“Take me home, Anxo.Right now,” Before I can leave the warm mattress, he pulls me back against him, and I feel his shoulders shake with a chuckle.
“Relax, my avenging goddess. There’s no need to rip out any heads. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It matters to me! Theyhityou, Anxo. They put their hands onmy mate. I’ll rip those arms out of—” Warm lips crashing over mine stop my murder rant. Burying my fingers in his hair, I kiss him harder, hoping to lose some of my fury in his touch.
Angel kisses me until I melt into him, and my muscles relax before pulling away with a goofy smile that I want to lick away. This man loves it when I get protective of him, and I don’t know which one of us is crazier. I don’t think he understands how much I’m itching to get my hands on his folks.
“Want to hear about the time I ran away from home?”
He did what?!
“Yeah, I was sixteen. My Divine wasn’t as strong then, so blending in with the crowd and disappearing was easy. I was roaming from one realm to another with only one thought that I didn’t want to go back to that house.”
I don’t understand the faraway smile on his face when I’m barely keeping myself from tearing up. Playing with my fingers on his stomach, he keeps gazing at the dome over us. Unlike when he told me about his parents, he seems more relaxed and open.
Chuckling to himself, my mate reminisces. “No matter how much I regretted leaving behind my responsibilities and destiny, I would’ve kept at it had Dean not found me.” His arms go behind his head when I climb over him and rest my chin on my knuckles.
I momentarily lose my train of thought when his fingers softly brush my cheek. “He wasn’t happy I hid the abuse from everyone or that I let those ‘good-for-nothing bastards’, as he called them, drive me away from home. I told him I wouldn’t go back to the same torment, and he lookedsooffended that I thought he was taking me back to my parents.”
His laugh warms my stomach, and I watch his breath hitch when I kiss his sweater over his heart. “You already know what happened next.”
“Uh no, I don’t. I wasn’t there, remember? So elaborate, please.”
“Smartass,” I squeal when he tickles my waist. “I stayed with Dean after that, and not even a month later, my father announced he wanted me to have the title. He told the council I was ready, and that he had taught me more than enough.”
I snort, “I doubt that.”
“And you would be right. I was the one running everything since I was eleven from behind the curtain while he did Fates know what in his free time.”
“Your father didn’t fight Papa at all?”
“He didn’t want the stress or responsibility anyway. My parents wanted to travel the realms and be free of things holding them back—Including me, so it was the perfect opportunity for them.”
I stage a whisper, “Still don’t want me to kill themaccidentally?”
Chuckling under me, he ignores my offer. “That year, I took over Conquer and decided I wanted a life free of their constant taunts, so I moved into our Horsemen castle.” Tucking a loose strand behind my ear, his forehead creases as he thinks about something hard, “You know, now that I think about it, I have a theory that your dad threatened my father to back down. He didn’t want the responsibility, but I don’t see him giving up his title just because I refused to help him out anymore.”
“Good. Remind me to thank Papa for that. You deserve the title and the respect.”
Holding my waist, he sits up so I’m straddling him with my thighs on either side of his hips. I don’t realize I’m still staring at him with my head on his shoulder until he ducks to place a chaste kiss on my lips, and I blink out of my daze.
Angel certainly knows how to face his challenges and mold them into something that makes him happy. His ability to always see the brighter side is admirable.I could never—but I love that about him.
Cupping his warm cheek in my cold palm, I try to free myself from the trance his glistening green eyes always bind me in. “You are enough for me,” I recount what his parents made him believe, hoping I can make him see how wrong they are. “They have no idea what they’re missing out on.”
Kissing his pout twice, I lean back to look him in the eyes when I say, “You are more than enough, Angel. You’re so good to me and our little boy that it makes me want to be better, so I can make you as happy as you make us.”
His hands dip under my sweatshirt, and I hate how his hands are still warm when I’m freezing, even with his warmth surrounding me.
“I’m so glad you found me that night, Angel. My real freedom wasn’t from the coven but from the fear that no one would want this damaged version of me, but you didn’t even blink before embracing me.”
Holding my face, he brings us closer. “Don’t you dare talk about yourself like that. You’re not damaged… far from it. You’re the strongest woman I know, Nevaeh. You’ve suffered more than anyone at your age, but you never use that as an excuse to hurt others. The fierce way you protect me and our family makes me so darn proud to be your mate.”
Blinking rapidly, I hide my face in his neck until I can deal with the lump in my throat. Why does he have to be so nice for no reason at all? In this silence, I think about how he makes me feel safe around him. All the ways he notices my triggers and makes sure I don’t have to face anything on my own.
I never thought I could do this, but the care he has shown me with the slow burn of his warmth spreading in my chest gives me enough courage to make up my mind. I want to tell himeverything.
“Can I tell you what happened?”
