“Well.” I folded my arms right back at him. “I was in the middle of figuring all that out when you barged into my room.”
“You have no money. No clothes. No job. What about an ID?”
I didn’t have any of that. There’d been no time.
“Look, I know my situation isn’t exactly ideal,” I finally said with a sigh. “But you know what’s worse than this? You and your Legion stuck in Hell for the rest of your lives...which is pretty much forever, based on what you’ve told me.”
He closed his eyes, his body practically humming from the intensity of his emotions. “Mia, this isn’t your burden to bear.”
“I love the Legion, too, Az.” My words came out a choked whisper.
He flipped open his eyes, and his gaze pierced me, hot and electric. “You heard what Caim said. The Legion won’t let me sacrifice myself for them. The same goes for you.”
“Except Hell and a B&B are twoentirelydifferent things.”
“You won’t be in this B&B for long,” he argued. “Not unless you have a secret stash of unmarked bills that you’ve kept on the down low all this time.”
Unfortunately, there was no secret stash. Would have been pretty helpful though, right?
“How did you even find me?”
“Mia.” He grabbed my hand and pressed it onto his heart. The rhythm of it pumped against my fingers, threaded through with thatzingthat always got me at the strangest times. “I canfeelyou, deep within my bones. I closed my eyes and called for you, and that feeling brought me here. I know it sounds crazy, like I’m out of my goddamn mind, but it’s true.” He closed his eyes. “Until I reached out and called for you, I thought you were dead. Do you know what that did to me? I swear to god, I—”
I clutched his chin and kissed him fiercely. A cry choked out of his throat, and his hands found my hips. I stumbled back as his body collided with mine. Both of us were frantic. Frenzied. Like the world was crashing down upon us, and our only hope was to cling on to each other for dear life.
“Never run away from me again.” He lifted me from the floor and tossed me onto the bed. The headboard hit the wall, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t trying to hide any longer.
He climbed on top of me. Gazing up at him, I wound my arms around his neck and pulled him to my lips. Our kiss deepened, softening. My soul lit with fire as our past and present memories tangled together. I’d loved him once, and he’d loved me. Together, we had been a force to be reckoned with, and we would have battled beside each other for centuries if Lucifer hadn’t torn us apart.
And somehow, I had found him again, even if I no longer truly felt like that girl.
Az pulled back and gazed into my eyes. “I thought I’d lost you again.”
“I’m sorry.” I palmed his cheek. “But you can’t blame this all on me. You were the one who wanted to leave, Az. You were going to give yourself up to Lucifer and let him take you to Hell.”
He dropped his forehead to mine. “I know. And I was wrong to think that was the right choice. I see that now.”
A small smile tickled my lips. “Did I just hear Asmodeus, the First Prince, admit to being wrong about something? Maybe none of this will end up being a problem because Hell’s going to freeze over.”
His lips quirked. “Don’t be so cocky.”
“Why not?” I slid my hands along the strong curves of his shoulders. “I have the sexiest being in the entire world on top of me right now. If that’s not a reason to be cocky, then I don’t know what is.”
“Oh, I’ll show you cocky,” he said with a low growl.
He stood from the bed and slowly undressed both me and him with a patience he’d never displayed until now. His body rippled as it moved, like a perfect painting come to life. When he climbed back on top of me, I was ready for him. This felt different than before. Our walls were no longer between us, and the ribbon of our connection wound from the past and into the future, tying us together now.
A golden string.
Pushing the hair back from my face, he gazed down at me with adoration in his eyes. Our limbs tangled together, our bodies becoming one. Az kissed my neck, and then travelled to my collarbone. Arching toward him, I hooked my leg around his thigh.
His lips trailed down my skin until they brushed my core. Shuddering, I widened my legs and gripped the sheets. He dragged his tongue across my folds, and the building heat inside of me threatened to explode. I was overwhelmed by desire and the strange connection between us.
I didn’t know what I would do if I ever lost him again. Now that we were together again, I would fight to remain by his side.
His fingers dug into my hips as his tongue took me over the edge. I crashed against him, pleasure ripping through me like a white hot comet. As I pulsed around his tongue, he grabbed my knees and pinned them on the bed.
Gazing down at my wetness, he licked my pleasure from his lips and plunged inside of me. His cock hit the back of me, and I quaked around him. With an animalistic growl, he flipped me over, lifted my ass, and then slammed into me once more.
