Ashes(7)

He traced the pink lines on her back, needing that proof that she was healing. A vicious sexual need pricked at him, pushing him to follow the primal urge to drive his cock deep inside her; to take her hard and reassure himself in the most basic way that she was alive. But he didn't. She might be healing, but she was also drained. The last thing she needed was him fucking in and out of her like a man possessed.



She flinched as his finger touched a wound that was obviously still tender. He fisted his hand, infuriated with himself because, dammit, he should have fucking heard her. No, he should have gone to her with the spare set of keys rather than give her a little time to find her own. Then he could have killed the hunters before they even got the chance to touch her.



As he pulled back his arm, her hand loosely cuffed his wrist. "It's not your fault, Knox."



He wasn't surprised by her comment. Of course she'd know where his thoughts had led him. She understood him better than anyone. Sometimes, that made him uncomfortable, but it also felt good to be known so well after centuries of living a mostly solitary existence. He'd had plenty of people around him, but not part of his life. "I told you that you'd be safe there."



"Not even you could have guaranteed that."



He let his eyes drift over her face, hating the lines of pain there. "I should have heard you." He kissed her, pouring a silent apology into it.



"You did hear me."



"Not soon enough."



"Through no fault of your own." If Harper hadn't gotten stronger since fusing her psyche with Knox's, she might not have been able to contact him at all. That wasn't something she wanted to think about. Not only because she'd have lost her wings, but because Knox would have subsequently lost all control – something that would have led to so many deaths and so much destruction.



She lightly skimmed a hand over his short, stylishly cut hair; it was as dark as his eyes and soft as silk. If her back still wasn't throbbing with pain, his otherworldly potent sex appeal would have sent her libido into a frenzy. He was nothing like the guys from her past with his GQ-style, Armani suits, and badass predatory edge. Tall and solid and dominant, Knox had a raw sexual gravity that drew people to him. All that supreme confidence, leashed power, and animal grace totally rung her bell.


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"Talk me through exactly what happened," he said, stroking her wing. It was like touching hot silk. The feathers might be soft, but they weren't fragile. He found the contrast as fascinating as he did the female beside him.



She grimaced. "Um …  yeah, I'm not sure that's the best idea." He was already pissed beyond belief and she didn't want to provoke the rage she knew was still simmering beneath the surface. Her demon was just as wary of stoking the fire.



"Harper, this is the kind of situation where not knowing is worse." Ignoring her pleading expression, he pressed, "Tell me."



She sighed. "Fine." Inhaling deeply, she took in the scents of clean linen, fragrant oils, and Knox's dark, sensual cologne. "I was minding my own business, searching for the damn keys, when the hunters just seemed to appear out of nowhere. One slammed me over the table while the other stood in front of me and pinned my hands still. I couldn't fight them at first, because the one trapping my hands – the one who's still alive – sent me into a dream. I kept snapping in and out of it."



Knox frowned. "I sensed that he's a nightmare. The breed can sometimes send people into dreamlike states, but they don't control the content of the dreams. What happened in it?"



"I was here, in our room. There was no furniture except for a cradle. There was a baby – I don't know if it was supposed to be a girl or a boy, I couldn't tell. It had flames for eyes."



"Considering a delusional demon claimed you'd have a ‘child of flames' who would destroy us all, it's hardly a surprise that you had a dream about it," he pointed out. Not so long ago, a demon from their lair who was near-rogue had targeted Knox, convinced that killing him before he could breed would save the world. After several unsuccessful attempts, Laurence Crow had then kidnapped Harper and tried to give her a hysterectomy to prevent her from having Knox's child. She'd killed the bastard instead.



They'd soon discovered that Crow's strings had been pulled by a group of demons that called themselves The Four Horsemen – a group that wanted to overthrow the Primes and have domination of the US. They believed that Knox, being so powerful, was in their way.