Steal Me From Heaven (34 page)

“Did you know that opening a portal from the outside would keep it open for three days and nights and would allow Lilith and her Demons to cross over in the night anytime they wished?”

I gasp. “No.”

“Did your Demon helper know?” Jacob asks.

“I will not reveal him to you.”

Ashley speaks. “It was me. I did not know. I am a new Demon. I did not know if my knowledge would even get her in and back out.”

Jacob doesn’t attack him like I thought he would if he found out this information. “I am not mad that you helped her. I am furious that the two of you did this behind my back.”

“You shouldn’t have tried to follow in after me. I could not have brought the both of you back,” I say.

“Well, I could only hope that you would choose me.” I see Malachi shift in his chair. “I lost my arm trying to pull you back through the portal.”

“I see that you found it again.” I am not going to listen to him berate me.

He huffs. “Malachi, did you tell Lilith what she wanted to know?”

“Yes,” he says.

Jacob places his hands palm down on the table and leans over it. “And she wanted to know where Charles’ bones were located. I am safe to guess that she used Marion to get the answers from you.”

“Yes,” he repeats.

“Did you tell her a single location before Marion got there?”

“No.”

“What was your torture?” Jacob asks.

“Each man is different. You should know. I prefer not to speak of it,” Malachi says.

“Very well. I do know.”

“Marion, tell us, how did you escape?”

“I was able to move the earth to create a tunnel, and Malachi flew us out of there until his light gave out, and he started to burn. Then I flew us the rest of the way to the water. That is when you pulled us out.”

Jacob thinks for a moment. “Were you not in chains?”

“No. We were not.”

“Why would she unchain you? I certainly do not believe that she would be so arrogant as to untie Malachi.”

“Could we speak of this in private?” I ask. “It is personal to me as well as you.”

I hear people grumbling around us. Malachi is on the edge of his seat, probably ready to defend himself if necessary.

“People wish to hear how two souls could escape from Lilith’s prison. Why did she untie each of you?”

“She wanted to reward Malachi for telling him all of the locations.” I hesitate before looking at Jacob, who is back resting his hands on the table, listening to my every word.

“What was the reward for betraying all of mankind?” Jacob asks.

“Me,” I say.

“What?” he asks. He is going to make me say it out loud.

“Lilith wanted to see two Angels make love.” I look at Jacob to see his response. His eyes lift off the table, and he stares at me.

“I guess you were rewarded as well.” Jacob slams his fists into the table, causing a crack.

“We escaped. Malachi drank the blood from my wounds to heal himself, and then we busted through the earth when she was distracted. He flew us out while my Vampire blood healed my body.” I am about to tell him that we didn’t have sex but he interrupts me.

“Perhaps it is best if we speak in private from this point forward. Lilith can now raise Charles from the dead.” When people start to leave, Malachi comes to the front of the table.

“I need to speak to you about Charles,” he says.

“Maybe when I am done repairing the damage you have caused to my marriage, I can find time for you.” Jacob turns his attention to me. “It’s time for that drink now,” he says.

“She speaks the truth to you. You should not drink her blood. I touched her, I caressed her, I had my mouth on her flesh, and she cried out my name once more, but she is still your bride. I would not dishonor her vows to you.” Jacob does not punch him for his brave words.

“The reasons for her blood have nothing to do with you. I have to hear if she is in trouble tonight. My first obligation is to the safety of my wife. If she wants me to see what happened in Hell, she will offer it to me. I will not take it.”

Malachi bows his head slightly. “Lilith knows all the locations except for one. She cannot get to the last location as long as I am alive.”

“You lied?” I question.

“No, she just didn’t ask the right question. She asked if there was anywhere on Earth that I didn’t tell her where I buried one of his bones, but I wasn’t on earth at the time.”

“You have a bone inside you,” I say as I marvel in his genius.

“Yes, but no one else must know. The two of you will not break to her. Others will. If I should fall, you must dig the bone out. It is the hyoid bone, and it lies along my sternum. Promise me you will bury it inside your body if I can no longer protect it from her.” Jacob and I both nod.

Malachi leaves and Jacob and I wait a few minutes before going upstairs. Our bedroom is finished with all of its renovations as well as the décor from the interior designer. I take in the beauty of the room. “You got a new bed,” I remark as I walk over to it and run my fingers along the expensive covers.

“The old one just didn’t feel right anymore,” he comments. I remember my hysteria over someone else being in my bed with Jacob when I was deceased. He did this for me even though I no longer feel the need to be upset.

“Thank you,” I say. “It wasn’t necessary.”

“I only want to share my bed with you for however long of eternity we are fortunate to share.” He runs his hands over my shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“Why? I made you tell me even though you wanted privacy. I should have listened to you. I am sorry that you had to go through that with her watching. At least you didn’t have to follow through on it. Lilith never stopped with me. At least Malachi did.”

“It was difficult for him. She kept stabbing me with his daggers until he spoke. Then she offered my body to Arthur and was going to make Malachi watch.”

Jacob growls, “Arthur was there?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Did he touch you?”

“Some. Lilith stopped him when she thought of her plan to force you to kill us when she proved to the committee that Malachi and I were having an affair.”

“That was her plan?” he asks.

“Yes. I guess I didn’t get a chance to tell you.”

“I would never order your death. You must know that. No matter what you do, I would never harm you.” He kisses me as I start to cry. I was so sure that Lilith was telling the truth and that Jacob would kill himself like he almost did before when he thought he lost me.

“Would you like that drink now?” I ask as I lean my head up for him.

“Yes, but I would prefer the femoral artery in your thigh.” Hunger flashes in his eyes, and I know that he is after more than my blood.

I start to undress. “You know, I prefer several locations all over my body,” I say as I lie down on the bed and slide off my jeans. I do not realize when I take off my bra that my body does not have enough blood in it to heal my skin and that he will see Malachi’s mark on my breast.

Jacob’s breathing increases, and I know that he is holding in his anger. “He dares to mark you, to drink from my wife. I will kill him myself.” I start to back up on the bed. “Where are you going? Are you afraid of me?”

“No,” I say.

“Maybe you should be. I will have that drink now and you will let me know everything that happened with him.”

“I told you what she made us do.”

“I’m not talking about Lilith. You let him drink from your breast, and you were not in Hell when you did.”

“Jacob. Stop. You cannot do this to me.”

“I told you that I would not share you again,” he says before he bites my neck.

Jacob stops drinking and lifts me up against the headboard. He leaves my panties on but bites my thigh, drinking in more of my blood. I do not feel him in my mind this time. I am mad at him. When he reaches for my flesh, I zap him with my protective light. I hear his voice start to vibrate in his throat. Feeling him about to growl, I beat him to it. I have never growled at him. My teeth clinch together and my heart starts pounding out of my chest. My vocal cords snap sharply together as they rub back and forth. He is taken aback and looks at me as my voice rattles the windows in the room.

I get off of the bed and go into the bathroom. Taking a washrag, I clean my leg and throat. He follows me in there. “You crossed a line just now.”

“And you didn’t?”

“Yes, I did. He felt good in my arms once again. I did not resist him touching me again when we were flying out there this morning. I told you that I was confused. When I came to my senses, I fought him off. I got a broken shoulder to prove it.”

“He broke your arm?” he asks while tensing his jaw.

“It was an accident. He was chasing me, and we collided. Why do you have to be so angry all the time over small incidents that do not matter to the whole equation?”

“You do not think that you matter to me?” he says.

“I do not know what you care about—ego, pride, strength, winning? You won me already. Stop fighting me or him.”

“You go back and forth. You are so confused so how do you think I feel knowing that you are everything to me and yet I am this close to losing you? I fight for you every day. I think that you will go to his bed at any moment. I had countless nightmares about you and him. Even now, you throw it in my face. “

“You made me go to him. We could have run from the committee. We’ve lived in hiding before from Arthur. I cannot keep telling you every day how much I love you, how much I want you, or even how much I need you. We can leave this place after this is over. It can be that way again. If I am not here, Jessica will have a better chance at bonding with him. He will soon forget me. You have to believe in our love.”

“He will never forget you. Can you forget about him?” he asks me.

I pause to consider his question. “If I am not around him, then yes, in time. I thought when he released me from his bond that I would be able to love him less, but I have to be physically away from him to disconnect emotionally. I’m sorry, but that is the truth.”

“I have something to tell you. I do not know how you will react, but I bought our home back in England. Well, not really our home anymore, but the land and the house that is on it. They will be moved out in a couple of months. If you do not like to live there, then I will understand.”

I turn to look at him. “I do not wish to fight with you when everything else is going on. I wanted to spend today in your arms and not at each other’s throats. Your gift is thoughtful but you are right to assume that you do not know how I would feel. I do not know myself. We can go visit together and decide from there.”

“Will you drink my blood now?” he asks.

“When I am ready,” I say. I walk into the closet and dress.

“Where are you going? You need to rest.”

“I will be back soon. I need to talk to Jessica,” I say. He does not try to stop me from leaving. We still have much to talk about. Hopefully he will get some rest, but I do not think I will be gone for long.

When I approach Jessica’s room, her door is slightly ajar. I push to make the opening wider. There stands Jessica with Malachi behind her. Her shirt is pushed down off her shoulders and his hands are holding her arms. He is drinking her blood. I feel like I just walked in on them having sex. I turn to leave so not to interrupt but Malachi looks up and catches my eyes. I try to wave him off to never mind my presence, but he stops drinking and lifts his mouth off of her neck. A drop of crimson runs down her throat. I lick my lip involuntarily. I realize just how much I need to drink.

“What’s wrong?” Malachi asks.

“Nothing,” I say. “The door was open. I shouldn’t have come in. Please don’t let me stop what you were doing.” I leave and hear Jessica calling after Malachi. He is following me. I am turned around by his hand on my arm.

“Don’t tell me that nothing is wrong. I know otherwise.”

“Jacob and I had a fight,” I admit.

“So you come running to me. It is not my concern,” he says.

“I didn’t come looking for you. I wanted to talk to Jessica. You are just as much to blame for our fight as I am. He saw your mark on me and knows that you drank my blood.”

“I thought you would heal before he undressed you, but I guess he just couldn’t wait.”

“He shouldn’t have to wait. It should never have happened and it never will again.”

“I can’t promise you that I can keep from touching you. You are too important to me to just give up. One day you will come to me again.”

“No, you are wrong. Jacob and I are leaving for England after the fight is finished. I need to distance myself from you. You will learn to love Jessica. She is a good fit for you. You both have lost your true mates. Find your comfort there.”

“I told you that I would leave if it is necessary. You shouldn’t have to run from me,” he says to me as I see Rebecca coming out of her room and heading to the dining hall.

“I have to go,” I say as I turn to catch her.