Anna (Book 2, The Redemption Series) (13 page)

I pull away slightly which makes Malcolm lift his head and look up at me.

His eyes are slightly unfocussed from being drugged. When a lazy smile appears on his face, I know he can see me and knows who I am.

“
Are you all right?” I ask him, concerned not just for his physical well-being but mental stability as well. I can’t imagine what he went through during Levi’s torture. I’m certain Levi wouldn’t have just tried to break Malcolm physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.

“
Better now,” he answers, his voice sounding tired. “Is Lucas safe?”

“
Yes, our son is safe.”

Malcolm lets out a deep sigh in relief.

I lean down so my face is only inches away from Malcolm’s.

“
What can I do to help you?” I ask. “Just name it and it’s yours.”

“
Kiss me, Anna.”

I hesitate but then realize there isn’t any reason to. We’re in a dream, not reality.
There’s no way I can poison him in this world.

I gently push
on Malcolm’s shoulders until he’s lying on his back. I have to pull the hem of my nightgown up to my thighs before I can climb onto the bed and straddle his waist. I lean over and rest my forearms on either side of Malcolm’s head until our faces are only inches apart. He watches me with a look of amusement on his face.

“
I almost feel as though I’m being taken advantage of,” he tells me, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile. “Please tell me that I am.”

I smile back at him and shake my head.

“No,” I tell him. “I would never take advantage of you.”

Malcolm sighs in disappointment.
“And here I thought I was about to get lucky.”

I
laugh and lower my lips so they hover just above his.

“
You are about to get lucky but with only a kiss.”

“
I suppose that will have to do…for now.”

I tentatively touch my lips to his
, kissing his upper lip gently before pressing my mouth over his completely. The sensation is pleasant, but I can instantly tell something is missing. Our physical contact feels buffered in some way. I can feel the warm, wetness of his mouth and the play of his tongue against mine, but something vital is absent.

I pull back and look down at Malcolm.

“Why doesn’t it feel real?” I ask.

“
Because it isn’t,” he tells me. “We’re still in a dream. Nothing compares to reality.”

I’m the one who sighs in disappointment this time.

“I was hoping…” I begin to say but can’t quite make myself finish.

“
That we could be physical with each other here because it’s safe,” Malcolm finishes for me.

I nod my head.
“Yes. I’m sure the poison is still in my system, and we have no way of knowing when it will go away.”

“
Then kiss me again, Anna. I would rather have a phantom kiss from you than nothing at all.”

I lean down to Malcolm again and continue our kiss because he’s right. Even this minimal physical contact is better than nothing. I
decide to try and make the most out of what we can do to one another.

I run my hands across his shoulder
s and up his muscular arms until our hands meet. We twine our fingers together like neither one of us wants to let the other go. If it’s within my power to control, I plan to make sure we’re never separated again. I can’t stand not being near him and in my heart, I know he feels the same way.

Malcolm swiftly rolls me over onto my back, pulling my arms higher over my head as h
e straddles my hips. He kisses his way down one side of my neck, and I tilt my head to give him better access to that part of my flesh. His hands slowly slide down the length of my arms until they come to rest on either side of my breasts. His lips kiss a path down to the valley between my breasts as his thumbs begin to circle their peaks.

“
Malcolm…” I sigh. “Will you make love to me?”

Malcolm doesn’t answer right away because his mouth is otherwise occupied
. He teases one nipple with his tongue through the thin fabric of my nightgown. Apparently, he doesn’t want to make the other breast jealous because he slides his lips over to lavish it with the same adoration.

He kisses his way back up to my lips and murmurs
against them, “Not here. Not yet.”

“
Why?” I beg, feeling as though I’ll crawl out of my own skin from want if Malcolm doesn’t satisfy the burning need I feel to have all of him.

“
Because this is just a dream,” he says, lifting his head so he can look me in the eyes like he wants to make sure I understand what he’s about to tell me. “When I make love to you, I want you to feel everything I do to your body. I don’t want to do it here because you would only be feeling a small portion of the sensations. It will be the first time for you, right?”

I nod.
“Yes.”

“
Your first time making love shouldn’t be in a dream, Anna. I want you to feel my love physically and know in your heart that you are the only woman I will ever want. If you thought seeing me for the first time made the earth quake beneath your feet, then making love with me will make it seem like the planet itself has exploded all around you.”

“
You’re not making my wait any easier with talk like that,” I groan in frustration.

Malcolm chuckles and I feel his hips move against mine.

I gasp slightly at the feel of him between my legs as he proves to me that the wait won’t be any easier on him than it is for me.

“
Maybe we should stop,” I say, albeit reluctantly. “Because this is beginning to feel more like torture than pleasure.”

Malcolm kisses the tip of my nose and sits up. He scoots over to rest his back on the headboard
, and I go to him, resting my head on his chest while his arms hold me close.

“
How are Millie and Vala?” He asks. “Did Levi do anything to them?”

“
Millie’s fine. But…”

I find it hard to tell Malcolm about Vala. The uncertainty of her fate is
almost more upsetting than if I knew she was dead. A small piece of hope lives in my heart that Travis will find a way to save her.

“
But what?” Malcolm gently prods, gliding his left hand up and down my arm in a soothing manner, silently letting me know that I can tell him anything.

“
Levi ripped Vala’s head from her body in front of Millie and Lucas.”

Malcolm’s hand stops moving
, and I can feel him tense beneath me.

“
Is she dead?”

“
I don’t know yet. We gave her to Travis Stokes to see if he can do anything. Just before I entered your dream, Jered took Lucas to check up on her.”

“
I’m so sorry, Anna. I know how much you love her.”

I try not to cry over the possible loss of my friend
, but the tears flow anyway. Malcolm hugs me as I weep, but he doesn’t say anything. He just holds me close which is all I really need.

“
I hate him,” I tell Malcolm. “I hate Levi almost as much as I love you.”

“
Can you tell me what happened at the trade? How were you able to get us back? What did you have to do?”

I go on to tell Malcolm everything that happened, ending with Lucifer’s master stroke to take control back from Levi.

“What did he do to Levi?” I ask. “Lucifer said he wasn’t dead even though he broke Levi’s neck.”

“
Lucifer has the ability to trap the souls under his command in the bodies they inhabit, even if that body is dead. It’s punishment for disobeying him. Levi will feel Auggie's body start to decay, but he won’t be able to leave it until Lucifer releases his soul. Or, I suppose, until you kill him.”

“
I’ll kill him first,” I say with heated conviction.

“
Be careful,” Malcolm tells me, his voice filled with concern. “Don’t let your hate control you, Anna. Levi isn’t worth you losing your soul over. Lucifer has let his hate control him for a long time now. Don’t follow in your father’s footsteps.”

I look up at Malcolm and see him peering down at me with worry in his eyes.
It’s the same worry Jered had when we had a similar conversation.

“
I won’t,” I promise him. “I don’t think I could ever be like him.”

“
I don’t think Lucifer ever thought he would become what he is either. All I ask is that you don’t give into your hate like he did.”

“
What did he hate so much that would make him go to war against God?”

“
He’s always despised humanity,” Malcolm tells me. “He never understood why it seemed like our father loved humans more than his angels.”

“
Do you think that?”

“
No. I think He loves us all the same. But, Lucifer didn’t like it when our father asked us to serve the human race. He considered it beneath us because we were far more powerful.”

“
I found my mother’s room in your New Orleans home. That’s where we really are right now. I watched a video of her and Lucifer on her holo-projector.”

“
The one where she told Lucifer that she was pregnant with you?”

“
Yes. How did you know?”

“
Amalie loved to watch that one over and over again while she was bedridden. It was one of her happiest memories.”

“
Lucifer looked so different in it. He looked…happy.”

“
I think it was one of the few times in his life that he truly
was
happy. Amalie was able to touch a side of him that no one, not even our father, could reach. I didn’t approve of them being together, but I couldn’t deny the connection they had either. I hoped your mother would be able to change him forever. He’s laid low since her death. This is the first time since you were born that he’s shown back up.”

“
He has control of the princes now. What do you think he plans to do with them?”

Malcolm shrugs.
“I have no idea, but I’m sure it won’t be long before we find out.”

I wrap my arms around Malcolm’s torso and remain silent for a while. I simply want to be with him
and block out all of our troubles, even if it's only for a few precious moments.

Finally
, Malcolm kisses me on the top of the head and says, “It’s probably time we woke up. There are things we should take care of.”

I lift my head and look up at him. His eyes are a lot more focused now which probably means the drugs
he was given have worn off.

I sit up and kiss him
soundly on the lips one more time.

Malcolm plunges his hands into my hair and kisses me with a ferocity that takes my breath away.

When I pull back, I say, “I have a feeling we won’t be able to do that for real yet.”

“
Probably not right now,” Malcolm agrees. “But soon.”

“
Very soon, I hope,” I reply, kissing him again before I force myself to wake up.

When I do
awaken, I immediately look at Malcolm’s face and find him just opening his eyes.

“
How are you feeling?” I ask as I sit up, unable to keep the worry out of my voice.

Malcolm looks over at me and smiles.

“Almost like a new man.”

“
Your back looks pretty much healed,” I tell him, remembering how I found him in the prison cell.

“
I told you it would heal on its own. You know…you didn’t have to ask my father to come stay with me.”

I tilt my head.
“How did you know I did that?”

“
He was still there when I woke up from your kiss.”

“
I prayed for him to heal you but he wouldn’t.”

“
And he told you why he couldn’t.”

“
Yes. He told me. It didn’t make it any easier to go along with.”

“
He was right though. If he healed me, he would have to heal every person in the world who asked for it. He can’t show favoritism like that, Anna.”

“
Like I said, I understand that. I just don’t like it when it means someone I love has to suffer because of it. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. I would sell my soul if I thought it would save you.”

Malcolm sits up suddenly and grabs me by the arms.

“Don’t you ever say that again,” he growls. “Don’t even think of it as a possibility, Anna. Promise me.”

“
I can’t promise you that,” I tell him truthfully, never wanting to lie to him just to make him feel better. “I would do whatever I had to do to save you.”