Her Demonic Angel (Her Angel Romance Series Book 5) Page 23

  She had drawn him into changing tonight, enough that he could have revealed their location to the Devil. It was still a day until Einar and Taylor arrived, and Taylor could hide Erin and Amelia.

  What if Hell’s angels found them before then?

  Veiron growled and clutched Erin to him. It didn’t matter. If any of them dared to come near her, he would kill them all. He would protect what was his.

  He would fight the Devil himself for Erin’s sake.

  CHAPTER 21

  Erin had been on edge since falling asleep in Veiron’s arms after their hot tub encounter the day before yesterday. Amelia had flown off the handle again when Veiron had admitted that he may have alerted other Hell’s angels to their whereabouts. Erin had backed him up and then left with him to get some space and time alone with him. She didn’t get her sister sometimes. Veiron could have kept it a secret but he had done the right thing and warned Amelia and Marcus, and rather than just saying they would deal with anything that happened, Amelia had given him hell.

  Who had died and made her big sister boss?

  Erin was having none of it. If Hell’s angels came, they would probably be coming for her. If she didn’t go nuclear at Veiron about what he had done then what right did her sister have to shout at him about it? She huffed and pulled her black shorts on over the bottoms of her black bikini, and then towelled off her wet black hair.

  Tired of her sister’s god complex, she had spent most of yesterday snorkelling with Veiron, and had avoided Amelia and Marcus by heading back out onto the reef first thing this morning. The house reef at the resort was amazing, full of colourful fish and even turtles. She had never been snorkelling and the closest she had come to seeing tropical fish were her family visits to the London Aquarium as a child.

  Veiron seemed to attract some of the scariest-looking fish she had ever seen though, including a small shark this morning. It hadn’t bothered him. He had petted them all. Even the shark. It had quickly turned and sped away into the murky distance. Erin had laughed and got a lungful of seawater then, and Veiron had insisted they call it a day and head back to shore.

  She smiled at him where he lay on the double bed wearing only his black jeans, skin golden against the white sheets, his eyes closed and wet hair spread around his shoulders.

  A sudden pang of uncertainty stabbed her in the chest. In less than an hour, Taylor and Einar would arrive at the resort and Marcus and Veiron would leave for Hell. It turned Erin’s stomach whenever she thought about it and she wanted to ask him to stay, to forget about seeing whether his future was like her vision and discovering where her powers came from and why the Devil wanted her.

  Veiron’s eyes cracked open and he pushed himself up onto his elbows, resting on them. Every muscle of his torso tensed, the thick ropes of his abs luring her gaze downwards, and she wanted to congratulate him for finding a way to make her instantly forget her worries. Whenever he looked so delicious, she couldn’t think about anything other than making love with him again.

  “I’ll be careful,” he said and her momentary amnesia brought about by her lust for him disappeared, worry crashing back down on her even fiercer than before. He held his hand out to her. Erin stepped towards him, slipped hers into it, and allowed him to lead her onto the bed. She knelt astride his legs and he tipped his head back, luring her in for a kiss. She went willingly, needing the comfort that came from contact with Veiron, and closed her eyes as she kissed him. He kept it soft and slow, full of affection and reassurance.

  Erin wanted to melt into him and deepen the kiss, turning up the heat until she awoke his passion. She wanted to lose herself in him and forget what would happen in only a handful of minutes that were quickly slipping through her fingers. She had to be strong though and burying her head in the sand by losing herself in her desire for Veiron was an act of weakness.

  She took what he gave her in his tender kiss instead, letting it soothe away her fears and savouring it and this moment with him. She could feel his love for her in each soft sweep of his lips over hers and how much he needed her, and it brought tears to her eyes. He would come back to her, she was sure of it. He had survived centuries in Hell and had come to rescue her when he had been a wanted man. He knew how to move through that realm without making the enemy aware of him. He could get in and out without drawing the Devil’s attention.

  “Erin,” Veiron whispered against her lips and she drew back. He frowned, concern lighting his dark irises, and swept the pad of his thumb under her eyes, capturing her tears and wiping them away. His hand cupped her cheek and she sighed and leaned into his touch, absorbing the heat of his palm and how good it felt against her.

  She could see in his eyes what he wanted to tell her and could see his fear too, and his uncertainty. She knew him, knew that he was a man who loved with all of his heart, but who also believed that no one could love him. He needed to hear her say it first, and she would, because she wanted to prove him wrong about her and the world. There was someone who could love him, who did love him.

  “Veiron.” She covered his hand with hers, holding it against her face, and looked deep into his eyes, wanting to see right down to his soul, and wanting him to see straight into hers when she said the words. “I love you.”

  He swallowed hard, slipped his hand around the nape of her neck and drew her to him. He pressed his forehead to hers, clutching her against him.

  “I love you too,” he husked, voice low and raw, full of so much emotion that she wrapped her arms around him and held him to her. He tipped his head up, captured her lips, and kissed her hard and roughly, his tongue tangling with hers. Every inch of her warmed, not just from the kiss but from his words and the knowledge that he loved her. She melted into him and slanted her head to deepen their kiss, returning it with equal desperation and need, letting him know that they were in this together and she wanted it to go on forever, never wanted him to part from her again. She swept her tongue across his lips, eliciting a deep moan from him that heated her through and made her want to do it again. Before she could, he broke away from her, breathing hard, and growled. “Christ, Erin, I love you so much.”

  Erin smiled, leaned into him so he collapsed back onto the bed with her lying on top of him, and kissed him again, tangling her fingers in his long wet scarlet hair. Amelia was going to flip her lid but Erin didn’t care. In a world where everything felt so uncertain for her, with her strange powers and the Devil after her, Veiron was the one thing she was certain about. She loved him with all of her heart, was so deeply in love with him, and he with her. She wasn’t afraid of it or the depth of their feelings. She didn’t care that he was a demonic angel. They belonged together.

  Veiron rolled her over, pinning her to the bed beneath him, and deepened their kiss, stroking the length of her tongue with his, turning the heat up another notch.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, intent on stealing another moment with him.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  Veiron lifted his head and growled in the direction of the glass doors to the deck.

  Erin sighed. At least they had knocked this time rather than barging in. She mourned the loss of Veiron’s body against hers as he pushed himself off her and grabbed his black t-shirt from the back of the chair in front of the dressing table.

  She sat up and looked across at the door to find Marcus standing there with his back to them. Had he seen them together on the bed and turned his back before knocking and waiting for them to answer? She had only known him a short time but it seemed like the sort of thing he would do. Unlike her sister, he respected her relationship with Veiron and sometimes even backed them up, siding with them against Amelia. Her sister glared at him whenever he did but always stopped her assault. It was good to have her sister’s lover on her team.

  Erin crossed the room and opened the door to him. He turned and smiled at her, pale blue eyes bright with it.

  “I am sorry for disturbing you.” H
is smile held and he raked his fingers through his dark hair. “Amelia wishes to head to the dock to meet the boat. It arrives shortly.”

  Erin’s heart thumped against her chest. So soon?

  Marcus’s expression shifted to one of concern. “I will take care of him for you, Erin. I will not let anything happen to him.”

  “Like I need your help,” Veiron grumbled and tossed his black holdall onto the bed. “I’ll probably be the one taking care of your skinny arse.”

  Marcus raised an eyebrow and his eyes brightened, the darker flakes in them swirling. “If it were not for Erin, you would be heading down there alone... just remember that.”

  “Not alone,” Erin said, not wanting to intervene in what was fairly standard behaviour between the two angels but needing to speak up. “If you weren’t going with him, Marcus, I would be.”

  “No way in Hell I’d let you go back down there.” Veiron continued to rifle through his holdall, his eyes never leaving it. “I don’t need a chaperone.”

  “Well, you’ve got one, so suck it up.” Erin walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his back. “It’s either me or Marcus. Your choice.”

  Veiron grunted, was still for long seconds, and then placed his hand over hers where they were locked in front of his stomach.

  “I would never risk you,” he said and she smiled, warmed inside by his words and the affection in them.

  “That’s what I thought... so play nice with Marcus. If you’re a pain in his arse, I’ll never hear the end of it from Amelia.”

  Veiron sighed and straightened. He caught her right wrist and pulled her around him, turning at the same time. He settled his arms around her shoulders and briefly kissed her, hard enough that her lips tingled when he broke away.

  “Fine. I’ll be nice. Satisfied?”

  Erin nodded, tiptoed, and kissed him again. Marcus cleared his throat. It was a little high-pitched for him. She glanced over her shoulder to see her sister standing in the doorway in front of Marcus, her silver hair up in a ponytail that shone in the strong sunlight and her grey eyes dark.

  She had never seen Amelia looking so on edge.

  Erin reluctantly slipped free of Veiron’s embrace and took hold of his hand. He linked their fingers and squeezed her hand, and she silently thanked him for the reassurance.

  They walked over to Amelia, Veiron pocketing his passport along the way, and headed out. The walk to the dock seemed too short, not enough time for Erin to absorb her remaining few minutes with Veiron safe in her grasp. Amelia and Marcus walked ahead of them, hand in hand, talking in low voices. Erin caught snippets of Amelia pressing Marcus to be careful and offering to go with them. Marcus wouldn’t hear of it.

  It seemed all angels were born heroes, especially when it came to protecting their women.

  Erin looked up at Veiron and smiled when he glanced down at her, right into her eyes. She didn’t need to tell him to be careful or to get out of Hell at the first sign of danger. But there was something she needed to tell him again.

  They reached the dock in time to see the speedboat rumbling up to the jetty. It wasn’t hard to spot Einar and Taylor. Both of them wore black and Einar looked huge compared to everyone else in the boat, parked at the back of it with his arm slung around Taylor’s slender shoulders. Her blue eyes scanned the dock and settled on Erin. They narrowed and then she smiled, chasing away Erin’s suspicion that Taylor still didn’t like seeing Veiron with her, despite her claims that she was over him.

  Well, if she didn’t like that, she definitely wasn’t going to like Erin’s goodbye to Veiron when it came.

  Erin didn’t care. Taylor had had her chance with Veiron. He was Erin’s now and she wasn’t going to let him go. Never. What they had was for forever.

  The boat docked and Einar and Taylor were the last to disembark.

  “Any problems?” Einar asked, his deep voice growly with sleep. He looked as though he had been awake for three days solid.

  “None,” Erin said and then added, “How about at your end?”

  Taylor patted Einar’s forearm. “It turns out that Romeo doesn’t like flying. Ironic, right?”

  Erin giggled and Einar frowned at her. “Come on, you have to admit it’s a bit silly. You’ve probably been flying in more dangerous conditions for most of your life.”

  He shrugged.

  “It isn’t that bad, Wingless. You just sit in the tin can and it flies for you.” There was a laugh in Veiron’s tone and Einar scowled again.

  “Even you have to admit it’s much nicer to fly on your own volition.”

  Veiron gave an easy lift of his shoulders. “I guess. You made your choice though. I don’t exactly have one. I fly and all of Hell’s legions are after me.”

  “Or after me,” Erin said under her breath and Veiron squeezed her hand.

  “I’ll take care of the nasties, Baby. Don’t fret.” He leaned down and pressed a long kiss to her bare shoulder.

  Several people passed them, heading for the boat. Erin swallowed. This was it. Time up. Any second now, Veiron was going to have to get on that boat and she would be left to worry over whether she would ever see him again.

  “Erin?” Veiron said and she looked up at him, trying to school her features so he didn’t see her fear. He sighed and stroked her cheek. “I swear to you, Sweetheart, I will be careful. If I get so much as a bad feeling, I’ll get my arse and Marcus’s to the nearest gate. Nothing bad will happen to us.”

  She nodded. She knew that in her head but her heart wasn’t getting the message. It scrambled it so it came out reading like Veiron was going to his death and Marcus would die too, and her sister would never forgive her.

  “You’re not going to Hell?” Taylor’s voice was high-pitched and tense. Veiron lifted his head and looked across at her. Her blue eyes widened. “That’s insane and you know it. You’ve got half of Hell looking for your butt and you’re going to what, just waltz in there and out again unnoticed?”

  “I need to go for Erin’s sake and my own. Erin needs to know what her power means and I need to know whether the future she has seen will come to pass.” Veiron drew Erin closer and placed his arm around her shoulder, a possessive act if ever she saw one but one that she liked.

  “I will go with you,” Einar said and Taylor looked horrified.

  “Oh no, you won’t. This is their problem, not yours. You’re not going to Hell.”

  He frowned. “I am going, Taylor. The more of us there is, the more likely we are to get out unscathed... or at least alive.”

  Erin wanted to tell him that she appreciated the offer but Taylor looked as though she would bite the head off anyone who dared to back him up.

  “I don’t want you to go down there,” Taylor said.

  “I know.” Einar caressed her cheek. “But I must. We are all in this together. You stay here and keep Amelia and Erin hidden while we’re gone. We’ll be back before you know it.”

  “Fuck... I never thought I’d live to see the day you grew some balls, Wingless.” Veiron slapped a hand down on his shoulder. “Good to have you onboard. You sure you’re going to be up for a little more time in a tin can? It’s a shorter flight from here to the nearest gate in India but it’s still flying.”

  Einar nodded. “Not a problem. If I feel sick, I will make sure I throw up on you.”

  Veiron grinned. “That’s the spirit.”

  Taylor looked as though she was going to punch Veiron for accepting Einar’s offer so Erin caught his attention by squeezing his hand. He looked down at her and his smile faded. He turned to face her, settled his hands on her bare waist and drew her up to him, so her body was flush against his.

  This was it.

  Everything she wanted to say got stuck in her throat.

  “I love you,” Veiron whispered and Erin felt Taylor’s eyes dart to her. “I promise, I will come back to you.”

  Erin nodded, tiptoed, and looped her arms around his neck. Ve
iron shifted his grip to her bottom and raised her up him, so her feet dangled inches off the wooden jetty. She pressed her forehead against his, feeling his warm breath mingling with hers, and told herself that he would keep that promise and everything would be fine.

  “I love you too,” she said and closed her eyes, lowered her mouth and kissed him. It was slow again, a bare meeting of lips meant to convey all of her feelings to him and back up her words.

  The man on the boat called for anyone heading to the airport.

  She drew back and stared down into Veiron’s dark eyes. A touch of crimson edged his pupils. She loved his eyes. He tried so hard to hide what he was but they always betrayed him and let the truth about him shine through. A demonic angel. The man she loved. He never had to hide the truth from her. She loved all of him, and thought he was gorgeous in both of his forms and everything in between.

  Amelia and Marcus moved past her and Veiron finally lowered her back to her feet. He held her a moment longer and then pressed a final kiss to her lips and walked past her.

  Erin turned but didn’t follow him. She had felt his feelings in his kiss and had seen them in his eyes. He couldn’t handle a long goodbye and neither could she. He settled into the boat, in the same place where they had sat on their way to the island. Marcus and Einar sat either side of him.

  The man pulled the boat away and Erin fought to hold back her tears. She didn’t want to cry. It would be a sucky image to leave Veiron with as he journeyed through Hell.

  She held her hand up and then grinned to herself, brought her hand down, curled the fingers of both of her hands over and pointed her thumbs downwards. She pressed both hands together, forming the shape of a heart over hers.

  Veiron smiled and mouthed, “Right back at you.”

  Tears filled her eyes but she held her smile for him, until he was so far away that he wouldn’t be able to see her clearly. Then she let them fall.

  Amelia came to stand beside her and placed her arm around her shoulders, squeezing them and holding her tightly. She hoped that Amelia wouldn’t say anything derogatory about Veiron because she couldn’t take it right now. She needed her sister’s support and understanding, not her criticism. Amelia sighed and held her in silence, and Erin looked at her, catching the unshed tears in her eyes. She scrubbed her own away and looked across at Taylor.