“Of course, who else would it be?” A laugh, so familiar, so generous. “Shut the door before the cold gets in.”
It was impossible not to reach behind herself, not to close the door. Her hand, she was startled to see, was that of a child, small, marked with the nicks and cuts of a girl who"d rather climb trees than play with dolls. She turned back, terrified the miracle would fade, so scared that it"d be the monster looking back at her.
But it was Marguerite"s face she met, her mother"s eyes quizzical as she knelt before Elena.
“Why so sad, azeeztee ? Hmm?” Long, gifted fingers tucking Elena"s hair behind her ears.
Marguerite knew only a few words in Moroccan Arabic, faint remembrances of the mother she"d lost in childhood. The sound of one of those precious memories made Elena believe.
“Mama, I missed you so much.”
Hands stroking down her back, holding her close until the tears passed and Elena could force herself to shift back a tiny step, to look down into that beloved face. It was Marguerite who looked sad now, her silver eyes wet with sorrow. “I"m sorry, bébé. So sorry.”
The dream fractured, bleeding at the edges. “Mama, no.”
“You were always the strong one.” A kiss pressed to her forehead. “I wish I could save you from what"s coming.”
Elena stared frantically as the room began to collapse, trails of dark red liquid creeping down the walls. “We have to go outside!” She grabbed her mother"s hand, tried to pull her through the doorway.
But Marguerite wouldn"t come, her face fierce with warning even as the blood dripped to touch her bare feet. “Be ready, Ellie. It"s not over.”
71
REB
“Mama, outside! Come outside!”
“Ah, chérie , you know I never left this room.”
Raphael rocked his hunter as she cried into his chest, her vulnerability a knife in his heart. He had no words with which to assuage her grief, but he murmured her name until she seemed to see him, until she seemed to know him.
“Kiss me, Archangel.” It was a ragged whisper.
“As you wish, Guild Hunter.” He thrust his hand into her hair, pressed his lips to hers, and took her over. She still wasn"t strong enough to bear the savage depths of his hunger, but he could give her the oblivion she sought—even if the control required meant a violent amplification of the sexual agony already threatening to drive him to madness. He would not hurt her, would not take what she wasn"t ready to give.
Shifting on the bed, he pressed his body along hers, letting her feel the heavy weight of his possession. The nightmares have no claim on you, Elena. You belong to me.
Eyes of liquid mercury glittered back at him, filled with a roiling storm of emotion. “Then take me.”
“Or I could simply tease you.” And he did, driving her to a fever pitch with his kiss, with his fingers, with the unrelenting demand of his need to vanquish her nightmares.
Her body was slick on his fingers, her skin damp with perspiration, her eyes blind with arousal when he finally pushed her over. “Raphael!” Her spine went taut as pleasure rushed through her in an overwhelming wave, a pleasure all the more vicious for being denied so long.
He felt his own skin begin to burn with power, his cock pulsing with the need to drive into her until he was all she knew, all she saw. Gritting his teeth, he buried his face in her neck, fighting for control . . . and realized the brutal satisfaction of her body had shoved her into unconsciousness.
72
REB
XI
Five days after Raphael had loved her into merciful oblivion, Elena found herself sitting in a quiet, sunlit garden. The dreams hadn"t returned since that night, but she could feel them heavy on the horizon, a storm she wasn"t ready to face. If she hadn"t had the pitiless discipline of Dmitri"s brand of training to keep her occupied, her mind might have beaten itself into insanity in an effort to escape the constant pressure. Because oddly, the Refuge had gone quiet, too, the assault on Noel a seeming aberration.
However, Raphael"s anger hadn"t abated a fraction. “Nazarach denies involvement,” he"d said to her last night as he played his fingers down the plane of her stomach. “I could break his mind, but if he"s telling the truth, I"d have to kill him, losing one of the strongest angels in my territory.”
Elena had swallowed at the ease with which he spoke of tearing open the other angel"s mind, an angel another hunter had once described to Elena as a “monster who"d probably smile as he fucked you to death.” “Nazarach would turn against you?”
“As you would if I did the same to you, Elena.” His hand played with the top edge of her panties. “I must have proof—or I stand to lose not only his loyalty, but also that of the other strong angels who look to me.”
She gripped his wrist, squeezed. Always he gave. Her body wanted him to take. But there was a warning in his gaze, a passion so dark she knew she wasn"t ready, wasn"t strong enough. Not yet.