An Archangel's Promise

by

Jess Buffett

An Archangel’s Promise

Copyright © 2013, Jess Buffett

ISBN: 9781937325992

Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.

Electronic Publication: December,
2013

Editor: Pamela Tyner

Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs

eBooks are not transferable. No part
of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in
the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction and
any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is
purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination
and used fictitiously.

Will the enemy be powerful enough to break an archangel’s
promise?

For the last ten years, Gabriella Richards has struggled
with the pain of losing the only man she’s ever loved. From out of nowhere he
returns to throw her life into chaos, and it isn’t without consequences.

Hunter Bailey had always known he was different, but nothing
could have prepared him for the truth. As the son of an archangel, he has been
on the run for years from those who seek to wipe out his kind—the Nephilim.
With a destiny unknown even to himself, nothing will stop him from returning to
claim the woman he loves and the happily-ever-after he was promised.

Gabriella finally has the love of her life back, but at what
cost? And will the enemy be able to break an archangel’s promise?

Content Warning: strong language, graphic sex

This book is for Hazel Gower. My best friend. If it weren’t
for you, I never would have finished An Archangel’s Promise.

Twenty Years Ago…

The archangel Gabriel stared down at the angel on trial and sighed
heavily. He hadn’t wanted to believe one of his own, let alone Ash, would be capable
of a crime so heinous. When the charges had been brought to him, Gabriel had
been sure someone had made a serious mistake. Now listening to the words the
angel in front of him spoke, he knew the only mistake to be made came from him.
And for that he was sorry.

“So you admit that you willingly had a hand in the victim’s
death? That you assisted the group of Fallen known as Renatus?” his fellow archangel
Raguel asked, his phoenix-like wings tensing as he frowned.

Raguel, the archangel for justice, fairness, and harmony,
was leading the proceedings. Whenever a trial needed to be held for the conduct
of one of their own, the seven archangels would come together with Raguel at
the center. Their concern at the moment was not just this angel’s role in the
death of the Nephilim, but that he had been cooperating with members of the
Renatus, whose sole purpose was to hunt down and kill all Nephilim. They
erroneously believed that the creator saw Nephilim as abominations, and that if
they rid the earth of them, the creator would reward them by allowing them back
into heaven.

If only they knew that it was all a game, played by a very
old and dangerous Fallen.

“The Nephilim cannot be seen as victims, my lord. Those
things should not have been born in the first place,” Ash argued, the venom in
his tone condemning him.

“That is not your decision, nor ours, young one,” the archangel
Michael said, arching one of his golden eyebrows. “It is a Fallen’s belief.”

Ash, obviously not realizing the trouble he was in, or
simply not caring, carried on as if Michael had not even spoken. “They have
proven before that they have no control over their powers. Powers of superior
beings should not be placed in the hands of temperamental children.”

“So you believe that not only should all Nephilim be killed,
but that angels are superior to humans?” the archangel Uriel asked. “That goes
against everything the creator has taught us.”

“If you truly believe what you are saying, then there is no
hope for you.” The archangel Remiel’s words hung heavy in the air. He was the archangel
for hope, and if he saw none, then there was no other option but to pass
judgment.

“
Is there truly no hope for him, brother?
” Gabriel spoke
into Remiel’s mind.

“
I’m sorry,
” was his only reply.

“
We have no choice, Gabriel,
” Raphael said, placing
his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder in comfort. “
We knew there was a chance,
given who his father is, that he would turn out like him.
”

Ash was the son of one of the worst Fallen there was, but
Gabriel had seen the good in him as a child. It was why he had accepted the boy
into his choir. “
He doesn’t even know who his father is. Only a select few
of us do. Can we really take that step?
”

“
His actions would suggest otherwise.
” Michael’s
brows furrowed. “
Either that, or in this case, the apple doesn’t fall far
from the tree.
”

“
Gabriel has a point though. If we do this, then we will
be delivering him into the hands of the Fallen we have tried so hard to keep
him from,
” Remiel said.

“
There are some things that cannot be forgiven,
” Zerachiel
added. As the archangel of mercy and forgiveness, his words struck deep.

“
The creator’s teachings cannot be ignored. To do so
would be to give in to evil, brother,
” Michael said strongly. As the right
hand of the creator, Michael had taken Ash’s insolence personally.

That was when it dawned on Gabriel. “
Which is exactly
what he wanted. Don’t you see, if we cast Ash out, Asmodeus has won.
”

They all inwardly tensed at the name. Asmodeus was one of
the most evil of fallen angels, being an archdemon. Raguel and Raphael had both
had personal dealings with him. If he had discovered that Ash was his son, then
he would stop at nothing to get the boy back. Even if it meant condemning him.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriel lent forward. “You leave us no
other choice, Ash. Your clear disregard for the creator and his teachings have
proven your guilt. Still, I had hoped that perhaps there would have been
something we could have done to help you find your way again.”

Gabriel sat back as Raguel delivered their judgment. “Unfortunately,
taking the life of an innocent, and showing no remorse for such an action, has
shown us we are too late. You are hereby cast out of the heavens, to be known
from now on as Fallen.”

“I am sorry, son,” Gabriel whispered.

“I am not your son!” Ash bellowed as guards came over to
restrain him. “You will pay for this, Gabriel.”

“I wish there was another way.” He truly did.

Abruptly, Ash stopped fighting. “You all have weaknesses.
I’ll find them, and I will make sure you suffer,” the Fallen said in an eerily
calm voice.

Dread filled Gabriel. Was it possible that Ash had
discovered their secret?

He turned to his brothers, all of whom wore grim
expressions. Regardless of what many thought, it weighed heavily on them when
they had to pass a judgment such as this.

“
Do you think he knows?
” Gabriel asked them.

“
I honestly do not know, but perhaps you and Raphael
should keep your distance. Do not draw attention to them until they can defend
themselves,
” Uriel suggested, ever the voice of reason.

“
Our sons are not of age yet, brother. Let the others
watch over them,
” Raphael said.

Gabriel’s pain at the thought of having to leave his son was
echoed in Raphael’s eye, but Gabriel knew the others would keep them safe until
the day they would reunite with them. At least he had had this small time to
see and know his son. Raphael was yet to find a woman to conceive his child,
and with this threat, there could be no chance of his brother even attending
the birth of his own son. He would never know the boy.

“
We will all keep watch, brothers. We will keep your sons
safe,
” Michael vowed.

Nodding his head in thanks, Gabriel stood and left the room.
He had somewhere he had to be.

* * * *

An hour later, Gabriel stood in a bedroom of a small child.
The girl lay fast asleep in her bed, and he smiled at the innocence that shone
from her. Yes, she had been a good choice. He had been drawn to the child, to
Gabriella, when she had been named after him. Her parents, true believers,
prayed to him and asked him to watch over her. One look into the girl’s deep
emerald gaze and he knew he had found the other half to his son’s soul.

Bending down, he whispered softly, “One day you will meet a
boy. While others will keep their distance you will break down his barriers and
become the most important person to him. When the day comes that he leaves you,
you will hurt, and I am sorry for that. But he will return for you when it is
safe and you will forgive him, because your love was meant to be.” Pressing a
kiss to her forehead, he smiled. “You will save my son and be the gift he
deserves, and in return he will be yours. Love him true, Gabriella.”

Gabriel stood up and left, appearing in another room, this
time belonging to a young boy.

As he walked over to the bed, his smile was a little sad
this time. “Hunter. My beautiful son. This will be the last time I will be able
to see you for a long time.” Sweeping his hand through the boy’s raven locks,
so much like his own, he whispered, “I have said sorry so many times of late,
but I have never meant it as much as I do now. One day we’ll meet again, when
you are strong enough to stand by my side, and the heavens will sing with their
happiness. Until then I have given you a gift, the other half of your soul. She
will come to you and help you through these years when you feel most alone.
When you have to leave her it will hurt the both of you, but there will come a
time when you can return to her and that is when we will see each other again.”

Unable to withstand the pain he felt at saying goodbye,
Gabriel left the room as quickly as he came. Ash could not find his son. The
Fallen would not hesitate to use Hunter to exact a revenge he believed he was
owed. The fact that Hunter was Nephilim would paint an even bigger target on
him. Still, Gabriel had done all he could for his son. He hoped one day the boy
would be able to forgive him.

Ten Years Ago…

Tomorrow was their high school formal and Gabriella Richards
couldn’t have been more excited. She had spent the last two hours trying to
pick the perfect shoes to go with her dress, much to the amusement of her best
friend, Hunter Bailey.

“I don’t know why you’re bothering, they’re just going to be
hidden under the dress anyway,” Hunter said, lying back on her bed as he
flipped through a magazine.

Poking her tongue out at him, she continued to rifle through
her closet. “You would say that, Mister Jeans and Sneakers. Do you even own a
pair of slacks or dress shoes?”

“Ha! I wouldn’t be caught dead in slacks.” He threw his head
back, laughing. The move tossed his dark brown locks out of his face, to reveal
his sparkling sapphire eyes.

“And it’s not just our formal, it’s your birthday,” she
reminded him.

Hunter groaned, sitting up quickly as he glared over at her.
“Please tell me you haven’t planned anything.”

Gabriella smiled, batting her eyelashes at him. “It’s not
every day that you turn eighteen. I’ve been dying for you to catch up for the
last two months so I can finally go and experience the nightlife.”

Hunter groaned. “The nightlife? Really?”

“What?” she said indignantly, her hands on her hips. “That’s
what everyone calls it.”

“Yeah, well, you could have gone with everyone else then.”

“No, I couldn’t. Now deal with it, and help me pick some
shoes out,” she ordered.

“Nope. You’re on your own.” Hunter smirked, settling back
against her headboard. “Apparently you don’t listen to what I say anyway.”

Grumbling under her breath at his lack of helpfulness, she
finally remembered a pair of heels she had bought and thrown up on the top
shelf of her wardrobe months ago that would work well. Now she just had to
reach the things. Stepping on top of a few boxes to check her shelves, suddenly
they began to shake. Before she had a chance to grab onto something or yell for
help, she crashed to the ground. Jarring pain shot through her ankle as she
landed, making her cry out.

Hunter was immediately by her side. “Christ, Gabby, are you
okay?”

“Ankle,” she said through gritted teeth. She was afraid she
had broken it.

“Just stay still and let me have a look at it,” Hunter
ordered, placing his hands around the injury. His eyebrows furrowed as he
concentrated.

Gabriella gasped as the pain began to recede, like a cooling
balm was placed on her fiery skin. As Hunter removed his hands, she stared down,
noticing that everything appeared to be okay. Tentatively moving her ankle, she
smiled when it no longer hurt. “I would love to know how you do that.”

“You and me both,” Hunter grunted, shoving a hand through
his hair in frustration.

Hunter and Gabriella had been best friends for a long time.
When she had met him in year six, Gabriella could tell immediately that he
would be important to her. A transfer from another school, word had gotten
around quickly about the new boy—a foster kid who had been moved around so many
times people started to ask why no family wanted to keep him. Hunter had exuded
an air of hostility that seemed to repel most people, but she hadn’t been
fooled. It had taken some time but eventually he’d opened up to her and they
had grown close. Over the years they’d become inseparable, and Gabriella didn’t
want to think of what her life would be like without him.

They shared everything, including Hunter’s biggest secret.

A few years ago, they had been tracking through the bush at
the back of her house. Her parents had told them repeatedly not to go in there
because if anything happened to them no one would hear, but they hadn’t
listened. Gabriella hadn’t been watching where she stepped and had fallen down
a rock ledge. Rushing to her side, Hunter had screamed for help, but it was
useless. Gabriella hadn’t been able to move and there had been a bone
protruding from her leg. They had both feared the worst until her body started
tingling in the places Hunter held her. She had gasped when the sensation
spread throughout her body and they had both watched in amazement as her bone
and tissue began to mend itself right in front of their eyes.

Once she was healed, Gabriella had stood up, gaping at
Hunter. “How?”

Jumping up, Hunter had begun to backpedal, shaking his head.
“I-I don’t know. Please, d-don’t tell anyone. I’m not a freak, I swear.”

Taking a slow step forward, she had reached for his hand,
soothing him. “I never said you were a freak, Hunter. Never. I promise I won’t
tell anyone. It will be our secret.”

And it had been. Through the years there had been other
unexplainable incidents, things Hunter did that should have been impossible,
but she had kept her word. Hunter was the most important thing to her, and she
would always protect him.

Pulling herself out of the past, she watched as Hunter once
again began to pace. He did it every time something like this happened.

“Hunter.” She sighed.

“It’s just so frustrating. I don’t know why I can do what I
can. And my real parents aren’t here to tell me why,” he growled, raising a
hand and tugging at his hair. She was amazed he hadn’t gone bald from the
amount of times he did that. “As usual, I’m clueless. Mum’s gone, and if she
explained anything to me before she died, I was too young to remember. Dammit,
I was only eight.”

Knowing she had to put a stop to it, Gabriella did the one
thing that never failed to work. She kissed him. It always had the ability to
stop him dead in his tracks, and originally that had been her only motivation
behind it. She would be lying though if she said things hadn’t changed. Somewhere
along the way Gabriella had fallen for her best friend, and each time their
lips met she fell just a little harder.

Stepping back, she looked up at him, shocked by what she saw.
Hunter looked almost feral, his eyes blazing with heat. Before she could ask
what he was thinking, Hunter wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back
to him as he slanted his lips over hers. Gabriella gasped in shock, and Hunter
took the opportunity to delve into her mouth, tangling their tongues. Over her
initial shock, she moaned as she threw her arms around his neck, surrendering
to the onslaught of emotions that sped through her. They stayed like that for
what felt like hours before they finally had to come up for air.

“Hunter,” she panted, struggling to draw air into her lungs.
“Why?”

“Why do you always kiss me?” he countered, raising an
eyebrow. His breath came quickly too, and his eyes were intent as he gazed at
her. So much power, so much raw need. Gabriella had never seen anything like
it. “And don’t say it’s to stop my pacing. We both know it’s past that now.”

Blushing, she ducked her head, not able to look him in the
eye. “I’m sorry. I can’t help how I feel.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. In case you hadn’t
noticed, I kissed you back,” Hunter said, his fingers gripping her chin and
forcing her to look up at him. “Question is, where do we go from here?”

Where indeed. Gabriella was still trying to work out how
things had changed so much in the last few minutes. This was her best friend,
whom she had been in love with for a while now, but too afraid to admit it.
Hearing that he felt something too both thrilled and terrified her.

“If we plan on crossing that line, Hunter, then you need to know
that I’m in love with you. I don’t think my heart could take it if we went back
to being simply friends.”

She had always known it was all or nothing, which was why
she’d never said anything. She’d never wanted to risk losing him.

“It would never be simple with you, Gabby,” he whispered. “I
love you too.”

How long had she waited to hear those words?

“What if we don’t work out? What if I lose you?” She felt
sick just thinking about it.

Cupping her face with his hands, he kissed her lightly,
almost lovingly. “You will never lose me. I promise.”

From the corner of her eye she suddenly noticed the time on
the clock beside her bed, and she smiled. “Happy birthday, Hunter.”

The grin he gave her made her shiver with want. “I finally
caught up to you. So, do you trust me?”

Taking a chance, because Hunter had never broken a promise
to her, she kissed him. A tingle raced up her spine, and she gasped at the
sensations bombarding her. His strong hands clamped firmly down on her waist
and he lifted her up into his arms. Hunter carried her to the bed, and
Gabriella let out a cry as he dropped her onto the mattress, quickly following
her down to cover her body with his own.

“Hunter,” she panted as he began tugging at her clothing.
She joined him in the heated frenzy, desperate to feel every inch of him
pressed against her.

When they were both naked, Hunter leaned back, his gaze
raking over her felt like the softest caress. The hunger in his eyes made her
feel beautiful. His hands slowly traced every nuance of her skin, all the dips
and crevices, until she felt she would pass out from the pleasure.

Hunter pulled back again, and she whimpered. “Where are y—”

She paused when she saw he had grabbed his jeans and was now
holding a condom, a nervous smile on his lips. At her raised eyebrow, he
shrugged. “I told you I love you. I figured if I ever worked up the courage to
tell you and you felt the same…well, I wanted to be prepared.”

God, he was amazing.

“Come here,” she whispered, opening up her arms. “I love you
too. Make me yours.”

A rakish grin splayed across his face. “Oh, Gabby. You
always have been.”

His words, so certain, inflamed her desire for him, making
it burn higher, hotter. She squirmed as he slipped a finger into her untried
heat. She was so wet, so ready for him. Hunter gently pumped the digit,
allowing her muscles to stretch. He followed it with another as his thumb
strummed against her clit. Gabriella’s eyes closed as she allowed the
overwhelming sensations to consume her. When he pulled his fingers out, she
cried at the loss. The sudden nudging of something thicker, longer, at her
entrance had her breath speeding up.

This is it.

Hunter parted her folds, pushing just the head of his cock
into her pussy. Gabriella struggled to breathe as he continued to slide his cock
further into her, his unyielding hands on her hips holding her steady. Her
walls protested slightly at the pressure, and she forced herself to relax. When
he reached her hymen, he paused, sweat dripping from his forehead. She could
tell it took everything he had to go slow, to be careful, and she loved him all
the more for that.

“I’m sorry, Gabby. I can’t stop this from hurting.” Hunter’s
voice was ragged and hoarse.

“I know,” she reassured him. “Just do it. I trust you.”

And she did. More than anything.

Taking her at her word, Hunter thrust forward. Gabriella
clamped her lips shut, refusing to cry out even though it stung and burned.
Tears pricked at her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall as she gently moved
her hips. Hunter began to move, his hips pumping in and out. Soon the pain
ebbed, morphing into spirals of pleasure, until she was drunk on desire.

“Oh, fuck. Gabby. So good. Can’t stop. Oh, Christ,” he
babbled as he thrust rapidly inside her.

Gabriella met him thrust for thrust as they sped up, both of
them desperately reaching for that peak. Gabriella moaned loudly, the fear of
her parents discovering them only a distant thought in the back of her mind.
All she could focus on was the ecstasy she felt at having Hunter deep inside
her.

“Hunter. Yes, oh yes. Just there,” she whimpered when he
pressed a hand between them, seeking out her sensitive sweet spot.

When his fingers parted her flesh to find her clit, her
pussy was slick with her desires. Wiggling, she tried to get him to put more
pressure on it. She had touched herself there before, but it had never felt as
good as now. She clung to him, her arms clasped tightly around his neck and her
legs anchored around his waist. The fingers of his other hand kneaded the flesh
of her hips.

“Please, Hunter. Faster. I need you.”

“Say it again,” he demanded, holding her tight against him.
“Tell me you love me. Tell me you’re mine.”

“Oh God, yes,” she replied breathlessly. “I love you. I’m
yours.” She trembled in his arms.

He had never sounded so possessive, so animalistic. She was
loving it.

Overcome with desire, she looked up at him. “I’m there.
Hunter, I’m there.” She was on the edge, so close that she was almost ready to
teeter over, but she needed him with her. Had to have him with her.

Lifting his head, Hunter kissed her again. “Mine,” he
snarled as he pushed into her pussy deeper and shuddered as he came.

His kiss captured her scream as she climaxed, shuddering
beneath him. Gabriella floated on a cloud of bliss, absorbing the reality of
what they had just done. Not one part of her regretted it—she could never
regret her Hunter.

Gabriella had no idea how long they lay there, their bodies
tangled. As the hour grew even later, or earlier really, Hunter let out a deep
sigh. “I have to go.”

“I know,” she whispered, not wanting to let him, but knowing
she had to.

The kiss he gave her, so subtle and sweet, was exquisite.
“I’ll be here tomorrow around five o’clock to pick you up,” he promised.

She smiled. “I’ll be waiting.”

As he snuck out of her window, careful not to disturb the
rest of the household, Gabriella waved goodbye. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow.
After the formal they would celebrate his birthday as per her wishes, because…well,
he had never been very good at saying no to her. With a smile on her lips,
Gabriella drifted off to sleep thinking everything was perfect.

* * * *

Gabriella woke the next morning, unable to contain her
smile. The night before with Hunter had been magical.