Lost In Time: A Fallen Novel (18 page)

“Calliope needs to die,” Marcus said throwing back the rest of the whiskey he stood and filled his glass again.

“Yes well many things in the infernos should not be and are, but I would have to agree with you on that matter. I will speak with Dante when I return.” Again he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

“Would you like a room, there are plenty?” Marcus asked, Victor must be exhausted.

He didn’t open his eyes as he spoke. “Will a bed erase what I felt my sister go through? Will it make that memory disappear?”

“No,” Marcus said quietly wishing he could take some of that pain.

Victor chuckled. “As I thought, then I shall remain here with the fire. I am cold, and it helps.”

Marcus nodded and left Victor tossing the glass of whiskey back he headed back to Celeste’s room. Kyra was standing outside the door her ear pressed to it.

She jumped when Marcus tapped her on the shoulder. She swung around and hit him in the shoulder. “Are you trying to scare me to death?” she whispered urgently.

“Why don’t you just knock?” Marcus asked.

“I want to help. But I’m not sure if she’ll allow me to help,” she insisted.

“She is being nosey instead of warming my bed,” Ryder grumbled as he walked down the hall toward them.

“How is she?”

Marcus looked at his friends, his family and let them see the pain in his eyes. “She almost died, but I think we were in time.”

“I put up Druid wards the moment I heard you all return. Calliope won’t be able to get past them,” Kyra said as she leaned into the listen at the door again.

“OH for the love of the gods,” Ryder snapped, he reached forward and opened the door and pushed his wife inside and then shut the door.

“For a warrior class sometimes she is so timid.” Ryder shook his head in irritation. “By the way you look like hell. Want to talk about it?”

“You know something brother, I feel like hell,” Marcus agreed.

“That bad?”

“I can’t even put into words what I saw tonight. Nor would I put that on anyone’s conscious.”

Ryder nodded. “I understand.”

They stood outside the door in silence until Kyra cracked the door open, tears streaking down her face. “Marcus can you please come in and carry her to her bed?”

Marcus immediately pushed past Kyra, and went into the bathroom. Celeste was still naked, and he could see the wounds clearly now she was clean. There wasn’t a single spot on her body that hadn’t been cut beaten or bruised. Fury irrupted inside of him so strong he shook with the inadequacy he felt toward exacting revenge on Calliope.

“Hold it together,” Lexi said quietly.

Marcus wrapped Celeste in a towel her hair had been pulled up on the top of her head in an ornate bun. He knew Celeste would hate and carried her to the bed. The room had filled with Victor, Cameron, Kyra, Ryder and Christian had returned.

Marcus laid her down on the bed and covered her up, He looked at all the occupants of the room they all looked like he felt, helpless and impotent, wanting desperately to fix this. Take away all her pain.

“She lost a great deal of blood, her body will of course heal but she needs to have sex as soon as possible to give her the extra strength she needs to heal completely.” Lexi looked around the room.

“Fuck, don’t look at me I’m her brother,” Victor snapped. Christian nodded his agreement.

“I’m taken,” Ryder said grabbing Kyra and pulling her close.

“I’d do it but frankly she scares me,” Cameron said.

Marcus shook his head. “Everyone get the hell out of here.”

“Marcus,” Kyra said, startled.

“Kyra trust me,” he urged.

              She gave him a hard look before nodding and leaving with Ryder. Cameron with them.

Victor and Christian stood there; Marcus knew they were fighting an internal battle at the moment. Marcus pulled off his shirt.

“OH gods.” Victor swore, anger lacing each syllable. “If this wasn’t going to help her I would kill you right now.”

He stormed from the room; Christian held back and looked at Marcus his head tilted to the side for a moment. He had never been one for conversation, and when he spoke you stopped and listened. “If you hurt my sister in any way be prepared to die.” Leaving Marcus in the room with Lexi and Celeste.

“Well?” Lexi snapped.

Marcus took a deep breath. “She is going to be fine Lexi. I will take care of her from here, you must trust me.”

She glared but left the room. Marcus finished undressing and climbed into the bed. He wrapped himself around Celeste her body was cold, and he rubbed her arms and legs.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Marcus’s eyes snapped up to hers. “For what?”

“Getting everyone out of here, and not letting that boy Cameron have his way with me.” She smiled.

“When did you wake?” he asked still rubbing warmth back into her body.

“When you wrapped me in the towel.” She reached up to her head and groaned. “My hair will never dry. Can you please help me?”

She tried to lift herself up but Marcus pushed her down. “Let me.” He rolled her over and pulled the many pins from her hair letting it fall like a red water fall all over her back and his chest. Wet it clung to him, he caught his breath and tried to move but couldn’t. Taking a strand he rubbed it between his fingers and brought it to his nose. It smelled like lavender, and he wanted desperately to bury his face into it.

“Um would you like me to braid it?” He knew she preferred that.

She laughed but he could tell it hurt her to do so. “Can you braid hair, Fallen?”

Marcus climbed from the bed and went into the bathroom for a brush. “I have many talents that you are unaware of.”

“Then I am glad you saved me so that I could learn them,” she said quietly.

Marcus started at the ends which he noticed no longer had the quills her mother must have removed them. He brushed the red locks slowly moving up her back. And chastised himself, five hundred years without a woman, and this was so erotic for him he wasn’t sure he was going to get her hair braided without coming and embarrassing them both.

“Why do you have such long hair?” He asked trying to fill the silence so that he didn’t roll her over and have his way with her like her mother wanted.

“Mating,” Celeste said, and the one world jolted through Marcus like a bullet. “My long hair indicates to other females and males that I am single. When I blood rite I will cut my hair.” She said it with no emotion, and Marcus couldn’t figure out why the thought of her cutting her hair upset him so much.

“But it will grow back right?”

“No. Once you cut the hair of a female Sex Demon it stops growing.”

“But then after five hundred years it should be dragging behind you like Rapunzel.” Marcus commented, unbraided it reached below her knees. It also explained why she had flipped out in the alley when he had threatened to cut it. He had no right to cut her hair, and for some reason that stabbed at him. What were these strange feelings he had for this woman? He hadn’t known her for a week, yet he desperately wanted to break centuries old vows if only to just argue with her.

“I cut it once,” Celeste said so quietly that he almost missed it.

“What?”

“I thought I had fallen in love. So I cut it to where it is today. But it didn’t work out, and my hair of course stopped growing. It’s best the way it is though, for fighting,” she explained.

Marcus gripped the brush so tight he snapped the handle off. “You were in love once?” he asked the words slicing through him.

“I thought I was yes.”

Marcus tossed the handle of the brush onto the floor and finished brushing her hair and braided it. “Better?” he asked placing it over her shoulder so she could hold onto it. Something he had noticed she liked to do when she was thinking. It was like her security blanket, something she turned to when she needed to busy her hands while her mind worked something out.

“Yes, thank you.” Her voice had grown very quiet. “You can leave now; I promise I’ll be fine.”

“Of course you will.” Marcus climbed back into the bed and pulled her close, she resisted. “Celeste we both know you need this.”

“Marcus?” she breathed his name making him so hard he was sure he could cut glass with his cock.

“Yes.”

“Please tell me you are wearing something.”

He chuckled. “I may be celibate Celeste, but I am not stupid. I have left my boxers on.”

’She breathed a sigh of relief and he wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or happy she didn’t want to have sex with him.

He curled himself around her instead just enjoying the feel of her, she had warmed considerable. She took his arm and placed it between her two and laid her cheek on them drawing him in even closer. He buried her face in the nape of his neck breathing in her scent, she smelled amazing. He couldn’t imagine being anywhere else in the world at the moment. What was it about this woman that made him forget all his vows?

It had been two millennia since he had been in the Elysian Fields but holding Celeste in his arms? Her needing his body and comfort, it was like a piece of heaven for him. It was the selflessness of being an Angel. It shocked and comforted him at the same time.

He had almost drifted off when something splashed against his arm he jerked up, as another drop of blood splashed against his arm to join the first.

“You’re hurt.” He jumped up and ran into the bathroom for a towel. Celeste had pulled herself into a half sitting position. And took the towel waving him off as he searched for the wound.

“Please Marcus. It’s not a wound.” She lay back down holding the towel to her face.

“What the hell?” he growled.

“Please stop doing that,” she whispered, her words muffled by the towel.

“God dammit Celeste you’re bleeding again, what the hell is going on. Do I need to get Victor? And what do you want me to stop doing?” She grabbed his hand.

“Marcus I cry tears of blood.” She looked at him as another tear slipped from her eyes and streaked down her cheek leaving a bloody trail.

“Gods sweetheart.” He climbed back into the bed and gathered her into his arms. He knew she needed to cry, needed to get her emotional pain out, or it could eat her alive. He felt utterly helpless as she exhausted herself.

“I never cry in front of people,” she said which only made her cry harder.

“Cry all you like,” he crooned, wrapping his body around her smaller form. She fit him like a glove, was soft where he was hard and vice versa. He molded her against him thrilling in the feel of her pulled up against him so closely.

She cried silently eventually wearing herself out. “He really hurt me, Marcus. Calliope is not right in the head, being in that box did something to him. I need to have those boxes destroyed.”

Marcus actually had to agree with her. “Don’t cry, we will take care of it,” he promised.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him. “I know how much you must hate this right now but I need you Marcus I need you more then I need to breathe right now.”

Her words were husky, and she moaned deep in her throat as she pressed her face into his neck.

He caressed her back pushing her closer when he should have pushed her away. “Celeste I can’t.” He breathed the words, his body betraying him, and they both knew it because it was pressed against her stomach.

She shook her head. “Then why are you here?”

That was a damn good question. “Because you need me, and I’m your partner.”

Celeste hiccupped. “Then leave, I don’t want you here if it’s an obligation.”

Marcus was dumbfounded, he tried to pull away but he couldn’t. “I can’t leave you Celeste.” He couldn’t, just the thought of it made him light headed. He was shocked, after five hundred years he had found a female he wanted.

When he didn’t release her she moaned. “I need you closer to me then.”

Marcus was in acute pain, but maneuvered them so that they were entwined he wasn’t sure where he began and she ended. His body screaming and his mind wracked with the vows he had taken.

“Marcus” she moaned his name, and for all the oaths he had taken, for all the promises he had made her next words undid all of it. “You’re such a good man. I’m sorry I fight with you so much.”

It cracked him, that wall of vows, everything he had worked for was to be recognized just as she had put it. He broke, was putty in her hands. He kissed her, he couldn’t help it. It was exactly what he needed to hear, what he longed to hear. He promised himself that he would stop at a kiss. But she moaned and kissed him back with such fervor that he couldn’t have pulled away even if he had wanted to. If the gates of hell had opened up and spouted forth the damned, he would have continued to kiss her.

When he did finally pull away he let his lips roam across her face. “I never want to feel like that again Celeste,” he demanded in a gentle voice.

She pulled back slightly her eyes dazed with passion. “Feel like what again?”

“When I walked into that room tonight, and saw you…” He couldn’t continue instead he kissed her showing her with his body, what he had felt. What he didn’t want to feel ever again. He tore his lips from hers. “Promise me. Promise me you will never put yourself in that type of danger again.”