My other hand trails leisurely down her to her abdomen; her muscles contract. Desire is a railroad spike through me. Her shallow breathin’ is air for my soul. I catch hold of the edge of her black underwear, hookin’ my thumb through the side of it. The lace is warm liquid against my fingertips. I continue down, tuggin’ the thin scrap of material away from her.
A snap draws my attention upward; her midnight wings spread wide from her back. My heart thunders in my chest as her wings serrate to black arrow points. They shine with iridescent fire in tones of purple, blue, and green.
The crickets inside me remind me every second just what desire is. They’re ready to consume everythin’ in their path. I grasp her ‘round the waist. She leans against me. The impact of her skin against mine fills me with insatiable hunger. The low, passionate sound that breathes from her has the muscles low in my abdomen contractin’. My wings punch from my back, spreadin’ out, responding to hers. When she sees them, she smiles—they must be talkin’ to her—tellin’ her things that I haven’t said.
Extractin’ my thumb from between her lips, I cup her cheek. My neck bends as my mouth hovers near her ear. “What did my wings say to you,” I whisper, before brushin’ my lips to the place just beneath her earlobe.
“Something I didn’t know,” Anya murmurs.
“What?”
Her half-lidded gaze seduces me. Easing closer, her lips flirt with mine, hoverin’ just above. “You missed me.” The vibration of her silky voice drives me crazy with a rough-edged need to possess her.
I nip her bottom lip, suckin’ it into my mouth before lettin’ it go. “I—”
“Shh, your mouth never tells the truth. You should let your body speak for you.”
My heart clenches tight. “I’m not lyin’ when I say I need you.”
“I need you as well.”
“And I’m not lyin’ when I say I love you.”
“Show me.”
REED
I have a gut-wrenching reaction to Evie evaporating into the night. The need to smash something is nearly overwhelming. Clenching my muscles is the only outward sign I allow. In truth, I can’t control that, no matter how much I try. It’s a physical reaction to the loss of her—the loss of butterflies between us. Tau observes me from the other end of the stone corridor. He is the epitome of control. I slip my belt from the loops of my jeans and wind the supple leather around one of my fists. The buckle I hold between my flattened fingers.
“I can’t seem to keep you two apart,” Tau says.
“I know.” I wait for him to make a move.
“Will you walk with me?” Tau gestures with his arm extended to the adjacent hallway. I assess the Power angels amassing near Tau. They make no move to attack me. “I promise you that you will be unharmed.” I straighten from my defensive posture. Powers line the corridors at measured widths, strategic in their formations. At the smallest signal from Tau, they’ll crash in on me.
Tau sees the direction of my stare. He speaks to the soldiers closest to him, dismissing them. Their reluctance to leave him is obvious, but they obey his order, departing with vicious stares in my direction. Alone in the corridor with Tau and a handful of Powers, I unwrap the leather from my hand. I thread it back around my waist. With measured steps, I walk to Evie’s father. Face to face with him, he looks me in the eyes. His are so much like Evie’s, gray with a hint of blue. “It’s this way to the reception hall. We can speak on the way.” He starts down the corridor. “Do you need anything?”
I walk beside him. “No.”
“No? Would you like a change of clothes?” He indicates my bare chest and dirt-streaked jeans.
“I’m capable of clothing myself.”
“Still,” Tau replies. He gestures to a Power behind us, calling him over, ordering clothes and food for me to be brought to the reception hall.
We turn a corner. Phaedrus is just ahead of us, waiting. His caramel-colored, owl-shaped wings are resting behind him in a nonthreatening posture. He joins us, walking beside Tau, matching his steps. I don’t acknowledge the Virtue angel. I’m aware that Evie believes Phaedrus betrayed us by siding with the Seraphim. I know Phaedrus was only attempting to keep her safe from Brennus by letting me die. I cannot fault him for it. It was a sound decision at the time. He couldn’t have known that I was not permanently lost to the Gancanagh. Even if he had known, I still cannot fault him. He has done me a service for which I can never repay him. He performed the ceremony that bound my life to Evie’s. I’m in his debt, I think, as I touch the mark of Evie’s wings on my chest
Tau notices my hand on my heart. “I may have miscalculated your role in this mission, Reed. There are circumstances at play here that suggests you were chosen for this.” His words surprise me, but I don’t show it.
“Circumstances?” I ask. I drop my hand from my heart.
“The extra sensory gift you possess—your ability to influence humans—it’s a mystery to me. I’d like to know how you’ve used it.”