I opened before him like he was the sun and I was a yearning flower. His hands, hardened with calluses, were so gentle I felt like I really was one of those fragile, glittering clouds high in the heavens.
But the way his mouth moved against mine told me he knew I was strong, too. He pressed harder, and when his tongue danced against the seam of my lips, I opened.
Flames licked down my face, pooling at my breasts and making my nipples tighten. That ribbon of heat he’d awakened in my belly coiled tight and I could feel the tension between my legs. I gasped as his tongue entered my mouth, then opened wider.
I wanted all of him. The urge was fierce, sudden. My breasts ached, and when he groaned into my mouth it ignited my body like a match to a candle. My tongue met his, learning from him.
His wing pulled me tighter, until my chest was flat against his, my breasts rubbing against him in a way that made my toes curl.
Heat enveloped me now. Winter forgotten, all I wanted was to somehow press myself into his chest until neither of us would know where he ended and I began.
“Lilith,” he growled, and it made my core throb with desire. “Skies, Lilith, your lips are everything.”
I bit his lower lip and he growled again. Delight shot through me. He liked it. And I liked that noise he made.
One of his hands drifted lower, stroking my throat, then resting on my heart.
I was awash in sensation—his tongue against mine, his lips on mine, his hand near my breast, his feathers shielding me. Gasping with need, I realized one of my hands had left his face and was now tangled in his mop of brown hair.
“Yes,” he groaned.
Yes, my body echoed.
Suddenly he froze, then jerked away.
Eleven
Lilith
Winter descended again. I stared at him in bewilderment, my lips swollen and my heart thudding against my ribcage. Does he not want this?
His pupils dilated, cheeks flushing. Although Castiel gently reached up and pulled my hand out of his hair, his intense gaze never left me. His chest heaved for breath. His wing retreated, no longer holding me against him, but his tongue slipped between his teeth and licked his upper lip. The sight made me want to bite him all over again.
A branch cracked nearby, startling me.
“Ho, there!”
I rubbed my forehead, slowly coming back to reality. Someone was…here. Oh, four gods, someone was approaching us. Had he seen us? Who was it? The elders would be furious if they found me kissing someone. I leaned away from Castiel, my heart racing with fear.
Castiel cleared his throat, jerking his gaze away from me. “Elder Nelson,” he greeted with a deceptively calm voice.
I couldn’t breathe, let alone speak normally. I tried to get a hold of my panting, staring down at my feet. My face felt hotter than the sun. What had he seen? Brown leaves crackled under my feet as I nervously shifted my weight.
Slowly Castiel unfurled his wing, drawing it away and tucking it against his spine again.
I mourned the loss as the chill slipped down my back again, making my teeth chatter. Two leaves, powerless against the wind, flipped and skittered across the pile.
“Herald, can I help you?” Elder Nelson’s unsteady gait neared, judging by the sound of crunching leaves underfoot.
I wanted to shrivel up, to float away like a dying leaf on the wind. I shouldn’t have kissed Castiel. I should’ve gotten up from the bench as soon as he landed beside me. Foolish girl.
Nelson paused a few feet from the bench.
I dragged my eyes up to meet his, to smile in greeting as if he hadn’t caught me kissing a seraph.
“At the moment, no.” Castiel’s voice was steady, reminding me he was a warrior at heart, even if he’d been raised to be a farmer. “I am surprised by the cold weather, though. Poor Lilith is turning into an icicle. I had to create a windblock for her or her face would freeze like that.” He chuckled, and my insides warmed with gratitude that he understood how important it was for me to hide what we’d done. “How much longer will the weather be this cold?”
“Ah, it depends,” Nelson answered easily. But I had worked for him for years, and I could hear the thread of suspicion hidden in his voice.
