I couldn't speak with his lips on mine, so I groaned instead, pressing my body into his as the ground below us moved farther and farther away and the cool air caressed our wings, moving through us as if part of us.
The forest around us grew quieter the higher we flew. Sounds of nature, of night owls and insects and scurrying critters of the earth, were replaced by sounds of the wind, the feel of moonbeams on us, the weight of weightlessness.
I could feel Drake harden against my stomach as we deepened our kisses, our bodies pushing together more urgently, our need growing as our hands explored each other through clothing.
He unbuttoned my shirt and with one hand unclasped my bra. "Less clothes," he said through kisses.
Our wings had an unusual quality. If I touched them, they felt tangible, muscle and bone beneath the glowing lights. But they moved with ease through clothes without tearing or leaving a mark, like light beams. I couldn't figure this out, but it made undressing easier as my shirt and bra, then pants and panties fluttered to the earth below us. I worked equally hard to free Drake from his clothing, and soon we hovered before each other naked, our skin slightly aglow from the effect of our wings.
He looked like a Greek god in all his glory, golden hair and tan skin, muscles rippling in all the right places, golden wings stretched out behind him. And those eyes. Blue with a golden circle in the middle now that he'd turned. I ran my hand over his chiseled chest and broad shoulders, then down his six-pack, gripping him in my hand and stroking. "I want you," I said, my body alive with need.
His touch on my flesh felt electric. He trailed his large hands down my body, cupping my breasts, bringing one to his mouth as his right arm reached around me, stroking my bottom, then lifting higher to run a finger lightly over my shoulders and wings.
We'd never made love with our wings fully extended, and I had no idea how erotic it would be to feel his touch this way. An ache, deep and hungry, grew in me, my body on fire as he moved his left hand over my belly and between my legs, slipping between the folds of skin and into me, stroking, teasing, building me to near release before he impaled me with his own need, taking me in the sky, our bodies intertwined, glowing night and day, dark and light, the yin and yang of perfect balance.
We fell from the sky softly, slowly, holding each other in absolute bliss as we landed in the soft grass near our fallen clothing. I didn't want the moment to end.
As we dressed, still lost in the silence of our moment together, eyes locked onto each other, secret smiles shared, I wondered if this was how Derek and Rose felt shifting into wolves and running wild through the woods. Free. Complete. Connected.
We didn't hear them until they surrounded us.
Didn't realize the danger until it was too late.
Three Nephilim cornered us against a large boulder. The leader wore an accent gray armor that I recognized from Beleth's stories. "You're one of the Emzara," I said, my voice trembling from fear as Drake stood between us, guarding me with his own body against the three soldiers with swords drawn.
The Emzara nodded his head and gestured for the other two soldiers, both dressed in red armor, to attack. Before either of us could argue or defend ourselves, they threw silver nets over us that burned. I tried to stretch my wings, to fly away, but my wings wouldn't work. "Drake!" I called for him as they dragged him away from me. The nets glowed golden and pain seared through me. My last thought was of my daughter. My mind shouted to hers as everything went black.
TWENTY TWO
Have Not Patience
DEREK
How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
— William Shakespeare, Othello
ROSE SMILED, HER eyes covered by a blindfold as I led her into the woods outside my family's mansion. As I led her to our magical rose garden.
She sniffed the air and smiled even more. "Roses. I can smell your roses."
I laughed and pulled the blindfold off of her. "You're a hard woman to surprise."
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. "But it's fun to see you try."
When she looked down she saw the picnic I'd set up, complete with a red and white checkered blanket, a hand-woven basket filled with all of her favorite foods and a bottle of wine with two wine glasses.
"What's all this for?" she asked, sinking to her knees to explore the goodies.
I sat next to her, our bodies still touching as I poured her some wine. "Do I need a reason to do something romantic with my wife?"
She plopped a piece of chocolate in her mouth and shook her head.
I leaned over and kissed her again. "I love you, Rose. Now and forever."
These last few months hadn't been easy. Every since the day Sam was attacked and Rose couldn't shift, she's blamed herself for her friend nearly dying. Fortunately, Drake turned her into Nephilim and things couldn't be better between them, but that hadn't kept Rose from beating herself up and fearing her own shifting powers.