Page 100 of An Unexpected Ascension
“It’s subjective, isn’t it? We all have our definition of fun. For me, it’s watching you come all over my tongue.”
A shudder rolls through her, her shoulders vibrating against my touch. Lazily, I trail my fingers from her breasts to the center of her stomach, laying my palm along her belly and tucking her tighter to me. I may loathe this woman, but she is a woman after all. Her soft against my hard, it’s a comfort I didn’t know I wanted or rather, liked.
“I think it may beyouwho likes to holdme,” she teases.
“Mmmm. Perhaps. What does it make me if I enjoy the feel of a woman’s body?”
“A man.”
“A man, you say? Not a demon or a beast?”
“Definitely all those things, but under it all, just a man. With a heart?—”
“Not a heart. Not for you, Angel. Just an appreciation for pretty things.”
“Tell yourself that all you want, but you wouldn’t spend your eternity trying to get vengeance on Gods if you had no heart, no soul. You just pretend like you don’t, you’d rather shut out all the good things because with the good most always comes the bad.”
She wriggles her body onto her side to face me, my hand travels with the movement up onto her hip. Even with the lantern’s light extinguished, the round gems of her eyes still sparkle like emeralds gilded by the sun. I wait for that spiteful beast of hatred inside of me to rear its head, to lash out at that familiar stare, but all I see is the angel. I see her dark hair like a veil beneath her, rosy cheeks flushed with desire, lips waiting to be devoured.
Her face inches closer to mine ever so slowly as if she’s about give in and lay that kiss upon me. Only, she doesn't. Her breath flutters over my mouth, her lashes nearly brush my cheek, my nose.
Delicate fingers graze over the bruise still coloring my face while her thumb caresses the cut. After a few days of letting it sit, the purple and blue washed into a gnarly greenish yellow.
I wait.
Patiently, I wait.
For her to close the gap between our lips.
Finally, I tilt my face towards hers, letting her off the hook, but she retreats just the slightest, keeping the distance between us. A sly smile graces her face, and I realize it’s the first real one she’s ever given me. The very image of it slithers deep inside of me as if it were something of magic. It heats my blood, softens my bones, it... cracks my heart in two.
I’m going to kill the Devil when we return for sending her here with me.
Enough with the merciless teasing from this wicked woman.
At last, I wrap my palm around the back of her skull and force our collision. Her mouth crashes into mine and I swallow a yelp of shock from her. I work her lips, her body, her blood until she sings for me once again.
And this time, I let myself lose control to the madness, fucking her well into the night.
Chapter 32
The Angel
My mind is blissfully empty under the heavy weight of slumber. If I dream, I don’t know it. If I cry, I don’t mind it.
I feel nothing in this obsidian void.
That is until a terrible, blood-curdling scream pierces the spell holding me captive.
Bolting upright, my eyes adjust to the darkness of early morning. Hermes is still sprawled out on his side of the bed, the tattoos stark against his naked back.
I take a few deep breaths wondering if it was indeed all in my head, until the sound echoes through the night again.
Quietly, I leave the bed, slipping into my clothes and grabbing my daggers. One I sheathe, the other I keep in my hand at the ready.
Tiptoeing from the tent, I survey the forest. The blood moon still shines brightly in the sky, its light never quite reaching us down beneath the tops of the barren trees. Shadows dance in the distance beyond like a beacon calling me forth.
So, I follow.
