“Do you want me?”
I knit my hands in his blond hair and pull his face to mine. “God,yes.”
Our lips crash into each other with an intense and immediate hunger.
All of our sexual frustration surfaces, and we fight for control. His hands slide under my thighs, hoisting me up into the air, pressing my body against him. I grip his hair even tighter, pulling his mouth into me, desperate to consume him. But he’s quicker, harder, shoving his tongue into my mouth just as he shoves my body against the wall.
He tastes like sugar and mint, his lips butter-soft, and I can’t get enough of him. My hips grind into him with a mind of their own, seeking the wonderful hardness of his arousal beneath those ridiculous robes.
The kiss is feral.
Sinful.
Wonderful.
And maybe it’s more than a kiss, depending on who’s defining it. Maybe my panties are soaked by how he grinds his erection between my thighs, again and again. Maybe he slides a hand under my shirt, teasing my breasts in a way that makes my head roll back against the wall. Maybe we’re a breath away from fucking right here in the hallway like frenzied animals.
Which… Probably isn’t the best idea, considering I wouldn’t want anyone to know about this.
For one, I have no clue if I’m only making his punishment worse.
And for two, Abaddon seemed to delight in the possibility of being rid of Dusk, and I can only imagine how much he’d love an excuse to enact his own extrajudicial justice for a crime committed in his realm.
When I realize my thoughts have somehow drifted toAbaddonwhile Dusk and I are shaking the walls together, I feel like ice water is poured over me.
I pull my lips off him quickly, pressing my palms into his shoulders. “We should stop.”
“Should we?” He barely skips a beat before trailing kisses down the side of my neck, bringing a shudder to my breath. “Or should I bring you into one of our rooms and make you come until you’rebeggingme to put my dick in you? Show you exactly what it means to be fucked by an archangel? To ruin you so completely, you’ll never want a human partner again?”
Fucking Hell… Yes, that’s exactly what I want. Every muscle in my body is desperate for more. More of him. More of everything. More, more, more.
But I can’t.
I’ve seen reason, and now I can’t unsee it.
I groan through the frustration of it, shoving my hands against his shoulders with significantly more conviction than before. “No. We really need to stop.”
Dusk complies, letting me down quickly and stepping back.
Everything about him looks like I hit pause at the worst possible time—his hair is tousled, skin flushed, lips plump, pants tented. Everythingbuthis expression. That’s completely blank. Emotionless, as if he shut down on the spot.
“You’re right,” he says with a curt nod. “Goodnight, Kae.”
“Dusk, I—” The sound of his door shutting cuts me off, and he’s gone. For a moment, I stand frozen, staring at the space he occupied only moments ago.
It would be pointless to try to follow him now, after he’s clearly put space between us. The damage is done, and the best thing I can do nowis retreat into my room and speak to him in the morning.
I do not, in fact, get a chance to speak to Dusk in the morning.
I start my day early by knocking on his door, just as I always do. It’s part of our routine. Every day since I’ve moved in, we’ve walked to breakfast together, spent the day together, and walked back from dinner together. Even though he designed a nice two-month training program for me, he acts as my personal trainer, my sparring partner, and—most importantly—my only friend here.
It takes me a long moment to realize why he isn’t answering the door, but it finally comes to me in a sinking recognition.
Dusk isn’t in his room, or anywhere else in the Abyss, because he left for Elohim without saying goodbye.
After a miserable breakfast alone, lost in my thoughts, I exit the dining hall—and I nearly run into two oversized locusts.
“Hi, uh…” Instinctively, I start looking for exits. “Can I help you guys?”
