Time seemed to slow as he leaned over my neck and kissed the first scratch, sending waves of warmth through me that made my eyes flutter shut. He sighed and then inhaled the scent of my skin as if it supplied him with air to breathe. My knees nearly gave out as his tongue flicked across the second scratch, simultaneously agitating and soothing it. My hands came to rest on his broad shoulders, feeling the heat that seemed to permeate us both. One more left. Those soft lips caressed the third mark and made it disappear, leaving only the clean line of my throat for him to explore. He kissed over my pulse, the edge of my jaw, so carefully, as if he were sure I’d shatter from too much pressure.
I gasped as he lowered one hand to the dress and tugged it down several more inches, until the cuts on the upper portion my abs were exposed. Michael dropped to one knee and slid his hands over my waist, holding me still as his hot breath curled across my stomach. When his mouth passed over the wounds, my breathing became strained and weak. That same boiling metaphysical warmth from the last time we’d kissed flooded over me in a sudden rush, erasing whatever hesitance I had left. After the cuts closed and he stood to full height, I knew there was no turning back. Now or never. Now sounded very attractive.
Michael didn’t hesitate either. In an instant, his body pinned mine against the wall and he kissed me, but it was different from before. This was a kiss. Eyes closed, lips parted, breath unsteady, tongue tracing a tantalizing line across my bottom lip. I had never in all my life been kissed like that, not by Terrell and not by any other temporary boyfriend I’d acquired. At first, his large hands cradled my cheeks to hold me still but the deeper the kiss became, the lower they sank. Down my neck, over my shoulders, brushing the sides of my bra, and finally settling on my hips. My knees were getting weaker and weaker by the second as his fingers drifted down into the crinkled half of the dress and just barely grazed my thighs.
Just when I thought I’d collapse, he wrapped his arms around the back of my legs and picked me up, raising me to his height. I ended up suspended in the air with Michael’s lips trailing a line of heat down to the spot where my cleavage began. I honestly didn’t give a shit about the consequences, especially not when I felt one of his thumbs caressing the delicate curve between my inner thigh and hipbone. My thighs acted on their own, encircling his waist, driving a muted hiss of pleasure from the both of us. The towel did him no justice. He was definitely the Commander for a reason.
All at once, there was a loud knock at the door.
Shit.
Michael moved first because I was too, ahem, distracted. He lifted his face enough to look me in the eye. I had to remind myself we had company because his gaze still held enough lust to eradicate all of my will power.
“I should probably answer that, hm?”
My voice was practically breathless. “Probably.”
He seemed to think about it for a moment before sighing and lowering me to the floor. Finally embarrassed, I pulled the dress back up and fastened it, trying not to think about the fact that Michael watched me with a sort of defeated expression. I opened my mouth to speak, but he leaned down and kissed me, quick, firm, and luscious, before answering the door.
Gabriel stood there in all his cock-blocking blond glory with a dead serious look on his angelic face.
“Trouble. Follow me.”
Michael barely had enough time to throw on his clothes. All I could do was toss off my heels and replace them with Reeboks before we followed Gabriel out the door. I didn’t know if he had deduced what we’d been doing in our hotel room, but either way it didn’t seem to matter. His brow was set firm in a frown—a look of determination I had only seen once, on a rooftop while he fought the demon Belial. Gabriel was always smiling, always serene, always kind. Seeing him like this scared me.
“What’s going on?” Michael demanded, trying to catch up with his brother’s quick pace through the lobby of the hotel. When we got outside, Gabriel stood still on the sidewalk and pointed to his left.
“Look.”
I stared about, watching pedestrians walking up and down the streets. “Look at what? What are you—”
Then I saw them. People were walking in the same direction Gabriel was pointing, but that wasn’t the strangest part. Some of them wandered into the streets and cars passed right through them. My jaw dropped.
There were at least fifty ghosts walking down the street.
“God…what’s going on?” I whispered, eyes searching through the dead masses for a head count. I had been right. So far, I counted fifty-two ghosts.
“Something is calling to these spirits. I believe it is the sliver of the True Cross.” Gabriel said.
Michael’s jaw clenched. “I know for a fact none of the angels acquired it. Which means—”
“—one of the demons got their hands on it. We must move quickly. Follow them.”
We jogged through the crowds, trying to catch up to see just where the ghosts were heading. Each one I passed had a blank, almost dreamy expression, as if their minds were far away.
“I don’t get it,” I said as I followed the angels. “Why would the True Cross Sliver attract so many spirits?”