Ruffle My Feathers (The Seven - Book 2)

by Ciana Stone

  "Are you serious?"

  "Oh yeah."

  Layla straightened and then stood as Gabriel reached them with the towels. After accepting one, she wrapped it around her and returned to take a seat on the chaise.

  Nevaeh stood and accepted the towel, careful not to let her skin come in contact with his.

  "Your name is Nevaeh?"

  "Yes." Man did he ever have a sexy voice. And oh wow did he have the sexiest smile. And he even pronounced her name right – Nuh vah ah.

  "That's heaven spelled backwards."

  Neveah's gaze shot up to meet his. No one ever figured that out. "Yes."

  "You were obviously very loved to have been given such a name."

  She nodded. Thoughts of her parents brought tears. Her mother had died from breast cancer when she was only six and her father had raised her alone. He'd been so amazing. Now he was in a nursing home in Florida, suffering from the final stages of Alzheimer's. It had taken every cent she could scrape together to get him moved there where she could be close to him.

  Even though he'd lost his memories of her more than a year ago, she still visited him almost every day, if her myriad jobs didn't prevent it.

  "I'm very happy to meet you, Nevaeh."

  "Likewise, Gabriel. And my friends call me Nev."

  "So, we're friends?"

  The tease was out of her mouth before she could stop it and even as the words poured out she felt herself blushing. "A girl can dream."

  Gabriel laughed and strangely, she didn't feel that he was laughing at her. "I think we just may be, Heaven-spelled-backwards."

  Nevaeh didn’t know if he was just being polite or meant what he said. All she knew was that she'd fallen under his spell at one look.

  Chapter Two

  What an unusual woman this Nevaeh Rockwell is. According to Layla's friend, Ellie Whitehorse-Marsh, Nevaeh is quite talented and not at merely applying makeup to make people appear lovelier than they actually are. Her real passion is in special effects makeup and prosthetics for film and stage.

  She reminds me a bit of Layla, when we first met. She's very curious about my kind. She has yet to voice her questions but I hear them churning in her mind. How do our wings attach to our bodies, and how do we manage to dress? Do we lose feathers in the same manner as a bird and do we have avian genetics in our make-up? Where did we originate? Were we born or hatched? Were we sent here by God?

  While Layla is affable and outgoing, Nevaeh is quiet and seems to skirt the perimeter when other people are present, like an outcast watching from beyond the gate. I do wonder what makes her feel that she matters less.

  Actually, after only one meeting I find myself wondering many things about her. Perhaps that's just my natural curious nature. Or perhaps it is more. I do feel something – some attraction – something that pulls at me when she dares to meet my eyes.

  She is a mystery in many ways. I hear what is on the surface of her mind but not what lies beneath. That's uncommon. We Angels are the most telepathic of all the Seven. Why then can she bar me from all but the mundane thoughts that flit through her mind?

  Gabriel turned at the sound of footfall behind him. Augustus walked across the long expanse of the patio surrounding the pool. In his right hand was a six-pack of beer. In his left was what appeared to be a wine bottle. Gabriel knew the bottle did not contain wine. Asha, the Queen of the Vampires, and Augustus' mother, had blood bottled in such a manner.

  Augustus walked over to the rail that edged the patio and looked out over the lawn to the beach. Gabriel kept quiet. He knew Augustus was agitated and he understood all too well. Being around Asha and her minions was enough to unhinge even the most imperturbable soul.

  "I should have said no."

  "Pardon?" Gabriel wasn't sure which of Asha's demands Augustus was referencing.

  "This entire spectacle."

  Gabriel chuckled. "Ah yes."

  Augustus took a seat in the chair beside him, holding out the six-pack. Gabriel plucked a bottle from the pack. "Thanks."

  He popped the top from the bottle and took a long drink as Augustus placed the rest of the beer between them and open the wine bottle.

  "Vintage 2015?" Gabriel asked.

  "Who knows? I just know I need it to continue with this …"

  "Circus?"

  Augustus snorted. "That about sums it up."

  "So why did you and Layla agree to do this? You're already married. Unless that judge in Florida wasn't legit."

  "The marriage is legal."

  "It was a cool wedding." Gabriel smiled as he remembered. "Eldric's place is something isn't it? I've never experienced anything quite like it."

  "How so?"

  "The whole thing about not being able to see it unless you're in his or Ellie's company. That's some cool magic and pretty strong."

  "Yes, it is. From what the Fae Council person, Lucan, has told me, Eldric's powers are considerable. When he and Ellie link, their powers are increased exponentially. If they had their missing sister join the link they could wield enough power to not only open the doorway to the other realm but establish a permanent passageway for any of our people who wanted to return to that realm."

  "Yeah, what's happening with finding their lost sister?"

  "Thus far we've had no luck but we will continue to try. I gave Eldric my word and I intend to keep it."

  "I'd expect no less. But back to the circus. Is Asha serious about having hair stylists and makeup artists for this thing? I don't know about you, bro, but I like my hair just fine the way it is and makeup is so not my thing."

  "Too manly for that, are we?"

  "Says the man who growls at a hairbrush."

  Augustus smiled and took a long pull from the bottle. "Asha was … let's say she was highly displeased when she discovered we were married in Florida, but true to her nature she saw a way to capitalize on it."

  "Oh? Seems to me it put a kink in her plans. The wedding was delayed for almost a month."

  "Long enough for Ellie's baby to be born and both of them be fit to travel. At least so Asha thought. Layla spoke with Ellie about it and released her from any obligation."

  "So they won't be coming?"

  "Not the Marsh family, but Eldric is coming."

  "That Alex chick, too?"

  "Didn't care for her?"

  "No. I mean she's fine, just something peculiar about her."

  "Layla says that according to Ellie, Alex can communicate with the dead."

  "Interesting."

  "It is. Nevertheless, in answer to your question, yes. Layla and I gave her and Eldric a ride to North Carolina when we left Florida and she invited us to meet her family. Another interesting group of humans."

  "How so?"

  "Cam Marsh's brother, Colton is half Fae and his wife has mixed blood as well. Both have unique abilities. In addition, Alex's blood sister, Teddy, is an empath and practices pyschometry.

  "Alex's adopted sister, Mikayla, is a witch and her husband and his brothers all possess mind control abilities and can communicate with animals."

  "Looks like the Seven have been mixing it up with humans more than anyone realized. Those abilities had to come from some of us."

  "Indeed. However, the point I was taking a circuitous route to is that Layla invited them all to the wedding."

  "That girl makes friends easy, doesn't she?"

  "Yes she does. However, the only ones attending will be Colton and Memory. She's actually going to photograph the event."

  "Memory?"

  "Memory Wells. She's quite well-known."

  "Well kudos to Ellie for scoring a good photographer."

  "Yes, and speaking of making new friends, I hear you've made one."

  "Me?"

  "Nevaeh Rockwell."

  Gabriel smiled, set down his empty bottle, and pulled a fresh beer from the pack. "She's definitely interesting."

  "And definitely mixed."

  "Say what?"

  "Andre brought
it to my attention. No one here has been able to breach her mind. She has uncommonly strong shields. And Andre believes she is has temporal abilities."

  "Temporal?"

  "The ability to control space and time."

  "That sounds impressive."

  "It is. If it's true."

  "It may be. I saw something strange when we first met. She fell into the pool and pulled Layla with her and from where I stood they seemed to …umm, how to explain it? They seemed to fall and pause and then continue to fall."

  "And it didn't affect you?"

  "No. Well maybe it did a little. Maybe I was too far away or it doesn't affect Angels in the same way. But Andre thinks she's part Wizard?"

  "Actually he thinks she may be Wizard or Daemon or a mix of the two."

  "Daemon." Gabriel made a face. "Sorry but that word still just rankles me."

  Augustus laughed. "Yes, it does have a negative connotation in human vernacular, doesn't it? The word as is used now first appeared in Middle English around 1350, from the Latin daemonium and Greek daimonion, which actually mean a thing of divine nature."

  "As in deity?"

  "Yes."

  "And does Severin know that?"

  "Oh you know he does."Augustus tilted the bottle up to his lips and drank its contents then set it aside.

  "That still kinda grosses me out, man." Gabriel grabbed a beer and handed it to Augustus. "Here. And why doesn't he protest at the connotation given to the word Daemon?"

  "Because he cares little for the opinions of others. And seriously, Gabriel? After all the years we've been friends?"

  "Well that falls into the no-shit category, Captain Obvious. And yes, it still grosses me out. It's blood, dude. Blood.""

  Augustus shook his head. "But not blood taken by force or violence."

  "Oh you're a bit touchy."

  "Trust me, dealing with Asha and keeping Layla from wanting to hire a hit man to kill her is enough to make anyone irascible." He took a long drink of the beer. "And you've done an excellent job of evading the subject I opened."

  "What subject?"

  "Nevaeh Rockwell."

  "Ah, Nevaeh. Heaven-spelled-backwards."

  "Pardon?"

  "Her name. It's heaven spelled backwards."

  "And you're smitten with her."

  "Smitten? Bro, your age is really showing."

  "Smitten."

  "I'm not smitten. Intrigued."

  "Smitten. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

  "Says the Vampire who married a human and is about to have more media on his second wedding to the same human than the super bowl."

  "Yes, says that Vampire."

  Gabriel grinned. "Go find your wife and make sure she isn't carving a stake for Asha's heart."

  "I told her that wouldn't work."

  They both laughed and Augustus stood. "In case I've neglected to say it, thank you for agreeing to go along with all this and stand beside me as my best man."

  Gabriel set aside his beer and rose. "A man could do no less for his brother."

  Augustus clasped Gabriel's hand in a firm grip. "A man could not ask for a finer brother. Enjoy your evening. I will see you at the rehearsal tomorrow."

  "Wouldn't miss it. Rest well."

  Gabriel watched Augustus leave and then took to the air, sailing out over the expanse of lawn and then sand to glide over the ocean, watching the play of light from the moon sparkle on the dark water.

  Augustus was right. He was a bit smitten with Nevaeh. What puzzled him was his reluctance to act upon the attraction. When it came to women, he was not shy or hesitant. If he could not attract a woman with his looks or personality, he had only to touch her to have her literally falling into his arms.

  The trouble was he didn't want to use his Angelic powers on Nevaeh. He wanted her to be interested in him just because of the man he was.

  Or Angel, as was the case.

  With much to occupy his thoughts, he ascended, closing his eyes and enjoying the sensation of the wind ruffling his feathers and cooling his skin.

  Chapter Three

  I'm definitely feeling like Alice in Wonderland but instead of rabbits and talking cards, there are Vampires and Fairies – oops – Fae, and Angels and Shifters. It's like all of the paranormal beings from fiction suddenly sprang to life and they're in this house. Make that this mansion. Dear god, I've never seen such a huge place.

  I really like Layla and feel like I've already made a friend. She's so… normal. And her husband, the Prince of Vampires, Augustus. O.M.G. I can see why she fell for him. He's oh-so-fine.

  But a bit dark and brooding for my taste. Not that he's dour, but he'd not Gabriel. But then no one is like Gabriel. He's …perfection. Seriously, his appearance, his voice, his personality – it's the complete package.

  I nearly wet my pants this morning. We were sitting on the patio in one of the pergolas, having breakfast. Layla, Augustus, and I. Gabriel joined and he and Augustus started talking about someone named Lucan being peeved about the room he was placed in. Augustus barked at Gabriel that this wasn't a hotel. Layla froze and I felt like running. Augustus' eyes literally flashed.

  It didn't affect Gabriel at all. He just reached out, plucked a fresh biscuit from the basket on the table, and responded with, "Keep your fangs in your gums, big guy. I'm not the concierge. Just letting you know his briefs are in a bunch."

  Layla burst out laughing and so did I. After a few seconds Augustus started laughing and then Gabriel. There we were, four adults howling like idiots with tears running down our faces. I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom.

  I never expected them to act like normal people, but they kind of are. I mean they get annoyed, tickled, excited, or angry just like we do. Gabriel seems to find humor in just about everything, and delight as well. I wonder if that's because he's an Angel?

  Which begs a bigger and for me, more important question. Is it a sin to have the hots for an Angel?

  Nevaeh finished organizing her brushes and supplies on the makeup table. She'd emailed Layla a list of everything she would need and it had been waiting for her when she arrived. Now she had everything ready. There wasn't anything to do but wait.

  She'd be doing Layla's make-up for the rehearsal dinner and Augustus, if he would permit. That was taking place at nine in the evening, leaving her virtually the entire day with nothing to do.

  A knock at the door had her turning to look. Layla stuck her head in. "Hey. Ellie's brother Eldric and his companion Alex should be here landing around four. Ellie's brother-in-law, Colton and his wife Memory Wells will be arriving with them.

  "Memory Wells? Are you serious?"

  "You've heard of her?"

  "God yes, she's really famous and probably the best photographer ever. They say she has a magic eye."

  Layla chuckled. "From what I understand that's true. But yes. So you'll work with her to make sure everything's cool with what she wants to do for the portrait style shots."

  "I'll be honored. Nervous but honored. Are they staying here?"

  "No, they didn't want to stay here so we rented them a house down the road."

  "So you and Augustus are the only ones I do tonight?"

  "Actually, I'm think I'll just do it myself and Augustus still hasn't agreed. The press won't be here tonight so I don't have to look perfect."

  "Oh, well I don't mind but if you're sure that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

  "You'll see me tonight, girl. You're coming to the dinner and party afterwards."

  "Oh I can't. I only brought one dress and if I wear it tonight—"

  "Have you forgotten all those clothes?"Layla pointed in the direction of the door that led to the dressing area.

  "I can't just take-"

  "Oh hell yes you can. So take your time and pick out something splendid. The rehearsal is over at eight, so meet me on the patio at a quarter past. You can sit with Augustus and me. Gabriel will be sitting with us.

  "Are you sure?
"

  Layla hurried over to her and took her hand. "Nev, I know we just met, but I feel like we're friends already and if you'd gotten a glimpse of who's here, you know friends are in short supply. We're two humans on an estate populated by Preterhumans. I don't know about you, but having another human next to me feels pretty damn good."

  "It is a little intimidating. Well, except for Gabriel. And Augustus. He's really nice but Gabriel…"

  "Is hot as a fourth of July firecracker. I know. And by the way, just in case you're interested, he said he was going to try and round up people for beach volleyball."

  "Really?" Nevaeh had gotten a scholarship to college for volleyball. She hadn't graduated and regretted that more than she'd care to admit. She had to drop out to work and help pay for extra help to care for her father before he had to be institutionalized.

  "Yeah. Why don't you grab a suit and head down to the beach?"

  "Thanks, Layla. I just might."

  Layla gave her a hug and turned away. "I'll see you at eight-fifteen sharp. Have fun!"

  Nevaeh wandered into the dressing room and flipped through the rack of swimsuits. A white two-piece caught her eye and on impulse, she pulled it from the rack.

  Five minutes later, armed with several bottles of water, a towel, sunglasses and flip-flops she'd found in the dressing room she headed out to the beach.

  A volleyball net was erected and there were people sitting on beach chairs and on towels spread on the sand watching as two groups of people stood on opposite sides of the net, talking.

  It wasn't hard to spot Gabriel although she was shocked that there was no sign of his wings. Even without them he stood out, that tall frame, warm tanned skin, long lean muscles, and blond hair blowing in the wind around his head like a golden halo.

  Aside from Gabriel, there were four other people on his side of the net. Yes! She grinned and tossed her things down on the sand.

  "Got room for one more?" She walked up behind Gabriel.

  He turned with a smile and she felt a shiver dance over her skin despite the heat as his gaze raked over her. "Oh yes we do. Ever played?"