Page 106 of First Offense

I met his gaze over her shoulder and deliberately stroked my thumb across her forehead once more. She released another breath of contentment, causing his lips to curl down into a severe frown.

Just because he hadn’t decided to keep her didn’t mean I couldn’t.

I’d happily share with him.

So long as he treated her well.

He lived under this misconception that she could reform at any minute, but I knew it was never going to happen. She’d Fallen. There was no coming back from that. And I wasn’t entirely convinced that Falling implied anything inherently bad about an angel.

After a century in purgatory, I’d learned that there were several decent Noir. But we were bred to hate each other, taught to be competitive, and trained to kill.

Beneath that, though, there were hearts that beat and emotions that reigned.

Layla was proof of that. “Has she changed?” I asked Auric in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the sleeping beauty between us. “Or is she the same woman you knew before?”

He said nothing, but I didn’t push for words. His silence confirmed what I already suspected.

No. She hasn’t.

Because a Fall didn’t alter an angel other than the wings. Which left me wondering if we even knew the real cause. Disloyalty, likely. But something told me it went much deeper than that. Our meager understanding barely skimmed the surface of the truth.

Perhaps Layla was somehow tied to that deeper knowledge.

I drew my thumb to her temple, then down along her jaw to her elfin chin. “She’s perfect just the way she is,” I whispered, meaning it.

Auric remained silent, but his expression told me he was lost in thought. That’d been his perpetual state these last few days.

Every night, he held Layla, as he was doing now with his arm around her waist. But he couldn’t convince himself to do anything more.

Which was truly a shame considering how ready Layla was for us.

Even now her nipples were beaded beautifully beneath that thin, gauzy shirt. And the aroma of her need permeated the air with sweet, succulent promise.

I wanted to nibble a path down her body to the delicious juncture between her thighs. Alas, I required an invitation to taste her. And I couldn’t do more than dream until she chose to issue that invitation.

Soon,I thought, closing my eyes.You’ll be mine soon.

And maybe Auric, too.

If he ever figured out how to dislodge his head from his ass, anyway.

I slid my palm to rest upon Layla’s hand over my wing, covering her fingers and holding her to me. Then I let sleep take me once more.

Only, a soft hum stirred me several minutes later.

No, not a hum but apurr.

My eyes opened once more, taking in the calm lines of her face and her soft breaths. Had I imagined it? Like the other night?

I strained my ears, listening, waiting,yearning.

Auric cleared his throat, his expression strained.

And she purred again.

My heart skipped a beat at the alluring sound, my body rousing to awareness in response to my mate’s call.Yes,I thought.Open those eyes and beg me, sweet cherry.

But instead, she whined, discomfort spoiling her features as she tucked herself into a tiny ball. “No,” she whispered. “No.”