bed in absolute pain, and Madigan had been trying to remain strong in the face of all the strain that his guardians’ weaknesses made on his mind.
He walked back down to the bedroom they shared and pushed open the door where Cross, Bren, and Michel were in the middle of dressing. They looked up in unison, a panicked expression on each of their faces.
“What happened? I felt an archangel enter the house,” Michel said, jerking up his blue jeans in jittery motions that displayed his nervousness like nothing else.
“Was Yuri screaming?” Bren asked. He’d just buttoned up his pants and took three strides and was almost toe-to-toe with Dex. He gripped Dex’s forearms and gave him a squeeze. “Is he okay?” The motion was needy, almost afraid, like a small child that needed something to hold on to. Lucifer’s angel was about to lose it.
“Those spears were poisoned and spelled. Whatever the hunters laced them with has kept Yuri from healing. With Madigan’s help, we managed to force them down into his glyph so they won’t get worse, but we need to get him to a healer.” Dex took a deep breath. “We need to get to the sanctuary town this week. We can’t wait anymore.”
“But what about waiting until Thursday?” Cross asked. “That was what the plan was.” Dex knew Cross didn’t like to deviate from the plan, but damn it all, they had little choice in the matter.
Dex looked at each of his men in turn. “Lord Gabriel was called
by Lord Raphael to the heavens a moment ago. The hunters are petitioning to remove the cease-fire ban on Madigan.”
“What purpose does that serve? They can’t get the ban removed. Angelic law is clear on the matter,” Bren said, turning back to Cross and Michel as if seeking their reassurance.
“That only applies to angels. If they were to get us thrown out of heaven…” Dex explained. The thought made him a little queasy. He’d been a part of heaven’s ranks his entire life and had never felt loyalty to any other entity, even himself. However, if it came to Madigan’s welfare, he would fall, he was sure of it. For the first time in his existence, he had something that was more valuable to him than any tie before. Their bond was everything.
Michel let out a snarl that sounded so inhuman the fine hairs on
Dex’s body stood on end. Threatening Michael’s angel wouldn’t bode well for their enemies. “Let them try.” He bit off the sentence. “I should’ve gone to hunt them once everyone was back. Azrael has a few sins to answer for that I would fucking love to make him regret.”
Cross’s arms circled Michel’s waist from behind. “Enough, Michel. I don’t want to hear such anger in you. Release it or else it will become poison in the blood.”
Dex knew Cross was right, but he didn’t know if Michel really had it in him to give up the rage that seemed to be consuming him lately. Once they got to a safe place, they all needed the opportunity and time to heal. Dex felt emotionally battered from the conflict, and
they were all reacting like they were still in a combat situation. PTSD
was a bitch.
“Be strong for us, Michel. Our Madigan is holding it together better than we are. We’re supposed to be his strength, not the other way around,” Dex said.
Michel took a deep, shuddering breath as if casting off the anger was physically painful for him. “I know. I just…I love you guys, you know?”
Dex certainly did. It was one of the things that helped him hold himself together when he really wanted to fall apart. Yes, he was a warrior. Yes, he’d been trained for combat. But, the reality of what failing really meant had never hit home before. He’d been more than willing to give up his own life, but Madigan’s life? Cross’s life? Yuri’s life? Unacceptable. Why had he never considered this when he’d agreed to take on this mission? These men were everything.
“I know, Michel,” Bren said, going to stand in front of the blond. It was odd watching them interact lately. The tension that usually came with one of Michael’s choir and one of Lucifer’s choir working together was absent since they’d truly bonded. It was a beautiful yet fragile truce that Dex hoped would continue. Though with Bren’s smart mouth, it was only a matter of time before he was picking a fight again. Of course, that mouth had been decidedly less biting lately. The somber attitudes of the house had affected them all.
“It’s amazing that we can accomplish anything.” Cross’s stern voice cut into an impromptu cuddle session. “We need to stop acting like lovers and start acting like the soldiers we are. Our sole purpose in coming here is to protect Madigan and keep everyone safe. Our weakness has been our feelings for one another.”
Bren turned hurt eyes in Cross’s direction. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that we need to stop whatever this is. One of us gets their feelings hurt and we all jump up to comfort. We’ve lost the hard edge that made us warriors when we became lovers.” Cross was about
to get his ass in a crack, and Dex watched helplessly as it grew wide enough for him to fall in.
“So what? We go back to being just comrades-in-arms or some shit?” Michel snapped, pushing out of Bren’s embrace. “We’re all supposed to bond together, remember? For Madigan.”
“It’s a selfish desire on our parts. We can delay this…affection, if we choose to,” the redhead said stubbornly. “Yuri said that it didn’t have to come right away.”
“Well it did! It did fucking come right away! Can you really go back, Cross? Do you really want to?” Bren snarled, advancing on Cross until they were chest to chest.
Here we go, Dex thought, closing his eyes to block out the image of his lovers fighting. Dammit. Damn this whole situation. I just want everyone to be happy .
“No, I don’t want to go back, but I also don’t want one of us dead, either!” Cross was shouting now, something Dex was sure came from the stress of the situation.
“We’re dead either way, Cross. I’d rather die happy, wouldn’t you?” Bren’s words cut to the core of the thing, piercing Dex in a way that made the desire to clutch his chest in pain come at him like a
wave.
“You call this happy?” Cross asked bitterly.
“Shut up!” Dex shouted, unable to take the spiraling moment a second longer. “Just shut the hell up already! I can’t take anymore!” He squeezed his eyes tight as the pulse in his temple pounded. This was too new to fall apart so soon. This was all too much on such a fragile bond. They hadn’t even had enough time together to learn one another’s favorite ice creams. He’d been alone his whole life. He
didn’t want to go back to that.
Masculine hands touched his chest, forcing his eyes open almost against their will. He looked down into Michel’s eyes. Bren stood at one side, Cross on the other. God how he loved the touch of his
men…
“We’re sorry, Dex. Just a little stressed out, and I’m not sure how to deal with it.” Cross spoke for the group, a look of pain on his face. “We’re all shaken up by what has happened.”
“I know,” Dex said.
“Then you know that things can only get better from here. Fuck waiting until Thursday. We’ll leave tomorrow, first thing. Everything about this place screams danger to me, and I won’t risk our relationship over something as stupid as a few days’ time.” Cross leaned in and kissed Dex’s lips. It amused Dex that he had to lean down slightly in order to give him the kiss he wanted. Times like this made their few inches of difference in height more noticeable.
“Let’s go get Yuri and Madigan and have them come lie down with us before supper. We can break the news to the Fallen and his nephilim when we go down to dinner. We’ll use the rest of the night to rest up and start fresh.” Michel’s suggestion was a welcome change from his earlier attitude.
Dex smiled, some of the tension bleeding from him. “All right. I’ll carry Yuri if you can get Madigan.”
“I’ll change the sheets,” Bren offered.
Cross shrugged. “I’ll help do that, then.” He grinned at he looked back toward the bed. “Our Madigan is a mess.”
Michel chuckled. “Yeah, a hot little mess. That boy can fuck.”
“He can do a lot more than that,” Bren said, striding toward the closet where the spare sheets were housed.
Dex couldn’t agree more.
Chapter Five
Madigan woke in the middle of a dog pile. It was a warm, very naked, very male dog pile, and he couldn’t have been happier. The earlier events came in a flash of instant recall. So he’d met one of his
father’s friends. Interesting. Too bad he’d been so engrossed in Yuri
and the fact that he’d had his retinas seared that he hadn’t been able to
pay much attention. Once they got to a safe place, he was going to revisit the topic with his angels.
A low moan had Madigan opening his eyes. His first thought was that Yuri was in pain, but the sight that greeted him let him know how deliciously wrong he was. He sighed in appreciation as he watched Bren deep throat Yuri’s cock while Michel fucked him gently from behind. Dex was sucking on his nipples, squeezing the opposite one while he alternated nips and licks to the already rosy tips. Cross was behind Michel, obviously inside him as he gave a counter thrust to every lunge of Michel’s hips. It was a beautiful sight.
“Missed you,” Michel murmured in Yuri’s ear, licking the shell. Uriel’s angel just moaned and thrashed against the sensations being inflicted on him. Madigan’s hungry body stirred. After the earlier performance it should’ve been next to impossible for Madigan to get aroused. Thanks to his nephilim side, he never had an issue getting aroused. In fact, it was more often that he wanted to keep from getting aroused than anything. It was kind of embarrassing to need sex like most people needed to eat.
He reached down and began to stroke himself off with sure, quick movements that would get him equal with his angels in no time flat. They may have been at this for a while.
“Madigan,” Yuri gasped as he watched Madigan work his length.
Madigan chuckled. “Told you they missed you, Yuri,” he teased, smearing the clear liquid that was streaming from the tip of his dick to add a little lube to his stroking.
“Yeah you did, baby. Fuck. Feels good.”
Yuri’s groaned words went to Madigan’s head and made it swim. His skin became sensitive as he moved his hand more quickly over his hard length. Yuri was back where he belonged, and that was all that mattered. He loved how all of his men loved one another. The
fierce possession was attractive in a way that was primal and arousing all at once. It called to deeper instincts in Madigan that demanded satiation.
“Love you,” he murmured to them as their movements became more erratic as they neared the peak. “Love you all so much.”
His words were a trigger for them, and the tensing muscles and grunts of satisfaction made Madigan’s blood sing. Mine, he thought as his brain short-circuited. They’re mine and I’m theirs, and nothing and no one can ever change that. His hand tightened and jerked in shorter staccato movements, forcing him to a higher sphere of pleasure.
“Let go, Madi. With us.” Cross’s command was the extra bit he needed to go off like a shot. He cried out as he came, words of love boiling over with his pleasure.
As the tension seeped out of him and a lazy satisfaction took its place, he couldn’t help but sigh. “We’re going to have to do laundry. We’re messing up the sheets faster than I can wash them.” Everyone laughed at that, ribbing him for being such a domesticated nephilim.
“How you feeling, Yuri?” Madigan asked as they settled down and each fell into his own thoughts.
The brown-haired angel gave a shrug. “Fine, I suppose. I’m feeling a lot better than I was.” He leaned his head to the side as Michel pressed a kiss to his neck. “I feel, I don’t know, more stable
whenever everyone is surrounding me. It’s like I’m grounded or something.”
“Probably an effect of the spell,” Dex provided, muttering softly to himself as he finished his address to them. “Lord Gabriel says the petition was rejected, but he’s not sure they’re finished with their demonstration yet.”
“We’ll deal with it later,” Cross said. His word sounded final, and
that was okay with Madigan. He was sick of angelic politics. “What’s important right now is to get some food in us and make sure we’re as calm as possible for the next twelve hours. We’ll set up watches, and during the watch, I expect you guys to pack your shit. Clear?”