Rebel Angel: A Sainted Sinners Novel (15 page)

Aurora shivered, then turned toward him. She gave him a sleepy smile, her blue eyes reflecting something close to sheepishness.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“You’re here,” he said.

Her lips twitched. “I’m here.”

It was enough for him. Ezra pulled her close, giving her a long, slow kiss. Aurora slid her arms around his neck and pressed herself flush against him, making him groan. She was so soft and warm, her honeysuckle scent driving him wild. He rolled onto his back, bringing Aurora with him so that she straddled his hips, her breasts brushing his chest as they kissed.

He gripped her hips, cupped her breasts through the filmy lingerie she wore. Aurora broke the kiss to nibble his earlobe, nip at his neck, making him buck and grind up against her.

She gasped and rocked against him, crying out when he pinched one of her nipples.

“I want to be inside you,” he gritted out.

“I…” she said, distracted and out of breath. “I should shower first…”

Ezra growled and rolled her over, pressing the weight of his body down on hers. He kissed her lips, her collarbone, her breast. Leaning on one arm, he slid his hand between them, boldly caressing her through her panties.

“I… I…” she stuttered, going tense.

The depth of her need hit him suddenly. She wanted him, needed him to give her pleasure. If she insisted on a shower first, it must be important.

“So be it,” he said, rising and leaving her.

He went to the bathroom and turned the shower on full blast, then returned to her. Aurora was propped up on her elbows, staring at him with obvious hunger as he knelt beside her on the bed.

“You’ll wait?” she asked, uncertain.

“Not a chance,” he said, giving her a smirk that made her brows rise.

Ezra was nearly out of his mind with his need for her now. He pulled her from the bed, stripping her down, taking his time.

Appreciating every incredible curve, noting the way she shivered as his fingertips trailed over her bare skin. He wanted to know which spots made her moan, which made her gasp and writhe with hunger.

He guided her to the bathroom, scooping her up and carrying her into shower. Ezra had to force himself to set her down and pull away from her to adjust all the shower heads to point into one corner. When he was done, he backed Aurora into that corner.

Not touching her yet, just enjoying the play of the water on her magnificent body. The swell of each plump breast, the flare of her hips, the scant copper hair at the juncture of her thighs.

She was natural, which turned him on in ways he didn’t understand. She was killing him, every last detail of her so perfectly suited to his tastes, it was almost as if they were…

Destined
, he finished, but pushed it from his mind.

Right now, there was only Aurora. He needed to touch her, taste her.

Ezra couldn’t help but reach down to stroke himself as he drank in the sight of Aurora, her breath coming in pants as she waited for him to make the next move. Water flowed off her perfect curves, gleaming wickedly.

Ezra waited, wanting to see the same desperate hunger he felt in her eyes.

She watched him boldly, her eyes traveling down to his chest, his abs, then to his growing arousal.

He could tell that Aurora knew just what she wanted, but he wasn’t ready to give it to her yet. He wanted to tease her with his fingers and tongue until she was on fire for him, to wring every drop of pleasure his mouth could produce until she commanded him.

His avenging redheaded goddess would never plead, not for anything in the world. She would order him to give her what she wanted, and he would fulfill her every wish.

Ezra moved forward until his body was only inches from Aurora’s, watching her chest rise and fall. She squirmed under his gaze, more than ready for his touch.

Reaching out, Ezra brushed his fingertips just under her jaw, then dropped his hand to caress the sweet curve of her hip.

Aurora watched with wide eyes as he trailed his caress upward over her ribcage. Slowly, ever so slowly, he brushed his touch over the the curve of one breast.

Aurora bit her lip and leaned against the wall, watching Ezra with heavy-lidded eyes the color of an afternoon storm. Watching her teeth knead her bottom lip had Ezra’s imagination running wild, thinking of where he’d like those lips to be next.

When he brushed his fingertips up to her hardened nipple, she opened her mouth just enough to let out the first little oh of pleasure.

“Damn,” he murmured. “I love it when you make that sound.”

Ezra couldn’t help but move closer, he had to run his hands over every inch of her satiny skin. Aurora stretched up on her toes like a cat asking for a scratch, and Ezra slanted his mouth over hers in response.

He felt Aurora’s small hands at his waist, exploring his hips and then his lower back, urging him on. Ezra gave a low growl and she shivered, moaning into his mouth. His female woman was asking for more, and more she would get.

Breaking their kiss, Ezra slid his hand under her jaw again and gently tilted her head back to expose the slender white column of her throat. He trailed kisses down the soft skin he found there, tasting and teasing. She obliged him by making a series of breathy gasps and writhing under his touch. Smiling, Ezra nipped her neck and shoulder a few times, interspersing the love marks with simple kisses.

Shifting his hands once more to her ribcage, Ezra cupped the fullness of her breasts in a slow movement. When Aurora shivered and moaned in answer, Ezra ran his large, calloused thumbs over both her nipples. He could feel Aurora’s touch growing bolder, her hands clutching at his thighs and hips in search of yet more. She knew what she wanted, but Ezra still had a surprise in mind.

Ezra slid to his knees, giving Aurora a devilish grin. She wrinkled her nose at him, but he just smirked and pushed her flush against the cool tile wall. Ezra ran his hands down her stomach to her hips and leaned in to dip his tongue into her navel. She giggled, impertinent, and Ezra nipped her hip bone. Before she finished making one of those sexy noises of hers, Ezra’s hands were sliding down the outside of her thighs to the knee. He slid his hands back up her inner thighs as she shifted.

“What are you—” Aurora started to protest, but Ezra just leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her mound. She froze for a second, and Ezra took the opportunity to nuzzle her soft curls, his hands shaping her inner thighs. His thumbs gently parted her flesh, and he rubbed the tip of his nose against her softness, testing.

“Oh— oh,” Aurora breathed, wobbling at the unexpected sensation. Ezra chuckled, and removed his nose. Ignoring the shower’s spray, he kissed her once more and then explored her sweetness with his deft tongue. Aurora’s hands dug into his wet hair, which only made him more excited.

Her taste was already killing him, after only a few seconds. She was like hot, honeyed apples, crisp and clean and deadly to his senses. The way her hesitance melted away, the way she pressed her hips forward against his lips, made him wonder if he could cum just from tasting her perfect pussy.

He tongued her clitoris in gentle licks, eliciting a guttural moan. He experimented with a combination of licks, nuzzles, and rolls, trying to find what she liked best. Already her thighs and innermost muscles were clenching, close to release. Ezra waited until she was mindless with need, then sucked gently on her most sensitive spot.

He groaned into her heated flesh, the taste of her making his body tense, his balls aching. He lapped up every bit that she offered, and still he needed more.

Aurora flew over the edge, crying out her pleasure as her shaky legs collapsed. Ezra reached out and caught her before she hit the ground, amused that Aurora’s eyes had just rolled up into her head. He knew what he was doing, sure, but he’d never actually made a woman faint before. He hadn’t really even had time to use some of his more advanced maneuvers.

Still hard as a rock, he cradled her against his body and stepped from the shower. Her eyes fluttered open as he set her down and wrapped her in a towel, and she gave him an adoring smile.

“Are you okay?” he teased, drying her off with another towel before giving himself the same treatment. His movements drew her gaze downward to his fully primed manhood, and she flushed prettily.

“We’re not finished yet, are we?” she asked, her gaze lifting back to his face. Ezra couldn’t help but grin and shake his head, awed by his female.

“Not by a long shot, kitten.”

Her squawk of protest at the nickname was muffled as he swept her up and carried her to the bedroom. Dropping her on the bed, he tossed all their towels to the floor. As he settled next to her, she leaned up and caught his mouth in a demanding kiss. Those hands of hers were roaming again, this time successful in seeking out his cock.

Ezra groaned and looked down, rapt. He watched Aurora run her fingers over the velvety skin of his cock, slipping below to explore his sack before taking him in her fist. Her hand was small enough that it couldn’t encircle his thick girth, which didn’t bother Ezra one bit. She slid her hand up his length, smiling when he growled and thrust against her. Biting her lip, she gave him a nervous look before slipping down to the end of the bed.

Ezra tensed as he realized her intention, preparing to stop her. He wanted to fuck her properly, but that mouth would surely ruin his plans.

Intentions be damned, all thought flew out the window the moment her hot little tongue touched the thick head of his dick, sampling. Ezra let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush, but sweet Aurora didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. Instead she slid her soft lips around the tip of his cock, running her tongue around, experimenting.

And that quickly, Ezra had to pull himself away.

“I’m not finished!” she protested, pouting.

“Well I’m about to be if you don’t stop,” he scolded, pulling her back up to him.

Aurora leaned in and kissed him. He ran a hand down her flank to her inner thigh, seeking. She made another oh sound as he rolled her onto her back. He sought the center of her heat again, only to find her hot, wet, and more than ready. He rolled to center his body over hers, and she parted her legs for him. Settling himself against her core, Ezra had to bite his lip when she wrapped her legs around him.

Using one hand, he guided himself to her opening but didn’t press in just yet. Ezra wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt her by moving too fast. In slow, painstaking movements, he used all-too-short thrusts to work himself into her dampness.

Aurora, of course, had her own ideas. While he was busy restraining himself from pounding her until she screamed, she got tired of waiting. Using more muscle than he’d known she had, she flexed her thighs hard and pulled him all the way down in one rough stroke. They both cried out, and Ezra looked at her to make sure she was unharmed. Wrinkling her nose, she smacked him on the arm.

“More,” she ordered. Ezra’s humorous snort of response was lost as he withdrew and plunged back in to the hilt, leaving her breathless with pleasure.

He set a faster rhythm than he’d planned, realizing that neither of them would last very long like this. Aurora moved under him, relentless, meeting each stroke as he pounded against her. Fissions of pleasure shot through his body, pooling heavily in his groin. When he started to feel Aurora’s innermost muscles clench, he grabbed both her knees and pressed them back toward her body to give himself access to her G spot.

He could feel the spongy spot of her inner lining, and guided each stroke to rub against it. In moments she was shaking like crazy, every muscle coiled on the verge of release. He stopped holding back his own orgasm, and was immediately on the brink. When Aurora cried out, half-sobbing his name, her sweet body clenching and milking his cock, a flood of pleasure washed through Ezra. The release barreled through his body and mind, so intense that for several heartbeats he was blind to everything around him, deaf to his own shouts of pleasure.

Collapsing next to Aurora, he pulled her closer and gasped for breath. Feeling her delicate heartbeat against his own, he closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the sweetness of the moment.

A
urora lay
in Ezra’s arms, catching her breath, the early morning sun filtering in the window. He was quiet, his eyes closed as he ran his fingers through her hair. She watched him for a long time, wondering what was going through his mind.

It would be unfair to ask him, though, as she barely knew her own mind at the moment.

She was basking in the feeling of rightness, the happy post-coital glow. Still, a small part of her couldn’t stop thinking of the next night, wondering at Ezra’s unconditional support.

He was going to walk into danger for her. Risk his life on what he’d termed a suicide mission, for what?

Because she wanted it? Because they shared a connection? Because they were kindred spirits?

Or was it more than that?

She turned on her side to face him, and Ezra opened his eyes. His stunning jungle green gaze took her breath away, just as it had the very first time she laid eyes on him.

“What happens if… if we don’t die tomorrow?” she asked.

Ezra’s mouth creased into a frown. “What are you asking?”

“I just mean… we’ve been so focused on me, my plans, my needs. What’s next for you?” she asked.

His eyes closed again, briefly. “I’m not sure.”

She absorbed that, biting her lip. When he spoke again, his words surprised her.

“Armeros offered me a trade,” he said.

Aurora stared at him. “What?”

“He offered me a chance to return to neutral, to strike the Fall from my record.”

“In exchange for what? Killing me?” she asked, pulling back from him a few inches.

“Don’t,” Ezra said, his mouth thinning. “For love of all that’s holy, don’t push me away.”

“What am I supposed to do, Ezra?” she asked.

“Appreciate my honesty, maybe,” he said.

Aurora sucked in a breath. He had her there.

“The point I was trying to make,” Ezra continued, “is that I might find that offer elsewhere.”

“Le Medcin, you mean?” Aurora asked.

“Exactly.”

“And what would that mean? Would you leave?”

Ezra’s expression was unfathomable. “I don’t know. Nothing is decided.”

“Right,” she said. “Right.”

She started to roll over, but Ezra stopped her.

“Aurora, you have to know…” he said, clearly struggling to find the words. “I care for you. More than care for you.”

For a second, she thought he would come right out and say he loved her, but he did not. Her lips parted, but no words formed.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he said, shaking his head. “I know that this is all so fast, too fast for you. I just… I don’t want to walk into the battle tonight without having made myself clear.”

Aurora had to work not to wince. “You sound so certain about me.”

“I am. I have no doubts about the way I feel.”

“How can you ever know something like that?” she asked.

Ezra flinched, releasing her from his grasp. “I just know.”

“But… how?” she asked, pleading now.

He took a deep breath, rolling onto his back to look up at the ceiling.

“All my life, I’ve only ever done anything in the name of service. Duty, honor, loyalty. With you, I still feel all those things… but they don’t define me. I look at you, and I just feel… lighter. I feel like I’ve been a stone statue all my life, but suddenly now I can move, I’m free.”

He turned to look at her finally, searing her with that emerald gaze. “I’m alive, Aurora. You do that to me. And now that I’ve felt it, I don’t want to go back to the way things were before.”

She had no response. A thousand things stacked up in her mind, questions and thoughts and brief, sharp flares of emotion. But none of them came out. They were all stuck somewhere deep in her heart, unable to surface.

He looked away again, and she could tell that Ezra was hurting.

“No matter what, I won’t go back,” he said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He glanced at her one last time, then shook his head. “Get some sleep, Aurora.”

Ezra settled back, folding his hands across his chest, and closed his eyes. The slow, steady sound of his breathing shut down any further debate on her part. Aurora turned onto her back, feeling unsettled.

The harder she worked to untangle the knots of her relationship with Ezra, the more impossibly tangled it seemed to become.

Is it supposed to feel like this? Aurora wondered, closing her eyes and letting her mind wander. I feel as though I’m being pulled in a thousand directions.

Ezra was a safe port in the storm that was her life, but was that enough? If Aurora stopped running, would
she
be enough to keep him anchored?

Drifting off, she lost the thread of her thought, dreaming instead of restless seas and capsized boats.