The Fall (15 page)

Archer smiled. “Addison, for once, Chance is right. That was the hottest fucking thing I have ever seen,” he said, heat in his eyes.

Addison smiled slowly before sobering. “You are mine. I don’t like anyone else touching you,” she said, stepping between his legs. Archer ran his hands down her spine and rubbed her lower back. She moved into his touch.

“You don’t need to prove it. I am yours. But if you want to mark your territory, you should do it now while we have an audience,” Archer said, grinning.

Addison looked around and realised that a group of people had been watching the exchange with nosy interest.

She blushed and said, “Well, I’ve already gone this far. If I get fired you will have to take care of me.” She wrapped one hand in his short hair and pulled his head back so that he was looking up into her face, still seated in front of her. She licked her lips before closing them around his, sending cheers around them. She drew back with a smile, but Archer pulled her close to him, kissing her harder, feeling happier than he had ever been in his life.

***

Chapter 18

Addison had a long hot shower before getting ready. Jake was having a gathering tonight at the apartment, and there were a few people coming over. Luckily the apartment was huge and had a gorgeous balcony. It was the perfect place to host guests. Addison put on her favourite little black dress. It wasn’t too short, but it was tight fitting and V-neck, and it had two cut-out parts on either side, revealing a small expanse of her stomach. Her curls were behaving themselves for once, so she left her hair down. Her trademark kohl-rimmed eyes and nude lips topped off her ensemble.

Archer walked in and made sounds of approval. “Addy, you look delicious.”

Addison laughed. Archer bent down and slipped her feet into her black pumps. Addison sighed as he kissed her thigh once before getting up and taking her hand to lead her out into the kitchen.

Jake was standing next to the cabinet pulling out various bottles of alcohol.

“Just what kind of party is this, Jake?” Addison mused. “How many girls did you invite?”

Archer chuckled. “Jake doesn’t bring girls to the house. He used to, but then the girls just kept randomly showing up.” Jake looked as though he had fought a shiver at the thought of one-night stands reappearing. The front door opened, and Addison could hear Levi’s laughter. The twins walked in, and the brothers all said their greetings. Levi saw Addison and lifted her up in a bear hug. Addison grinned and kissed him on the cheek.

Archer growled. “Levi, if you value your life, you’ll put my woman down.”

Levi chuckled, and then added, “But she’s the only female here.”

Addison rolled her eyes and elbowed him. “Not so smooth, Levi.”

Jeremiah lifted his hand in a little wave, hiding behind his hair.
He is so endearing
, Addison thought. “Hi Jeremiah. It’s lovely to see you again.”

Chance arrived and then some scary but hotter-than-hell guy named Quinn. Addison noticed that his eyes changed colours like a kaleidoscope. At first they seemed blue, but then traces of green and purple appeared. They were mesmerizing, like he could see right through you. Quinn looked like a biker; dressed in leather, his sandy-blond hair to his shoulders. Archer had invited Lazarus and Kitty, too, but they couldn’t make it. Those two were really surprising her; they seemed to be getting along like a house on fire. Lazarus didn’t seem like the type to have friends. Archer had gone to check on her under Addison’s orders and saw that Kitty had set herself up comfortably in Lazarus’s home, seemingly without any intention to move. The shocker was that Lazarus didn’t seem to care.

Addison loved watching Archer with his family; they were all so loving and comfortable with each other, teasing each other good-naturedly, everyone so accepting. There was no jealousy, no competition. It was a wonderful atmosphere to be around. Knowing the truth, that these were all Archer’s Nephilim brethren, Addison realised how unhuman these guys were. They moved with unnatural grace, like predators, and their beauty was otherworldly.

Chance told everyone about Addison’s run-in with Kate. Even Jeremiah smiled, while Levi exclaimed that he “needs one of these females.” Addison chose to take it as a compliment, especially when Archer threatened to throw Levi off the roof if he spoke about her like that again.

“So, Addy, reckon you’re gonna run scared from all us Nephilim?” Levi asked with a wide grin.

“Please,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You guys don’t scare me.” It was true; they didn’t. She could definitely see how dangerous they were, but Addison couldn’t help but feel safe and protected around these men.

“Hmm,” Levi said pensively. “Maybe I need to work harder on my scare tactics.”

"I'm just happy that Archer finally let her in on the secret," Jake cut in. "Though it was amusing getting her to open jars for me."

Addison gave him a death stare. "Yeah, thanks for that, Jake."

He grinned at her, unrepentant. "No problem, doll."

She looked around at the boys, she was grinning widely. "So, what powers do you guys have?"

Levi was the first to answer. "Jeremiah and I are also sons of Samyaza." Seeing Addison's expression as she looked from him to Archer, he explained, "We have a different mother than Archer and Jake. We're Samyaza's youngest children, as far as we know."

"Oh, okay," Addison said. "Go on."

"We can make those force-fields as well, but not quite as strong. I'm also telekinetic, and Jeremiah can manipulate and control plants. Yeah, kinda useless now, in the Western world, but it was handy back in the days of famine and disease. He's a softy, so he goes to poverty-stricken places to help with cultivation."

Addison looked over to Jeremiah, who was sitting quietly as usual. "That's really great, Jeremiah."

He merely shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.

"What about you, Chance?" Addison said, hoping to change the subject.

"I'm the son of Satariel. I'm essentially an empath. I can read, sense, and control emotions of those around me," he said politely.

"That is kinda scary," Addison admitted.

"It's something I avoid using for the most part. I can't help the reading, but controlling someone's emotions is unpleasant for me, too."

Addison turned to Quinn. "What about you, Quinn, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I am a son of Azazel. I can manipulate metal, which makes me an excellent blacksmith of sorts."

"Oh, that's cool. That must make you pretty useful," Addison said with a smile.

"Not really," Quinn said quietly. "Azazel was mentally unbalanced, and he passed that on to his spawn. I suffer from delusions and insanity." Addison didn't know what to say to that, so she gave an awkward nod and turned to Archer.

"What line is Malachi from?"

"We believe he is a son of Amaros as he can teleport. However, every son of Amaros has a curse. Each is different, but it could be Malachi's Achilles’ heel."

"Is there any way to find out what it is?" she asked hopefully.

"It's unlikely. He would keep that secret protected." Addison was disappointed, but tried not to let it bring her down. She continued with her questions.

"So, how many Grigori were there?"

"About twenty, as far as we're aware," he answered. "Each spawned many children, most at least ten."

"That's a lot of Nephilims running about," she said before having a realisation. "Wait, what is the singular noun for Nephilim?”

It was Chance who answered. “It’s Nephilim. Like fish and sheep,” he said with a charming smile.

“Hmm, would've been cool if it was like,
Nephili
, or something."

The night ended, and the guys all hit the club, leaving Archer and Addison with the apartment to themselves. After cleaning up, they got ready for bed. Addison checked her phone and saw she had a missed call from her dad. She told herself to remember to ring him back tomorrow.

There was also a text message from James, asking if she could meet him at the library tomorrow. Addison was about to mention it to Archer when he walked nude to the bed.

Addison’s mouth went dry, and he didn’t miss her shameless stare. He ran his hand down his ribbed stomach and cupped himself, causing Addison to gasp. Staring into her eyes, Archer stroked along the hard length of him. Addison tore her gaze from his eyes and ran her tongue over her lips. She got on her knees and moved to the edge of the bed in front of him and licked the length of him.

***

“Oh, fuck,” Archer groaned, wrapping his hands in Addison’s hair. Addison dug her nails into Archer’s rear, and covered his head with her mouth. She began moving her mouth fast against him, sucking and twisting, using the perfect amount of pressure. Archer knew he wouldn’t last long like this, and he was going to finish inside her, not in her mouth.

Archer pulled her away and turned her around so that she was kneeling facing the headboard of the bed. He knelt behind her and reached around, moving her hands so that they clutched the board.

“Don’t let go, or I stop,” he told her, his voice deep. “Okay?”

Addison nodded, unable to talk. Archer let go of her hands and pushed her hair over her shoulder so that it fell against her front. He then captured her breasts and massaged them, pleased when he heard Addison’s breathing become laboured. He bent his head and licked along her carotid artery, making her shiver. He nipped her shoulder while he pinched her nipples, wringing a cry from her that he then swallowed with his mouth. His tongue darted into her mouth where it tangled with her own. Archer kissed her while he slid his hand down her stomach until he came to her small nub, which he rubbed sensuously.

Addison broke away from his kiss with a loud moan, almost a scream, trying to catch her breath. Archer was relentless, and used his other hand to put two fingers inside her, her wetness ensuring there was no resistance. She came with a scream, her knuckles pale from gripping the headboard so tightly.

“Archer, please,” she demanded. Archer could do nothing but oblige her request. He removed his fingers from inside her and licked them slowly while Addison watched. It was a bad idea, because the taste of her made him crave the real thing. He moved from behind her, eliciting a noise of frustration, and lay himself down, his head on the pillow beneath her kneeling body. He growled at the sight of her in this position, able to see her delicate flesh as well as her perfect body. He wasted no time but instead plunged his tongue into her.

“Oh, yes, Archer! Archer, don’t stop! Oh, please, don’t stop!” she yelled, her knees giving way, so that she was being held up only by Archer’s iron grip on her thighs. Archer thrust in and out of her before licking up to her clit and sucking on it, hard. Addison came so hard that she collapsed completely, sitting on Archer’s face and making him groan even harder. He pushed her back into the kneeling position and resumed his spot behind her. Just as he was about to plunge inside her, he heard a noise coming from outside the house. Addison froze, and her breathing quickened. He motioned for her to be quiet. He pulled on a pair of pants and a t-shirt.

“Whatever you do, stay in the house,” he whispered as he passed her clothes of her own. “It’s warded against anyone who bears ill will against us.” She nodded, drawing the sheets up to her chest, the clothes in her hand.

Holding an archaic dagger, Archer quietly left the room. Jake was making his way down the hall, armed with a sword. Archer pointed to the door.

“I’ll take the front, you take the back.” Jake turned without a word, all business. Joker that he was, he didn’t fuck around when shit was got real.

Archer opened the front door as quietly as he could. Using his powers, he became invisible. He could sense the Nephilim but couldn’t pinpoint where they were. He was fairly certain there were at least half a dozen of them. Two against six were not good odds, but they had a chance. He walked out into the middle of the courtyard, able to be bold because of the shield he had firmly in place.

While he had always been a strong fighter, he felt far stronger with something so important to fight for. Despite their extensive fooling around, Archer and Addison had yet to have sex. She was still a virgin. They would not get their hands on Addison. He had accepted her as his, and he protected those he cared about.

He saw something moving in the shadows, and he jolted into action. Maintaining the force-field, ensuring he remained undetectable, he ran over to the area with his dagger ready. At such a close range it was easy to locate the Nephilim, and before the intruder knew it, Archer had plunged the blade into his chest. His body glowed for a moment before collapsing to the ground.

Archer knew he had attracted the attention of the other Nephilim. A glow that erupted from the other side of the house indicated that Jake had taken one down as well. Four more.

Shards of metal came flying at Archer suddenly, pulled from the fence.
Shit
, he thought.
Son of Azazel
. The shield didn’t protect him from physical objects. Even a human could run into him when he had his shields up, the shields only made it difficult to actually locate him. He moved as quickly as he could, but some shards pierced his skin. He pulled them out with barely a grunt, throwing them aside. Though they would heal in a few hours, the injuries would slow him down for the time being.

Archer heard a grunt of pain come from behind the house.
Jake
. Making a move to help him, he was caught unaware by an assailant, who was soon joined by another. They must have heard him and were able to track him through the movement of the air around him. Archer dropped the shield, unable to maintain a solid hold on it while concentrating on the fight ahead.

The first attacked quickly with a bold hit to Archer’s jaw. Archer allowed contact to be made, taking advantage of the proximity by kneeing the man in the gut. Archer’s exceptional strength forced him to go down with a grunt, and Archer wasted no time. He spun around to face his other opponent who was moving in hesitantly after seeing his friend get dropped. Trying his best to keep an eye out for the Nephilim on the floor, who was slowly getting up, Archer attacked.