Unchained

Chapter Eleven

It had been years since she had kissed anyone. She’d been a teenager, before Baal and before she accepted the Contract. She’d forgotten how much pleasure a kiss could bring, but she never remembered being kissed like this before.

Julian claimed her lips as if he were laying stake to her soul. The possibility that he had already done so should have served as a dire warning, but she was far too immersed in the feelings Julian was working out of her. His lips were demanding, and when he tugged on her lower lip with his teeth, she yielded to him. The kiss deepened, and his tongue slid over hers. She let out a little breathless moan against his hot mouth. The taste of him, his smell…all of him invaded her, burning her. She was so hot, so wet.

His lips began to leisurely explore hers as his hand finally, finally smoothed over her breast. He touched her like he’d been starving to do so. His deft fingers plucked at her nipple, causing her to do something she’d never done before.

She moaned into his mouth.

His chest rumbled against her back as he left her mouth. “I will not force you. Even though every cell in my body demands that I take you now. You have a choice, Lily.”

What choice was he giving her when his fingers moved to her other breast, drifting over her pebbled nipple? The liquid fire in her was too potent to be ignored. But she was gasping for air, knowing she’d already gone too far.

But there was still a choice. Even as worked up as she was, she could regain control of herself, but it was more than the physical. She was so incredibly lonely and he…he had saved her twice now. And his touch, there was nothing like it. Her response ran deeper than trying to ease some of the loneliness, but she wasn’t ready to delve too deeply into that.

“I want to give you pleasure,” he said, smoothing his thumb over her bottom lip as his other one did the same to her nipple. The combination was maddening. “That is all, Lily. This will be nothing more.”

“It won’t?” Doubt colored her words.

“Oh, I want to do more. Much, much more. I want to sink deep inside you. I want to fill you while you scream my name.”

Her body shuddered.

“All you have to do is tell me no.” His hand left the tip of her breast, dropping to where the robe was still knotted. “No?”

She bit down on her lip. Her breast ached from the loss of contact.

He quickly unraveled the haphazard tie she had made, and the robe completely parted. “So beautiful,” he whispered again.

Her eyes opened into thin slits as his fingers made their way to the soft mound between her legs. She held her breath. A finger skimmed over her damp lips, barely touching her, but she jerked against his hand. No one—no one had touched her without some sort of barrier between her flesh and theirs. And without thinking about it, she parted her thighs, giving him more access.

He gently explored her heated flesh. She was quickly losing herself to him, breathing like she’d run five flights of stairs. When his thumb pressed against the little bundle of nerves, she whimpered.

“Stop?” he asked.

When she said nothing, he increased the pressure until her hips began moving, rocking against his hand. A fierce heat surfaced, overshadowing anything she had felt before. Building and building till she feared it would consume her.

Julian lazily ran a slender finger over her wet slit. The tension coiled inside her as she pressed into his hand, wildly seeking whatever it was he would offer.

“Look at me, Lily,” he ordered roughly. “Tell me what you want.”

A ragged breath escaped her parted lips, and her eyes met his.

He pressed against her, his cock thick and hard against the small of her back. “Tell me to stop.”

Everything seemed to come down to this moment. Her hips were still thrusting against his hand, twisting until sharp spikes of pleasure shot through her.

“What will it be?” He pressed his lips to the bruise on her temple. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” she gasped.

He made a triumphant sound and scooped her up in his arms. His movements blurred, and then he was placing her on the bed. Julian removed the robe from where it had been trapped around her arms and laid siege to her lips. He kissed her until her fingers sunk into his hair, pulling.

Groaning with pleasure, he lifted his mouth and trailed his lips down her neck. She wanted—no, needed—to feel his skin against her. With trembling fingers, she grabbed hold of his shirt and lifted. Wordlessly, he paused and raised his arms. She tossed the shirt aside. Each hard plane and ripple of his chest begged to be touched.

And she did, running her hands over him. Damn, he was utterly magnificent. His skin was like silk stretched over steel. Every part of him was hard and smooth.

Then his lips settled over her nipple, sucking long and hard. “Julian,” she begged in a heated whisper.

Answering her plea, he pressed his hand against her, slipping one finger into her wetness. Her back arched off the bed as she ground her hips against his hand. The feeling of him—his finger inside her—had her thrashing.

He slipped in two fingers, and the fire in her core flared. His name was like a sinful prayer on her lips, urging him on. Julian’s mouth glided from one breast to the next and then back to her lips. She felt the thick length of him against her and sparks flew. Her fingers dug into his skin as he pressed his entire body against her.

The tension building in her expanded, her hand dropped to the band of his pants. More, she wanted more. “Please,” she pleaded. “Please, Julian.”

“Don’t,” he grunted against her lips as he slowly pumped his fingers.

Ignoring this, she jerked the fragile material. Buttons snapped, scattering across the dark room. She yanked the material over his hips, and his cock sprang forward. Figures. He would go commando. And damn, he was huge. She wrapped her hand around him, and he jerked as if he had been burned.

He groaned, arching into her hand. “What you do to me. Ah, Lily, don’t.”

She didn’t listen. She ran her hand down him, marveling at the length and width. His breath was coming out in short, little gasps, and she was awed at what her touch could do. Soon, he was pushing into her hand as he carefully thrust his fingers into her.

He pressed his thumb against her clit. “Come for me, Lily,” he ordered.

The coil within her started to spin madly. Her grip on him tightened. “I want to feel you inside me. Please.”

Julian groaned, swirling his thumb over her clit. She felt him swell in her hand. The whirling force inside her spiraled out of control, and the first wave of pure bliss crashed over her. She cried out, tensing against his hand. Spasms racked her body, and her toes curled. With wide eyes, she saw Julian stiffen and felt his cock jump in her tight grasp. Then he, too, joined her in release, their hearts racing as their bodies spent themselves.

The force of her orgasm left her speechless, and as her heart slowly returned to normal, Julian gently removed his fingers. He gave a shaky sort of laugh, pressing his lips to her damp forehead. “That’s not what I had in mind,” he said gruffly.

Lily realized her hand was still wrapped around him, and he was already hardening under her touch. She pulled her hand away, flushing. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I guess I got carried away.”

He eased himself beside her and gently cupped her cheek. “No. Don’t apologize.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Sweet Lily, you surprise me.”

Her hand fell idly to his chest. She was warm and fuzzy all over, and her bones felt like they had melted somewhere along with her sanity. “Do I?”

He nodded, sliding one arm under her, and nestled her against him.

Falling quiet, she tried to reconcile everything she knew about the Fallen with what she knew about Julian. What they had just done—what they had shared—had been true bliss. How could someone so evil be so patient, so gentle? And bring her such pleasure.

Unease crept over her. For the first time since she knew what she was, she doubted what she knew. All Fallen were evil. They lacked compassion and were totally immoral—that’s what she had been taught. But she couldn’t bring herself to think of Julian that way.

He leaned over, placing a kiss against her cheek. “What are you thinking?”

She tipped her head back, looking at him. There was no way around it. “Why did you fall?”

His stare didn’t waver. “Why do you think I did?”

She shrugged. “Sleeping with young maidens?” Please don’t say you killed an entire family of four because you felt like it, she begged silently.

He was silent for a moment, and then he leaned down and kissed the pulse at the nape of her neck. “You would think that, wouldn’t you?” He lifted his head, staring down at her. “It was a long time ago, Lily. I had been foolish and very prideful.”

She bit her lip. That wasn’t much of an answer. She pushed. “You didn’t kill an innocent person or something?”

His gaze sharpened and his brows rose. “What does that Nathaniel teach you? No. I did not kill anyone…who was innocent.”

Lily held his gaze for a moment. “Okay,” she whispered. “I believe you.” It made her a fool, considering that wasn’t much of an explanation, but she did.

He lightly grasped her chin, bringing her lips to his. When he was done, he pulled her into his arms. “I better not see you at Deuces Wild again,” he said gruffly, pressing her cheek to his bare chest.

Sated and strangely happier than she had felt in years, she smiled sleepily as his heart thundered under her cheek.

…

Michael’s head was going to explode.

He was full of knowledge—and it was way too much. He had spent the bulk of the day cloistered away with Luke, and now Remy. It was like being in school again. Except what he was learning was far more bizarre and interesting than anything college could have taught him.

From what he had gathered from Lily that first night he had learned of the Fallen and what he learned today, he decided they were screwed.

It was sheer statistics.

Luke had explained that only so many Nephilim were born a year. The now-infamous Nathaniel—who he’d yet to hold a conversation with personally—would receive the name somehow. He’d called bullshit on that, which had earned him a sharp look from his impromptu teacher. Out of those Nephilim born, only about fifty percent actually survived the first year. Apparently his kind were needy babies.

From that fifty percent, the Nephilim saved only twenty percent. The Fallen got to the rest.

Once again, sheer statistics.

So yeah, they were screwed.

He wondered why he was still sitting there instead of packing up everything he owned and leaving town. He was on the losing side, but he didn’t leave. And honestly, wouldn’t it all eventually catch up with him anyway? Thinking back to reasons why he’d left his comfy job and joined the police force, he began to understand a part of him that had lain dormant. This whole time he had been searching for something missing in his life. The elusive purpose people always talked about. He thought being a police officer would seal up the hole in him. But it had only been a step in the right direction.

A step that had led him to Lily—and the truth about himself.

He explored the Sanctuary, lost in his own thoughts. He learned the security-firm portion of the Sanctuary was one of the best. It offered protection to some of the world’s richest people and provided software security for the top companies in the world. He saw more than one supercompany listed on documents carried by one human or another. Fucking unreal.

Over the course of the day, he realized he was able to pick out the other Nephilim who mingled among the human workforce. A strange tingling sensation appeared before a Nephilim stepped off the elevator in front of him or walked past the door.

After wandering the upper levels, he went underground. Without asking who he was, the guards stepped aside, allowing him access to the real Sanctuary. Underground, his senses were firing left and right. There were Nephilim everywhere. Aboveground, the humans at least smiled at him, but the Nephilim didn’t look his way as they passed. Even more strange was the fact that he had not seen one single female Nephilim.

The first level was laid out like a school. It had several occupied classrooms. He heard muted laughter and a young female voice hushing the students, and his curiosity got the best of him. He peered into the room.

It was like any normal kindergarten class, with a dozen children scurrying about the room carrying construction paper and crayons. A slender teacher stood at the head of the classroom, a patient smile fixed across her pretty face. It was then he noticed a little girl Nephilim with paint staining her chubby hands. So now he knew of two female Nephilim. The teacher he wasn’t sure about.

Moving past that room, he glanced into a couple more. There were students of all ages, and some seemed near graduation age. This level had its own cafeteria, playground, and what he guessed was a basketball court by the sounds echoing from behind closed doors. The second and third floors were housing levels for the students, and one looked like a giant Toys R Us store. He quickly backed out of there. Sighing, he moved onto the fourth level, and it was like finding Heaven.

The amount of weapons stored there would have made the militia’s mouth water. Michael slowly made his way down the hallway. Each room was the size of a gymnasium and had a theme. In one room, guns of all sizes lined the walls. All of them had cryptic writing engraved into their handles or on their barrels. Some were models he had never seen before.

Another room was littered with explosives and detonating devices. Michael didn’t like the looks of it and found another room housing razor-sharp knives and swords ranging from samurai to the small daggers Lily carried. All were polished and, like the guns, had strange images carved into them. He wanted to touch them—all of them—but the sound of sparring drew his attention.

At the end of the hallway, he found several large training rooms. Inside one, he immediately recognized Remy sparring with a younger Nephilim. He clearly outskilled the deeply tanned teenager, but he was patient as the boy fumbled over his feet or dropped his sword.

In another corner, several older Nephilim were teaching Brazilian jujitsu to a rapt audience. Farther back, men were grappling. At first glance, Michael thought they were really fighting because of the intensity in the way they went after one another and the hard falls some were taking. He was surprised when a brown-haired Nephilim stood up and laughed as he used the back of his hand to wipe blood off his split lip.

The swarthy-skinned Nephilim grinned. “Your twin fights better than you.”

“Whatever.” The other man laughed again. “I’m better than him on all other levels. Ones that count outside the training room.”

Both men grinned, falling back into defensive stances.

Michael backed away, heading for the next level before he could be spotted. On the fifth floor were additional housing quarters, each one under lock and key. The key to his was securely in his pocket.

Knowing there was only one more level to investigate, he was curious when he found guards posted at the sixth level. Apparently he didn’t have clearance for that floor and was turned away. He returned to the seventh level, where his room was, and decided to poke around there. He knew it held chambers meant for housing, a library, and a large computer lab.

Drifting through the library, he scanned the stacks. Several of the books were in languages he couldn’t read. There were many bibles of various ages and versions. On the bottom shelf, way in the back, he found some volumes of mythology. One in particular caught his eye.

“The Book of Enoch,” he said, and crouched down. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Sliding out the ancient book, he cracked the spine. A plume of dust hit the air. He thumbed through some of the aged pages. “And they became pregnant, and they bore great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. They began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood.” Whoa. Michael shook his head, but he was morbidly fascinated by it all.

Just as he read a verse about God, Uriel, and Noah—as in Noah’s Ark—someone cleared his throat behind him. He looked up, finding Nathaniel standing between the two stacks.

“I see you’ve discovered the library,” Nathaniel said.

He nodded. “I haven’t heard of half of these books. And this?” He waved the dusty volume around. “Crazy.”

Nathaniel smiled. “No, you wouldn’t have.”

“Of course not…” He glanced around the room. “So you’re Nathaniel?”

“I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself. I’ve been extremely busy and was hoping Luke would keep you occupied.”

“He has been, but I guess he thought I needed a break.”

Nathaniel smiled. “Sensory overload, I take it?”

He laughed, but it sounded rough. “You have no idea.” He watched Nathaniel slowly come to a halt before him and was struck by how tall he was. Michael was by no means short, but standing next to Nathaniel he felt like an ant. An old accent he couldn’t place clung to the man’s words. Maybe Mediterranean by the look of his naturally tanned skin and the russet color of his hair. “How is Lily?”

“She’s fine. No need to worry about her. She is a very strong girl.”

Michael could think of numerous words to describe her. Not one of them was the word girl. “You run this place?”

One fine brow arched. “As much as I can. Although I find it runs me more often than not.”

Michael was growing more uncomfortable by the moment. The man’s stare made him feel as if Nathaniel could see into his very soul and flip through all his secrets. Not that he had any secrets that rivaled what the Sanctuary held. He shifted, folding his arms over his chest.

Nathaniel cocked his head to the side. “May I ask you a question?” When Michael nodded, he continued. “All these years you have slipped past us and the Fallen unnoticed. It’s a very curious situation. Have you ever sensed one of us before?”

“I don’t think so,” he answered truthfully. “If I had, I would have ignored it or chalked it up to some bad food. Now, I can’t explain it. I can…feel them…the other Nephilim.”

“I’m assuming that side of you has lain dormant. However, I’ve been advised that you have worked closely with Danyal. I’m at a loss to explain how he did not sense what you are and vice versa.”

“Well, wasn’t my name in that book? I guess someone dropped the ball.” Looking back, Michael would’ve been grateful if Nathaniel’s crew had found him. Living here would have been a lot easier than being shuffled from one foster home to another.

A strange shadow flickered over Nathaniel’s face. “That’s the mystery, Michael. Your name never appeared in the Book.”

He wasn’t sure how to take that. The idea that there was a book where names of Nephilim would randomly appear seemed preposterous to him. Then again, all of this would have struck him that way a week ago.

Nathaniel tilted his head as if he heard something. “I do believe Remy is calling for you. You have a lot to learn ahead.” He paused and smiled slightly. “Your training will be intense. But I have faith in you. You will struggle like all Nephilim do at the beginning, but you’ll pull through. You see, Michael, you’re very special.”

“Special?” he repeated, not sure if it was an insult or not. But Nathaniel had already left him alone. Sighing, he glanced down at the book. It was probably the lamest reading material he could’ve ever found, but he tucked it under his arm and left the library.