The phoenix blinked lazily, and then its head shot forward, and the scroll was gone. It launched itself into the air and vanished.
I stared at the spot where it’d been a moment ago. “Now what?”
“Now, we wait.”
With the phoenix gone, it was time to head back, but we’d only made it to the third floor when I knew for sure that wasn’t what I wanted.
I wanted more time alone with Uri. I wanted to get to know him. To talk, to connect. Who knew what tomorrow would bring, and this mark on my soul…I had no idea how long I’d be able to avoid its effects or where I’d need to go to remove it.
The future was always uncertain, and the only thing I had control over was the now.
We made it down to the second floor before I gently took his hand and brought him to a halt.
He looked down at me with a small smile. “Are we staying?”
I nodded. “Yes. We’re staying.”
I polished off the cheese on toast and licked my fingers. “That was the best!”
Uri reached out and swiped his thumb across the corner of my mouth. “I have my skills.”
He certainly did. I was lucky to have guys who could cook…Not that Uri was one of my guys…yet. Almost.
Shit, I wanted him.
We’d been camped on the rug in front of the fireplace in the main lounge chatting, eating cheesy toast, and drinking tea for the past hour.
I’d always loved the sound of Uri’s voice, and it was becoming addictive. He’d seen so much, knew so much, and his stories of the time before filled my mind with wonder.
He’d walked among the people of the past, and yes, I knew that Az, Mal, and Conah were old too, but they reaped souls and killed monsters. It wasn’t their job to get close to humanity, but Uri had. He’d watched and learned. He’d felt humanity’s pain and rejoiced in its triumph, but despite his knowledge and experience, there was a purity and innocence about him that drew me to him.
I wanted to corrupt him. Fuck, maybe that was my demon nature. As he spoke, my gaze drifted to his neck and down to the V of his shirt. His golden skin stood out against the navy material, begging to be touched. My attention flicked to his biceps and toned forearms then down to his hands, perfectly formed, beautiful hands that I wanted all over my body.
Was it weird that I wanted to suck on his fingers?
I shook my head. Shit, it was his aura again, messing with me and heightening everything.
“Fee?” He lifted my chin with the crook of his finger and studied me with concern. “Are you okay?”
I smiled up at him. “A little aura drunk.”
The concern in his eyes melted to liquid heat. “Too aura drunk to consent to a kiss?”
The pulse in my throat jumped with excitement. “Not too drunk for that.”
His mouth brushed mine, once, twice, teasingly, but my body was wound up so tight I couldn’t take the slow path. I gripped his nape and claimed his mouth. He gasped, and that sound shot straight to my core as I reared up and pushed him back, slanting my mouth across his, licking and sucking on the vanilla flavor that his body seemed to exude.
He groaned and pushed me back so he could sit up.
I broke the kiss, panting. “Shit. I’m sorry. I—”
His wings materialized with a whoosh, and he bowed his head, shoulders heaving. Thank God we weren’t sitting too close to the fire. But we were close enough for the light of the flames to turn his silver wings orange and red. He looked like an avenging angel of fire, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. He was fucking gorgeous.
But he wasn’t looking at me. I’d done something wrong. I’d pushed too hard too fast. Fuck.
“Uri?”
“Give me a minute,” he said. “This happens sometimes when a celestial is…aroused.”
I’d done this. I’d brought out his wings, and they were magnificent. My fingers itched to touch them. I needed to touch them, so I did. I ran my hands over the silken feathers, reveling in the sensation against my sensitized palms and fingertips.
He shuddered and made a strange guttural sound that made me want to press my thighs together to quell the ache.
I stroked him again, down to his shoulders, running my fingers along the ridges of muscles that melted into his back.