Page 70 of Bonds of Starfall

"You’re a virgin," he said—not a question.

Dazed, she blinked up at him. Had he been able tofeelit?

"I’m not anymore," she countered softly.

An odd look passed over his features. Regret? Or something else.

Cy’s purple eyes were half-lidded, sated, as he grabbed her face and pressed his lips to hers, saying words that made her feel a strange sense of doom:

"I’ve missed you, doll. Let’s sleep. We’ll take more in the morning."

Rin wasn’tsure how long she lay there among the rumpled silk sheets. The incubus slept at her side, well-fed from what she had willingly given him in her search for oblivion.

Her body ached, her lips swollen.

The neon lights flickered over the dark room, and the incubus lay on his stomach, pale cheek pressed into the hotel pillow as he faced her, red hair rumpled and gems on his cheeks glittering—she wondered if they were real or fake…

Staring up at the ceiling, Rin’s mind whirled. He acted as though he knew her. In the club, she had thought it was a dream or hallucination, but it had been real. He said her name—partly, at least.

Ves.

Whispered against her lips, groaned as he came.

Her body was cold, shaking, and she couldn’t help the slight whimper that escaped her as she spotted the forget-me-nots on her nightstand.

She had given herself willingly, but now, in the aftermath, all she felt was hollow.

Oblivion had escaped her.

Rin couldn’t stay in this hotel room. Not after what she had done. Would she change it? She had no idea. She had foundpleasure, found momentary escape in the incubus’s body, but she felt drained and trembling, cold and desperate.

She stood, the chilly air brushing her naked skin as she padded to her suitcase, grabbing her uniform. Her steps were awkward with the ache between her thighs, each footfall making her wince. She used her discarded panties to wipe the inside of her thighs clean, finding streaks of red there—proof of her innocence—mingling with the white of his release. Her heart clenched, and she threw the panties on the hotel room floor, dressing quickly. She was just aware enough to be thankful she took birth control regularly; though, Cy hadn’t asked. She wasn’t even sure how pregnancies worked with humans and incubi.

Rin grabbed her holster, tucking her Echogun into the harness around her waist, and stopped at the door to stare at the sleeping incubus.

His face was peaceful in sleep, red hair interspersed with bits of blue, green, and purple from the lights coming through the window. The black sheets were pooled around his waist. From a distance, she was able to appreciate his body. His skin, pale and smooth, was made to entice. And Rin had fallen for his trap.

She swallowed, and into the quiet of the hotel room, she said, "I hope you forget about this. I won’t." It was a plea, an admission, and a curse, all at once.

9

RUNAWAY

Atlas watched Vesperin Vox leave the hotel in a flurry of white hair, pale skin, and flashing grey eyes.

He watched, and he waited, knowing that she would not see him unless he willed it.

As a Celestial, he could go anywhere, do anything. His power was unrivaled. But for her, he found he would give it all up.

All to wrap her in his arms and breathe her in. Show himself to her, instead of hiding under the guise of a shadow. The glimpses he had allowed her to catch of his shadowed form—recent and fleeting—had been the first in centuries. It was time…

Almost.

He had been so careful in his workings of fate, plucking the threads and weaving them at his will, aligning them along just the right path so that it would all fall into place.

The threads of fate were set, with a little help from him, of course. And now, all the Celestial had to do was sit back and watch, pray that everything continued to fall into line.

The freckled one, Kiton, had been a necessary tragedy, but Atlas knew that the only way everything else would align was ifthathad happened. Atlas had not caused the accident, but he knew it would transpire, knew what it would cause in the future.So, he had sat back, hands steepled, and watched, knowing the pain that Vesperin would endure would make her hate him. Better she hated him because of Kiton, than let this life end in failure.