Page 45 of Grave Revelations

Rebecca was thrust out of the visions as they dipped from the sky, diving for earth. Her stomach was in her throat as they dove. They hit the ground hard, but she felt nothing but Azazel’s arms wrapped around her, circling her in a tight embrace.

Lips crashed into hers, and she welcomed them, sucking his tongue into her mouth. Her back bumped something solid, and her earth magic swelled to life under her skin.A tree,she thought, but the thought was gone in a moment as Azazel’s mouth left hers, biting the sensitive lobe of her ear.

She twisted in his grip, wrapping her legs around his waist.

His arms slid down, cupping her ass, and she groaned. Everywhere his lips pressed, her skin was on fire. Even through layers of clothes, his touch burned her alive.

Images danced through her head, and it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t.More. I want more.

His fingers flexed, sliding along her thighs as his mouth moved south. Her jacket and sweater stopped him at the dip of her throat, and suddenly, she was suffocating in all her clothes.

She tore at her jacket, flinging it to the ground, and pulled at her sweater.

Stop.

As if some spell were broken, her fingers froze, releasing the bunched fabric.

Azazel leaned his head back, lifting his gaze to hers. “It’s too cold. You’ll freeze if you take your clothes off.”

He set her down gently, picking up her jacket and tossing it to her.

Heat rushed over her skin, but cold chased it away. She stared up at the winged creature, half obscured by shadow, and wondered what the hell had just come over her.

His gaze dropped. He’d heard her.

Guilt twisted in her stomach, and she bit her lip.

Azazel stepped back, giving her space as she slid on her jacket.

She reached for his hand to say… what? She had things that needed to be resolved with Simon, and Elizabeth had to be stopped. Now wasn’t the time to get into… whatever this was.

He took another step back, face relaxing into a mask of cool indifference.

The problem with someone who could read minds was that she didn’t have time to process her feelings before sharing them; Azazel had a front-row seat to every fleeting thought.

“Az…”

His brows dipped, eyes swirling furiously.

She stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

Chapter 29

Rebecca

Azazel moved out of her reach and turned, marching up the side of a steep hill. None of his thoughts filtered into his mind, but she hadn't missed the look on his face before he'd spun away from her. He was hurt.

Rebecca pulled her gloves out of her pocket, sliding them on as she trudged after him. He was right about the temperature. It had grown colder than the night before. A thin coat of white covered everything as they marched up.

Near the top, Rebecca spied a white building emerging from the side of the hill. It was at least four stories tall but disappeared into rock and snow until only one story remained at the top.

Rebecca stopped beside Azazel, wheezing puffs of frosty air as she tried to catch her breath. “What is this place?”

“This is the Cave of the Apocalypse.”

She stared up at a detailed mosaic framing the top of the door. A man, head bowed with a golden halo circling his head, seated in front of the mouth of a cave, wrote on a tablet while another man, with a similar golden halo, stood facing away.

Beyond them was a small rusted cross at the very top of the structure.

---