24. Micah

24

Micah

I stared at Nox, stunned. Then I started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

I swiped at the tears rolling down my face as I gasped for breath. "It's just that every time I've gone to help Dimitri, it's been because of one of his mates. And now, he's got to help me because of my mate."

Nox smirked. "Feels karmically just, right?"

"It does."

"Speaking of mates…" Nox said pointedly, his amber eyes intense. "That's the other thing I want to talk about. Is that something you want? With me?"

My laughter died as what I'd said raced through my mind. Shit, I had called Nox my mate. And he was my fated mate, nothing could change that. But…we weren't together. At least, not in the way he meant. "You mean, like a bond?"

Nox rolled his eyes. "Yes, like a fucking bond, little angel. We're already halfway there with the marking. Now how about we make it official?"

I bit my lip. "I'm not sure."

"Because of Dimitri?"

"What?" I put my hand on his chest. "What's Dimitri got to do with anything?"

He shrugged like he didn't care, but his thumping heart beneath my palm was a dead giveaway. "You've been in love with Dimitri for millennia. I know you think you're in love with me now, but I'm not expecting it to be the same as what you felt for him."

"It's not." I spread my hands over his shoulders. "Nox, my feelings for you are nothing like what I felt for Dimitri. Looking back now, I can see that my infatuation with him was nothing more than a puddle—annoying and shallow. My love for you is like the ocean; all encompassing, inescapable, and at times, terrifying. The two aren't comparable."

He cleared his throat, blinking rapidly. "Fuck. I don't know what to say."

"That's a first." I kissed him, tugging gently on his lip piercing before retreating. "Dimitri has nothing to do with us. He's in my past, and that's where he's going to stay. Well, after he comes and hopefully pulls our arses out of the metaphorical shit heap we've landed ourselves in."

"Why aren't you sure about the mating bond then?"

I shifted on my feet. "If you accept the bond and I'm killed, you'll die as well."

With the mark, if Nox died, I would too. If it was the other way around though, Nox would survive. With a full mating bond, that wouldn't be the case.

Nox gaped at me. "You can't be fucking serious. That's why you're unsure? So it's okay for you to lose your immortality for me, but not the other way around?"

"Umm…"

"Absolutely not," Nox said roughly. "Fuck that. Do you want to be with me? "

"Of course I do."

"Then I accept the bond."

His simple words had light bursting from both our chests. The red and white wove together to form a pink cage around us, flaring for a moment before fading away.

In its wake, it left the bond. A bridge between our souls that could never be broken.

I felt him there. His fierceness. His casual cockiness. His loyalty. His quirky humour. His fear about what might happen next.

Most of all, I felt his confidence in his love for me. It flowed across the bond like an unstoppable wave, washing away any doubt that still lingered.

Nox loved me. He'd chosen me .

It was all I'd ever wanted.

"I love you," I whispered, my voice cracking. "So very much."

"I can feel it." He touched my chest tenderly, silver lining his eyes. "I never knew what I was missing when I was in Hell. Back then, I hated it. Hated feeling like I was missing something but not knowing what. But now? Now I'm glad I didn't know. I think it would've driven me to madness, knowing you were out there somewhere, but being unable to get to you."

I covered his hand with mine, squeezing it lightly. "I'm sorry it took us so long to find each other, but fuck, I'm so happy we did."

We kissed, sealing our bond with no one but the jungle as our witness. It started out gentle. A quiet exploration as we got used to the bond. To feeling each other's emotions. The fear. The desperation. The love.

It wasn't long before one overrode all the others.

Lust .

"How long do you think we have?" Nox said between kisses. "Do we have time for this?"

"I don't care," I said, shoving him back and sending him sprawling across the jungle floor. "I need you in me, right fucking now."

Nox propped himself up on his elbows to watch me strip. His pupils were so dilated they made his eyes appear almost black. "Always happy to oblige you there. And while I'm fully on board with this plan, I feel like I should point out that it might make fighting harder if you're riding my cock when they arrive."

I smirked down at him arrogantly as I lost my shirt and stretched my wings wide. "Oh ye of little faith, don't forget who you're with."

Nox reached up and grabbed my wrist. I let him tug me down on top of him, our combined laughter turning to groans as my hard cock lined up against his.

"Like I could forget," Nox said, lifting a finger to trace along the inside of my wing. I shivered unintentionally, making a dangerous gleam appear in his eyes. "Hmm…looks like you're as sensitive there as I am."

I snapped my wings back in and compelled them out of sight. "I am, but let's save that for when we have more time. We need to make this fast."

Nox smirked. "Oh, so you do agree with me that perhaps now isn't the best time to have sex?"

"I didn't say that." I leaned over and grabbed my wallet, crowing as I found a sachet of lube. "I said we have to be quick about it. Totally different." I rubbed my chest and chuckled. "Fuck, that's going to take some getting used to."

"Huh?" Nox frowned up at me.

"Experiencing what you're feeling, especially when it's so different to how I'm feeling." I put my hands on either side of his head, grinning at him. Fuck, he was perfect. Even with me naked on top of him, he was still trying to protect me. I couldn't believe he was mine. "You really don't need to be anxious, Nox. My wards start several miles out—we'll have plenty of warning before they arrive."

His concern eased slightly but didn't disappear. It didn't stem from being caught mid-sex, but from not being able to defend me. He didn't want to be distracted and therefore put me at risk.

"Maybe we should wait," he said.

I reached behind me, squeezing his shaft and drawing a low groan from him. "Sure about that? Because, I don't know about you, but I'd rather go into whatever's about to happen knowing I've felt you inside me as my mate. That I'll be fighting while the touch of you still lingers on my skin." I touched his lip ring. "And maybe it'll give you extra incentive to survive."

He caught my finger between his teeth, biting down lightly. "I don't need any extra incentive, little angel. An eternity with you is all the motivation I need."

"Okay, then do it for me," I said, leaning over him, touching our foreheads. "Remind me of all the joy we've got waiting for us. Everything we can enjoy in the eternity we will be spending together, because I refuse to accept any alternative."

Nox wavered. "You're sure you'll sense someone coming before they arrive?"

"Yes. I promise."

All the uncertainty left his eyes, leaving nothing behind but smouldering desire. "In that case, what are we waiting for?"

"My thoughts exactly." I picked the lube up from the floor and passed it to him. "I don't plan on dying today, but if we do, at least we can say we went out with a bang."

Nox paused, his slick fingers at the top of my crease. "Did you just…make a joke?"

"I guess I did." I groaned as his fingers moved lower, igniting what felt like a million nerve endings. "I think you're bringing it out in me."

Nox tweaked my nipple as his finger slipped inside. "What, a terrible sense of humour?"

"No," I gasped, my hands braced on his pecs as he brushed that sensitive button deep within. "Just…this lightness. I can be myself around you. Actually, it's more than that. I can be a version of myself I didn't even know existed, and I love it. I love you."

Understanding burned bright in the bond.

"I love it, and you, too. Never stop doing things that make you happy, Micah."

"You make me happy."

His free hand curved around the back of my neck, tugging me down until our mouths met in a desperate kiss. There was no tender build-up this time, just a moan filled exchange of need.

Nox had two fingers inside me now, our hearts racing as he stretched me open. I pushed back on him as we kissed, riding his hand as though it were his cock.

"Fuck, Micah," he moaned into my mouth. "You're so perfect, little angel."

"I'm not perfect," I said, sitting up slightly so I could tug on his nipple rings. "I'm yours."

Fire flashed in Nox's eyes as a feral need swept through the bond. "That's fucking right, you are. Mine, and no one else's. Ever. I've chosen you now."

I cupped his face, possessiveness unlike anything I'd experienced before ripping through me. I didn't know which of us was feeling it, and I didn't care. It didn't matter. "We've chosen each other. Nothing can tear us apart now."

"I need you," Nox said urgently, scissoring his fingers to stretch me further. "You ready for me, little angel?"

"Yes." My cock throbbed against his abs, sticky precum creating a thread between us. "Take me, Nox. Make love to me."

"There's nothing I want more," Nox said as the head of his cock replaced his fingers. "But I'm not sure we have time for that."

I huffed. That was true. We'd need days to be able to explore each other the way we truly wanted to. That night in the hotel felt like it had happened a lifetime ago—one that had been cut short far too early.

"Fine, we'll do this one hard and fast, but you owe me. The first chance we get, we're locking ourselves away and making love until neither of us can see straight."

"Anything you want," Nox said. We both groaned as he pushed past the tight ring of muscle. He paused, letting me adjust to his size. Even with a deadline, this wasn't something we could rush. "I'm not fucking you like I hate you though, little angel."

"Be honest though, did you ever really?"

Nox's lopsided grin was a thing of beauty. "Probably not. They do say there's a thin line between love and hate. I think we've been dancing along it since the start."

That was so fucking true. His cock brushed against the sensitive knot of nerves and my ability to speak left me. It also took the last of my patience. I lowered myself faster, my hands braced on his chest again as my body made room for him.

Nox's hands wrapped around my wrists, his biceps bunching deliciously beneath me. "Fuck, little angel. You were made for me."

I smiled down at him as I started to move. "We were made for each other."

We didn't talk any more after that. We didn't waste any time on words when we had each other to explore. A whole bond to learn. We'd been together before, but never like this.

It wasn't even about the pleasure. Not really. It was the final shedding of the walls between us. Recognising the connection that had always existed, even if neither of us had been aware of it. I rode him slower than I probably should have, given we had a deadline. I couldn't bring myself to rush though, not now. Not knowing this might be our last time.

Because as much as I insisted there was a chance of a happy ending today, I knew how high the odds were stacked against us. And although we weren't going down without a fight, that might not be enough.

This might be the one and only time we could be together physically without anything between us. No clothes. No secrets. No lies.

Right now, I wasn't an angel. Nox wasn't a demon.

We were mates, savouring what could be our final hours together.

They wouldn't be able to take this from us. Regardless of what happened next, we'd always have this.

And if today did end with our deaths? Well, I couldn't think of a cause more noble to die for than love. I'd always believed that, but I'd only known love I held for my parents. My brethren. My friends.

But with Nox? It was so much more. Dying for him was the most noble thing I could do .

Air was sawing in and out of my lungs now, like Nox was taking over everything, even my ability to breathe. My hips were moving faster against my will. I didn't want this over so fast, even though I knew we needed it to be.

Nox's fingers dug into my waist as his raspy voice echoed my own thoughts. "I want to just fuck up into you until you're screaming my name, but I can't. I don't want to come. Not yet."

I flattened myself against him, pressing our chests together. "Me either. But we have to."

His strong fingers brushed gently up my back. His rhythm didn't falter as he traced over my scars. If anything, he moved faster. "I love being able to touch you."

My response was lost in a cry. This new position had him going deeper than before while my cock was caught between us. I was too lost in the rising pleasure to speak.

All I could do was feel.

I didn't know if it was Nox's lust driving him faster or mine, but whatever it was flicked a switch in him. My demon fucked me harder, his hips slamming up into me. His piercings were hitting new places in me, lighting me up from the inside out.

"Nox!" My orgasm hit out of nowhere, my back bowing as my cock jerked again and again.

Nox's orgasm though? That I felt. It hit the bond with the force of a rocket, making my vision white out for a second. I gasped, more come filling the space between us as I writhed on his length.

I let my weight fall onto him entirely, not bothered about the pool of sticky wetness I was now lying in. Nox seemed similarly unbothered, his muscled arms wrapping around me to stop me pulling away.

My cheek was on his collarbone, his heart thundering away beneath my ear. I savoured every beat, not knowing how many more he'd have.

How many more either of us would have.

Nox's hands returned to my scars. The tension that had been missing earlier came back in full force, as though without the lust riding him, he couldn't escape the knowledge of how they'd come to be a part of me.

"I don't regret it," Nox said quietly. "Killing Emilio, I mean. I hate that it's put you in danger, but I don't regret it. I can't."

"I know. I don't think I regret it either."

"Really?"

"Really. It led us here, right to this moment. Fuck knows if we would've got here without it."

"That's true." Nox kissed the top of my head. "And hey, maybe your optimism about us getting out of this isn't wildly misplaced."

A ward about seven miles out pinged as four angels crossed it. "Let's hope I'm right, because I think we're about to find out."