Page 58 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
His eyes flashed with a shaded light. “Of course I would.”
“Then let me help,” I whispered. “I can use my blood again. Please let me fix this, Az. You have been out here for hours in pain, and I had no idea. I can’t ignore that.”
“Your attention was exactly where it should’ve been,” he argued, his gaze darting behind us. “The boys, are they okay?”
“They haven’t woken up. Croy is taking a turn to watch them, and I hadn’t seen you so I came to find you.” I ducked my head, wondering if that sounded stupid.
“I’ll always be happy to see you,” he admitted, brushing his fingers at the blush that invaded my cheeks. “But you’re not obligated to heal me. Phoenix blood is precious, and I don’t want you wasting it.”
“It wouldn’t be a waste,” I argued vehemently. “I want—no, Ineed—to make sure you’re okay.”
After a moment of examining my face, he nodded slowly with a long exhale. “Okay, but we shouldn’t do this here. We need to be somewhere safer. I have no idea how my magic is going to interact so directly with your blood. It could end up being a bit…nuclear.”
“The cliffs that follow the shoreline are mostly empty,” Atlas said. I snapped my head to find him slowly approaching out of the shadows. “Croy said you were getting sleep, but when I couldn’t find you, I figured you were out here.”
“Did you guys know he was hurt?” Why the hell hadn’t anyone told me?
“We suspected, but he’s stubborn as fuck and wouldn’t come inside or let anyone look at him,” Atlas said in a matter-of-fact tone, shooting Az a narrowed look.
My angel rumbled defensively. “I’m right here.”
I looked back at Az, not understanding why he was being so freaking stubborn—did he like being in pain? I literally had the ability to heal him.
“I’ll tell the others you went on a short flight, but I’m entrusting you to bring her back, Az—we understand what’s going on, and now that the larger threat is gone, I don’t feel as worried about her leaving the property, but…”
“I would give my life for Maya,” Az stated simply.
“You’ve already given your life for me,” I pointed out.
“Right,” Atlas grunted, his eyes filled with trust. “I would highly suggest you get that healed, then. Please be careful, both of you.”
I nodded, and without a word, Az had us up and airborne as I clung onto him like a koala. I let out a pleasantly surprised noise at the way he cut through the air so flawlessly, and when he finally came to rest on an upper cliff edge, I realized we could still see the house in the distance. I had no idea how he had managed to fly with his wings damaged, but if anything, he seemed in more pain when he wasn’t using them. His wince while landing made me extremely nervous.
He’d picked a perfect place, though, isolated but still in safe range of the land. Above us was the actual top of the cliff, our ledge jetting out from the side more than large enough to fit all of my men if needed.
When he set me down, I immediately got to work, looking for something to cut my hand with when Az caught my wrist up against him and brought his lips to my pulse. I shuddered as he broke the skin easily with his teeth, the sharp sting of his canines causing me to nearly tremble in pleasure.
I was so distracted by his actions that I hadn’t even realized he’d done it to release a fresh stream of blood. My brain was clearly turning a bit hazy at the connection between us.
“Where?” I breathed out. He extended his wings out fully, the moon hitting them and showing me the several massive sears in his feathers.
I didn’t hesitate to bring my wrist over it and sprinkle blood onto the damaged surface, the crimson coating turning gold as it touched his skin. At first I worried it was hurting him with the way he hissed, but then I realized it was something else, his body vibrating with a dangerous tension that told me that my blood was not only healing him but releasing a part of him I’d yet to fully experience. I didn’t fully understand it, but I wanted to, especially with the way his hands were gripping my body as if worried I would try to get away from him.
“Fuck, thank you,” he groaned while continuing to extend his wings out, the previously damaged places looking good as new.Thank the Maker.I leaned forward to brush the soft, repaired feathers, and it landed me flat on my back as he watched me with that predatorial intensity. The one that told me I was out of my element with this man, with this immortal, angelic creature—one that had been alive for eons but was somehow mine.
“Azrael?”
He groaned as his name left my lips, pressing his body against mine. I rocked my hips, letting out a small hiss at the way his hard cock pressed right against where I was the most needy.
“If you keep saying my name like that, I’m going to have you bent over and screaming it out,” he growled softly, his breath against my neck causing me to tremble.
I didn’t find his words to be a threat, rather a promise as I felt something dangerous light up within me, like a spark igniting a burning flame of need on the edge of a grassy plane, the potential for it to explode into a raging wildfire right at the tips of my fingers.
I just needed to know that he wanted me as much as I wanted him.
“I wouldn’t mind that,” I breathed out in excitement before pulling back to look at where my wrist was pressed between us, the wound slowly healing but leaving a bite mark. “But…I want to bite you first. You bit me, and you marked me with your feather. I want to feel like you’re mine as much as I’m yours.”
“That’s not even in question,” he said, looking distressed that I could think differently. He rolled us so that I was on top, smoothing his hands over my butt. I rocked against him, loving his touch and the way he stared up at me with that possessive, awe-filled expression.
