To Fall (The To Fall Trilogy Book 1)

by Donna AnnMarie Smith

  “I don’t have to worry about him do I? I didn’t particularly care for his propositioning you.”

  I smiled at his old-fashioned vernacular. “So not my type.”

  One arm looped around my waist and had me tight against his chest. “Oh? What is Abigail Miller’s type?”

  “I have singular tastes. The Alexander Wright. He is tall, dark, handsome, unique, and heavenly.” Reaching up, I kissed him.

  His voice was a sexy rumble. “Heavenly, huh?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  48

  Xander

  As much as I didn’t want to, we needed to hunt during fall break. Since it would take time for Cresil to regain his energy and return, now was a safer time to go. The university in Northern Arizona attracted demons and it had been a while since we were up there.

  Patrolling the bars, we found Fraim, a demon duke in Prince Vetis’s realm. Before Fraim realized he couldn’t sense our souls, Hannah’s hand landed on his neck and trapped him.

  Fraim’s near black eyes flashed in the dim lighting as they peered over the thin-rimmed glasses his human vessel wore. “Well, lookie what came waltzing in the door. The winged rats.”

  Caleb nodded to Fraim’s side. “Who’s your friend?”

  “Oh, this?” Fraim pet the head of a semi-comatose boy that couldn’t be older than sixteen. “My company.”

  “We should take him home for you, Fraim,” Hannah offered. “Wouldn’t want you to get your clothes dirty when he pukes on you.”

  “I didn’t know rats were so considerate. You would ruin my fun, though.” Fraim pouted at me. “Many warned me of you, especially. Cresil told me you like to ruin his fun.”

  I glared at him. “What else did Cresil tell you?”

  Swirling his finger in the amber liquid, ice clinked against the glass, and then he sucked his finger. “He wants what’s yours.” He cackled. “He will you know. He’ll have her.”

  Feeling my body coil, Caleb held me back. “Hannah,” he implored.

  “Gladly, Caleb. I’ll take out the filth.”

  Following Hannah to the back alley, I shut the door just as her wings unfurled around the tank top. Fraim screeched and fought against her light, lifting a few feet off the ground. Hannah slammed him back down, chunks of asphalt rained over them. I loved that demons believed a female angel would use anything less than brute force. He was no match for her. She growled, “Demon Fraim, with the Light of God, I cast you back to Hell!”

  Calista wiped the boy’s mind and cleaned his body of drugs. Hannah called his parents and sobs erupted from the earpiece. She pulled the phone from her ear, cringing. The girls bought the kid a burger while they waited for his parents to get him.

  I called Abby again. “Hey, beautiful.”

  She giggled. “Okay, there has to be something wrong. You cannot miss the sound of my voice that much. This is the third call in two hours.”

  “I miss everything about you, including your voice. You doing okay?”

  She sighed, “I miss you. Does that count for okay?”

  “No, that’s terrible news. I’ll have to make it up to you.”

  “Please. I’m stuck at home with a drooling dog and twin girls who are obsessed with Mario and Luigi. They downgraded me to Toad because I can’t get my thumbs to move fast enough. I keep dying and they’re yelling at me,” she complained. “How are you going to make it up to me?”

  The purr in her voice had me wishing she was in my arms right now, my lips on hers. My siblings were too close to finish this conversation the way I wanted. “Hmm, I have company here.”

  She laughed. “Gotcha. You can plan on taking advantage of me Sunday.”

  “That was a given.” Hannah signaled me and I followed. “I have to go. Caleb found another one.”

  “I love you, be careful,” she pleaded.

  I smiled. “Love you. No need to worry.”

  We cast forty demons, a record number for this area, and each of us noticed. A few of the demons goaded us with talk of Cresil, aimed at me. And after each one, I was compelled to hear Abby’s voice, to make sure she was okay, giving me a little peace. The worst one was demon Hagath. We chased her to the Grand Canyon.

  Bouncing down the sides of the red rock, Hagath skidded and tore up the sparse cacti and wild desert flowers. Caleb and Hannah followed her on the rock face. Calista and I hovered in the air, ready to catch her if she jumped.

  Hagath slipped and fell down the canyon. Landing at an odd angle, her human body bore deep scratches. She wasn’t healing, weak from being on Earth too long and her human would suffer the consequences.

  The demon perched on a thin ledge. “You rats have no idea what you’re up against!”

  Calista shook her head. “I’m pretty sure we do. Heaven versus Hell. Good versus evil. Yada, yada, yada. We’ve been doing this a while.”

  Hagath cackled, and then coughed with blood flowing from the corner of her mouth. “No, my dears. Hell is coming. Hell will reign here. You can feel it, can’t you?” With a long blink, her human eyes turned completely black and shot up in the air. Caleb caught her and landed back on the ledge. She shielded her eyes from our angel light, squinting to find me. “You! Cresil is coming. He’ll get what’s yours, rat. I think Cresil might be obsessed, actually.” She laughed again.

  Caleb’s voice shook. “Calista, take her.”

  In a swift move, Calista switched places with Caleb. Calista said, “Tell us, Hagath, what’s the master plan of this millennia? Same as the last one? Get as many of you little guys up here? I hate to break it to you, it never works.”

  Hagath threw her head back, laughing. “Little guys? No, my dear. Not the little guys.”

  I flew in closer. “What does that mean?”

  “Oh, I think you know.”

  “Impossible, Hagath,” Hannah hissed. “Your foul king cannot come to Earth.”

  “Oh? We shall see.” Hagath broke from Calista’s hold and fell onto a jagged boulder. The demon threw her vessel’s head against the rock. Bones crunched and blood splattered against the desert floor.

  We bolted after her.

  Calista gripped her neck first. “Demon Hagath, with the Light of God, I cast you back to Hell!”

  We healed the woman and Calista kept her in a dream state.

  Hannah asked, “Are we thinking those are empty threats? Or…?”

  Caleb scrubbed a hand through his hair. “There were more demons here than I expected. A lot more and back home is getting worse, too.”

  We nodded in agreement and returned the woman home to her family.

  Abby asked to ride my R6 for our two monthiversary tomorrow and I was happy to take her. Before flying home, Caleb and I stopped at a bike shop to buy Abby a helmet, and the girls went clothes shopping. I zeroed in on one section and picked the perfect helmet of pink embossed with delicate white swirls.

  “Pink, huh?” Caleb looked at it in disgust.

  I laughed, admiring my choice. “She likes pink.”

  He shrugged. “Is everything going well with Abby?”

  “Yeah, of course, it is.”

  He looked down to his boots. “I meant in the romantic department.”

  “Well, we haven’t had a lot of alone time lately,” I muttered.

  He nodded. “I guess we hang around a lot, huh? I’ll talk to the girls. Sorry, we like having Abby around, like a fun little sister. She’s always giggling and smiling. And her soul is…incredible. She’s infectious.”

  “Yes, she is.” I smiled thinking of Abby again.

  Caleb nudged my arm. “Man, you’ve got it bad.”

  “You have no idea.”

  Picking her up Sunday morning, the same thought ran through my head. How very blessed I was. She looked so sexy in skinny jeans hugging her curves, tight T-shirt, and a ponytail that showed off her neckline. The look in her brown eyes made the world around us disappear. One day away from her was torture. A week was pure Hell.

  Without another th
ought, our lips slammed together, and I pulled her away from the house windows. My hands roamed down to cup that perfect bottom and picked her up, holding her against my constant reaction to her. Normally, I didn’t kiss her like this in public, but a week away necessitated inappropriate kisses. The neighbor’s lawn mower stopped, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him watching us and broke our kiss.

  I pulled the 4Runner up to my drive and found the garage was open and my siblings wore riding gear, pulling their bikes out. “What are you doing?” I asked, shutting my door.

  “Getting ready for our ride,” Hannah stated as if I had turned into an imbecile.

  Evidently, Caleb didn’t have a discussion with the girls yet; he shrugged before turning from my glare. Unbelievable. I looked back to Abby who had a bright smile on her face and I let the group outing slide.

  Hannah had an old riding jacket that we rolled up the sleeves for Abby, and I pulled on my own black leather jacket. In the garage, I presented the helmet to Abby.

  Her face lit up. “How did you know? Pink!”

  “Because ninety percent of everything you own has pink in it or on it, even your toes.” I helped slide the helmet over her head. “You sure, beautiful?”

  The weight of the helmet exaggerated her nod. “Heck, yeah!”

  After running through how to mount the bike, I slid on and started it. Abby hopped on behind me and snuggled against my back. I realized how difficult concentrating was going to be when I really wanted to shut the bike off and take her to my bed. But this was an experience she wanted and I would never deny her.

  I advanced out of the drive. Abby clutched onto me, her fingers dug into my stomach, and her legs squeezed mine. My siblings zipped around us in blurs of red, blue, and black. Sensing her racing heart, I slipped her hands one at a time under my shirt and focused my healing gift to my stomach. It was weaker there, but it would get the job done.

  The combination of Abby’s hands on my abs, her thighs cinched around me, and our flush bodies had me more than distracted. My thoughts turned inappropriate for most of the trip, thinking of any excuse to pull over and kiss the hell out of those lips.

  After an hour, I figured her seat and back were achy, so I decided to stop at a diner. Abby dismounted and we pulled off our helmets. “Hungry?” I asked.

  “No, but you must be. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you would have to use your gifts.”

  The parking lot was empty and I didn’t hear my siblings’ bikes yet; I had at least a five-minute lead on them. It would have to do. I hooked a finger in her belt loop and tugged her closer. “Do you think an apology is what I want after being between your legs for an hour?”

  Her gaze dragged over me and her lips parted, driving my need to have them all over me. “Did I tell you how incredibly sexy you are? And you on this bike? It doesn’t suck.” Her words came out breathy and the pulse jumped in her neck.

  “No, but please feel free to show me instead.” Before she could blink, my hands grasped her hips and I had her straddle me on the bike. The corner of my mouth tipped up. “Welcome to my crotch rocket.”

  She opened her mouth for a retort, but I took the opportunity and sealed my lips to hers. Her sweet tongue teased mine and my reaction was instant. Gripping her hips, I pulled her farther down. She felt amazing against me, and damn, a moan came out of her that had me wondering if I could drive home this way. That probably wasn’t safe, but…

  Somehow, my ears were still working and I heard a bike come closer. They had to have been going well over one hundred miles per hour. Hannah parked and I glared at her. “Sweet angel light! Five minutes! I haven’t seen her for a week!”

  Hannah’s laughter sounded louder as she pulled off her helmet. “Are you trying to cram the whole week into her mouth right now? Don’t your tongues ever get tired?” We both shook our heads and smiled. “Oh, good grief!”

  “It wasn’t my idea.” Caleb held up his hands. “I told you he would be upset.”

  Calista blinked at us. “Alexander and Abby wouldn’t be upset with us!”

  Caleb’s mouth opened, but Abby cut him off. “Hey, let’s go eat!”

  Once settled into a booth, we ordered hamburgers and fries with milkshakes. Since Abby only pecked at her food, she shared her plate with me, even though I had polished off two double burgers already.

  Calista asked, “What are we doing the rest of the day?”

  I stared at her. “I don’t know what you guys are doing, but Abby and I are going to have private anniversary time. Alone.”

  Calista’s mouth went slack. “Oh, come on, Alexander!”

  Leaning toward her, I growled, “Over my broken wings you are coming out with us tonight.”

  Caleb’s shoulders shook, biting into his burger. Hannah and Calista were ready to persuade me, but my glare silenced them.

  After a very long ride and using each second imagining all the things I wanted to do to Abby, we made it home. I pulled Abby into my room and closed the door. My jacket landed across the room and the heat in her eyes was unmistakable. Words weren’t needed. We launched. She was locked around me and I landed on the bed, flipping her so she was under me.

  My tongue swept in as one hand grabbed her backside and held her against me. My other hand drew her shirt up, on the precipice of taking this further than we had before.

  Her hands were under my shirt, on my chest, and then my back as though she couldn’t get enough of me. Our kiss became carnal, passionate, echoing our want for each other. I felt thicker and harder, feeling heat settle and burn between my legs. Shifting her hips, Abby’s core pressed against me; the flames only burned brighter and a groan crawled up my throat.

  With a greedy hand, I cupped her breast, skimmed the lace, and pulled it away. Her skin was creamy and soft, arching into my hand. Her nipple was peaked and she shuddered when my fingers grazed it. Desperate to have her unravel to me, I rolled the hardened tip between my fingers and Abby’s moan was swallowed by my kiss. She rocked against my length and my hand drifted down to the button of her jeans.

  Just as I was ready to rip off her clothes and taste every inch of her, Calista knocked on my door. “Hey, I wanted to show you something!”

  I grumbled, “Seriously?” My head rested on Abby’s chest and she raked her fingers through my hair. Five freaking minutes! “Come in, Calista.”

  Abby scrambled out from under me and yanked her shirt down.

  Calista appeared holding a catalog and her eyes went wide. “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you two were already…um—”

  “By His Creation, Calista! Yes, we are already, um!”

  Abby turned away, smiling.

  Calista’s hand went to her hip. “Alexander, you don’t yell at Caleb like you do Hannah and me.”

  “Caleb has enough sense to give us privacy.” My jaw clenched.

  Caleb’s head popped into the doorway. “Hey, you called me?”

  Abby was laughing now.

  Caleb looked to me with his head tilted. “What did I miss?”

  Looking to my part-hyena girlfriend, I asked, “This is funny to you?”

  Nodding, she grabbed a pillow, trying to stifle her laugh.

  “Okay, let’s see if you think this is funny.”

  Pouncing on top of her, my fingers dug into her sides. She begged me to stop tickling, and when her heart became erratic a few seconds later, I stopped.

  I was painfully aware how often Abby needed my gift. It was time I e-mailed Dr. Fredrickson. I wanted more information on a heart transplant and I had to warn him that I didn’t think she had much longer with this heart. We needed a contingency plan in case the Archangels denied her again.

  Calista wanted to discuss Halloween costumes with Abby. I said I would meet them on the couch in a little bit. Once Abby closed my door, I decided to do an internet search first on any new pacemaker technology. My siblings said five had failed without explanation. Something was very wrong about that…

  I was almo
st finished with my letter when Abby knocked. I closed my laptop and realized I had been in here for thirty minutes. Damn it. “Come in, beautiful.”

  Her eyes darted around my room and landed on the computer. “You’ve been in here for a while.”

  I picked the invisible lint off my jeans. “Sorry. I was looking up drive-in times and got lost in the reviews.”

  “Oh?” Abby slid into my lap.

  I shrugged and focused on her hands. “I didn’t like what was showing.”

  “Were you going to watch a movie anyway at the drive-in?” I laughed, but she cocked her head at me. “What are you really doing?”

  The lies twisted in my stomach. “I told you.” Dipping my head, I laced kisses behind her ear, knowing that would distract her. “What if we get take-out and go to our spot tonight? I have a DVD player in the SUV. We could watch a movie, or practice while listening to a movie.”

  She hummed and her eyes shut. “I prefer the latter.”

  “Mmm…me, too.”

  49

  Abby

  Cinderella and a Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle screamed at me to smell their feet when the black 4Runner pulled up. My heart sped up at his huge smile. Sexy was the only word for him. The tight shirt dipped low and showed off the chest muscles behind a brown vest. The utility belt slung around his trim waist and blue pants hugged a sculpted backside that I caught an indecent glimpse or stare at when he turned to wave at a three-foot Darth Vader across the street.

  Standing on the porch, Xander blinked at me. “I stepped out of the Millennium Falcon and went to Star Wars heaven.” He grabbed my hand and twirled me. “How did you get all that hair to look like cinnamon buns are attached to your head?”

  “My hair is more bobby pin than actual hair. Wait…you don’t call your 4Runner the ‘Millennium Falcon’ do you?”

  His eyes shot up and he pursed his mouth shut.

  “Oh, good grief. Get in here, Han.”

  Glancing around for parents first, Xander planted his lips on mine. “The girls ready yet?”

  “Almost. Margaret is upstairs with them and I’m pretty sure Mom is searching frantically for her camera, as usual.”