Destined to the Reaper (The Shadow Realms #2)

Chapter 12

Kali

M y stomach fluttered with anticipation as Pharos stopped right in front of the bed. He didn’t put me down right away, as reluctant as I was to end the kiss. Just like when he had been in his Wraith form during our couplings prior to his rebirth, his body was warm, but his breath cool. He tasted fresh, like anise and mint with a hint of honey. The texture of his tongue had lost that sponginess to be more like the one of a human although a bit rougher.

He finally loosened his hold around me, letting me slide along his muscular body until I was back on my feet. However, he pulled up the flowy, white nightgown I hadn’t even noticed I was wearing. By the fresh and slightly fruity scent emanating from my skin, I realized that my man had bathed me before putting that gown on me.

I’d been too frazzled by finding Haroth in my room when I woke up to really pay attention to such a detail. But the silkiness of the fabric against my skin as he pulled it off me screamed its luxury. He tossed it aside before reclaiming my lips. The heat of his body against mine sent a shiver down my spine. But the hardness of his pauldron, and the skirted belt that covered his tight pants annoyed me to no end.

I wanted to explore and feel all of him… the real him.

Even as our tongues warred, I let my hands roam down his sides, lingering for the briefest moment on the exposed bones of his ribcage that peeked between the skin. It could have been creepy, but in his case, it was not only sexy, but it also gave him a dangerous and otherworldly edge that I found quite the turn on.

Pursuing their journey south, my hands settled on the large metallic belt adorned with a skull. I blindly fiddled with it until I successfully unclasped it. I let it fall off him. It landed on the floor with the soft rustling sound of fabric followed by the muffled thump of the belt. I immediately went on to loosen the lace holding up his pants. Pharos didn’t resist, but broke the kiss, his right hand fisting my hair on my nape as he began to cover my jaw and neck with kisses.

Another shiver coursed through me when he nibbled on that sensitive spot right in the crook of my neck. During our previous nights together, Pharos had been extremely attentive to my responses to his touch. His generosity as a lover had taken me by surprise. It had been difficult for me to fully assess his own reactions to my caresses. As a Wraith, his facial features had been too undefined to properly convey his emotions. His partially ethereal body had also made it impossible to know for certain what his responses would be to real physical contact. And I wanted to discover everything about him.

Starting with that mysterious cock of his…

As soon as I detached the lace, I tugged down the leathery fabric of his trousers. Pulling away from his lips still roaming over my neck and the curve of my shoulders, I started reciprocating with kisses along his neck and chest. The way he initially stiffened hinted that he wasn’t necessarily keen on relinquishing control. To my delight, he gradually relaxed, his hand still cupping the back of my head, but without restraining my movements.

The texture of his skin on my lips wouldn’t quite qualify as human. It was unnaturally soft and warm, the pigmentation so subtle you barely felt it. His scent was hard to define: an intoxicating mix of woodsy and smoky.

I brushed my lips over the exposed bones on his chest before kissing my way to his left nipple. His body slightly jerked when my mouth closed around it. I sucked on the little nub for a few seconds, then poked my tongue out to tease the areola. Once again, I couldn’t define the taste, which combined a hint of spice and salt. But it was the way his breath hitched that retained my attention. I wanted to know all his secrets, all the ways I could make him fall apart for me like he repeatedly made me scream for him.

Impatient to discover my prize further down, I abandoned his chest to pepper kisses down the chiseled curves of his abs. While my left hand continued to lower his pants, the right one circled around to caress his back, and especially that area at the base of his wings covered in small down feathers.

It had been an innocent touch, but his strong response and the deep, rumbling growl that emanated from him confirmed his approval. I gently raked my nails over that sensitive spot, making him take a hissing breath that resonated directly between my thighs.

However, as I knelt in front of him, all thoughts of the erogenous spot around his wings faded away. My man was massive. Even only partially erect, Pharos had plenty to boast about. Just like the rest of his body, his pelvic area was smooth, devoid of any pilosity. His shaft—generally human in shape with two testicles—mesmerized me. I could now see in its full glory the source of the odd and wondrous sensation I’d felt when coupling with him.

I had felt some kind of ridges along his shaft when he was taking me in his Wraith form. Now, in the flesh, he appeared to have a network of subcutaneous implants. But upon closer inspection, I realized they were small bones, right below the skin. Fascinated, I ran my fingers along the ridges. Those on the upper side almost looked like a spine, running from the base of his shaft to the edge of the head. On the upper half, arched ridges emulated a ribcage, which continued on the underside. For a reason I couldn’t explain, my mouth immediately watered.

Without thinking, I leaned forward and licked the vertical slit of the head. Pharos hissed again, his abdominal muscles contracting while his hand on my nape tightened around my hair. Still, he didn’t attempt to control my movements, allowing me to continue to freely explore him.

Wrapping my hand around his cock, I slowly began stroking him, reveling in the unusual sensation of his ridges beneath my palm. Despite the hardness of the bones, the many joints kept them pliable as I squeezed my hand around them. My inner walls constricted spasmodically in anticipation. I felt hollow, eager to finally get the full experience of him.

Leaning forward again, I licked and teased the head with my tongue, before taking him inside my mouth. The strangled moan that escaped him made my nipples instantly hard and achy. I began to bob in front of him, stretching my mouth wide and relaxing my throat to try and take as much of him as possible. Sadly, his girth prevented me from taking half as much as I would have liked. I compensated by stroking the rest of his length with my hand moving in counterpoint to my mouth.

Judging by the voluptuous sounds emanating from my man, he more than approved of my ministrations. His breath quickly grew shorter and louder as I accelerated the pace. I could feel him struggling to keep himself from thrusting forward into my mouth. That didn’t stop him from swaying, spasms contracting the muscles of his thighs and abdomen. By the way his legs were shaking, Pharos would soon find his release.

That spurred me on.

Just when I thought he would topple over, Pharos emitted a sharp cry and yanked my head back, but not before a few drops of precum spilled onto my tongue. Although feeling cheated to have him rob me of taking him to completion, I marveled at the wondrous taste of him. It was smooth and sweet, with a hint of anise, notes of creamy vanilla, and the nutty elements of whiskey without the burn.

I wanted more.

But the wretched man yanked me up effortlessly, and all but tossed me onto the bed. His head buried between my thighs silenced any protest I might have had. His expert tongue went to work on me with a deftness that had me cresting in no time. Pharos knew exactly where and how to focus his attention to make me squirm. The contrasts between the warmth of his lips on my clit and the coolness of his tongue and breath as he licked and sucked my little nub was fanning the inferno raging inside me.

A series of needy moans tumbled out of me as two of his thick fingers slipped inside me, moving in deeper and faster, driving me insane. He would alternate between crooking his fingers to rub against my sensitive spot, sending sparks of pleasure through me, and scissoring them with each motion, stretching me to receive his considerable girth.

Chasing after my own release, I ground my pelvis against his hand. He accelerated the movement of his tongue on my clit until my body seized. I cried out as pleasure swept me away. With his mouth still devouring me, Pharos tilted his head up to look at me.

The red glow of his eyes illuminated the exposed bones around them, giving him an intimidating look that made my stomach perform a couple of somersaults.

It was sexy as hell.

As my orgasm receded, Pharos pulled his fingers out of me, licking my essence off them in a lascivious fashion that had me throbbing again. An almost evil smile stretched his lips before he started kissing a path back up my body. He carefully climbed on top of me and claimed my mouth with a burning passion and possessiveness.

I spread my legs wide to welcome him. Although he settled more comfortably between them, he didn’t try to push himself in right away. For the next eternity, we kissed and caressed each other. I would never tire of the insanely smooth texture of his skin. It finally dawned on me that its flawlessness came from his constant regeneration. As pleasant as the feel of a man’s calloused hands could be, the silkiness of Pharos’s palms had something magical to them.

A thrill coursed through me when, at last, he rubbed his length against me. The slight friction of his bony ridges on my clit sent electric sparks throughout my nether region. He positioned himself but paused to lock eyes with me. That made me melt from the inside out. I smiled to confirm my consent, my chest warming with affection for him. I lifted my pelvis and squeezed the plump curve of his behind to squash any lingering doubt he might have.

“My bride,” Pharos whispered tenderly before carefully starting to push himself in.

Unsurprisingly, my body quickly resisted his invasion. Considering how wild and unbridled our couplings had been over the past few days, I had expected to adapt more quickly to his non-negligible girth. However, he had been in his wraith form with a spongier and more flexible ethereal cock.

Having anticipated this, my lover didn’t rush through any of it, showing admirable restraint as he slowly and methodically gained centimeter by centimeter with shallow thrusts. Through it all, he kissed and caressed me, whispering sweet words of devotion and encouragement that made me forget the slight discomfort.

And then my body yielded.

I barely even noticed the burn as he suddenly found himself buried to the hilt. My body was too focused on the insane sensation of his bone ridges inside me. A strangled moan rose in my throat as he slowly started moving. However wondrous he had felt in his Wraith form, this was multiplied by a thousandfold. Electric sparks went off inside me with each stroke, the ridges rubbing against my sweet spot both on the way in and out.

An inferno was raging in my loins as Pharos gradually accelerated the movement, taking me deeper and harder. The weight of his physical body pinned me down, making me feel helpless in a way that whipped my arousal into a frenzy. Still, I writhed beneath him as waves upon waves of pleasure swept through me. I felt on the verge of combusting from the liquid flames racing through my veins, the lava swirling in the pit of my stomach, threatening to erupt at any moment, and the searing heat of my lover’s muscular body wrapped around me.

Our moans mingled, his chest occasionally vibrating with a low growl that made my toes curl. The slapping sound of our flesh colliding resonated throughout the room as Pharos pounded into me. He was so big, his cock stretched me to my limits and filled me to the brim in a blissful maelstrom of pleasure and pain.

My orgasm slammed into me, and I threw my head back with a shout, which Pharos echoed. For a brief instant of lucidity before being swept away, I thought he had found his release as well. But my man tightened his grip in a bruising fashion on my waist, his left hand slipping under my right leg to open me even wider for him.

Then he let loose.

I was flying high while he was destroying me, fucking me senseless with near savagery. His entire body seemed to glow from a magical halo. With every other thrust, his wings would spread as if he were fighting the urge to take flight. It would slightly lift me off the mattress only to slam me back down into the soft cushion as he rammed himself back in. I never got a chance to fully come back down before a third orgasm crashed into me.

My back arched, and my body seized. This time, Pharos roared as my inner walls clamped down on his cock. He slammed himself in deep, and threw his head back, wings spread wide as his seed shot into me. Nothing prepared me for the searing heat swirling with magic that flooded my battered insides.

It was nothing like our previous couplings where he’d shared a small part of his soul with me. And yet, the familiar tingling spread through my body. His soul wrapped around mine, soaring with me to endless heights. Lost in an ocean of bliss, it took me too long to realize he’d slowly resumed rocking in and out of me, his movement gentler until he was fully spent.

He collapsed on top of me. With his cock still buried deep, my inner walls contracting spasmodically with a will of their own around his length, Pharos turned us around. I rested my head on his chest, between the two halves of his exposed bones and listened to the thundering of his heart.

Utterly wrecked, I melted against him as he tightened his arms around me and closed his wings over us.

“You’re mine, my Kali. My bride. I’m never letting you go.”

A fter a couple more naughty rounds, Pharos and I finally surrendered to oblivion. Despite sleeping like the dead, my mind didn’t rest at all. It was said that humans solved many of their problems during their sleep, and that definitely applied to me that night. I’d gone to sleep feeling like the weight of the world rested on my shoulders with impossible choices to make. But today, I felt at peace.

Things were only ever as complicated as we made them.

That morning, we got out of bed and took a shower together—which led to some more sexy times. To my surprise, upon returning to my room, the bed had been done and a beautiful dress was laid out on it for me with fresh underwear.

“What in the world…?” I whispered.

“Don’t worry. Myress did this. You will meet her shortly. Technically, she would be deemed my servant.”

“Technically?” I echoed.

He nodded and took my hand to lead me out of the room. I almost commented on the fact that he was still naked, but he seemed unfazed by it.

“I consider her more as a helper, but she insists on calling me Master.”

We stepped into a large hallway of pale stone and majestic columns. It felt as if we had traveled back in time and entered an ancient Roman temple to some deity. We crossed into a large room a few meters from mine. I realized then that it was his own room. A part of me was glad that he hadn’t simply assumed I would share his bed, but another felt a little stung that he hadn’t shown more possessiveness, even though it would have been a bit disrespectful.

But then, I never claimed that all my feelings were logical or rational.

Just like my room, his was massive, with huge windows and patio doors leading to a private balcony. The scarcity of furniture inside surprised me. It didn’t look empty, just restrained, peaceful, and unencumbered. Considering the black hood, skirted belt, and somber leather pants and boots he had previously worn, I expected his personal space to reflect that edgier style, with sharp angles and an overall dark color scheme.

But the same lighter palette welcomed me. Soft, pastel colors in the earthier tones made the room warm and inviting. Above all, it screamed peace and serenity. My gaze lingered on the head of the massive bed propped against the back wall. It was carved either in stone or a very pale wood and represented a stylized sculpture of angel wings. Gold, burnished orange, and dark green pillows provided the right splash of color against the beige bedding. A Roman chaise lounge framed the fancy sitting area with a large fireplace and a shaggy white carpet in front.

“Myress is a Cambion,” Pharos continued while opening the door to a massive walk-in closet.

Seeing the number of togas, skirts, and pants hanging from poles on the right wall took me aback. The vast majority of them were white or a very pale shade of cream or pastel. Once again, for the oddest reason I had expected to see mostly the same type of leather pants and dark clothes as what had been on his body on that altar.

The left wall had skirted belts, pauldrons, and bracers. On the back wall, a variety of boots, shoes, and sandals were artfully arranged on shoe racks. They framed a central display clearly meant to hold one main weapon. I instinctively knew this was where his scythe would have been.

My chest constricted at the reminder of the challenge that awaited us.

He picked up one of the toga skirts and put it on—no underwear.

“Myress looks too inhuman to live amongst your people, but her demonic powers are too weak to live with her kin in this realm,” Pharos said while reaching for a pair of sandals that laced around the ankles. “She was shunned and bullied, which forced her to flee. I found her weak and starving in a nearby forest during a leisure flight. I took her in, and she has served me ever since.”

“An Angel of Death with a half-demon servant. It sounds like an unexpected pairing,” I said teasingly.

He chuckled. “Nothing is too weird or impossible here in the Shadow Realms,” he said indulgently before taking my hand and leading me out of the room.

“The Shadow Realms? Is that where we are?” I asked with genuine curiosity.

Based on the lore, the Shadow Realms was the other side of the Veil, the parallel universe to the mortal plane.

Pharos nodded. “We are more specifically in the Nephilim Valley.”

“Nephilim?” I repeated, stunned. “I would have expected them to be part of the Elysium, or Heaven.”

He smiled while showing me the living area in this brief tour of the mansion. “Some of them live there now. Initially, the majority of the human-angel hybrid children were raised in the valley below. As most of them couldn’t fly, coming up to a mansion like mine was too impractical. I have many angels, fallen and otherwise, living nearby. This house is carved directly inside one of the highest peaks of the mountain range surrounding the valley.”

“So what happened?” I asked with curiosity as he continued the tour. “Did they die off?”

“Over the centuries, they naturally passed. But along the way, more order-aligned hybrids moved here. Those with flight abilities settled in aeries like I did.”

“So this entire valley has no evil,” I mused aloud, feeling a little relieved that I wouldn’t have to constantly look over my shoulder in this space.

To my surprise, Pharos pursed his lips pensively as we walked through the impressive kitchen with a small adjoining dinette. Past the arched walls delimiting the room, I could see a formal dining room on the other side.

“Evil is a debatable concept,” he said carefully. “What many perceive as evil is often just chaos. True evil would be someone like Cornelius. He has no compassion or empathy. He revels in the misery of others, not out of an instinctive response beyond his control, but because he’s a psychopath. He understands the difference between right and wrong but doesn’t care. His pleasure and satisfaction are all that matters.”

I nodded grimly and opened my mouth to comment, but the sudden growling of my stomach had me gasping instead.

Pharos chuckled. “Perfect timing. Myress just finished laying a meal for us on the terrace. The view is too breathtaking here as the sun sets not to enjoy it. This way, my bride.”

He didn’t have to say it twice. A part of me wondered how his servant was always so on top of everything. I doubted she was spying on us. Did he telepathically communicate our needs to her?

As we emerged onto the terrace, the view indeed took my breath away. I’d had a glimpse through the tall windows, but the sheer white curtains in front of them had kept me from fully appreciating the uniqueness of the landscape. Even though I’d been on my bedroom balcony earlier when Haroth dropped by, I had been too distressed by the situation to truly pay attention to my surroundings.

Now, I could fully marvel at it. We were at least two hundred meters above the valley below. A series of dwellings were scattered at a reasonable distance from each other, forming a charming village that seemed to belong to a different era. Countless statues and fountains adorned the common areas with extensive gardens. The valley extended over a large distance before gradually turning into a thick forest. The mountain range surrounded half of it like a bay. They had carved a few other dwellings at different heights of the mountain face, but each of them angled in a way to ensure privacy.

The sky shimmered with the similar orange, purples, and magentas as the sunset on the mortal plane, but they danced in the sky like the Northern Lights.

However, it was the exotic female putting the finishing touches to a table laden with mouthwatering food that retained my attention. I immediately understood why she couldn’t live among humans. Her face was overly long, with a chin too narrow, a skull too big, a mouth too wide and nearly non-existent lips, and her general body too skinny. And yet, she didn’t seem starved or miserable, just otherworldly looking. Huge, golden eyes with narrow, vertical pupils peered at me with curiosity.

She flicked her long, straight black hair, which fell to her knees, with an extremely graceful movement. I immediately thought of a ballet dancer. Her simple black, sleeveless dress entirely covered her feet and even had a short train. It contrasted sharply with the pale color of her skin, which had a subtle hint of light gray or purple.

“Kali, this is Myress. She helped me heal you earlier today,” Pharos said in a gentle voice while gesturing at the Cambion.”

“Hello, Myress,” I said in a friendly tone. “It is a pleasure to meet you. And thank you for your help. Whatever the two of you did, it was perfect. I feel wonderful.”

“I am glad, Mistress,” she said in a submissive voice. “Please enjoy your meal.”

She gestured at the table then gave us a polite nod before quietly walking back inside the house. I couldn’t tell if it was just an illusion caused by her long dress, but she appeared to glide rather than naturally walk.

I cast a slightly confused look at Pharos. Although I perceived no hostility from her, her behavior felt odd and distant.

Pharos smiled. “She’s not very social and struggles interacting with people, especially ones she doesn’t know yet. Do not be distraught by it. Myress is on the lower edge of chaotic, but she is extremely loyal. I trust her with my life. However, Grizelle is true chaos.”

“WHAT?!” I exclaimed, staring at him in disbelief. “That female was pure evil, at the same level as Cornelius!”

Pharos snorted and shook his head. “She’s nothing like him. But come, let’s eat.”