Ultimate Passage: New Beginnings: Box Set ( Books 1-4) (52 page)

“We are another race, from another planet. I am part of a group called the Brethren. We remain secret from humans but are here to protect them.” He tilted her chin up, kept his warm finger on her flesh. “What is it that you look like?”

Ali pushed away from him, stood straight. “This is exactly what I am. She flexed her wings, furling and unfurling them. “And this is my skin. My cursed skin and my cursed wings.”

“Why do you say cursed?”

“If I did not have wings, life would be different. I would not have been forced to leave my people. I could have had a normal life on Kormia.”

Thane froze. “Kormia?”

“Yes, it’s a planet. Where I’m from.”

“You’re not Kormic.”

“You know about the Kormic?”

T
hane stepped back
. “What are you?”

“I am Asazi.”

“Asazi women do not have wings.”

“And yet—”

A crash came from the front of the apartment. Thane looked at her, put his finger over his lips and then shook his head.

She wrapped the towel around herself tightly, holding it with a shaking hand.

Thane took long strides toward the front door.

Brohm.

“What are you doing here?” Thane hoped that Ali would stay in the bedroom while he got rid of the senior Brethren.

“I suspected as much,” Brohm said, a sneer marring his features.

“Suspected what?” The icy fingers of dread gripped Thane by the throat. The fact the Brethren knew about Ali’s apartment, even if he did not know who she was—what she was.

“I suspected there was a human involved in your life. That this was why you were shirking your duties. Doing your work halfway, leaving Asazi to come to Earth. Leaving Saraz unguarded.” Brohm took a step toward the living room.

Thane moved slightly to block his way, in case he should try to come closer. “And you thought the best way to handle this was by breaking a door down?”

A
li held her breath
, scared that whoever was in there would be a danger to her. Why were they talking about Asazi coming to Earth? Why were they discussing Saraz? She felt a gush of relief that he said Thane was involved with a human. So at least in that respect, she was safe.

What was Thane, really? Was he sent here to hunt her down and return her to Kormia? Was he here to fulfill Saraz’s prophecy?

She tiptoed toward her closet, thankful the door was open. She morphed into her human skin, then took out a pair of jeans and a top. She slipped the clothing on as silently as she could, while still trying to listen to them.

Was Thane in danger? She had to look. Had to him Thane if he needed it.

More tiptoeing and she leaned forward, hoping they couldn’t see her over the breakfast bar, that it would block her from being seen.

An inch farther and they came into view. He was the same species as Thane. He had the same dark skin, and he was partially converted to the same type of creature she’d seen on the landing, and the same one Thane had just shown her. Except this one had a cruel set to his mouth and a coldness in his eyes that spelled death.

A shiver took its toll on her body, leaving her quaking.

She’d seen Kormics, she knew Asazis, she was familiar with humans, but these creatures—Dumarians, Thane had said—they were very different.

Suddenly everything Ali knew, or thought she knew about the world, was beginning to spin on an axis. The world, this place called Earth, was far more complicated than she’d known.

Was Earth composed of far more supernatural creatures than she’d ever imagined? How was she to protect herself on this planet where she couldn’t even recognize nonhumans?

She felt dizzy, listening to the two arguing about Saraz and the Kormic and Asazi. Arguing about duty and meetings.

She was losing her balance. She grabbed for the jamb, hoping she wouldn’t crash into the floor and give herself away.

She lost her grip, fell forward, her head landing on the corner edge of the door.

The last thing Ali felt was her wings pushing forward and her human skin receding.

B
rohm’s glance
flew toward the door that led to her bedroom. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” Thane stepped in his way, blocking him completely. “You need to go now.”

“No.” Brohm took a step closer to Thane, within reaching distance. “Move aside.”

“I will not. We will talk later. Go.”

“I will call a meeting. You must be held to account.” Brohm reached into his pocket, pulled out a cell phone.

It was now or never. If Brohm brought anyone else here, Ali would be in danger. More danger than if she were human. Being an Asazi on Earth would spell an immediate death sentence.

Quicker than his eye could blink, Thane knocked the phone from Brohm’s hand, sending it hurtling toward the wall.

A second later, one kick, one whirling motion, two strikes with his fist, and with a ducking motion, Thane had one of the knives that was on the floor in his hand and embedded in Brohm’s chest.

Gushing blood, Brohm fell onto the couch. Clutching the wooden-handled blade.

“You… will… You will pay.”

“What—” Ali screamed from behind Thane.

Thane turned quickly, put his arms around her. “I’m sorry.” Her eyes were glassy and a vertical bump garnished with a laceration marred the shimmering skin on her forehead. Her wings were fluttering slowly.

“Asazi!” Brohm’s word was an accusation.

“Why does he hate me?” Ali asked. “What have I done to him? What have my people done to him?”

“Your
people
.” Brohm spat the words out. “Your people are the result of Saraz stealing my woman!”

“What?” Thane held her tighter. “
Your
woman?”

“She was mine first.” Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “He had no right to seduce her away from me. She was pregnant with my child when he made her his.” Brohm’s eyes closed. He opened them, blinking slowly.

Thane was furious. Saraz was paying the price that Brohm should be. “You? You broke the tenets? The Asazi are your blood.”

Now Thane feared there was no changing Saraz’s course. Whether the whole thing started because of Brohm or not, Saraz had wreaked enough havoc and was equally guilty now. There was no way the Brethren would let him return to the fold.

“You want me to claim these bastards?” He coughed and the blood flow became worse. “I get the last laugh. The Kormic are their curse. I cursed their offspring. All Asazi will always create Kormic.”

“You forced the Asazi to come to Earth. You forced Saraz to make sure they could come here.” Thane shook his head in disbelief at the devastation and deception Brohm had put into place.

A
li was stunned
. “Thane?” She gripped his arm for support. “My people have no idea. We have been Saraz’s and Brohm’s instruments. Pawns in their games.” She wanted to grab the knife and drive it into the flesh of the creature dying on the floor in front of her.

His dark skin was dull in the grasp of death. “I hope you rot in whatever hell you believe in.”

The creature laughed, choking on its blood, then with a loud rasping gasp, Brohm breathed his last breath and closed his eyes.

“We need to get out of here. Now,” Thane said. We have a lot of talking to do.”

“
W
here are we going
?” Ali looked at Thane. They were both in their human skin. He’d told her they’d be better off walking as far as they could, and then they’d take a cab when they were well enough away. He’d said he could fly them out of there, but didn’t want to attract attention in case any other Brethren were around.

Ali’s head was spinning from everything that had happened. She’d thought her life was complicated when she was on Kormia. Those complications were nothing compared to what she’d stepped into here on Earth.

Thane looked at her, as if he were assessing if she were able to cope with everything. “My place.”

“What about… that body… that creature?”

“I’m one of those creatures. And you are descended from one of those creatures.” His voice was terse.

“I’m sorry. I—”

“You are not human, Ali, no matter how much you’ve tried to pretend that you are.”

Ali felt as if she’d been struck physically from his rebuke.

“You don’t understand.” Every one of her words was punctuated with the frustration of having to hide who she was from her own people for more than a decade. “You do not know what it is like to be afraid that someone will discover who and what you are and that your whole life will be thrown into a spin cycle that is irreversible.” She couldn’t help it, her voice was rising.

“I’d understand more than you could possibly imagine.” Thane wrapped his fingers around her arms. His hands, large against her biceps, were warm and comforting, no matter how harsh his words had seemed. He pulled her close. “Look at me.”

Ali raised her eyes to his.

She didn’t have to hear his apology. She could see it in his eyes, dark liquid pools with a glimmer of iridescent green in the background, announcing his saural.

“Ali, love.” His lips brushed hers. “I do not know what you have gone through. But I want to know about all of it. I know it wasn’t easy for you. I know none of it has been. And I want to know about the scars on your back. The scars that were not there the last time I saw you. The scars that are now healed.”

Ali gulped down the nervousness that made her want to run away. She’d spent so many years being deceptive. The thought of being completely forthright was scary, though at the same time, it was liberating.

“We are a long way from any cabs, you know.” She knew that the idea of getting a cab out here was unlikely to be successful.

“I know.” His voice had a rumble to it that was lower than usual. Her insides vibrated to the timbre in his tone. His black eyes were turning greener with each passing second. A glowing iridescent green with vertical pupils. His human skin was morphing into large black scales that flowed down from his face, and into the collar of his shirt.

“You have a different plan for transportation?”

His wings unfurled behind him. Large and black, fanning her hair gently. “I’ll take us there.”

“I can fly.”

“Asazi cannot fly.” His words were blunt.

“That’s the thing. We can’t fly in our own settlements. There must be some sort of a field put up that renders our wings useless, or maybe it’s a peculiarity of gravity on Kormia, but I can fly here on Earth. I suspect Finn knows it.”

Thane frowned, his scaled brows drawing together in a vee, his eyes glittering dangerously. “Who is this Finn?”

Ali rose to her toes. Putting her hands behind his neck, she pulled his head down to hers. His scales rippled sensuously beneath her fingertips.

She put her lips on his, licked the seam where they formed an unyielding hard line. “He’s no one. Not where you and I are concerned.” Pulling his face closer, she traced his lips with her tongue, parted them, and slipped her tongue in, claiming his, letting him know that no other man—or being—could measure up or be to her what he was.

He groaned. “You are killing me. As soon as we get to my place…” His breath was warm on her face, like a blanket on a cold night.

“Yes?” she prompted him.

“You are mine.” He crushed her to his hard chest.

With a quick glace to be sure they weren’t being watched, he picked her up, carrying her, one arm under her knees, one on her back. And with a sudden burst of energy and air, they were windborne, flying upward at a steep angle.

Ali tucked her head under his chin and closed her eyes.

T
hane landed
on the balcony of his penthouse apartment and loosened his hold on Ali. She raised her head from under his chin and looked around.

“This is where you live?”

He nodded and set her on her feet, but kept his fingers on the small of her back. He couldn’t relinquish his touch on her.

“You’re not doing too badly, are you?”

“My kind has been on Earth a long time. Long enough to build a few fortunes and own some property.”

“I’ll say.” A low whistle escaped from her lips.

He unlocked and pushed the French door open. Waving her in, he locked the door behind them. He watched Ali run her fingers through her hair, doing the twirling thing, looping a loose curl around her fingertips.

“Here we are,” she said, as if filling the empty air with words.

“Do you know how much I want you? How much I’ve always wanted you, from the moment I saw you? It’s as if you were made for me.”

Her skin turned a green color then shifted into a delicate pink. He put the backs of his fingers on her cheek, traced down to her jawline, then over her neck, stopping at that delicate spot, the hollow at the base of her throat.

He felt her pulse quickening, and it was sending surges of electricity throughout his body, ending at the base of his cock, making it swell, engorged with desire for this woman.

She sucked in a breath, her chest swelling, breasts pushing against the fabric of her shirt, her nipples hard peaks that testified she wasn’t immune to him.

“Everything is out now, everything that matters.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. “There are no obstacles to our being together, are there?”

He lowered his hands to the bottom of her shirt. One quick yank and it was over her head, with no resistance on her part.

Ali shook her head and reached behind her. In a deft second, the bra she’d had on was limply suspended from the crooks of her elbows. Thane pulled it off and cast it to the couch. Her skin was smooth and velvety, the blushing pink turning a more passionate color.

“Your skin… the colors…”

“My Asazi skin changes colors to match my moods. It’s… I hate it.”

“I love it.” He palmed her breasts, cupping the rounded mounds. The tips were tight with desire, a darker rosy color than the rest of her. He lowered his head, took a stiff little peak between his lips. Sucking on it, he teased it with his tongue.

Ali shuddered, her hands rising, fingernails raking against his scalp.

He sucked harder and was rewarded with a gasp and a tug on his hair.

“No.” Ali gasped again.

“No?” He raised his head a tiny bit. “No what?” He flicked her nipple with his tongue again, and again.

“No, there are no obstacles… Thane!” She raised her voice, pulling his head closer to her breast. “No obstacles at all.”

“Does that mean you like this?” He could barely control his own voice as his pulse shattered throughout his body, as his cock hardened to painful steel.

He lowered one hand, slipped it inside her jeans, pushing through the fabric. He felt the heat of her before he touched her. A moist heat that emanated from her core.

Removing her hands from his head, she unfastened her pants and drew them down over her hips, leaving them at mid-thigh.

He pushed them down farther, his mouth not releasing the captive nipple. He scraped his teeth across the pebbled skin, then teased it once more with his flicking tongue.

A
li’s knees were weak
. She’d never felt this way before. Then again, she’d never been able to completely give herself physically to a man she loved, without reservation of being discovered, without fear of having her wings unfurl.

A small cry escaped her as his fingers touched her mound, cupping her heat.

He lowered himself to his knees, spreading her legs apart. The same tongue that had tortured her nipple was licking the seam made by her nether lips.

She jumped when his tongue touched her swollen button, grabbing for whatever she could to steady herself. The only thing available was his head.

His tongue slid from beneath, pushing upward, rubbing around it in circles.

She heard Thane curse softly, then he rose to his feet, dropped his pants, swooped her in his arms, and carried her to the couch. Sitting down, he pulled her on top, straddling his cock.

She marveled at the engorged thickness with a glistening drop on the end of it.

Putting her thumb on his dew, she raised it to her mouth, tasting the salty sweetness and musk of his flavor.

Thane’s eyes followed her thumb from his cock to her mouth, his breathing raspy. Sweat appeared on his brow, a groan fell from his lips.

He leaned forward, she wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked on his body, her lips parting to allow his cock to rub in the canal created, bumping her clit with every motion. She ground herself against his cock, creating shocks every time his hardness found her clit.

Thane put his hands under her ass, raised her until his mushroom head was pressed against her entrance.

He adjusted his grip until he was holding her by the hips, then with a swift thrust and a push, he impaled her on his steely rod.

She rocked while he held her down firmly, grinding on him, sending repercussions throughout, a body that had been denied full and uninhibited access to its sensual prowess.

Dropping her hand between them, she began to rub furiously tight circles on her swollen clit while he bounced her up and down on his cock. Raising one hand from her hip, he pulled her to his lips, his tongue plundering, claiming her with the same insistence his cock claimed her pussy. A sensation flowed through her, her mind shattering into tiny fragments of pleasure while his tongue explored the depths.

Her cries muffled and captured by his mouth, the explosion grew as a choked gasp pushed her back, her body arched. Reaching for his hands, she had convulsive orgasm after convulsive orgasm, her wings fluttering and fanning them.

Thane groaned, lifting his back from the sofa, he pulled her tightly to him, his climax so strong she felt his seed shooting against her channel.

His wings unfurled, magnificent, ebony, shiny, full. They flapped and then surrounded them both.

Ali fell forward, dazed, her body shivering and experiencing aftershocks from her orgasms.

“I love you,” Thane murmured, his lips on her forehead in the darkness he’d created for them, his hands caressing her back.

She raised her face and kissed his lips, tasting and smelling her own scent on him.

Inside her, his cock jerked as she kissed him.

Her body responded to the sensation. She would always respond to his sensations.