16. Chapter Sixteen

He was an angel of darkness, something straight out of scripture. I could hardly believe my eyes, and it must have registered on my face, because the shadows tightened around my wrists, making them ache.

"Not what you imagined?" he asked, quirking a dark brow at me.

No, it wasn"t. It couldn"t be farther from the grotesque, horrible things I"d been imagining.

I couldn"t understand why he chose to hide his appearance, preferring the ominous visage as a specter of death instead, but his words replayed in my head. His face reminded him of where he"d come from, where he could never return.

Did he mean...Heaven?

I gasped, realization slamming into me like a brick wall. "You"re an angel."

"Was," he snapped, his voice cracking like a whip. His eyes were glowing embers in the dim light. "When I was cursed, I was stripped of my wings, cast into Hell to rot for eternity."

Fear zipped up my spine, turning my blood to ice. The urge to ask what he was cursed for burned up my throat, but I bit my tongue. I didn't want to risk his wrath, especially when he already had me bound and at his mercy.

I did, however, feel sorry for him.

He'd been trapped in the deepest depths of Hell, and somehow he'd survived. He'd fought hard, patiently waiting for the moment he could escape, and he'd managed it. I helped him do it.

My stomach knotted, heat prickling across my cheeks. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, this angel and I shared a bond. Somehow, through the twisting strings of fate, we"d saved one another. I just hated that it took all this—years of watching over my shoulder, countless nightmares, and now murder—to get us here.

"What do I call you, then?" I"d only ever known him as the shadow, and even that wasn"t accurate. He was much more than swirling darkness. He"s gone from stalker to savior to angel in a few hours, had me bound and halfway undressed, and I didn"t even know his name.

"Aether."

I expected something darker, something demented, but Aether was neither of those things. It was light and airy, the antithesis of the man standing before me, but I could imagine what he might have looked like before, with glorious wings and a glowing halo. The name was much more fitting of that image.

I repeated it out loud, barely a whisper, and couldn't fight the smirk curling my lips. The shadow that had haunted me for so long finally had a name.

"Are you not afraid?" he asked, the black dagger he'd used to cut off Marcus' extremities appearing in his hand a second later. He dipped the tip of the blade into the front of my skirt, the material ice cold as it brushed against my skin.

"Not really," I said, though the blade in my panties was making me a bit nervous. He said he wouldn't hurt me, and I believed him. "Not as much as I should be."

His eyes glowed with curiosity as he dipped the blade lower. My skin burned against it, tension building in my core as the flat side of the dagger sank toward my pussy. "Why is that?"

Because I"m fucking insane.That had to be the answer. I should have been pissing myself in fear, crying and begging for this ancient deity to let me go and leave me alone, but the only thing I could think about was him reaching my soaked center and feeling how turned on I was. Christ, what is wrong with me?

"You saved me," I said, recalling the moment he appeared between Marcus and me. The power, the magic, the rage that filled the room. "Granted, I"m not sure how I feel about cold-blooded murder on my behalf, but who knows what would have happened if you hadn"t been there."

Without breaking eye contact, he sliced through the front of my skirt in a single motion, and the fabric fell to the ground at my feet. I shivered, my shredded fishnets sagging around my hips. My clothes were in tatters, but I felt completely exposed as his eyes roamed over me, drinking me in.

"I'll destroy anyone who dares touch what"s mine." His tone was as sharp as the blade in his hand.

"You keep saying I belong to you, but I don"t remember agreeing to that." I'm not sure what possessed me to keep talking. It might have been my raging libido, desperate for him to touch me already. Or I might have been delusional, forgetting just how dangerous he was. Either way, I regretted it the moment the words left my mouth.

A wicked grin crossed his face, giving his features a sinister glow. "I don't remember giving you a choice."

Before I could argue further, shadow tendrils wrapped around my thighs and lifted me off the ground. They kept me suspended as they pried my legs apart, revealing my dripping center. I whimpered as Aether's eyes roved over my body, amazed and impressed that he"d managed to make a dark magic sex swing.

What else could that magic do?

"Now that you know my name, you can scream it while I take my knife to that sweet pussy of yours," he said, pressing the flat side of the blade against my folds.

I stiffened, my heart jumping into my throat as fear twisted my insides. Was he going to slice up my lady bits the way he"d mutilated Marcus" fingers? I gasped for air but it was hard to breathe.

"You said you weren"t going to hurt me," I managed, staring down at the blade.

He flipped it around in his hand, dragging the hilt along my soaking wet folds, and teasing my swollen clit with it. It was cold against my flushed skin.

"I said I"d only hurt you in ways you"d enjoy," he correctly, lining the dagger hilt up and pressing it firmly inside. "I didn"t say I wouldn"t hurt you at all."

A moan knocked from my lips as he buried the hilt, thrusting it in slowly to allow my pussy time to adjust. It was hard and a little uncomfortable, but watching him fuck me with such a deadly weapon did dark, delicious things to me.

"Fuck," I cried as he picked up the pace, filling me to the brim.

I almost wondered if the blade was slicing into his skin, but I couldn't bring myself to care as a shadow tendril wrapped around my throat, squeezing until I couldn't breathe. I hoped he sliced open his palm and bled everywhere.

I thrashed against the hold of the shadows in vain. They didn't budge in the slightest. The edges of my vision darkened as I ran out of air, wondering if this was how I died.

"You look so pretty when you struggle," he said, his thumb finding my painfully swollen clit. He drew tight circles around it in time with the thrusts of his knife, tension building in my core, my muscles coiling tight.

My eyes fluttered closed as I tried and failed to take a breath, but before I lost consciousness my climax slammed into me, wracking my body with the most intense waves of pleasure I'd ever felt. The shadow around my throat loosened its grip, just enough for me to fill my lungs, and as I screamed his name it echoed off the walls of the room around us.

"Holy shit," I gasped, blinking hard until my vision focused.

Aether slipped his knife out of me, completely drenched in my come, and raised it to his lips, lapping up the fluid with his tongue.

"You taste as sweet as I imagined," he said with a wicked grin. "The best thing I"ve tasted in a thousand years."

I watched with my mouth hanging open, surprised when my pussy throbbed again. I might have nearly died with that orgasm, but she was eager for another one.

Were near death experiences my new kink?

I sure hoped not.

"Did you like being fucked with my knife?" he asked, spinning the blade effortlessly between his fingers. Judging by the lack of blood on his hands, I took it that the weapon had no effect on him. Go figure. "Or would you rather me fuck you with my cock?"

My face flushed, heat scorching my cheeks. How was I supposed to tell him I wanted both? The knife incited fear, kicking up my adrenaline that made me come harder than I had in my life, but I was eager to see what he was hiding beneath those robes. At this point, I didn't care what he fucked me with, but I was going to combust if he didn't do it fast.

"Yes, please," I begged, attempting to wiggle my hips. I wasn't sure how to entice an ancient deity, but my pussy was throbbing needily, desperate to be filled. "Fuck me, Aether. Please. I want to feel you."

At my pleas, dark curiosity fell over his features. With a wave, the dagger disappeared, and he took a step closer, the fabric of his robe brushing against my sensitive center. His hands snaked up my body, cupping my breasts and tweaking my nipples until they hardened into stiff peaks. I groaned, attempting to roll my hips, but the shadows didn't allow for movement.

"Before I fuck you, I will mark you," he warned. "And once you bear my mark, you'll belong to me. Forever. Are you sure that's what you want?"

I hesitated, considering the gravity of his words, but it was difficult with ecstasy fogging my brain. He'd already ruled my life for the last three years, and now that I knew the truth, being forever bound to this man didn't seem so terrible. I could name worse things.

I probably should have taken more time to reason through the pros and cons, but his hand brushed over my pussy, tearing a whimper from my lips. "Yes," I urged impatiently. "Mark me, claim me. Please, I just need to feel you inside me."

"As you wish," he said. "This might hurt just a bit."

I whined, my core aching for attention. "W-what do you mean?"

He leaned closer, his body pressing against me through the material of his robe, and grabbed my wrist with the fresh tattoo. His fingers on the raw flesh made me cry out, but he only squeezed it harder.

"I have to remove the mark that worthless male made on you first."

I opened my mouth at the same time blinding white pain burned up my arm, starting beneath his fingertips and exploding outward. I screamed, thrashing against the unforgiving hold of the shadows, as Aether's free hand sank between my thighs and he plunged two fingers into my pussy. Pain tangled with pleasure and my screams turned into long, delicious groans.

"Fuck you," I gritted out, which only received a dark chuckle in response.

Aether's lips dipped to the side of my neck, brushing over it gently before his voice vibrated over my skin. "Momentarily, my precious mortal. I've waited such a long time for this moment. I want to enjoy every inch of you."

His teeth grazed down the side of my neck, his mouth dipping lower to catch one of my nipples. When he released my wrist, I tore my eyes away from him to observe the damage. Even in the dim light, I could make out the black tendrils twisting around the spot where the tattoo had been. As promised, he'd scrubbed ever bit of ink from my arm, leaving his mark instead.

"What the hell?" I asked, but he didn't appear to be listening.

Aether pulled away, an explosion of shadows erupting between us, temporarily blocking my view of him. When they dissolved, he was naked, standing before me in all his glory. He looked like an ancient sculpture, his frame perfect and packed with lean muscles. My eyes slowly made their way down his body, landing on the rock-hard cock that swung between his legs. It made my jaw drop.

He was huge.

More than huge.

How the hell was that supposed to fit?

"You're going to break me in half," I said, my eyes wide.

I was always the optimist when it came to making things work, but I was starting to question more than just my sanity. I was starting to question my will to live. I understood all too well how easily he could end my life, but right then, with my pussy aching to feel him again, I didn"t care. It was a risk I was willing to take.

If death by angel dick was the way I went out, so be it. At least it would be one hell of a ride.

"No, I won't," he said, fisting his enormous cock and pumping his hand up the shaft. Glistening precum beaded at the head. "I'll go slow. We'll make it fit."

He stepped up and settled between my thighs, the warmth of him making my skin pebble with goosebumps. Lining up the head of his cock, he slowly pressed into me, stretching and filling me as a moan rolled up my throat. It hurt, the ache spreading through my center.

"I-I don't think it's going to fit," I said as he pulled back, pressing in again slowly as he gave my pussy time to adjust.

"Relax," he urged, working his hips back and forth, impossibly burying more of his cock inside. "You're taking me so well, my little mortal. Your pussy feels so good, like it was made just for me."

He picked up the pace, gripping my thighs to the point of pain, and I chewed my bottom lip to avoid crying out. If strangers walked by outside and heard a woman screaming from inside an abandoned building, they'd surely come running. I didn't feel like taking the chance.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I whispered in time with his thrusts.

He was as deep as he could go, threatening to crash through my cervix with cock to spare, but it hurt so good. My climax was building slowly, every muscle in my middle tightening as he fucked me harder, faster. My whines became a steady moan until I was shattering apart on his cock, my muscles squeezing around him until it ached. Legs trembling in the shadows' hold, I arched my back mid-air, succumbing to the waves of pleasure tearing through me.

He leaned down and caught one of my nipples in his mouth, teasing it between his teeth, and his hands came around to palm my ass. He squeezed with bruising strength, making me cry out. I'd be covered in black and blue bruises in the morning, but I didn't want him to stop.

"I wonder how well you'll take my shadows here while you're awake," he growled out, brushing a finger over my asshole as he kissed his way across my chest. "You take them so well when you're asleep."

I froze against him, ice rolling through my veins. "You…you fucked me while I was asleep?"

I thought back to this morning when I'd soaked my sheets and everything suddenly made sense.

I wanted to be mad—I really did. I should have been furious. I wanted to slap him across his handsome face, but his cock was hitting all the right spots. I could be angry later, when the afterglow wore off and I was forced back into reality. Right now, it didn't matter, and I could already feel something gentle teasing my asshole as he continued to fuck me.

It was one of his shadow tendrils massaging against the tight muscle.

Could he even fuck me with a shadow?

It sounded impossible, but as the pressure increased and it slipped inside, I knew I was wrong. It felt more corporeal than a shadow had any right to feel, and I groaned as it stretched me. I'd never been so full, yet somehow I wanted, needed more.

"Fuck me," I groaned, wishing my hands weren't bound so I could grab his broad shoulders and pull him closer. "Harder, please, fuck me."

He obliged, slamming into me in tandem with the shadow, and I rocked my hips as much as I could to meet his strokes. I squeezed my eyes closed and his hand dipped to find my clit, teasing tight circles around the painfully swollen nub.

A few more seconds had me coming undone, and Aether roared out his release at the same time, his cock twitching inside me. He filled me to the brim with more come than I thought possible, until it was spilling out onto the floor at his feet. Finally, he met my lips with his in a bruising kiss.

His arms came up around me, cradling me as the shadows around me disappeared, and I melted into his touch. I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him like my life depended at it. When he finally broke our kiss, my lips ached for more.

"You're mine, sweet mortal," he whispered. "And I am yours."

My chest fluttered at his words. I didn"t want this moment to end, but I knew it couldn"t last. I was naked and full of angel cum, my clothes barely clinging to my body, and somehow things had never been more perfect.

Now, I had even more questions. Was he just going to let me go home? Would I have to walk there like this, mostly naked and clinging to my scraps of clothing? If I belonged to him now, would I ever return to my regular life?

At the thought of leaving him, his mark on my arm throbbed like it had a heartbeat. I didn"t like the thought of losing him. We were connected, bonded, and something in my gut told me it would take far more than space and time to break that connection.

"Aether," I said, unsure what I even wanted to ask.

My eyes were heavy, exhaustion finally catching up to me now that I was thoroughly fucked and not afraid for my life. The angel's arms brought me comfort unlike anything I'd ever known, and I never wanted to lose it. I wanted to curl up next to him, molding to his body as I fell asleep. This time, I knew there wouldn"t be any nightmares. I might even sleep peacefully for the first time in weeks. "What happens now?"

"Whatever you want." He pulled back, his eyes holding mine as he traced a finger along my jawline. "I"ll give you anything you ask of me."

I was lost in the deep golden pools of his eyes, my heart thundering against my ribs. In that moment, I had almost everything I could have wanted, but there was still one thing missing.

"I want to go home," I said softly, unsure what his answer would be.

"Of course." He squeezed me tighter to him, a swirl of shadows coming up to dance around us. "Hold on to me tight."

I wanted to say something else, but at the same moment a swirl of shadows exploded around us, swallowing us whole.