Gates of Rapture (Guardians of Ascension 6)

Parisa appeared from a side hall at the southern end of the villa. She carried several black towels folded over her arms. “I found some extras in the second suite. I’m putting you in the room closer to the library.” When she reached a rectangular table in the center of the hall, she waved them forward, then gestured to her left.

Leto put his arm loosely around Grace’s waist as he walked beside her down the hall.

Parisa was another beauty, Antony’s breh. She wasn’t as tall as Grace, perhaps an inch or so shorter. Her hair was long, dark brown, and layered. She had extraordinary violet eyes.

She led them to a room on the left, and as she pushed the door open, she said, “Antony won’t be home until dawn. He’s out battling at the New River Borderland. Of course, as soon as he gets back, I’ll be putting him to bed.” A faint blush climbed her cheeks as she held the door wide.

Grace passed into the room, and Leto followed her. The bed was a massive carved mahogany and looked bigger than a king, which was a real plus, especially if Leto went beast. Grace moved to stand near the doorway leading to the bathroom, her arms folded across her chest.

“I know this has been a long night,” Parisa said, her voice quiet. “I just wanted to say how sorry we are about the Seattle Colony. There simply are no words.”

Leto nodded. “Most of the colonists were able to fold to the Portland hidden colony.”

She nodded. “Thank goodness for that. Well, you both must be exhausted so I’ll leave you now. Also, Endelle said she was adding a smaller dome of mist over the villa itself, which should make it impossible for Greaves to get to you.” She glanced toward the window. “Antony insisted on several squads of Militia Warriors as well. They’ll be patrolling the grounds nearest the house day and night. I think there are eighty warriors out there right now.”

“So many,” Grace murmured, but she actually took a deep breath and her arms fell away to hang loose at her sides.

Even Leto felt it, a sense of security, at least for now. “Parisa, thank you so much. We’ll be very comfortable here.”

She smiled. “I’m basically on Antony’s schedule for now, so I’ll be sleeping away the day with him when he comes home at dawn. Just make the villa your home, especially the kitchen. Have anything you like.” She glanced from one to the other. “Sleep well.”

She closed the door.

Leto turned to find that Grace was staring at the carpet and blinking. He went to her, took her hand, and kissed her fingers. “Take your shower. You’ll feel better.”

She nodded and headed for the bathroom.

All good things know a proper time of fulfillment.

—Collected Proverbs, Beatrice of Fourth

Chapter 12

Several hours later, Grace awoke to a strange sensation that she couldn’t place at first: a kind of rumbling. She thought, Tank, maybe? But as she came more fully awake, she realized that Leto was snoring, his head facedown on his pillow.

She smiled and rubbed his shoulder gently. How normal this seemed.

The snoring jerked to a stop, and he lifted his head. He blinked a couple of times, then rubbed his face with both hands. “I couldn’t breathe. I was dreaming I was flying way too high and there wasn’t enough oxygen.” His eyes rolled as he turned to look at her. He blinked some more.

She continued to rub his shoulder slowly back and forth. “I’m not surprised. I think you were suffocating against your pillow.”

He dropped his head back down on the pillow. He chuckled, shifting to look up at her. “I sure hope I wasn’t snoring.”

“Not at all.” She didn’t mind lying.

The wrinkle between his brows relaxed. “That would be wretched, indeed. Nothing so unromantic as a loud snore. But I must say, you’re a terrible liar.”

She chuckled, stretched, and turned to look out the back window. Dawn had broken. “I always forget how high up in the foothills of the White Tank Mountains Antony’s villa is. I can see a lot of the peaks from here. Oh, look, there’s a deer on the lawn. A doe.”

Leto shifted on his side. Because of the breh-bond, she could feel the sheet tug at his legs until he kicked the tangle away. He moved closer and stretched out beside her. He draped his arm over her stomach.

His forest scent drifted up and teased her nostrils. Desire, always so close to the surface because of the breh-hedden, swirled through her body.

“Meadow,” he whispered. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, then her throat, and moved lower to her br**sts.

She didn’t protest when he pushed the sheet to her waist and began to feast. It was so strange to experience what he felt, just how soft her breast was against his lips, and the feel of her hardening nipple when he began to suckle.

All the dual sensations increased her need.

With one hand she held on to the headboard. She used the other to pet his head. He suckled her breast, tugging on the nipple. His hands pushed at both br**sts. His shoulders hunched. God, I love feeling what this feels like to you.

“I know what you mean.” She drifted her hand down the back of his head, over his long hair, the exposed and always sensitive wing-locks.

She slid the tips of her fingernails over a lock, and he writhed. She did, too, because she could experience what that felt like. She added just a little pressure, and he sucked harder on her breast.

I can feel the sensation of my mouth on your breast, what it feels like to you, he sent. One more suck and she clenched.

Experiencing both at the same time brought desire rushing, but she didn’t want to rush. So she worked at blocking his experiences, which helped her to settle down a little.

But an idea slipped through her mind, one she couldn’t resist. “Leto, there’s something I want to do to you.”

That got his attention, and he popped off her breast, looking up at her. He didn’t smile, though. Instead, a beautiful dark glitter filled his blue eyes. “Anything,” he said, his voice as low as she’d ever heard it.

She smiled and pinched his wing-lock. His body writhed beneath hers. Wing-locks were extremely sensitive, and the act of mounting wings was very close to sexual release.

“On your stomach,” she said.

He groaned as he shifted to lie down beside her. He pushed the pillows out of the way.

“And now, I need your beast.” She kissed his shoulder. “Will you give me your beast?”

“You want my beast? As in, you want me to change into the larger version of myself.”