Summon Toren (Archangels Creed #3) (12 page)

The pleasure was dangerous. No wonder his mercury sought this, the
power
in what he was feeling was so immense. It sparred with the most basic logic and reasoning, threatening to overwhelm and overpower it.

Beyond glorious.

She grew hungrier, getting between his legs and opening his thighs wide, sliding her pretty mouth along his length, whimpering as she consumed him. Her eyes opened and locked on his and his heart slammed in his chest at the look there. Bold. Pure. And
So. Hot.

Toren sat up and pulled her to his mouth, kissing her
with desperate hunger while placing her beneath him. His turn to taste this woman. He yanked her t-shirt up and found her perfect naked breasts. “God, so beautiful.” He lowered to feast on them, one then the other then back again, his mercury shooting sparks of fire into his manhood at her every gasp and cry. His fingers roamed over soft skin, etching her every muscle and bone into the forever parts of his being. The feel of her body moving like liquid beneath him, her fingers on his naked scalp then neck and shoulders was driving him to a point he was not familiar with.

It was dangerous…reckless.

He grew hungrier.

He took her wrists and slammed them onto the bed as the mercury sped up in his body, causing his breath and body to heat up.

“Toren!”

The sweet way she cried his name made him bite her neck, her shoulder, her arm until she was beside herself with the most beautiful grunts and moans. She was
strong.
The more aggressive he was, the more she loved it.

She was perfect for him.

He held her waist and lifted her off the bed, swirling his tongue in her naval. “I’m going to suck you. Taste you. Lick you. Till you’re screaming from it.”

His words came out warped with his mercurial power, a deep resonating rumble.

She suddenly gasped and sat up. “Wait.” She licked her lips, breathing hard. “How are you…” she looked at his body. “You’re all better, that’s impossible, how are you moving?”

Toren sat back on his haunches, heaving through the need racing through him. He wanted to
take
what he wanted and knew it was not permitted but he was totally amazed with the barbaric need to do just that. “I prayed. Now I need to taste you and I’m pretty sure I’ll erupt into flames if I don’t.”

Her gaze melted with desire and Toren leaned toward her, having to smell her, touch her. She slowly leaned away as he drew near, afraid but curious. He could work with that.

As he got closer, he paid close attention to her body’s signals. “Your heart is racing.”

She aimed her gaze at his approaching mouth. “I’m scared.”

He shook his head at the timid whisper. “Not just scared.” Toren reached her cheek and he drew her scent inside him. “Excited.” He slid his nose slowly along her face. “You smell better than anything in all the universes…do you know that?”

“U-universes?”

He slid his lips over her skin. “Mmm, yes.” He glided his mouth to hers, then grazed the soft satin. She parted for him and gasped. He answered her passion with his own tormented groan before demanding more with tiny nibbles on her lips. “I want you Samantha.”

“Oh God.”

“Mmmmm.” Toren’s entire body hummed at those perfect words and he slid his tongue along her lips, tasting. “Such a strong woman...I love that about you.”

She whimpered in his mouth and Toren pushed her down on the bed and held her entire neck and jaw in one hand, working her lips apart more, tasting deeper. He finally picked the lock to that buried hunger inside her and her fingers gripped his shoulders as he slid his tongue all over hers. “You want me too.”

“Oh God, yes, yes.”

The hot gasp set his angelic bones on fire.  His mouth left hers and settled on her neck, sucking and licking at her pulse. “I wonder what you will sound like when I lick your essence.” Toren couldn’t wait any longer to find out. He worked his lips down her body and lifted her by her waist when he reached her naval. “I
adore
your taste.” He swirled his tongue in the tight depression before easily removing those blue jeans.

“This…” He skimmed his fingers over the white cotton panties. “…imprisons my every waking thought.”  He hooked his fingers in her panties and worked them over her perfect hips, letting his gaze meet hers.

Worry mixed with desire in her clear blue eyes and Toren shook his head slowly. “Don’t be afraid of me.” He latched onto her knees with his hands and opened her. “Don’t fight it. I only want to hear you make those sounds.”

She gasped. “What sounds?”

He looked between her legs and his fingers dug into her muscle at seeing her again. “You’re beautiful.” He slid his finger along the slit, agony filling him. “You removed the hair for me.” His gaze slid up to hers. “Because you knew I wanted to taste you here.” With his eyes locked on hers, he dipped the tip of his middle finger inside her. “You wanted me to like it.”

She couldn’t speak with words. But she didn’t need to. Her body did it for her in the most delicious way. A soft moan and her legs opening more. Inviting him.

Toren slowly closed his eyes. “That sound. That’s what I need to hear.” He pushed his finger into her slowly, his breaths reverberating with his mercury powers when she opened even wider and lifted her sweet hips for it.

He laid between her legs and kissed her inner thighs, sliding his lips and face all over them. He watched her perfectly dainty breasts that he adored, rising and falling with her own passion. For him.

“Look at me Samantha.” When her gaze met his, he leaned and placed his first kiss on her pretty sex.  He watched her face as he continued kissing with soft, sensual, nibbling kisses. “You smell divine.” He kept his eyes on hers and licked her slit from bottom to top, pushing between the folds and swirling his tongue on that hard little bud.

His body jolted when her mouth flew open in astonishment with more of those earth moving sounds.

He carefully worked that little bud, watching her every move, learning her perfectly in less than a minute. He soon had just the right pressure, speed, motion, and she rewarded him with the sounds he craved. When she began squirming beneath his hands and lips, he added those movements to his eternal needs, along with her sounds, scent and taste. All things he simply could not exist without.

Another minute of experimenting and things changed. Her moans and whimpers turned aggressive. Not a begging for mercy sound, but a
do it now, right now
sound. Toren realized it was the combination of his tongue and finger inside her. He’d found her core and was stroking it softly. Before long, she was beside herself, flicking her perfect hips harder and faster. Toren growled right on her as she scratched his scalp and dug her feet into his back, pressing herself harder to his lips. Merciful Father in
heaven.

Toren gripped her firm butt as he guided her to that edge he knew was coming. The climax. The orgasm. God, yes, it was wonderful, he loved watching hers, commanding it,
bringing
it, what a privilege.

She began to repeat his name in high pitched moans. Then she cried out those words that would haunt him for all eternity. “I’m coming, God, I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Holy Father. Toren’s cock threatened to explode as she bucked under his mouth. He pressed his hands harder into her butt, letting her orgasm pass into his palms, fingers, tongue and lips. Toren let the agony fill him, an intense storm of pleasure raining through her clear to a molecular level. Utterly traumatic.

Toren slowed his motions, kissing her with extreme softness on her swollen moist folds as she whimpered in the aftermath.

It wasn’t consummation. And they hadn’t said he couldn’t make her feel good until that.

The idea that he had such a thing to entertain himself with until the consummation filled him to bursting with unspeakable joy and rapture.

He could handle that.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Oh. My. God
.

Sam was afraid to open her eyes and find that it was all real and not a bad dream. Wait. Why was she afraid to find it real? Oh right. Because the man was gorgeous and gorgeous men didn’t
want
to do what he just did much less
do them.
And there was no pretending she hadn’t practically begged for it.

Images and memories flooded her, specifically the feel and taste of him deep in her mouth. Holy hickory, why did she do that? Because he was
god
damn
irresistible. The only thing she regretted was having to deal with the rejection that was sure to come. Maybe…maybe if she acted as though it was no big deal then it would be less humiliating. She could do that, she wasn’t a child, she was a
woman.
Damn did she ever feel like one at the moment.

But showing weakness wasn’t an option. She had to be strong and not vulnerable. She slipped up bad when she opened her body to need and…
lust.
Time to put on her big girl panties. As soon as she found her literal ones. Lordy.

She sat up, holding the pillow to her chest and looked around for her clothes, avoiding his domineering presence on the end of the bed. On his knees yet sitting, legs open wide as you please, hands draped casually between them. Watching her. If she made the mistake of looking, she’d never stop and God only knew what she’d do to him. Yes
to
him, she needed to do things to him. Hell, he needed her to do things to him, and that alone was shockingly the more difficult thing to refuse. She was behaving like a slut. She could never let him think she did these things on a regular basis or he’d surely use her. Shit. Hadn’t she just done it and now she was acting like it was nothing special? No big deal, do it all the time? 

She’d just clear that up right here and now. “What happened here today? Consider it a once in a life time. I owed you.” Dammit, now she sounded like a little nasty prostitute. “But don’t think that’s how I’m accustomed to paying for things, I assure you it isn’t.”

He snorted and she glanced at him. He’d turned and sat at the edge of the bed, his beautiful back to her, head shaking. What was
his
problem? Surely he wasn’t angry. Probably glad. 

He glanced back and she got stuck in that bright sexy gaze of his. “Baby…” the word was loaded with hunger as the heat in his
eyes burned her straight through the pillow, “…I would so gladly suffer eternal demotion…” he raised his gaze back to hers. “… for just one
more
taste of your divine secrets.
”
He followed the heart stopping statement with a sexy lick of his lips.

Sam
’s pulse boomed in her ears as she fought to think and speak at the same time. “Fine then,” she heard herself say. “I have errands to run. And since you’re looking so damn good, you can come help me, I’ll need some muscle.”

She closed her eyes briefly at realizing what she’d just said. She spied her clothes on the floor a few feet away and tweezered them with her toes and dragged them to her. Thankfully he turned back around and she quickly pulled her t-shirt back on, then her panties and jeans and finally her boots.

“Get ready and I’ll be back by to pick you up.”

He stood and turned. “I’m ready now.”

She looked at him, immediately sorry she had. Her body was trembling as it was and now she was forced to appear unaffected by his glorious nakedness. What an immaculate body he had. Ridiculous is what it was.

She jerked her gaze down when he began walking toward her. Oh shit oh shit. She was stuck to the floor thinking she should run right about now. But that would mean she was affected and she didn’t want him thinking that. With that in mind, she raised her head and met his gaze.

Hello. Deer in headlights.

The man stopped inches from her, put his thumb under her chin, tilted her head and brushed his lips over hers with a sexy satisfaction. And all she could do was stand there like mush on a stick of bones, quivering with desire.

“Are
you
ready?”

** ** **

Jessie shook her head with mild exasperation. Her second meeting with the Pope's
assistant was dragging on forever. She might not mind so much, if the young and handsome priest, Father Vincenzo, wasn't so straightforward about prolonging the conversation.

Dorn had informed her of Lucian's reaction during the first meeting, and warned her to be careful with the second. Things might have been simpler if Lucian would just let her go alone, or with Sally, but he'd insisted on accompanying her to the suite the Vatican had taken at the Imperial Hotel.

She stifled a sigh as Father Vincenzo smiled. "
Signorina,
might I again offer refreshment? It perplexes me to speak with you of such matters as you refrain from partaking of my hospitality." He leaned forward, his chair already uncomfortably close, until his knees pressed against hers.

Wonderful. Just what she needed. A philandering priest in a position with the power to either bless her request for Papal Audience, or halt that part of the mission in its tracks. "Father, isn't it customary to refer to a married woman as
signora
?" Hopefully the gentle reminder would take care of the issue.

The priest inclined his head in a little bow, the light glinting off his black hair. "Just so,
signorina.
However, you have not been married in a religious or civil ceremony, leaving you unmarried."

Jessie took a s
low deep breath to quell the anger rolling through her, searching for a diplomatic way to put the man in his place. "I assure you Lucian and I are indeed married. Perhaps not in a civil ceremony, but our union is blessed by God. Directly. Remember I told you I have a specific reason for needing an audience with the Pope?"

The priest nodded with narrowed eyes, suspicious of what she had to say. "I recall. And you went on to say that because you are both Catholic and a women's health care provider, you had something unique to offer on the question of birth control for believers."

Jessie's turn to nod. "Yes, and those are true. I left out the rest, though, preferring to speak directly with His Holiness." Real interest sparked in the priest's eyes. "I am in regular direct contact with an Archangel, a Warrior under the command of the Archangel Uriel."

The
priest's lips curved in a false smile while his eyes shuttered with dismissal. He regarded her as another crackpot zealot. "And we should believe this, why?"

Jessie closed her eyes to concentrate and access the gifts from Dorn, just as he'd taught her. There. The priest as a child, playing in a sun dappled yard. She went deeper. "Your mother waited tables at a little coffee shop in Segni, just outside Rome. Your father was the butcher's son."

The priest smiled. "You could have learned that from a simple Google search."

"I could have." Jessie smiled, ready to deliver the
coup de grace.
"However, could I have learned that you experienced your first nocturnal emission at the age of eleven? Or that you used your telescope to spy on the young widow next door as she bathed? Or perhaps I could have Googled your name and learned that when you were thirteen, you threatened the fifteen year old girl down the street into allowing you to touch her breasts and see her genitals. You told her you would molest her six year old sister." She paused when abject horror crossed the priest's face. "I'm sure I could convince Allesandra to share her experience with His Holiness. Did you know she considered herself ruined after you raped her? Or that she turned to prostitution? She's very bitter. And it doesn't help that your mother rubs your success in her mother's face every time they meet at the market."

The priest paled and his breathing became labored. "What do you want
puttana
?" He glared at her, lip pulling back in a snarl, as a guttural sound escaped his throat. "I warn you, I am a dangerous enemy to have."

Jessie forced herself to smile despite the chill rolling through her blood. "I have many dangerous enemies. It's an occupational hazard when your boss is an Archangel."

The priest's eyes took on an otherworldly red glow, barely visible but nonetheless intimidating. "Lies."

Jessie smiled again and, unsure where the impulse came from, swept her hand through the air. Instantly
, a transparent scene in miniature unfolded between them. The final moments of the battle at the convent with Dorn and Kharef locked in combat at the center. "I want a private audience with His Holiness the Pope. You will arrange that. No one else will be present, either physically or electronically." She snapped her fingers and the scene disappeared.

The man st
ared with mouth agape as though trying to figure out what sort of magic trick she’d just pulled. Being unable to decide forced him into submission, even if only temporarily. "
Idiota.
How do you propose I arrange this? Private audiences aren't even granted for heads of state."

"You'll find a way. I have faith in you." She smiled and stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me,
mio marito
is waiting." She deliberately turned her back and walked away, making sure to add a seductive sway to her hips. Let the bastard think about that.

Lucian stood, waiting for her, when she reached the outer room, a broad smile on his face. "You are the most beautiful, most brutal woman in the world." He took her hand to lead her from the suite. "Thank you for letting me listen in."

She smiled back and tiptoed to kiss him. "You're welcome. It was the easiest way I knew of to combat the mark. Not to mention, it let you help me confirm my suspicions that the priest was at least under demon influence. Now I know I wasn't just imagining it."

** ** **

Sam took a deep breath of the clear cold air, relishing the brightness of the day. The storm had passed, leaving well over two feet of snow in its wake and for the second day in a row, the mercury hung well below freezing. The temperature seemed more brisk and refreshing than actually cold, though. She was pretty sure the past couple of hours with Toren had more to do with that feeling than the actual weather did. Had she really let him do those things?

The worst
part about it was that she couldn't turn around and go back for more at the moment. The animals needed tending, and with only one man somewhat on his feet, that responsibility fell to her. Jonas had taken care of the dozen horses kept in the barn and pens, but he wasn't up for the trek to the feeding stations for the cattle. So she had to do it. Having Toren along for company would be nice. She'd have a chance to get to know him better. Ha. Better late than never.

The specter of her father's nasty accusations leapt up to haunt her with the thought. Damn the bastard. Would he never—
No. She refused to allow him to intrude further on the most amazing experience of her life. Never again would she give him that kind of power over her. She resolutely returned her head to the tasks before her.

A quick inspection of the truck satisfied her the bucket of bolts would survive the day-long trek. All the tools they might need were packed into the bed, and Kassie's food container sat full and waiting in the place of honor in the middle of the seat. All things considered, the day promised to be beautiful.

A soft sound alerted her to Toren's presence. How such a big man could move so quietly mystified her. He stopped directly behind her and slid his arms around her waist to pull her back against his body.

Sam's muscles automatically threatened to tighten in protest to the intimate touch, but she easily brought the response under control. After what she'd already allowed him to do, a hug was nothing.

A soft moan vibrated through his chest and he dropped his head to nuzzle along her neck. His beard stubble rasped against her skin, raising the most delicious goosebumps at the memory of how that stubble felt against other skin. Her head dropped back against his chest to give better access to more flesh. She wanted his touch
everywhere.

Her surrender seemed to trigger something within him. He drew her tighter against him as a growl rolled through his body with a shudder. "So beautiful." Little puffs of warm air against sensitive skin set her heart pounding. "I could spend eternity making love to you. I had no idea it would be like this." He growled again and bent to bring his incredible mouth toward the front of her neck, his tongue leaving trails of flame as he turned her in his arms.

His mouth found hers in a blaze of need. His firm lips slid over hers, teasing, gently nipping and tugging before the tip of his tongue swept across her lips, seeking entrance. She willingly parted her lips in invitation. The velvet rasp of his tongue against hers brought a needy moan to her throat.

Eventually, he drew back, breathing hard. "We'd better go take care of those cattle. Or I'm going to have you stripped right here so I can taste every inch of your delicious body."

When he spoke like that, she almost believed him. Until the reality of her existence struck again. A plain woman, more masculine than feminine, didn’t attract that kind of attention from a gorgeous man for long. Maybe it was a little diversion. Maybe he was bored and so accustomed to female companionship, he just automatically seduced any female that came within range. No matter how badly she wanted to believe he was genuine, she was perfectly aware of the real nature of men.