Touched by Darkness: (Sins of The Fallen Book 2)

The foggy mist, clinging to my bare shoulders and beading on my skin, curls the ends of my blonde hair. The chill in the air raises the hairs on my arms.

Shuddering, I rub them while looking around the town square. “Amenadiel?”

A change in the air precedes his low, sinister chuckle as he steps out from the shadows. If it was cold before, it’s freezing now. My breath is visible in the air—a white cloud of smoke that slips from my lips when he cocks his head and drags his eyes down my body. I’m naked again, and the urge to cover myself overwhelms me. His eyes linger on my peaked nipples before skimming over my collarbones. His gaze finally returns to mine, brown on blue. “I forgot about the perks in Eden.”

Why am I back here, night after night? I can’t escape Amenadiel. He haunts my every nightmare.

He hasn’t tried to attack me since I escaped through the door, and it makes me uneasy, as if he’s planning something. I would rather take his anger than this calm version with a curved smirk standing before me.

He tsks. “You’ve been a very naughty girl.”

With my brows pulled low, I go to speak, but he laughs loudly before I can get a word out.

“You brought sin into Heaven.” Leaning in close, he whispers, “You dragged that boy into Hell with you the moment you touched him.”

I rear back, but he’s not done.

“There are some things Heaven can’t erase. Time maybe, but sexual desires? No. Not once you’ve had a taste of sin.”

Setting my jaw, I look away. His touch on my chin forces me to bare my shame to his curious eyes. “Did it scratch the itch?”

I stay silent.

His smile grows. “No, it didn’t. He was a poor substitute for true darkness. Let me guess”—he leans in, brushing his lips over my ear—“his touch wasn’t rough enough and his dirty talk didn’t carry the same sting. Kissing a true angel didn’t have the same appeal as letting the heir to Hell’s throne dirty you up, did it?” His hand slides up my arm, over my shoulder, and grips my neck. I should push him away, but I don’t. Not when his words crack like a whip over a bare back. “Fucking a true angel will never satisfy the darkness in you.” He tips my chin up with his fingers. “Luckily for you, Aurelia, you have darkness at your fingertips.”

Trailing the backs of his fingers down my throat, his gaze follows. His touch burns my skin as it travels lower, over the soft curve of a breast and a rosy, hardened nipple. He pinches it, making me gasp. “You don’t need to defile angel boys to get your fill of Hell.”

I shove him away, breathing hard. “Don’t touch me!”

Eyes sparkling with amusement, he circles me. “We have nothing but time, Angel. Time to get to know each other better.”

“What game are you playing?”

In a blur, he’s behind me, trapping my wrists against my lower back. Chills run down my spine when his lips spread in a smile against the crook of my neck, and my tits jiggle while I continue struggling in his grip.

Breathing me in, he taunts, “What game am I playing? That’s for you to find out, Angel.”

My breaths come quicker when his sharp fangs graze my sensitive skin.

“I hunger,” he whispers while placing his free hand on my hip and pulling me flush against him, “for blood.”

A pause.

“For sex.”

His hand cups my pussy, and I stop breathing as he nuzzles my neck. Dipping his thumb between my pussy lips, he presses down on my clit. “You can’t escape me, Angel.”

“How did you leave Eden?”

“She barters.” Clicking his tongue, his lips drag over my neck, closer to my ear. “Feed my hunger, and I’ll help you escape Eden.”

Whirling in his arms, I spread my wings threateningly. They flutter behind me when he smirks. “We both know you won’t help me unless there is something in it for you.”

His chuckle grates on my nerves.

“Don’t tell me you want to fuck me and drink my blood. I don’t buy your lies. You’re too powerful and ancient to give me what I want in return for sex.”

Amenadiel tuts. “Your angel is showing again. I’m from Hell, darling. Fuck and eat is what I do. I don’t have morals.”

“No, but you do have a greater plan,” I counter.

Playing with tendrils of my hair, he admits, “Maybe I do, but that’s not for you to worry about.”

I try again. “How do I escape Eden?”

His hand falls away, and he retreats toward the shadows between the buildings. “The angel boy can’t give you what you need. You’ll soon seek me out whether you want to or not, but not before you’ve drained his light.”

“Answer the fucking question!” I shout after him when he disappears into the darkness, but he’s already gone.

“You look awful,” Freya points out during class. Up ahead, the elder is telling us of the importance of patience. I’m bored and half listening.

“I’m not sleeping well.”

Freya’s blonde locks move in the warm breeze, hiding her naked body and highlighting it at the same time. “You were gone again this morning.”

A simple shrug. “I couldn’t sleep.”

The wall is visible through a gap in the trees behind the elder. I can’t stop staring at it. Freya notices, nudging me with her elbow. “Stop it!”

Dragging my eyes away, I scan the students in a sea of white wings, shimmering skin, and blonde hair. I’m sick of it. I want the night, the stars, the moon.

My eyes land on Oliver, and a familiar tingle starts up between my legs. Amenadiel was correct; desire is a part of my life now. I want to fuck, and I want to do it all the damn time. But more than that, I want to see Daemon again.

I catch Freya watching him too, but not with desire. The way she watches him reminds me of a girl with a puppy. She swoons while I imagine him fucking me from behind.

Urgh! I don’t even want to fuck Oliver. I just want to fuck full-stop, but that’s not true either. I don’t want to fuck. I need to fuck. It’s an instinct as strong as breathing. Daemon opened my eyes to that hunger and now I can’t close them.

It makes me feel guilty, too. I miss Daemon, Alaric, and Ronan. I don’t want Oliver, but he’s the only one here who can satiate this hunger. No other angel in Eden measures up to his wingspan. It makes me curious about him, and his place here.

His eyes collide with mine, and Amenadiel’s words come back to me: You’ll soon seek me out whether you want to or not, but not before you’ve drained his light.

Is that what I’m doing? Feeding on his light? Why and to what end?

“What’s this?” Freya asks, pulling a feather from my wings.

I wince at the sting. “The hell?”

My breath stalls when she holds it up, her blue eyes searching mine warily. A black feather rests on her palm, threatening to blow away as a light breeze dances across my skin.

Unable to look away, I gulp.

“Aurelia?” she asks softly. “What’s happening?”

“Fallen angels have black wings,” I whisper in response.

“But you’re not…”

My eyes skate up to hers. “Maybe I am?”

She shakes her head, and I snatch up the feather.

“What do you call this, Freya? You can’t deny what’s right in front of you.”

“You haven’t been gone.”

“I have!”

She maneuvers me around until I’m in front of her. Fingers sliding through my wings with frantic, rushed movements, her breath catches. I don’t need her to confirm the truth; I can sense it in her touch and hear it in the shaking lilt of her voice when she whispers, “Oh, my…”

“I’m sorry.” I don’t know what else to say. This is the beginning of the end. I’m slowly turning into a fallen angel, and where I’m going, she can’t go. The thought of losing Freya splinters my heart. She’s my best friend and my family.

I don’t belong here anymore, though. My own light is draining. I can feel it slowly slip away as the darkness gains a stronghold over my senses.

When I turn to look at Freya, her eyes swim with tears. I know mine do, too.

“It’ll be okay,” I whisper.

Her head shakes, and she quickly wipes her cheeks. “No, it won’t.”

The students around us rise to their feet, and I’m worried in case they notice my black feathers. It’s only a matter of time.

“I need to go.” I hurriedly make my escape, feeling lost and confused. My wings are changing color, but the gates remain shut. Why? Eden won’t let me stay here with black wings, right?

Veering off the path, I venture into the forest. Birdsong guides my way closer to the gates. I find a large tree with thick branches and begin to climb, higher and higher, until I’m at the highest one, gazing out over the wall at the world beyond. There’s a longing inside me—an urge to disappear into the dark woods.

A grunt below has me almost falling off my branch, my heart galloping in my chest.

Oliver pops his head up and smiles at me. “You had to pick the tallest tree, didn’t you?”

With my mouth hanging open, I watch him heave himself up and settle on the nearest branch. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugs one shoulder, resting his elbow on his knee, and gazes out over the dark storm clouds and the rolling mist. “I followed you.”

Staring at his profile, I splutter, “But why?”

“I don’t know.” His ocean eyes meet mine. “You intrigue me.”

When I say nothing, he continues, “I keep thinking about you.”

“I blow you one time and now you follow me around because you keep thinking about me?”

“Something like that.” He gestures with his hand to the woods on the other side of the gate. “That’s Hell?”

Dragging my eyes away from the muscles in his arm, I follow his line of sight. “It is.”

“What do you know of Hell?”

My throat bobs. I don’t take my eyes away from the lightning display as I whisper, “It’s a place of suffering. It’s also a place where you feel alive in a sense we don’t do here.”

“In what sense?”

“Out there, you get to experience the entire spectrum of colors. Here, in Heaven, we only know red.” Nudging my chin toward Hell, I stare directly at Oliver. “Out there, they know green, blue, orange, and purple.”

“We know all those colors, too.”

“It was a metaphor.”

His lips twitch with a smile before he lets it loose to dance across his mouth.

“What?” I ask, feeling self-conscious.

“Nothing.”

This side of Oliver is one I haven’t seen before. He’s charming and playful.

His eyes settle on me once more, and we share a soft, rueful smile. “Why did you run away?”

Hesitating, I decide my best option is just to be honest. Oliver deserves as much now that I’ve dragged him down with me. “Freya found a black feather.”

His eyes widen.

“In fact, she found several.”

Oliver is lost for words. I would show him, but I can’t on this branch.

“You’re turning,” he whispers.

“It would seem that way.” I don’t mention that he will, too, soon. Judging by the morbid curiosity in his eyes, I think he already knows.

His throat jumps as he looks back out at the forest beyond the wall. I wonder what’s going through his head.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t have touched you.” My apology is inadequate, but it’s all I’ve got.

“Why don’t you turn away from the darkness? Deny it.” His blue eyes are back on me.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried? Of course I have.”

“But?”

I sigh, avoiding his searching gaze. “I’m not sure I want to.”

There it is. My truth. I don’t want to deny myself the pain and pleasure I felt outside the gates. I don’t think it’s possible to deny that newfound part of me. Not anymore. Once you’ve tasted sin, there’s no turning back, even if the choice is there.

“You don’t want to?”

I look back at him, his lips. My head shakes softly. “No…”

Swallowing thickly, he leans in, ever so slowly, to taste the desire on my tongue. Our lips brush and our breaths dance in the crackling space between us. He erases it, his hand cupping the back of my head and pulling me into him. A soft whimper escapes me as he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth.

I let him explore my mouth with slow, deep kisses that set my heart aflutter. When we break apart, Oliver’s blue eyes, heavy with lust, sweep over my face before settling back on my kiss-swollen mouth. “I don’t think I want to either.”

His words wash over me like a bucket of ice water. Frowning, my eyes fly up to his. “What?”

He explains. “I don’t want to go back to how I felt before… you know? Before we—”

“Oliver,” I interrupt him, “yes, you do! This is your home.”

Now it’s his turn to frown. “Don’t you mean it was my home? You touched me, remember? Do you think I can go back to how things were?”

I climb down, and he follows, undeterred and hot on my heels. As soon as his feet sink into the soft grass, he seizes my arm when I try to walk away.

“Where are you going, Aurelia? This place isn’t exactly big.”

His fingers dig into my skin as I try to pull myself free. It’s useless.

“I’m not good for you, Oliver.”

“I know you’re not. In fact, kissing you will see me banished from Eden, but I’m starting to think maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”

My back connects with the tree, and he traps me with his hands on either side of me. Ocean blue eyes, so like mine, pin me in place. “Convince me why I shouldn’t kiss you again.”

“Oliver,” I breathe out, “I’m trying to protect you. Don’t you see? You don’t know what’s on the other side.”

“Somehow, you do.” His hand lands on my hip, pulling me closer. “And I can see in your eyes that the sacrifice is worth it.”

There’s no convincing him otherwise. I can see it now. His light is slowly fading like mine. “I need to escape Eden,” I whisper.

His trembling breath coasts across my bottom lip as he shifts closer. Stroking my hair behind my ear, he places a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. “How are we going to do that?”

We…

“I’m not in love with you, Oliver.”

His deep chuckle vibrates his chest as he nuzzles the sensitive spot below my ear. “Now that we have that established, let’s make a plan.”

Shoving him away, I ignore his amused laughter when he stumbles back. “There’s no ‘we.’ This is your home, Oliver. You’re happy here.”

Undeterred, he falls to his knees and runs his hands up my thighs as my gaze snags on a bright red apple hanging from the branch.

“Oh, my God,” I whisper, my eyes widening.

Oliver’s warm hands grip my hips and yank me closer. Before he can put his mouth on me, I pull sharply on his hair.

“Look.”

Following my line of sight, he frowns. “It’s an apple. What about it?”

Batting his hands off me, I round him and walk up to the red fruit. “I get it now.”

“You get what?” He shifts closer behind me.

“Adam and Eve.” My voice is barely audible as I continue staring at the apple. “They ate of the forbidden fruit.”

Oliver looks confused as he comes to stand beside me. “It’s just an apple.”

My head shakes, and I turn to face him. “Do you see any other apples here?”

Looking up, he scans the branches overhead. His questioning eyes return to mine.

I don’t wait for him to ask the question. “The apple shows up when I fight temptation.”

Now he looks even more confused. “What are you talking about?”

Blowing out a breath, I rub my face. My thoughts are swirling at a million miles an hour, too fast for me to pick apart and analyze. “Adam and Eve were banished from Paradise when they ate the forbidden fruit.”

“You think we’ll be banished from Eden if we take a bite out of the apple?”

Chewing on my lip, I consider this. Could it be that simple?

Before I can finish that thought, Oliver pulls off the apple and sinks his teeth into the flesh.

“No, Oliver!” I cry out, but it’s too late.

Droplets of apple juice decorate his bottom lip as he takes another bite, flashing me a smile. He holds the apple out. “Want some?”

“Nothing is happening,” I point out, reaching for the apple.

“What did you expect? Thunderclaps? The gates to open with a dramatic slam?”

“Ha ha,” I drawl, piercing the crunchy apple with my teeth. It tastes delicious.

Oliver looks far too amused. It should rub me the wrong way, but I find myself giggling instead. I’m so damn stupid sometimes, thinking an apple is what’ll get me thrown out of Heaven.

“Admit that it was funny,” he says with a wink, and I chuck the apple at him.

“You’re a dork.”

Our heads snap to the side when Freya’s voice calls out, “What are you both still doing here?”

The smile Oliver and I share is secretive.

Nudging my shoulder with his, he sets off down the path, slinging his arm around Freya.