Page 25 of Lips of an Angel

Are you home tonight?

Thankfully. Tell me you’re on your way over.

I am. And you’d better be in place by the time I get there or there’ll be serious consequences.

Yes, sir.

I stowed my wings and released a long breath, packing my powers away. Grabbing my things, I walked back out of the apartment and ordered a car to Eli’s building. By the time I hit the sidewalk, the rideshare was already waiting for me. Nerves—both good and bad—heightened as I made my way across town, but I pushed them aside. My body was more eager than my mind to dominate my boyfriend, the knot in my belly tightening, arousal surging through my veins.

Thankfully, the driver nodded back when I signed thank-you instead of saying it aloud. Using the fob Eli had given me to access his building, I climbed the two sets of stairs to his apartment. If he’d done as he was supposed to, he wouldn’t be greeting me at the door. I thumbed through the keyring, unlocking the front door. The living room beyond was dark, as was the kitchen off to the right. A hallway on my left led to his bedroom, office, and bathroom. I dropped my keys on the counter and started down the hall. I paused with my hand on the doorknob, taking a deep breath to force myself into character. I needed to be mindful; I didn’t want to do this wrong and hurt Eli.

Once I was ready, I turned the knob and stepped into the room, lips curling into a smile at the sight that awaited me. Damn, Eli did make a good sub.

He knelt on the ground at the foot of the bed, a pillow protecting his knees. He was stark naked and fucking gorgeous. His cock, hard and leaking, jutted out from between his thighs. A bottle of lube lay on the mattress, along with his favorite set of silk restraints.

I licked my lips. He had his gaze affixed to the floor, his hands locked behind his back. His chest rose and fell with each soft breath. I hooked a finger under his chin and forced him to look up at me.

“You’re such a good boy,” I signed, and Eli preened under the praise, his hazel eyes glowing in the dim light from his bedside lamp. “Are you ready for your reward?”

Eli bobbed his head eagerly, and his hands flew to my belt.

Envy

noun

An intense desire to have an item that someone else possesses

Chapter 10

RALEIGH

Something was up with Angel.

I knew Billie wasn’t necessarily his favorite person, but he had barely spoken to me in days. After spending a memorable night with a brunette from the bar, I went searching for Angel, but his bedroom was empty. He finally walked in as I was making lunch, offering a coffee from the tray he held in his hands. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was avoidinglookingat me as well. The only thing I got out of him was that he’d spent the night at Eli’s.

I considered calling Eli to see if he could give me any insight into Angel’s behavior, but I had to be careful: Angel didn’t mind me looking out for him—liked it, even—but there was a line, and he shut down if he thought I was treating him like a child. “You’re not my keeper,” he would tell me.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Days passed, and Angel’s odd behavior made work difficult. Granted, he often hid out in the office, but over the last few days he’d be gone by the time I finished cleaning up. I’d find him fast asleep—or pretending to be—or he’d take off to Eli’s for the night.

So I waited. Angel and I took one day each week where our days off overlapped—Ryder handled the admin responsibilities so we didn’t spend ourentirelives at the bar. Not that it mattered much to us. The Hopyard was our baby.

One rough night in particular, I trudged up the apartment stairs ready for a break. After a difficult shift, I was looking forward to twenty-four hours on the couch with my best friend. No bar, no pants, no responsibilities.

But opening the door, I walked into a pitch-black apartment. Angel wasn’t on the couch, in bed, or in the shower. I checked my phone, and sure enough, there was a text that said he was staying at Eli’s again. The three of us had lived in Vegas for over five years, and I couldn’t remember a time where he hated being home this much.

With a sigh, I brought up a contact that I knew wouldn’t let me down—even if they had been thrown out of my bar days ago. I neededsomeform of a release, and if it wasn’t going to happen with an overnight video game session, I had the perfect solution.

Billie answered on the first ring. “I was wondering when you’d call.”

I already had my keys in hand, a smile quirking my lips as I headed for the door. “I had to wait for the swelling in Ryder’s jaw to go down.”

“I won’t apologize for that. He got handsy.”

“A side effect of getting thrown out for fighting.”

“I stand by my decision. Are you coming over, or did you call to chastise me for punching your bartender?”

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