Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels 1)

“Please do,” I murmured and shifted a little, allowing him to slip inside again.

He chuckled softly. “I think we are in for a very long, very delightful afternoon.”

“Only if you stop talking and get down to business,” I said, voice husky as desire began to flare again.

He did stop talking at that point.

And it was a very long, very delightful afternoon.

“Hey, sleepy-head.”

The soft voice squirreled its way into my slumber. I mumbled something unintelligible and turned away from the sound, burying my head deeper into the cloud of pillows.

“Ris,” the intruder said again. “You wanted to be woken at five.”

“It can’t be five yet,” I mumbled, and swiped lazily at the thing suddenly tickling my ear. I brushed away air. “I only just went to sleep.”

“You went to sleep at three thirty,” that all-too-cheerful voice informed me. “That was an hour and a half ago.”

I gave up on trying to hang on to sleep and opened a bleary eye, gazing up at him balefully. “You’re lying. It can’t be five already.”

His jade eyes danced with mirth, but rather than replying, he simply showed me his watch. He was right. It was five.

“Goddamn it,” I muttered, rubbing at eyes that felt gritty with sleep. “I need to sleep some more. Then eat. And shower. Maybe not in that order, either.”

He laughed and dropped a kiss onto my cheek. He smelled fresh and his hair was damp. “What about you go have a shower, and I’ll go see how the stew has fared in our absence.”

“I really haven’t got time to eat.” I pushed myself upright. My body felt languid and my mind still hummed from the afternoon of loving. It almost felt as if we were still connected in some metaphysical way, though our only contact was the press of his knee against my thigh, and even then a sheet lay between us. “They’ll kill me if I miss the party.”

“You won’t miss the party because I’ll drive you there. And you can eat in the car.”

His expression dared me to challenge the offer, but I had absolutely no intention of doing so. Being chauffeured was a far better option than trying to find a taxi at peak hour. “You just want to see where I live.”

“Too right,” he murmured as his palm cupped my cheek, holding me steady as his lips came down on mine. The kiss was passionate, hinting at hunger that had yet to be satisfied.

And I thought werewolves had stamina. This man was a goddamn machine.

“It is too bad I have an evening appointment,” he continued after a while. “Otherwise I’d be angling for an invite to the party, as well.”

“You wouldn’t have been successful, because it’s just close friends.” But it was a case of bad timing on both our parts, I thought, casually running my fingertips down his well-defined abs. Right now, I could think of nothing more pleasant than spending several more hours in bed with him.

“Given the afternoon we just shared, I dare anyone not to call us close.” He placed a hand over mine, stopping my playful progress downward. “And if you don’t move, my resolve to let you go will weaken and you’ll end up being extremely late for your friend’s party.”

I sighed regretfully, but tossed the sheet off me and rose. His gaze skimmed my body and the scent of his desire sharpened. “I’ll be in the kitchen,” he said abruptly. “Everything you need for a shower is in the bathroom.”

I watched him leave, my smile dying a little as I saw the puckered, ruined skin on his back. The remnants of what once were wings. Bastards.

I gathered my scattered clothes, then headed for the bathroom, quickly washing the scent of sex, sweat, and him from my skin before drying and getting dressed.

The smell of burned meat filled the stairwell as I headed down the stairs. He’d obviously set the heat under the pot too high. “Is the pot salvageable?” I said as I entered the kitchen.

“Yeah,” he said, dumping it upside down on a tray before pushing it into the dishwasher. “It probably only started to burn in the last hour or so. I’ll leave the fans on, and that should clear the smell out quickly enough.”

He washed his hands in the sanitizing sink, then walked toward me, catching a quick kiss before presenting me with several sandwiches on a plate. The beef inside was thicker than my thumb.

“Best I could do on short notice,” he said, sweeping his keys off the countertop. “Shall we go?”

“Yes. And thank you.”