His idea was one Jayden had been considering as well since noticing his Temptation’s self-given orgasm had not succeeded, and the time to act was fast approaching. Jayden could not stand much more of his Temptation’s torture.
Jayden heard the blond one make his way down the hallway and braced himself. Slowly Jayden raised his head from his knees to look at him.
His Temptation let out a new wail that was so dripping with physical and emotional pain that Jayden watched the blond one wince and felt the same expression on his own face. Jayden closed his eyes tightly; his fingers dug into his knees as he struggled for control. When he opened his eyes again, the blond one’s face had shifted slightly as he looked upon Jayden.
“Her pain
does
distress you,” he said.
A thousand stinging retorts perched on the edge of Jayden’s tongue. He wished he could deny it — they already guessed too much about his connection to her. But what he longed to say was,
More than you will ever know
.
Lord of the Most High, he
felt
her pain. Not the physical pain. No, Jayden never felt physical pain beyond the newly discovered discomfort of arousal. But his connection to this woman enabled him to feel her emotions and thoughts in a way keener than Jayden’s ability allowed him with others. It was part of the reason Jayden had so much trouble resisting her.
And now, her emotional distress — her confusion over what was happening to her, her terror at the pain, her intense longing — was flowing through him as uncut and unfiltered as he had come to expect.
Instead of speaking, Jayden schooled his face into a mask — quite unsuccessfully he imagined — and looked at the blond one.
For the first time in days, the blond one softened toward Jayden. He folded his body into a sitting position across from Jayden in the hall, and said, “I knew you couldn’t be all bad.”
Jayden sneered, lashing out with, “Do not underestimate me,
human
.”
If the defiler felt the insult Jayden intended, he gave no indication, much to Jayden’s annoyance. Instead, Jayden felt the man calmly collect his thoughts and prepare to speak.
And Jayden felt dread down to the tips of his toes. The man’s theory flowed to him clearly, and now the words left the blond one’s mouth before Jayden could stop them.
“I’ve been thinking about all our own experiences with the Impulse,” the blond one began.
Jayden felt the wariness cross his face and cursed his weakness as the blond one tried to actually
calm
him.
“Hey, man,” he said softly. “I know this isn’t a comfortable topic, but you need to know.”
“Why,” Jayden blurted before he could stop himself. “Why do I need to know?”
The blond one continued, “We don’t know exactly who you are or exactly why you’re here, but we’re not idiots,
angel
.” Jayden straightened. Apparently his human-dig
had
hit a nerve. The blond continued. “You’re on some kind of mission to kill those who have eaten from the Tree of Eternal Life, and we’re all on the list.” The man took a big breath and met Jayden’s eyes. “Fine.”
Jayden blinked.
Fine
? Well, that was a new reaction to facing imminent death. Jayden had to admit, his interest was piqued. “Fine?” he heard himself echo.
“Yes, fine. We’re doomed. We’re going to die. Whatever.” Jayden frowned, but the man was not done. “But is part of your mission to torture living beings?”
Jayden’s frown deepened.
“It seems to me that a God so concerned with protecting humanity that he would send an angel to ensure that protection would not look too kindly upon his
angels
prolonging agony in humans, even if those humans were destined to die.” The blond one obviously saw that his words were having an effect, because he decided to tack on, “A kind, merciful, loving God would not want Grace to suffer, would he?”
Jayden ground his teeth. His Temptation
was
suffering. Jayden, of all living creatures, knew that intimately. To consign her to this suffering for seven more long, torturous months. Well, for one,
Jayden
would not survive it. “Speak,” he ground out.
Triumph lit the blond one’s eyes. “Okay, in all four of us,” the man actually blushed, “all four of us — me and Dahlia, Eli and Abilene — we all experienced an orgasm within a short period of Impulse-pairing with our mates.”
Jayden frowned and felt a flare of impatience. “So has she,” he said with more venom than he intended.
“Yes,” the blond one said. “But not with
you
. Her Impulse mate.”
Jayden felt his heart drop. Yes, this was the idea he had been studiously avoiding since he first felt it flit through the man’s mind.
The blond one continued, “Within hours, Eli had given Abilene an orgasm, and I gave Dahlia one after a day or so. What’s the whole point of Impulse pain, man? Think about it.”
Jayden did, and did not like the conclusion. He knew what the point had been for the
original
Impulse pair. The Most High had needed a way to bring the Impulse pair together. For the purpose of …
procreation
.
“Out of the question,” Jayden said so softly, so dangerously that the blond one leaned back. Jayden would not
procreate
with his Temptation. That would be the end. That was how so many of his brothers had Fallen before. Lying with the daughters of men, creating
life
with the daughters of men — it was forbidden. Unforgivable. A sign of weakness.
And Jayden was not weak. “I will not lie with her.”
A muscle ticked in the blond one’s jaw. “You don’t have to have sexual intercourse with her, angel,” he said. “We didn’t,” he said gesturing to himself and then the direction of his mate. “Not for a while. Eli literally had to die first before Abilene would sleep with him.” The corner of the blond one’s mouth raised slightly in the shadow of a smile.
His Temptation screamed anew, her voice loud and long. And then, suddenly, her scream broke, her voice going hoarse, her sobs echoing out into the hallway.
Jayden’s chest swelled, and he had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from groaning. She had screamed until her voice
broke
.
The blond one’s attempt at humor hung sourly between them, and the blond one’s face grew grave. “You’re not completely heartless. How can you let that,” he gestured to the closed door beside Jayden, “continue if you can stop it?”
He could not. Jayden knew he could not. It was time to stop kidding himself. If the blond one had not come to him with this idea, put it into words, Jayden would have known it was the only way even without him.
But could he
touch
her? Lay his hands on her? Look upon her body and ever be the same again? She was his Temptation. His one and only vulnerability. His entire destiny depended upon him abstaining from her.
But her condition does not require consummation
, his mind reminded him.
His Temptation’s sobs grew in volume. And then, she did something that set in stone Jayden’s next actions. Clearly and loudly enough so that all heard it, his Temptation cried out, “
Angel, please
.”
Before he even knew he moved, Jayden was on his feet, her call on him of greater importance than his own. Without a backward glance at the blond one who had jumped to his feet as well, Jayden shoved open the door to his Temptation’s room. It flew in and bounced off of the wall with a crash, swinging back toward him. Jayden stopped it with his splayed hand.
The mouthy one who was standing over his Temptation’s bed, jerked around to look at him with wide eyes.
“Get out,” Jayden ordered.
Her eyes got wider. On the bed, his Temptation began to thrash. “Yes …
angel,
” she moaned through dry, cracked lips.
“Get out!” Jayden bellowed.
“It’s okay,” the blond one said from behind Jayden. “Do what he says.”
The woman moved toward the door, and Jayden stalked toward his Temptation, not paying any attention to the mouthy one as she began questioning her man, or the sound of the door as it was closed.
He stalled out at the foot of his Temptation’s bed. Doubt plagued him.
Am I truly going to do this?
He allowed himself to look upon his Temptation fully for the first time since storming into her space. She had quieted somewhat since Jayden entered the room. The sheets had been kicked completely from the bed, and, Jayden realized with a groan, she was completely naked. The touch of fabric on her skin must have been too much. Her hands were fisted in the sheets, and she twisted them restlessly. She bit into her bottom lip and looked at him, not really seeing him, from eyes burdened with the sheen of tears.
Oh, yes. He was going to do this.
He swallowed hard as his eyes roved over her body, starting with her toes. They were painted a soft, feminine pink color that made Jayden’s stomach lurch. She tried so hard to hide any feminine part of her body, the past few days had only proven that, and yet, here were her pale, perfect feet, tipped with pink. With a trembling hand, Jayden reached for her, trailing his index finger over the top of her foot.
As soon as his finger touched her skin, all of her physical agony fled the room. Jayden literally felt it vanish.
His Temptation gasped in shock. Her eyes cleared. Sharpened slightly. “Angel?”
“Yes,” he said, shocked at how raspy his voice was. How labored his breathing was. Knowing instinctively that removing his finger would bring the pain back.
Start small
. It would give them both more time to adjust. He trailed the finger down and lightly wrapped his fingers around her ankle.
Her skin burned his like the fires of hell. His knees grew weak. He knew he would embarrass himself unforgivably if he collapsed before her, and so he moved until he could sit on the edge of the bed next to where his hand touched her.
The bed dipped with his weight, and he looked upon where he held her. Her skin was so light and delicate. And soft. Jayden’s hand looked large and dark in comparison, his deep brown skin contrasting with her pale complexion. The sight of his hand on her ankle, the feel of her flesh, sent a jolt of desire straight through Jayden’s stomach, and his shaft filled instantly, swelling and standing straight up beneath his robe.
Jayden closed his eyes and begged for control. Though he knew very little about this intimate facet of humanity, his instincts were strong. He longed to cover her body with his. To bury his shaft within her. To cover her mouth with his lips as she gasped. He balanced on the edge of chaos.
And then her fear flitted through his mind.
She was afraid of what he was doing here. Alone with her. In a bedroom. He held still as her haunted memories of assault flew through her thoughts.
He squeezed her ankle softly. “I am not here to hurt you, Temptation,” he whispered. He forced himself to look into her eyes, knowing that their gorgeous gray depths would try his control even more. Her eyes, framed with lush auburn lashes, were flooded with doubt. “I will not take you against your will. Will
never
take you,” he said with feeling, reminding himself in the process.
He saw a different type of pain fill her eyes.
• • •
Will
never
take you.
He’d spoken with such feeling, such disgust. Grace was horrified to feel tears flooding eyes.
She disgusted him. Shame burned her cheeks as she reached for the sheet so she could cover her naked body. She jerked on it fitfully, but the angel’s weight held it down.
Be grateful you disgust him
, the victim in her hissed.
Grace realized with a shudder that she was so tired of being a victim. So tired of being afraid. So tired of being glanced over. So tired of the pain. So tired of feeling ugly.
So tired.
“Your thoughts are wrong,” the angel whispered with a squeeze of his fingers, causing Grace’s eyes to snap open. “You do not disgust me.”
For a moment, the angel looked shocked that he had spoken such a thing. In fact, he looked as though he wished he could take it back, but then his eyes trailed down from her face. She felt them burn her as they grazed her neck, her collarbone, and then stopped on her breasts.
A look of pure masculine hunger flared in the angel’s eyes, and his fingers tightened on her ankle.
A pool of heat spread in Grace’s lower belly that was not unpleasant. She felt her nipples pebble under the angel’s stare. Her breasts grew heavy and achy. She felt herself blush and quickly laid her right arm across her breasts, hiding them from view. The angel’s glance skittered downward, and Grace covered the apex of her thighs with her left hand, shocked at the heat that radiated from that part of her body. She wished she had a third hand with which she could cover her belly.
He seemed enthralled with where her left hand lay, and after several moments, looked into her eyes again. “You do not disgust me,” he repeated, his voice so deep it vibrated through her body. This time, it seemed like the understatement of the century.
She looked away and bit her bottom lip as lust hit her hard. She sucked in a breath at the onslaught, and heard the angel groan. His fingers twitched against her ankle, and then she felt his hand slide upwards, trailing lightly over her calf.
Her eyes snapped to him. Instead of fear at his touch, for the first time in Grace’s life, she felt sexual anticipation.
“I know — ” He hesitated, and then tried again. “I think I can end your hurt,” he said softly, every syllable tight and controlled.
His hand reached her knee. His fingers were so warm, and they were rough. The calloused skin tickled and scratched in a way that took Grace’s breath away. His fingers moved to the inside of her thigh, and lightly trailed up, up. Grace felt a tremor pass through her body and noticed that she was having trouble catching her breath. Her erratic attempts to do so echoed in the air.
He laid his warm hand across the hand that covered her patch of curls, and Grace’s body jumped. He gently took hold of her hand and began to move it aside.
Unbidden, memories of that night flew into her mind. Seth’s body crushing hers. The terrible weight of him. The invasion. The feeling of being trapped. Grace’s body tensed. Froze.