He would protect her with his life. He would see her safely back to heaven. And the small seed of hope in his heart would grow because a beautiful angel cared for him. Even desired him.
She pressed against him, kissing him back, tangling her fingers in his hair. How could he be doomed when she desired him?
He invaded her mouth and tasted chocolate on her tongue. She moaned, sinking deeper into the kiss. His hands smoothed down her back, enjoying the indentation of her spine, the narrowing of her waist, the flare of her hips.
He slipped a hand into the side opening of the sheet, and she shivered as his fingers swept across her ribs. He cupped her breast, and she gasped against his mouth.
He planted kisses along her cheek, then nuzzled her ear. He circled her nipple with his thumb, and the skin pebbled. By the time he brushed his thumb across her nipple, it had hardened into a tight bud.
“I’ve been wanting to touch you again.” He kissed a trail down her neck.
She clutched his shoulders. “I—I thought you didn’t like my breasts.”
He lifted his head and gave her a fierce look. “That was my guilt ye were seeing after I groped an angel. Yer breasts are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen . . . or touched.” He gave her a gentle squeeze.
With a moan, she closed her eyes. “I’m so glad you like them.”
“Are ye now? Would ye care to know how much I ‘like’ them?”
Her eyes opened slowly. “How—”
A knock sounded on the door. He jumped back.
“Is everything all right in there?” Father Andrew asked.
Bugger, the door wasn’t even locked. “Just a minute.” He grabbed the chip clip and fastened the sheet back together. “Are ye all right?” he whispered.
She nodded.
“I’ll leave you to get dressed.”
She nodded again, looking a bit dazed.
He touched her cheek. “Ye’ll be fine.”
She smiled. “Yes. Go ahead.”
He eased out the door and shut it behind him. Father Andrew stood nearby, watching him closely.
Robby stood by the couch, his arms folded over his chest, and a scowl on his face. Gregori’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Is Marielle all right?” Father Andrew asked.
Connor felt his cheeks grow warm. “She’s feeling better now.”
Gregori snorted, and Robby nudged him with an elbow.
“May I have a word with you in private?” Father Andrew motioned toward the back door.
“As ye wish.” A memory flitted through Connor’s mind as he walked to the door. The first time he’d stolen a kiss had been in the church belfry. The girl had burst into tears, and the priest had boxed his ears.
Hopefully his kissing had improved. He glanced at the priest’s stony face. Some things just never changed.
Chapter Nine
Connor remained silent as he joined the priest in the clearing behind the cabin. Father Andrew was gazing at the stars, murmuring a prayer, his breath frosting in the chilly night air.
The priest crossed himself, then turned to Connor. “I have to thank you. This has been a . . . momentous occasion for me.”
Connor hid his surprise. He’d expected the priest to berate him. “Do ye think Shanna will be all right?”
“Yes.” The priest gazed at the stars once more. “I have faith she will come through.”
Connor nodded. Out of habit, he scanned the woods, looking for danger. “Then maybe Roman will be able to forgive me.”
“I believe he will.” Father Andrew glanced at Connor. “Can you forgive yourself?”
He winced. “Roman is the one who transformed me. ’Tis a serious offense in our world to betray one’s sire.”
The priest’s eyebrows rose. “And Roman’s sire was Casimir?”
“Yes. Casimir hates all of us Vamps, but he harbors a special hatred for Roman. That betrayal was personal.”
“I see.” Father Andrew nodded thoughtfully. “Still, I don’t think what happened tonight constitutes a betrayal. It was an accident. You had no way of knowing.”
“I should have known. The warning signs were there.” Just like they were before he’d lost his wife and child. He was always too damned blind, and it was the ones he loved who paid for his mistakes. “I have a long history of screwing up.”
“You might feel better if you talked about it.”
He gave the priest a wry look. “We’ve had this conversation before. I confess nothing.”
“Stubborn as always.” Father Andrew smiled slightly. “That can be a virtue in dangerous times. I’m sure you realize that Marielle needs a protector.”
He nodded. “She is wise in spiritual matters, but naïve when it comes to surviving in this world.”
“Yes, that, too, but I’m mostly concerned about the demon you mentioned.”
“Darafer.”
Father Andrew crossed himself. “Do you think he’ll come back?”
“I’m sure of it. He considers her a fallen angel.”
“She needs protection. Will you do it?” The priest regarded him sternly. “I do not ask it lightly. I will expect you to defend her with your life.”
Connor swallowed hard. “I will.”
“I’ll print out some special prayers I want you to have on hand. And I’ll make sure you have some vials of holy water.”
Connor snorted. “I would feel better with a few swords.”
The priest gripped him on the shoulder. “The demon will attack where you are the weakest. You must be as strong in your faith as you are in physical strength.”
Then he was most likely doomed. “I have never found faith to be easy.”
“Of course not. That is the nature of faith.” The priest squeezed his shoulder. “I have faith in you. And more importantly, Marielle has faith in you. I can see there is a bond between you. She trusts you.”
“I am no’ worthy—”
“None of us are worthy,” Father Andrew snapped, irritation flashing in his eyes. With a sigh, he dropped his hand. “Do you know why I became a priest?”
“To help—”
“That’s my reason now. But originally, I took my vows out of guilt. As a young man, I was stupid and selfish. I drove while intoxicated and slammed into a tree. Killed my best friend.”
Connor inhaled sharply.
“Appalling, I know.” Father Andrew’s mouth twisted. “Did you think Vamps have a monopoly on tragic mistakes?”
“I’m sorry.”
Father Andrew patted him on the back, then went back to gazing at the stars. “Can you imagine thousands of angels all around us, and we do not see them? There is so much I cannot see, but I have a strong feeling that tonight is important. There is a reason you found Marielle.”
“Perhaps.” Connor wasn’t sure his faith could stretch that far. Still, it was lucky that a Vamp had found her. A mortal would have died trying to help her.
“Be careful.”
“I will.” He would have to keep his hands off her. Let her remain innocent and angelic. “She wants to go back to heaven.”
“Don’t we all.” Father Andrew headed back to the porch. “Let’s see how our angel is doing.”
“Say cheese!” Gregori leaned close to her, grinning.
“Why?” Marielle blinked when a bright light flashed.
“It came out well enough, I think.” Robby turned the camera to show them.
She had a glimpse of her startled face next to Gregori’s before he grabbed the camera for a closer look. “Thanks, Marielle. My mom’s gonna love this.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet her.” Marielle sighed. “And I’m truly sorry about your friend Shanna. I hope you know I would never purposely harm anyone.”
Robby gave her a skeptical look. “Ye’re an angel of death. No offense, but I would call that a wee bit of harm.”
“We’re called Deliverers, actually. And we’re not supposed to take someone before their time.”
“How does that work?” Gregori lifted his camera, focusing on her. “I mean, do you just go down a line, saying, ‘Eenie meenie mynie moe, sorry, dude, you gotta go’?”
“Excuse me?” She squinted her eyes as the camera flashed. Tiny lights sparkled in front of her.
“What the hell are ye doing?” Connor’s voice boomed from the back of the cabin.
Her heart warmed at the sound of his voice.
“Oh, now there’s a pretty smile.” Gregori snapped another photo of her.
She shook her head as she glanced toward Connor. Flickering lights danced around him as he walked through the kitchen followed by the priest.
“Hey, we should make a video,” Gregori suggested. “We could put her in a white silk choir robe and call it Visitation by an Angel.” He turned to her, his eyes bright with excitement. “Can you do any sort of supernatural tricks?”
“Bloody hell, she’s no’ a circus performer.” Connor grabbed something off the kitchen counter.
“It would be the hottest thing ever on the Internet,” Gregori announced.
“Ye’re no’ marketing an angel!” Connor took aim and threw.
“Hey!” Gregori jumped to the side. “Would you stop throwing coasters at me? I’m not talking about making money off her.”
“That’s a relief,” Father Andrew said dryly. “I was about to excommunicate you.”
Gregori scoffed. “I’m talking about doing something good for mankind. Imagine how awesome everyone would feel if they knew all that holy stuff was real.”
“Stuff?” Father Andrew muttered. “Four years of giving sermons, and that’s what I get back? Holy stuff ?”
Robby chuckled.
Gregori rolled his eyes. “I meant heaven and God stuff. Don’t you think it would give people some badly needed comfort and reassurance if they saw Marielle?”
“No!” She shook her head. “Please! You mustn’t tell anyone about me.”
“What?” Gregori gave her an incredulous look. “Don’t you want people to believe?”
“It wouldn’t be belief if you make my presence known,” Marielle insisted. “That would ruin everything.”
“She’s right.” Father Andrew strode toward them and stopped on the far side of the couch. “People have to believe by faith. If you prove her existence, then everyone would accept her as fact.”
Marielle nodded. “And they would lose their free will. Our Father wants us to . . . choose.” Her throat constricted with a sudden itchy, desperate feeling. She was the last being on Earth who should lecture about making choices. She’d made the wrong ones, and now she was paying the penalty.
“Are ye all right?” Connor’s eyes narrowed.
She opened her mouth to speak, but choked. She coughed, gasped for air, then coughed some more. And more.
She felt a twinge of panic for she no longer had control over her new body. Tears leaked from her eyes. That was strange. Why did a cough cause her to cry?
Connor pressed a bottle of water into her hand. “Drink.”
She sipped some water, then coughed some more, though not as badly. “I don’t know what happened.” She wiped the tears from her face.
“Don’t worry.” Father Andrew smiled as he sat on the couch. “It happens to everybody.”
She sipped more water. Good heavens, now her nose was leaking.
Connor handed her a white tissue.
She dabbed at her nose, but the leak didn’t stop.
Connor stepped in front of her and whispered, “Ye need to blow.”
Blow? She took a deep breath and blew air toward her nose.
His mouth twitched. He took the tissue from her hand and placed it over her nose. “Blow out yer nose, lass.”
She replaced his hands with her own and blew. Amazed, she wiped her nose. “That was so strange. Coughing and leaking and blowing—these bodies do the oddest things.”
“Aye, that they do.”
She glanced at his smoky blue eyes and was instantly lost in the intensity of his gaze. He wanted to touch her again, she could feel it.
Warmth spread to her cheeks. What was it about this man that made her react so strongly? She could just look at him, and her heart would squeeze in her chest. If he touched her, her heartbeat raced and her knees grew weak. She’d kissed him twice. In one night!
The desire she felt was so new to her, so obviously nonangelic. It was tempting to put the blame completely on this new body and its ability to make her feel sensations she’d never experienced before, but in her heart, she knew that wasn’t entirely true.
There were other men in the room, and she had no desire for them. It was all so strange. For millennia, she’d always loved mankind in general, all equally and from a distance. But now, her heart was yearning to be close to only one. Connor.
And he was feeling the same way. He’d admitted it. Desire. Longing. Her skin tingled with goose bumps. She wanted him to touch her again.
When he’d kissed her in the bedroom, she’d caught another glimpse into the darkness that surrounded his heart. An image of a young blond woman had flashed through her mind, a woman named Darcy. Why did she cause Connor so much guilt?
Marielle was impatient to ask him, but she knew it should be done in private. Even then, he might insist it was one of those personal things that humans didn’t talk about.
She wanted to do more than talk. She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to feel his arms around her and his breath against her cheek. Such a human desire. The demon had warned her that the longer she remained on Earth, the more human she would become.
She had to resist getting too involved with him. The Archangels would never let her back into heaven if she couldn’t prove herself worthy.
“Thank you.” She handed the tissue back.
An odd look passed over his face, then he walked stiffly back past a smirking Gregori to toss the tissue in a trash can.
“My dear, I would love to hear about your life as an angel,” Father Andrew said. He glanced pointedly at the other men. “Anything we hear must be kept confidential.”
Gregori sprawled on the couch. “My mother will kill me if I don’t tell her everything.”
“My wife will want to know, too,” Robby protested. “And Angus and Emma.”
The priest sighed. “Fine. I’ll probably need to tell Roman. We’ll keep this within our small community. Is that all right with you, Marielle?”
“Yes. I’m grateful that you and your friends are helping me.” She knew enough about the current world to know she’d have great difficulty surviving on her own. She had no proof of identity, no birth certificate since she’d never been born, nor any currency to purchase food, shelter, or clothing. Furthermore, it would be nigh impossible to live among humans without inadvertently touching someone and causing a death.
The best place for her was this community of good vampires, and she knew it was more than a coincidence that she’d been found by one of them. Her previous thoughts returned to her. If she could accomplish some sort of noble mission here on Earth, she might be deemed worthy of rejoining the Heavenly Host.
She sat in the rocker and winced at the strange sensation of jeans hugging her thighs and bunching at her knees. Her T-shirt was black with the words Bite Me across the chest. An odd shirt to wear among vampires, but apparently, death didn’t diminish their sense of humor. In fact, for a group of Undead souls, they were remarkably lively.
She cleared her throat, aware that all four men were watching her expectantly. Robby and Gregori were sharing the couch once again with Father Andrew, while Connor stood behind them, his arms crossed over his bloodstained shirt. Her blood. A wave of grief flooded her once more over the loss of her wings. What if she never flew again?
She swallowed hard. “I want to assure you that I mean no harm to anyone. I believe my powers will fade over time, but for now, I will be very careful not to touch any humans.”
“Thank you.” Father Andrew smiled. “But to be perf
ectly honest, it’s going to be difficult to know if your power fades away. No mortal is likely to volunteer to test it.”
She nodded.
“So how old are you?” Gregori asked.
Robby grunted. “No wonder you doona have a girlfriend.”
She smiled. “It’s hard to say. We don’t view time the same way as you. My full name is Marielle Quadriduum. I was created, along with thousands of other angels, on the Fourth Day.”
“Damn,” Gregori muttered. “You’re like . . . ancient.” He winced when Connor cuffed him on the back of the head. “Well, she is. And I thought you were old.”
Connor arched a brow at him.
“The Fourth Day,” Father Andrew murmured. “The same day God created the sun and moon.”
“Yes. And millions of other suns and moons.” She sighed. “I was assigned to supervise a solar system.”
“Wow!” Gregori grinned. “You were like Empress of the Galaxy. Cool.”
She gave him a dubious look. “There were only three planets.”
Gregori leaned forward. “And one of them had intelligent life?”
“Aye,” Connor muttered, “but ye wouldna recognize it.”
Gregori shot him an annoyed look while Robby chuckled.
Father Andrew shook his head. “Please continue, my dear.”
She leaned back in the rocker. “Each of my planets consisted of a huge, frozen rock surrounded by a thick atmosphere of methane gas.”
“Bummer!” Gregori looked offended on her behalf. “Out of all the planets in the universe, you got stuck with some duds.”
She laughed. “I hate to tell you this, but most of them are duds. Or they appear to be. Many of them still serve an important purpose.”
“Like Jupiter attracting meteors to protect the Earth?” Connor asked quietly.
She nodded, smiling. “Yes.” Leave it to Connor to know about planets that served as protectors.
Gregori glanced over his shoulder at Connor. “You know about astronomy?”
He scowled back. “I’ve been looking at the night sky for almost five hundred years. Why would I no’ learn about it?”
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