Feather
Before this moment, if anyone had said Righteous could be even slightly unattractive, I would have offered to take them for an eye test. Ry was just over six feet of brooding, dark-haired angst. He had shining golden eyes—not brown-gold, but 24-karat, recently polished—as well as cheekbones that were so sharp it almost hurt to look at them, a long nose that hintedat the length of his other parts, and lips that were so full, it made me want to bite them.
Or duct tape them shut, since he was usually insulting me when he spoke in my presence.
But now, those lips were doing an Oscar-worthy impression of a dying goldfish, his eyes were bulging, and he sounded like an asthmatic in the middle of pollen season. “Fe-Fe-Fe-” he sputtered. His throat flexed strangely, like he was choking on something.
“Oh, farking heck, have you swallowed your tongue?” I ran over to him and slapped him on the back. “Spit it out, Ry! Spit it out!” I pounded at least three or four more times, as high up between his wings as I could reach, before he stopped making that odd face and resumed his angry, tortured look. I had just let out a sigh of relief when I felt his hands gripping my arms and the floor fall away.
“What are you doing?” I managed to say as he swung me in front of him, staring into my face, his jaw clenched, his eyes brimming with… Wait. Whatwashe doing?
Before I could take a breath, he’d pulled me into a hug so hard, I was afraid some of my newly formed bones would snap.
“Ry,” I gasped. “Too tight.”
Instantly, he loosened his grip, but he didn’t let go. He held me firmly, whispering something into my hair. I could only make out a few words, but they sounded like prayers. He was thanking someone, over and over, but the rest… My mouth dropped open when I realized what it was.
It was my name. My first nickname from my life on Earth: Tili.
“Where did you hear that?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. He was… kissing my hair? Yes, kissing my hair, his arms banded around my waist, his hands moving up and down my back in a sensual massage. Well, he might not have meant it to be sensual,but my body was taking it that way. “Um, Ry?” I squeaked, clenching my thighs as he rumbled something against my neck that sent tiny shockwaves all the way down to my lady parts. “You can put me down.”
“Never going to let you leave again,” he said, but he lowered me slowly to the floor. “Never forgive myself for letting you go before.” I blinked up into his ravaged face for a moment, and for some reason, placed a hand on one side of his jaw.
“I didn’t want to go the last time, really. But I had to?—”
“No.” His hands were on my arms again, but this time shaking me. Ah, there was the Ry I knew. “You will not go through that gate again.” He stopped, obviously trying to control his emotions. “How did you get back?”
“Um, that is a very long story,” I said, feeling exhausted already. “Like, a post-nap convo. Can I get back to you, and borrow a shirt maybe?” His cheeks darkened, and in a second, he’d whipped off his white shirt and wrapped it around me. I swallowed hard at the expanse of gorgeous, golden skin. His abs were rows of tiny dunes I wanted to finger surf down. There was a trail of darker hairs that started at his chest and marked the way to his belly button, and then lower. I snatched my hands back when I realized I’d almost reached out to tug his pants down and see where the trail ended.
Probably in Scotland. That’s where the Loch Ness monster lives, after all.
I had no business touching Righteous, or even thinking about his enormous, Jurassic-sized package, I reminded myself. I was a mated woman. I rubbed the back of my neck, and suddenly realized the feather Mik had placed on my nape was gone.
Of course it was. And I wasn’t mated now. The knowledge gutted me.
Ry must have seen my shock since he shook his head slightly. “It returned to his wing the instant you walked through thegate.” I felt slightly relieved; hopefully that meant Mikhail hadn’t been hurt by my leaving. But Ry frowned. “Tili… Feather, how?—”
I held up one hand, silently asking him to wait. “I need to go see Mikhail, if he’ll see me.”
Ry sighed heavily. “He’s not doing well. Soulmates don’t survive long without their other half. When you left, it almost killed him. He’s so weak. If it weren’t for Sunny, forcing him to eat…”
I had hurt Mikhail, almost killed him? “But his feather! You said—” My heart lurched, and I had his arms in my tight grip now. “Take me to himnow!”
Those perfect lips curled into a rueful smile. “He’s not going anywhere, Tili. And you can fly yourself, you know.” His eyes lingered on my wings, and a furrow formed between his brows. “Or maybe you can’t. But you do have wings, sort of.”
“What do you mean, sort of?” I turned in a circle, trying to see what he meant, only stopping when Ry grabbed me again.
“You look like a puppy chasing its tail.” He reached out and snagged the end of one of my wings, pulling it forward. But not very far forward. “I’ve never seen wings this small,” he mused, running his hands over them. “And an interesting color…”
I tried not to, but let out a small moan.
“What?” he asked. I didn’t dare answer him. It felt like every one of my feathers originated in my lady parts.
Oh fudge. I had clit wings. What had Rumple done to me?
I shook away the thought. I needed to get away from Righteous’s sinful hands, and his piercing gaze, and the confusing way he kept speaking to me, like he cared about me. Like he knew me.
Wait. Did he know me? He’d called me by my first nickname, but maybe Sunny had told him that.
