hide what you feel. Don’t ever hide again.”
She blinks up at me and there’s a soft smile on her lips. “I’m not sad. These are happy tears. These are tears of gratitude. No one has ever loved me the way you do. My whole life something was missing, it was you. I’m happy you found me, Ashmodai.”
“Me too.”
I rinse her hair and wrap her in a thick towel, then I lift her into my arms carefully. She feels so small, so fragile in these demon-strong arms. I want to protect her from anyone who would hurt her.
She’s stronger than both of us, the beast growls into my mind. She is fire.
Vale’s asleep before we make it to the bed.
It’s awkward to hold her in one arm as I pull the ruined duvet off the bed and toss it to the floor.
I lay her gently onto the cream-colored sheets, then study her face, not for the first time.
I swallow hard. She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.
She glows with beauty. My chest aches as love fills my heart to bursting.
I run the tip of my index finger over her delicate jaw. I trace her swollen red lips.
When I press one hand over her heart, the towel falls and her eyes open.
I swear they’ve changed. Maybe my vision is different because I’m seeing through the eyes of my beast, but I see the flames within her eyes grow.
She watches me for a moment while her eyes glow brighter. What’s happening to her?
Vale isn’t human. She can’t be. Davina said she was an Angel Killer, but I’ve never heard of that. She is fire, the beast repeats in my mind.
“You’re so beautiful,” I say as she watches me. “I love you.”
The fire calms in her eyes, the glow dissipating a bit. “I know you do,” she whispers. “I love you too.” Her eyes close, and it’s like she was talking in her sleep again. I don’t want to let go, but I have to. I turn all the lights off but for a solitary lamp so she can see if she wakes.
“What do you mean by ‘she is fire’?” I ask the beast, but he says nothing. “What’s an Angel Killer?” He gives me nothing; the beast has gone silent as if he’s gone to sleep.
I toss towels over the soaked bathroom floor, then leave her to get her bags from the car. I throw the new clothes and lingerie into the washing machine, rushing through the house, so I can get back to her.
When I get back, she hasn’t moved. I toss the towel from around my waist onto a chair and get into the bed beside her.
There’s a strange moment when I don’t know what to do.
I’ve never slept beside a lover. But the beast takes over and grabs Vale around the waist, pulling her closer, not caring if he wakes her up or not.
Vale jerks awake, and I wonder if she can see me in the gloom. I look into her eyes, but there’s no acknowledgment, so I tell her, “I’m here, my love.”
She smiles, then presses me back into the mattress.
My wings spread out below me so they don’t take the entire burden of my body weight.
I wish for my body, but the beast is determined not to let me change.
I watch as she straddles my hips, then grabs my cock.
She hisses out through clenched teeth as her hips fall and she sinks down onto me.
She’s so tight, like a glove, surrounding me in her precious heat.
“I thought you wanted to sleep,” I whisper.
Her chest heaves with quick breaths filling her lungs, and her head tilts back like the feel of me is so much more than she could’ve imagined.
Vale slides her hips forward, then back, stealing my breath.
I reach for her, one hand on her hip, the other over her heart.
She tips her head forward and our eyes meet.