“And will you?” he asked. With his long hair falling to his shoulders and his tattoos vivid on his gleaming skin, he was dark and forbidding. He hadn’t bothered to retrieve his shirt but had simply pulled his leather jacket on for the walk home.
Every cell in her body pulsed with need. They’d almost died tonight. “Will I what?” She’d lost the thread of their conversation.
“Will you make this place a home?”
Everything inside her stilled. “What are you asking?” When he hesitated, she went to him and placed her hands on his very muscular, very naked chest.
“Stay with me.”
It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but she was okay with that. “Yes.”
“Yes?” he repeated.
She nodded. “I’ll stay for as long as you want me.”
He yanked her off her feet and held her so close she could barely breathe. “Forever. I want you for forever.”
Closing her eyes, she savored the strength of his arms around her, the unique male scent that filled her nostrils, and the warmth from his large body. For Maccus, that was a declaration of love.
She pulled back far enough so she could stare straight into his eyes. “I love you. And I’ll stay with you forever.”
His pupils dilated, the dark center almost swallowing the light around the edges. He whisked her down the hallway and into the bedroom, taking her down on the bed.
“I’ll never let you go,” he warned.
“Promise?” She ran her fingers over his bottom lip before rising up to kiss it.
“I never lie.” Both his expression and tone were deadly serious. Then he sealed his promise with a kiss that started out slow and sweet but swiftly turned hot and needy.
Clothes ripped and flew around them as he all but tore hers from her body. As soon as she was naked, she snaked her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Now. Don’t make me wait.” They’d died. It was time to celebrate being alive and together.
Without hesitation, he pressed the head of his erection against her opening and pushed. No matter how many times she had him, she’d never get used to how exquisite this was.
Eyes closed, head tilted back, body bowed, he held on to his control.
Flexing her inner muscles around his hard length, she moaned. He lost it. Maccus hammered into her over and over until they were both sweating and groaning.
Her nails scored his back and shoulders as she moved with him. He jammed one hand beneath her bottom and tilted her body as he drove deep. She screamed his name as she came. Immediately, he stiffened, gave a yell, and collapsed over her like a warm blanket.
Completely content, she wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. She was loved and protected.
Maccus brushed a kiss against her temple. “Forever.”
Epilogue
It wasn’t easy being mated to an immortal assassin who was also Guardian of the realms of Heaven, Hell, and Earth. It had taken her months to convince him to allow her to go on a job with him.
Not that she was complaining too loudly. That time had been amazing. When they weren’t making love, he was helping her hone her fighting skills.
He wasn’t the only one who’d been changed that night in the alley. She had an entirely new job, one that came with no more instructions than his. It was all on-the-job training. And it was intense.
She’d had another vision. Apparently, as the oracle for the Guardian, she was now immortal. They weren’t sure if there was still some way to kill her, though, so Maccus remained overprotective.
She didn’t mind. She was getting used to having her zealous bodyguard hovering nearby. He’d been alone since almost the beginning of time. Now that he had something to lose, he was almost obsessively protective.
While she totally understood, she wasn’t going to be kept in bubble wrap for her entire life. If she was going to be his partner in all ways, she had to share everything with him.
It had shocked her to learn that he’d tried to end himself, not only to keep from becoming a monster, but to try to get to Heaven to protect her.
While some would disagree, she knew he was the perfect choice to be Guardian of both realms.
“Ready?” she asked him.
“No,” he grumbled, crouching beside her in an abandoned warehouse not far from where they’d first met.
Unable to help herself, she grinned. Leaning against him, she stroked his arm in reassurance. “Everything will be fine. I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Promise?” A familiar gleam appeared in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
She speared her fingers through his hair, pulled him close, and kissed him. As it always did, the passion between them overwhelmed her, and she was out of breath when they broke apart.
“No kissing on the job,” he reminded her.
After a quick salute, she got serious. They were after a rogue angel. The order had come not through the Forgotten Brotherhood website but from a vision while she was in a trance. It was the first one she’d had since she’d learned of her immortality. She’d begun to wonder if the visions had disappeared entirely. Seemed they’d just been on hold until it was time for her to have one.
This, she assumed, was the new calling system. Much like Emmett had contacted her with a job when she’d been a bounty hunter, the visions or trances were a way of getting orders. This was part of Maccus’s new role as Guardian. And it was one they both took very seriously.
There was a concern that if he failed, his life would be ended. She feared for him, and he feared for her. It evened things out.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered. With one last searing glance, he crept through the warehouse where the angel was currently indulging in his sexual vices.
She’d stay behind him as long as he wasn’t in danger. After that, all bets were off. After drawing the sword he’d given her, she followed.
Love was precious. Theirs even more so, since it was so unlikely—the bounty hunter from Hell and the fallen angel turned immortal assassin. That wasn’t anyone’s idea of a love story, but it was theirs.
…
Lucifer sat in his throne and stared into the darkness. He hated to lose. And really, this wasn’t a loss. Just a temporary setback.
Elbows resting on the arms of the chair, he steepled his fingers together and considered his next move. Attacking the oracle was not an option. The rules were quite clear about what would happen to anyone who harmed one—total annihilation.
As the Guardian, Maccus was also out of reach, but the Forgotten Brotherhood—that band of freaks and misfits Maccus led—wasn’t.
Lucifer leaned back in his chair and smiled.
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