The image of Harvester holding Raphael’s hand flashed in his head, and his breath turned raw in his throat. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time given that he knew something bad was about to go down on the Megiddo hilltop. But now the idea that Raphael was acting a little too friendly with Harvester skinned him alive.

“She’s an angel now,” he told her. “I saw her get her wings back.” Harvester had glowed like a diamond in a ray of sunshine. She’d been the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. If he hadn’t been pinned to the ground like an insect in a display case, he’d have been on her in a heartbeat.

“That’s perfect.” Limos smiled, and he had feeling it was the first time since losing the baby. “Now there aren’t any rules between you—”

“I got the boot, Li,” he said, stopping her before she could finish. “I lost my wings.”

“Oh my God.” Limos’s eyes filled with tears again. “No. No, that can’t be. You saved her. How can they do that to you?”

“It’s okay,” he said. “I expected to die.”

Limos punched a pillow. “It’s still bullshit.”

He took her hand, which felt too fragile despite the fact that she was one of the most powerful beings in all the realms. “When I was fallen the first time, I prayed I’d get my wings back. When it happened, it was like I was home.” He could still feel the elation, the amazement that he’d done something to deserve entrance into Heaven again. “But you know what I missed? My independence. My freedom.”

“The ties that bind also chafe,” she mused.

“Exactly.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m okay. Seriously.” Strangely, he was. Maybe he’d fall into a deep depression the way he had last time, but he doubted it. So much had changed in the last few years, and now he had a family. Only two things were missing.

Harvester and the grandchild he should have had from Limos.

“Limos—”

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

He nodded. “If you need anything…”

“I know.”

There was a tap at the door, and Reaver stood as Arik poked his head in. When Arik saw Limos sitting up in bed, his eyes lit up, and he came inside in a rush.

“Reaver, you have a visitor.” Arik sank down on the bed and drew Limos against him. “It’s Harvester.”

Reaver’s heart skipped a beat. Torn between wanting to stay with Limos and wanting to rush to the female fate had separated him from for thousands of years, Reaver stood frozen to the bamboo floor.

“Go.” Limos’s voice was muffled against Arik’s chest. “Get her.”

Arik gave Reaver an I-got-this nod just as Limos grabbed his wrist. “Thank you for coming,” she whispered. “Dad.”

Twenty-Eight

Harvester stood at the edge of the jungle outside of Limos’s remote beach house, her skin caressed by the steamy tropical breeze, her bare feet buried in the sand. The simple pleasure of warm sand on her skin was something she never thought she’d feel again when she was hanging from meat hooks inside a frozen wasteland in her father’s realm.

Yeah, this was amazing. And she owed it all to the male in scrubs walking toward her with long, fluid strides. The fact that he was no longer an angel didn’t diminish his powerful presence in any way. The mere sight of him made her heart flutter madly.

Technically, he wasn’t supposed to look upon an angel who served in Heaven unless he was given permission, but she wanted him to look. As much as he wanted to.

Oh, on many levels, she was still furious with him. Wasn’t sure she could ever trust him. But she supposed none of that mattered anymore, and she wasn’t going to spend what little time they had fighting. Besides, as the Horsemen’s Heavenly Watcher, they’d be seeing a lot of each other.

“Hi,” she said lamely.

He didn’t say anything. He kept coming at her, his expression serious, and the delicate flutter turned to an ominous thud. Was he angry?

He halted a few yards away, his nostrils flaring, his chest heaving. Burning, raw masculinity emanated from him, and Harvester’s body went hot with feminine appreciation.

“First,” he said, “thank you for getting me out of Sheoul and saving my life.” His voice was guttural, warped with emotion she was afraid to name. But he was wrong. He’d saved her life. “Second, we’re done hurting and hating and going through the bullshit.”

She inhaled sharply. After what happened at Tel Megiddo, she should have expected this, and it was inevitable, after all, but it didn’t stop sensation of her heart being shredded.

Squaring her shoulders, she tried to hide the hurt. “It’s probably for the best.”

Especially given that she was going to have to officially give herself to Raphael tomorrow night.

“I’m glad you agree.” In three strides Reaver was on her, his mouth crushing hers. “No more bullshit,” he said against her lips. “I want you. I think I’ve always wanted you.”

Shock and joy tangled so fiercely inside Harvester that she nearly crumpled to the ground. With a sob of relief, she arched against Reaver and lifted her thigh to hook around his waist as he pushed her backward against a tree.

God, he was a spark and she was dry tinder, and when his hand dropped to her ass to hold her for a slow roll of his h*ps that rubbed his rigid length against her core, she nearly burst into flame. The cool breeze coming off the ocean did nothing to help ease the heat. If anything, the reality that she was here in this tropical paradise with the male she’d loved and hated for centuries… the same male she’d loved and hated for the past few years… made it all that much hotter.

Reaver pelted her cheeks, jaw, and throat with hungry kisses. His breath fanned her skin, scorching her as he worked his way down, over her clavicle and then lower, to where he flicked his tongue under the V-neck of her silk tank top.

In the distance, Limos’s servants’ laughter rose above the crash of waves and the calls of the sea birds flying overhead.

“Not here,” she whispered.

Reaver dragged his tongue between her br**sts as she flashed them deep into the jungle, to a crystal pool off a well-worn path from Limos’s house.

“Perfect.” Reaver stepped back just enough to help relieve her of her top. When she tried to shove down her matching black leather miniskirt, he circled her wrists and held them against her belly as he dropped to his knees in front of her. “No.” His voice was commanding. Hungry. So sexy she didn’t mind that he was taking control. “I get to do this.”

Releasing her wrists, he slipped his hands beneath the hem of her skirt. His palms were smooth and hot, and her thighs quivered as his thumbs stroked her sensitive skin.

Lifting his face, he caught her gaze. His gem-blue eyes smoldered as he slowly slid his hands upward. Inch by agonizing inch, he caressed her legs, kindling a sensual fire that threatened to set off an inferno. She started to pant before she felt the first brush of his fingers against her tender flesh.

“No panties,” he said roughly. “Damn, I’m so going to take advantage of that.”

Please, please take advantage.

Apparently, Reaver could read minds, because before she could catch her breath, he pushed the skirt up to her waist and eased her back onto a wet boulder. In an effortless surge, he draped her legs over his broad shoulders and opened his mouth over her aching sex.

Never before had she felt exposed when she was na**d with a male. Copulation had always been about satisfying a basic urge, but this… this was about emotions and a physical desire so deep she felt it in her soul. She hadn’t felt like this since Yenrieth took her virginity.

Anxiety stirred, a protective instinct borne of thousands of years of hard living, and she pushed at him with a soft cry.

“Easy,” Reaver said, his soothing tone bringing her down a notch. “I’ve got you.”

He caught her hands, twining her fingers with his as he looked up at her, his gaze so full of promise that she had to lower her lids and turn her face away before he saw the vulnerability that was probably glaringly obvious.

For a long moment, he was still, and then, just as she opened her mouth to tell him to either get on with it or forget it, he lowered his head and nuzzled her inner thigh. His hot breath fanned her skin as he nibbled his way up, the erotic pinches of his teeth followed by velvet soft kisses that made her squirm in anticipation. By the time she felt the first probe of his tongue between her folds, she was so ready she cried out in sheer bliss.

He teased her out, licking in long, slow strokes before devastating her with quick side-to-side motions or a deep plunge of his tongue. She whimpered as he hit a spot that sent a jolt of electric sensation all the way to her womb.

“Reaver.” She lifted her hips, chasing his touch with wanton abandon.

“You drive me crazy.” He dragged the flat of his tongue through her slit and latched on to her clit, sucking gently. “I need to be inside you.”

“Yes,” she moaned, her body hovering at the edge of orgasm. “Oh… yes.” He did something sinfully wicked with his lips, and she came with a shout, bucking and thrashing so hard he had to grip her thighs and hold her down.

He rose up in a surge of flexing muscle, but even as he centered himself between her legs, she flipped him into the shallow water onto his back. Most males would have freaked out at the manhandling, but Reaver only growled his approval as she took his c*ck in hand and guided it inside her. The cool water countered their molten heat as she rocked on top of him.

He was big, thick enough to stretch her almost to the point of discomfort, and she reveled in it, taking all of him to the root.

Closing his eyes, he gripped her waist and arched to meet her downward strokes. Each thrust lifted her out of the pool, and on the return, little waves lapped at the juncture where their bodies met. Water licked at her cl*t as Reaver’s c*ck stroked her on the inside to create a storm of erotic wonder. The musky scent of sex rose up, mingling with the freshness of the ocean breeze and the flowers and leaves surrounding them. It was as if Harvester and Reaver were one with each other, one with nature, and for the first time in centuries, Harvester felt alive, like she was exactly where she was meant to be.