With his dark eyes swirling with need, he said, “I have to have you, baby.I have to.”
Luckily for him, I could feel the same thing that he was feeling, and anything less than everything right now felt dangerous, stupid, and upending.I also couldn’t help but think that it was because our minds had been re-opened with an insight that we’d been ignoring all these years.Whatever had made it possible for me to pull Lazarus into my dreams all those years ago, it still very much existed, and it felt like a livewire between us.
“I know,” I said, my voice laced with its own whisper of need.“I know.”
Then, before I could say anything more, Lazarus’ hands were gone from my face, and my blouse was being ripped open, buttons flying everywhere, something that you only saw in movies.Needing him just as much as he needed me, I reached for the hem of his shirt, then pulled it up over his head, and when it dropped to the floor, I was greeted with the same sight that had left me speechless the first time.Not only was Lazarus Copeland tall, dark, and handsome, but he had a ripped body that had the talent to drive any woman out of her mind, and I was no exception.
He had broad shoulders, hard pecs, a six-pack, and was smooth everywhere, except for that sexy happy trail that led to the ride of your life.His skin was also completely bare, except for a small tattoo that danced across his left collarbone, and the design was elegant and rather beautiful against his tanned skin.It was shaded in a way that gave it a 3-D vibe, and while it had caught my eye that first night together, I hadn’t ever asked what it meant.
With my fingertips skimming over the ink, I finally asked, “What does it mean?”
“It’s Sanskrit,” he answered, his breath still ragged.
“For what?”
“Elisa.”
My eyes snapped upward to look into his, and the pressure in my chest made it almost impossible to breathe.The name hit my ears like a bomb going off next to me, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from watering with a wave of emotion that was too big to manage reasonably.
“I haven’t heard that name-”
“Since the last time that you pulled me into one of your dreams,” he finished for me.
“Why?”I asked, choked up.“Why did you get it tattooed on you?”
“For the same reason that I’m here now,” he answered evenly.“Because Ihadto.”
I stared at the engravement that was etched forever into his skin, and I knew that Ramiel hadn’t been lying when he’d said that Lazarus was ready to die for me.Even without knowing who I was when we’d first met, we’d never been far apart from each other, and that’d been proven when we’d been brought together in the same state and city when we could have ended up anywhere else after college.
?????
“I love you, Elisa,” he said.“I have always loved you.”
Before I could say anything to that, a violent storm broke from the sky outside, and a rage of rain and wind whipped around my house, shaking the windows.Thunder and lightning soon followed, and I knew that it wasn’t just a coincidence.
“Even when I didn’t know who you were,” he went on.“Even when you refused to call me back.”
With thunderstorms raging all around us, with angels and demons watching us, with the entire world at our feet, I took it all in, finally accepting that something bigger than me was happening here, and instead of feeling scared or unsure, I let it all in.
“I love you,” I told him, feeling like the words were being ripped from my soul.“I’ve loved you since the first time that you saved me.”
Lazarus took my face in his hands again.“Baby, I will always fucking save you.As long as there’s breath in my lungs, blood pumping through my heart, and you, I will always protect you.”
Tears streamed down my face as he kissed me again, and I could feel my entire body vibrate with our need for each other.Out of control, I reached for the buttons of his slacks, then went to work to free him, and once I did, I wrapped my hand around him, making him curse into my mouth.Now, while our one night together had been filled with every sexual act that you could imagine, I didn’t have the patience for that right now.Right now, I needed him; I needed to connect with him like I’d been told.
Ripping my lips from his, I let my desperation show.“I need you, Lazarus.”
“Baby-”
“Please...”I begged.“Please...”
Giving me what I wanted, Lazarus grabbed my shoulders, flipped me around, and I pressed my hands up against the wood of the front door while he yanked my slacks and panties down over my hips, the cool air hitting my wet center, sending shivers down my spine.
I could feel my hands tremble when I felt Lazarus aligning himself where I needed him, and when he reached around to grab the front of my throat, I let out a choked gasp.His fingers were digging into the column of my neck hard enough to leave marks, but I could think of nothing else when he slammed his entire length into my body, my cries drowned out by the storm still wrecking everything around us.
“I love you,” he grunted next to my ear.“I love you, Elisa.”
“Lazarus...”I rasped, the force of his thrusts more painful than pleasurable right now.
