His voice was laced with gravel when he spoke. “Yes.”
Penelope inhaled sharply, his words sinking in. In order for her to be with Obsidian for eternity, she had to die.
Holy crap. That was … terrifying. She wasn’t ready to die. Not now, maybe not ever.
Obsidian reached for her, his hand cupping her cheek. “I’ve waited two millennia for you, Penelope, having known since I was old enough to understand that I had anamsouelot.There’s no rush for more.”
“But you’ve been with other women? Otherhumans?”
She could tell he didn’t want to answer that question, but she waited him out.
“Not humans, no. Other females, yes,” he said simply. “But there was never a romantic entanglement. Nothing serious, anyway. I’m not a saint, Penelope. But when I learned of your existence, everything changed. I vowed to be the male you deserved. Hence the abstinence.”
Penelope had to admit, for him to abstain seemed quite the feat. Especially considering his age and that wholeamnighthing.
“How were you created? Do you have parents?”
His eyes shot to hers. “No, I do not. I was the first warrior, brought into existence by Michael.”
“And your brothers?”
“God didn’t like the fact that I lacked nurturing, so He insisted Michael do things naturally. My species has what’s known asarchsiresandarchdams. They reside in Heaven. Vitus, the angel of virility, and Asha, the angel of conception, select the strongest offspring in the bloodlines to procreate. The young are raised by thearchsireandarchdamwho created them, then once they’re old enough, they’re trained as warriors.”
Wow. That sounded so … clinical. Almost businesslike. A reproduction system for warrior angels. She couldn’t imagine.
“When was the last time you fed?” she blurted.
His full attention returned to her. “Yesterday.”
“Will you feed from me?”
Obsidian’s face twisted, as though he was in pain. “Like I told you, I can. But I won’t. Not yet.”
She frowned. “Why not? Because it’ll hurt me?”
“Foramsouelots, it’s not painful. However, there are other … complications we must account for.”
“What might those be?”
Silence hung between them for the longest time. She was beginning to think Obsidian wouldn’t answer her question when he reached for her. With minimal effort, he positioned her over his thighs.
She straddled him, and the instant she did, her desire for him hit her like a Mack truck going full speed down a mountain.
“Because of that,” he whispered, his big hands gripping her hips, pulling her toward him until the hard ridge of his erection pressed intimately against her.
Her breaths became raspier as her body warmed. “Because you make me hot?”
Obsidian’s eyes blazed. “Amsouelotshave this connection. A need for one another. Most easily identified by their sexual hunger.”
“I’m not sure that’s restricted only for your kind. We call it lust,” she whispered, rolling her hips as the friction between her thighs intensified her desire for him.
“Trust me, this isn’t lust. Nothing compares to this. Now that they’ve found one another, our souls are intent on remaining together. Sex is the most intimate joining. But rather than abate, it only grows stronger. The longer we’re together, the more powerful it becomes. It’ll cripple us both if we don’t satisfy it frequently.”
“You make it sound painful.”
“It can be. The desire can be so strong it borders on pain.”
Penelope was breathing heavily now, a near-desperate ache pulsing between her thighs, but there was nothing painful about it.
