by Tamsin Baker
“Tabitha, I don’t understand why you want me to protect this one. She’s a hairdresser, for Holy sake!” Each step I took left small vibrations in my wake, now that I was back at my usual height.
And I’d like to slip my tongue inside her mouth and taste her flavors, which is crazy. It’s been far too long since I’ve felt this way. I shouldn’t feel this way about her. She was right – there was nothing special about her. And yet, there was a torment inside of me I couldn’t quite deny. I needed her. I shouldn’t need anyone.
Tabitha grinned at me over her cup of hot chocolate. I didn’t need to eat or drink, nor did any other immortal person. But Tabitha seemed to be some sort of hybrid. She chose which human faults and frailties she adopted, and which ones she didn’t.
Neither of us slept. Which came in handy for staying alive when Demons were sent to kill you on occasion.
“She’s your Target, Gabriel. Why are you questioning me? You’ve never done so before.” There was an amused sparkle in her eyes. I didn’t like being the butt of the joke. Especially when I didn’t know what the joke was.
Her words rang true, but never before had I needed to question Tabitha’s sanity. Nor the accuracy of the List.
“Why would the Demons want her?” I continued, throwing my arms out. I could feel my wings ruffle against my back. “Surely she can’t be that important to the human race?”
Her powers were different, and certainly impressive, but if she didn’t know what they were, surely the Demons couldn’t either.
Tabitha shrugged and continued drinking from her mug. She didn’t speak nor strive to continue the conversation. Frustration clawed at me. Why wouldn’t my Agent speak to me?
“I’m dismissed, am I now?”
Tabitha sat bolt upright and cocked her head to the side as though listening to the voice of God himself. “Your Target is in trouble. Go. Now.”
A shiver shot down my spine and I took off at a run. She wasn’t far away. I could get to her in time. I hit the pavement at speed, extended my wings, and took to the sky. I could hear her screams inside my head as though she flew right beside me. Darkness had arrived. Evil loomed in the hidden corners and shelters, ready for action.
I flew through the city, following the sounds of her high-pitched shrieks until I came to an alleyway with large, abandoned buildings. Flashes of red and white filled one of the metal warehouses as if a fire blazed inside. Kadie!
I drew my sword from my back, invisible to all until it was unsheathed. The eerie red light from inside the building glinted off the silver blade, reminding me of all the blood this weapon had shed.
I raced inside the building, my heart pounding in my chest. The shadowy figures of flame were converging on Kadie and I was impressed to see that she wasn’t meekly cowering in a corner, waiting to be rescued. She gave as much as she could. White magical light shot from her palms as she screamed in rage at them.
Movement caught my eye. I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed them before.
Demons. Two of them. In front of her. Each were trying to grab her, but neither were succeeding. I would have smirked if my heart hadn’t lurched in my throat. I didn’t like anyone near her, especially not Demons.
I ran forward, swinging my sword at the two Demons closest to her. They hissed in anger and spun at me to retaliate. I cut two of the flaming creatures in half with single blows and they burst into black flames and crumbled to the ground. Once they were out of the way, I jumped closer to my Target and we stood back to back. Three more came at us – I hadn’t noticed them before, too consumed by my worry for Kadie - and I fought off two as Kadie took the third one down with her concentrated magic.
“About... time... you got here,” she panted, her chest heaving with the stress of the fight.
“Let’s go.”
I sheathed my sword, picked her up in my arms, and took off, flying through the open door and up into the sky. She clung to my neck and buried her head deep into my shoulder as though she didn’t want to see the building be consumed by lingering Demon flames. Her familiar scent tickled my nose and despite the danger, lust pounded in my body like molten lava.
“I need to get you safe.”
“Take me to my house. You said no-one can get in without permission.”
I frowned, unhappy with that being the only alternative. But I did not have a house myself, and at least her home could not be penetrated by the Demons.
“All right.”
I dropped lower and headed for her house, surrounding us both in invisibility for the sake of the humans around us. I could see flickers of evil through the night, all over the city. On rooftops. In restaurants. In the streets. I would never be able to get them all, but at least I could keep my Target safe.
“Front door is easiest,” she said, her voice hitching as she wriggled in my grasp.
The attraction between us flared higher still, the longer we remained in contact. It was a lot hotter than I had initially thought. I could smell her arousal, strong and sweet. If she, too, felt the tug of lust between us, it would be harder than I’d thought to stop myself from indulging in her.
I landed on the front stoop and placed her down carefully. She gasped as she stood on unstable legs and wobbled towards the entrance.
“That was some ride.” She managed to get the door open and we both went inside, locking the door behind us. Not that the human lock would keep out anything except a human. Luckily, we had stronger magic than that on our side.
I shrunk down to a more comfortable size, feeling my own anger flare as I regarded her. It was starting to bother me at how indifferent she seemed to be by all of this.
“You didn’t tell me you had powers like that,” I said, unable to keep the accusation out of my voice. I’d been as honest with her as I could be, and she had deliberately kept a vital piece of information from me. “More than that, I told you to stay here.”
“You told me to stay alive,” she corrected, walking over to kick off her shoes once again. I noticed her hands shake and part of me felt better that it was possible to affect her in some way, even if she wanted to hide it. “I didn’t know about my powers.” She spun around to glare up at me. “That’s never happened before.”
I could see the honesty in her eyes, hear it in her tone. She was shaking more, from the stress, or anger, I wasn’t sure.
“All right. Calm down. Sit.” I nodded my head to the couch.
She fell onto her couch and I refrained from indulging in the desire to sit next to her, to wrap my hands around her body, to bury my nose in her hair. I had to do something with all the nervous energy racing through my body. I walked into the kitchen, took down a glass, and poured her some water without asking her.
My heart continued to pound. That had been close. Far too close for comfort. They’d almost had her, and for once, it looked like they were trying to do more than simply torture Kadie.
Which was odd, in itself. More pieces to this puzzle that I simply didn’t have any answers for.
Thank God Tabitha said something. I didn’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t spoken up at just that moment.
I walked back to my Target and handed her the water. She took it with trembling hands and I sat down in the recliner I’d occupied earlier this evening. I didn’t trust myself to get too close to her.
Why hadn’t she done as I’d asked?
“Now, tell me what happened. I thought you weren’t going out tonight.”
She cocked her head at me. “I didn’t. That was yesterday.”
Had it really been a day? I shook my head.
Damn. “Sorry. I don’t have control over that. Tabitha’s realm is untouched by normal human time.”
I’d never understood why that happened, but I could lose days from a single visit that seemed like only hours. I’d asked Tabitha about it once and she’d never explained how her home worked in terms of human time. Her dimension was a mystery to everyone, including Tabitha, apparently.
“Who’s Tabitha?” she asked, her voice hitching in a strange way.
Jealous, maybe? “My Angel Agent. She gave me your name and asked me to look after you.”
Kadie took a sip of water. “That’s weird.”
I laughed, a strange, strained noise. Me, weird? Coming from the human being hunted by Demons, who could vanquish them with white magic?
“I suppose it is, to you. But that’s how it works in my world. Tabitha learns who the Demons are after, and she directs me who to save. It’s a simple but effective system.”
“How many humans have you saved?” She looked up at me, her eyes still icy but there was a glimmer of desperation in them. Like she needed to hear the sound of my voice in order to calm her down.
I shrugged. I’d like to say I don’t keep count, but I do.
“No, really, I want to know,” she persisted.
“One thousand nine hundred and ninety humans,” I answered, unable to deny her a simple fact.
“Whoa. That’s...incredible.” She continued to rub her palms on her thighs, trying to keep them from shaking.
Again, I shrugged.
Still not enough to get me back into Heaven.
“Well, that’s just ridiculous. What’s the magic number then? Two thousand? Five thousand?”
I stared at her. Did she seriously answer a question I asked inside my own head?
The answer came in the heated blush that spread up her beautiful cheeks.
“Are you reading my mind, Kadie?”
“Ah... I don’t mean to.” Her gaze dropped and the blush blossomed into a fiery red.
I felt myself drawn to her despite myself. I had to focus.
“But you are?” I asked again. I’d never met anyone who could do that. Not to me, anyway.
She stared at me with wide eyes. “Ah...maybe? I can’t tell. They all sound like words to me.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. This got stranger by the minute.
“It’s not that unusual, is it? Surely, I’m not that weird. Am I?” she asked, her voice half an octave above its normal pitch. She sounded worried. “I’m not... I can’t be...”
And there was a good reason for that.
“Ah, yes. Yes, it is,” I said. “It would be unusual if you could read a human’s mind, but mine? That’s just...unheard of. You may think you’re not special, Kadie, but you are.”
“I knew something was wrong with me,” she muttered as she leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands.
I decided not to focus on that comment, as I knew there was nothing wrong with her. Instead, there were many, many things that were right.
Her erect nipples, for example.
Her head shot up and she suddenly crossed her arms over her chest.
Oh, damn.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, appalled that she could hear my lustful thoughts.
I really can’t help it... you’re way too beautiful.
“It’s okay. I know how you feel. I can barely keep my eyes to myself either.” The way she said it, she wasn’t embarrassed. It was more like she didn’t understand these feelings and was trying to. “I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. I’m sure you don’t either.”
A strange warmth washed over me as she admitted to the attraction that I struggled with. Not that I’d ever had any problems finding sexual partners in Heaven, where love is shared freely. But down here, in limbo, I’d been alone for a very long time.
“Let’s focus on your abilities, shall we?” I suggested. I cleared my throat. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about my desire for her. Or her desire for me. That was dangerous territory, one I didn’t want to think about. “What were you doing to those Demons?”
She seemed to be able to kill them, which was impossible for a human, or so I’d been told.
“I...really don’t know. I was so scared... and kind of angry, too. Then they came close, and I pushed out with all my fear, and white light shot out of my hands.” She looked down at her palms in disbelief, as though she was trying to figure out if this was even real.
That sounded relatively simple. Amazing, and spectacular. But simple.
She continued on as though I’d spoken. “Well it wasn’t simple, I can tell you. I had no idea what I was doing, and if I dropped concentration for a second, the light would go out and then they’d be at me again. I’m frickin’ exhausted and can barely lift my arms.”
I just stared at her until finally she realized what she’d done.
“Oh, I’m sorry! How do we stop me doing that?”
I have no bloody idea. “I’ll try not to think too loudly, and I think you need to get to bed and rest.”
I stared hard at her. Or I will seduce you right now on this sofa and damn the consequences.
“What consequences?” she asked. Her voice was low and caused a shiver to slide down my spine.
I wanted to laugh out loud, but it was more sad than funny. It would be so much easier for us both if I could hide my true feelings, and she’d never know what we’d missed. “We Fallen Angels aren’t permitted to have sexual relations with humans, part of our penance.”
A rule I’d originally thought was smart. It protected the humans and the Fallen Angels from years, or centuries, of heartbreak.
Now...I was beginning to see what the other Angels complained about. Because I wanted Kadie.
Whatever she was.
Would she count as a human, what with her powers? Did I want to take that risk and find out?
“How would they find out?” she whispered, the longing in her eyes tugging at me.
My cock stirred in my jeans.
“Oh, they’d find out.” They had eyes and ears everywhere.
She frowned. “So, you haven’t had sex in, like, forever?”
A groan rolled through my chest. “More than forever. Twenty times your lifetime.”
“Whoa.”
Yeah. Exactly.
“Now, usually I would retreat to a ledge somewhere and watch over your house all night. But seeing as you offered me a bed... I might take that space, if that’s still all right with you?”
I wouldn’t sleep of course. But a comfortable bed was a luxury I hadn’t indulged myself in too many years to count. And while my Target was safe, I could relax a little, and I had many memories to keep me entertained for the night. Although, the temptation of being so close to her...
Maybe I was putting myself in an unnecessary situation.
“Yes, of course. Come this way.” She reached out and took my hand to show me her guest room.
I gasped and froze at her touch, the feel of her skin against mine both pleasurable and painful. She was hot and sweet, and my lonely heart ached for more.
“Come on,” she repeated, tugging my hand and dragging me into a small room with a double bed and a scent that made me groan.
Kadie’s unique smell was one I would never forget, even if I lived another thousand years. She made me yearn for a home I’ve never had and that scent permeated everywhere.
Maybe I’d made a mistake accepting her invitation.
“Well... goodnight.” Kadie went up on her toes and kissed me gently on the lips, the warmth of her spreading through my nerves like the sun defrosting the earth at sunrise.
I froze as she held herself there, barely touching me.
“And thank you for saving my life,” she whispered against my mouth.
“You’re welcome,” I replied, breathing in the warmth of her.
God, how I wished I could pick her up, strip her down, and devour the beauty beneath the rags.
Kadie reached up and touched my wings, the lightest of touches that had my gut tightening, my breath quickening and my lustful cock going hard as stone.
She stepped away and gave me a soft, quivering smile. If she could read my mind, I was sure she knew the struggle I was under.
“Good night.”
I nodded my head as she shut the door, anger and resentment puls
ing through me like a brewing storm. This was so unfair. To her, and to me.
After so many saved Targets, and resisting every single woman who’d ever tried to seduce me, I’d finally found one I wanted to make love to.
Not just that, though. I wanted to fuck her too. I wanted to do it all to her over again. I wanted her to scratch my back so hard, her nails would leave red streaks down my back like a brand on my skin for the rest of my eternity. I wanted it soft and slow, rough and fast, in her kitchen, against the wall, on the floor.
I wanted her everywhere.
Surely, I deserved one night? After already serving such a lengthy sentence, how could they punish me for wanting to give Kadie the pleasure she deserved? It wasn’t like I would be leading her on. She knew what I was and that a long-term relationship would be impossible.
I stripped off my clothes that clung to my hot skin and threw them on a nearby chest of drawers. Ancient jeans and a black hoodie I wore to blend in to the humans around me.
Naked finally, I lay back on the soft bed and let my mind wander. I was truly safe, for the first time as long as I could remember.
And also, for the first time in centuries, I spent the dark night hours fantasizing about a woman other than the one I’d left in Heaven all those centuries ago.
Chapter 5.
My door opened some time before sunrise. I was surprised I survived the night. Not because Demons were after my Target, but because Kadie was so close to me and wanted me the same way I wanted her. I refrained from going to her, but my body felt like it was going to combust into flames. Darkness still clung to the city and the people around us were almost quiet.
“Gabriel?” Kadie’s sweet voice filtered through the air around me. A siren call in the ocean of darkness around me.
“Yes?” I answered, not daring to move a muscle as I lay on the bed. I clenched my fingers into the sheets. I refused to go to her. I wouldn’t even look at her. I didn’t know what would happen if I did.
I was naked and I assumed she could see that. Yet, she walked further into the room and stood before me like a vision. The street lights shone in through the shuttered windows and shadows cast over her barely-clad body, making my blood burn.