“Yes, but it was just hearsay. A myth…” she trailed off. The fact she was here, in a different world with an Empyrean angel no less… Who was she to doubt what he said?
“You are young, Leya.” He gave her a wry smile. “I tend to forget that.”
“I am a grown-up in human terms,” she retorted.
“I thank the gods for it.” His gaze lingered on her mouth, sending a lick of heat to her core. “Especially the silken part of you I tasted and cannot get enough of—hell,” he groaned. “It’s not good talking about how desperate I am for you and sporting a raging hard-on when we’re out in public.”
Leya bit her lip, stifling her smile. Her gaze lowered to his black pants, but she couldn’t see any evidence.
“Stop that,” he growled. “Or, I’m going to find the nearest concealed spot and finish what we started at the stream.”
Gah, his wicked mouth had her desire coiling low in her belly as she met his dark stare.
“Mymateriwas also a divine angel,” he said, and she blinked, her poor brain taking a minute to catch up, at his switch from pure seduction to a serious tone. “A seraph.”
“Aren’t they like the highest level of angels?”
He frowned, glancing at the building opposite, and his hand lowered to her hip, his fingers absently stroking her. “Aye. She was the youngest in the order, newly ordained.”
“So, she met your father, and they fell in love? Oh, it’s so romantic.” She sighed.
He snorted. “No. She didn’t like him much. She had a missive or something for him from the head seraph. I don’t know what my sire did or said when they first met. Probably being a pain in the ass. However, I do know she hurt her wings because of him, which she likes to torment him about. In the end, they did fall in love.”
“Still romantic.”
His lips pressed together, and his eyes glinted as if what she said came from left field, and he was trying not to smile.
“Can we walk a bit?” she asked, dying to see more of the place.
“Of course.”
“What’s this town called?” she asked as they continued down the orb-lit, cobblestone street, the light casting circles of light on the sidewalk. There weren’t any vehicles here, but why would they need them when they could magically traverse from one place to another or fly?
“This is the City of Eptara, named after the river which divides it.”
People curtsied as they passed, and stares remained pinned on him from both sexes.Thatshe could understand. In a world where the people epitomized near perfection, the immortal next to her was something else, and his aloofness was an added draw.
But she was starting to understand him. After what he revealed, she knew he used the distance as his shield of protection from others’ emotions and thoughts.
She stopped dead as they hit the end of the street and gaped at the flowing, luminescent, deep-blue Eptara River bisecting the city. A yacht with enormous sails glided past, revealing a sparkling hint of pink in the water. Women in long gowns, and men, dressed much like Aerén but with more colors in their clothing, strolled the promenade.
“You have yachts. Everything’s so beautiful.”
“Beautiful…yes.”
Frowning, she glanced back and found him watching her.
Heat flooded her face, and she bit her lip.
When she remained silent, his attention shifted to the people walking past. “What do you see, Leya? What do you feel in this place?”
He’d asked her the same question earlier at the stream, but they got distracted by desire. Leya tried not to think ofthatand studied the pretty buildings and beautiful people visiting the shops, some relaxing at eating houses…
There were no animals around, and he’d explained why.
So, what else was missing?
It was too silent. A sort of melancholy hung over the place.
