I awoke later to a warm heartbeat. My upper body was sprawled across Rhys' chest. My head over his heart and his hand wound through my curls. My right leg was thrown over his legs, so I was pressed intimately against his hip. His other arm was around my waist. He breathed deeply and evenly in his sleep. I looked up at his face, his chiseled jaw relaxed, his lips slightly pouted. His angular nose had a bump where it may have been broken in the past. His smooth, tan features were less harsh in repose.
My eyes widened when I looked up to see dark feathers enveloping us. We were cradled beneath his expansive wings. I wiggled a little, trying to extract myself from his arms. He growled and burrowed his face in my neck, gently resting his fangs against my skin to pin me in place. Both of his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me flush against him.
"No. Stay." He patted my head, yawned and closed his eyes again. His grip was like a vice. I laughed softly, brushed his hair away from his forehead, and placed a kiss on it. I pulled myself from his arms with a bit of a struggle and peeked out from beneath his wings. The moon had risen through the large bay window, illuminating the night sky. The alarm clock next to the bed read 8:25 P.M. We had slept the entire day!
As I exited the cocoon of his wings, the frigid air swept past me. I placed the pads of my feet on the wooden floor, which creaked as I padded to the window. I stared out at the city, the full moon, the people passing below. The flicker of the streetlamps. Warm arms enveloped me, and a soft kiss brushed the side of my neck.
"What are you thinking?" He whispered in my ear, trailing soft kisses down my collarbone.
"I was thinking how fast life can change. How many things I don't know about myself, or what I'm capable of. It feels like I'm drowning, but I haven't figured out how to swim." I turned my head and looked into his ruby eyes. He softly kissed the tip of my nose and wrapped his fingers loosely around my neck, so his thumb brushed against my pulse.
"What is happening to me?" I whispered. Tears threatening. He tilted my head to the side and nibbled my neck. I leaned against his chest, my body shaking.
"Sometimes we have to stop struggling against the current. We must let go of swimming and control, and float. We called to each other." His hands were hot on my bare hips, his right hand ran up the planes of my soft stomach, his left hand stroked my hair and gripped it tightly. I gasped, and was forced to stare at him, my hands rested over his heart.
"You believe we were fated?" I asked, unable to keep from staring at his plump lips. I licked my own in response. His eyes darkened. His head burrowed into the crook of my neck and he inhaled deeply. I shuddered against him and held still; prey trapped by the predator.
"I have given my life for Samael," He began. I paused at mention of my father. "I fell from Heaven, I became host to a demon lord, cursed with an insatiable hunger and yearning that could never be satisfied. I was given you to guard, I watched you grow. The memories are wiped, but I taught you to fight, to protect yourself. I grew to love you for the light in the world that you are. I felt the calling, and I ignored it for centuries. My demon was slowly driven further into the abyss of insanity with every year that we were forced to be alone. Unable to sate the curse of our needs, unable to feed. As once the calling is felt, there is no retreating. The only solace that I have had, the glimmer of hope in my dreadful existence, was the idea that maybe one day, you would see me. One day, I would at least have the chance to know you not from the shadows. Suddenly, you were there. You saw me. And maybe, for once, fuck the world, I'm going to take something for myself." His story spilled out.
As he finished, he pulled my hair aside and bit down on my mark.
"But I don't know if I'm ready for all of this." I whispered. I shivered as his hot breath was against my ear.
Soft kisses feathered along my back and the back of my neck. I sighed contentedly. He turned me over and pulled me against his chest, so my head rested on his shoulder, his arms came around me, and one hand brushed my hair from my face.
As I lie in his arms, I realized how energized I was. I could taste the strong essence of lust in the air, it poured from his pores. My body buzzed, and my heart beat rapidly. His energy had fed me.
"You're thinking again." He chuckled, and stared down at me, his face relaxed. I smiled softly.
"It's in my nature to question things. I'm just thinking about what comes next. What this all means." I gesture at the air around us. He twirls a lock of my hair around his fingers. He smiles softly, I feel like there is a spark of sorrow behind his eyes.
"I'll wait for you. As for what's next? We need to make our way into Hell."
I awoke a few hours later to an incessant thudding at the door. Bang. Bang. Bang. I looked up to see Rhys sprawled on the other half of my queen-size mattress, beginning to stir. I jumped up and made my way out of the bedroom to the door. I pulled it open cautiously to reveal a figure I certainly didn't expect to see at my apartment in the wee hours of the morning.
"Tate? What are you doing here?" I questioned, raising a brow. Tate slammed my door open and pushed his way in. His shoulders were hunched, his lips curled back in a snarl, his body vibrated with growls. He sniffed the air around me.
"Has he harmed you? Where is he?" His eyes searched around the apartment, darting to the bedroom door. His muscles strained taught the fabric of his shirt. His breath came fast, and his brown locks bounced around his face. He stormed toward the bedroom door, I ran to intercept his path and stopped in front of him and stared up at his tall frame. I stared straight into his icy blue eyes and placed my hands on my hips.
"Woah there! I think you need to explain what you're doing here, Tate. If I'm with anyone, they're none of your concern." I placed my hands on his chest to hold him back, and an attempt to soothe him. His pupils were slits, his teeth sharpened into canines. Claws protruded from his large hands. Tate stared down at me.
"I'd listen to her, Pup. Put your claws away before you get hurt." A voice came from the other side of the room, where Rhys was casually lounging against the doorway of my bedroom. He swaggered forward, crossing his arms over his chest. He glared at my hands-on Tate's chest. "Why are you here, Tate?"
"Why are you surprised I was sent to clean up another of your messes." Tate spat. He placed his hand over mine on his chest, almost unconsciously. He looked back and forth between Rhys and I and frowned. Growling, he stepped toward Rhys and away from me.
" Do you know what you have done?" He exclaims and pushes his finger into Rhys chest. Rhys narrows his eyes but does not move. He glances up at me, then back to Tate.
"You know why I did it. Why I couldn't let it happen!" Rhys ranted, waving his arms in frustration.