“No one’s dying. For heavensakes, Eve, open your eyes.”
“No. Can’t look. I just can’t.” She buried her face in his neck.
“Eve, look at me, please. I promise we’re not going to die…look at me,” he coaxed. “Come on, baby,” a whisper.
Then, a hair-roughened cheek rubbed against hers, jolting her from her mind-numbing horror. She dragged in a harsh breath and opened her eyes. And blinked. She wasn’t hurtling to her death. Instead, they appeared to be hovering in the brisk air.What the…
“Thank the heavens.” He hugged her tightly. The air she’d managed to inhale whooshed out again.
“Reynner,” she whimpered. “Can’t breathe.”
He eased his hold, and for a moment, she thought she felt as if his lips brush her head. Then she looked over his shoulder. Her thoughts scattered, her mouth dropped open. Wings?
Reynner hadwings?
Enormous and gleaming bronze, they flared out behind him. Fear gave way to wonder. “You—you have wings.”
“What?” His brow furrowed.
Eve didn't answer. Drawn by the beautiful, shimmery tones, she released her chokehold on him and reached over his shoulder to run her palm over the warm arches of the smooth, glossy filaments.
His body jerked, as did his wings, causing them to falter midair. His mouth tightened. His erection stirred against her hips.
Heat flooding her face, Eve yanked her hand back. Her mumbled words of apology whisked away by the winds.
He shook his head. Tone flat, he said, “The inner arches of our wings are sensitive, like certain parts of our body would be to touch.”
How stupid of her. Of course, he’d react differently. He wasn’t a bird like the dove she cared for and could just touch whenever she felt like. Then reality sank in.
He’s not human. Immortal,the thought whipped around her mind. Now it all made sense.
Angels and demons.
“You’re staring. Did I grow another head?” he asked as she searched his face, his tempting mouth a whisper away.
“What are you?”
He cut her a sharp look. “What difference does it make? I’m still the same person I was a few minutes ago.”
“No. You’re not—you're not who I thought you were.”
“Gods, Eve, just shut up,” he growled, burying his face in her hair. And he held her like she mattered. His wings flapped, and a draft of sheer unadulterated sensuality, wild and masculine, one that was all him, wafted to her.
Eve closed her eyes, absorbing the feel of him—of his hard male body flush against hers.
Nothuman. Animmortal, her mind repeated, but she didn't care. Sliding her open palm over his shoulder, she let the seductive pull of his warm skin seep through her.
However, the moment didn’t last. Reynner set her down on a sun-warmed bedrock, some distance from the waterfalls. He didn’t immediately let go of her, though. His dark eyes roamed her face. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, emotions crowding her, unable to say a single word. Then his arms fell away and he stepped back. Blowing out a rough breathe, he prowled along the riverbank as if trying to get himself under control, his stunning wings just about sweeping the ground. The primary flight feathers were a creamy silver, the same color as his hair, and a stunning contrast to the bronze.
Then he swung back to her, eyes blazing now, and still, he looked utterly magnificent. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again. Understand? While we’re here, you will stay indoors—dammit, Eve, are you listening to me?”
“Yes,” she said, her gaze skimming over his dark wings in awe. And realized why she hadn't seen them in his dreams. They’d been concealed by the thick gloom in the cave. “No going onto the balcony— You’re an angel.”
“Not according to the Empyrean lexicon.” Mouth tight, he snapped his wings closed and drew them to his body. With a final shimmer, they disappeared from sight.
Her gaze widened. “Where did they go?”
