An Immortal

Jericho’s POV

I waited until Aria’s breaths rose in deep, even waves, her chest rising and falling in front of me on the bed before I rose from her side.

I’d be back before she woke up, but first, I had to cover all my bases.

The first call was to my small pack.

“Come back to the suite,” I ordered Draven. “Tell the others to meet me here.”

“Right away, sir.”

Disconnecting that call, I got to work cleaning up the mess that Knox’s team had left behind. I didn’t need to be Aria’s mate to see how much the sight had affected her. It would be cleaned up by the time she woke, just as I promised.

But as I worked, I called Ash.

“How’s it going in Amestris?” the demon asked me.

I snorted loudly. “Things are coming to a head,” I replied honestly. “Knox and I got into it.”

“Is he dead?”

“Not yet,” I answered, leaning against the small kitchen counter to prop the phone at my ear. “He’s injured, but in the care of a fae.”

“Damn. What do you need from me?”

“As many men as you can spare,” I told him bluntly. “I’m working on securing an army of my own on this end, but this attack can’t wait another day. Knox needs to be taken out.”

“I’m glad you came to your senses on the matter.”

I grimaced but didn’t respond to the jibe.

“How many men can you spare?”

Ash made a sound.

“I told you I was sending you who I could, but my resources are finite, Jericho.” He paused. “You have more than enough to go up against him. Why are you holding back?”

“We’re outnumbered,” I reminded him.

“You’re immortal,” Ash laughed. “It doesn’t matter how many of them there are. You just have to outlast them. My men can wear them down if you and Aria can finish them off.”

I frowned, annoyed by his suggestion.

“I’m not putting my mate in danger,” I growled, surprised that he would suggest it.

Ash fell silent for a moment.

“Ash?” I grumbled. “Are you giving me the silent treatment?”

“No,” he replied. “I’m just a bit confused.”

“You’re confused that I won’t endanger Aria?” I snapped. “Would you do that with your mate?”

Ash inhaled sharply. “You… you don’t realize that Aria is like us?” he asked slowly.

I blinked as the door opened, Draven and Jake walking in together. They nodded at me, but I was too focused on my conversation with Ash to pay them any mind.

“A shifter? Yes, I know she turned after I was gone.”

“No, not a shifter, Jericho…” Ash released a small, disbelieving laugh. “She’s immortal. She’s just as impervious to being hurt as you are now.”

Shock rocked my body, and my hands curled around the countertop.

“What?!”

“It happens when a mate bond connects for us—for Originals. I don’t know why, but it’s the same for everyone.”

A dubious chuckle fell out of my mouth, too, but I was still skeptical.

“Are you sure, Ash?” I asked warily.

“I wouldn’t gamble with your mate’s life,” he replied curtly. “Of course I’m sure. Briar had the same metamorphosis when we bonded. Aria can’t be killed—at least not by conventional methods.”

He snorted again. “Good gods—do you mean this entire fiasco could have been avoided if you’d known this sooner?”

I couldn’t answer that, but it was information I was certainly better off for having, and I thanked my friend for giving it.

“The rest of my men will be in Amestris in the morning,” Ash told me before I could hang up and return to Aria’s side. “They’ll be awaiting your instructions.”

“I’ll be in touch to give them,” I vowed.

Tossing the cell phone aside, I looked at the guards, a grin forming on my lips. Jake and Draven gave me an odd stare, and I realized they had not seen me smile much.

“We’re going to hunt that bastard down,” I told them. “But first, I need you to clean up this mess.”

Silver entered just then, and I told the others to give him a debrief before hurrying back to the bedroom.

Aria remained fast asleep, and I resisted the urge to wake her, the eagerness to tell her the truth about herself, about us, overwhelming me.

She needs to sleep, I thought, but that didn’t stop me from tracing my fingers over the gentle curves of her body, my cock instantly responding to her nearness.

I must let her sleep,I told myself again, but all the blood racing through to my crotch was speaking a different language, and I found myself nuzzling against her cheek, willing her awake with soft, subtle kisses.

The exhaustion truly had taken its toll on her, but my hard-on was relentless, and I couldn’t bring myself to stand down, despite my concern for her. Lowering myself against Aria’s supple frame, I pushed closer, breathing softly against her.

“You really have nothing to worry about,” I rasped at her. “We’re the same, you and me, bonded and mated for eternity.”

Her eyes fluttered, and she moaned incoherently, my lips capturing the purr of her mumbling noises.

“Jericho? What’s wrong?”

“Absolutely nothing,” I whispered back.

“Is it morning?” She tried to raise her head, but I sucked her back into a kiss, twisting my hand around the base of her neck.

Her teal eyes fully opened as she pulled back.

“Jericho?”

“Shh,” I breathed. “Don’t speak.”

Pressing her hand to the glow of my arch, I slipped her t-shirt over her head. She didn’t fight me, but the look of perplexity on her face was evident.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” I lied.

“No, you’re not.”

I chuckled, leaning back in to kiss her again. Our hands joined over her head, her hands cupping into mine.

Tongues probing, I half wanted to stop and tell her the incredible news and half finish what I had started. There was no doubt which side was going to win. I was already a steel rod, ready to prod and explore her as an immortal now.

“I thought I needed my rest,” she rasped teasingly, but nothing she said now could lessen my desire for her.

The beast in me had been awakened, and it wasn’t going back to sleep until it had been sated. Lucky for me, Aria had no intention of stopping it, either. Her kisses grew harder, and she turned me onto my back, no longer in the throes of tiredness herself.

Only the sound of our mutual sighs bounced through the room as Aria dropped her mouth over my chin, her waist grinding over the swell of my cock as my hands found the curve of her breasts.

I ripped at the material of her bra, not caring that I’d ruined it for good, running my thumb against her nipple. It popped against the flesh of my palm, the tension of the skin sharp enough to cut glass. Raising her chest higher, she allowed her right breast into my mouth, and I sucked at it eagerly, my hands splaying to the cup of her ass, drawing her down to rub against me.

My tongue trailed the short distance over the bridge of her sternum to the other breast, suctioning against her. Aria fell forward, my hands working in tandem to free her of her pants.

Inhaling the succulence of her skin, my erection made it the last quarter inch, threatening to tear through the fabric of her panties, her wetness beckoning me.

Reaching between us, she freed my erection of my own constraints and bowed her head to clash her aqua eyes with mine, hand closing tightly around me to caress and stroke me harder.

A small smile formed on her lips in the glowing darkness, drops of moonlight spilling through the partially drawn curtains of the bedroom. Her smile was infectious.

It was good to see her smile for once, and I couldn’t resist dropping my lips to hers, capturing the sweetness of her mouth on mine, holding onto it in my own mouth.

When we parted, she asked the question I could read in her face, the manipulation of her fingers driving me crazy as she worked my cock.

“Are you going to take me?” she whispered.

“What do you think?”

My palms splayed on the small of her back and urged her closer, my right hand inching down further into the crack of her cheeks to spread and explore her folds softly, ensuring that she was fully ready for me.

Heat and wetness met my hand, our movements matching as we connected at the center, ready as we always were for each other. Aria tipped her head back to bite at my lower lip, and I wasted no time plunging into her. Bucking up, I filled her easily.

A groan of ecstasy fell from Aria’s lips, the sound only fueling my own passion as she perched on me, allowing my full cock inside her. The wetness of her lips shone as she drew her head back, eyes glazing over already when we sank into a deep, penetrating dance.

Her cries grew louder, filling my ears and driving me closer to my release, Aria’s hips drove upward to meet me and lock, twisting to take me on fully.

My hand cupped the heaving swell of her breast, the other still clinging to the curve of her sweet ass. Sweat formed over my hairline, our gazes locking again.

My mouth crushed to hers, and I felt her close tightly around me, her breaths racing now, her build-up mounting.

“You can wake me up anytime like this,” she mewled, her words uneven, eyes rolling to the back of her head.

She’s already there.

“I intend to,” I promised, and I meant it.

Determined to see her the rest of the way through her orgasm, I plunged, my lips finding her erect nipple again, and in less than a minute, she shuddered, her body tensing almost violently against me, nails curling into the flesh of my shoulder.

Her heat set me on fire, and that was enough to take me over the edge, my resolve to hold back was nonexistent in that moment. I needed to release with her, to become that same quivering puddle of euphoria that had become Aria.

I succumbed to my pleasure, and Aria fell forward, her breasts smothering me as she fought to catch her breath.

Abruptly, her arms gave out as if made of jelly, and she collapsed at my side with a small titter.

“Wasn’t it your idea to let me sleep?” she jested, curling up into me. “Not that I’m complaining. I’ll probably sleep better now than I did before.”

I wrapped my arms around her tightly, clinging to her until she was almost a part of my heated skin. Aria tensed underneath me, raising her head slightly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly. “You’re so quiet.”

I barely knew how to explain it to her, what to say. Instead, I met her eyes evenly and stroked her cheek, offering her a tender smile.

“Nothing’s wrong,” I reassured her. “In fact, everything is just as it’s supposed to be.”

Staring at me blankly, she pulled back slightly to take in my face entirely, mild concern coloring her expression.

“Then why are you looking at me like that?” she demanded, sitting up. “You’re scaring me.”

“You shouldn’t be scared,” I told her quickly, sitting up and guiding her upright, too. “On the contrary. You should feel safer than you’ve ever felt in your life.”

“Okay… why?”

A slow smile spread across my face, and I dropped a soft kiss on her lips.

“Because I just learned that you’re immortal, Aria. Just like me. Knox can’t hurt you.”