He nuzzled her throat, nipping and kissing. “Now,” he said against her skin. “I’m going to have you now.”

“Yes,” she gasped. “No. Not all the way.”

Stiffening, he pulled back, and the sorrow in his eyes nearly brought tears to hers. “I scare you. I’m so sorry, angel.”

She pressed two fingers to his lips. “It’s not that. I’ve taken a vow of celibacy.”

His eyebrows shot up, and then a very naughty smile turned up his mouth. “I’m dying to be inside you,” he said, “but we can make do with our hands.” He licked a hot path along the length of her jugular. “And our tongues.”
* * *

Lore couldn’t freaking believe this. He was touching Idess in a way he’d never touched any female. Even better, when she’d put her hand on him, she’d somehow drained some of the raging need out of him. Oh, he still needed her, but the rage had been diluted, allowing him a measure of control.

God, this was unreal. Surreal. And altogether too real. His bare hand was on her skin, caressing her breast. And her palm was rubbing up and down his arm, leaving incredible tingling wakes on his dermoire.

More. He needed more of this miracle named Idess.

With no finesse whatsoever, he tore open her pants and yanked them down, along with her silky white panties. He helped her step out of them… and then he stayed there. On his knees.

Oh, damn. The junction between her legs… beautiful. Breathtaking. Bare. His mouth actually watered as his palms drifted upward, from her ankles to her thighs. When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he leaned in to kiss the sweet, satin skin on her inner thigh. Her yelp drifted down to him, and she jerked, but he sank his teeth into her leg, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to hold her where she was.

This was the second time he’d bitten her. He had no idea where the urge was coming from, but it was powerful, animalistic, and he was running with it.

“Lore,” she gasped. “I’ve never… maybe we should just… you know, use our hands…”

Hell, no. Now that he had her like this, the way he’d been fantasizing, he was so going to eat her up. He slipped his tongue between his teeth and made wet circles on her skin. She trembled, and he knew how she felt, because inside he was shaking like a leaf.

Gently, he released his bite hold, but before she could escape, he kissed her soft skin and then dragged his tongue up her inner thigh. He stopped just short of home, kissing, licking, rubbing his cheek on her.

As he played, she got into it more and more, thrusting her fingers through his hair and gently guiding him. Not that he let her. He was going to tease the hell out of this, for as long as they could both stand it.

He nuzzled the outer hills of her flawless sex, and her musky arousal went straight to his cock. His h*ps rocked upward as though trying to reach her and that tight place he craved. Down, boy.

He gently nipped her inner thigh and settled down on his hip. “Straddle me, angel. Get closer. I need to taste you.” His experience doing this was… well, he didn’t have any. But he was half sex demon, and those instincts were roaring to the surface, giving him a desire and a confidence he couldn’t explain.

She hesitated only for as long as it took her to exhale before she spread her legs more and moved in so that beautiful slit was at mouth level. Tilting his face up, he closed his lips over her. Her breath hitched, and he heard the slap of her palms against the house as she braced herself.

Lore wanted this like he’d wanted very little before, but he didn’t rush. He let his tongue sweep back and forth lightly over her swollen sex, savoring her growing anticipation.

“You’re a tease,” she said, angling her h*ps to bring her even closer, but he turned away, not giving her what she wanted.

This was his show. She’d ruined him for self-gratification, and though the implications of that were troubling, right now wasn’t the time to worry about it. He was going to torture her a little and make her beg.

Though he was definitely getting the better deal out of this situation. Didn’t matter how good her orgasm would be, he would be the one to find satisfaction.

He rubbed his face on her thighs, sometimes brushing his lips over her core. Each time, she jerked, and each time, he made her sweat. Finally, when his heart started knocking on his rib cage as though urging him on, he touched his mouth to her na**d, hot flesh.

More slowly than he thought he would ever be capable of, he slipped his tongue into her slick valley. She whimpered at the contact, and then went silent as he speared her core. Easing his fingers upward, he penetrated her while he sucked and licked every inch of her pink flesh. Working with a ruthless singlemindedness, he learned her responses and targeted every erogenous zone.

He gave, but he also took, and as his tongue delved in her cream, he swallowed her like a decadent dessert. She was soft and smooth and rich, and f**k, he could do this for days straight.

“Oh, yes,” she moaned. “Right… there.”

She was close. So he stopped what he’d been doing and dragged his tongue through her cleft. Her cry of frustration made him smile. While she came down off the ledge, he kissed her lightly, always shifting sensation so she couldn’t catch it for too long where she needed it.

He wanted to hear her cry his name in her passion. Wanted to know that he’d gotten to her and that she knew he was the engineer of her pleasure.

The slow dance of his tongue drove her crazy, had her shifting her h*ps to chase the pleasure. “Lore, make me come.”

“Beg.”

“Damn you.” The words were harsh but the tone was one of extreme arousal and delicious agony.

“Spread yourself for me, Idess.”

With a small sound of relief, she slid her palm down her belly and parted her hot flesh. He blew a stream of air over her, and she shuddered. He flicked the tip of his tongue over her clit, and her shudders turned to convulsions of ecstasy. Just as she began to peak, he drew back once more.

“Beg.”

“Lore,” she sobbed. “Please, Lore. Please!”

Victory swept through him. He captured her core with his lips and sucked gently, swirling his tongue at the same time. Her release hit her with so much force that her pleasure actually rocked through him as though they were connected. Her scream—his name—vibrated the patio and her legs shook, and then she was sliding down to her knees in front of him as though they would no longer support her weight.
* * *

It took an eternity for Idess to catch her breath. She felt boneless, weak, yet at the same time, a new energy churned inside her. She couldn’t describe it, but it came with butterflies in her stomach and warmth in her veins.

The rasp of Lore’s breathing filled her ears as she clung to him. Satiation shifted as a different instinct took over, and she took his hard length in her hand. She squeezed gently as she pushed herself away from his chest. He was watching her with curiosity, but at the same time, need flickered in those dark eyes, a reminder that this wasn’t entirely about orgasms just for fun. His very life depended on what she could give him.

Anticipation made her heart race as she began to stroke. His hiss of pleasure joined the rustle of leaves and calls of the birds in the trees.

“Idess,” he croaked, “I’m not… not going to last long. I need it too badly.” Closing his eyes, he sucked in a ragged breath and threw his head back. “In fact… ah, f**k…”

The sun caressed his face as he began to jerk, his big body surging and straining. His come splashed on her hand, and she used it as lubrication to speed up her strokes. A dark rumble of approval issued from his throat, then he was in the throes of orgasm again, this time eyes open and fixed on her with possessive hunger. He growled something that sounded like mine, before throwing back his head again and riding out the series of intense spasms.

“Now that was amazing,” she murmured, when he finally gripped her wrist—with his left hand, she noticed—to stop her.

“Amazing? Try embarrassing. I lasted all of two seconds.”

She laughed. “Not as embarrassing as things will be if we get caught by your sister out here.”

“True.” He reached for the towel, and as he was wrapping it around his waist, the dove cooed. “Did that thing watch us the whole time? The little pervert.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t watching,” she said, as she tugged on her pants. “He’s just grateful.”

Still, Lore glared up at the trees. “So if you and other angels can save lives, why is it that people die?”

“Dying is the natural order of things.”

“Okay… but I mean, you hear stories of miracles, of angels saving lives. Why just those few people? Why are they deserving and others aren’t? Why does the drunk driver live and the innocent victims die?”

Idess watched the sunlight caress his handsome, angular features like a lover, as though not even nature could resist the temptation of a demon made for sex. “What makes you think that being saved from death means one is deserving?”

“Yeah,” he drawled, as he cocked one knee up and draped his arm over it, “that’s a crazy question.”

She loved it when he got playful, even if his playful was pretty much just sarcasm. “The drunk driver is not given a gift by surviving. He’s given more hell on Earth. He’s either being punished, or his soul has something more to learn while earthbound. He might even be Primori whose actions lead to new laws or to activism that ultimately saves more lives. But the victims? Their souls are already perfected and ready for their reward.”

“At the risk of sounding like a moron… huh?”

She laughed. “Life on Earth truly means little to angels, because we’re concerned with the soul, not the body. The soul is the true essence of a person or animal. Life on the other side, in Heaven, is the true existence. In fact, those in Heaven see those who are earthbound as the ghosts. The way humans see spirits, as transparent beings, is how those in Heaven see us from there.” She waved her hand. “All of this? It’s hell in comparison. But humans don’t know that until they ‘die.’ What you call dying is, to us, birth.”