Dust of My Wings (12 page)

Wordlessly, she did, and he shucked off her boots before running his hands up her calves and thighs until they rested at the snap of her jeans.

She leaned back on her forearms, and he unsnapped her jeans and lowered her zipper. He lifted her bottom and peeled the jeans from her body.

“My God. You’re beautiful, Lily.” His gaze traveled over her lacy white panties and matching bra. Thank God her OCD compelled her to match all the time.

His hand cupped her, and she arched off the bed.

“I think I want to taste you first to see if you taste like the strawberries I smell on your skin.”

Her pulse quickened when he lowered his body flush against hers, his shirt and jeans rubbing against her naked skin.

“I think I like having you almost naked while I’m dressed; it’s damn sexy.” He unhooked the front clasp of her bra, and her breasts fell, heavy, waiting.

She groaned as he sucked a nipple into his mouth. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

He lapped at her breast, then moved to the next. She writhed underneath him as she untucked his shirt so she could feel his skin.

He lifted off her and pinned her arms above her head. “No touching.”

“I want to feel you.”

“You will, but first I want to taste you.”

She moaned and wiggled beneath him. He gripped her hip and kissed her lips.

“I’m going to let go of your hands, but I want you to keep them there, okay?”

She nodded. She’d never done anything like this, but she liked it. A lot.

He released her, and then trailed kisses down her neck, her collarbone, her chest. He tugged at each nipple until she bucked against him but didn’t move her arms. She couldn’t. She wanted to see what he would do.

He dipped his tongue in her belly button, and she gasped. “Shade.”

“Shh, my Lily.”

His
Lily. She liked that.

He gripped the edges of her panties and pulled them down. She lifted her bottom, and he removed them.

“You’re gorgeous.” He trailed a finger in her curls, and she blushed.

He lowered his head and kissed her mound. She rocked against him but didn’t move her arms. He licked her clit, and she shot off the bed. Pleasure rocked through her as she almost came, but he pulled back just in time.

“I was right; you do taste like strawberries.” He sucked and licked her lower lips and clit, and she closed her eyes, not able to take the sight of his dark hair against her pale skin as he went down on her. She’d come right on the spot, and she didn’t want him to leave yet.

Selfish, Lily.

Just as she was about to moan for more, he entered a finger into her, and she came against his hand in shocking heat.

“Shade.”

“Look at you go, my Lily.” Shade’s voice rumbled as she came down from her high. “I’ve never seen a prettier sight than when you come. Do it again.”

He entered a second finger and sucked at her clit as she came again, hard.

When she could speak again, she opened her eyes. “Shade, please.”

He stood quickly, removed his clothes, and Lily gawked. Long, lean muscles in honeyed skin. Chiseled pecs and abs with a fine sheen of hair that she wanted to feel against her nipples. His legs were strong and muscled, and his cock…

How would that ever fit?

It was long, thick, and bulging. The mushroom top had a drop of pre-cum that begged for her lips, but she didn’t move her arms. Not yet.

“I love the way you’re looking at my cock and licking your lips.” He leaned down and lifted a condom from his jeans and slid it on himself. “One day, soon, I’m going to have that pretty mouth wrapped around me, but first, I want that pussy around me.”

She shivered with need. “Then get over here.”

“You were such a good girl and kept your hands up. I’m going to reward you for that.”

“Please.”

He lowered himself over her, his body heated against hers. His lips claimed hers, and she moaned. He positioned himself at her entrance and brushed a lock of hair from her face.

“Ready?”

“Always.”

He entered her, slowly, oh, so slowly. He filled her, and her core contracted around him.

“Oh, God, Lily, you’re so tight.” His neck strained, and she kissed him at the base of his throat.

“Let yourself go. You won’t hurt me. I trust you.”

He gave a harsh chuckle. “You have no idea how much I want to, but this first time will be slow. Let’s just get to know one another.”

When he was fully inside of her, she moaned. “We’re about as close as we can get.”

He kissed her again then pulled out before rocking back in. Her hips met each thrust until she came again, her body shuddering under his. He rolled until she was sitting on top of him, his cock buried deep within her.

“Shade, I don’t think I can come again.”

“You can, and you will, my Lily. Ride me.”

She placed her hands on his chest while he gripped her hips, and she rode. He lifted up so he went deeper than they had when she was beneath him, his cock reaching that fabled place she hadn’t known existed. Her body felt hyper-sensitive. Every time the tip of his cock hit that spot, tendrils of pleasure wrapped around her, and sped her heart.

“Lily, I’m gonna…open your eyes for me.”

She looked down at his fractured blue eyes and came, her body rolling in heat and energy, his cock twitching as he came deep within her inside the condom. The room glowed in an eerie light. She looked down at her body…

Wait. Was she glowing?

What the hell?

She fell on top of Shade’s chest and panted. What was going on? Her body ached with spent need and sleep pulled at her.

She tried to fight it, she needed to know what it was. Why did she glow? Why couldn’t she stay awake? Shade rubbed her back and she fell into the abyss, pleased beyond all recognition.

She was his, if only for the moment.

Chapter 11

Ambrose clenched his fists as he walked the long golden hallway toward Striker’s chambers. He didn’t want to be here, but he didn’t have a choice. He had lived long enough to know that choices never existed when it came to the council, something he deeply hated.

However, the events that were unfolding did not make sense to him, nor his brother-in-arms, Shade. How had the humans obtained such a large quantity of Shade’s dust? Anything over a few specks in one place was unheard of, even for Shade. It was just too coincidental for him that the council happened to find out. Not to mention the file they had on Lily. The angels only had files on humans that may be a threat to the angelic existence. Why had the council found Lily dangerous before this incident?  He didn’t like it one bit. He had to do an investigation of his own to see what he could do to protect his friend, for Shade was the only thing in his life he had anymore and he could not lose him. The business of this mysterious blue dust made no sense.

How had the council caught word of its presence? Why was one particular member so enraptured with it? Striker was a weasel of an angel and not worth the air he flew in, but he was Ambrose’s superior.

Not by power, but by choice. Ambrose had turned down the very seat the brown-winged angel sat upon, a fact that rubbed Striker the wrong way. Well, he supposed that was an upside to this.

He walked into the greeting room and bit back a snarl. The room stank of opulence. It was ornate and gaudy. How on earth could anyone live like this? It seemed to encroach into his space and suffocate him as he ventured farther into the room.

The doors opened, and the gold-robed angel walked through it. Ambrose held back the urge to roll his eyes.

Come on, get with the times and buy a pair of jeans.

Even an angel as old as he tried new things and had given up the idea of robes and the Greek system.

“Hello, Ambrose. Can I offer you a refreshing beverage?”

“No.”

Striker stood and waited for Ambrose to say more. That wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.

“Well, then. Tell me, Ambrose, why are you here?” He asked as he sat on a throne-like chair in the middle of the room.

Seriously?

“I want to discuss the origins of the dust.”

Striker scowled. “You know whom it came from. It is your friend’s.”

“Obviously, but how did the human obtain it?”

Striker threw up his hands. “How am I to know? It is Shade’s fault.”

This wasn’t going anywhere.

“How did the council come upon the knowledge it had fallen into the humans’ hands?”

Striker smiled. “Does it matter? Your
protégé
lost it. It’s his job to clean it up. It would be unwise to question the judgment of the council.”

Ambrose inwardly scoffed. Shade had done all the work to find out everything he could about Lily, to understand who she was and to do his best not to hurt her. Yet, it was looking like he might have to. Ambrose wanted to know
why
and
how
this had happened.

He didn't trust Striker.

Striker glared. “You better leave now to go help Shade, or it might be too late.”

An uneasy feeling went through Ambrose.

“This is not the end of our conversation, Striker.”

“I’m afraid it is. Leave.”

Ambrose glared but did as he was told. He would be of no help to Shade if he had to deal with the council. What was going on? Something wasn’t right, but Ambrose would find what it was, soon.

****

Shade lay beneath Lily, her warm body draped over him in sleep, his cock still half-hard deep inside her. He looked down at her and brushed the bangs from her face.

God, she was beautiful. He knew that she was attractive, but when she’d lain beneath him, urging him to take her…he’d almost lost it.

Speaking of almost losing it…his wings had almost burst from his back during sex. That had never happened before, not even with Cora. He had thrust into her, and his body had wanted to rejoice and fly. He’d had to flip them so she rode him so his wings would stay put, though the sight of her riding his cock would keep him hard for days.

What had happened when they came? He was pretty sure she’d glowed as she fell on his chest. That wasn’t normal. He hadn’t slept with a human in many years, but he was pretty sure that, when one of his kind slept with a human, the human didn’t turn into a fucking light bulb.

He snuggled closer to her, their bodies entwined in the most intimate of ways. He closed his eyes, contented and slept.

Lily’s body twitched, and Shade woke and slid his cock out of her. Before he could shift, her entire body convulsed, her spine arching. The morning sun broke through the room. He could see her body shaking.

“Lily! What’s wrong?”

She opened her eyes, and she stared off in the distance with a glassy gaze.

“Lily.”

Her body rocked in his arms, and she screamed.

His heart broke as she screamed in pain, tears leaking from her eyes.

“Oh, God, baby.”

A convulsion hit her so bad she almost fell off the bed. He maneuvered them until he lay on top of her, holding her down.

“Shh, please stop. I don’t know what’s going on, so I can’t fix it. Lily, wake up, baby.” She shuddered below him, her screams lowering to whimpers.

He lifted slightly off her as her movements subsided to dull tremors. A gold dust covered her entire body, as if it were a part of her skin. Her eyes fluttered then her body went limp beneath him.

“Lily?”

He brushed a thumb against her cheek, the gold dust coming off like his own angel dust, but her skin remained a golden hue.

Shade lifted completely off her and almost fell on his ass.

Holy. Shit.

The dust didn’t rub off—it was her skin. Her body radiated a warm energy of earth and home…as if the ‘real’ Lily had been released. She was a brownie, a fairy tale creature that lived in children’s books, not real life.

An honest-to-God brownie. How had that happened?

Everything started the click. The storm, her odd energy, the fact that he’d felt drawn to her even though it was against his assignment.

Something had happened to change her from human to a brownie.

The storm. Dammit. He and Ambrose had known something was wrong and lightning had struck
somewhere.
Whatever had happened, it had affected Lily.

The ramification of what this meant to her, her life, her world, and lastly, how it would affect him, made his mind roll. He stood and paced throughout the room.

What was he going to do? How was he going to explain what was going on with her when his whole purpose of being here was to keep all of this shit secret? He was falling in love with this woman, he couldn’t just let her fend for herself. She was his—if only for the moment. He’d help her. He had to help her deal with what was to come. This was going to change everything she’d ever known. Her entire genetic makeup had been forever altered, or at least the dormant supernatural DNA had been triggered to react.

Oh, and he’d just had the best sex of his life.

Lily stirred, and Shade went to her. “Lily.”

Her eyes fluttered open. “Shade? What happened?” Her voice was hoarse, strained. She rubbed her hand across her face and froze. “Oh, my God.”

“Lily, it’ll be okay.” He grabbed her other hand and sat next to her.

“What do you mean? What’s going on with me? I’m gold! Oh, God. I’m a mutant!” She wiggled from his hold, her breasts bouncing against his arm.

This is not the time to get a hard-on, Shade.

“I know you’re gold, but it’ll be fine.”

“Fine? Fine! Is that all you can say? What the hell is wrong with me?” Her body pulsated with energy, and he held her closer.

“Lily, there is nothing wrong with you. You’re a brownie.”

Oh, good; just blurt it out because that will solve things.

“A brownie? What ’s a brownie?” She bit her lip as her eyes fluttered, her mind working over time. She shook her head. “No, I don’t care. Those don’t exist. I’m sick. You’re crazy, Shade.”