My Fallen Angel

Epilogue

"Raise your arm higher on that block, Evie. You're lagging."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I blocked that perfectly," I retorted, nevertheless bringing my right arm just a bit higher to cut off the swing that Jungkook took for my face. A bead of sweat dripped down my temple, but I ignored it. This was my favorite part of my daily training. Combat practice with Jungkook was exhilarating. He pushed me to my limit every time, and I loved the exercise, the adrenaline, every part of it. 

I suppose I got that personal trainer after all, even if I never got the 50 bucks.

I'd been in Rome for a few weeks now. My family was under the impression that I was on an unexpected and highly exclusive internship program in Italy with a nondisclosure agreement of some sort involved. I let Suga handle the details. I was too busy catching up on my training to worry about keeping my parents from all of this. Every morning, I learned about history, demons, angels, etc. I practiced advanced combat in the afternoons and then finished my days practicing summoning and refining my divine power. It was exhausting. 

Part of the reason why I loved my training sessions with Jungkook was because it was my only time to spend with him. 

Without warning, I found myself trapped in a tight hold. "You lost focus," Jungkook panted in my ear from behind me. 

With a small smile, I bent over and flipped him over me, sending him sprawling to the ground. I didn't give him time to process what had happened before I crawled over him and pinned him to the floor. "You lost focus," I taunted. He grinned, looking perfectly content to stay at my mercy.

Breathing hard, I held myself above him for long seconds. There was a new tension filling the room, expectant and waiting. The smiles left our faces, and I saw in his face a hunger that mirrored what I felt. I bent my head and pressed my lips to his, kissing him with a passion and energy I'd never experienced before. This was something new, something raw and unleashed. We tumbled across the ground, rolling over each other in a tangle of limbs. We came to a stop with him on top of me now, looking down at me like he wanted to devour me. Sweat glistened on his forehead. 

With a groan, he lowered his face to press against my neck, trailing kisses up my jawline and into my hair. I twisted agitatedly, eager for him to kiss my lips again. He obliged, tasting me deeply. I couldn't be close enough to him. I was desperate for more of him, and my frustration was rising with the heat of the room. At some point, his shirt had vanished. My fingers trailed up and down the defined muscles of his back, sending him shivering in pleasure. 

Not one to be outdone, I urged him toward the edge of my own t-shirt. He obliged, pulling the fabric upward with impressive speed. Then he was back, kissing me open-mouthed and yearning. The contact of my skin against his was perfection. I moaned at the feel of him pressed against me, the weight of him pinning me to the floor. The sound seemed to ignite him. He slid his hand along my body, caressing me passionately, almost painfully. It was absolute perfection. I threw my head back, gasping for air, for a semblance of sanity that had escaped me the moment he kissed me. 

Hearing his exhaled chuckle, I looked back at him. He was holding one of my hands, trailing his lips along my fingers. I saw immediately why he'd laughed. My hands were glowing. As his tongue flicked out between my fingers, I shivered and the glow intensified. I pulled my hand away, confused at the rush of passionate emotions rolling throughout my entire body. Jungkook held still, chest heaving and eyes bright, waiting for me to make the next move. 

At the touch of my glowing fingers against his chest, the wings that were still black as night, but no longer made of whisps and shadows, unfurled behind him. He arched his back, eyes clenched tight in ecstasy. 

"Evangeline," he muttered my name like a prayer, "we have to stop now."

I slid my hands around his shoulders and pulled him closer to me tightly. "Why?" I asked in a breathless voice. He shuddered. 

"Evie, no. If we keep going, I won't be able to stop."

A smile curved my swollen lips. "Is that a promise?" I whispered in his ear. 

And he made good on that promise.

. . .

When Jungkook and I came down for dinner, the room was unusually quiet. Normally, there was noise and laughter around the table, but now, I caught six pairs of eyes carefully avoiding my own. Embarrassment set my cheeks on fire. Jungkook squeezed my hand, and I looked over at him to catch his unapologetic wink. 

Feeling flustered, I took my seat at the end of the table and dug into my food, horribly aware of the murmurs and snickers. "Shut up!" I snapped and shoveled a forkful of pasta into my mouth. I was ravenously hungry after all of the... exercises of that afternoon.

The others laughed and began to eat too. Over these few weeks, we'd all become very close. I was really beginning to feel accepted, and as embarrassed as I felt, knowing that they probably knew what Jungkook and I had been doing, part of me appreciated the teasing. It meant that they were treating me like one of their own.

"Just so you know, Evie, I'm not letting you off the hook for light training tonight," said Namjoon casually. He'd been working with me one-on-one with that, always full of encouragements at my swift progress. I still hadn't been able to create anything as powerful as what I'd done the night I purified the demon in the church, but I was proud of how naturally summoning my power was becoming. 

I was just about to open my mouth to reply when something tugged at my gut. It was cold and fearful, like that feeling of realizing you'd lost something important. Looking around at the others, I could see that I was not alone in this sensation. Everyone was on high alert, jumping to their feet. Jungkook gripped my hand and gazed down at me, serious, but with a confident glint in his eye. 

"A demon?" I asked him. 

He nodded. "Yes. And it's close. Are you ready?"

I smiled. "Hell yes."