“Wouldn’t you like to be free from the Itch and have a chance to return to your normal life?”
I paused, weak creature that I was, then shook my head. Whatever he offered, the cost was too high. “Tell you what. I’ll find the halo, rescue my friend, and then we’ll talk, okay?” I headed for the cathedral doors, needing to get out of there.
“You’re making a mistake,” he boomed behind me. “Others will jump at the chance of what you are refusing. What will become of you if someone else beats you to the h-”
I shut the door while he was still speaking. I didn’t even want to think about that.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Noah showed up before dawn. I’d been hovering by the window, anxiously waiting for the sky to lighten, which is why I was freaked out when the doorbell rang when it was still dark. I answered the door with a kitchen knife in hand, not sure who I would find on the other side.
The fallen angel raised an eyebrow. “Planning on carving a turkey?”
He looked wonderful. I don’t know if it was my relief to see him that made my hormones surge, or the lack of Uriel’s kiss on my brow. It could also be the way his very broad shoulders filled out the cream-colored turtleneck sweater so nicely, and how his hair swept along the collar, just waiting for my itching fingers to brush it back.
“Want to invite me in? Remy’s got the place warded to the skies and back so I can’t come inside unless you invite me.”
“Sure.” I put the knife down on a foyer table, my hands shaking. “Come on in.”
He stepped past me and glanced around the huge, posh house. “Don’t tell me-Remy’s still fixing her hair.” A line creased between his eyebrows, indicating his frustration. “We need to speak to Uriel as soon as possible before this stuff climbs upstairs, or you’ll really be in hot water.”
I burst into tears.
The look on Noah’s face darkened. “You didn’t, did you?”
I was unable to answer, as my throat was all knotted up in the loudest, noisiest sobs this side of Hollywood. “N-n-n-n-” I stammered.
Large hands clasped my shoulders with ferocious strength, and Noah squared my face toward his. “Jackie,” he warned. “Where’s Remy?”
I could tell he was trying to refrain from shoving me away or losing his temper.
Which of course made me cry all the harder. “I’m so sorry,” I managed, trying to pull away. “You hate me now.”
“Shhh, Jackie.” Noah’s large hands reached up to cup my wet cheeks. “It’s going to be okay. Calm down.”
Feeling helpless beyond words, I allowed him to enfold me in his arms as I cried out my fear and remorse. He led me toward the living room and sat on the couch, calmly stroking my back, just holding me and comforting me. I managed to leak the story onto his broad chest and he didn’t say a word to judge me, just listened quietly until I was done.
Once the sobs dried up to the occasional shudder, I remained curled up in his arms, my head pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Noah pressed a light kiss onto my brow. “Better now?” His voice was soft, comforting.
I nodded, leaning into the slight caress. My heart was pounding in my throat and I slid my hands behind his neck, caressing his nape without even thinking about what I was doing. “I’m so glad you’re here, Noah.” All I could think about was crawling into his lap and closing my eyes, hoping the world would go away for a time. My hands slid down his chest, pausing at his nipples, and my fingers found them instinctively. I stroked the pebble-hard flesh, feeling my own tighten in response.
He stilled at my touch. “Jackie …” Noah shifted against me. “Did the queen do anything to you?”
“She kissed me.” I could feel my forehead blazing, feverishly hot. “I think it negated the angel kiss.”
Noah sighed. “It did more than that. A vampire’s kiss works in the opposite direction of an angel’s, Jackie. Your ‘curse,’ as you like to call it, is going to be amplified tenfold in a few hours or so, unless you do something about it.”
“It’s already amplified,” I said, fitting my body against his. The sensual rush swept through my body, now that my anxiety had been released. I laced his fingers with mine and turned to stare at him, lifting my cheek off his chest. “So what are my options?”
I would have cursed the compulsion that drove me, if it weren’t for the gorgeous man wrapped around me. Damn, he looked delicious. I slid my hand out of his and ran it under his turtleneck, feeling his flat stomach tighten beneath my hand.
His eyes met mine, and I saw that they had flared to the vivid blue I knew all too well. “Let me help you, Jackie,” he said, lifting my hand from his neck and pressing a scorching kiss against the palm. His eyes watched mine.
Guilt and longing surged through me at the same time. I knew that it was my nature doing this to him, causing him to flare up with desire every time I was around. Remy had told me that the Serim needed to sate their urges only about once a month, and here I was driving Noah mad whenever I stepped into the same room. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know I’m a bother-”
My words cut off when he nipped at the fleshy part of my hand with his teeth, sending desire rocketing straight through my body. “Jackie,” he warned, his lips brushing against my palm.
“Yes?” My voice sounded more like a moan.
“If your body needs release”-Noah brought my fingertips to his lips-“I want to be the one you come to. Understand?”
“I don’t want to be a charity case,” I protested.
“Oh, trust me,” he chuckled. “This is far from charity.” He took my fingertip into his mouth and sucked on it.
“Wow,” I breathed, sliding the tip along his lips. “You’re pretty good at that.”
“Let me show you what else I’m good at.” Within the space of a breath, he had flung me on my back and was looming over me. My legs were tossed into the air, still bare from the short skirt I’d worn to the club, and he slid his hand down the pale length of one thigh.
I shivered with anticipation. The glide of his hand felt wonderful against my skin, and I arched my back slightly with the pleasure of the simple caress. “Mmm. For artistry I’d give it a 5.8, but for technical merit, only a 5.4.”
He pressed a kiss against my upraised ankle. “What are you talking about?” Another kiss against the tender skin of the inside of my knee.
“Nothing,” I moaned, losing my train of thought. “Do that again.”
Noah complied, sliding his delicious mouth closer toward my skirt. “You’re so beautiful, Jackie …” His breath was hot against my skin, sending shockwaves through my body and making my brain spin.
“It’s the succubus thing,” I panted, trying not to writhe in anticipation and failing rather miserably. “Changes the way you look, and stuff.”
“… but you talk entirely too much,” he chided, licking my thigh and then blowing gently on the overheated skin. “I don’t want to hear talking,” he murmured in that low, sexy voice, his smooth cheek close to my thigh. “I want you screaming my name.”
The fabric of my skirt slid up, courtesy of Noah’s hands, and the pulsing in the vee of my thighs increased in its crescendo, the Itch in full swing. His hands slid over my hips, looking for the zipper to my skirt and then sliding that down my hips, leaving me bare save for a skimpy thong. He hesitated for a moment, and I opened my eyes to protest, just in time to see his blond head duck down, and felt the crotch of my thong being moved aside to allow his fingers to rub up against my wetness.
I groaned loudly, my hands instinctively reaching for his head to cling to. “Oh, God, Noah. Do that again.”