As he listened to the angel singing of being carried away to the clouds where her love was waiting, he went back to Naomi. Was she dreaming? Did she dream of being reunited with Lash?
He leaned over her, mesmerized by the curve of her pink lips. Her hair lay in tangles across the pillow. Her cheeks were smeared with traces of dirt, and still she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Not even Gabrielle, who was deemed the most beautiful of angels, could touch the beauty that lay before him.
Will she remember me?
With the back of his hand, he gently brushed her cheek.
She let out a soft moan.
He snatched his hand back. He shouldn’t be doing this. He should just grab his chair and place it in the corner across the room and wait. He was about to do that when her lips moved slightly. He held his breath. Was she talking to him?
He leaned in closer to hear her. Never mind that, with his angelic superior hearing abilities, he heard her perfectly fine from where he stood.
He was so close, her breath washed against his cheek. Mesmerized by her sweet face, he touched her cheek again. He just wanted to check to make sure she was okay. After all, he was the one who had struck her down with lightning.
He brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone, relishing the velvety softness. Her lips curled into a delicate smile. His heart raced when she turned into his touch and nuzzled against his hand, sighing.
His lips parted as he inched forward. The memory of her kiss was seared into his mind. Sweet. Soft.
His breathing accelerated. Every muscle in his body tensed as his mouth hovered over hers. Then, ever so softly, his lips touched hers.
He clenched his hands, taking a fistful of the bedsheet as electricity surged through his body like wildfire. He squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the urge to take her into his arms and ravish her.
Memories of Naomi from an ancient past, a past he shouldn’t have been able to remember, flooded his mind. He recalled the feel of her arms around him when she thanked him for fighting Saleos when Lash was injured, the lovely smile on her face when he escorted her back to the city, the way she spoke kindly to him every time he visited the inn her family owned, how pale blue eyes gazed up at him with awe after their first kiss in Ai.
It’d been only one kiss. He wanted more. Touching his forehead to hers, he whispered, “You were to be my wife once. Surely, you must have held some love for me? Could you learn to love me?”
He sucked in a breath at the familiar words. Was it something he’d told her before? He must have. How could he still feel for her the way he did now if they hadn’t shared something this intense in the past?
He needed to know. He pressed his lips firmly against hers, desperate to feel her love. And in that brief moment, all he heard was the beating of his heart syncing with hers as they kissed. He didn’t hear the squeak of the door opening or the gasp coming from the doorway. He was lost in the kiss until he heard a high-pitched squeal.
“Jeremy! What are you doing?”
8
Jeremy jumped off the bed and staggered back as he lost his footing. Guilt bubbled in his chest. How he could be so selfish, kissing his brother’s newly found beloved?
“Rachel, I, uh, I . . .” His voice trailed away when he looked at Rachel standing at the doorway, jaw gaping and brown eyes wide with shock. What excuse could he possibly make to explain himself?
Think, man. Don’t just stand there.
“I thought Naomi’s breathing sounded funny. I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
“Jeremy.” He winced at the slight scolding in her voice. She didn’t buy it. He wouldn’t have either. He was losing his touch. It was a flimsy excuse.
“You won’t tell Lash, will you?”
“No, I won’t.” She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She gazed at Naomi, who thankfully was still sleeping soundly.
“You’re a horrible liar,” she said, keeping her voice low.
“I’m sorry. I just . . . I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“I understand. The situation can’t be easy for you. I was there. I remember everything that happened.”
“You do?” He looked into her heart-shaped face. There was no judgment there.
“Please tell me. Did she . . . did Naomi . . . ?” He couldn’t say the word “love.” He wanted to know if Naomi had loved him, but was afraid to hear Rachel’s answer.
“I can’t tell you. I’m forbidden.”
“Raphael’s punishment?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t live like this,” he grumbled, brushing a hand through his hair.
“What’s the use of remembering bits and pieces of a past that lives in here”—he tapped his chest—“and not knowing what I really want to know?”
Rachel bit her bottom lip. With a furrowed brow, she swayed on her feet, heel to toe.
“Wehhhll . . .” Her tiny face scrunched up as she hesitated. The words came out slowly, careful not to reveal too much. “Naomi cared a lot for you.”
Yes! He wasn’t crazy. The attraction, the constant pull to Naomi, had meant something.
“And for Lash, too,” she quickly added. “He’s awake, by the way.”
His face fell. What did he expect? Of course, Naomi loved Lash. He wished he could remember. Perhaps he’d had a small crush on her and nothing more.
Then why did it feel like his heart was breaking?
“You saw him?”
“Umm, not really,” she said. “I heard him. Or heard what sounded like glass breaking . . . a lot of glass.”
He nodded. It was as Raphael had predicted. Lash was royally pissed off.
“Jeremy, I know what you’re going through.” She placed a tiny hand on his bicep. “I once loved someone who didn’t love me back.”
“You loved someone before Uri?” This was huge. He’d never thought it was possible she could love someone else. They were the most perfectly in love couple he’d ever known.
“No. It was Uri.”
“I don’t understand. The day I brought Uri in, he was madly in love with you. He even gave me a black eye for trying to break you two apart. You two were all over each other.”
He smiled thinking about the first time he’d met Uri. He’d taken an instant liking to the wild party boy. Uri was a notorious player. With his boyish good looks, he’d charmed the pants off almost every girl within a ninety-mile radius of Chernobyl. He always wondered why Rachel had been assigned to Uri only to have him ordered to bring Uri to Heaven. It had shocked Jeremy that someone like Uri was to be given the rank of archangel. It shocked him even more when he was told that Uri would assist him with his duties. It had irked him at first, having to share his position with Uri. He got over it. Uri was hard not to like. It was a shame how he had to die, though. No one should have to suffer the way Uri had.
“Yeah, I remember that.” She giggled. “We were only kissing for a couple minutes.”
“Try twenty. And I seem to remember clothes ripping and some moaning. It was scandalous. Angel gossip was at an all-time high for weeks. Gabrielle was livid.”
She sighed. “It was amazing.”
“You’ve been by each other’s side since then. Did something happen that I don’t know about?”
“Uri was here before you. Well, before you remember being here.”
“I didn’t know.” There was a lot he didn’t know. Secrets all around him, just like Lash had said.
“I guess it’s okay to tell you a little bit of what happened with Uri. I’ll leave out anything having to do with Raphael.” She pressed a finger to her lips and went to check on Naomi. Then she walked to the window, staring out as she spoke. “A long time ago, the archangels rarely went down to Earth, and when they did, they had to get Michael’s permission. Uri went down to explore against Michael’s orders. And he did things that . . . that he shouldn’t have.”
She let out a soft sob.
“Are you okay?”
“To make a long story short, it was really hard for me to see Uri with”—her voice caught—“with other women.”
“No way. He did that to you?”
“He didn’t know how I felt about him. I should’ve told him.” She smiled, brushing away tears from her cheeks. “It’s all better now. So what was I saying? Oh, right. It’s hard to watch someone you love with someone else.”
“So I was in love with her.”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the thought sink in. He couldn’t face Lash now. He had to pull himself together first. His lips still tingled with the magic of the kiss. And it had only been for a few seconds.
“Take Naomi to Lash when she wakes up,” he said as he headed to the door. He had to leave while he still had control of himself. “Tell Lash . . . tell him I’m sorry.”
“You’re not going to see Lash?” Rachel rushed after him.
“Lash? Is that you?”
His back stiffened at the sound of Naomi’s voice.
“Oh, you’re awake. Look, Jeremy. Naomi’s awake.” Rachel gave him a pleading look before she went to Naomi’s side, helping her sit up.
Rachel prattled excitedly as she dashed between the closet and the bed with dresses in hand. She’d hold one up against Naomi’s chest, shake her head, and then go back to the closet for another one. Her voice seemed to jump an octave with each word she spoke, until she was squeaking so high it pierced his ears.
“Jeremy, don’t just stand there, get her some water. There’s a pitcher and glasses on the table just outside the door. Naomi, now don’t freak. You’re in Heaven and not the other place. Heh, heh. Okay, bad joke. Are you thirsty? Thanks, Jeremy. Here’s some water. Now sip it slowly. It’ll take a while for your body to get adjusted to its angelic form. Oh, this pale blue dress is the exact color of your eyes. Yes, I think you should wear this one. I know what you’re thinking. Angels are supposed to wear white robes. We did away with that a long time ago. Thank goodness. You know how hard it is to keep white clean. It’s not that easy. Okay, so, Lash is waiting for you. Well, he doesn’t know that you’re here yet so it’ll be a surprise. Oh my, you have such pretty hair, but it’s so messy. Really, Jeremy couldn’t you have found another way to take her down other than lightning? It’ll take me forever to take out the tangles. Don’t worry, hon, I’ll fix it for you before we take you to Lash.”
“Uh, who are you?” Naomi held on to the glass as she stared wide-eyed at Rachel.
Rachel tilted her head, looking confused by her question. “I didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“Oh!” She giggled. “I’m Rachel. Lash’s friend.”
“Your voice sounds familiar. So I’m really in Heaven? Lash is here too? I thought I was dreaming.” Her fingertips lightly touched her lips.
“Yes and yes.”
“He made it home.” Smiling, she let out a breath of relief. She took a sip of water and continued, “So this is Heaven. I thought it’d be bigger.”
“This is the living quarters. I’ll give you the grand tour later. So what do you remember?”
“We were near Shiprock. Lash was driving,” she said, placing the glass on the nightstand. “There was some guy in the middle of the road, and the car flipped over. Then somehow I was flying in the air. And then I was falling. It was you, wasn’t it? You caught me?”
“Yep.”
“Thank you.” Naomi threw her arms around Rachel. “All I wanted was for Lash to have the chance to return to his home. I didn’t expect to be here with him.”
“You’re welcome. I can’t wait to get to know you better. It can get lonely with only two female archangels, and now that you’re here—oops! I wasn’t supposed to tell you about that yet. I promised Raphael. Don’t tell anyone, ’kay? I’ll introduce you to the other angels later. You already know Jeremy.”
Jeremy stood unmoving against the wall. He didn’t dare get any closer to Naomi. The moment he’d stepped out of the room to get her some water, he should’ve kept walking. Now he was stuck, captivated by blue eyes that slowly turned in his direction.
He held his breath, waiting for her reaction. Would she remember him? Would she figure out he’d kissed her and it wasn’t part of a dream?
In flash, she was out of the bed, her finger jabbing his chest. “What did you do to Lash? Angel or not, if you hurt a single hair on him, I’ll take you down. I’ll, I’ll . . . whoa . . .”
She paled, then swayed back. His arm flew around her waist, catching her.
“You can kick my ass later,” he said, ignoring the violent pulsing inside his chest. Scooping her up with ease, he placed her back on the bed.
“Rest a moment . . . unless you want to do some more fake fainting so I can catch you again.” He winked.
“I was not . . . you . . .”
He forced a lighthearted laugh when her face flushed a bright pink. He flashed his dimples, flirting with her the same way he did with any other female angel. The flirting wasn’t real, it never was. He had to try something to hide what he was really feeling. Any sane person would take one look at her accusatory glare and back off. Not him. The fire in her wild eyes made him want her even more.
“Well, now, that’s a first. I typically don’t make the ladies speechless until after they’ve seen me in my birthday suit.”
“Jeremy, that’s not nice,” Rachel scolded. “He’s just teasing, Naomi. He does that to all the new female angels.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He flashed another dimpled smile.
She scowled. “You tried to kill me and Lash. He’s supposed to be your friend. Wait. I take that back. You did kill me and Lash.”
His smile faltered as her words hit a truth that he had to hold on to. Lash was his best friend, his brother, and Naomi was the love of his life. He could not fall in love with her. He had to leave the past where it belonged—in the past. If he was going to do right by his brother, he needed to knock off this nonsense and be there for both of them like a good brother should.
“Maybe you should wait in the hall while I help her dress, Jeremy,” Rachel said. “I’ll explain what’s going on.”
Nodding, he stepped outside the room and waited. From behind the closed door, he heard Rachel chirping with Naomi about life in the angel commune. There was movement in the room as she gave Naomi instructions on how to open her wings.
“Now push gently. Not too—”
There was a loud crash, followed by Rachel’s giggles.
“Oh my God! How do you walk with these things?” Naomi said as she laughed along with Rachel.
Leave it to Rachel to make best friends with someone she’d just met. He’d gotten off on the wrong foot with Naomi when they’d first met along the New Mexico highway. He leaned against the wall, chuckling at the memory of her with tire iron in hand, ready to beat him to a pulp. She was going to make a remarkable archangel.
When their laughter turned to quiet whispers, Jeremy listened carefully as Rachel explained angel life and how they all had assigned duties, including his. Everything seemed to grow still when Rachel mentioned how he’d always looked after Lash and was heartbroken when Lash was banished. He pressed his ear to the door, straining to hear Naomi’s reaction. All he heard was her steady breathing.
“There. You’re ready. Let’s see if Jeremy’s still out there. Jeremy?” The door swung open before he could step back. He stumbled into the room.
“Uh, yes. I was just about to . . .” His words faltered as he caught his balance and came face to face with Naomi. The delicate dress she wore lay in soft blue waves against her curves. Her silky hair was pulled up in intricate braids, showing off her slender neck.
Her eyes gazed into his without a hint of anger. For the first time since he’d met her, those eyes showed love directed at him. He was stunned.
She blinked, her eyes misting as she smiled. Before he could say a word, she closed the dista
nce between them. Standing on her toes, she pulled him down to her and kissed his cheek.
9
“I’m sorry, Jeremy.”
He barely heard Naomi’s apology. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. She was awake, kissing him, touching him. Her arms were around his waist. Her tiny body pressed against his chest. Joy swept through him as she murmured into his chest how she’d misjudged him and how she hoped they could all be friends.
So this was what it felt like to be loved by her—synapses firing like crazy, heart pounding wildly, blood rushing through his veins, tingling and zapping over the nerves of a body awakening after a long sleep. He wondered if this was what it’d been like when they’d been betrothed to each other.
“No, Naomi. I’m the one who should be apologizing.” Gently, he pulled away from her. Whatever he’d once had with Naomi was no more, not if he wanted Lash in his life.
“You look . . . there are no words for it,” he said.
“Fabulous. Gorgeous. Like an angel?” Rachel winked, teasing. “Pun intended, of course. Doesn’t she look stunning?”
“Absolutely. Lash will be out cold for the second time this week, and this time it won’t be my fault.” He flashed a grin. “So, are we ready to go?”
“Yep,” Rachel said. “We’re taking Naomi to the Hall of Judgment. Gabrielle wants her to wait there for Lash.”
“Hall of Judgment it is, then. Ladies.” He held out the crooks of his arms to Naomi and Rachel. “Let’s get you and Lash together before he destroys everything in sight. Knowing him, he probably went after all of my statuettes first.”
Jeremy (Broken Angel #4) Page 4