Mists of Velvet

making her feel him. The tip of his cock rubbed her thigh, and he moaned as he sucked her nipple. Hungrily, he clutched her to him, her breasts rubbing against his face as he pushed them together and used his tongue and mouth to make her writhe. He wanted his cock there, thrusting up between her breasts. He wanted to watch her take him.
    He was getting more than a little excited as he thought of it. Tugging her nipple, he soothed the pinch with the brush of his thumb. She shivered, and he could almost feel the wetness between her thighs trickle against him.
    Tugging again, he flicked her nipple, and her lips parted on a silent moan. His touch became more intense as he worked both her breasts. Suddenly, her hand slipped from his shoulder, and she brushed his chest, making him hiss. Instantly, she pushed away from him.
    “No,” he growled, reaching for her. The pain had been fleeting. The discomfort he felt from his injuries wasn’t half as bad as the unfilled ache in his cock.
    But she evaded him by jumping up and escaping his hand. Rhys lifted his shoulders, turning onto his side to reach for her, but he pitched forward when the dizziness took hold of him.
    Damn it! Now was not the time for his body’s strength to evaporate. With a groan, he realized his moment of lucidity and power was gone, leaving him a weakling mortal on the floor.
    Darkness beckoned, and he begged God to give him the strength to resist. But his prayers were not heard, and he slipped deeply into unconsciousness.

    Weightless and floating, Keir hovered in the air, staring at the wooden door before him. He felt a strange sensation, a rippling of fear and malevolence, slither over his nerves. Evil—he felt it. He had a connection to it. Rhys?
    Closing his eyes, he searched for his mortal’s thoughts, but he found nothing. Strange. When Keir had left Velvet Haven, Rhys had been in his office. Perhaps he had fallen asleep.
    Trailing down to the floor, his form became solid, and he stood before Rowan’s door, torn between the desire to see her and the need to ensure Rhys was safe.
    When the door to Rowan’s chamber opened, and Suriel exited, Keir’s decision was made for him.
    This was the evil he had sensed. He knew it. He was always aware of the malicious vibe that seemed to shimmer around Suriel. But the connection Keir had felt? His gaze darted to where Rowan was lying on the bed. Was the connection Rowan? Had Suriel touched her? Hurt her?
    “Relax, wraith. I didn’t lay a hand on her. Nice robe,” he smirked as he breezed by. “Come to do a little magick?”
    “Fuck you,” Keir snarled.
    “Sorry, not into that kinky shit. You’ll have to find your mortal for that.”
    Keir slammed Suriel up against the wall. He didn’t take any bullshit innuendos about his relationship with Rhys from Bran, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to take it from a fallen angel who understood nothing about the ancient bond between a protector wraith and his mortal.
    Keir was about to rearrange Suriel’s handsome fallen-angel features when Rowan appeared at the door.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Nothing,” Keir growled, sending Suriel a silent warning. Releasing him, Keir wondered just what the hell the bastard had been doing in Rowan’s room. She was living in Annwyn, under the Sidhe king’s protection. Suriel had no authority here, nor was he welcome.
    “I was invited,” Suriel snapped. “Your own king asked me to be one of his nine warriors.”
    “He told me.” Keir still thought it was a mistake to allow Suriel in Annwyn and in their business. Suriel had his own mysterious powers; he didn’t need to be learning anything from the magick they possessed. Everything inside him screamed that Suriel had a connection to the psychopath they were hunting.
    “You trusted me to convince your little mortal friend to stay away from the portal.”
    He hadn’t wanted to, that was certain. “Rhys is a mortal. That’s your domain. I had to abide by it, and your God’s message.”
    “I want the same thing you do, wraith. The sooner you believe that, the better off we’ll be. The time has come to put our considerable differences behind us. We must all work together.”
    Keir knew it was the truth, but he couldn’t bring himself to fully believe in the angel. “Your business is as a warrior. Leave Rowan alone. She has no part in this.”
    Suriel laughed. “She’s part of this. Accept it.”
    “I will not allow you here with her.”
    Suriel’s