Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark #1)(39)
Author: Gena Showalter

“I—”

“Hold that thought!” She had just spotted a cookie stand! She switched directions and bypassed Zacharel to eagerly bounce up and down in front of the counter, her mouth watering. “Chocolate chip,” she told the gloved lady waiting to take her order. “Two of them.”

Had she ever thought to do something like this again, something purely frivolous? No. And that she was…she could have fallen to her knees and wept. Funny that she’d fought more tears since her liberation from the institution than she had during the four years she’d spent inside.

“I do not want one,” Zacharel said.

“Oh, uh, yeah, because the second one was totally for you.”

He smacked his lips as he paid the bill. “Such a little liar, Annabelle.”

A circumspect glance proved he wasn’t angry about that. Shocker. Usually he huffed and puffed. But the heat, whatever it stemmed from, was still banked in his expression.

With the cookies in her hand, they resumed their journey through the shopping center. Five steps in, she had half the first cookie down. Another five and it was gone, no crumbs remaining. Now, this was living!

She nibbled on the second treat, determined to savor every bit of it. She slowed her step and forced Zacharel to keep pace beside her rather than behind her.

“You are treating that thing as if it is a great treasure,” he said.

Well, yeah. Because it was. “You have something against cookies?”

“I couldn’t say, as I have never had one.”

Wait. What? “Never, as in never?”

“Is there another meaning for the word never that I don’t know about?”

Ha, ha. “But that’s criminal!”

“Hardly.”

“But…why haven’t you tasted one?”

“Because I choose to consume only foods that will strengthen me.”

“I’m not sure you realize how ridiculous you sound. But luckily for you, Annabelle Miller is here and on the case, and she’s not going to let you go another minute without knowing the perfection that is chocolate ecstasy.” She stopped, pinched a piece from the edge of what remained of the second confection, and held it up to Zacharel’s lips. “Open up. You’re about to discover the true meaning of delicious.”

The heat intensified, and his lips softened. He would always look like a warrior—with those muscles, how could he not?—but just then he was more of a seducer. The prince from her dream…only, he wasn’t a wretched demon in disguise.

“You are like Eve with her apple,” he said.

“Is that an insult or a compliment?”

“Both.”

“Then I’m only half-offended.” She traced a line of melted chocolate across his lower lip. “Open. Don’t make me command you again.”

He opened.

She set the piece on his tongue, but before she could remove her fingers, he closed his lips around them and sucked. A gasp was pulled from her, all the heat she’d noticed enveloping her, spreading through her, making her quiver.

He didn’t mean anything with this, she knew, and slowly withdrew from him. He had no experience, had no idea what such an action implied.

He ate the cookie and licked his lips, his gaze locked on her. Such pretty lashes, she thought, such a dynamic gaze.

Such a beautiful man.

“You’re right,” he said. His tone gave nothing away. “Delicious.”

Trying for a flippant reply, she said, “Sucks for you that you didn’t order your own,” then popped the rest of the cookie in her mouth.

To her utter shock, he smiled. Smiled! Lips curving up, straight white teeth revealed, dimples out in full glory. Yes, dimples. Awareness burned and blistered, a storm inside her. He was… He was…utterly magnificent.

“I could take the morsel from you right now, just steal it from your mouth. What would you do then, brave little Annabelle?”

She swallowed before she choked. “Be grossed out?” A question when it should have been a declaration.

“Hmph,” he said, his smile disappearing.

For a moment, she felt as though the sun had set, darkness reigned and light could never possibly return. “I didn’t mean I would hate it if you—”

“Forget it. Come, let’s finish your shopping.” He grabbed her hand and urged her forward.

And by urged she meant dragged. “Fine. But only because you’re paying,” she grumbled.

“Don’t worry. You’ll make it up to me.”

“I will? How?”

The gaze he tossed her could only be described as smoldering. “You’ll see.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

“KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN.” Zacharel tucked his wings into his back, darting down a narrow, winding tunnel. They’d been flying for what seemed forever, but he at last spotted their destination. Annabelle tightened her grip and buried her face in the hollow of his neck.

Finally, the tunnel ended, opening into a huge crystallized cavern. He flared his wings, slowing his momentum and gently setting Annabelle on the ground. Her knees shook, and for a moment, she clung to him. Then she released him and stepped away so that no part of their bodies touched. Once again he mourned the loss of her—something that caused him to grit his teeth in irritation.

He’d been obsessed with her all day. Every point of contact, every hitch in her breath, every glance she’d cast in his direction had caused the tension inside him to sharpen. Every change in her emotions had confused him. From happy to sad to playful to morose. He’d wanted to tug her into his arms and hold her until all she felt was the happiness. But he hadn’t allowed himself to do that. Every time she had laughed he’d felt his blood seethe to a hotter degree. He would not have been able to content himself with simply holding her.

And when she’d fed him the cookie? When he’d had her fingers in his mouth? He’d had to fight the urge to strip her, strip himself and finally discover why so many humans enjoyed what happened when two people were naked.

One day very soon, he would allow himself to sample her, to learn the curves of her body, and experience that kind of passion. But he would not yearn for more, would not become addicted to a woman who was both mortal and a demon’s consort. He would assuage his curiosity and return to the life he knew—and liked. Wrong of him, perhaps, but this was the only option available to him.

A warrior angel could not keep a human. The brutal war between angels and demons was far too dangerous for such fragile flesh. And the war brewing between angels and the Greeks and Titans? Already he could feel the tension in the air, hear the whispers of a coming revolt. More than that, their life spans were far too different.