When the wing brushed the center of her back, at first she paid it no mind, but then she realized it wasn't the creature's wing. It was the angel's hand, his arm coming inside the circle of the wing to take a sure clasp around her, bringing her close against a body that was firm, warm. Alive.It's all right. Be still and let me think, little one.The relief she felt, not to be alone in this empty pit, almost made her sag against him before she remembered she was holding him up. Even though the voice was wholly inside her head, it reassured, not only because of the pitched velvet of it, but because of the command. It was a thought with no fear in it. No uncertainty. And an additional quality that unexpectedly distracted her from their immediate problem.His hand moved along her back, then down to the curve of her hip, which was layered in tight scales that felt every movement of his touch. Her sensitive side fins feathered against his fingers.A mermaid. A young mermaid, come to my aid
It seemed out of place to be thinking of such things right now, but the way his eyes moved over her reminded her how recently she'd felt his body take hers. She found she could think of nothing else when he looked at her like this."Push your hair back, little one."Mila glanced toward Erica, who ignored them and continued arranging her rocks. Mila pushed the hair over one shoulder, then the other, feeling heat expand across her skin at his expression as she revealed herself. She wore the scarves at hip and breast again, but the way he studied her, she knew he was imagining in detail what she looked like without them, though in truth it didn't require much imagining. The upper scarf was snug over her breasts, revealing the dark smudges of nipple clearly, particularly with the fabric wet as it was now.Mermaids were not shy about their bodies, but after what they'd done earlier, she felt self-conscious. And she wasn't going to disrobe in front of Erica. Her gaze strayed to his lips, th
The brief, dry humor startled her, such that she giggled before she could stop herself. Reflexively, she put her hand over her mouth, but since their hands were interlocked, she managed to move his palm over her lips.A jaw muscle tensed, pain or something else, she didn't know."Taste me, little mermaid," he said quietly. "See if I am something you can create magic with."She parted her lips, touched his skin with the tip of her tongue. Heat, if heat had a taste. That sensual warmth, like what she'd felt from his wing, coursed through her whole body at just that miniscule contact. It went to every corner, into every organ and artery, driving away the sense of being damp in her human form that the cavern's unseen heat source couldn't completelySince his attention appeared completely riveted upon her, she knew she should feel terribly self-conscious. Here was this powerful being, probably ancient compared to her, patiently waiting for her to decide if something as insignificant as her
He would die without her. Let me die . . .No, by Neptune's Trident. She would not. And she wasn't dying here, either. This wasn't how she was going to go, damn it.When her tail encountered a flat surface, and moving water pushed against her face, telling her the tunnel had become horizontal again and was widening, she sobbed in relief. She was able to switch arms and swim forward, using the additional propulsion offered by a wider sweep of her tail. And then, the darkness began to have shapes. Rock formations in the walls, the curve of the tunnel on all sides. Light. There was light coming from somewhere. Seafans with waving tendrils and myriad corals began to blanket the walls again, scraping at her knuckles. Bless the Lady, the water was getting warmer. Much warmer. As the tunnel directed her up, she pushed against the wall with her free arm as well as pumped with her tail, suddenly desperate to know that what she was seeing, sensing, was true and not some odd type of mirage in t
Her features were so fine, small. He put his finger up beside the line of her nose, just to judge, and it seemed the tip of his finger would almost cap it. Her lips were a tiny bow, and despite himself, he imagined what it would be like to stretch them . . .While he knew human mythology suggested angels were above such things, that myth was not based on the warrior class of seraphim. The nourishing energy they required made carnality a vital part of their strength, one of the easiest and fastest ways to replenish their powers. Many of the humanoid races freely offered themselves, and he was all too aware that many felt they had no right to refuse an angel. While he tried not to take advantage of that, fortunately, not many had the desire to resist.But as the years had passed, there was a lack of intimacy to such couplings that bothered him in a way he didn't care to examine too closely. He'd begun to prefer recharging by going into seclusion, drawing from the elements, a slower, med
How do you know about that?"She shrugged. "I've spent time in the human world. I've studied their history.""So have I." The shadows were back in his eyes again, the dangerous set to his mouth that made him seem so formidable. But he regarded her curiously. "Won't someone be missing you? Your family? Your great-grandsire?""I don't stay in one place for long. They're used to my absences.""So no one looks after you.""I look after myself," she said with a trace of irritation. "I got you here.""Despite my command to leave me.""It wasn't a command," she protested.Isaac snorted. "It most certainly was, and you ignored it."She rose, went to the water. For a moment he thought she was going to dive, metamorphose into her other self and leave him there. Rising, he came up behind her, not yet touching her but standing just at her back. Feeling her hair brush his chest, his abdomen, he gazed down over the top of her head at the swell of her breasts, the pink tips so recently suckled. One
"What have you been doing?" Erica demanded."What do you mean?""The Dark Ones were loose and swarming about the ocean floor, seeking one of the winged ones. And it's all over you, his aura. You are fair glowing with it." Erica was already rummaging through her stores, reaching into crevices in the rock used for storage for her healing tonics and potions."He said I would be safe as long as I wasn't with him.""Idiot.""Erica," Mila gasped. "He's an angel.""And an idiot. Here, drink this quickly. It will purge you and you'll be rid of that glow. Go on or I'll pour it down your throat."Anna hesitated. "What do you mean, purge? Not . . . forget?"Erica stopped, stared at her. "No," she said at last. "It's a cleansing, not a . . .""Cleansing. How . . . Does that mean . . ." He'd said he could voluntarily withhold his seed, but what if . . .Erica peered at her. Now her gaze traveled more slowly over Mila, apparently seeing far more than auras."Mila, you lay with him.""It was necessa
"What the hell did you let her do to me?""She was trying to save your life. The Dark Ones--""She is a Dark Spawn. Damn it, I never should have trusted her. Or you, a child stupid enough to think a Dark One can be your friend. I--""She may be dead because of you, my lord." Mila thrust hard against him, but of course he didn't budge. "Because of me. Because I brought her into this. She led the Dark Ones away from us.""Perhaps that's what she wants you to think." He had no patience for her feelings right now. With disgust, he released her and managed to make it to his feet this time, though he had to fight the desire to lie back down. Because his voice was hoarse, he cleared it twice before he got the words out. "What did she do to me?""You're human." She flinched at his expression. "It's only temporary. At dusk, your true form will return. Until . . ." She bit it off and looked away. "It will return at dusk."His eyes narrowed. Gods, his head felt like someone was pounding a mallet
She'd wanted to see his face for more than that brief glimpse. Did he fear what she would see? Beauty and the Beast was one of her favorite fairy tales, because an empath could see it all. The monster beneath the flesh, no matter how beautiful the mask. The beauty of the soul, no matter the disfigurement. But she hadn't wanted to assess the balance within him. She'd needed to look into his eyes for a reason she couldn't define, but it had been all-consuming. If she'd seen the darkness in him outweighing the light, would she have clung to him anyway, because he needed her? It was a desperation that went deeper into the soul than even she'd ever delved. Down to the dark, frightening places where children screamed but no mother came, pain and fear were the air one breathed, and the earth had no magic beneath the soles of the feet."Isaac?"A warm light had spread over her skin. She raised her gaze to her father's dark eyes. Apparently when she hadn't responded right away, he'd intensifie
. How on earth did she know what brimstone smelled like?Maybe she remembered it from that time she'd ended up in the outer catacombs of Hell, looking for the caverns where her parents had first met. She'd been twelve, and fascinated by the story of how Anna had hidden Jonah there when he was hurt and being pursued by Dark Ones. Of course, Lex hadn't been thrilled to run smack into Lucifer while on her romantic quest. She'd been told in no uncertain terms she would not be swimming down into his realm again, not if she knew what was good for her. She was twenty-one now, but the memory still made her shudder.God, she loved her parents, but they had such scary friends. The Lord of the Underworld was her father's best friend, while Mila was the seawitch Mina, a creature whose name no merperson would speak aboveBut whether or not Isaac was smelling brimstone, this had to be a dream. Mainly because that part of the mind that kept things from being too frightening in dreams said so, even
His hand slid up, his thumb finding her nipple and making her moan softly. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to focus. Goddess, it was as if he hadn't sated his lust in eons. What was it about her? Rationally, he knew it could be something the witch had done. But his heart knew differently, for an angel's heart knew truth."I'm off balance, because despite all that, I'm enthralled by the way your hair lies on your shoulders, how anger flashes in your eyes like heat lightning. The flush of your cheeks, the way your nipples have hardened against that thin shirt just from my barest touch." He folded his hand around her throat and cheek, tucked her head under his chin, and let sensuality give way to comfort.When Mila let out a resigned sigh, coiled her arms around his upper body, he felt that curious relief again. "I'm angry, because in the midst of all these things, I want you. So I strike out at your desire for me, so new and clean. It's beautiful, Anna, a miraculous gift to any male
Except for that one picture. The one that said she hoped for something better.As he came back up her body and sheathed himself again, pushing them both over the edge they needed, he knew he was going to embark on this journey with her. Not because he believed the seawitch, or that the darkness in his heart needed healing, but because suddenly the most important thing was that his little mermaid knew that someone believed in her.And hellfire, he still couldn't bring himself to go back, reach out to Lucifer or the Lady. Or any of them. What would a week matter? Time was relative, when one was an angel.SHE woke alone. The thunder was shaking the house, coming close together, flashes of lightning illuminating the cottage so she could see him standing on the deck, the sliding glass door open to the driving rain. His hair was plastered to his head, his face tilted to the sky, the wings a heavy weight on his back.She didn't dress, but moved down the stairs, stood in the open door, steppe
"What the hell did you let her do to me?""She was trying to save your life. The Dark Ones--""She is a Dark Spawn. Damn it, I never should have trusted her. Or you, a child stupid enough to think a Dark One can be your friend. I--""She may be dead because of you, my lord." Mila thrust hard against him, but of course he didn't budge. "Because of me. Because I brought her into this. She led the Dark Ones away from us.""Perhaps that's what she wants you to think." He had no patience for her feelings right now. With disgust, he released her and managed to make it to his feet this time, though he had to fight the desire to lie back down. Because his voice was hoarse, he cleared it twice before he got the words out. "What did she do to me?""You're human." She flinched at his expression. "It's only temporary. At dusk, your true form will return. Until . . ." She bit it off and looked away. "It will return at dusk."His eyes narrowed. Gods, his head felt like someone was pounding a mallet
"What have you been doing?" Erica demanded."What do you mean?""The Dark Ones were loose and swarming about the ocean floor, seeking one of the winged ones. And it's all over you, his aura. You are fair glowing with it." Erica was already rummaging through her stores, reaching into crevices in the rock used for storage for her healing tonics and potions."He said I would be safe as long as I wasn't with him.""Idiot.""Erica," Mila gasped. "He's an angel.""And an idiot. Here, drink this quickly. It will purge you and you'll be rid of that glow. Go on or I'll pour it down your throat."Anna hesitated. "What do you mean, purge? Not . . . forget?"Erica stopped, stared at her. "No," she said at last. "It's a cleansing, not a . . .""Cleansing. How . . . Does that mean . . ." He'd said he could voluntarily withhold his seed, but what if . . .Erica peered at her. Now her gaze traveled more slowly over Mila, apparently seeing far more than auras."Mila, you lay with him.""It was necessa
How do you know about that?"She shrugged. "I've spent time in the human world. I've studied their history.""So have I." The shadows were back in his eyes again, the dangerous set to his mouth that made him seem so formidable. But he regarded her curiously. "Won't someone be missing you? Your family? Your great-grandsire?""I don't stay in one place for long. They're used to my absences.""So no one looks after you.""I look after myself," she said with a trace of irritation. "I got you here.""Despite my command to leave me.""It wasn't a command," she protested.Isaac snorted. "It most certainly was, and you ignored it."She rose, went to the water. For a moment he thought she was going to dive, metamorphose into her other self and leave him there. Rising, he came up behind her, not yet touching her but standing just at her back. Feeling her hair brush his chest, his abdomen, he gazed down over the top of her head at the swell of her breasts, the pink tips so recently suckled. One
Her features were so fine, small. He put his finger up beside the line of her nose, just to judge, and it seemed the tip of his finger would almost cap it. Her lips were a tiny bow, and despite himself, he imagined what it would be like to stretch them . . .While he knew human mythology suggested angels were above such things, that myth was not based on the warrior class of seraphim. The nourishing energy they required made carnality a vital part of their strength, one of the easiest and fastest ways to replenish their powers. Many of the humanoid races freely offered themselves, and he was all too aware that many felt they had no right to refuse an angel. While he tried not to take advantage of that, fortunately, not many had the desire to resist.But as the years had passed, there was a lack of intimacy to such couplings that bothered him in a way he didn't care to examine too closely. He'd begun to prefer recharging by going into seclusion, drawing from the elements, a slower, med
He would die without her. Let me die . . .No, by Neptune's Trident. She would not. And she wasn't dying here, either. This wasn't how she was going to go, damn it.When her tail encountered a flat surface, and moving water pushed against her face, telling her the tunnel had become horizontal again and was widening, she sobbed in relief. She was able to switch arms and swim forward, using the additional propulsion offered by a wider sweep of her tail. And then, the darkness began to have shapes. Rock formations in the walls, the curve of the tunnel on all sides. Light. There was light coming from somewhere. Seafans with waving tendrils and myriad corals began to blanket the walls again, scraping at her knuckles. Bless the Lady, the water was getting warmer. Much warmer. As the tunnel directed her up, she pushed against the wall with her free arm as well as pumped with her tail, suddenly desperate to know that what she was seeing, sensing, was true and not some odd type of mirage in t