I would show her with my body that I was true. And one day she would understand and, I hoped, believe my words.
With renewed purpose I cupped her face with both hands and poured my devotion into our kisses. She responded, meeting my tongue with equal pressure and passion.
Desire swept through me like a whirlwind, throwing my body into the moment until the only thought running through my mind was Lily, Lily, Lily. She was so sharp and beautiful, so fragile and strong, like the clouds high in the heavens, above me in every way.
My fingers trailed down her neck. Her sighs trailed down my spine. My lips found her pulse, and her arousal found my ayim. Oh, how I needed this woman with the soft soul and the ice walls.
I had had many lovers over the past century, and it had always been fun. I had always liked them. A couple I wondered if I was in love with. But with Lilith, it was different. This wasn’t only a good time. This was…sacred.
I inwardly snorted at myself. Sacred? Really? I wasn’t known for being a serious seraph. But this was a physical expression of my vow she would always be mine to protect, mine to cherish, mine to support. And that was holy.
This is what it meant to be a mate, to recognize the bond. Ayim pounded through my veins at the realization, my whole body aching to bond with her. The instinct made me dizzy, and I fought to ground myself in the moment, to feel the weight of her body against mine and the heat of her skin beneath my hands.
“Castiel?”
I looked in her eyes to see her frowning in concern. I smiled. “What, cirra?”
“Are you…are you well?”
Nodding, I kissed her temple. “I don’t think I’ve been better in my life.” The mate bond might not be complete, but to me that was merely a formality. It had locked into my heart and mind, and the bond grew into place.
Her hands slid down my back, between my wings, her fingernail scraping the skin. I shivered at the sensation, closing my eyes in delight.
My hands, in turn, palmed her breasts. I still hadn’t gotten a good look at them, and I didn’t think I could breathe much longer without seeing them. I plucked at her buttons as she slid her hands down the slope of my shoulders, then reached back to touch my wings.
I smiled faintly. “Do you like my wings?”
“They’re glorious,” she breathed. “Just like you.”
Her dress gaped, giving me enough room to slide my hands in. Instead of finding her nipples, like I had originally intended, I spread my hands up over her shoulders and covered her shoulder blades. “I love your smooth back,” I confessed. “I don’t even know why. It’s so alluring. Something about all that bare skin.”
“I’m not bare yet,” she pointed out.
I stood abruptly, causing her to squeak, and I wrapped her legs tighter around my waist. “Hold onto your blanket if you don’t want to catch a chill,” I warned, and began pulling at her clothing in earnest.
She held her blanket in her fist against her chest with one hand, the other arm locked around my neck, and I made quick work of the buttons down to her waist. It was tricky business sliding her dress off her—I had to let her go, which made my hands spasm with loss, but it was worth getting her naked—and then suddenly she stood there in nothing but her skin.
The rusted bell was at her back, the blanket the only thing keeping the cold metal from chilling her flesh.
My wings unfurled and wrapped around us, creating a windbreak.
“You’re not bare yet.” Lilith reached for the buttons on my trousers, but I stilled her hand.
Apprehension glimmered in her eyes, and I heard the hitch in her breathing. But then she squared her shoulders and looked me in the eye, fierce and defiant.
She’s a virgin, I reminded myself. And she had a complex about her body that manifested in ways I still needed to learn.
I locked eyes with her, letting my gaze settle. Her breasts were at the periphery of my vision, but I didn’t waver. “Lilith, you are everything I could want as a lover.”
My hand cupped the back of her head, and she pressed into it, the look in her eyes softening. “Now,” I said conversationally, as if my cock wasn’t about the burst, “may I call you beautiful, or will you bite me?”
She half-laughed, half-scoffed. “I wouldn’t bite you!” Her shoulders relaxed, and the space between us felt thick and pliant, ripe with possibility rather than brittle and hard.
“Oh, but maybe I like biting,” I purred. I caught sight of her startled expression as I leaned in and bit her earlobe. Her gasp shot straight to my groin, and my balls tightened. Fuck, I wanted her. Forever. Slow, I reminded myself. Don’t throw her on the ground.
I kissed a path down her neck, past her collarbone, and latched on to one fawn-colored nipple. Both hands hefted her perfectly-sized breasts and I made myself intimately familiar with them.
Lilith moaned, pressing into me. She shamelessly rubbed herself against my hips, and I pushed a thigh between hers to give her something to work with. She wasn’t going to come yet, though. I wanted my mate warmed up.
