“Are you…”
She held up a hand. “Don’t. Please, don’t. If I get asked if I am okay one more time, I will scream. I am sick and tired of being in this house. I am sick and tired of being watched. I am sick and tired of everyone walking on eggshells around me!”
“I understand.” He walked up close to her. “Would you like to get out of here?”
Her eyes snapped to his. His purple eyes shone with sincerity.
“Please.”
“Go and get dressed. I drove my own car today. We can go to the coast and take a breath.”
She smiled a relieved smile and nodded. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
She quickly ran from the kitchen and up the stairs. Marcus came around the corner with Rebecca.
“Was that Denise? Is she okay?”
Logan smirked. “Apparently, she is tired of being asked that. I am getting her out of the house.”
Rebecca walked forward. “That’s not a good idea. What if something happens?”
“Would you like her to keep locking herself in that box? She needs to get out of here.”
“Who is going to protect her?”
“She is an angel. She can protect herself. You’ve got to let her try. You cannot keep her trapped in this house.”
“He’s right, Mom.” Mary said as she came into the kitchen. “She is the shell of what she used to be, and we can’t keep her here. She will resent us, and then where would we be?”
“I’m just worried. We have no clue where Analise is, and those angels haven’t been heard from either.”
“Mom. Logan has a Guardian and Denise is quite capable.”
“Okay, okay.” She looked at Logan. “Please protect her.”
“With my life.”
44
Denise came running back down the stairs and took in the serious faces in the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“I swear. You have got to let up a little. I’ll be okay, I’m going stir crazy.”
Rebecca uncrossed her arms and walked over to her.
“I know honey and I’m sorry. I’m just worried.”
“I know. I am too, but I can’t hide away forever.”
“You’re right. Have fun and make sure to call us if you need anything.”
“We are going on a drive, not out of town.” She looked over at Mary and smiled. “Thanks for braiding my hair last night.”
“Of course. You know that I love playing in your hair. I’m glad that Lenora taught me how to French braid. Your halo looks amazing on you.”
Denise shook her head and grabbed her jacket. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and smiled. Her hair was braided in a circle around her head, and it did look like a halo. She chuckled at the memory of Mary trying to add ribbon or flowers to it. She loved her, but that was just too much. She turned around and looked at Logan.
“Ready?”
“After you, my lady.”
She smiled and walked outside. He unlocked his car and she whistled.
“Fancy car. Nice.”
“It was a little indulgence. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself.”
She smiled in his direction as he opened the door for her.
“Can we ride with the top down?”
“Anything you want.”
Don’t tell me that. She smiled and looked out of the window.
The day was beautiful for a drive. It was almost seventy-five degrees, and there was a light haze in the air. There was hardly any wind blowing so when he dropped the top, the only air was when he started to drive. Denise closed her eyes as he drove down the road toward the highway. Logan stole glances at her as she tilted her head back and let the wind blow on her face. When she opened her eyes, she caught his eyes on her and she smirked.
“You look beautiful.”
She peeked her eye open again and smiled. “Thank you.”
Logan turned the music up on the radio and got off the exit towards the beach. The smell of the water caused Denise to open her eyes. She sat up straighter in her seat when she saw the beautiful scene before her. The ocean looked as if it went on forever. The water rippled and the waves were lightly licking the sand.
“Would you like to walk the beach?”
She turned her head and nodded rapidly. When she smiled this time, she showed a full smile and it lit up her whole face. How could he not want to do anything she asked of him? He pulled into a parking lot and Denise hurried her shoes off. She held the straps between her fingers and quickly got out of the car when he parked. She walked toward the beach and turned around to make sure that Logan was following. Seeing him take in his surroundings made her smile. He was always on alert. He caught up to her as she stood just out of the waters reach. She looked out over the water and closed her eyes and listened to the silence of the water. This area of the beach was not open to swimming so there were minimal people there. Most were just sunbathing.
“My mom used to bring me to the beach when I was little. She said that here, you could tell your stories to god and he would listen.” She opened her eyes and looked at Logan. “Do you think that’s true?”
“I do. Here at the edge of the world seems like the perfect place to talk to god.” She smiled at his answer.
“Can you tell me something about yourself?”
“Like what?”
She turned to look at him. “I don’t know. Maybe like, how come your eyes are purple?”
He smirked and looked out at the water.
“My mother was a great wizard. She died when I was very young, and I’m told that I get my eyes from her.”
“Do you remember her?”
“Vaguely. She died so long ago. It seems like another time.”
They were quiet for a moment, but it wasn’t awkward. She watched as he absently played with the necklace around his neck.
“I’m scared that I will forget my mom.”
“You won’t. She was such a presence in your life that it would be impossible.”
She reached over and put her arm through his. He looked down at her and placed his other hand on hers.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
“It is absolutely my pleasure.”
They walked the beach for about an hour before the wind started to blow and Denise shivered.
“You’re cold.” He stated matter of fact.
“A little, but I don’t want to go back yet.”
“Come on. We don’t have to go back just yet. I want to show you something.”
She smiled and let him guide her off the beach.
45
Logan drove them about forty minutes away from the beach. Denise watched in awe as the houses got bigger and bigger until it was nothing but land and mountains.
“Where are we? I’ve never been this far.”
“Just wait.” Logan smirked and glanced at her amazed look.
Denise sat up straighter in her seat as a large estate came into view. It looked as if it could have been a castle at one point in time.
“Oh my god. This place is massive. Whoever lives here is loaded.”
Logan smiled and turned up the driveway. He watched as Denise’s eyes rounded and her mouth fell open as he put in his gate code. The steel gates opened and as they got closer to the mansion, it grew larger.
“Please tell me that you don’t live here?”
“This is my home.”
Her head whipped over to stare at him.
“I live here with my father and brother.”
She smirked. “Still live with your parents eh?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Come on. Let me give you a tour.”
The walked up to the double doors and Logan waved his hand and the door opened. They stepped through the door, and it closed heavily behind them. He turned around and activated the wards again. The room that they stood in had white marble floors. There was a large round table that had the biggest flower arrangement that
Denise had ever seen sitting on top. There were coat hooks on one side of the door, and Logan took her sweater and hung it on a free one. There were busts of women and men that sat upon white pedestals that lined the grand staircase. Everything looked so polished.
“I would hate to clean this place.”
He laughed as he walked back over to her.
“We actually have a service come in to clean. We are hardly ever here though.” He took her hand and interlaced their fingers. He put their hands close to his chest and guided her to the stairs. The railings of the staircase were a white marble while the stairs themselves were black. You would think that it would look out of place, but it fit.
“Have you ever tried to slide down this railing?”
“Of course. I made it, Sabastian didn’t. He had to get stitches, and Father was mad at us for weeks.”
“Marcus seems tough.”
“He has not had it easy. Being married to a wizard and learning new arts put him in a different class. With a different class, comes hatred. He’s gone centuries without friends.”
Denise stopped abruptly. “Centuries?”
“Yes. My father is older than he looks.”
“And what about you?”
“I am too.” He smirked and started them walking again.
When they reached the top of the stairs, there were large portraits lining the walls. The hallway in each direction looked as if it went on forever. Logan turned them to the right and walked halfway down the hall before opening a door. Denise let his hand go and walked into the room with her mouth agape. There was a large four poster bed with drapes around the sides. She had only read about beds like that in books. There was a fireplace on one side of the room with a high wingback chair in front. On the other side was a rack of weights and a martial arts mannequin. The rug that was in front of the bed was so thick and she had the urge to go and stand on it with no shoes on. She turned in a circle to take it all in and then faced him.
“This is your room?”
“Yes. I stay down this hallway. My father stays down on the other side and Sabastian is downstairs on the first floor. We have plenty of space to not get in anyone’s way.” He walked over and opened a door that was close to the fireplace. “This is my bathroom.”
Denise walked over and put a hand to her mouth.
“This is not a bathroom. This is a spa. I would never get out of that tub.”
He walked up close behind her, and she could feel his heat. His face was close to her ear and she closed her eyes.
“If you ever want to get away, you are free to come here.”
She could only nod. His body left hers and she felt the loss. When she turned around, he was standing at the window. She joined him and looked at the beautiful view. There were only mountains as far as you could see.
“It seems so peaceful here.”
“It is. I was born here, and it has been in my family forever.”
She turned to look at him and he looked down at her. She pinched the front of his shirt and played with a button.
“Thank you for today. It’s the first piece of peace that I’ve had in a long time.” He placed a hand on hers and smiled.
“Anytime.”
His hand moved under her chin and tilted her head up. When they locked eyes, he dropped his head and kissed her. Denise’s hand gripped the shirt tighter as he deepened the kiss. Her hands went around his neck and flowed in his hair. When their lips separated, they were both breathing hard.
“I should get you home.”
Denise closed her eyes but nodded. He kissed her one final time before they walked back to the stairs.
“I promise to give you the rest of the tour at a later time.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
He smiled and grabbed her sweater before walking out.
When they made it back to the house, it was dark outside. They paused on the porch and Denise stopped him before he took the wards off. He turned and looked at her with his eyebrows drawn.
“Logan. I have no clue what is going on right now, but I really had a great time today.”
“As did I.”
“I just don’t want to think about fate or anything like that with us. Can we just keep it like this?”
“Of course.” He kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes. She smiled and nodded. He took down the wards and escorted her into the house.
46
As Logan was driving home, he let out a huge breath. Being with her and around her was going to be difficult. He had been having these dreams that seemed so real about her every night. He wasn’t sure if he was creating them or if she was projecting, all he knew was that he was struggling. When she was in his bedroom, he wanted to rip her clothes off and make love to her all day and night. Fate or not, she was his and he felt that in his soul.
Jeriah was furious in seeing his bride with that warlock on the beach. He wanted her to look at him like that. He had been doing everything in his power to get her to see him. He made her dreams so real that she had no choice but to pleasure herself. If only he could watch her. When the time came for them to actually be together, there would be nothing that could stop them from conquering the world. He just had to find a way in.
47
Denise came downstairs the next morning and Mary’s eyes took in her appearance.
“Geeze girl. You look like shit.”
Denise plopped down in a chair at the table and put her head down.
“I got no sleep last night.”
“Thinking about Logan?” Mary teased.
Denise looked at her and then around the room to make sure that no one was looking. This caused Mary to sit up.
“No. That man at the funeral.”
“What? What happened?”
“I’ve been having these dreams.” She shook her head and looked at the table. “They are so real.”
“What kind of dreams, Dee?”
“Like, naked and steamy.”
Mary looked at her worriedly and grabbed her hand.
“Did he say anything to you?”
Denise snatched her hand away and looked at her curiously.
“Mary? What are you not telling me? Why would you ask me that?” Denise stood up and looked at her friend. “We said no secrets. What is going on?”
“We are trying to figure it out.”
“We? So, you’re not alone in this?”
“Look. Something happened at the funeral and you had a lot on your plate, and we didn’t want to just heap it on you.”
“Does Logan know?”
Mary was quiet and Denise huffed. “Of course, he does.” She turned to walk out of the kitchen. “I just can’t do this right now.”
“Dee, wait!”
Denise just kept walking and back up the stairs.
“What’s all that yelling?” Rebecca asked as she walked into the room.
“I just messed up.”
“How?”
“Denise told me about some dreams, and they were with that angel from the funeral. I questioned her and now she’s mad at me because I didn’t tell her about it.”
“Did you explain that you were only trying to help.”
“Of course, mom. She just feels betrayed. What am I going to do?”
“Go and talk to her. She just needs to see that we are only trying to help.”
Mary let out a breath and nodded. “I’ll let her calm down a minute and then go up.”
Rebecca kissed the top of Mary’s head and poured her a cup of coffee.
Denise couldn’t stand the secrets. It hurt to know that they were keeping something from her. She quickly put some clothes on and ran down the stairs. There was no one in the kitchen so she crept to the door and ran out. She just needed some space and some air. She began walking and decided to go and catch the bus back downtown. She remembered a pond that she passed as she walked that sat behind some buildings. She needed to try to at least stay in a public place. She couldn’t
think of anywhere else to go and she just needed to clear her head.
48
Analise and Z had tried to come up with a new plan, but it all fell apart. Every scenario that they came up with ended with someone hurt. The people that Z had gotten to help them have now bailed after learning of Jeffrey’s mistake. They certainly didn’t want to take on a pissed off angel. To get their minds off of their situation, they decided to go and grab some food from a local bakery downtown. Z felt as if he owed it to Analise to play nice for a little while so that she can calm down. They were coming out of the bakery with Z carrying the food and Analise carrying the drinks. She was laughing at something that Z said and crashed into someone walking past. The drinks spilled all down the front of Analise’s shirt and she sneered.
Angel’s Fury Page 9