"Hey, it's me. It's Mary."
His blood turned to ice. Mary. The female the other Watchers were after. The female he had hunted, the female he had come to Earth to kill.
Tossing the bedroom door open, he strode down the hall into the living room where Mary, small and frail, stood at the window, pulling open the curtains.
Sensing him, she whirled around, her dark eyes shadowed purple.
"Oh,” she said, her hand flying to her throat. “I didn't know Nadira had company."
This was the moment he'd waited for. Finding the female. Exacting his revenge. Yet he couldn't stop thinking of Nadira. Of the way she had tried to heal his wound. Of the love they had made love all night. He couldn't forget the way she had made him eat, giving him the very last of her groceries when she had made him toast and eggs.
He couldn't put aside the memory of Nadira lying atop his chest, his hands running through her hair as she cried, telling him of her friend, and how she feared the death, the loneliness of the grief that she would be forced to live with once Mary was gone. He still felt the warmth of her tears trickling down his chest and the way it made his heart begin to beat in his chest.
He could not do this. He did not want to kill this woman. He no longer cared about his banishment. No longer needed revenge. He only needed Nadira, with her kindness, her passion, the love he had felt oozing out of her pores while he loved her with his body.
"She's sleeping, but I can go wake her,” he said at last.
"Ah ... no, that's okay,” Mary replied, reaching for her purse. “I can come back."
"She wouldn't want that. She was upset when you didn't meet her at the park last night. She'd want to see you."
Mary shrugged. “Okay, then. Wait,” she said, when he walked away. “What's your name?"
"Gadriel."
"Is that like, Gabriel?"
He smiled. “Yeah, something like that."
"Thank you, Gadriel,” Mary said in a quiet voice that suddenly revealed the weakness she kept hidden. “Thank you for coming into her life. I have been worried about her, about how she will ... cope, when I'm gone."
Cocking his head, he studied the woman, amazed at the courage he saw inside her. “How do you know that I am not just here for one night?"
"I had a dream,” she said. “I dreamt of an angel, and he told me that you were coming. He said that I mustn't go to the park, that you were going to meet her, and keep her safe. That you were her destiny."
"I am,” he said, knowing it for the truth. “She was born for me. And since last night, I have begun to believe that I may have been created for her."
* * * *
The hot water poured over his head, running down his shoulders and back. Breathing in deeply of the steam, he became aware once more of how alive his body felt. He felt hunger—both for food and sex. He felt pain when the water hit his wound, felt pleasure at the sound of Nadira's laughter, felt protective of her when she snuck into the bedroom to steal a kiss and deliver him a cup of tea. All emotions he had never felt before Nadira's touch had awakened him.
He heard the shower curtain slide along the metal pole, felt the spray of water change as Nadira came into the shower with him. “Thanks,” she said, leaning up to kiss him. He brought her naked body up against his chest and ran his hands down her back before he cupped her bottom in his palms. “Thanks for letting me spend the day with Mary."
He tried to murmur, ‘no problem', but he couldn't get the words out. Couldn't stop kissing her or touching her. His hands slid over her wet curves, cupping and kneading, and she fell into him, her fingers massaging the insertion points of his wings. She had discovered that erogenous zone last night, and he growled, appreciating how damn erotic it was to feel her stroking that part of him—a part that no human male had—a part that was uniquely him, and all for her.
"Let me take you,” he urged, turning her so that she could brace her hands on the shower tiles. Arching her back, she pressed the side of her face to the tiles, offering herself to him, and he slid inside her, loving her slowly.
He kissed his way up her spine, stopping at the base of her shoulder. She was close, he felt her body tightening, clenching around his cock. He wanted to pour himself into her, to fill her up so that she was full of him. But he wanted to do that as he marked her.
Pressing his lips against her shoulder, he chanted, the language of angels, willing his mark to form on her flesh, even as he pulled out, and then pushed deeply into her.
"Gadriel,” she cried, grasping her belly.
He had grown so huge that he was certain she truly could feel him driving deep into her womb. And God, that made him feel powerful. Virile. So he pulled out again, and thrust forward, driving her against the tiles.
"Can you feel me all the way up inside you?” he panted against her ear as the water sprayed down on them. “Could you take me deeper, because I could give your more, Nadira. I could give you all of me. Could your body take that, could it suck in all of my cock, do you think?"
She nodded, her lips parted, and he thrust inside her, rocking against her. Gripping her thigh, he brought it up, widening her hips, allowing for deeper penetration. She moaned when he drove into her, and he nipped at her shoulder, watching her lips part on a silent scream of pleasure.
"I want to fuck you, to just take you hard against this wall,” he whispered. “I want to make love to you. To carefully slide inside you and show you how I feel. I want to crawl up inside you and never leave. Take me in, Nadira. Take me inside your body and don't let go."
And she did. Her scream of pleasure when it came shattered him. Her orgasm was the most intense out of any of the ones she had last night, making his own climax last forever.
"You're mine,” he whispered, thrusting into her as he watched his mark come to life on her shoulder. “Mine."
Epilogue
Sweat poured off her face, trickling down her neck, only to escape down the blue hospital gown she wore. The machine that wrapped around her belly emitted a sound resembling thudding horse hooves. Too slow, Gadriel thought as he gripped Nadira's hand in his big palm. The babe's heartbeat was much too slow.
"I can't,” Nadira gasped, falling back against the pillows.
"The babe's too big,” the doctor muttered. “And you've made little progress with the pushing.” His bushy brows puckered as he looked over at the machine that was tracing the baby's heartbeat. “The baby isn't tolerating labour. We're going to have to do an emergency caesarean section."
"I don't care,” Nadira grumbled, obviously exhausted. The physician looked at him expectantly and Gadriel felt his heart freeze. The hospital team mobilised so quickly that Gadriel felt as though the room was spinning around him. Flashes of blue and green whirled before him while the sound of a slowing heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"Gadriel,” Nadira whispered, reaching for him. God, she was so pale, so weak. “Don't leave me."
"I'm here, Nadira,” he said, pressing his mouth to her trembling hand. “I'll always be with you."
"Our baby—"
"We gotta go now, dad,” a nurse said to him as she took Nadira's hand from his. “You can follow us down the hall to the OR."
Helplessly he stood, watching as the staff ran down the long hall pushing the stretcher that carried Nadira and his child. Impotent with fear, he paced, trying to gather his control—trying to find the faith he had left behind when he'd been thrown out of Heaven.
Please, he whispered hoarsely, looking out the window at the black night and the new layer of snow that blanketed the earth. I will do anything if you spare them. Please...
The full moon, with its silver glow illuminated the heavens. The clouds suddenly parted, revealing millions of angels circling above the earth, their wings spread wide. Then one lone angel descended from the opening. Feet first, wings flapping majestically like a hawk, he came down from Heaven.
And Gadriel knew who it was.
Bolting from the room, he ran passed the
nursing station. “Where have they taken my wife,” he asked, breathless from fear.
"Straight down the hall. But sir, you can't—"
He didn't wait for the nurse to tell him he couldn't be with Nadira. Instead, he ran, his feet pounding on the floor until he came to the heavy metal doors with frosted glass. Throwing the doors wide he was in time to see Sammael, dressed head to toe in black, with his hand on the door of the OR suite.
"I have been ordered here, Gadriel.” When he turned and looked at Gadriel, Sammael's eyes were not their usual warm brown, but black as pitch, yet Gadriel could see sorrow in them.
"No!" Gadriel cried, pulling Sammael from the operating room door. “Please, no."
"It is His will, Gadriel."
"No!” he roared, throwing Sammael against the wall.
"If you could keep only one of them,” Sammael rasped, winded from being knocked into the wall. “Who would you choose?"
"Please, no,” Gadriel choked. “Sammael, don't do this.” Gadriel fell to his knees and bowed his head before his brother. “Don't make me choose between the two of them. I love them both. I love them more than you could possibly understand."
"I understand, brother. I, too, have loved. I, too, have lived with the pain of loss."
"Then spare me this!"
"I cannot. Even if I wanted to, I cannot do so. It is His will, Gadriel."
"To torture me? To show me Heaven on Earth then steal it away from me?"
"It is time, Gadriel. It will be peaceful and easy, and I will take very good care of them. I vow this to you, brother."
"No, Sammael,” he begged, not caring that he was on his knees like a pleading child. He had no shame, no care other than saving the woman he loved and his child. “I'll do anything. Anything. Tell Him. Tell Him I'll fight His cause. Just ... don't take them away from me. Please don't, I can't bear the loss of them. The emptiness—"
"Stand, Gadriel."
It was another voice, not Sammael's he heard. Glancing up through his tear filled eyes, he saw Sariel striding toward him. God's Messenger.
"Can you stop this, Sariel? Can you save my wife and child?"
"Does the human mean so much to you then, Gadriel?"
"I would die for her."
"Would you repent for her?"
"I would do anything. She is ... she is my life. My reason for living."
"Do you love her enough to leave her, brother, so that you may fight the war?"
His body went rigid, his mind a blur with possible scenarios. “What are you saying, Sariel?"
"That your wife and child can be saved, if you will only repent and take up arms in our war. You commanded His army for centuries. Help us now to defeat the enemy, Gadriel. Join us."
"I will do anything you ask, just ... just don't take them away from me."
Sariel nodded. “So be it then. Your decision has been made."
Sammael placed his hands atop Gadriel's head and peered down into his face. “I didn't want to do it, Gadriel. I fought against it, pleaded for Him to send another, but I, too, am doing penance. It is never easy to always have one winged dipped in blood, is it, my brother? But I realised that if I were the one, if it were me to take your wife and child, then I could make it peaceful. I could take them and keep them safe for you. My gift to you, brother, until you could be reunited with them."
Sammael trailed off and brushed his hands over Gadriel's head. “But I am relieved I didn't have to do it, Gadriel. I am glad you will be joining us, brother. You've been gone too long."
Sobbing, Gadriel could only nod. What had he done? What had he agreed to?
"You will be ready when you are called, Gadriel.” It was an order. One he could not ignore. “Gadriel?” Sariel demanded.
"I will be ready,” he murmured, as shudders racked his body.
"Sir?” The nurse was looking out through the operating room door. “Come, now, it's okay,” she soothed as she reached for him, pulling him up from his knees. “You've got a daughter. A beautiful, healthy little girl."
As if on cue, a lusty cry filled the air and tears anew filled his eyes, running down his cheeks.
"Would you like to hold her?” Another nurse whose face was covered with a mask stood at the door, holding a squirming pink bundle in her arms. He reached out his hands and felt the soothing weight of his child being placed in his arms.
"Thank you,” he whispered as he looked down in amazement at the life he and Nadira had created. “I will ensure that there is a spot in Heaven for you and everyone who has saved my wife and daughter."
Both nurses cocked their heads to the side and stared at him. “I believe you,” the one with the mask said. “I believe that you have that power."
* * * *
Two months later the three of them were lying in bed. Outside, a snowstorm raged on, while inside they were warm and safe as they listened to the wind that howled through the leafless trees. Gadriel watched his wife and child sleeping, the beauty of it more profound than he had ever expected.
"Gadriel?” Nadira asked sleepily.
"I'm here.” He trailed the back of his fingers along her smooth, plump cheek, and she smiled, relief softening her face.
"I had a dream,” she whispered, coming closer to him so that she could run her hand down his chest. “I saw two angels, and they were falling from Heaven."
"Were they?” He reached for her hand and kissed her with all the love and ache he harboured in his body.
"I think they were coming for something."
"I think you worry too much."
"I wondered if it was about Mary. She's been in remission for months now. You know the doctors said it wouldn't last."
"But we know something they don't, isn't that right?” She flashed the smile he adored, and his heart felt as though it would break.
"Your friend did it, didn't he? He put Mary into remission."
"Yes. Sammael, along with God's blessing cured Mary."
"I wonder what Sammael offered in exchange for Mary's life?"
Gadriel felt his body shudder. How could she have known such a thing, of bargains with God? Did she know of his pact? Was she frightened? Did she fear the loss of him?
"Talk to me, Gadriel,” she pleaded as she fitted her palm on his jaw.
"After,” he murmured before kissing her deep and slow. Needing her, needing to be inside her, lost in her.
Reaching for their sleeping daughter who was sated from her recent feeding, Gadriel pressed his lips against her small back and inhaled the scent of her. Innocence.
Closing his eyes, he savoured the smell, brought it deep inside himself before kissing her and whispering a prayer against the fragile bones of her shoulder blade. When he opened his eyes, he saw his mark was there, present on her soft flesh. His name in angelic script entwined with angel wings. That was his mark. The same mark he had given her mother when they had created her.
"Gadriel?” Nadira purred, running her hand along his thigh.
"Let me put her to bed, and then we can have the rest of the night. I'm going to make love to you, Nadira. Love like you've never experienced before.” Beautiful, perfect love he silently added. Enough to fill you for a lifetime.
When he came to her, Nadira opened her arms and he fell into them, nuzzling his face into her throat and breasts. He would not think of what was to come. Would not allow his time with Nadira and his daughter to be marred by thoughts of ‘when'?
"I love you, Nadira,” he told her. “I have loved you since the moment you ran out of your car and into the pouring rain to save me."
She sighed and closed her eyes, her fingers tracing his shoulders, then sliding down to the raised points between his shoulder blades. “Show me, Gadriel. I want to see them. To be enveloped in them again. I need to feel them around me, to know that you're mine."
He granted her wish. His wings, unfurling, widened until they cocooned them both. They were still black and he watched as Nadira's gaze widened as they came around her and
beneath her.
"They're so beautiful, Gadriel. My beautiful, fallen angel,” she said with such reverence in her voice. “I would not want you any other way."
"But wouldn't you want them white and soft as they sheltered you?"
She traced his mouth with the tips of her fingers. “No, Gadriel. I want you as you are. Come inside me,” she encouraged, opening herself to him. “You're trembling, I can feel your body shaking. Let me love you. Let me take your worries away."
This was what it was like to be human; the beauty of possessing a soul. This was what it was like to love unselfishly, to be born of clay and sculpted into a beautiful, caring creature.
This was why his brothers had fallen, because not even Heaven was as beautiful as sliding into the woman you loved and filling her with all of your being.
Heaven truly could not compare to what he had found down here on Earth. His life with Nadira, their child and the sweet baby's breath that came from her parted lips when she slept on his chest. The nights, when he gathered Nadira close to him and made love to her. The mornings, when she made him breakfast and poured him his tea, or the nights when they lounged in their bed and he brushed her hair.
No, there was nothing in Heaven to rival that, that feeling of rightness and peace.
"Nadira, when I nearly lost you,” he said in a strangled voice, “I ... made amends with God. I promised—"
"Shhh,” she whispered against his cheek. “I know what you promised. He came to me as they were putting me to sleep. He whispered in my ear and told me what was to be. He promised me we would be together for eternity. And I have faith that it will be so. I believe you'd never willingly leave me or our child, Gadriel."
"I wouldn't,” he said, his voice cracking.
"I have faith in His plan, and so too, must you."
Gadriel looked down at his wife and allowed one tear to escape down his cheek. “I believe in you, Nadira. I believe in what we have, and that will see me through any dark times that may lie ahead. “I'll never leave you,” he vowed as he made slow love to her. “I will always be able to find you. Believe that, Nadira."
"I believe,” she said as his arms came tight around her, and he wrapped his wings tighter around her. “I will always believe in you, Gadriel."
Dark Awakening Page 5