Dark Light of Day (34 page)

“Where are we going?” I whispered.

“Somewhere I’ve wanted to take you all semester.” At the top of the stairs, he led me around the corner and into a small room. There were no exterior windows in this room. It was even darker than the lobby had been. In the flickering light of his magic, I got a glimpse of a large, dust-covered desk; a terra-cotta oil lamp; a wall of cubbies stuffed with yellowing letters, crumbling scrolls, and fraying scarves; and an old settee.
The manager’s office,
I thought.

“How did you know about this place?” I asked, worried for a moment that I wasn’t the first girl he’d brought here. But his signature was still radiating what I’d seen on his face earlier—
happiness
—so I had no reason to doubt his answer.

“Mercator. Lekai hasn’t had a manager since before Seknecus became the dean of demon affairs.”

With easy control I couldn’t help but envy, Ari directed the fire from his hand onto the wick of the lamp. We stood facing one another, the warm, orange glow of the wick echoing our signatures. I swiped at the rain that had beaded on my cheek while we were still outside.

The care that I had taken with my appearance earlier today was laughable now, the effect totally ruined. My hair
hung in drippy threads, my makeup was surely smeared, and my silver top clung tightly to me, heavy and wet. Ari looked at me with smoky, unreadable eyes. He must have sensed my need because he clasped me to him and raked his hands up under my shirt. He skimmed his fingers across my back, bringing delicious heat to skin left slick and damp from my rain-soaked shirt. He lowered his head to my neck and breathed deep. His breath tickled my ear and I gripped his shoulders. He caught my earlobe between his teeth and nibbled, carefully kneading muscles tense with the stress of an unbearable workload, two questionable futures, and countless crises of confidence.

His tongue began a slow exploration of the sensitive outer edge of my ear. I shivered and he brought his hands around to my abdomen. I knew he wanted to raise them higher and I tensed, thinking of the last time he’d touched my demon mark. But he moved his hands to my hips and squeezed me tighter to him. My breasts were crushed against his hard chest and the air left my lungs, making me breathless.

Ari captured my mouth in a scalding kiss before I had time to breathe. My hands raked through his hair, but then, as I started to feel light-headed, I moved them down and started pressing against Ari’s shoulders, urging him to release me. He did, but only for a moment. His kisses became fierce and possessive. Finally, he nipped my lip and relented, holding me close.

Ari seemed delighted with my response to him. And I have to admit, he made me feel so desirable I was willing to let him do almost anything to me. I caught my breath and he started again, this time nipping at my neck. His hands worked their way underneath my shirt again and he moved them around back, dipping his fingers below my waistband. Slowly, he traced the top of my pants. His fingers stopped at the front pewter button. I knew what he wanted. I knew why he paused there, his fingers stiff, his mouth hovering, his breath hot on my skin. I knew what he was asking.

“Noon—
Nouiomo
,” he begged, wrapping his hands in my
hair. He brushed his lips down my nose and across my cheekbone. “Let me love you.”

I would have said yes even if he hadn’t asked so nicely. This is what I’d come here to do after all. In answer, I threw my arms around his neck.

His warm, soft, full lips closed on mine as he scooped me up into his arms. He laid me down on the settee, oblivious to everything but us. I could tell by his signature that he was lost in his arousal. His signature felt red and hazy, thick and viscous, enlarged. It bumped up against mine but instead of the popping and grinding sensation I sometimes experienced when rubbing up against a signature that was stronger than mine, there was only a slow gooey feeling as the edge of Ari’s magic met mine. Without waiting for further permission, Ari stripped off my top. I lay beneath him, my breasts heaving beneath my lacy brassiere, my eyes likely dilated to full black, my breath hitching convulsively, thinking if all there was to love was a physical reaction then I had been in love with Ari Carmine since the day we’d first met.

“You are amazing,” Ari said, his voice husky and warm. His eyes fastened on my demon mark and I marvelled that he could see its pale shape in the dim light from the lamp.

His hand moved up and unclasped my brassiere. My breasts sprang free, jiggling a bit. They’d always been more than ample and I tried to compensate by buying a brassiere two sizes too small. Ari grunted in surprise and, seeming unable to help himself, immediately lowered his mouth to one, sucking roughly on the nipple. I mewled in protest as the other one puckered, awaiting his touch. It was embarrassing how my body betrayed me, showing Ari the feelings I didn’t want to acknowledge.

He lifted his head and smiled at me, his eyes half-closed with desire. “Your body and your magic are always in sync, Noon. You are put together so well, both inside and out.” He gazed reverently up and down the length of me. “You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.” I swallowed, my throat dry.

Ari splayed his hand across my stomach and moved it lower, over my thin gabardine trousers to the heat between my legs. He cupped the area as he kissed me, his tongue exploring my mouth, slow and deep. I pressed against him, wanting more. The cool wet cotton of his shirt rubbed against my bared nipples, causing an unbearable friction. I sat up suddenly, and tore the brassiere from my shoulders. I yanked Ari’s shirt off. I glanced at his face, expecting to see a wolfish grin, but instead I saw a look of fierce longing.

He pushed me back onto the settee but instead of kissing me, he started licking me, slowly, with the tip of his tongue. He traced the line of my jaw and the pulse in my throat. He nibbled at my collarbone, and then, taking great care to avoid my demon mark, he trailed his tongue lower, between my breasts, and then in lazy circles around an areola, getting closer and closer to the center, where I most wanted to be touched. But he was agonizingly slow about it. He seemed to take great pleasure in teasing me.

He was still circling with his tongue when he popped the front button on my trousers and slid his hand underneath the slip of silk that served as panties. I gasped, knowing where his fingers were headed. Still it was a shock when he plunged in, taking my nipple in his mouth at the same time. I bucked beneath him and he shushed me, murmuring my name.

He haltingly tugged my pants off. When they were finally bunched around my ankles, I hastily kicked them off the rest of the way. He stood up to remove his as I lay splayed on the settee, nearly naked and waiting. For one tense moment, I second-guessed myself. How could I ignore his wishes after this? What promises might he demand? But I couldn’t stop the wanting and I probably would have offered him anything right then if he would just finish what we started. Ari’s signature radiated
happiness
and
arousal
. I remembered how anxious he’d been about asking me to the ball. How much he had wanted me to say yes. This man cared about me. He
loved
me. More than I ever thought possible.

The sound of the rain on the roof above us stopped and all was silent. There were no footsteps or voices. I couldn’t even
hear the sounds of the cabriolets splashing on the still-wet streets outside. The entire world seemed far off and distant. There was only us.

Ari stood above me, hands fisted on his hips, filling himself with the sight of me—as far from nervous now as any man could be. His gaze lingered on the tiny strip of lace covering the only part of me that was still hidden from him. He arched an eyebrow, clearly contemplating the artful but impractical design.

“You better have worn those for me,” he said gruffly. I blushed, remembering how I’d spent the earlier part of my day, and wondered again at Luck’s hand in all this. How much of my destiny was really mine to direct?

I drank in the sight of Ari hulking above me. In the long shadows he looked almost demonlike. But I wasn’t afraid. He knelt before me, hunched and ready, his muscles bunched, his eyes gleaming. I shook with anticipation.

“I want you, Nouiomo.” He bowed his head as though making an offering and then looked up at me, his eyes full of longing. “Do you want me?”

It was so unexpected. No one had ever asked me before. But then I’d never given myself to anyone the way I was giving myself to Ari. Every part of me—body, mind, and magic, was open to receive him. I wanted nothing else but to be full of Ari.

I slid off my panties. Any barriers between us now seemed ludicrous. Ari growled, a sound so real, so animal-like, I twitched in response.

“Yes,” I said, opening my arms wide. My voice was throaty and rough with desire.

Ari lowered himself down on top of me and nudged my legs apart with his knees. He dipped his head to kiss me, but I knew the kiss wouldn’t last long. It was time. He wanted something more and so did I. He lowered his mouth to my demon mark and kissed me there. I cried out, forgetting the sting of his touch there, and arched my back. My hips rose to meet his. Ari’s magic swirled around mine, the edges between our signatures blurring. He entered me, a slow thrusting
motion that filled every part of me. I wriggled and twisted under him, wanting to get closer, wanting him deeper, just wanting
more
.

He plunged in and out in rhythmic strokes designed to send me over the edge. Just when I was on the verge of peaking, he would slow until I begged him
faster, Ari
or
please, Ari!
or just simply cried out his name. Finally, when I had been reduced to such a whimpering, pleading state I wasn’t sure how I could ever hold my head up again, he bit my demon mark, drawing blood, and plunged himself so deep inside me I thought I’d be skewered in half. He shuddered convulsively and I felt the world slip away. I came with such explosive force I feared we’d be singed to ashes. Who knew I would respond so pleasurably to such a rough touch?

Afterward, it seemed as if Ari didn’t want to let me go. We lay on the settee, naked in each other’s arms. Ari’s signature wrapped around and inside of mine as surely as his body had. It felt like someone had poured honey all over me. The sensation of
Ari
was everywhere on me, in my hair, on my skin—

The sound of one of Lekai’s outer doors opening dissolved the honey feeling as surely as a bucket of vinegar would have. I leapt up and grabbed my clothes. Ari was right behind me. We heard footsteps echo on the marble floor of the lobby below us. We dressed in a frantic rush, leaning against one another to pull on pants and shirts, fumbling with buttons and brassiere clasps, tying laces and tucking in shirttails. Finally, when we were both fully clothed, we collapsed on top of one another in a heap of quiet laughter. Ari scooped me up, settled me in his lap, and waited for the footsteps in the lobby to recede. A moment later, I heard the sound of a lock turning in Lekai’s outer door and wondered if we were locked in for the night. Beneath me, Ari shifted into a more comfortable position. The muscles in his thighs hardened and I grinned.

Maybe being locked in wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

T
he week passed in a blur. The semester was winding down. After the Beltane Break, we’d return to school to start prepping for finals. There was an aura of celebration around campus, which was at odds with my feelings. My relationship with Ari entered a new phase.

That night at Lekai had been unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. It shouldn’t have been shocking to me, since I’d only ever dated Hyrkes and had never,
ever
either lost control or given over control during sex (Luck forbid the potentially disastrous results for my poor unsuspecting past lovers). But the encounter with Ari had surprised me, wholly because I had not known, until now, what I’d been missing. And now that I knew, I couldn’t wait to experience it all again (and again and again and again). But Ari became stubborn. He refused to meet me anywhere in secret and instead asked me a dozen times daily to accompany him (in plain sight) back to his room at Infernus. But caution compelled me to avoid such a public display of my affection. So I always
shook my head, or pulled my hand away, or turned my cheek when he sought my lips.

I wavered, caught between agonized yearning and debilitating indecision. Ari simply wasn’t going to hide how he felt anymore, no matter what arguments I made about impropriety. As he pointed out frequently, sometimes with humor, but mostly just with an increasing mix of belligerence and incredulity, if I was considering allowing a nonmatriculated Angel to cast an unfathomably powerful, dangerous, unauthorized spell over me, then I couldn’t possibly be worried about what the St. Luck’s faculty would think of us dating.

T
hursday night of that week, Night rang room 112 of Megiddo. For once, I was there instead of at Corpus Justica (since Ari never met me at the library anymore, studying in the stacks had lost all appeal). The connection between Maize and New Babylon was incredibly patchy. Though every dorm room at St. Luck’s now had an electro-harmonic, I knew the tribes (who eschewed modern aesthetics as much as the Angels adored it) still had only one each. Night was likely calling from his Monarch’s office. After some initial pleasantries, made difficult by the bad connection, Night got right to the point.