by Heather Long
“Possibly.” Well, at least he admitted that much.
“Did you know I was going to die?” The question popped out. Yes, I said I would listen, but he seemed to be trying to break whatever it was to me gently. At this point, buddy, just rip the Band-Aid off. My life couldn’t get any weirder. Nor could my death, really, now that I thought about it.
“Yes.”
No avoidance. No hesitation.
“And you were just going to let me die?” Wow. Keepers were assholes. All of them.
“It wasn’t my place to intervene,” he admitted. “I did not look forward to your loss, but I promise…you wouldn’t have been alone.”
Wouldn’t have been alone? “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Yeah, Dahlia, I know your boyfriend is a dick and he’s going to crack your skull open and throw you down some stairs. But don’t worry, someone will come along eventually.”
“But you didn’t die,” Bish said abruptly.
Laughter escaped me in a bark of sound that had Gingersnap looking up at me almost as worriedly as the man—no wait, the Keeper—across from me. “Oh yes, I came this close…” I held up my thumb and forefinger with barely any space between them. “Technically, I’m already dead.”
He frowned, and his eyes flashed a deeper golden hue. “No…”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m living on borrowed time, Bish. He told me a month and a few days. It’s been, what, five days? So…that’s five days of my second life wasted. On the upside, I’m supposed to just stop. I won’t have to feel my head cracking open, or taste the blood in my mouth because I bit my tongue during the fall. So, that’s something.” Maybe the horror of my actual death should touch me more, but something in Seth’s kiss had done more than revive me. It had given me distance. The trauma of it seemed like a memory I had perfect clarity of, only viewed through glass. Weird, maybe. On the scale of strange in the last few days? That didn’t rate much more than a blip.
“Who told you?” Bish shifted to his knees and suddenly invaded my space. Gingersnap wagged her tail as Bish’s gold-flecked wings stretched. The shadow he cast blotted out the sun. “Who intervened?”
I debated answering that question for all of a nano-second, then shrugged. “I think if you get to keep some facts to you, then I get to keep some facts to me. Thanks, by the way, for the assurance I wouldn’t be alone. Really helpful.”
Bish cupped my face, and the warmth of his palms against my cheeks silenced me. This close, I couldn’t miss the way the light shifted and moved in his eyes. It erased any trace of humanity. When he ducked his head close and took a deep breath at my throat, tingles spread all over me and I shifted uncomfortably. Now was not the time to get turned on, but it wasn’t lust filtering into my veins. The brush of his nose against my throat made me want to pull away. When he traced his tongue right over my pulse point, that was too much.
Fisting his shirt, I shoved. “Stop…” It was like trying to move a wall. Gingersnap abandoned me as Bish wrapped his arms around me, trapping mine against my sides. Then his breath teased along my throat as he inhaled again.
A shudder played like chilled fingers along my spine.
“Bish.”
“Seth.” He exhaled the name against my skin. “Seth did this. You smell of him and his…” He reared his head back to stare at me. “That’s what’s different about you.”
Frozen, I met his gaze. “That is what is different about me? I got news for you, getting killed was a life changing event for me. I’m not pretending to just be nice to everyone anymore and believing that if I put enough good into the world it will come back to me. Trust me, my eyes are open.”
He shook his head once. “That’s not what I mean, my beautiful Dahlia. Your spirit is as incandescent as it ever was. That part of you remains untouched, but the knowing… You see things now, don’t you?”
The feeling of Seth’s wing under my hand. The electricity that sparked in my system when he ground against me. The wings Bish had.
“You have wings,” I told him. “Jet black shot through with gold, like someone dipped you in it.” Licking my lips, I added, “They’re really quite beautiful.”
Bish still held me, so it gave me a close and personal view of his wings extending as though he wanted to show them off. His chest puffed a little, and even the fierce expression on his face gentled. “You truly think they are beautiful?”
“What are you, cracked in the head?” I laughed, even though my throat had gone a little scratchy. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything lovelier than Seth’s wings—or maybe Zhan’s. Though I haven’t seen them fully, they were shadowy, and so were Tarus’, but the light when they moved me. That was pretty impressive. Yours kind of reminds me of warp speed, only golden instead of silver streaks.”
Stroking his thumb against my arm, Bish tilted his head. Those golden eyes flooded with more feelings, emotions I couldn’t quite identify. Or didn’t try to at least, until he dipped his gaze to my lips then back up again. The thud of my heart suddenly filled my ears.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he informed me. Well, that was nice that he announced it. Even a few hours ago, I’d have probably leapt at the offer, even with the lies. I’d been horny as hell, but I didn’t want Bish.
As beautiful as he was and as extraordinary as his tale might be. He wasn’t Seth.
Or Zhan.
Or even that prick Tarus.
“Can I touch your wings?” The question slowed the descent of Bish’s head. “I know, it’s probably personal, like asking if I can feel you up, but…they’re really pretty, and I kind of want to know what they feel like.”
Seth had pulled away so quickly, I hadn’t really had a chance to savor the experience. And as much as I didn’t want Bish to kiss me, I also didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Yes, the fact he’d lied to me irked me. The fact he’d also been apparently willing to let me die, just like Zhan and Tarus, definitely a black mark against him. But I’d also known him before. He was the guy I’d danced with more than once. The guy I hung out with at the dog park. He’d been a friend. Maybe I wanted to cling to that thread a little while longer.
Straightening, Bish met my gaze unflinching. “Stroking a Keeper’s wings is very personal.”
“I won’t hurt them, I promise.” I wouldn’t want to hurt him.
“I believe you,” he said. “Beautiful Dahlia… I never wanted you hurt either.”
“But you didn’t stop it.”
“No,” he murmured with a sad sigh. “You will not forgive me for that, will you?”
“I might,” I said with a shrug. “Someday. But I thought you were my friend, and you knew what Alex would do. A real friend would have at least tried to get me to jettison the asshat or done more to make me stay there. Something.”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Perhaps. Unless that friend knew after that brief moment of horror, your existence would improve a thousand-fold, because he would have made sure of it.”
“Would he?”
“Yes,” he said softly. “This…” He raised his hand to cup my face. “This reprieve you have, you said it’s temporary?”
I nodded once, and then his mouth brushed mine. The fleeting massage of his lips to mine was nice. Just nice. Warm. No heat. Sweet. No rush of desire. Even when I opened my mouth to his, more curious than anything, the song Seth, Zhan, and even Tarus, ignited in my blood didn’t play. Then he pressed a kiss to my nose and finally to the corner of each eye. “Then I will still make good on that promise,” he said with a slow smile. “And I can protect you from the other Keepers so you can have these last days to do whatever you want.”
Did protect me mean keep me away from them? That should cheer me up, but…
“And if you wish to touch them…” He stroked a path down my arms until he caught my hands. He pressed a kiss to each one, then released me as he turned slightly. “Have care. They are very sensitive.”
Oh. “Is it like stroking your cock?”
There w
as no mistaking the way he shuddered. If it was, maybe I shouldn’t push my luck. “It can be erotic, but I understand you are not trying to seduce me.”
No, I wasn’t. Even hesitant, I longed to test the feeling of his feathers. I wish it was Seth sitting here so I could explore his, but he wasn’t. Carefully, desperately not wanting to hurt Bish, I stroked along the ridge extending from the joint with his body along the length of one wing.
Bish blew out a lengthy breath and braced his fisted hands against the ground. The feathers were so silky, it was even softer than the sheets on Seth’s bed. What would they feel like against the rest of my body?
I bit my lip, trying to picture Seth’s wings in all their radiance when he flew. Then a sharp voice cut through the tension.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
I barely had time to think before I landed on my ass on the shifting sands and Tarus attacked Bish.
Oh boy.
Here we went again.
See what I meant about cockblockers? Didn’t matter if it wasn’t Bish’s cock I wanted to ride.
Didn’t matter one bit.
Sand flew everywhere as Bish landed hard on his back. Those glorious wings of his were spread out underneath him as Tarus straddled his waist, getting in two insanely hard punches before Bish caught his fist. I winced, that looked like it had hurt.
At first, Tarus didn’t have wings, but flicker by flicker, they appeared out of thin air. Like they were part of some kind of TV program that kept short-circuiting. Then Bish landed a sharp blow to his jaw, and they popped into existence, this time as real and tangible as Seth’s or Bish’s were.
I gasped. They were white, but soft, like a dove’s wing. And they looked much softer than any of the wings I’d seen yet. And there flew a spec of blood on the right wing as Tarus’ head snapped to the side.
If I were living my old life, I’d have waded in between these two, doing my best to break up the fight. But fuck it. These Keepers had both had an opportunity to save me, and they hadn’t. As far as I was concerned, they could handle a few good hits. They deserved that shit.
Then, a dark light started to glow around Bish, only it didn’t so much as glow as capture the light.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered under my breath. It was about to get real if he was glowing, or I meant, leaking black light. Zhan had faintly glowed right before Seth stopped him from tackling me.
Though knowing how they operated, especially Zhan, Seth had probably stopped him from a Dahlia-napping. Only then to be thwarted by Bish. Poor Seth was probably losing his ever-loving mind right now.
Tarus remained unglowing, merely doling out punches like they were slushies at Sonic during happy hour. One for you, one for you, oh, and here’s one for you too. Only they were all delivered to Bish’s face.
“Okay, guys. Let’s break it up.” I had been holding a quivering Gingersnap, and I gently set her on the ground so I could stand. Her reaction though, wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.
Immediately, she started yapping and ran up to the angels. She almost jumped on Bish’s wings, but narrowly avoided them. Could dogs see angel wings?
“Guys!” I yelled. I wasn’t dumb enough to get between them, but I could holler from a distance. Gingersnap though, she wasn’t having any of it. She ran right to Tarus’ calf, and bit the hell out of his leg with all her little dog might.
“Argh!” He started to rear back as if to hit her, but I screamed. He closed his fist, stopping the progression at the last minute and jumped up. And Gingersnap held on! Her growls were more sweet than ferocious, but Tarus was not impressed.
“Are you going to get your dog?” He shot a look at Bish, who crossed his arms behind his head.
“Nope.”
I had to do everything around here. For angels, they were acting like two-year-olds.
“Come here, Ginger. Shh, it’s okay,” I cooed when I crouched down next to her. She shook her head and growled some more, clearly not caring that I was paying her any attention. “Let the mean angel go. He probably doesn’t taste good anyway.”
At the worst time possible, I had to remember being tied up on their kink wall. Both he and Zhan were sinfully delicious, but I wasn’t about to admit that out loud. Not when I’d not so subtly brushed off Bish’s advances.
Although, he hadn’t been offended or angry, so maybe I was gaining some smooth moves in my afterlife.
I stroked Gingersnap’s head while Tarus did a damn good growl of his own, clenching his fists at his sides. In a moment of weakness, I glanced up to see the veins popping out along his arms. I had always been a sucker for nice arms. It was what attracted me to a construction worker in the first place.
“Let him go.” I used a little sterner voice, and picked her up off the ground.
“Ouch! Whatever you’re doing, stop.” Tarus glared down at me.
“Well, sorry that I’m trying to help you.” I gave him the stink eye to end all stink eyes.
“Gingersnap.” Bish called from the sand where he’d continued to lay. Just like that, she stopped growling and released Tarus from her deadly doggy grip.
“Nice, Bish,” Tarus spat as I stood and stepped back. I didn’t particularly feel like being close to either of them right now. “You couldn’t have done that sooner?”
“And why would I have done that when you attacked me on my own island?” Yeah, Bish was not the least bit guilty that he hadn’t helped sooner.
Tarus glared at me again before towering over Bish. “I attacked you because Dahlia was stroking your wing! That’s only for lovers! And you very much are not hers.”
Hold up. Wait a second. How would Tarus know that? Unless they’d had some secret chat on the side, I hadn’t answered any of their questions about Bish, even when they got creative. Oh, I’d enjoyed that part immensely, but I still hadn’t given up anything.
“I think you’re too concerned over something that has zero to do with you.” Gingersnap gave Bish a lick on his chin before she climbed in his lap and settled with a disgruntled stare for Tarus. If she were a meme, her caption would say I wish you would.
Ha! Both of their heads swiveled toward me. Oops. That was not supposed to be out loud. “Sorry.” I waved a hand. “Don’t mind me. I occasionally burst into random bouts of giggles. It’s a sickness.”
Tarus nodded slowly. “This is true, she does do this.”
And that earned another irritated look, this one from me. “Go ahead, continue your conversation about my life as if you have some right to it.”
Bish had the decency to at least appear sheepish. He ducked his head, and a slight pinkening appeared high on his cheeks of otherwise beautifully dark reddish-brown skin.
My other angel had no such qualms. “I do have a right to you. Was it or was it not you who said you were mine? Mine and Zhan’s?” He stalked toward me, and it took every bit of will power not to glance at Bish. His accusation was loud and clear as it was, I didn’t need that affirmation.
“Don’t look so scared, Beauty.” He reached out a hand to touch my hair, but I jerked out of his reach. His severe displeasure radiated from his body, and his wings arched up and curved around us to block everything out.
The masculine, heady scent that was uniquely his catapulted me right back to that night where they had played my body so well. My lids started to flutter shut, but I forced them to stay open.
No, he didn’t get to essentially kick me out of his life, then pick me back up whenever he felt like it. I might have limited time, but I had more self-respect than that.
“Don’t mistake my reaction for scared. I’m livid. If I recall correctly, your last words were, I hope I never see you again. Now, that doesn’t sound like a claim to me.” I shoved at his chest, my fingers lingering over his incredibly toned pecs. He didn’t even lean backward from the force, only raised one golden brown brow at me.
Damn it. Bad Dahlia.
Snatching my hands back, I scowled.
He grinned,
and damn it all to hell again. My jaw went lax as I stared up into his inhumanly gorgeous face with his strong, classical features. His arched brows, straight nose, and wide mouth were a killer combination, and when his amusement turned to smugness, I screamed in frustration.
“You’re right, I did say that. Because I was not used to the feelings you incited in both me and my brother. I’ve had time to come to terms with it. And I agree, you are ours.” He reached up to catch his loose brown, wavy hair on top of his head to keep it out of his eyes.
In the tropical sunlight, it seemed to have a mixture of golden and caramel highlights. I was also a sucker for his long hair, and this pose was really doing it for me. But no, that couldn’t happen right now, because through my haze of lust, I registered exactly what he had said.
“You agree? After kicking me to the curb, you agree? Sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen in any lifetime of mine. Oh wait. It’s already over.” I took a deep calming breath, pushing my palms down from chest level toward the ground. It sounded weird, but it helped increase the effectiveness of the exercise. “I’d like to be taken back to Seth.”
Tarus reared his head back in surprise. “Absolutely not. You’re mine and Zhan’s. Seth doesn’t play into that equation at all.”
His right wing wrenched backward as Bish appeared. “While all this is extremely entertaining, and…” A flash of hurt in his eyes was there and gone so fast, I could almost pretend I hadn’t seen it. I was going with that. While I vowed to live my best life for the last few weeks I had, that didn’t mean I enjoyed crushing his feelings. “There’s something more important I am interested in hearing about.”
As soon as Bish had entered our bubble, the atmosphere changed from playful—Tarus—and irritated—me—to frigid and tense. They were exactly the same height, but Tarus seemed to puff up his chest and loom over Bish. Luckily, Bish seemed like he was done with the fighting and turned his sole attention to me.
“What Seth did will not last. We need to talk about how you are going to spend your last few weeks. That night in the bar was the night, wasn’t it?” He dipped his head toward mine, his tawny gaze asking for only the truth.