He didn’t want to entertain whether it was because it was guardian
blood or because it was Angeline’s blood.
She stirred as he took deeper pulls of her blood. Her heart rate climbed
as her breathing grew ragged and panicked. He withdrew his fangs and
ran his tongue over her wrist.
“What’s wrong little angel?”
She tried to scramble off of him, but he pulled her back and covered them
both with the blankets. Hadrian’s mouth found the hollow of her
throat, and instead of biting, this time he kissed her.
Angeline went still as he moved from her throat to her lips.
“Are you okay with this?” he murmured against her skin.
She began to cry and pushed him away.
He sighed. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“No, I mean yes. I’m okay.”
He arched a skeptical brow as she fought to wrap a sheet around herself.
He’d never get over this strange modesty, particularly after his
first impression of her so many years ago. It was especially strange
given the number of times he’d seen her naked in the past few days.
One would think she wouldn’t be so shy. But he suspected it had to
do with shame and nonsense they’d drilled into her head as an
angel. She’d conflated it all into one big ball of angst and guilt.
“If you’re so okay, why are you crying?”
She gripped the blanket tighter around her form and looked away. “I
didn’t care if you were okay with it. I just threw you down on that
altar and desecrated your church.”
This clearly wasn’t happening right now. It would be too awkward. He
wasn’t sure he could do sex and self-loathing mixed in one big pot.
He’d done that one before, and it hadn’t been overly appealing
that time, either. She’d turned her back to him, and he came up
behind her and placed a kiss on her neck.
“Wherever I sleep for the day, that’s where you sleep. Just like today. If
you’re going to be my guardian angel, I need you to be where you
can guard me.”
Suave, Hadrian.
“I’m not an angel.”
He pressed a kiss against her shoulder. “Of course you are. Go feed or
eat or absorb or whatever you call it. I’m grabbing a shower before
we head to Anthony’s for the meeting.”
***
When the bathroom door closed behind him, Angeline dropped the sheet and
went out onto the balcony. The Moon wasn’t as bright and strong as
the night before, but when she closed her eyes and pushed her wings
out of her back, she was still able to absorb the power from it. She
soaked it up until she was satiated.
She tried not to think about Hadrian naked in the shower. That body. A
shiver trailed down her spine just underneath her wings. She
remembered that body—the taut muscles of his stomach underneath her
hand. She still remembered the way he felt inside her, even as she
tried to push that thought away.
She couldn’t allow the word to form in her mind, what she’d done.
Yes, he’d wanted her even without thrall. Thrall had only been
needed to get him to break his vow of chastity. But somehow that made
it worse.
How could he want her after that? Maybe it was because of feeding and
finding her naked in his bed. Or maybe he was just using her. If that
was his plan, she couldn’t bring herself to blame him. He was still
hard to read. He had so much anger—always swirling around him like
a thick, black smoke she feared she could get lost inside.
But just because he felt anger, didn’t mean it was about her. It could
be about any number of things. And yet, that emotion had been
constant, humming under the surface ever since she’d confronted him
to warn him in his church.
In ordinary circumstances, she’d never trust someone with that much
anger. Anger was a volatile emotion, hard to control. But Hadrian had
enough control that she felt safe with him, whatever demons he might
be fighting in his mind. He never broke his own code.
She jumped when hands spanned her waist and pulled her back to him. Her
wings kept him from pressing all the way against her. She was afraid
to know if he wore a towel or if he was just all Hadrian behind her.
“If you want a shower, you’ve got ten minutes,” he said. “Then we
have to go.”
She scurried past him and locked herself in the bathroom to get ready.
Chapter Ten
Hadrian felt Angeline’s nervous energy as he took her up the stairs to the
rooftop of Anthony’s penthouse.
“You’re late,” Anthony said. “Again.” He already had out the overhead
projector. It was a mystery why he used that ancient thing when there
was so much better technology available for meetings. But then, most
vampires had trouble keeping up with or appreciating technology. They
were a bunch of cranky Luddites, except those who’d been more
recently turned. Even Hadrian found himself resistant to the newest
technology these days.
Hadrian kept Angeline behind him. “I brought the angel you requested.” He
felt her racing pulse.
He turned to find her face as anxious as her heartbeat, betrayal shining
out of her eyes. With the guilt she carried, perhaps she thought he’d
led her up here for payback, some punishment for the massive list of
her sins. But he’d gone soft and protective where she was
concerned.
He touched the side of her face. “Everything is okay.”
“Angeline? Is that you?” Anthony said. “I thought surely you couldn’t be
my Angeline.”
“Excuse me?
Your
Angeline?” Charlee said.
“It’s just an expression, Charlotte,” he said to placate his mate.
Angeline gripped Hadrian’s arm like he was her lifeline.
“I haven’t seen you in… what is it now… two centuries? Perhaps
longer?” the vampire king continued. “I was surprised when Linus let you go.”
“H-he didn’t let me go. I ran.”
Anthony chuckled. “No, he let you go. No one gets away from Linus. Or no
one got away from him before I separated his head from his body. I guess after he grew his
menagerie of broken things, you no longer held his interest. No longer exotic enough.” He
turned to Hadrian, “Why did you bring her here?”
“You said you wanted protection for your family from the angel who’d
been protecting me.”
Anthony left the podium at the head of the table and approached them, still
staring at Angeline as if not believing it was her. Those two had to
have history. From the way she clung to Hadrian, it wasn’t good
history.
“Angeline is no angel,” the vampire king said. “While I’m sure it’s a
fascinating story how a vampire ever got elevated to begin with, she’s just a guardian now,
no better than any of the other guardians I already have on the payroll. She’s of no use to me.
Neither of you are.”
Anthony pulled a sharpened stake from his coat pocket, but Angeline was too
fast. She pushed him back, and her dark wings came out, wrapping around the two of them. The stake
bounced off the protective barrier and clattered onto the concrete.
Cain had left the table by this point and picked up the stake.
“That’s mine,” Anthony said.
“You can have it back after class, if you behave,” Cain replied.
“I shouldn’t even allow you at these meetings,” the vampire king
said.
“We have more important things to worry about right now than this grudge
you’re holding against Father Hadrian. If I can let it go, you can
let it go. And you
will
let it go for the sake of everyone
here and all of our people.”
Hadrian felt the shield go down as Cain took Angeline’s hand and helped her
up. Hadrian stood and brushed himself off.
Anthony made a face. “It’s sad that you need a woman to protect you.”
“She’s my guardian. That’s her job,” Hadrian said.
“Will someone get Angeline a chair?” Cain said, ignoring Anthony.
“She can have mine,” Charlee said, standing up with Sydney and heading
to the door.
“Charlotte…” Anthony said.
She held up a hand. “You’re being an asshole, and the baby’s fussy.
Neither one of us is in the mood for it right now. I need to feed
her.” She turned back to Hadrian. “If you and your guardian would
like to stay at the penthouse until you find a new place…”
“Why would he need a new place?” Anthony asked, horrified by the
suggestion.
Charlee rolled her eyes. “He stays in churches. Guardians can’t get
inside churches. Keep up, dear.”
Anthony followed her to the door and they exchanged whispers so quiet, even a
preternatural couldn’t pick it up. After a few minutes back and forth, her face softened and
the two of them shared a kiss. He kissed his daughter on the cheek, and Charlee took the baby
inside. The wolf pup followed after them.
“Hurry back,” Anthony said to her retreating form.
“Father Hadrian? We’ve got chairs,” Cain said.
Attention had shifted from Anthony and Charlee to Hadrian. Angeline sat next to
Tam who, to Hadrian’s relief, was making her feel welcome.
“It’s just Hadrian now, no
Father
,” Hadrian said.
Something flitted across Cain’s face, but he didn’t comment.
“The penthouse is not on offer,” Anthony said, making his way back to
the table and smoothing his clothing out.
“That’s fine,” Hadrian said. “I wouldn’t stay in a place you had easy
access to if the only other option was lying in an open field until
the sun came up.”
Anthony growled.
“Children,” Cain said. “Enough. I’m done. Hadrian and his guardian can stay
in my dimension, but only until we get through the worst of this.
Then you’ll need to find another place.”
“I appreciate it, you don’t have to…” Hadrian still felt guilty
for what he’d done to Tam and found it surreal that the two of them
didn’t seem to care that much. It was a sign of their otherness.
They may both be preternaturals like the others on the rooftop, but
Cain and Tam were so old, their minds worked differently. To say the
least.
Cain returned to the table.
“Wait, can I speak with you privately?”
The demon leader arched a brow but followed Hadrian to the far end of the
rooftop. Anthony looked annoyed, but Hadrian couldn’t care less.
“Don’t think me stopping Anthony back there or giving you and your girl a
place to stay for a few days is some gesture of friendship. I’m doing what is practical only.
We’ll never be friends. Not after the incident.”
Okay, so perhaps the demon did hold a grudge.
“I understand. I just had a question you might know something about.”
Cain’s arms were crossed over his chest, and it was clear he wouldn’t
indulge Hadrian for long.
“Can angels be destroyed? Their souls, I mean.”
Cain glanced over at Angeline then back to Hadrian. “They can. I’m not
sure if it’s just a rule of the man upstairs or if
only
angels
are in a form that can be destroyed, but yes.”
“What about guardians?”
Cain nodded. “They’re still part angel, so yes, technically, though I
don’t think you have anything to worry about. Once they toss them out of Heaven like that,
they just shun them. I’ve never heard of a guardian being destroyed.”
“Is there any way to
…
how do I protect her for sure?”
“Claim her.”
“What? Are you sure?”
Cain rolled his eyes. “You asked the oldest pure demon in the world how
to protect a fallen angel in case Heaven decides they aren’t done with her, and I told you.
Claim her. Tying her to you like that will protect her, they can’t destroy a soul that belongs
to a vampire or demon.”
“Wouldn’t she be safe in your dimension?” Hadrian knew that option wouldn’t
be offered, but he was grasping.
“We are not friends,” Cain repeated. “If you want her protected,
you
protect
her. It’s in your power to do so.”
The demon leader went back to the table and sat next to Tam. Hadrian sat
beside Angeline.
“What was that about?” she asked.
“Nothing important,” Hadrian said.
Cain snorted.
Anthony pounded his gavel on the table to bring the meeting back to order,
and the group settled.
Claim her.
It seemed extreme, like pushing the red button. The human
side of Hadrian was skeptical and anxious about the whole idea. It was such a big step. He hadn’t
been around her for very long since he’d known she was back. He was attracted and felt weirdly
protective, but that didn’t mean that he had to spend the rest of eternity with her.
And it grated on him. Hadn’t that been
her
plan when she’d
turned him? To keep him with her forever? Although Angeline hadn’t
suggested it, it felt as if somehow Hadrian were playing into her plans. And the part of
him that didn’t do other people’s plans—which was every part—didn’t like it at all.
But the demon side of him latched onto the idea. The demon side loved it.
Claim her. claim her. claim her. claim her.
It chanted and danced around in his mind like a
hyperactive toddler.
CLAIM HER!
Now the voice was doing some serious mental opera.
Mine. Mine.
Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Want her. Take her. Claim her!
“Shut up!” Hadrian shouted.
His demon side quietened, but everyone else at the table turned to him.
“Something you’d like to share with the rest of us?” Anthony asked.
“No,” Hadrian said.
There was a long pause as they waited to ensure no other outbursts were
forthcoming.
“As I was saying, since I’m sure you just drifted off on a cloud
somewhere,” Anthony said, “They’ve already taken New Orleans and Atlanta.”
“Who is they?” Hadrian asked.
“That’s what I thought. You weren’t listening. Someone remind me why
Hadrian is here. He has no angel for me, and as charming as you were, Angeline, I have a mate now.”
Hadrian growled at the vampire king’s implication. Definitely history.
Angeline flinched.
The werewolf alpha spoke up then. “If they’ve taken Atlanta, my pack
and I will have to find a new place to run. That’s too close for my comfort.”