Watcher Exposed: Dark Angels Paranormal Romance (Watchers of the Gray Book 8)

by JL Madore

  She stopped, the full weight of her disappointment clouding those beautiful hazels. “Not once, did Daddy yell at me for the horrible accident that left me blind. He never blamed me for not being the same girl he’d always known and loved. And he never berated me for things I could no longer do or had to do differently because my life blew apart.”

  Aaaand there it was. The line drive brilliance of his wife hitting yet another one outta the park.

  “Fuck me.”

  Austin squeezed the studded guard on his wrist, and her touch went all the way to his soul. “When tragedy strikes, it hits more than the victim, that’s fair, but you don’t get to judge him for things he didn’t choose and can’t change.”

  Zander scrubbed a hand over his face and ached all over. He was tired—seriously tired—and kept waiting for the world to slow down so he could catch his breath.

  “Angelman, you’re angry with him for not being the man he was before he was murdered. That’s not fair. Don’t you think he wishes he could be that man? When you boys gear up and go out, he’s left behind. All y’all look to him to lead you, like he always did. He wants to be that man—he’d do anything to be that man. But it’s different now. You gotta stop punishing him for it.”

  Zander exhaled. “Am I punishing him? I never meant to do that.”

  Austin nodded. “I know, but you’re angry.”

  “I am angry.”

  “And angrier still because part of you that thinks it should’ve been you killed, not him.”

  He pegged Austin with a glare. “I’ve never said that.”

  She rolled her eyes. “So, you think I don’t realize it? Stryker was out to punish you. He targeted Tanek to make you suffer. And you led Tanek straight into that warehouse.”

  Zander blinked against the sting in his eyes and turned away. Austin followed and collected his jaw in her cupped hands. “Tanek died that night—not you. You were his wingman, and you walked out of there to get mated and have a baby and run the garrison.”

  Hot tears brimmed. Once they started down his cheeks, there was no sense holding back. She was right. She was always right. “I don’t know how to make it right. If I could go back to that night—”

  “You can’t,” Tanek said, right behind him.

  Zander stiffened. He was about to wipe his tears and push the shit he was feeling down, but what the fuck. He let it fly. Turning around, he caught Tanek’s surprise at the waterworks but went with it. “I’m sorry, T. Austin’s right. It should’ve been me.”

  “That’s not what she said.”

  “Then it’s what I say. You were the hero of Nephilim. Our rock. Stryker slaughtered you out of vengeance to get to me. Me. An angry, violent, piece of shit who doesn’t deserve any of the rewards I’ve gotten. You should be the one happy, with the kid, and leading the garrison. I stole your life, T, and I’m so fucking sorry.”

  Tanek blinked fast and fuck if he didn’t well up too. “You know what our Lady says, Zandros. Everything happens as it is meant. I don’t know what that means for me, but I’ll figure it out.”

  “It should’ve been me.”

  “Honestly, Z. You gotta stop letting that shit eat you. Austin and Nio look good on you, my brother. They’re good for you. Don’t spoil that by regretting them. They weren’t meant for me. My happily ever after is out there. I’ll find it.”

  Zander swiped at the tears dripping off his chin. “I feel like a fraud. The men look to me in the crunch, and all I can think is, “What would Tanek say?” or “How would T handle this?” Nothing is real. I’m faking it, and I’m tired, man. I’m so. Fucking. Tired.”

  Zander would’ve dropped to his knees if Tanek hadn’t moved in fast and caught him. Chest to chest, his commander held him up. But that was Tanek, right? The guy who held you up when the world crumbled around you.

  “I’m sorry, T. I never wanted this.”

  Tanek squeezed harder, holding him together. “I know you are. And, as often as I’ve wished you a shovel to the side of the head, I never begrudge you your happiness here. Sure, when the next sex-spell hits, I’m calling dibs on the pantry, but other than that—”

  Zander barked a laugh. “You’re an asshole.”

  Tanek chuckled and wiped a hand over his eyes. “True enough, but seriously, I gotta get laid. Living with you guys is like watching porn twenty-four seven. It’s all love, all the time, and now that Hark’s popped his cherry, I’m the only one becoming fully wackadextrous.”

  Zander laughed harder. “Not an image I want.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  What a rollercoaster relationships were. In three days, he’d crested the highest highs or plummeted toward his destruction. He didn’t care. Watching his brothers ride their rides taught him the journey was far more important than the destination. They’d get there. Side by side, they left the Seraph training facility where he and his brothers were molded into assassins. It felt good that he and Ren were a team.

  “So, Michael lied?” Ren asked as they left.

  Hark chuckled. “Of course he did. Why do you look so surprised? I told you, the Archangels aren’t the benevolent powers that members of the Choir think they are. They are corrupt, self-serving elitists.”

  “Then where’s Ringo?”

  “That, my love, is the million-dollar question.”

  Ren bit her lip and looked off at the glowing spire of Archangel Tower. “I know how to find Ringo. Follow me.”

  Hark gladly fell in behind her. Watching her hair sway and her ass shift as they jogged down the pristine white steps was a newfound pleasure. “To the ends of the earth, my Cherub queen.”

  Ren giggled and cast an eye roll over her shoulder. “You don’t need to lay it on so thick.”

  He reached around her waist and spun her to meet him steel chest to pliable breasts. Heaven. Dipping his head, he kissed her the way he had in the change room when no one was watching. This time, however, there were a dozen angels of different castes, and they all seemed shocked by his PDA.

  His Mark burst into purple pub mode, and he moved his kiss to the side of her neck so he could whisper against her ear. “I love to lay it on you thick. Thick and hard and hot. I will again, as soon as I get you alone and our time is our own. There are soooo many new things I want to try.”

  Ren’s arousal bloomed around them like the most succulent perfume. She was wet for him. Her slick dampness altered her feminine scent in such a subtle, delectable way. “Quite an eager student.”

  His beast growled. “You have no idea.”

  “First, Ringo.”

  “Agreed.” But to ensure she didn’t miss his hunger, he pressed his hips against her and let his granite cock prod her belly. “We need to find him soon, or I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

  She inhaled sharply, the ragged breaths that followed almost inaudible. “It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”

  Hark groaned. Her nipples were peaked and tempting him to taste. “If it weren’t my little brother’s safety, I’d take you to that bench by the stream, unzip my leathers, line up your wet, welcoming core, and sheath you down my cock to sit in my lap.”

  “Right there on that bench?”

  He slid a hand down to the curve of her back, his mind a total mess of wants and needs. “Have I told you how much I love the long skirts you wear?”

  The tip of her tongue peeked out of her mouth and glossed her lip. “I’m listening.”

  “Well, with that much fabric, I could settle you on my cock, set one arm casually across your hip, and have the other hand under that skirt gently rubbing you off while I pulse and push against your insides.”

  “That would cause quite a scene.”

  “I bet you no one would even notice.”

  A nervous laugh bubbled out of her. “Bet me what?”

  He thought about that. What would he risk to act out that scenario? “Anything. Carte blanche.”

  Ren’s eyes widened. “Challenge accepte
d. Once we find Ringo and ensure that he’s safe, I’ll ride you on that bench, and we’ll see what kind of scene we make.”

  The growl that ripped from his lungs had a passing Power turning. “Done deal. Find the kid. Now.”

  The rough demand in Hark’s voice made Ren’s heart flutter. For a quiet male with no prior sexual experience, he certainly wasn’t tentative. He wanted her and didn’t have any trouble voicing that. Shifting her stance, she tried not to think about how hungry she was for him too. She swallowed and cleared her throat. “Follow me to the Library of Lives. We have a private record for each of you. Ringo hasn’t transitioned, but his recorded movements and life experiences should be there.”

  When he nodded, she focused on slowing her racing heart so she could dematerialize back to the realm of the Cherubim. Yeah, that took a moment.

  They arrived at the gates of the sacred site as one, and she wondered how best to approach this. The records were sealed, and their privacy protected. That protection was always strict but after Zander’s private file was compromised two years ago, procedures had tripled.

  She placed her palm on the intention plaque held by the marble sentinel outside the gates. A surge of energy rushed up her arm and into her heart and mind. Closing her eyes, she opened her heart. “Lady Divinity charged me with the care of the young Watcher, Ringo. He’s been brought to the heavens, and I must find him. His transition is imminent, and milady wishes for me to aide him through.”

  “The records are private, Cherubim.” The male voice that responded came from the marble statue but was projected from one of the Keepers inside.

  She nodded. “As they should be. If you search the recent past of the young warrior, you can confirm all I say. I don’t wish to pry into his records. I simply need his location to assure his well-being. It’s Lady Divinity’s will.”

  There was a short pause. “I offer this information as it is Our Lady’s will and because the young warrior’s location is public, not private. Ringo currently rests within the Great Hall of Archangel Tower.”

  “Deepest gratitude,” she said, bowing her head and stepping back. “Now, we only have to figure out how to access the Archangel Tower.”

  Hark smiled, and a glint of something threatening lit his dark eyes. “I think your sister wants to help.”

  Tanek sat in the blue armchair of the cottage and stared at the little country hideaway. The décor had Austin written all over it, but the flowery prints and hand-embroidered cloths didn’t bother him—in fact, he liked them. In the thousands of years he’d existed, there had never been a female touch in his life. He rather liked it.

  “Am I intruding?”

  Tanek rose from his seat and pressed a hand down the crease of his pants. Scarlett was breathtaking, as always, but this afternoon even more so. Instead of her usual, conservative, sixties-style dress, she wore a black sheath that clung to her in all the best places.

  Fucking speechless. She was smiling. Waiting. Right, she’d asked him something. “Oh, no. Please. Has something happened? Does someone need me at the house?”

  She shook her head. “May I join you?”

  He gestured to the loveseat to his right and waited for her to sit before he joined her. “May I get you a drink? We don’t keep much here, but there’s liquor and ice.”

  “Bourbon neat, if you have it.”

  He fixed her drink and refreshed his.

  She sipped at the edge of the glass tumbler and smiled. “Do you come here often?”

  He chuckled but waved away the awkward blush her question triggered. She wasn’t casting him a line . . . was she? “Honestly, I started hanging out here looking for a quiet place to search my thoughts. I don’t sleep anymore, so when everyone’s tucked in . . . yeah, it’s nice to step away.”

  She took another sip and nodded. “Do you ever feel like there were parts of life you didn’t take full advantage of while you were living, and now . . . they drum in your veins, begging you not to make the same mistake twice?”

  He knew exactly what she meant. “Austin thinks she’s burdening me to pick up the slack with Nio when she needs a hand. The truth is, I’d snuggle that baby day and night if I could get away with it.”

  Scarlett’s smile lit up her face. He’d often thought she had a classic beauty, but she was hands-down a Hollywood starlet. She caught him staring and brushed a curl of her flaxen hair behind her ear.

  He watched her swallow and wished he still possessed the heightened senses of his Nephilim self. He would love to smell her mood. Was she nervous? Intimidated? Aroused?

  That thought shot straight to his cock, and he drew a deep breath. Sweet mercies, Lady Divinity, please let her be aroused and interested in him. “Um, so what are your instincts hoping you’ll take advantage of?”

  Please say sex. Me. Sex with me.

  Yes! Pleeeease say sex with me.

  “I loved my husband and have struggled the last few months since his passing.”

  Dammit. Okay. So, there’s that.

  “When we were young and building our empire, Howton and I were driven and focused. A lot of nights we could’ve spent in bed as husband and wife, we spent in the office as business partners. Then, I was killed and watched him kill himself by focusing solely on the business. I’m sure he took lovers after, but he never brought any to the house. Not even after Veronica moved here to Toronto.”

  He sucked back a few gulps of his whiskey, unsure where this was going. “That’s powerful devotion. He loved you enough to preserve the home the two of you shared.”

  She nodded, twisting her glass in her palm and focusing on the swirl of burgundy amber. “Which is why I struggle.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  She blinked up at him and smiled. “May I take off the kid gloves of a lady and be blunt?”

  He shrugged. “Fine by me.”

  “I want sex. You. I want to have sex with you. A lot of it. I haven’t been with a man in twenty years, and we’re both ghosts, so—yeah, here we are.”

  Tanek’s cock roared to life, and he all but chucked his glass onto the coffee table. Halle-fucking-lujah. “I worried it might be just me.”

  Scarlett let out the most adorable laugh. “Living in that house . . . with all of them undressing their mates with their eyes all day and night.”

  “Exactly!” Tanek said. “So, not to rush things and be indelicate, but when?”

  Scarlett glanced around the room. “Does one of those doors lead off to a room with a bed?”

  A wicked smile lit his face and he rose to his feet. “Let me give you the tour.”

  “You expect me to what?”

  Hark ducked the ceramic projectile as Ayana took her best shot. The figurine hit the wall behind him and shattered into a million pieces. Ren’s sister took offense to being locked down and left in her own home.

  “We need to get inside Archangel Tower, and you’re going to help us.”

  Her laugh lit off like the song of an angel, though it didn’t last. She picked up the next smash rocket and readied her aim. “I don’t know what you’ve done to my sister, but you won’t do it to me. Stay back.”

  Ren winced. “He hasn’t done anything to me.”

  Ayana turned her fury on her sibling. “Then why are you letting him treat me like this? You’re a lot of things, Ren, but cruel has never been one of them.”

  Ren snorted. “You’ll survive. We were gone for an hour, and you were under house arrest. It was hardly cruel punishment.”

  Ayana hauled her arm back and loosed the mug before Hark realized she’d actually throw it. He launched the distance, wrapping himself around Ren as the mug hit the wall. The thing smashed, and he waited until the debris crumbled to the floor.

  His tattoo burst purple, and he had that bitch by the throat and pinned to the wall before he could think. She kicked and squealed; her eyes bugged wide as her feet flopped in the air.

  “Throw something at Ren again, and I snap you in two. Talk to her like
that, and you go over the railing. The only reason I haven’t already ended you or turned you over to my brothers as a conspirator against our household is that it would hurt Ren. Don’t overrate your value.”

  Ren’s touch on his arm soothed him more than he would’ve thought possible. “I’m fine. Let her down.”

  He did as she asked and found it as much a compulsion to obey her wishes as it was his own decision.

  Ayana rushed across the room to the sofa and gripped her throat, crying. “Go. Take her things and get out.”

  Hark loved that idea, but it wasn’t quite time. He unlocked his seal on Ren’s bedroom and retrieved Ayana’s tablet. “In an hour, you’ll be free to flit off and wreak havoc on someone else, and I’ll never set foot in your presence again. Your sister, however, can make her call.”

  “And what happens in the next hour?”

  “I told you. You’re getting us into Archangel Tower.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Kyrian read Zander’s text and set his phone back onto the bedside table. Dionysus spell of lust and frenzy. Who had the juice to hit them with something that ancient? As he rolled onto his back, he caught sight of the new silver band on his ring finger and smiled.

  “You really like it?” Cassi asked, propping up onto her side to face him. Her hair was tousled from sex and sleep, and her citrine eyes were still sleepy.

  So. Fucking. Beautiful.

  “I love it. How could I not? It came from the depths of your hearts. Thank you for thinking of us.”

  “And you’re not mad we interfered?”

  “No, sweetheart. You girls have as much invested in our safety as we have in yours. If there was something I thought I could do to keep you from harm, I’d do it.”

  Her smile fueled the beating of his heart. “Storme said that if someone is trying to whammy you, you’ll get a bitter taste in your mouth and know to take notice.”

  He chuckled. “My favorite part is the backlash.”

  And her laughter fed his soul. “That was Ronnie and Layne . . . and a little bit Clare. Ronnie said they should suffer more than their spell, that something visual should happen so you could see who it was if you came across them. Layne thought of the rash. Clare insisted it show not only on their face and arms but their privates too.”