Page 101 of Grave Revelations

Azazel’s face changed, hearing her thoughts, and he leaned forward, scooping her up in his arms.

You are everything to me.

He carried her up the stairs, running a hand through her hair as he brushed curls back from her face, never taking his eyes from hers. At that moment, Rebecca felt as though someone finally saw her.

In the doorway to the bedroom, his mouth found hers again, his tongue stroking hers as if he wanted to devour her, taste every bit of her.

She landed on her bed moments before he came down on top of her, biting and sucking her lips again. Pain zinged through her, followed by a bolt of lightning shooting all the way to her toes.

Azazel’s weight pressed into her, pushing her down into the blankets, and she moaned around his mouth, feeling him harden against her stomach. Everywhere he touched her, the skin beneath burned, and she wanted nothing more than to be rid of the clothing separating them and feel every inch of his bare flesh pressed against hers.

If my light wishes it.

Azazel’s words rumbled through her very core; a moment later, his weight lifted as he pulled away, and a yawning chasm grew between their joined souls as he put space between them.

Rebecca stared into his shocking blue eyes, and the heat in his gaze set her on fire anew.

Stretching a hand toward her, his fingers elongated into sharp claws and sliced down her front, tearing her clothes free in one stroke and ripping the remaining bits aside. His clothes were already gone, vanished with only a thought.

Then his mouth found her neck. Sharp claws raked down her sides, leaving a stinging pinch behind as he gripped her tightly, his lips trailing further south.

Rebecca’s heart was a hummingbird trapped in her chest, ready to burst. “Az, wait.”

His lips lifted, leaving an aching absence in their wake. She tilted her head, looking down at him.

“I just want to be sure…”

He slid back up her body, letting the stubble along his chin scrape across her over-sensitized skin until they were eye to eye.

“I’ll never leave you,” he said. “I am yours for eternity.”

She nodded, swallowing around a lump forming in her throat, and blinked back tears.

Azazel leaned down, kissing the wetness as it gathered along her lashes, preparing to trail down the side of her face.

The unspeakable kindness in that one gesture mended some inexplicable wound she’d patched dozens of times but had never fully healed.

He slid a hand under her head, lifting her until she was sitting, and wrapped both arms around her, squeezing her to him. His thoughts flooded into her: Rebecca wasn’t some broken creature to him, but something precious; another fissure in her heart sealed closed.

After a moment, or perhaps a lifetime, she turned her head, finding the crook of his neck, and nuzzled her nose against it, pressing a kiss to his swirling skin. Something like a pulse pounded there, beating in time with her heart.

Rebecca pulled back, looking into his eyes again.Is your heart in sync with mine?

He smiled, brushing a curl back from her face.No, Light. It’s our soul singing in unison.

She touched the pad of her finger to his neck. It was magic, thrumming beneath the surface of this ethereal creature. She didn’t care what he thought of himself. He was exquisite.

Azazel’s arms tightened around her waist, and she met his eyes again, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips. They were red, and some twisted part of her reveled in the wetness pooling between her thighs as she watched him lift a finger to his mouth, wiping the blood and licking it clean.

What was wrong with her?

There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect.

The words were nearly a mirror of her thoughts of him, and it sent another jolt of arousal through her. She closed the distance between them once more, sucking his lip into her mouth, and bit down hard, letting golden liquid slide over her tongue.

The life-giving blood streaming down her throat was a shot of adrenaline, and she lifted, twining her arms around his neck, sliding into his lap.

I need you.

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