When his palm cradled the side of her face, gently urging her to turn her head, Orianna did. She watched as his head lowered, felt the warmth pool in her core when his lips brushed hers. The slow stroke of his tongue inside her mouth dispersed that warmth through her entire being until her hands were sliding over his naked shoulders, pulling him closer, needing to be one with him.
But he didn’t rush, simply kissed her with long, luxurious strokes of his tongue against hers, soft, sweet touches of his lips until the heat consumed them both. And when it did, Orianna gave in to the passion, the excitement. But there was something else she gave in to in that moment, something she would never be able to walk away from.
Him.
He was everything she’d ever wanted in this life.
He was her salvation.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Three days later, when the tensions hadstarted to escalate within the mansion, the mission to find Asmia the sole focus, Eclipse knew he and Orianna needed a break from it all. Their efforts to contribute were colliding with everyone else’s, ultimately making things more difficult. Not the intention, no, which was why he’d opted to slip out of the mansion with his female.
“I have to admit, Barin wasn’t what I was expecting.”
Eclipse shot a quick look over to the passenger seat and the beautiful female sitting there. “No? What’d you expect?”
She shrugged. “Something more … angel-like, I guess.”
He chuckled. “Wings? Halo?”
“Yeah. Maybe.” Her soft giggle was a welcome sound.
They’d left the mansion as soon as the sun went down, intending to make a quick trip to Grand Junction, aiming to cut the two-and-a-half-hour drive down by at least an hour to give them plenty of time to make it back to Darkness before sunrise. Though they weren’t exactly sure what they were looking for, Barin had informed them that Amber had spent quite a bit of time there before she disappeared off the grid completely nearly a year ago. Since Orianna had yet to search this particular patch of Colorado real estate, Eclipse had offered to take her.
What he was really hoping for was to come back and find thefiestreighhad taken down Perfidious and Asmia was back safe and sound at the mansion. Now that they’d passed the seventy-two-hour mark, everyone was beginning to worry they wouldn’t be bringing her home safe and sound.
“You’re worried about her, aren’t you?”
The soft, empathetic tone of hisamsouelot’svoice had him sliding his hand over and linking his fingers with hers.
“I’m worried,” he admitted.
“Everyone’s doing the best they can. I even noticed Oliver was helping out.”
Yeah, the human had actually come in rather handy. Reidar had put him to work, and rumor was, Oliver had spent more time in the war room in recent days than he had in his own room. Seemed the male had simply needed a mission to prove he was more than just a disgruntled asshole. Add to that the fact Bijou was keeping him company and Oliver appeared to be in his element.
“We could’ve stayed there,” Orianna said softly.
Eclipse peered her way, saw the concern etched between her brows. She’d taken his silence to mean he didn’t want to be here.
“There’s nothing I can do for them right now. This is where I need to be.”
“That’s the truth?”
He grinned. “I’m unable to lie to you.”
“Says who?”
Squeezing her hand, he kept his eyes on the darkened road. “Says the Fates.”
“The Fates are awho?”
“Angels, yes. Nevaeh, Karma, and Adorah. Sisters.”
“Wow. The Fates are real and guardian angels aren’t a myth. Next you’ll tell me dragons aren’t merely fiction.”
“Actually…”
