Reaver (37 page)

Eidolon gave him a sheepish shrug. “I’m desperate.”

“Wow.” Reaver paused to yank on the scrub pants. “You really know how to sweet talk a guy.”

Eidolon laughed. “So? Is that a yes?”

“Yeah.” Reaver flexed his shoulder blades under the scrub top, feeling the loss of his wings as a

distinct, too-light sensation of phantom limbs. “I need a little time first.”

He was back in the human realm, but now there was fallout to deal with. He hadn’t had a chance to

spend time with the Horsemen, and right now Limos, especially, was a priority. And Harvester… he

had no way to contact her, but he had to try. His feelings had shifted the moment he learned the truth

about her, and then they’d grown during their time in Sheoul. Now, being away from her left a hole in

his chest where a ghost organ beat, much like the wings missing from his shoulders.

Then there was the issue of the brewing war between realms. A war that, if it boiled over, would be

his fault.

Eidolon walked toward the Harrowgate that sat on the southern edge of the Megiddo plateau, and

Reaver joined him. “Come back when you’re ready.”

They stepped into the gate, and Eidolon selected the caduceus symbol that would open into

Underworld General. When the emergency room appeared, E stepped out. “Be safe. There’s trouble

brewing in Sheoul, but I’m guessing you know that.”

“Little bit.” Reaver waited for the gate to close. When it was dark inside, with only the glow of

Sheoulic symbols and map lines on the wall, he tapped until he found the Harrowgate that was closest

to Limos’s Hawaiian house.

Losing the ability to flash himself anywhere in the world was one of the worst things about being

booted out of Heaven, and Reaver cursed as he walked the sandy path from the gate to Limos’s house.

When he arrived, it was Arik who met him at the door and surprised him with an enthusiastic embrace.

“Reaver, man, it’s good to see you.” Arik stepped back. “I heard you spent some time in Sheoul. Is

it true that you rescued Harvester? And that she was a spy for our side?”

Reaver followed Arik into the beach themed living room. Limos was conspicuously absent. “Yeah.

She’s been reinstated as an angel.”

“Cool, I guess.” Arik gestured beyond the canoe-shaped bookcase to the kitchen. “Offer you a

beer?”

“Thanks, no.”

Socially required niceties over now, Arik sank onto the wicker couch as if his legs had given out.

“Shit.” He braced his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. “I’m so glad you’re here.

Limos is… I don’t know. I feel like she’s gone.”

Reaver’s heart squeezed painfully hard. “Where is she?”

“Bedroom.” Arik looked up, the shadows under his eyes speaking of a lot of worry and restless

nights. “She doesn’t come out. I can’t get her to eat, and I have to carry her into the shower or she

won’t even do that. She doesn’t talk. She doesn’t even cry.” He jammed his hand through his hair,

leaving unruly grooves in the dark waves. “Help her. Please.”

Reaver would do anything in his power to help. He just hoped he could. Steeling himself, he went to

the bedroom and found Limos curled under the covers, only her tanned feet sticking out from the lacy

pink bedspread. An empty cradle sat in the corner, Thanatos’s scrollwork lovingly etched into the

wood.

Heart breaking, Reaver sank down on the bed next to his daughter and gently placed his hand on her

shoulder.

“Li?”

The Limos-lump moved under the covers. “R-Reaver?”

She clawed her way out of the tangled mess of blankets and sheets and threw herself at him, her

arms clamped so tight around him that he could barely breathe. And Limos, who rarely cried, bawled

until his neck, shoulder, and chest was wet with her tears.

He said nothing, simply holding her as she wept. If he’d learned anything at all about females…

mostly from Harvester… it was that it was easy to say the wrong thing, and more often than not,

saying nothing at all was the right thing.

Finally, Limos’s sobs turned to sniffles, and he twisted around to get a box of tissues off the bedside

table. Very carefully, he dabbed the wet streaks from her cheeks and brushed the matted hair off her

skin. There was nothing Limos liked more than to be pampered, and Reaver was prepared to do

whatever it took.

She let him clean her up, and then she scooted backward just enough to give him room to sit more

fully on the mattress. “You’ve been gone.” There was no accusation in her voice, simply a statement

of fact.

“I’m sorry.”

Bloodshot violet eyes met his. “Arik said you were rescuing Harvester. Do you love her?”

Whoa. Talk about being blindsided. But Limos had never been anything but blunt. “It’s…

complicated.”

“Why?”

He really did not want to talk about this, but he sensed that this was a turning point for Limos, a

reason to join the living, even if only for a little while before she burrowed back under the covers.

“Back when I was Yenrieth, we were close,” he said, and Limos sat up a little straighter.

“Were you lovers?” Beneath her deadly Horseman exterior, Limos had always been a romantic.

“No, but we should have been. We can lay that one on me. I was an idiot. I don’t remember much,

but I know it was you who told me you were my daughter and that I had three sons.”

She frowned. “I don’t remember that.”

“Because your memory was wiped along with everyone else’s.” His gaze drifted to the cradle, and

sorrow clogged his throat. What he wouldn’t do to make things right. “Apparently, I went a little

crazy. I still don’t know what happened, but I disappeared, and Harvester vowed to watch over all of

you because I couldn’t.” Or wouldn’t. He had no idea, but that missing piece of his life was going to

drive him mad until he knew. “She gave up everything to Fall and become your Watcher.”

“So you feel you owe her.”

“I don’t feel it,” he said quietly. “I know it.”

“And you love her.” This time, it wasn’t a question. It was a proclamation.

“Like I said, it’s complicated.”

Limos shook her head. “Complicated is when you fall in love with someone while you’re engaged

to Satan and you’re wearing a chastity belt. Does Harvester belong to anyone? Is she wearing a

chastity belt that will chop off your body parts? No? Then it’s not complicated.”

The image of Harvester holding Raphael’s hand flashed in his head, and his breath turned raw in his

throat. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time given that he knew something bad was about to go

down on the Megiddo hilltop. But now the idea that Raphael was acting a little too friendly with

Harvester skinned him alive.

“She’s an angel now,” he told her. “I saw her get her wings back.” Harvester had glowed like a

diamond in a ray of sunshine. She’d been the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. If he hadn’t been

pinned to the ground like an insect in a display case, he’d have been on her in a heartbeat.

“That’s perfect.” Limos smiled, and he had feeling it was the first time since losing the baby. “Now

there aren’t any rules between you—”

“I got the boot, Li,” he said, stopping her before she could finish. “I lost my wings.”

“Oh my God.” Limos’s eyes filled with tears again. “No. No, that can’t be. You saved her. How can

they do that to you?”

“It’s okay,” he said. “I expected to die.”

Limos punched a pillow. “It’s still bullshit.”

He took her hand, which felt too fragile despite the fact that she was one of the most powerful

beings in all the realms. “When I was fallen the first time, I prayed I’d get my wings back. When it

happened, it was like I was home.” He could still feel the elation, the amazement that he’d done

something to deserve entrance into Heaven again. “But you know what I missed? My independence.

My freedom.”

“The ties that bind also chafe,” she mused.

“Exactly.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m okay. Seriously.” Strangely, he was. Maybe he’d fall into a

deep depression the way he had last time, but he doubted it. So much had changed in the last few

years, and now he had a family. Only two things were missing.

Harvester and the grandchild he should have had from Limos.

“Limos—”

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

He nodded. “If you need anything…”

“I know.”

There was a tap at the door, and Reaver stood as Arik poked his head in. When Arik saw Limos

sitting up in bed, his eyes lit up, and he came inside in a rush.

“Reaver, you have a visitor.” Arik sank down on the bed and drew Limos against him. “It’s

Harvester.”

Reaver’s heart skipped a beat. Torn between wanting to stay with Limos and wanting to rush to the

female fate had separated him from for thousands of years, Reaver stood frozen to the bamboo floor.

“Go.” Limos’s voice was muffled against Arik’s chest. “Get her.”

Arik gave Reaver an
I-got-this
nod just as Limos grabbed his wrist. “Thank you for coming,” she

whispered. “Dad.”

Twenty-Eight

Harvester stood at the edge of the jungle outside of Limos’s remote beach house, her skin caressed by

the steamy tropical breeze, her bare feet buried in the sand. The simple pleasure of warm sand on her

skin was something she never thought she’d feel again when she was hanging from meat hooks inside

a frozen wasteland in her father’s realm.

Yeah, this was amazing. And she owed it all to the male in scrubs walking toward her with long,

fluid strides. The fact that he was no longer an angel didn’t diminish his powerful presence in any

way. The mere sight of him made her heart flutter madly.

Technically, he wasn’t supposed to look upon an angel who served in Heaven unless he was given

permission, but she wanted him to look. As much as he wanted to.

Oh, on many levels, she was still furious with him. Wasn’t sure she could ever trust him. But she

supposed none of that mattered anymore, and she wasn’t going to spend what little time they had

fighting. Besides, as the Horsemen’s Heavenly Watcher, they’d be seeing a lot of each other.

“Hi,” she said lamely.

He didn’t say anything. He kept coming at her, his expression serious, and the delicate flutter turned

to an ominous thud. Was he angry?

He halted a few yards away, his nostrils flaring, his chest heaving. Burning, raw masculinity

emanated from him, and Harvester’s body went hot with feminine appreciation.

“First,” he said, “thank you for getting me out of Sheoul and saving my life.” His voice was

guttural, warped with emotion she was afraid to name. But he was wrong.
He’d
saved
her
life.

“Second, we’re done hurting and hating and going through the bullshit.”

She inhaled sharply. After what happened at Tel Megiddo, she should have expected this, and it was

inevitable, after all, but it didn’t stop sensation of her heart being shredded.

Squaring her shoulders, she tried to hide the hurt. “It’s probably for the best.”

Especially given that she was going to have to officially give herself to Raphael tomorrow night.

“I’m glad you agree.” In three strides Reaver was on her, his mouth crushing hers. “No more

bullshit,” he said against her lips. “I want you. I think I’ve always wanted you.”

Shock and joy tangled so fiercely inside Harvester that she nearly crumpled to the ground. With a

sob of relief, she arched against Reaver and lifted her thigh to hook around his waist as he pushed her

backward against a tree.

God, he was a spark and she was dry tinder, and when his hand dropped to her ass to hold her for a

slow roll of his hips that rubbed his rigid length against her core, she nearly burst into flame. The cool

breeze coming off the ocean did nothing to help ease the heat. If anything, the reality that she was here

in this tropical paradise with the male she’d loved and hated for centuries… the same male she’d

loved and hated for the past few years… made it all that much hotter.

Reaver pelted her cheeks, jaw, and throat with hungry kisses. His breath fanned her skin, scorching