Page 33 of Lips of an Angel

“Christ,” I hissed, my climax teasingly out of reach.

My heartbeat roared in my ears. Otherwise, I certainly would’ve heard the door to our apartment open. I’m sure of it.

A gasp finally pulled my attention away from my aching dick.

Angel stood there, but he didn’t miss a beat—he closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He swallowed, eyes fixed on me. I should stop. I knew I should stop. But god, I wassoclose.

I didn’t stop.

He set the tray of coffee in his hands aside. I nearly blew my load when he signed, “Can I stay?”

“Yes,” I panted, spine tingling. “Hell yes, you can stay.”

Angel didn’t move, only put his arms behind his back. My gaze raked over his body, catching on his erection straining the front of his khakis. A grin curled the corner of my mouth. I wondered if he had any idea that I was jacking off in the kitchen because ofhim, because the simple memory of his lips had me desperate to know what his mouth would feel like on every other part of my body.

The thought was too much. I growled, my stomach clenching. My cock erupted, spurting thick white ropes over my hand. Across the kitchen, Angel’s breath hitched, the sound like music to my ears. My heart pounded against my ribcage, my body trembled with aftershocks.

When my vision returned, I looked to the front door. Angel stood there, shaking. His arms were clenched behind his back, and… a damp, dark spot was spreading across the front of his pants. Holy shit, he’d come hands free—because ofme.My chest swelled with pride. Had Eli ever been able to make him dothat?

Knowing that Angel might not appreciate sass in that vulnerable moment, I swallowed my snide remarks. “Do you want to shower?” I asked instead. Under different circumstances, I’d ask him to join me.

He declined, bringing his hands around to his front and shaking them out. His fists must’ve been tightly clenched. “You go first,” he finally signed.

I took another moment to see if he’d add anything else, but he didn’t. By the time I came out of the shower, he was gone.

Chapter 13

ANGEL

That wasn’tthe first time I’d walked in on Raleigh in a compromising position. We’d been best friends with a no-knock policy since we were twelve. I would’ve been more surprised if wehadn’tcaught each other once or twice at that point.

But fuck, I’d never asked if I could watch before. I wished I could have touched him and used my powers to sense his emotions. What had he been thinking as I watched him? Was he thinking of me? Or was that a silly daydream? My usual method of coping was to apologize, slam the door shut, then fantasize about it later that night. This time…

I don’t know what had come over me. The diamonds in his jewelry were catching the light and like some twisted fucking magpie, I couldn’t look away. I’d clenched my hands fists behind my back so tightly that my nails bit into my palms. I thought the pain could distract from the rock-hard need between my thighs, but I had no such luck. I was coming in my pants before I could even think to stop myself.

While he was in the shower, I snatched a change of clothes from my room and bolted downstairs to clean up in the office bathroom before anyone else arrived for the day. My soiled clothes were still stuffed under the sink.

I was ashamed, to say the least. Raleigh was my best friend. I had a boyfriend, for Christ’s sake. One who treated me with patience and grace I didn’t always deserve. One with whom I was currently on my way to meet after a very awkward few days, since I hadn’t exactly found outwhatwe needed to talk about.

Eli had reached his residency program’s maximum number of hours that he was allowed to work this week, so I texted Raleigh and Ryder to handle the bar and headed out to meet Eli. I claimed I wasn’t feeling well, and I was glad Raleigh didn’t press the issue.

I was worried I’d crumble if he did.

Eli asked me to meet him at “our” spot, so I sat in the back of an Uber on the way to the outskirts of Vegas. Our spot wasn’t special in the sense that no one knew about it—it could be fairly crowded during tourist season—but it was meaningful to us. Things were hectic when we first moved to Vegas, with Eli interning and Raleigh and I learning to run a bar and business, and our special spot was the one place we would go to escape it all.

They called New York “the city that never sleeps,” but I thought Las Vegas put NYC to shame. Sin City was the very definition of thrill and excitement with little opportunity to relax or slow things down. But in the off season, like now, the snow-capped mountains brought a sense of calm that was often lost in the hustle and bustle of Vegas’s night life.

Mount Charleston sat less than half an hour’s ride from the Strip. One of the lesser-known landmarks around Vegas, it was surrounded by state parks and some of the most beautiful views in the country.

One day while we were hiking, Eli and I found a spot that offered the best view of the mountain, especially during sunset. It was one of our favorite places to spend together.

During the ride, I couldn’t help the guilt swirling in my gut. Raleigh still plagued my mind. Fuck, kissing him was a stupid mistake. I was a literalangel. I was supposed to represent the epitome of innocence, damn it. Something told me mutual orgasms and making out with someone who wasn’t your partner was the exact opposite. Almost as though it were taunting me, the mark on the back of my hand blinked.Shut up. I yanked my sleeve over the bastard and stared out the window for the rest of the drive.

* * *

I never would’ve metEli if not for Raleigh. The three of us went to college together and we weren’t allowed to choose our roommates during our freshman year. I got lucky and was paired with someone on an athletic scholarship who was never home. I couldn’t even remember his name. Raleigh, of course, took it upon himself to fill that void. Unfortunately, the beds were too small to fit both of us, so when he got too drunk in my suite one night, I had little choice but to get him back to his own bed.

In true Raleigh fashion, he couldn’t find his key. He resorted to banging loudly on the wood, and I prayed his roommate wasn’t sleeping. I knew his name, and that he was a pre-med student, but that was the extent of it. Pre-med equaled crazy hours, which meant sleeping when and where he could get it. I’d feel terrible if we woke him up. Luckily, Eli had been up studying. After unlocking the door, he helped me maneuver Raleigh’s giant ass down the hall and into bed. I didn’t bother undressing him. I barely managed to get his shoes off before he was curled into a ball and snoring away.

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