Page 5 of Lips of an Angel

Deciding I’d had enough, I closed my eyes and focused on retracting my wings. My flesh wriggled and crawled as the wings fought against me, but after a few moments the twitching under my skin ceased and my marks stilled, the soft cloud of light winking out.

As I left the bathroom, I could see the bright lights of the Vegas Strip splashed color through our apartment. Las Vegas at night was one of my favorite views in the world. I moved to the window in our living room in time to see a fancy town car pull up outside the bar. I busied myself watching the flashing lights of the Strip as the bar door opened, Raleigh stepped out, and locked it behind him.

He, too, had shed his blazer early in the night, and his tattoos cascaded down his arms from under his T-shirt. He brushed his fingers through his shaggy black hair before opening the car door for himself.

I watched as the man I was madly in love with sped off to spend the night in someone else’s bed.

Chapter 3

RALEIGH

Damn,I am one lucky man.

Kali stood in the open doorway with a glass of champagne in each hand. I scanned her perfect body from head to toe, and an internal war started up. One part of me wanted to savor the moment, take in every inch of her until I had it committed to memory. The other—namely the part behind my zipper—wanted to take her right then and there. I had to beg my legs to keep me upright.

Normally, her brunette hair fell over her shoulders in luscious waves. Tonight, it was secured behind her head with a clip. Her makeup was flawless, from the soft dusting of eyeshadow framing her deep brown eyes to the fire-engine red that lined her lips. I pulled my lip ring behind my teeth as my eyes flitted to her bare collarbone and ran over the white silk robe she wore. Plunging low at her neckline, it gave me a tease of the nothing she wore underneath, coming to a stop at the top of her smooth legs. I cursed the fabric. The damn robe covered everything I wanted to see.

“Are you going to come in or stand there and stare at me all night?” she asked, her soft, siren song of a voice filtering into my ears and tingling through my veins.

“Can you blame me for staring?” I stepped into the suite and let the heavy door swing shut behind me. I wrapped an arm around Kali’s waist, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek. The smell of expensive, floral-perfumed soap filled my nostrils. “God, you smell incredible.”

“Well, I’d hope so. I just had a bath.”

I pulled her into my arms, the top of her head barely hitting my shoulder. “Ah, so I guess I won’t be getting you dirty tonight.”

“I’d be offended if you didn’t.” Kali tipped her head back, red lips beckoning me closer. After I pressed a gentle kiss to them, she spoke again. “We’re celebrating.”

“What’s the occasion?” I asked, accepting one of the glasses of champagne.

Her brown eyes sparkled and her ruby lips split into a camera-worthy smile. “You’re looking at the new CFO for Summit Capital.”

My eyes widened. “No way! You got the promotion?”

Kali had been gunning for that position since I met her. It was a cutthroat job, and about damn time that she got it—she deserved it.

“Congratulations,” I whispered, leaning down to kiss her again.

She hummed, and I deepened the kiss, moaning at the taste of cinnamon washing over my tongue. Her hands wrapped around my shoulders and the bottom of her champagne flute pressed into my back. I broke the kiss long enough to set the glasses down, then my lips were back on hers. I didn’t care if I’d wind up wearing most of her lipstick. My tongue pressed against the seam of her mouth, begging for entry, which she happily granted. Her hands slid into my hair while mine slid down her back.

In one swift move, I cupped my hands under her ass and lifted until she threw her legs around my waist, breaking our kiss in a laugh.

“What are you doing?” she giggled, turning her attention to my lobe piercings, nibbling over my jewelry.

“Rewarding you for your hard work.” I had to fight to keep my voice steady as her tongue licked behind my ear.

I carried her through the suite and into the lush, king-sized bedroom. Supporting her with one arm across her back, I gently laid her down on the most luxurious black comforter I’d ever felt.

Nothing about the room came as a surprise to me. Kali had expensive tastes and never settled for anything less than the best. From the penthouse suite at the Villaggio to the Guerlain perfume carefully placed behind her ears that got my blood pumping—everything was the best of the best, and she never hesitated to share her wealth.

For instance, the jeans I was wearing that night had been one of the first gifts. Before that night, I hadn’t known who Tom Ford was. It wasn’t until I went home and Googled his name that I discovered exactly how much Kali was spoiling me.

I tried to fight her on it at first. I felt guilty. I’d been raised to work for expensive things and being handed designer clothes for seemingly no reason was a tough concept to adopt. I’d only recently begun accepting the gifts without protest. No, I wasn’t with Kali for her money. The gifts happened to be a nice bonus. If they stopped coming, I’d happily continue seeing her. Both of us were satisfied exactly as we were, and we weren’t in any rush to change that.

With Kali reclining on the bed, I kicked my shoes off and knelt on the mattress, tucking my knee between her thighs. Immediately, I felt the heat of her core seep through my jeans and wash over my skin. I nuzzled into her neck, breath eliciting goosebumps over the skin of her collarbone. The brush of my lips and the gentle tickle of my fingertips over the outside of her thigh had her arching into my touch, begging for more.

“God, boy, you’re way too gentle sometimes, you know that?” She drove her hips into my thigh.

“Trust my process,” I whispered back. The feeling of her dampened panties on my leg drove me wild. “You know I like to take my time.”

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