He doesn’t even blink, challenging me to object. My hands tremble as I fist them at my sides, waiting for whatever is coming my way. “Pulling the plug on this project, are you? It would’ve been nice to share that news with yourpartner.”
The deliberate manner in which he says it sends a surge of adrenaline through my veins, but he only sneers. “You don’t even know the meaning of that word, do you? Poor, pitiful Archangel, only ever having to be concerned with himself.”
“That’s not fair,” I whisper, so faint only he can hear it, but his eyes flare as though I screamed it at him.
“There’s a lot of that going around right now, isn’t there?” He glares at me again, daring me to speak up before he continues. “You finally realized this entire project was a fucking joke, huh? Well, congratulations, Micah, you’ve caught up to the rest of the class. Maybe if you’d learn to listen to someone otherthan yourself, you would’ve worked that out much faster. But that’s not whatMicahdoes, is it? He’s too goddamned arrogant to consider whatanyoneelse has to say. He only cares about himself.”
The words hit their mark and I flinch. “Please, Xal—”
“Did I say you could talk?” he demands, and I shake my head as he snarls. “You’re so stuck in your fucking head that you can’t admit to yourself when you do something wrong. And I could look past that, because Iknowwhy you do it… why it’s important for you to be right. I understand why you push so hard and why you think you have to do everything on your own.” His voice softens as I blink, combatting the burning behind my eyes.
Xalreth inches closer, reaching to weave his fingers through my hair. Surprised murmurs explode from around the room, but my focus is locked on him. “And God fucking help me, I could forgive all of that. Pick up these broken pieces of us and put them back together, and I would do it without so much as a bitter thought. But what I can’t forgive, what I will not tolerate, is you walking away from me. You carved this path of destruction in my life… just waltzed on through, blowing everything up along the way. You were a goddamned tornado, and now you’re trying to leave me in the carnage like it never mattered.”
“Of course it matters,” I whisper, but he silences me with another glare.
“You burrowed your way inside of me, and I’m sofuckingpissed that I can’t move on. Do you have any idea how much easier it would be if I could just forget about you?” His lips brush mine and the whispers among the group grow louder. “Is that what you want, angel? Do you want me to forget I was ever in love with you?”
“Oh, what thefuck?” Damien breathes in shock, but my eyes are on the man in front of me.
“I asked you.” My voice is unsteady as I fight to find the words. “Outside your building, I asked point-blank what you wanted from me, and you had nothing to say. You couldn’t even answer that simple question.”
“Simple,” he huffs with an angry laugh. “Nothing about this is simple. But you’re right—you gave me the opportunity to spell it out for you, and I missed it. There are so many things I should’ve said to you.” The regret in his voice is clear, and the hardened lines of his face grow softer. “And I’m sorry I didn’t. You deserve to hear them.”
His fingers tighten in my hair as he draws me forward and presses our lips together. Nothing else in the world matters except for this moment. It’s all just white noise and distraction. I fist his shirt and try to deepen the kiss, but he breaks us apart with a quiet chuckle.
“Patience, now, eager thing. You asked what I wanted from you, Micah? The answer iseverything. To wake up every morning inside you and go to sleep every night with your taste on my tongue. When you’re afraid and feel like the world is crumbling around you, I want to be the one you come to. Your laugh is just as amazing as those beautiful sounds I draw out of you, and I want them all.”
“Aww,” Azrael coos.
“Did they forget we’re here?” Niklaus asks in irritation, and Damien shushes him.
Xalreth pulls something from his pocket, and the glint of gold against his dark skin makes my heart ache with a sharp, physical pain. “I wantyou, Micah. No secrets, no hiding. I want you to be mine, but only if it’s real this time.”
“It was always real,” I whisper, my voice trembling, and his expression is unreadable as the moment stretches between us. He’s wary as I slide my palms up his chest and grip his shirt,pulling him closer. “You are the only real thing I’ve ever had, darling. Put it on me. Please?”
He’s quiet. So fucking quiet, and his silence cracks a chasm right into the center of my chest. My breath holds in my lungs, until he gives me the tiniest nod. Relief almost brings me to my knees as he reaches around my neck to fasten the collar, and its weight is a comfort against my skin. Once it’s on, he traces his fingers along the chains before he hooks one through the loop and drags me closer. Our noses bump and our lips brush, and we’re breathing the same air.
“Forgive me,” I plead, and he yanks me forward in a rough kiss. All the tension of the past few days—the hate, the self-loathing, the gnawing emptiness inside—it melts away until there’s nothing left but him. His kiss is brutal and punishing, teeth scraping my lips until they bleed, but the pain only fuels my desire for more.
“I need you,” I murmur against his lips. “I’ve always needed you.”
He pulls back and drags his thumb over my swollen lower lip. “So fucking pretty,” he murmurs, almost to himself, before his eyes lift to mine. They’re filled with promises.
Promises of a future—of a life worth living.
But most of all, they’re full of love.
“Everyone out,” he shouts, but they remain seated, openly gawking at the two of us. Xalreth glares over his shoulder and bares his teeth, his voice taking on its guttural, rolling demonic tone. “Did I stutter? Get out!Now!” They scramble to stand, Damien with a deliriously cheery grin on his face as he reluctantly follows the others from the room.
As soon as the door closes, he drags his hands over my chest. “Finally wearing a shirt in public, I see,” he murmurs as he tears it down the front. “Covering up what belongs to me, are you?”
“Yes,” I admit, but it turns into a hiss as he grabs my cock through my pants.
“You didn’t take it off?” His lips trace a path along my jaw until he’s sucking on my neck, leaving behind a mark that will be visible to the world. My hand lands on the back of his head, holding him there and encouraging him to suck harder. A deep, filthy chuckle rumbles against my skin as he obliges me.
“You have the key.”
Another quiet laugh leaves him as he strokes me with a feather-light touch through the wires of my cage. It’s enough to have me burning alive. “Thought we were done lying to each other, Micah. If you wanted to take it off, there’d be no stopping you. So tell me, angel. Why are you still locked up?”
