Page 36 of Absolved In Death

“You and Des kept her up all night and I couldn’t get into her dreams,” he said on a groan. His tail snaked around her side, and flicked her clit.

“Well at least you’re getting the help you need in there, LG. Enjoy,” I said with a waggling of my brows. Bash needed his time with Diana. I wasn’t ignorant of his internal struggle—hisincubus claimbond made sharing her difficult at times, and if he needed her to himself, that was okay.

You're her favorite anyway,Voice reminded me.

Boyfriend #1,I internally cheered.Forever and always.

11

DIANA

Iwas all for being a sex-positive, empowered baddie who got hers. You had to be when you had five men in your life with paranormal level sex drives. But I girl-bossed way too close to the sun between last night and this morning. My pussy was so sore and angry at me, I had to link Desmond to make me a hot compress with his fire magic. We laid in bed, cuddled together while I received my treatment.

Could I have done a compress for myself?Yes. But I knew my men liked to feel needed. He got a lot of Demon-Daddy-joy from taking care of me, and I wouldn’t deny him that, especially when he was working so hard to run this resistance. The Morningstars may be the public face of the movement, but my men were the heart and soul of it, and their hard work had to be recognized, even if it was in little ways like this.

“I should apologize for being so rough with you…” he said in the soft, gentle voice he only used with me. “But I know you love it.” He kissed my cheek as the warmth from his hand did its magic on my lady bits.

“I do. No apology needed. You and Ares made my night, and Bash ambushed me in the shower this morning for a quickie. This is part of the Penis Parade lifestyle,” I quipped.

Desmond’s deep rumbling laughter made me smile. It was rare, and I treasured it.

“I prefer Man-torage. The way your dad says it with his dry disdain is hilarious.”

Zaz faded into the room, his brows furrowing when he saw us. “They got ya, huh?”

“Yes, I’m so sore,” I pouted, giving him my saddest eyes. I was a shameless, spoiled woman, and I wanted all the cuddles before we moved today.

He scooted in on my other side, his arm wrapping around me so his hand rested over Desmond’s. His angel positivity flowed through it, mingling with the heat to heal me. It felt so good, like a balloon of happiness uplifting me. Domestic moments like this gave me hope that after this war was over, we could lead a normal life. Well, as normal a life as six paranormal beings could.

After five minutes, they made me get dressed so we wouldn’t be late for breakfast. Everyone was already there, laughing and enjoying their meal. It did my heart good to see Mom and Oisín laughing at whatever ridiculous thing Judas said. My guys howled at one of Ares and Apollo’s stories. Even Bain looked like he took the cranky stick out of his ass, and he was only half glaring at Angie this morning…who was sitting next to my PA, hanging off his every word.

Hmmm, interesting…

Lucifer seemed somewhat relaxed, given what happened with Michael last night. Azazel told me that Quelier already had him resting in Pit-13. I’d have breakfast with him as soon as he was up for a visitor.

I tore into my breakfast. Sex made me hungry, and this veggie omelet and bacon had my name on them. I reached for my glass of iced coffee, when I felt a tremor…

Everything shook. The room quaked, the ground beneath us vibrating. The table shook, rattling our plates and cutlery until they fell off. The chandelier above us clinked and its crystals shattered on the hardwood floors. Desmond’s shadows burst from his hands, weaving their way around the room and out the door. I heard their soft whispering and felt their cold presence.

“Something isn’t right…” he said.

A piercing alarm blared through the mess hall, and everyone jumped from their seats.

One of Ares’ top soldiers faded in, and shouted, “We’re being besieged!”

Ares growled, grabbing my hand and dragging me through the tables of soldiers running to their predetermined posts. Desmond, Bash, and Lucifer filed behind us, and the five of us faded to the training facility.

Ares waved his hand in front of his throat. His voice sounded like it was coming out of an invisible speaker. “ALL SOLDIERS REPORT TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS. ACTIVE ATTACK. CODE RED.”

Mal, Judas, and Zaz faded in next to us, their faces a mix of shock and worry. We should have been organizing groups for transfers to the new compound, not fighting off a siege attack.

“The rat told them we were moving today,” Zaz said. “They’re trying to catch us off guard.”

“Well they can fucking try, but they won’t succeed,” Ares growled. “Diana, can you call Quelier? I want him to do the thing with the 3-D model.”

Before I could, the faerie in question popped into the room, a smirk on his face. “Fae PA to save the day. You called?”

“Yes, Fae menace. Can you please bring up a real-time 3-D model of the whole compound?” Ares asked, somewhat politely.

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