Chapter 17
Seventeen
Lilith
His eyes lit up, then he burrowed under the edge of my skirt and kissed my sex.
It was such a new, strange feeling I didn’t know how I felt about it for a moment.
Castiel’s mouth gentled against my skin as he groaned in delight.
He took his time, letting me get used to him.
It wasn’t long before I was panting and squirming on the table.
I bit on my fist to muffle the sounds trying to erupt from me.
His hands slid up to my inner thighs, framing me.
“So pretty,” he sighed, and dipped back in.
He played me, his lips and tongue and even gentle nips from his teeth driving me higher, higher, higher.
Pleasure like I had never known drummed through my body, building a sweet tension in me.
“I’m going to make you feel like you’re flying,” he promised against my skin.
The vibrations of his voice did funny things to my body.
“Look at me, cirra. Look at me while I fuck your cunny with my tongue. You’re going to watch me and then you’re going to come in my mouth. ”
Lust expanded inside me, but what really made my chest tight was something else entirely as I looked down my body and saw his brown curls bobbing between my legs. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—put a name to the feeling. Not now, when he’d found his guide home to Aerie.
His lips moved upward, gently drawing my bud between them. He sucked and I gasped, seeing stars. Then he did it again and again, and my climax shot me up to spiral in the heavens.
I lay dazed on the table, staring up at the painted ceiling full of myths and legends.
Castiel withdrew and gently tugged my skirt down over my knees.
He kissed one knee, then the other, and stood, again with that inhuman grace.
“Thank you,” he said gravely, gazing down at me with an unreadable expression.
“You have no idea what—how it meant—” He cut himself off.
Pushing myself up onto my elbows, I smiled. “I don’t know what I’ll do when you’re gone. Who could do that for me?”
A strange, almost angry light sparked in his eyes, and his jaw clenched. Then it disappeared and he smiled. “You’re stuck with me a few days more.”
I blinked in surprise. “I am? I thought—” My eyes fell to the book beside me.
“Ah.” He chuckled almost nervously, rubbing his nape. His wings hitched tightly behind his neck. “Well, I should probably stay a little longer. To make sure there’s nothing left to learn.”
Confusion prickled across my mind. “I…is there anything left to learn?”
“We’ll see.” He stepped backward, and the bulge in his trousers was impossible to miss.
Giddy curiosity and genuine desire spiked. After peering over my shoulder to confirm the library door was out of eyeline, I reached for him. “Can I take care of you?”
His cheeks darkened, at the tips of his ears turned pink. “Oh, ah, um. No. You—you don’t need to—”
I speared him with a look. “But would you like it? Because I would.”
Castiel relented, shoulders relaxing. “Very well.” He let me undo his belt buckle, unbutton the rest of his trousers.
With a breath I slipped my hand inside, smiling up at him when I found the hot, steel length of him. “Oh, my.”
His lips twitched as he threaded his fingers through my hair—which apparently had fallen during my moments of passion, and he talked me through it. “That’s it, take me in your hand.” He bit his lip, nearly wincing. “Skies, do that again. Yes, stroke it. A little harder. There.”
Warm wetness trickled down my fingers. Intrigued, I brushed my thumb over the crown of his cock.
He hissed with pleasure, his wings relaxing so much his primaries brushed the carpet. “Skies, Lilith.”
I stroked him, relishing the look of him going taut, then relaxing, then taut again while chasing his pleasure.
Pleasure I was giving him. Inspiration struck me, and I reached behind him with my free hand and slipped under his arm, under his wing, and trailed my fingertips up his shoulder blades until I reached his tertiary feathers, the softest and finest of them all.
Slipping my fingers back into his plumage made us both gasp.
He shuddered. “Your hand. It’s…it’s—” Castiel convulsed, and hot fluid spilled down my fingers.
I gave him a few more pumps, making sure I’d wrung as much pleasure out of the experience as I could for him, then withdrew my hand. Glistening seed clung to my spread fingers.
Castiel hastily pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his trousers and wiped my hands, his cheeks still dark.
I smiled at the care he was giving me. I didn’t need it. But it was lovely, for once, to be the one receiving care.
When he’d tucked the handkerchief away, he leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Skies, you’re perfect.”
My heart skipped a beat at those words. I was falling in love with a seraph. Who wanted to go home. What am I going to do?
When we arrived back in the neighborhood, me walking and Castiel hovering a few feet above my head, it was past nightfall. We paused at the side of my home, away from windows and prying eyes.
Castiel landed soundlessly. “Now I need to learn where Hawkstone Coven is.”
“That will be harder than it sounds,” I warned. “Many of these covens are known by many names and have died, popped up reborn elsewhere, and more.”
Castiel nodded. “Those witches can be downright secretive, too. I spent around eight years working within one and I left still in the dark about plenty of their practices.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. Good luck? I didn’t really want him to leave at all. I glanced up at the darkened sky.
“Are you ever going to let me take you flying?” He shook his finger at me. “Last time doesn’t count. You were upset and not paying attention.”
I chuckled. “Does it bother you I’m staying on the ground?”
He frowned like a petulant child. “Yes. Flying is a joy I would share with my mat—lover, and I hate that I’ve given you such a terrible first experience. I hate that I frightened you.”
I softened, understanding he wasn’t being petulant at all. Getting up on tiptoes, I braced myself against his chest and kissed the tip of his nose. “I trust you now. I would love for you to take me flying.” Before you leave.
The words hovered in the air between us, but neither of us acknowledged them. What did Castiel think? I yearned to ask him what this meant to him, what I meant to him, but now was not the time. I was shivering in my boots, and I couldn’t have anyone catch me like this with him.
Reluctantly I pulled away from him. “Go,” I warned. “Before I demand you take me flying tonight.”
The shadows hid his eyes, but I could hear him suck in his breath. I laughed and shoved at his chest. I was far too small to make him sway.
“Go! I need to get inside. I’ll see you tomorrow, Castiel.”
“Tomorrow,” he promised, voice low and sinful. My toes curled in response.
I watched as he lifted into the air, awestruck yet again by the power in those wings. As soon as he was out of sight I rounded the corner of my house.
And promptly ran into someone.
“Oof!” I staggered backward, fear racing through me. “Who is that?”
The shadowy figure was about my size. “It’s Silence,” the high-pitched, breathy voice said.
“Silence?” I peered in the moonlight. A beam cut through the branches over head and spilled along her profile, highlighting her black hair and wan, nearly sallow skin. “What are you doing here?”
“I was retrieving some clothing I left at your house. When Absalom and I…” she trailed off.
I wasn’t sure what to say. They’d been married around two months when my brother died, and I knew she hadn’t been happy about the marriage. “I didn’t know you’d left anything behind when you two moved into the cottage down the lane.” Such a stupid comment. I didn’t know what else to say to her.
I’m sorry you’re a widow? Because she probably wasn’t.
I hope you’re doing well? She probably wasn’t. Maybe better than me, but not well.
She hesitated, perhaps struck by the awkwardness like me. We’d never been friends, but we’d grown up together.
“Why are you spending time with him?” Her voice, faint and high-pitched, sounded curious and even a bit scolding.
Silence was not going to scold me. “The Herald asked me to.” I wrapped my cloak around myself, shivering through a gust of winter wind.
“He’s looking into the way we’ve worshiped since the church began, and I’m helping him gather the documents and stories he wants.
” The lie rolled off my tongue so easily.
“I heard you call him Castiel.”
I froze. “Heralds have names,” I said carefully. “He gave me permission to use his.”
“And he’s taking you flying?”
Irritation burrowed under my skin. “Do you have a problem with that, Silence? Going to go tell an elder?”
She huffed. “Of course not. Who would listen to me, anyway? Especially against you. You’re their favorite.”
The irritation festered. “It’s not easy being their favorite, you know,” I snapped. “Everyone’s eyes are on me all the time. Do you think I like that?”
Her eyes widened, the whites of them shining in the darkness. “I’ve never heard you talk like that before.”
“Like what?” I scoffed. “I’m always short tempered.”
She fell silent. Just as I was about the turn away, Silence spoke again. “You were kind to me—when I lived with your family those first few weeks.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “What?”
“When…when Absalom and I argued, when I was disrespectful and a bad wife.” Her voice grew stronger. “I was trying my best. I truly was. I always want to do Erlik’s will. But those mornings you brought me tea while I was still abed? That meant something to me. Thank you.”
The heat spread to my cheeks. “It was nothing,” I muttered.
Absalom was not easy to live with. When Silence had moved in, I’d heard him grumbling and sniping, sometimes even shouting at her through our thin walls.
And I’d heard her tears late in the night, in between Absalom’s snores.
Bringing her tea the next morning, after Absalom had gone to work, seemed like a simple thing to do.
“Your face was always blotchy,” I said, floundering for words. “I don’t like it when people see me with a blotchy face.” It was too obvious you’d been crying. “Drinking hot tea is a good way to bring it down.” I had no idea if that was true, it was something to say.
“Well…” Silence’s voice wavered. “It was nice. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I dragged the toe of my boots through the frozen dirt.
“You should be careful,” Silence added suddenly.
My head snapped up. “What do you mean?”
“I heard the elders talking about the Herald. And all his questions. Elder Dalton seemed annoyed. Elder White wants to take over your role. He said it’s not right for someone who doesn’t study the precepts or lead the congregation to commune with the Herald as much as you do.”
I bit my lip to keep from snorting. I quite liked the communing session we’d had on the reading table. Still, Silence was right. I should be careful.
“Thank you for the warning.”
Silence opened her mouth, then shut it and shook her head. “Good night, Lilith.”
“Night.” I watched her walk back toward her parents’ home, then slipped inside my own.
Mother was tidying up the kitchen. She barely glanced my way when I called out to her. Something twisted in my gut as I paused on the stairs, watching her putter around.
She’s grieving, I told myself. But this also wasn’t unusual behavior before Absalom died, either.
It didn’t have to matter. I had Jo and I had Castiel. And when Castiel left, I would still have Jo. I trod up the stairs toward my bed, pretending my heart wasn’t so heavy.