Underworld Lover (A Guardian Angel Romance #2)

by haron Hamilton

  Josh stepped back as if he’d been slapped. He looked quickly around the room. No sign of a Guardian.

  “What are you looking at?” Audray whispered, obviously puzzled.

  “Looking for a Guardian. They sometimes come at the end.”

  “Wow. The colors...” Beau continued babbling.

  “Look, I can do something for you. Something I think you’ll like. You wanna live forever? Gotta make up your mind quick, though.” Josh delivered his message to the blurry-eyed ex-rocker who was immobilized by the dark angel’s fingers. Josh noticed the beeping on the heart monitor was starting to pick up speed.

  “Cool. A vampire. I always knew you were a weird sonofabitch, but a vampire! I like it.” Beau pulled aside his hospital gown revealing the jugular vein on his neck.

  “Beau, you idiot. I’m not a vampire.”

  “Sure, sure you aren’t, you kinky asshole. Go ahead, give me the bite. Bite me, goddammit!” Tubes were rattling as his fingers fluttered to his neck again. The beeping got louder and faster. Beau was struggling to sit up, but began coughing and sank back down into the bed.

  “This is insane, Josh. You can’t…” Audray started in.

  Beau reacted immediately to Audray’s voice and turned to address her. “Hey, how’s my girl? You gonna do it? I think that’s just awesome!” Beau was gasping for air, trying to pull off his hospital gown, which had gotten caught in the tubing that was keeping him alive.

  Josh swore under his breath. It would be so much easier if he could just vaporize him. “You don’t understand, Beau,” Josh began. “I can make you live forever, but as a dark angel.” Josh waited for that to sink in.

  A confused look crossed Beau’s face as he looked between Josh and Audray. “What the fuck is that? I don’t want to be no fuckin’ angel.”

  “Not a good angel, a dark angel. A really bad dark angel who claims souls.” Josh whispered into Beau’s ear.

  “Yeah, go ahead, make me one. I wanna be a badass vampire dark angel, drink blood, man. Live forever, man.”

  Audray shot Josh a dose of scorn.

  “Ah, not exactly, Beau.” Josh began. “You gotta will yourself dead, Beau. You gotta make your heart give out. Can you do that?”

  “How the hell do I do that? Don’t you have to bite me, man?”

  “No. Scare yourself. Get angry. You gotta do it. I can’t do it for you.”

  “What the fuck? Will you just please fucking bite me and get it over with?”

  “It’s not like that. Honest. Pull out your wires. Get rid of the oxygen. Get angry. I think that will do it.” Josh was racing against time—Beau was close to death, turning grey in color. Josh had never had such a sloppy ending to a human. Beau looked between the both of them, first at Josh, then Audrey, the tubes and sensors rattling on his chest like medals of valor. His breathing had become labored and ragged.

  “You want these, big man?” Audray had unbuttoned her uniform and showed him her enhanced breasts. “You willing to die for these?” She leaned in just so as to be out of reach.

  Beau ripped out the plastic tubing and the leads, sending the machines crashing to the floor. He sat up and lunged for Audray with every ounce of his being, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Gimme those.”

  She flashed him a big smile and backed up slowly. He kept reaching, crouching on all fours on the hospital bed, until he suddenly held his heart with both palms, raised himself up on his knees sharply, then fell off the bed. Dead as anyone Josh had ever seen.

  “We have to go,” Josh said, taking Audray’s hand. They walked through the bathroom walls into the room next door, surprising an emaciated female patient. Buzzing came from the nurses’ station, and an announcement came over the loudspeaker. The two dark angels stood at the end of the hallway, out of the way, observing the furious pace of going and coming as the hospital staff tried in vain to save the legendary rocker. As if he was of some special importance.

  But Beau had died, just like any common man, only now destined to live forever as a dark angel. Josh would make sure his contract with Beau was delivered in full. Unlike Peter, he didn’t believe in telling lies to a dying man.

  “Now what do we do?”

  “We get the body after he’s taken downstairs.”

  “We steal the body?” Audray looked almost sick to her stomach.

  “We substitute it. We take him, leave someone else I’ll shapeshift to look just like him in his place. We have to do this before they do an autopsy. Don’t want him cut up. He’d not like that.”

  “I had no idea about any of this,” she said.

  “You weren’t supposed to know. Leave it to me. Just wait until I’m done.”

  After a few hours, Beau’s body was transported in a black limo, a style to which he had become accustomed. Josh left another body in his place, someone who had died beside the freeway that afternoon, homeless and unmissed. Part of a large population of willing dead recruits no one would miss.

  Beau would go to the readers, the gatekeepers who would view the last moments of Beau’s life to confirm the suicide. Then, after a few days of processing, he would be admitted back to the human world as a dark angel. Josh knew the paperwork would be heavy. He squeezed his fist and released it a few times, getting ready for the forms he would have to fill out. The Underworld was hopelessly bogged down in paperwork and could almost sink of its own making.

  And so it was that a homeless man would be buried as a rock star. If any of Beau’s relatives knew the truth of it, they would no doubt think it was a fitting end to an expendable life, a hole in the fabric, or inconsistency created in an imperfect universe that would continue to grow forever in all directions. The sacred and the profane.

  Chapter 15

  Melanie put up light blue paper doves and white streamers glittered with silver and gold edging. With a gentle breeze, she’d be able to feel and hear the fluttering tissue as if they were wings of real doves. She loved birds in their feathered finery. They brought lightness to her soul.

  Her favorite time of year was Christmas because of the glitter, the decorations, and the bright sparkle lights. But the bridal season of May, June, and July was the time when her shop made the most profit.

  She was standing atop a three-step stool when the bell at the front door tinkled. When she turned around and saw the dark gentleman gracing her doorway, her heart leapt.

  Josh.

  She wobbled, almost falling off her perch. He didn’t say anything as he stood just inside the door, his hands buried deep in his long wool coat pockets. She smelled his spicy cologne that held a tinge of orange. He had on a light blue shirt, buttoned one down from the top. His shoes were shiny and black. No boots tonight.

  She liked those knee-high boots from their last meeting. Made her think of dangerous pirates and gentlemen rakes from one of her novels. Tonight, he was well tailored and dressed neatly, as if he were accompanying someone to a play in the city or to a fancy restaurant. His dark eyes were especially luminous.

  She was glad he was glad to see her. It warmed her heart. His lips turned up slightly at the ends. He stepped closer and inhaled her scent, smiling.

  “How are you doing? Got any more roses you want to sacrifice to a worthy cause?” he asked. His eyes added sparkle to the gentle vibration of his words.

  She liked that he spoke first. It made him positively kissable. “No, but if I did, you could have all of them.” She climbed down the stool steps and stood in front of him. She enjoyed looking up at tall men who made her weak in the knees. Dark men made her lose her inhibitions.

  He was both.

  He cocked his head to the side and considered her face before answering this. “Could I now? That’s a dangerous proposition.”

  Melanie felt her cheeks flush. “You want to help me?” she asked, holding up the end of some twinkle lights.

  “Why not?” He beamed. He was a different man all together when he smiled. Melanie took the other end of the string and, grabbing a staple g
un, got up on the stool again and stapled the strand to the rough wood paneling.

  “Isn’t that dangerous?” he asked.

  “You think I don’t know what I’m doing?” she asked, looking under her arm at him. He shrugged. She pointed to the strand and he held it up higher. She climbed down and moved the stool behind him, got up to the top step, and bent down to retrieve the end from Josh’s fingers.

  “Thanks.” She smiled, her heart warm and filled with life for the first time in what felt like decades. Together, they strung and stapled the lights around the room until the little shop was transformed into a world of twinkling stars and birds worthy of a nursery in Heaven. She watched as Josh eyed the birds with a squint.

  “How do you like it?” she asked.

  “Very, very . . . almost angelic.” Josh seemed to find particular delight in the phrase.

  “Oh dear. I don’t want it to seem too much like a funeral.”

  “Well, there are some men who think of weddings as funerals. End of carefree days sort of thing.”

  “I’d call it a beginning of a new life.”

  Josh chuckled to the ceiling. “That’s a way of putting it.”

  “I take it then you’ve never married, or you have and don’t recommend it?” Melanie searched his face for some honesty.

  “No. I’ve never and no, don’t think I can, really.”

  “Why?” She watched the way his eyebrows arched up when he spoke. The fullness of his deep pink lips distracted her. Small hairs at the back of her neck prickled.

  “It’s complicated, love.” He walked over to one of the blue tissue birds, then poked it with a long forefinger, making it rock on its fishing line tether. “Seems like everywhere I go these days, someone has birds.”

  “You don’t like them?”

  He took a quick breath, turned, and grinned. “Very odd little things.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, I find them strange creatures. Delicate and happy all the time.”

  “Like angels.”

  Melanie noticed a stiffness in his spine.

  “Oh, don’t go there.” He stood close to her, brushed his fingertips across her cheek. “I like delicate,” he whispered for her ears only.

  Melanie felt herself melting at the obvious erotic advance. The affect of his nearness to her face almost made her swoon, but she held herself in check.

  Joshua stepped back. “I’m sorry. Should not have done that.”

  Before Melanie could answer, a young teenage boy with a mop of blond disheveled hair entered the doorway.

  “Mel, sorry I’m late.” He examined Josh like the man was a potted plant that had tipped over.

  “It’s okay. I found another helper.” She smiled up at Josh.

  “Joshua Brandon, nice to meet you.” Josh stuck out his hand to the young student.

  “Travis Morley. I’m the grunt around here.”

  Melanie could smell the marijuana on Travis’s clothes and wondered if Josh could as well. She was glad he wouldn’t have to be climbing up and down ladders much today.

  “Travis, I think you can finish with the garnishes. I have silver bows and wedding bells on the desk. Unpack them and let’s set them in the wicker bins, sorted by size, okay?”

  “Sure thing.” Travis was already behind the counter.

  “Might I offer you lunch? Or could I come back and buy you an early supper?” Josh’s words wore well on her ears. Like she needed them.

  Melanie looked at Travis, then back at Joshua. “I’ve got a bit more to do here and should stay until it’s done. But I close at six and could meet you somewhere.” Her heart was thumping in her chest, as if she’d stepped through a doorway she didn’t expect.

  The awkward silence between them was broken by the shuffle of the small step he made toward her. The button flap of his coat touched her sweater where her nipples were pointed and waiting. It sent a thrill down her spine. “What do you like to eat?” he asked, his voice husky.

  “There’s…” She had to stop to catch her breath. “There’s a little Italian place near where I live, over on Montgomery Drive. Casa Bella, I think it’s called.”

  “Meet you there at seven?” he asked.

  She nodded, unable to stop the grin from crossing her face. He tilted his head and gave her a little smile, then turned. In an instant, he was out the door, without looking back. She couldn’t take her eyes off the sight of him leaving her domain.

  It was going to be a long five hours until evening. She knew her life was about to change forever.

  Chapter 16

  Melanie chastised herself for being late all the way over to Casa Bella. She’d had no way to reach Josh when a couple walked through the door only fifteen minutes before closing, wanting to discuss their wedding flowers. Now she was going to be a good forty-five minutes late. She hoped Josh would still be there when she arrived.

  The place was packed, forcing her to park a few blocks away. She ran a few steps and then realized she hadn’t locked the car, so went back to do so. By the time she got to the front door of the restaurant, she was panting, breath constricted in her lungs. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead and upper lip.

  It did bring out the flush of her perfume, she thought wickedly. Her heart was thumping wildly with expectation.

  Melanie scanned the waiting area and saw no sign of Josh. She stepped into the dining room proper and saw movement across the room, in front of a wall fireplace—the best table in the house. Joshua Brandon stood there, smiling. He’d seen her arrive. Her skin prickled in anticipation of his closeness as he made his way through the clutch of tables in a casual, meandering gait. The man was so comfortable. So wickedly delicious.

  “I am happy you came,” he said without the slightest bit of reproach. Gracious to the core, she thought. He motioned toward the corner. “I kept negotiating until I got upgraded. The staff already thinks I am a royal pain…” He leaned close to her ear as his hand touched the small of her back, pushing her slightly towards him so that they barely touched. “So order something really expensive,” he whispered.

  Melanie wasn’t very hungry all of a sudden. She was happy just standing there, feeling the warmth of his body against hers. She didn’t want food to alter the blissful state she was in.

  As if he’d done it for years, his hand came up to her neck and he brushed away her hair. His fingers graced down her spine, around to her hip, to find her hand waiting. He laced her fingers through his.

  “Come this way, love.”

  They slipped past diners crouched over small tables lighted with alabaster candle votives. The light from the fireplace poured over his face as he pulled out the chair for her and took up position across the table, leaning in on his elbows.

  The curly dark hair he had tried to constrain with a leather tie framed his handsome face. She saw the fire dance in his dark eyes. He looked positively ancient with experience and almost non-human. It wasn’t scary though, as she imagined what those hands and lips could do to her body. Erotic dreams floated by.

  She placed her palm over his hand that rested on the tablecloth. He turned his over so their palms could mate. It was such a simple gesture that she was stunned. He licked his lips and watched her as she searched his face, down his neck to the top of the shirt that was unbuttoned just once. She liked him in the light blue that was the color of the little paper birds perched in her shop.

  “A penny for your thoughts, although I gather they are worth much more.” He gave her a smile that warmed her toes.

  “I’m just thinking how nice you look in blue.”

  Josh looked down at his chest and chuckled. “I have some friends that would perhaps find that comment funny.”

  “Funny? How so?”

  “That I look nice.”

  Melanie noticed that twinkle in his eyes again that didn’t come from the fireplace. “Aren’t you nice?” she asked.

  Josh squeezed her hand and leaned in close to her across the table, humor written across his face. �
��I’m not generally thought of as nice.”

  “Okay, I get it. You’re masterful, awesome. Your conquests feel claimed, right?” Her making fun of him was entertaining, but had a ring of truth to it. She felt like playing along with his joke.

  Joshua got serious. “I must have a spy among my friends, who has poisoned you against me.” He picked up her hand and gave her fingers a soft kiss, lingering a little longer than was safe.

  Melanie was thrilled. “I have a confession for you.” She leaned in and whispered, “I never really liked nice.”

  The waiter arrived, and as Melanie tried to withdraw her hand from Josh’s, he didn’t let go right away. She had to yank her hand free. She flashed him a mock glare.

  “I’m trying not to be nice,” he said as he examined the menu.

  “How accommodating.” Melanie smiled.

  “It’s my nature,” he said, eyes still averted.

  They ordered lobster, the most expensive thing on the menu. Josh made animated games with the big claws. By the end of the meal, they were both covered in butter. Josh made sure the red wine was plentiful. They shared an apricot torte for dessert; her favorite fruit, she told him. He ordered an apricot liqueur that finished smoothing down all her rough edges. Sated, Melanie sat back and sighed.

  “Was that expensive enough?”

  “I think they’ll like the tip I’ll give them.”

  He ordered two cappuccinos without asking her. He watched everything she did, the way she wiped her mouth, the way she picked up her water glass and took a sip. Melanie didn’t think he missed a single detail. She felt for the first time like an object of desire, and didn’t mind it. In fact, she felt erotically attached to him unlike any other man she had known.

  Chemistry. We have great chemistry.

  Her cappuccino was placed before her. She toasted him on her way to raising the cup to her mouth, then sipped, leaving a line of white milky foam on her upper lip she wiped clean with her tongue. She was further warmed by Josh’s smile. The attraction was there. What he said next would be important.