Trust the Fall (Fallen Hunters Series Book 2) Page 9

  “Okay,” I say breathlessly. It’ll be a miracle if I last long myself, but I’m willing to give him anything.

  He doesn’t hesitate, answering my consent by inserting one, then two fingers inside of me, curling the digit just right.

  “Oh, Luke, yes,” I cry out.

  My body burns with desire at his fingers’ welcome assault.

  I press myself into his hand, needing the friction. A bolt of pleasure courses through me as his expert hand pulls my body’s strings, making it work for him like none before him.

  An orgasm builds in my core and his fingers work faster, pumping into me at a pace that only furthers the pleasure.

  “Victoria,” he groans. “Come for me.”

  I rock into his hand, chasing the orgasm he’s demanded while his fingers do magical things inside of me. His mouth crashes to mine as I fall over the edge, continuing to press against his hand, drawing out the orgasm.

  When he pulls away from me, I feel the loss immediately. “Need you,” I say unintelligibly, grabbing at his pulsing cock straining against my palm.

  “Please,” I moan. “Inside me . . . now.”

  He grips my hips with both hands and pulls me toward the head of his erection.

  “Are you sure, Victoria?”

  I want to scream. I’ve never been so sure in my life.

  There’s no need for words—he can read my expression—but I say the word anyway, “Now.”

  In one swift move, he pushes into me, sliding several inches inside. I groan at the feeling of him filling me. It’s not enough. I need more.

  My muscles clamp around him, stretching to adapt his fullness.

  “You’re . . . perfect, love,” he groans as he begins to move.

  He lets out a harsh gasp, his breaths coming quicker.

  “More,” I beg, and he obliges, pumping into me harder.

  Heat sweeps through me, and I know it won’t be long. He must be on the edge too, because his fingers dig into my flesh as he slams into me over and over again.

  “Yes,” I cry out as my orgasm peaks. My muscles spasm and clamp around him, drawing out a guttural cry, signaling he’s falling too.

  Thrusting into me a few more time, he eventually collapses on top of me, breaths coming out in staccato gasps.

  We lay like this for several minutes, both lost in the aftereffects of that orgasm, sated and exhausted. When he pulls out, it leaves me with an emptiness I’ve never felt before. I never want to be without him.

  His forehead rests against mine as his hand caresses my cheek. “Everything has changed. You know that, right?”

  He doesn’t have to elaborate. I know exactly what he means. There’s no coming back from this. All thoughts of getting back into Heaven someday are gone.

  And I’m fine with that. It’s no longer my dream. He owns every piece of me.

  He’s all that matters.

  “I know.” It’s all I say, leaning up and placing a kiss on his lips.

  “Are you two done?” a female yells up the loft stairs, and I go still.

  “Who is that?” I whisper, and Luke grunts.

  “Leeanna. We got a bit carried away, and I sort of forgot my promise to Heaven.”

  My brow lifts as I sit up, forcing Luke to sit back on his heels. “What’s happening?”

  “Come on, you two. This wasn’t part of the deal,” she yells up.

  He ignores her. “Get dressed. The archs want a meeting with you. They have some information you’ll want to hear.”

  I don’t miss the shift in Luke’s demeanor. It’s as if everything that just happened between us has been forgotten. He’s cold. Aloof. And it pisses me off.

  “Don’t do this. Don’t push me away.”

  His shoulders sag as a heavy breath rushes from his chest. He drags me into his chest. “My attitude has nothing to do with you, Victoria. It’s them. I’ve . . . had to agree to a truce of sorts with them in order to get you back.”

  “You were locked out of Hell,” I say, mostly to myself. “Why?”

  “Get dressed, and they’ll explain everything.” He stands from the bed, pulling on his pants and turning his back to me.

  “No,” I shoot back. “I want to hear it from you.” I cross my arms over my chest, feeling a coldness sweep through me.

  Something is wrong.

  Luke looks back at me, appearing resigned. “I only know a portion of it. You know Heaven; they’re on a need-to-know basis and I am the devil, after all.”

  I shake my head. “Just . . . out with it.”

  He takes a steadying breath. “They claim that you’re the heir to the reaper kingdom.”

  My head jerks back, surprise and shock at his mention of the reapers.

  “Queen Camille’s missing daughter? They think that’s me?”

  “They claim it is you, love.”

  All the information that River shared with me floods my mind and lands on one very troublesome piece.

  I push it down, unwilling to even think it, for fear Luke is reading my thoughts.

  His eyes narrow, confirming my suspicion.

  “What are you hiding, Victoria?”

  I roll my eyes, jumping from the bed and heading to my dresser to snatch something more suitable to wear.

  “I’m not hiding anything,” I lie. “I figure we might as well get this conversation over with. I’m no reaper princess. You and I both know that.”

  I pull out a pair of leathers and a black crop top, sliding the shirt over my head.

  When I turn back to Luke, he’s fully dressed, hands in his pockets, rocking back on his feet. The pregnant silence causes my unease to grow.

  “You believe it?” I ask, voice rising.

  “Why would they lie about something like that, Victoria?”

  “Why do they lie about anything? You and I both know that Heaven isn’t exactly altruistic.” I shake my head at hearing myself repeat something River had said. “I’m not a reaper. I’m an angel. I had wings to prove it.” I attempt a smile, but I can feel it’s all wrong.

  “You’re nervous,” he says, coming to me and pulling me into a tight hug. “Whatever they have to say, I’ll be with you, Victoria. You won’t face it alone.”

  My head tilts up. “Do you promise?”

  “I promise.” Luke places a kiss on my forehead before pulling away. “There’s something I need to warn you about,” he says, looking at the wall behind me.

  “What is it?” I press, when it seems like he’s not sure if he should actually say the words.

  “Zeke’s here.”

  An awkward tension fills the room. It isn’t about my past with him, but how our relationship ended . . . or rather didn’t.

  “I see.”

  “Will you be all right seeing him?” he asks, sounding hesitant.

  “I’ll be fine, Luke. Zeke and I have some loose ends to tie up, that’s all.”

  And that’s the truth. I don’t feel anything other than unfinished business where he’s concerned. Zeke might’ve lied to me, but in truth, it feels like ancient history.

  Whatever we had was built from loneliness and despair. He filled a void and helped me forget how miserable I was. For that, I’ll always care about his well-being, but that’s it.

  The only reason I’m angry is because he was in on my falling from Heaven and allowed me to suffer through what I thought were my consequences.

  He could’ve been straight with me from the beginning and told me that my fall was for something bigger. Instead, he watched me break down for weeks.

  “He owes you an explanation,” Luke seethes.

  My hand lands on Luke’s chest. “Simmer down, Satan. I can handle myself.”

  His eyes narrow in on me, but not in a threatening way. He’s trying to determine if I’m really going to be okay with this showdown.

  “I’ve got this,” I say, leaning up on my tiptoes and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “I need you to be there for me, but I don’t want you to interfe
re. I’m no damsel in distress. I’m an angel, fallen or not. I’m anything but weak. And I don’t need a single one of you to save me.”

  Luke pulls me in and squeezes me tightly. “Damn straight, love.”

  I smirk. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Grabbing his hand, I pull him toward the loft stairs. As we descend the steps, an overwhelming feeling of dread washes over me.

  Please let them be wrong.

  CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS

  When we make it to the bottom of the steps, raised voices cease whatever feud they were just entangled in. Every eye in the room is on my and Luke’s joined hands.

  Zeke steps forward, but before he can say a word, Michael thwarts his advance. “Now isn’t the time, Ezekiel. You can discuss your part in this after Victoria has been debriefed.”

  Leave it to Michael to minimize the fact that each of these angels played a role in my fall from Heaven. People who were supposed to be my friends, my brothers in arms, and they’ve all deceived me.

  “So get on with it, Michael. What is it that all of you know that I don’t?” I can’t keep the bite from my tone as I land my scowl on Zeke.

  Michael steps forward. “Victoria, you were always meant to fall.”

  He stops talking as though that’s some huge revelation.

  “Yeah, I figured that part out. Is that all?”

  A deep frown mars his angelic face. “No, that’s only a small portion of it.” His head shakes in frustration. “You were needed on Earth, but more importantly, you needed to learn who you are so that you could fulfill your destiny.”

  “My destiny? What exactly is that, Michael? Since you seem to know more about my damn life than I do.”

  He looks down before finally raising his head and looking me in the eyes when he says, “You’re the only living heir to the reaper kingdom. Queen Camille is your mother.”

  “That’s impossible.” It’s all I say, because this is also not a huge revelation, considering Luke has already told me this.

  It’s clear from Michael’s narrowed eyes that he was expecting more of a reaction from me.

  “Sorry to disappoint, asshole.”

  He flinches at my crass words.

  Several pairs of eyes roam the room, looking anywhere but at me.

  “It’s not impossible, Victoria,” Michael continues, completely ignoring my threat. “You are most definitely Queen Camille’s daughter.”

  “How exactly do you know this, Michael? Did God himself impart this truth unto you?”

  His eyes close and his hands at his sides ball into fists. I’m not sure what it is about his current state, but it chills me to my bones. I know without a doubt that whatever is coming next will warrant the reaction that he’s been expecting.

  “I know because you’re also my daughter.”

  My breath hitches and mouth hangs agape. That was the last thing I was expecting.

  Luke’s head snaps to Michael, and Leeanna’s gasp rings through my ears, causing an instantaneous headache.

  I stand stock still, stunned and disbelieving.

  “Heaven has kept you safe at the request of Camille. She wasn’t privy to your location for your safety and as a punishment to her.”

  “Her punishment?” Luke asks.

  “For our . . . affair,” Michael explains. “For her part in it, she was cast from Heaven and tasked with the job of reaping souls.”

  Luke laughs, but it’s humorless. “Let me get this straight—you both engaged in an illicit situation, and she was the only one cast from Heaven? What kind of boys’ club is God running up there?”

  “This isn’t the time for you to slander, God, Lucifer. This isn’t about your issues with Him.”

  I hardly register the back and forth that ensues between Luke and Michael as I try to reconcile how deep the lies run. Michael is my father?

  He treated me like garbage when I fell, and this whole time, he himself had betrayed Heaven’s laws? Was that why he’d gone to bat for me before turning his back on me entirely?

  “I . . . this can’t be true,” I say, mostly to myself. “I’m an angel.”

  “It’s true,” Michael says, resolute. “You were born of two archangels.”

  I look to Michael, then to Leeanna, and finally to Zeke. They’re all drinking Michael’s Kool-Aid. They believe it.

  I’m two seconds away from a panic attack, for several reasons. I won’t allow it, though. Not in front of this crew of Judases. I shove it down, straighten my back, and try to process what this means. No, I can’t. This is too much.

  “But . . . how? Angels can’t bear children.” Luke continues to ask the questions that I can’t even think up.

  “Camille is Nephilim. Her father is a fallen archangel and her mother, human.”

  “How did she end up in Heaven then? Nephilim aren’t allowed in Heaven,” Leeanna butts in, seemingly as perplexed by all of this as I am.

  “She was the first of her kind. God wanted to keep it quiet. The last thing he needed was angels running around Earth, impregnating humans.”

  “Maybe he should’ve had you all on shorter leashes,” Luke bites out.

  “Or threatened a rotation as Hell’s keeper,” I offer as another means of punishment.

  Luke nods. “Seems a bit extreme that my curiosity led to a lifetime of herding demons and torturing souls, while the lot of you get to run around fornicating with no damn consequences.”

  “Now isn’t the time, Lucifer. She got her punishment and I got mine. After our affair, he cast her out of Heaven.” Michael continues to answer the questions, sounding detached and clinical.

  “And your punishment?” I press, wanting to know why he’s still sitting pretty in Heaven while my supposed mom is stuck reaping souls.

  “I was never told of your existence—until now—and I haven’t seen Camille since.”

  I bark out a pissed-off laugh. “Like you give a damn! You lied to me,” I yell, finally finding my voice. “You treated me like shit!” I bellow, the words bouncing off the steel walls, causing a sound like thunder.

  “I didn’t know, Victoria. God told me only when you were taken to Hell.”

  “Too damn bad. I’ll never excuse the way you treated me. Whether you knew who I was or not. You turned your back on me.” I thrust my finger into Michael’s chest, not even close to being done with my long overdue outburst.

  “What about you?” I round on Zeke. “How long have you known?”

  He shakes his head. “I had no idea you were a reaper or Michael’s daughter. I was on assignment here to train the Nephilim, and all I was told was that you were special and I needed to guard you.”

  I throw my hands up. “Just stop. I don’t believe any of you. You’re all lying.”

  I’m marching toward the door to leave when Luke grabs my elbow. “No, Luke. Not now. I . . . I need some time.” I blink my eyes, trying to stave off the tears threatening to fall. “I need some time,” I repeat, and his face hardens, but he nods.

  Without waiting around to hear more of their excuses, I rush through the barn door, out into the cloud-covered yard. I fall to my knees, banging my fist into the ground.

  Thunder rumbles overhead, answering my erratic mood. Good. A storm is just what I need. It’s been too long since I’ve powered up.

  Throwing my hands into the air, I call upon the wind to bend to my will. It circles above me, forming a cyclone of energy. Lightning streaks across the sky as rain pelts down in heavy droplets onto my head. I raise my chin to feel the cool liquid hit my skin and fall in a torrent over my cheeks. The energy shoots toward the earth, entering my outstretched hands and racing through my veins in a thorough caress. The warming sensation starts at the tips of my fingers and runs down my arms, over my shoulders and straight to my core. I’m burning from within, and I can hardly take the heat.

  Toppling forward, I’m caught from behind and pulled into a firm chest as the spasms continue to work over me. It can only be Luke embracing me. No o
ther being could withstand such powerful electrical currents.

  “It’s all right. I’ve got you, love.”

  My body tingles for what feels like hours as the spasms continue. I’m powered to the hilt and ready for whatever battle comes.

  “There won’t be a need for that, Victoria. No fighting today.”

  I want to argue. I want to push back and tell him I plan to take on every single one of the angels inside my barn, but the words don’t come. As my body relaxes and the power recedes, lying dormant under my skin, my rage settles and in its place is a deep sadness.

  “Do you know what this means?” I let the words die on my tongue, unwilling to say them out loud.

  “It means you’re betrothed to the reaper,” Luke says, as though it’s not a concern.

  “You’ve known this whole time?”

  “Yes,” he admits, and I only sigh in response.

  I’m too tired to fight.

  “It’ll never happen. Over my dead fucking body, Victoria. I won’t allow it.”

  I hold on to that promise, knowing that as long as I have Luke, none of this truly matters. He’s all I care about. After several tense minutes, I exhale harshly.

  “How could God lie to me like that?”

  The question has been circling my mind for several minutes. How did God manage to lie to me all this time? Am I truly to believe that the one being who is above lies and deceit has deceived all of us?

  Because the truth is, if the reaper queen is my mother and Michael my father, God has managed to keep one of the biggest secrets of all time.

  “It’s not the first lie he’s told, love. When it comes to preserving humanity, it appears no lie is too much for our great and powerful God.”

  His mocking tone doesn’t anger me for the first time ever. If anything, I agree with his sentiment. God doesn’t care for anyone except his precious humans.

  A crack of thunder causes me to jump.

  “He didn’t like whatever it was you were thinking.” He chuckles in my ear.

  “Am I to believe that for the first time you weren’t prying into my head?” I ask, teasing.

  “For once, I figured you could use the privacy. I know when to pry and when to allow you your space.”