Free Of Alliance and Rebellion by Micah Persell Page A

was going to sway toward her any moment. There was no room for swaying. Max felt his throat work around a convulsive swallow, and he tried to formulate words that would get her to move away from him before he did something stupid, like appease the curiosity in the gorgeous, golden-blue eyes that were
still
focused on his lips.
    Just when the insistent knowledge from his eye that she was both good and evil made a dent through his lust, and he was preparing to step away—albeit reluctantly—the angel spoke. “Are you ready to join your friends?”
    Her husky voice acted the same upon him as a hand stroking down his chest, and he felt his eyes widen as he realized she was close enough to get an up-close, uninhibited view of his scar. He shook his hair into his eyes and tilted his chin downward to try to hide himself as well as he could, given her close proximity. Best to end this as soon as possible. “Yes,” he said gruffly.
    Though he’d seen her transport someone twice, he was unprepared for her to step even closer to him. Her arms came around him, her breasts pressing into his chest. Max closed his eyes and forced his arms to remain at his sides.
Lilies
. The same scent that came from those flowers that always decorated grocery stores around Easter—that scent wafted up from Max’s angel and surrounded him.
    So many desires flooded him, he knew he was doomed if he didn’t allow a slight alleviation of the pressure. With a sigh, Max allowed his arms to rise and wrap around Anahita, the fingers of his right hand tangling in the soft silk of her hair.
    She gasped, her breasts pressing into him rapidly. “Keep your eyes closed,” she whispered breathlessly.
    Max felt the firm stone beneath his feet disappear. His arms tightened around her even more, and he closed his mouth to prevent a huff of breath from escaping. Before terror could take over, his feet landed upon firm ground again.
    Max felt himself shaking, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. And in a move that only made him feel worse about his masculinity, the angel squeezed him and made a shushing sound in his ear. “You are here.”
    Max jerked away from her, his arms falling to his sides. The angel moved away from him without meeting his eyes, and for the first time, Max was able to see where he was.
    They were inside a massive military blind that shielded them from any onlookers. The dappled shade cast dark shadows over his skin and provided a bit of relief from the heat of the desert. A Humvee made up one of the sides of the blind, and the back door was open. Inside, Max could see the prone form of Oliver laid out on the vehicle’s floor, Luke kneeling beside him. Max’s shakes vanished. The angel had told the truth.
    Holy shit
. The angel had told the truth. They were rescued. They were actually free!
    “Max.”
    Max turned toward the deep, bass voice. It belonged to a blond giant with blue eyes. “Jericho?” Max noticed the dark-haired man beside him. “Eli?”
    “Good to see ya, man,” Eli drawled in his Southern accent.
    “‘Good to see ya, man,’” Jericho mimicked. “It’s damned great to see you!” The blond man stepped forward, his arms outstretched.
    Max launched backward, shaking his hair into his face. “No hugs,” he grumbled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jericho stop in his tracks, but Max refused to look at his face again. “I don’t … do that,” Max finished lamely. He closed his eyes and mentally counted down.
And they’ll notice my face in three, two…
    “Holy God, what did they
do
to you?” Eli stepped forward and gripped Max’s chin, forcing him to raise his face. “Shit,” Eli breathed at the same time Jericho whistled low.
    Max jerked his chin out of Eli’s hold and growled, the sound echoing throughout the blind in the now uncomfortable silence. “I’m fine,” Max said.
    “Yeah, I’ll bet,” Jericho said softly.
    Max glared at him through his shaggy hair. Jericho looked as though he