For Want of an Angel

by Rosalie Lario

  “The Fallen do not want to destroy humans. Rather, we are protecting them. It is the rest of the angels who plan to eradicate your kind. When we tried to stop them, they condemned us to death.”

  When it became apparent he wasn’t joking, Samantha let out a long breath. “Whoa.”

  He speared her with a long, hard look. “Exactly.”

  She crossed her hands and processed what he’d told her. “Wait, if this is true, why are we still here? The angels have been ruling for over a decade.”

  “Humans provide an easy labor source,” he said bluntly. “Once the angels have finished building their towers, they will no longer have any need of you.”

  Samantha was only vaguely aware of her mouth dropping open. “But aren’t they just months from being done? I heard that on the news the other day.”

  Aaron nodded. “This is why no human is safe.”

  “Wow.”

  Though she would never admit it, she had always had the ability to tell if someone was lying. It had something to do with the tenor of a person’s voice when they spoke. Aaron’s voice indicated he was telling the whole truth. At least, he believed it to be so. Which brought up a pertinent question.

  “So what’s this got to do with me?”

  The question seemed to make him uncomfortable. He rose from the couch in one fluid motion and stalked toward the sliding glass door, staring out into the night. Slivers of moonlight bounced off his honeyed flesh, and though she had never mastered the art of painting, she found herself wishing she had a brush and some canvas. It seemed a shame not to attempt to capture such beauty on paper.

  “How much do you know about your birth father?” he asked.

  That made her blink. “My birth father? Not much.”

  Her mother had never been ashamed to admit that she’d been the result of a casual fling. The man took off before she found out she was pregnant, and she’d raised Samantha on her own until Harry had come into their lives.

  Aaron turned to face her straight-on. “Samantha, your father was an angel.”

  His words made her heart leap into her throat. Forcing herself to calm down, she managed a shaky laugh. “Real funny.”

  “You sense that I tell you the truth.”

  He was right. More importantly, “How did you know I can sense that?”

  “Because you are nephilim.”

  The straight-forward manner in which he made such a life-changing declaration propelled her to her feet. “That’s crazy! I’ve never heard of angels mating with humans.”

  “You never will.” Aaron sauntered forward until he stood in front of her. Slowly, as if he feared she’d bolt, he closed his hands over her sleeved arms. “While those who were condemned as Fallen believed in interbreeding with your species, the rest of the angelic population does not. Any nephilim who come to the Consortium’s attention are destroyed.”

  When she didn’t respond, he reached a hand up to smooth a strand of her hair from her face.

  “Do you understand what I’m telling you? You are not safe, Samantha. Although you did not realize it, you are one of the hunted.”

  She didn’t believe him. Didn’t want to believe him. But those burning topaz eyes of his seemed so very earnest. Summoning forth considerable effort, she tore herself away. “No, I’m not buying it. If that was the case, why am I still alive? The angels have been on Earth for over ten years.”

  “How many times have you actually seen an angel before?”

  The question shocked her into turning back to him. “Never.”

  “That is why you’re alive.”

  He took a seat on the edge of the couch, the muscles in his abs flexing with his movement. She swallowed hard and trained her gaze back up to his face.

  “The angels who rule over Earth do not make it a habit of consorting with humans, Samantha. They think such creatures below them. But they cannot recognize a nephilim unless they are within a few miles from one’s presence, which means there are those, like yourself, who go undiscovered. Still, it is only a matter of time until you are spotted by one...as you were by me.”

  His words held the cold sting of logic, but if there was one thing Harry had taught her, it was never to trust anyone.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Let’s say I did believe you—which I don’t. Why are you seeking me out?”

  He squirmed and started to respond.

  “And don’t tell me it’s out of the goodness of your heart, because I’ll never believe that. You want something from me. What is it?”

  His mouth snapped shut and he stared at her, clearly unnerved. Finally he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I need you.”

  A decidedly non-fearful tingle ran down her spine. “You what?”

  “Not just me.” He winced, and she got the impression his words hadn’t quite come out as he’d intended. “All of mankind needs you. With your abilities, you would make quite an asset to our team.”

  Okaay. She tugged the pack off her back and stalked over to the couch, setting it down beside her as she took a seat. “Explain.”

  Aaron slid onto the couch and scooted over until he sat right next to her. “We’ve discovered that the Tribunal—the council that rules over the angels—has built a secret underground facility for the purposes of imprisoning the highest human officials.”

  “What?” she whispered. “What’s the point?”

  “To exterminate the human authority figures,” he said bluntly. “Once they are out of the way, it will be all the easier for the angels to begin the eradication of mankind.”

  “That’s...that’s crazy. They can’t do that! How could they even get away with it?”

  But even as she said the words, she knew how. In the decade plus that angels had been on this planet, the humans had let them take over everything. With the human officials—the last bit of human authority—gone, the angels could easily begin taking humans out, and no one would have a clue what to do. It would be pure and utter chaos.

  Aaron took her hand, sending residual tingles through her palm and up her arm. She suppressed a shiver of longing when his fingers tightened over hers. “You see now why we must stop them. We want to find this prison and install a camera, which would allow us to gain the proof we need to broadcast to the humans. Given the lies the angels have spread about us Fallen, we believe that only hard evidence will sway them now.”

  The meaning behind his words hit her hard. She swallowed past the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. “You want me to break into this prison and set up the camera, don’t you?”

  Aaron looked at her straight-on. “Given what I’ve seen, you may be the only one capable of doing this.”

  Jeez, no pressure or anything.

  God, this was crazy. Even if she did believe him, doing as he asked would be tantamount to suicide.

  No way.

  “Look, this is crazy.” She tore her hand from his and grabbed her pack, rising to her feet. “I don’t know you or anything about you other than the fact that you and your friends are public enemy number one, yet you expect me to believe you have some agenda to save humans from the rest of the angels. Sorry, but I wasn’t born yesterday.”

  Since she couldn’t very well leave the same way she’d come in, Samantha spun around, searching for an exit. She spotted a corridor behind the sofa and slid her pack on before starting forward, but Aaron stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

  “Give me an opportunity to prove what I say is true.”

  “Why should I?” She gave him a cold, hard glance, which was easier said than done considering his touch made her want to melt into a boneless heap at his feet.

  “Because if you don’t, you and everyone you know will die.”

  An uncomfortable twinge pinched her heart. This was crazy. She didn’t even know if he was telling her the truth. Yes, her internal radar said he was, but she’d been wrong once or twice before. Hadn’t she?

  “Sorry, not good enough.”

&n
bsp; She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and started across the room.

  “What if I notified the Consortium where you are? Is being captured what it would take to believe me?”

  Samantha stopped cold at the unveiled threat. Slowly, she swiveled back to face Aaron. To her surprise, the stone-cold expression on his face indicated he wasn’t bluffing. Her heart thumped hard in her chest.

  “You wouldn’t. Regardless of whether what you say is true or not, you’re more of a fugitive than I am.”

  “Unlike you, I can simply fly away from Consortium Guards. They are mere humans. By the time they alerted one of the angels, I would be out of sight and untraceable.”

  Unable to help herself, she let out a gasp. “You snake. You’d actually do that, wouldn’t you?”

  “I’d do whatever it takes to convince you I speak the truth.” Before she could respond, his eyes softened. “Samantha, please don’t let it be this way. Give me a chance to prove myself.”

  The beseeching way he said it made her want to believe in him. Want to trust him. But...

  “You’re Fallen. One of the bad guys, as far as I know. I shouldn’t believe a word you say.”

  From the way Aaron shook his head, she could almost swear he was disappointed in her. “Given who your stepfather was, given what he did for a living, you should know there is a lot of gray in this world. Give me the chance to prove it.”

  She froze. “How do you know who my stepfather was?”

  A small smile tugged on his lips. “I know much about you, Samantha. Your stepfather was a good man, if a bit misguided. And if he were here today, I believe he would tell you to give me a chance.”

  Given Harry’s suspicions about the angels and the Tribunal, she had a feeling he was right.

  “Low blow,” she sighed.

  Aaron cocked a brow. “But apparently necessary.”

  “Okay, fine. Prove to me that you’re telling the truth, and I’ll think about helping you.”

  He shot her a devastatingly handsome grin that made her stomach unexpectedly give a flop. “Excellent.”

  Before she could guess at his next move, he glided across the room and lifted her into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she screeched.

  “Convincing you of the truth.” He stalked outside and glanced around before spreading his wings and shooting up into the air.

  A terrified scream shot out of her mouth and she closed her arms around his neck. She would never get used to this method of travel. Never.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  Aaron stopped his survey of the air long enough to grin down at her, his topaz eyes flashing dark. “To New York.”

  Chapter Four

  Samantha was upset with him, that much was clear. Truthfully, Aaron couldn’t blame her. She’d had no clue that her agreement to listen to his side of the story would result in her being flown from Chicago to New York. But he knew of no other way to convince her than to take her to see the rest of his brethren. If Eva and Tayla—who were nephilim like Samantha—couldn’t convince her, then no one could.

  “You are bringing me back, aren’t you?” she huffed at him.

  “Of course. If I cannot convince you to aid us, I will return you to your home.”

  He didn’t bother to point out that she might very well be a fugitive now, given that the Guards back at the museum had gotten a good look at her face. No doubt she’d thought of that little fact herself.

  “Harrumph.” Mouth tight, she averted her gaze, but then she glanced down and her grip around his neck tightened. He gave another thorough survey of the skies, and she noticed him doing so. “Why did we have to leave now, anyway? The museum guards must have notified the angels by now, especially since I’m sure they got a glimpse at your wings. There’ve got to be angels all over the place searching for you.”

  “Yes, but Jason and Zach are causing a diversion,” he explained to her. “Now is the safest time for us to leave.”

  “Huh.”

  Clearly not at all mollified, she trained her gaze on his neck. The searing heat of her blue eyes scorched his skin. He barely restrained a shiver, but when she sighed and gave a little tremor, he knew she felt it too. Electric current buzzed between them, making him all too aware of the curves of her backside resting just below his palm. Of the fullness of her breasts pressed against his lower chest. Her soft, innocent fragrance haunted his senses. How he longed to take her, to claim her as his own. If she were his, he would waste no time in tearing off the black fabric that covered her lower body, unsnapping the fastenings of his jeans, and plunging deep into her warm heat. The fact that they soared thousands of feet in the air would only add to the excitement of the encounter.

  But alas, she wasn’t his.

  Yet.

  When Samantha gave a little yawn, he tugged her closer to him. “We still have several hours before we stop for the night. Why don’t you lay your head on my shoulder and rest?”

  “I’m not tired,” she protested.

  “Suit yourself.”

  Yet minutes later, with a soft sigh, she nestled her face into the crook of his neck. Smiling, he pressed a butterfly kiss to her head.

  After several hours—all of them thankfully uneventful—they finally reached their destination for the night. Holding tightly to his precious cargo, Aaron touched down on the penthouse balcony. Samantha awoke and, after peering sleepily around, nudged against his chest. Reluctantly he set her to her feet. She swayed but then found her footing.

  “Where are we?”

  “A safe house just outside of Detroit.” He strode forward and tugged on the glass door leading into the apartment’s living area. Stepping aside, he motioned for her to pass, then entered behind her and shut the door.

  Samantha peered around the small space, which was filled with nothing more than a brown suede couch, coffee table, and plasma television. “How did you manage to get safe houses? I mean, the Consortium controls the apartment lottery, so I’d figure you’d be putting yourselves on their radar by keeping apartments.”

  “We use fake identities.”

  Her eyes widened as she met his gaze. “You have access to fake passcards?”

  “Would you like one?”

  From her expression, he could tell the answer was yes, but she didn’t respond. “What are we doing here?” she asked instead.

  He had to admit, he admired her straightforwardness. Then again, he liked everything about this feisty little creature.

  Mine, his heart claimed.

  Soon. Soon enough. But not yet.

  “The sun will be up shortly. It’s not safe to travel by the light of day. We’ll rest here until night falls again.”

  When she frowned but nodded, he led the way down the narrow corridor to the apartment’s only bedroom. Opening the door, he said to her, “You can rest in here. I’ll stay on the couch.”

  She appeared surprised, but stifling a yawn, said, “Okay.”

  “Good night, Samantha.”

  She stepped into the room, and he started to turn away, but then faced her once again. “Samantha.”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you.”

  One of her brows raised. “For what?”

  “For giving me the chance to prove myself.”

  Leaving her staring at him like a startled owl, he turned and headed for the living room, where—given his overwhelming desire to rush back to the room and claim his mate—he would no doubt spend a tortured, sleepless day.

  *****

  Half an hour after Aaron left Samantha standing at the doorway to the bedroom, she was still awake. Despite her best attempts to get some rest, she couldn’t sleep. Not with the sexy Fallen out in the living room, setting off low-level vibrations so intense that her entire body trembled with desire. What was it about him that made her want him so badly? Okay, maybe not just him. The other two angels had done it for her too...but she didn’t want them nearly as badly as she wanted Aaron.

&nb
sp; She was missing something here, and since she wasn’t going to fall asleep until she got it...

  Decision made, Samantha crawled out of the comfy, full-sized bed that took up a good portion of the room she was in. She briefly considered changing out of the oversized T-shirt she’d slipped on—one of many she’d found in the closet—but the thought of putting her cat burglar outfit back on just so she could talk to Aaron held little appeal. Besides, the shirt fell to mid-thigh and covered more skin than most dresses.

  Summoning her nerve, she took a deep breath and opened the door. It slid open silently, allowing slivers of moonlight from the nearby living room to stray in. There was nothing but silence on the other side of the door. Maybe Aaron had already fallen asleep.

  She tiptoed as quietly as she could until she reached the entryway into the living room. Any fears that he might be sleeping fled when she saw him standing by the glass door, staring out into the coming dawn. One hand rested against the glass, creating sharp planes and angles along his back where his muscles contracted. She followed them down to the top of his jeans, which only served to emphasize the taut curves of his perfect ass, and her mouth went dry.

  God, he was magnificent. His bronze skin looked smoother than silk, contrasting perfectly with the honeyed tones in his slightly wavy hair. Even his now-bare feet were perfect.

  Had she ever wanted anyone as much as she wanted this man—this angel—right now? Her thighs tensed, as if in response to that thought, and she barely suppressed her shudder of longing.

  Aaron visibly tensed. Without turning, he said, “What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”

  “I...”

  When she trailed off, he finally faced her. His topaz eyes flashed when he took in the outfit she wore.

  Samantha swallowed at the fierce expression in his eyes. Her legs trembled, so she took a few shaky steps toward the couch and sunk down, but she regretted it almost immediately when he stepped forward and sat beside her.

  He grabbed her hand, sending a shower of sparks up her arm. “What is it, beloved?”