Broken Halo

by Lynn Hagen

  Gavril landed on his feet and tucked away his wings as the fireworks faded. “If my enemies discover who Ari is to me, my mate will be hunted down.”

  “You think I don’t have a plethora of beings who wouldn’t hesitate to use my mates against me? People like us will always have that problem. But I can’t let them stop me from living, from loving the two most important men in my life.”

  “Then restore the powers Preston ripped from me.”

  Panahasi shook his head. “Man up, stop running, and prove to me you won’t vanish from Ari’s life as soon as they’re restored, and then maybe we’ll talk.”

  Gavril let a loud growl rip from his chest when the demon leader disappeared. He was getting really sick of the guy. He thought about what Panahasi had said. Ari’s ex was looking for him.

  His abusive ex.

  He inhaled and exhaled hard breaths as images of Ari being harmed flashed through his mind. Gavril didn’t possess the power to know who the person was, but he would find out. He would eventually find out.

  The demon leader’s threat of finding Ari a suitable man hung in Gavril’s mind. His rage lashed out, flattening the trees around him. He bared his fangs.

  No one was touching Ari but him.

  Gavril flashed from the cliff and appeared in his mate’s backyard. Dawn was slowly creeping over the horizon, and the snow had stopped falling. There was a good foot and a half on the ground as he made his way to the patio door. Gavril walked right through the glass and looked around until he found his mate sound asleep in his bedroom.

  His anger fled as he stared down at Ari’s sleeping form. Gavril was so tired of being alone, of being afraid to give his trust to anyone. This was no way to live.

  Could he…Gavril swallowed. Could he really make Ari happy? He didn’t see how.

  Ari stirred and opened his eyes. Gavril’s heart thundered as he stood there, visible, waiting for his mate to kick him out again. It was nothing less than Gavril deserved, yet he couldn’t seem to stay away.

  “Gavril?” Ari sat up, grabbed Gavril’s hand, and made him sit down next to him. Gavril sucked in a quick breath when Ari slid his arms around his neck, hugging him.

  Gavril sat there stiffly, unsure what to do. He’d had plenty of lovers in the past, regardless of what he’d said to his mate about there being rules against sex. Like he ever listened anyway.

  But none had ever been tender toward him. They’d engaged in the carnal act and gone their separate ways.

  “Put your arms around me,” Ari said. “This is called hugging.”

  “I know what it is,” Gavril snarled then regretted his tone. He hesitated for a few beats before he slid his arms around Ari’s lithe body.

  “There you go,” Ari said in a teasing voice. “You’re getting the hang of it.”

  Gavril narrowed his eyes, then forced himself not to say anything sarcastic. At least around Ari, he needed to be kinder, needed to set aside his bitterness and make himself…Gavril felt himself shaking. Make himself vulnerable.

  If this didn’t work, he was hunting Panahasi down and castrating him.

  “I’m tired,” Ari said. “Will you lay with me?”

  Gavril made his clothes disappear, but left his underwear on. Ari had said lay, not fuck.

  “Can you promise me something?” Ari yawned and scooted his back into Gavril’s chest. He fit his ass right into the curve of Gavril’s groin.

  “Anything.” The word just popped right out of his mouth.

  “Be here when I wake up.”

  Gavril rested his cheek against Ari soft hair and closed his eyes. “I promise.”

  Chapter Five

  Ari woke with a start, opening his eyes and expecting Gavril to be gone. But the pressure at his back and the heat surrounding him told him the angel was still there.

  “How did you sleep?” Gavril’s warm breath tickled the shell of Ari’s ear. “By the way, you snore.”

  With a smile. Ari elbowed him. “It’s not polite to point that out.”

  Gavril’s chest was still pressed against Ari’s back, so he couldn’t see the man’s face.

  Ari suddenly remembered Rocky and struggled to get up, but Gavril’s strong arm kept him pinned down. “I have to take the puppy out.”

  He stopped squirming when Gavril planted a soft kiss against his neck. “Already taken care of. I also filled his food and water bowl and exhausted him with play. He’s sleeping on his small pallet in the living room.”

  Ari hadn’t made Rocky a pallet in the living room. And Rocky usually yapped and followed Ari around in the mornings, sometimes making it hard to get ready for work.

  “You’re amazing with animals.” Ari stretched and grabbed his glasses off the nightstand, putting them on so he saw more clearly. He also hadn’t parted the curtains. Gavril must’ve done that. The snow no longer fell, and as he’d guessed it would be, the morning was overcast. He saw thick gray clouds above the house that sat across the street.

  Too bad he had to work today. This was perfect weather to stay at home and watch movies on TV while sipping hot chocolate and snuggling on the couch.

  If Nurse Betty hadn’t come down with a cold, Ari just might have taken the day off.

  “Animals have very basic needs that are easy to fulfill.” Gavril kissed him again. The press of his lips made Ari shiver and moan. “What kind of needs do you need taken care of?”

  Ari grabbed the arm that was curled around him and lowered it until Gavril’s hand was resting on his hard cock. “The most basic need of man,” he murmured.

  “And here I thought you were going to ask for something complicated.” In a flash, their clothes were gone.

  He felt Gavril’s hard cock pressed into his lower back. When Ari looked over his shoulder, he blushed at the hot, heavy stare Gavril was giving him. Ari wiggled as he turned over to face the guy. Gavril looked as though he had no idea what to do next. Not that Ari thought the man a virgin. Gavril had already admitted to breaking that rule, and Ari was certain this gorgeous stud had broken it many times.

  No, that bewildered expression was because Gavril wasn’t used to tenderness, so Ari would show him.

  He slid his hand across Gavril’s strong jaw, smiling at the way the man’s soft facial hair felt under his palm. “Kiss me,” Ari whispered.

  Ari hooked a leg over Gavril’s hip as Gavril’s head slowly descended toward him. The angel’s lips were warm, gentle, and set Ari’s heart to racing. He swiped his tongue over Ari’s mouth, and Ari opened to let him in, sucking on Gavril’s tongue as he moaned.

  He felt Gavril’s body tighten. He brushed his hand through Ari’s hair, curling his fingers around the wayward strands. Gavril gave a small tug, and Ari gasped in pleasure. His lover smirked and did it again.

  While groaning, Ari glided his palms up Gavril’s hard chest, tweaked his nipples, and gave his own smile when the man hissed. Ari wanted to touch and kiss every inch of Gavril’s body.

  Gavril’s guard must have lowered because his scars appeared. Ari wasn’t put off by them. They were a part of who Gavril was, a map of the horror he’d survived, a testimony of his inner strength.

  Ari pressed his lips against a particularly nasty-looking one, his heart aching for what Gavril had endured.

  When he looked up, Gavril was watching him, the nebula swirling in his eyes growing darker, like storm clouds gathering, ready to strike. Ari worked his way up to Gavril’s throat and kissed along his jaw.

  He didn’t tell Gavril that his scars weren’t off-putting. The angel wouldn’t believe him. That had been apparent by the storm in his eyes. Ari would just have to show him.

  With his palms still against Gavril’s chest, Ari shoved until his lover was on his back. One of Gavril’s brows arched, but he didn’t say a word. Ari straddled Gavril and bent, kissing his way down the man’s neck, slowly sliding down Gavril’s body.

  As he worked his way down, Ari kissed and licked at the crisscrossed roadmap, teasing the skin with his
teeth. Gavril hissed and bucked, massaging Ari’s scalp with his fingernails, making goose bumps and pulses of pleasure break out over Ari’s body.

  Ari stopped his downward travel when he reached Gavril’s navel. He laved the area with his tongue, Gavril’s hard cock squeezed against Ari’s chest.

  Gavril grabbed at Ari’s head, but Ari curled his fingers around the angel’s wrists and locked Gavril’s hands at his sides. Ari looked up and gave him a look that said not to move. He could tell Gavril was fighting a smile, but the guy nodded.

  Satisfied, Ari continued downward, getting to his prize. Gavril’s cock was thick, long, and bobbing slightly with the man’s pulse. He already smelled the pre-cum beaded at the slit and Gavril’s musky scent.

  Ari lapped at the clear liquid, grinning when he heard the man groaning. Gavril’s legs jerked restlessly as Ari opened his mouth and sucked Gavril’s cock in.

  His brows furrowed when Gavril moaned words that Ari couldn’t understand. It was some other language, and although he had no clue what Gavril was saying, it sounded beautiful.

  The wind rattled outside as Ari pushed himself lower. He nipped Gavril’s inner thighs, nuzzled his balls, and inhaled his masculine scent as the hair on Gavril’s legs tickled him.

  His glasses became askew, and Ari righted them before he worked his way back up Gavril until he was face to face with the guy’s handsome cock.

  Once again Ari took the hard flesh into his mouth. He considered himself good in bed. That was one complaint Olin had never had, but he was also dealing with an angel. That thought intimidated Ari, but he refused to dwell on it, so he pushed that thought aside.

  Ari used the flat of his tongue to trace the thick vein on the side of Gavril’s cock. He paused long enough to listen to the snow plow pass by then turned his attention back to Gavril.

  “Come here.” Gavril grabbed Ari under his arms and pulled him back up the bed.

  “But I wasn’t done,” Ari complained as he squirmed. “I was just getting to the good part.”

  Gavril slid Ari underneath him and smiled wickedly at him. “We’re going to get to a lot of good parts, kullake.”

  Ari frowned. “What did you just call me?”

  Gavril gave a short, soft chuckle. “Nothing bad.”

  Ari deepened his frown. “I’m gonna look that word up later, and if you’re—”

  His threat was muffled by Gavril’s lips, which had attached to Ari’s and then began to work their way over his jaw and down his neck. Ari forgot the rest of his threat as he spread his legs, encouraging Gavril to get even closer.

  Ari’s body felt hot and needy. At this point Gavril could call Ari whatever the man wanted and Ari wouldn’t care. He just needed the flame burning inside him to be extinguished, and Gavril’s cock was the answer.

  Gavril settled between Ari’s legs and slid his hands under Ari’s back. His length was already prodding at Ari’s hole.

  “Lube,” Ari gasped as Gavril nipped and licked at his earlobe.

  He would’ve said condom, but Ari had learned long ago that nonhumans couldn’t catch or transmit human diseases. Gavril was an angel, so Ari seriously doubted the guy had any kind of sexual disease.

  “Don’t need lube,” Gavril said into Ari’s ear. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.” The word was out without Ari giving it a second thought. He pressed his hand into Gavril’s back and dug his nails in, and then he pulled his hands away. Gavril already had enough scars, and Ari didn’t want to cause him any pain.

  “Don’t.” Gavril shook his head. “Don’t ever stop what you want to do to me. Your nails don’t hurt.”

  Because Gavril had too much scar tissue. The thought popped into Ari’s head. He still didn’t dig into Gavril’s back. Instead, he gripped the man’s shoulders and looked into his mysterious eyes, watching the colors swirl and the shooting stars within.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Ari said in a whisper.

  The head of Gavril’s cock touched Ari’s quivering hole. Ari held his breath as Gavril started to inch inside him. There was no pain or dryness. Ari’s nerve endings were stretched, and he groaned as Gavril bottomed out.

  “See.” Gavril winked. “My talents do have their advantages.”

  Ari was too busy enjoying the feeling of being full to answer Gavril’s teasing. He looped his legs around Gavril’s waist and used the heels of his feet to shove Gavril closer.

  Taking the silent hint, Gavril began to move. Ari whimpered, grabbed Gavril’s nape, and pulled him down for a toe-curling kiss. Their mouths fused together as Gavril’s cock stretched Ari wide, hitting his prostate on every thrust.

  Ari arched his back and panted into Gavril’s mouth, lost in the tidal wave of pleasure that crashed through him. He was having sex with an angel. That thought was mind-boggling, and a very small part of him wondered if he was going to hell for this.

  Just as Ari’s buildup climbed higher, Gavril pulled out, flipped Ari to his stomach, and slid back in. He blanketed Ari’s back, their thighs aligned. Ari turned his head and teased Gavril’s bulging bicep with his teeth.

  Gavril’s facial hair scraped along Ari’s skin, making his body tingle. Ari thrust backward, matching Gavril’s thrusts, chasing after his release while praying this lasted all morning.

  “I don’t ever want you to hate me,” Gavril said against Ari’s shoulder. “I’m about to thrust you into my dangerous world.”

  Ari had been dealing with the preternatural world for two decades. He’d seen the worst it had to offer. But he’d also seen the best, too. How long had he craved a mate? He’d seen mated couples, how they would do anything for each other, how deeply the two were in love.

  For so long Ari had craved that, even when he’d been dating Olin. Ari just wanted someone who would love him and not abuse what he had to offer.

  He finally had a mate, and Ari didn’t care what he and Gavril had to go through to be together. In his mind, the risks were worth it. “Claim me,” he begged as Gavril punched his hips forward, driving his cock deeper. “I want to belong to you.”

  Gavril had acted like a jerk, but Ari had also seen his softer side and knew Gavril hid who he truly was behind a wall to protect himself. But he didn’t need to protect his feelings around Ari. He would never take advantage of Gavril, never make him feel unwanted, and he would show the angel just how much love he had to share.

  “Please forgive me,” Gavril whispered before he sank his sharp fangs into Ari’s shoulder.

  The bulb in the lamp exploded, sending sparks upward. The house shook and shuddered. The bed moved across the floor, and car alarms sounded as though every vehicle on the street had been set off. The wind blew harder, branches slapping and scraping against the glass of the windows.

  It felt as though Gavril’s cock swelled larger inside Ari as Ari cried out Gavril’s name. His mate threw his head back and bellowed in that strange language, jetting into Ari’s hole.

  The house stilled. The bed stopped moving. The wind calmed, and the car alarms went silent.

  Gavril buried himself deep as he came then rested his forehead against Ari’s back as Ari tried to remember how to breathe.

  “My powers,” Gavril panted. “They’ve been restored.”

  He pulled Ari down with him to the bed, and then he curled himself around Ari, his cock still buried inside Ari.

  “That was…” Ari wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. Amazing, phenomenal, fantastic, none of those words seemed adequate enough. His skin buzzed from the currents of air still spiraling through the room and the small aftershocks of his orgasm.

  “It was,” Gavril said. He kissed Ari’s bare shoulder.

  Ari closed his eyes. He had to be to work in an hour but decided he could use just a bit more sleep. But his eyes snapped back open when he heard Rocky yelp.

  Gavril had them dressed in the blink of an eye and flashed from the room. Startled, Ari got up and raced to the living room. He sucked in a breath and used the wall
for leverage when he saw a stranger glaring his way.

  * * * *

  “You just can’t stop breaking the rules, Gavril.” Hadad was tall, dark-skinned, and one of the more beautiful angels in Gavril’s opinion. He had a head full of thick black hair, green eyes that sparkled like uncut diamonds, and his voice, when not snarling at Gavril, was heavenly.

  He was also a complete asshole.

  Gavril’s wings shot out as he bared his fangs, pissed that Hadad had ruined his first tender moment. This was the guy who had given Gavril most of his scars. Hadad reveled in dolling out pain, relished the scream of his victims.

  Panahasi’s words echoed in Gavril’s mind. It was time to stop running, and Gavril agreed. Now that his powers had been fully restored, he no longer feared Preston or Hadad.

  “Get out before I take my anger out on you,” Gavril warned. He glanced at Rocky, who was still on his pallet but whimpering as he looked up at Hadad.

  Gavril held his arms out, and Rocky instantly appeared in them. He handed the puppy to Ari. “Take him in the bedroom.”

  Ari grabbed the dog but shook his head. “I’m not leaving you here with him.”

  Gavril wanted to laugh at the absurdity that Ari could help against such a powerful angel. But he was touched in ways Ari would never know that his mate wanted to fight at his side.

  He gave Ari a quick kiss then made Ari and Rocky vanish. Ari was gonna be pissed that Gavril had sent him to Aiden and Rudy’s cabin, but Gavril needed to keep his mate out of harm’s way. He shuddered at the thought of Hadad dolling out punishment to the human.

  Ari wouldn’t die. Now that he was mated to Ari, nothing could kill him, but he would wish he was dead if Hadad got his hands on him.

  Gavril also didn’t want to destroy Ari’s house.

  “We’ll take this elsewhere.” Now that Gavril wasn’t drinking his concoction, Hadad would be able to sense where he’d gone. Gavril vanished, reappearing in a wide-open field halfway around the world. There wasn’t anyone around for hundreds of miles.

  Hadad appeared, an evil grin on his face. “As soon as I have you back in your cell, I’m going to take pure pleasure in wringing out as many screams as I can from your little human.”