Salvation: A Realm of Flame and Shadow Novel

by Phillips, Christina

  “You were pretty sure about getting lucky today, then?” She flattened her palm against his jaw.

  “I wanted to be prepared.” His grin lit up the whole damn room. She made the decision without even considering it.

  “It’s okay. We don’t need to. It’s safe.”

  For a moment, indecision battled in his eyes. He was an archangel. She knew he was immune from infections that plagued mortals. The only thing that worried him was her peace of mind.

  And then his mouth covered hers, and his kiss stole whatever was left of her reason. His hands slid beneath her sweater, exploring, caressing, and she writhed, desperate for all of him. The solid length of his erection burned her thigh, but still he took his time, gliding his fingers over every particle of her sensitized flesh.

  “Nate, please.” Had she begged? She didn’t care. He dipped inside her, teasing, pushing her to the very edge of the known universe. “Now.”

  “Your wish is my command,” he ground between his teeth, his eyes a hypnotic swirl of midnight and madness. He thrust into her, filling her so completely that she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, and she clung onto his hair as her only anchor in the sea of sensation.

  He rode her hard, giving her everything she needed. Sensation flooded through her, a thrilling whirlpool of starbursts and rainbows, incredible, crazy, but she was beyond rational thought. And when he groaned her name in ecstasy, she discarded Earth and fell with him into the celestial maelstrom.

  Chapter 14

  Bella

  Nate rolled onto his back, taking her with him, and she snuggled against his hard body as he idly traced circles with his fingers along her spine. His evocative cologne weaved a sensual web around her, a fantasy cocoon where nothing but this moment in time existed.

  She’d take it. Real life would intrude way too soon.

  Finally, he spoke. “This platonic thing is overrated.”

  She laughed and propped her chin on her hand so she could see his face. “What platonic thing? That idea lasted less than five minutes.”

  He sighed and stroked her bottom. Renewed desire rippled through her and she shifted restlessly. “You’re just so irresistible.”

  “Are you blaming me for your lack of restraint?”

  “There was no blame attached. Trust me.”

  She dropped a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose. “Trust doesn’t come easily to me.” And even if it did, how could she ever truly trust him?

  It was illogical to mourn that irrefutable fact. So why was she?

  “Same.” There was a pensive note in his voice. His hold on her tightened, became possessive. “Who hurt you, Isabella? Is it because of your childhood?”

  She shouldn’t confide in him. But in his arms, sated and still psychically humming from their joining, his question didn’t seem that intrusive. What did it matter, if she shared a little more of her life with him?

  “I lived on the streets for a couple of years. You tend not to trust anyone, if you want to survive.” At least she’d had it easier than most. With her abilities, she’d managed to eat and find shelter, while avoiding the worst degradations that were so common for orphans in the slums.

  Technically, she hadn’t been an orphan as her mother was still alive, back then. But as far as Bella was concerned, her mother had been dead to her from the moment she threw Bella into the gutter.

  The same anger she’d witnessed the last time she’d spoken of her family, flared in his eyes. Why did his concern ignite a flame deep inside? Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea, after all.

  “Two years.” He made it sound like a curse. Enchanted, she gazed at him. “Did your long-lost relatives find you when you were sixteen?”

  She tilted her head, and the end of her ponytail brushed against his shoulder. She couldn’t imagine what he was referring to. “What?”

  His frown intensified. “Just guessing. When did the relative who left you their legacy discover your whereabouts?”

  Her quizzical smile froze, and she frantically clawed through her mind. When had she told him such a thing? Except she already knew the answer.

  She hadn’t. Why would she? There was no such relative.

  “Sorry.” A frown slashed his brow. “I read it somewhere before I met you.” And then he gave her one of his irresistible grins. “Does that make me a stalker?”

  She exhaled a shaky breath through her mouth, willing her panicky heartbeat to slow. If she didn’t pull herself together, he’d guess she was hiding something big. And although the truth might come out later, she’d deal with it then. But she sure as hell didn’t want to deal with it now.

  Didn’t want to spoil this moment in his arms, when his concern for her shitty adolescence had touched a deeply buried crack in her heart.

  But how could she answer him without lying? Before the advent of mid-twentieth century technology, it had been easier to flit through society without leaving a traceable footprint.

  But the world changed and to escape detection, she’d had to adapt.

  First Eblis, and then the Elite in the Watchers had instructed her on how to shield her longevity from mortals. And so, for human bureaucratic purposes, twice during the last seventy years she’d reinvented herself and fabricated an elderly relative who had died and left her an inheritance, in case anyone went digging into her background. But each time the “relative” had been her.

  It was the reason she didn’t have any personal social media accounts. The less information out there about her, the safer she was.

  How ironic Nate was confronting her with the very history she used to protect herself.

  His gaze turned watchful. Or was she imagining it?

  Say something. She didn’t usually find it hard to obfuscate when faced with a potential threat. But Nate was different. She couldn’t lie to him. Didn’t want to, which was terrifying when she considered the implications.

  “It’s a long story.” She offered him what she hoped was a resigned smile. “And very boring.”

  There was no mistake this time. His gaze definitely sharpened. “It won’t bore me.”

  Any time someone—say, an official—became too persistent in demanding information, it was a simple thing to subliminally hypnotize them into compliance. That wouldn’t work with Nate, even if she wanted to do such a thing.

  She compromised. She was doing a lot of that since meeting him. “It’s hard for me to talk about.”

  He cradled her head so tenderly that an unwarranted streak of guilt at her deception burned through her. If only he’d try to invade her mind to find the answers he sought. He wouldn’t succeed. She’d know right away what he was doing. But at least it would prove that the Archangel Nathanael was a dick.

  “Okay,” he said, and there wasn’t even a hint of him trying to violate her privacy. “Just tell me you avenged the wrongs inflicted on you by your family.”

  That made her laugh. “Vindictive, much?”

  “I prefer to call it justified vengeance.”

  Of course he would. He was known, after all, as the Archangel of Vengeance. The reality of her situation raised its ugly head, and her amusement died. “Do you ever forgive, Nate?”

  “Sure.” The warmth in his eyes assured her that he had no idea how serious she was. “Except for one thing. I never forgive betrayal.”

  Nate

  Isabella’s beautiful eyes clouded. He wished he knew what her fleeting moments of sorrow were really concealing. Logically, it had to be connected to when she lived on the streets and yet there was something about the tightness of her mouth that told him it was more.

  But what could be more traumatic for a young human girl than having to survive in such a manner? He could only imagine the things she’d endured.

  Another acidic wave of fury at her family’s treatment consumed him. It was better that Isabella told him nothing of them. If she did, he might be tempted to hunt them down and exact retribution.

  Maybe he’d hunt them down anyway, a
side project after this current mission was finished.

  She shivered, and with reluctance he rolled onto his side and withdrew from her. She gave him a faint smile before pulling on her jeans. “If I’d known we were going to get so friendly, I would’ve put the heating on.”

  “Next time,” he said, watching as she loosened her hair from its band, before finger combing the tangled tresses and pulling her hair back into her usual ponytail. His response gnawed into his brain.

  Isabella was like a drug that had invaded his blood and he couldn’t get her out of his head.

  “Not just the heating.” She rested her hand on his chest, above his heart. “I’ll wear the lingerie, too.”

  He groaned at the prospect. “Torturer.”

  She patted his chest. That was a form of torture, too. “You can think on that for the rest of the week.”

  Too right he would.

  Hey, Nate.

  Nate gritted his teeth as Azrael’s voice filled his mind. Of all the times to get in touch. He could ignore it. But since Az might have news about the substance that had been discovered at Sakarbaal’s castle, he was obligated to reply.

  I’ll get back to you.

  “Everything okay?” There was a questioning expression on Isabella’s face.

  “Yeah, great.” He wrapped his hand around her head and pulled her close for a lingering kiss. She tasted so good. He didn’t want to leave. Vaguely unnerved, he released her and retrieved his pants. “Just some work-related shit I’ve got to sort out.”

  “How’s that going?”

  “More slowly than I’d like.”

  “Any new leads that connect to my club?”

  “Nah.” He paused in the process of pulling on his boots and looked at her. “Out of interest, what made you decide to call your clubs Inanna?”

  She was still sitting on the floor, with her arms wrapped around her knees. She didn’t appear fazed by his question. “The goddess has always fascinated me. She’s such a powerful feminine force. I like to think she’ll return, one day.” She paused for a heartbeat. “If she was real, I mean.”

  Yeah, he couldn’t see that happening. Inanna was no longer a great fan of humans from Earth, and currently she owned a very lucrative string of clubs in the Andromeda Galaxy. But Isabella didn’t need to know that.

  He took her hands and pulled her to her feet. “Give me a call when you get back.”

  “Will do.” She went onto her toes and brushed a gentle kiss across his lips. “Be good while I’m gone.”

  * * *

  After leaving Isabella’s house, Nate teleported back to the apartment and took a quick shower. Should he have told her the one he hunted wasn’t human? He’d wanted to warn her, but he hadn’t wanted to terrify her. Although she hadn’t seemed especially worried that his mark might want to harm her.

  Fuck it. He wasn’t used to second guessing every decision he made. But since meeting Isabella, he’d done nothing but.

  It was disconcerting.

  He pulled on fresh clothes and went outside onto the roof terrace and gripped the handrail. The dark clouds merged into the grayness of the warehouses. It wasn’t an inspiring view. He sucked in a deep breath and contacted Az.

  What’s up?

  Azrael responded immediately. Mephisto wants to meet.

  Nate’s lip curled. When Mephisto had discovered Nate had known all along that Dagan was a demon, he’d ripped Nate a new one.

  Mephisto’s wrath had been justified, yet he hadn’t shared that knowledge with anyone else.

  Whatever Mephisto might think, that wasn’t the reason why Nate had blocked the oldest archangel of all when they’d deserted the ruined Earth. It was because of his blatant hypocrisy.

  What’s he discovered?

  You know Mephisto. Frustration threaded through Az’s words. He wouldn’t tell me anything.

  Great. Nate narrowed his eyes. It appeared Mephisto wasn’t leaving him with a choice. Tell him I’ll meet him in Zega.

  He had no doubt Mephisto knew the place. It was the most exclusive club on one of the most expensive pleasure planets in the Andromeda Galaxy. Not that he’d picked the club for Mephisto’s benefit. The club was owned by Inanna, and besides the fact it would be good to catch up with her again, she’d never put up with any of Mephisto’s shit.

  Fuck it, Nate. Can’t you lower your block and tell him yourself?

  Yes, he could. And no, he wasn’t going to. It had taken decades of working on his mental blockades before they’d been powerful enough to seal that particular telepathic link.

  I’ll be in Zega if he wants to meet.

  Az cursed in the language of the ancients and Nate gave a grim smile. The other archangel was clearly recovering if he could swear so eloquently.

  Now? Az asked.

  Sure.

  He waited another twenty minutes before teleporting into the elegant grounds outside Zega. The sky was blue and indigo, with splashes of pink. It was the perfect backdrop for the club, which bore more than a passing resemblance to the magnificent Temples of the Universe that had once graced Ama-gi.

  As an elite immortal, with DNA harvested direct from the original, Alpha Immortals of antiquity, Nate could have easily bypassed the stringent security measures and teleported directly inside the club. In other places, on other planets, he often did, if he wanted to cause a wave of awe or panic among the congregated mortals. But when it wasn’t necessary, he preferred the more subtle approach.

  From the cultivated grounds, he strolled into the front courtyard, where statues of the divine goddess in all her guises were strategically placed. Except they were more than just statues, they formed part of the security web. He gave a wry smile as she materialized before him.

  “Hey, Inanna.”

  She was one of the few goddesses he trusted, and after she’d rubbed his nose in the fact that she’d warned him about the demon and he hadn’t listened, they had fallen back into their pre-Dagan friendship.

  It was an odd word to use between their races, when the majority of the gods tended to look down on archangels, but it fit.

  “Hmm.” She swept her critical gaze over him. “You know I don’t like business being conducted within my domains without my permission.”

  “Who says I’m here for business?”

  “Your recently activated pheromones suggest you’re not in need of the kind of pleasure Zega offers.”

  “My recently released what? No, don’t answer that.” He held up a hand. Inanna had an uncanny ability to uncover things that were best left hidden. The fewer who knew about his connection to Isabella, the better. “I’m meeting Mephisto.”

  “Wonderful.” Irony dripped from each syllable. “I can expect mass hysteria to erupt any second, then.”

  An ethereal ripple distorted the atmosphere, causing the hair on his arms to stand on end. Inanna had impressive alert mechanisms installed. She rolled her eyes and beckoned for him to follow her. “Your Alpha’s favorite has arrived.”

  Inanna led him through the club, its soaring columns and elaborate arches that were so reminiscent of those ancient temples they’d both known in their youth. When they reached one of the main party rooms, Nate threw up a low-level glamour to disguise his archangelic radiance. Judging by how many mortals were clinging onto each other or collapsed onto the floor, Mephisto hadn’t deigned to put such a precaution in place.

  Still the same arrogant bastard as he’d always been.

  Nate folded his arms as Mephisto strutted across the room to them, his midnight wings partially extended, apparently oblivious to the chaos in his wake. It had been eleven thousand years since they’d last seen each other, and he looked exactly the same.

  He glanced at Inanna, who appeared exasperated, but not furious. In fact, there was a familiar gleam of admiration in her eyes.

  In Ama-gi, many of the younger goddesses had indulged in whirlwind affairs with Mephisto but he’d always assumed Inanna was immune to his charm.

 
; Looked like he was wrong.

  “Cloak it.” Inanna waved a finger in the general direction of Mephisto’s wings.

  “You’re no fun,” Mephisto said, but his wings instantly vanished, and the mortals stopped reeling. For the first time, he looked directly at Nate. “I appreciate you seeing me.”

  He hadn’t expected that. Mephisto sounded sincere. Not that it meant anything. Mephisto was a pro when it came to disarming his opposition.

  “If you’re going to fight, take it off planet,” Inanna said. It appeared she was also skeptical of Mephisto’s true motives. “I’ll be seriously pissed off if you destroy my flagship.”

  “I’m not here to fight.”

  Inanna transferred her laser gaze to Nate. He shrugged. “All I want is information.”

  “Do I need to adjudicate?”

  “No.” But maybe she needed to be warned. The poison hadn’t appeared to affect vampires or dhampirs, but the DNA of archangels and the minor gods came, one way or the other, direct from the Alphas. The gods might be just as vulnerable to the alien shit as archangels. “I’ll keep you in the loop.”

  “Fine.” Inanna didn’t sound fine about it, but she stepped back. “I’ll leave you to whisper your secrets to each other.” With that, she teleported.

  “It’s been a long time, Nate.”

  He wasn’t in the mood for small talk with Mephisto. “Not long enough, but Azrael tells me you’re already working on this crap from the Guardians.”

  “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

  “Go ahead.” Why was he making such a big deal of things? Oh yeah. Because he was Mephisto. To underline the point, the smug archangel threw up a top-level glamour which ensured that even Inanna’s enhanced security would be unable to penetrate and hear their conversation.

  “Are you aware of any archangel who fell for a demigoddess in Ama-gi?”

  “What?” Nate glared at Mephisto. Because what the fuck did that have to do with anything? Don’t piss me around, Mephisto. You know why I agreed to meet with you.”