Step out of her arms you dumb fuck. You don’t deserve her absolution. You made your bed, and she isn’t going to warm it for you. Now move. For fuck sake just move, you aren’t worth the shit on her shoe! He stepped out of my arms.
“That’s not true, Blue. I’m no better than you!”
“What?” He took another step back.
“You’re worth just as much as I am,” I said, stepping back into his face so he was forced to look at me.
“Are you a mind reader too?” he yelled, his hand moving to his hip, where his gun was. I stilled.
“No. I mean, sometimes but only if I’m touching them and they are feeling really loudly.”
He was at the door, and I could feel his rage. “You had no right.” Despite his words, I couldn’t feel any hatred emanating from him towards me.
I’d fucked this up so bad. I wanted to go to him, soothe his barbed emotions that poked at me like a crown of thorns. But I was very aware of the gun at his hip. A gun so like the one that killed JJ and haunted my nightmares.
I felt a presence flutter in behind me, and I turned. Memphis was there, his eyes promising pain. I raised my hand to still him, though judging by his huge wings, he wasn’t visible to Blue.
“Blue,” I said again, softly. A plea for forgiveness.
“You had no right,” he repeated, opening the door and slamming out.
I looked at the door for a moment, calming my hammering heart.
“He’s not coming back, is he?”
Memphis was silent, so I turned. He was staring at the door too, his brows creased. He made himself visible and walked toward me, his wings dragging softly across the polished wooden floors.
“He will be back. But not today.” He put a hand under my elbow and directed me back toward the couch. “Please sit. I can sense your exhaustion.”
I wanted to tell him it was mental not physical exhaustion, but I kept my silence. When he sat down next to me, I gave into the strange impulse that lingered at the edge of my brain. I crawled onto his lap and rested my head on his chest, appreciating the warmth of his skin, the steady staccato beat of his heart. And when he wrapped deep onyx wings around me, sucking out the light, leaving me with only warmth and comforting darkness, I let the fear seep from my veins. I let the thump, thump, thump of his heart lull me to sleep, and the black of night soothe away the hurt of the day.
Chapter Six
Memphis came back the next day, and the day after that. Usually he would just loom in the corner, choosing to keep himself from Adnan for whatever reason. It wasn’t as if Adnan hadn’t ever met Luc and Ace. Ace loved Adnan’s adoptive mother, Clary. Mom used to tell stories of girls nights out just after we’d been born. I’d shut that down quick. You don’t want to know what the Consort of Lucifer and the daughter of one of the biggest mob families in Boston got up to when there was copious amounts of vodka and no restraining influence. My whole body shuddered.
But for whatever reason, Memphis never appeared in corporeal form until Adnan had left for the day. His feelings confused me. Hell, I was pretty sure his feelings confused him. He wanted something from me, but I wasn’t sure what it was. It wasn’t my body, obviously, because it was still battered and bruised, though I did get the odd hint of lust when he thought I wasn’t looking. He guarded his emotions from me, and it was as close as I got to silence. But no one can guard their feelings all the time. It wasn’t natural. Emotions seeped out as subconsciously as breathing.
He held so much yearning in his heart when he looked at me. Like I was the answer to a question he had waited a millennia to discover.
Today, he appeared as soon as Adnan had slipped from the door, not even bothering to hide his wings, though he held them tightly to his back. He held a small gold box in his hand.
“What’s that?” I said from the kitchen. I made his coffee. Black. No sugar. I screwed my nose up. It would be like drinking tar. I put it in the extra large mug that had coffee bowl written on the side because he’d drink it straight from the pot if I’d let him.
“Chocolates, from Peru,” he said softly, handing me the box. “Apparently humans enjoy it.”
I put my mug down with a thud, coffee splashing over the side and burning my hand.
“You don’t like chocolate?” I briefly wondered if I could eject him from my home for such sacrilege.
“I have never tasted it,” he said, shrugging in a distinctly human gesture.
I sucked in an outraged breath. “Never?”
My face must have looked comical, because the corners of Memphis’ mouth tilted up in a smile. “Never.”
This just wouldn’t do. Love it or hate it, you had to try it at least once. I snatched the coffee out of his reach. “Nope. No. No coffee until you try this. I don’t want the coffee killing your tastebuds for this.”
I grabbed the box of chocolates from his hand, and then led him over to the couch. “Sit.”
He let out a low chuckle, his eyebrows raised. But he sat.
I thumped down on the coffee table in front of him, and opened the box. Inside were four small round chocolates sitting in a bed of tissue paper like jewels. I lifted the box and sucked in the rich aroma of cocoa. Oh, this stuff was good.
“You should close your eyes,” I said, moving closer. His startlingly blue eyes held mine, and I flushed, swallowing hard. But he closed his eyes.
“Now open your mouth,” I said, picking up one of the chocolates. It began to melt on my fingers immediately in the warmth of the apartment.
Eyes closed, Memphis parted his lips, and I was suddenly transfixed by the pinkness of his tongue against the marble blackness of his skin, a color not seen amongst humanity. Of all the Fallen, Memphis looked the most other. Like he was carved from the the deepest shade of Lapis Lazuli, more black than blue. The night sky an hour before dawn. Shaking myself, I leaned forward, placing the chocolate on his tongue. He closed his mouth around the chocolate that was already melting on his tongue.
I watched his face. His brows drew together as he chewed, and if I hadn’t felt his pleasure, I would have thought he hated it. He let out a low little hum and opened his eyes.
“It is very sweet.”
I nodded, holding still as he leaned forward.
“And velvety smooth,” he said, his lips inches from mine.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He closed the gap between our lips, kissing me gently. I tasted the chocolate on his lips as they pressed against mine, his tongue flicked out, tempting me to open. His fingers brushed against my cheekbone gently, like I was made of porcelain.
I deepened the kiss, and his wings spread wide over the back of the couch. I didn’t want him to kiss me like I was fragile. I wanted him to kiss me like it was our last time, not our first.
His tongue slid into my mouth and I stood so I could straddle his lap. Two huge hands banded my waist, pulling me close against his hard body. My hands ran over the firm planes of his chest beneath the black button-down shirt that felt softer than silk.
“Well, looks like I got assigned the wrong job,” a voice said from behind us, and Memphis was on his feet, his wings spread wide to buffer me from the intruder. I looked between his feathers and recognized Gusion. The final Fallen.
He was so fucking beautiful. If Memphis was darkness before dawn, then Gusion was a sunrise. Everything about him was golden.
“What are you doing here Gusion?” Memphis sounded scarily pissed off. He took an ominous step toward his fellow Fallen angel, but Gusion didn’t seem overly concerned.
“Cock blocking your ancient ass, obviously.” His grin was infectious, and I felt myself smiling even though he was technically cock blocking me too. Memphis made a terrifying noise deep in his chest, and Gusion laughed again. “I see how it is. You can stop with the wing erection, man. It's not like she was naked, and it's not like I don't know what she looks like.”
Memphis muttered something in a language that sounded like Latin, and whatever he said d
idn’t sound very complimentary. Gusion continued to laugh.
“But seriously, Memphis, I need a favor. Luc has me watching Uri- uh you-know-who, but he keeps doing his business at night and I stand out like the fucking Flaming Sword of God at night. Unlike you, my very favorite stealth agent. Luc wants you to follow you-know-who for a couple of nights, see what he gets up to. I promise to take care of your girl,” he winked at me, and laughed when Memphis lunged at him. “I’m joking, man. I know, alright. I know. I’m just fucking with you.”
What did he know? I felt like I was missing something important, but they’d moved on before I could ask.
“He’s up to something shady. How that bastard gets away with half of what he does without getting the wrath of the Father all over his ass is beyond me. Luc says we can’t just smother him in his sleep. It wouldn’t kill him but it’d hurt like hell. Literally.”
He laughed like he’d made the funniest joke ever, and I grinned along with him. Memphis looked between us.
“Her human bodyguard is gone. She needs protection.”
Gusion crossed his heart. “I promise to guard her with my body.”
“That's what I’m worried about,” he grumbled.
I took in Gusion now that he wasn’t obscured by Memphis’ wings. His skin was golden, not like a Californian surfer, but more like the sands of the Sahara. And it shone like someone had dipped him in body oil and then rolled him in glitter. Like a stripper at 3 A.M. Actually… “You don’t happen to pole dance, do you?”
His eyes widened with surprise. “No, but I would be willing to give it a try if you would return the favor?”
“Stop, Gusion. Remember to whom you speak,” Memphis said, his voice pitched menacingly low.
Gusion stepped closer, so he was in Memphis’ space. I tensed. Was I meant to break up an angel fight? Did I get the hell out of the building? Should I pull the fire alarm as I got of the splash zone?
Gusion stepped close until he was chest to chest with Memphis. Then he wrapped his arm around him in a hug that would have crushed the bones of a mortal. “I know exactly who I’m talking to, Mephistopheles. I’d never do anything to jeopardize your future. You know that.”
Memphis wrapped his arm around Gusion, and thumped his back just below his wings.
“I know, Old Friend. I am sorry. It’s just…”
“I know.”
I was mesmerized by their embrace, their arms and bodies wrapped around each other, light and dark, like an angelic yin and yang. A few more back thumps and they pulled apart. Memphis turned to me.
“I must go. But Gusion will be around to ensure your safety. I shall be back in a week.” He put a hand on my cheek, and I looked up into those startling royal blue eyes and for the first time in my life, tried to figure someone out without any extra help from my empathic abilities. Maybe having someone able to block me wasn't so fantastic after all. It was like going temporarily blind.
“You guys know I don't need a babysitter, right? I’m fine here. I’m a world away from my abductors. This building has great security. I’m fine,” I repeated.
Memphis said nothing, but his eyes still stared directly into my soul. I sighed. “Fine. Be safe. Don’t do anything dangerous.”
Gusion laughed. “Oh Sweetness, we are the danger.”
Unlike Memphis, Gusion didn’t bother to hide his presence when Adnan arrived home, although he did humanize himself, thank goodness. Adnan’s response to Gusion was almost humorous. He was like one of those silver screen damsels who faints at the sight of a handsome man. Except, instead of fainting, he stood there, his mouth hanging open, uncharacteristically mute. I should have snapped a picture, blown it up and framed it.
“Adnan, this is Gusion, my new, uh, bodyguard.”
Gus smiled a smile that was a little too bright to be fully human, his perfection almost retina searing. “Please, call me Gus.” He put out a hand to shake Adnan’s, but Adnan was too awestruck to notice.
I couldn’t blame him. Even without his angelic oomph, Gusion was almost unbearably pretty. His face was perfect in a way that defied description. He had strong broad shoulders that tapered to a trim waist and muscular arms. His long, blonde hair was like a shining river of gold that swung down to the middle of his back. I had a sudden, and very vivid image of wrapping that hair around my hands as he drove his body into mine.
“Hope?”
Gusion’s question shook me from my Adnan style fugue. Whoops.
“Sorry, come on, let's have a glass of wine,” I strode toward the kitchen. A glass of wine was definitely in order. Maybe ten. I put two bottles under my arm and Adnan grabbed three glasses from the cabinet.
The apartment was back to being orderly, thank goodness. Standing in the living room would no longer make Blue anxious.
Thoughts of Blue made me sad. He hadn’t returned, even though I expected him too. I’d talked to Granny Mulligan yesterday, and she’d made no mention of Blue. In fact, she seemed to assume that Blue was still here, being my mildly aggressive lapdog. I didn’t correct her. Wherever Blue was, he didn’t need the wrath of the Mulligans for abandoning his post. It had been my fault anyway.
I twisted to sit on the couch, and for the first time in a week, it was almost pain free. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I was healing.
“Do you still dance, Adnan?” Gus asked as I poured him wine.
Adnan got the deer in the headlights look again, but this time managed to shake it quickly. “Yes. First amputee dancer in the Manhattan Dance Company.”
“You’ll do big things if you can look outside yourself.” Gus looked into the middle distance, and I narrowed my eyes at him. I was at my quota of weird angelic behaviour for the day, so I let it go.
Unfortunately, letting things go wasn’t in Adnan’s wheelhouse. “What do you mean? How did you know I was a dancer anyway?”
He flashed that megawatt smile. It was almost blinding. “I knew you mother. Nice woman. Also, I was around when you arrived in the US.”
Adnan froze like a statue. We didn’t talk much about how Adnan and his older brother Nazir had come to be in the family. It was a traumatic time for Adnan, and when he thought about it, his emotions were ragged and raw, even after twenty-one years. While he didn’t remember before with the same clarity as Nazir, he remembered enough about all the angelic interference that he hesitated to ever speak about it. It had been the Archangel Raphael who’d amputated his leg after an airstrike had brought down his family’s apartment on their heads. It had been Ace that had soothed him when he’d turned up on my parent’s doorstep, orphaned and in need of serious medical care.
Nazir hadn’t coped, instead running off to military school and then becoming a mercenary. The one time I’d had to shake his hand after one of Adnan’s concerts, his emotions had almost crushed me. The anger, the fear, the self-loathing had swamped sixteen-year-old me like a tidal wave. If Rella hadn’t been there, I probably would have broken apart.
Now Nazir was with Rella, exacting revenge. The idea terrified me. I never told her how much I depended on her. If she knew, she’d never live her own life. She protected me with the fierceness of a lioness, but I wanted her to enjoy her life for her.
I realized Adnan had found his voice. “You’re, you know…”
“An Angel? Well, a former one anyway. Now, I’m Fallen.”
I realized belatedly that I couldn’t feel Gusion’s emotions. Nothing. Not even the brief hints I got with Memphis. I placed a hand on his arm.
A moan bubbled from my lips, the only sign I could give before I dropped my glass and blacked out.
Chapter Seven
“She must be pushing herself too hard. She is on bedrest. If she can’t manage that, I’ll move in myself and ensure she rests.”
I blinked awake to the sound of Eli’s voice. “Dad.”
“Hello, Little One. How do you feel?” Eli was in full doctor mode, checking my obs now that I was awake, probably for some delayed brain damage or
something. I could have told him my fainting spell had nothing to do with my injuries, and everything to do with my sixth sense. But we didn’t talk about it within the family. I was sure they knew, but no one mentioned it. It was safer that way. If we didn't acknowledge it out loud, then no one could use the information against us.
“I feel fine. My blood pressure must have dropped or something.” I sat up, and saw Mom fussing at the end of the bed. She came over and gave me a hug. “Seriously, Mom, I’m fine.”
“Have you been working too hard? You’re meant to be on bed rest. Do I need to move in and make sure you are taking care of yourself?” she repeated.
I winced. I loved my parents, so much, but the last thing I wanted was any of them moving into the apartment.
“I promise I’ll relax more. I’ll even tell them I need another week off from work. What are they going to do? Sack me?”
Eli scoffed. “I wouldn’t put it past Tolliver. He’s very serious about that Foundation.”
“So am I, but I know I need more recovery time.”
Appeased slightly, they sat on the bed and filled me in on the family gossip. I listened with half an ear about their holiday to some deserted island where they no doubt did “things” I don't even want to contemplate between jet skiing and sunbathing. They told me that Oz had created a new translation system that didn’t require internet connection for use by aid workers in refugee camps. Lux had started a gym for disadvantaged youth. Valery had managed to create a twelve foot high croquembouche.
By the time Gusion sifted them away, I really was exhausted. Adnan brought me a glass of water with a slice of lemon.
“You scared me,” he murmured, fluffing my pillows needlessly. “You keeled over, then Gusion stood and he had wings and he was so damn beautiful, then he was gone and Eli was here. And then Gus went back and got your Mom, because she threatened to tell Ace if he didn’t. You wouldn’t wake up. I figured you weren’t dead, because Rella would have been here quicker than you could say ‘holy sexy angel balls’.” He leaned forward and scooped me into his arms. “Don’t do that again. You scared ten years off my life.”
Hell's Redemption- The Complete Series Boxset Page 63