Page 36 of Love, Rekindled

Azrael shouted her name at the same moment she violently convulsed around him, his body trembling beneath her. Holding herself still, Jayla savored the sensations pulsing through her. The feel of Azrael lying beneath her, the delicious throbbing of her orgasm, the tingle of her brand-new mating mark. If she could use her power to capture this perfect moment in time, she would.

Instead, she collapsed against him in utter exhaustion.

CHAPTER 8

Levet glared up at Bertha,who currently stood on his shoulders as she dug through the pile of rubble above them. It’d been hours since they’d been buried in the tunnel, and he was over this current adventure. There was nothing fun about being trapped, coated in a thick layer of dust, with his aunt digging her heels into the tender muscles of his neck.

He was going to give Chiron a very stern lecture about luring him to Hong Kong. This was not the exotic, fun-filled getaway Levet had been promised.

“Stand still,” Bertha chided, sending a shower of pebbles bouncing off Levet’s head as she pushed against a large boulder.

Levet coughed, wiggling his wings as the grit threatened to wedge into the delicate nooks and crannies. And his wings weren’t the only nooks and crannies getting wedged with grit.

“I do not know why I must be the one on the bottom,” he complained.

“Because my arms are longer,” she told him, grunting as she continued to shove at the boulder. “I’m the only one who can dig us out.”

“Oh.” Levet furrowed his brow, sensing there was something fishy about her argument. “Wait?—”

“I’m through!” There was the sound of stone cracking and another cloud of dust before the pressure on his shoulders abruptly disappeared. Levet tilted back his head to see a narrow hole that Bertha had busted open. Her head appeared in the space, her expression smug. Clearly, she was pleased with her success. “Do you need help?”

Levet scowled. He was a hero. Of course, he did not need assistance. “Stand aside,” he commanded.

Flapping his wings, he managed to lift himself off the ground and through the cramped hole, landing awkwardly next to his aunt. He flushed, grabbing his tail to give it a good polish. He wasn’t meant to fly. He was a gargoyle, not a stupid bird. Still, it was embarrassing to flounder around like a bloated turkey.

“I could have gotten us out much faster if you’d allowed me to use my magic,” he complained.

Bertha easily scrambled over the broken cement, leading him back to the main tunnel. “I love you, nephew, but I’m not willing to spend the next century recovering from your fireballs.”

Levet clicked his tongue. “I have very fine balls.”

“They’re a disaster.”

“Hey…” Levet allowed his protest to die away. It wasn’t that he wasn’t confident his balls were the finest in the land, but he’d been distracted by a sudden smell.

Bending low, he waddled toward the end of the tunnel before using the iron rungs in the cement wall to climb up and out of the drainage system. He halted as he glanced around the small garden next to a towering hotel. The dark streets were beginning to fill with tourists, but he ignored the frenzied chaos. It wasn’t so easy to ignore the aroma of the street vendors.

Mmm…

Bertha moved to stand next to him. “Levet?”

He shook his head, dismissing his gnawing hunger. He’d get a snack later. Like a full roasted pig. And pie. Apple pie.

“I smell the vampire,” he told his companion.

Bertha arched her brows. “The one who trapped us?”

“Oui. But it is odd.”

“What’s odd?”

Levet nodded toward the nearby hotel. “This is the resort where Jayla works.”

Bertha’s expression was distracted as she considered the various possibilities. “The first ambush was a bust,” she finally said. “Perhaps they’re hoping a second will be more successful.”

Levet nodded. Bertha was right. “And they would know this is the place she would return. Let’s go.”

Pumping his feet as fast as they would go, Levet headed out of the garden and circled the edge of the pool. Then, using a side door, he darted into the front lobby. He was just about to track down the treacherous vampire when a chill blasted through the air, and a towering form abruptly blocked his path.

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