Page 25 of Gargoyle Reaper

They lay entwined, Ezekiel’s knot keeping them connected. As the minutes passed, Archer’s breathing evened out, his fingers tracing idle patterns on Ezekiel’s back.

‘This is... nice.” Archer let out a happy sigh. “I've never felt so complete before.”

Ezekiel’s chest tightened. “That's because we were made for each other, angel. Two halves of a whole.”

Archer hummed thoughtfully, his fingers continuing their gentle exploration of Ezekiel's back. “I'm starting to believe that might actually be true.”

Ezekiel'‘s heart soared at those words. He pressed a tender kiss to Archer’s forehead. “It is true, dearest. And I promise, I'll spend every day proving it to you.”

Archer regarded him, his brow furrowing. “What happens now? Do we stay here, go to another lair, get a house?” He smirked. “Build a nursery?”

Ezekiel chuckled, propping himself up on one elbow, his softening erection slipping from Archer’s body. He placed his palm on Archer’s belly.

"Now, we face whatever comes next together. There's still much for you to learn about your heritage, about our world. Plus, the amazing revelation of your healing powers. I’m looking forward to working with you side by side.”

Archer held his gaze, but Ezekiel could tell his thoughts were racing. “I will say I’m excited by that prospect as well. I know I come across as flippant like I don’t give a shit about anything. But being a doctor means so much to me. Until you, I didn’t care about anything else, really.”

Ezekiel’s eyes burned with unshed tears. Hearing Archer admit he cared about him was more than he’d expected so soon. He leaned down and gave Archer a soft kiss. “I'm honored to be someone you care about. And don’t worry. Your healing skillscombined with your experience as a doctor will be invaluable to our cause.”

Archer covered Ezekiel’s hand with his own. entwining their fingers. “You know, I never thought I'd want a family,” he admitted. “But with you... it doesn't seem so scary anymore.”

Ezekiel grinned. “You’re making all my dreams come true.”

Archer grinned back. “Never thought I’d ever hear anyone say that aboutme.” He leaned up to press their mouths together before laying his head back on the pillow. “But I’ll take it.”

Archer's words hung in the air, a tentative promise of a future Ezekiel had only dared to dream about. He gazed down at his mate, marveling at how quickly everything had changed. Only yesterday, Archer had been a stranger, unaware of his true nature. Now, here they were, tangled together in the aftermath of their passion, discussing a shared future.

He couldn’t imagine ever being without Archer again.

Chapter Nine

“Archer, wake up!”

Archer jerked upright, jarred out of a sound sleep by Ezekiel’s urgent call. “What? What’s going on?”

Light from the bedside lamp cut through the pitch-black darkness of their bedroom, and Ezekiel was hopping on one foot, struggling to pull on a pair of dark jeans. Despite having no idea what was going on, Archer jumped out of bed to get dressed, too.

“Sorry, love.” Ezekiel yanked the shirt he’d tossed onto the chair the night before shrugging it on, working the buttons frantically. “Urgent call from Cassiel. Woke me from a sound sleep. She needs help.”

Archer searched for his own shirt, eventually finding it under the bed. They’d been having a sex marathon over the past few days while waiting for word from Michael on their next move. They couldn’t for Ezekiel’s home base in Los Angeles until they were sure Raziel wouldn’t launch another attack in Boston.

As Archer finished dressing and started waking up more, it occurred to him that the call from Cassiel must’ve been telepathic. Did that mean she wasn’t in the lair? As far as he knew, they were all holding tight for now. Then again, he wasn’t exactly an expert yet on Slayer protocol.

Ezekiel paused, as if a thought struck him. He turned to Archer. “You should stay here with Darius. He’s fully recovered and an excellent fighter.”

Archer grabbed his arm. “Cassiel isn’t here then?”

Ezekiel regarded him with a pained expression. “I’m afraid not. I don’t know why she would’ve left without telling anyone. Maybe she was lured away somehow.”

“I don’t like this,” Archer gritted through his teeth. “And from what you’ve told me, Darius is this lair’s best fighter after Cassiel. You can’t go out there without him.”

“I need him here with you. I don’t trust Lysander, and I don’t know the others that well.”

Archer shook his head in confusion. “Who’s Lysander, and why don’t you trust him?”

He hadn’t been paying attention to the Slayer roster. Most of his time had been spent getting railed by Ezekiel in their own private lair paradise.

Ezekiel rubbed his forehead. “I don’t have time to explain. But it has to do with something Cassiel said to me the other night.” He gave Archer a quick kiss on the mouth. “I’ll tell you everything when I return.”

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