Avenge (5 page)

I eyed him suspiciously. “You didn’t
have to get me anything. Having you is more than
enough.”

Max was already out of bed and
throwing on an old tee shirt that read “I Dig Dead People,” an
homage to his days as an anthropology professor.

I stood up before he could completely
pull it on, pressing my cheek against his back and trailing kisses
down his spine. I could feel his muscles stiffen under my touch and
wrapped my hands around him, pressing my palms into his chest to
hold him close to me.

“
You sure you want to leave
this room?”

Max groaned, his body loosening as he
submitted to my request, but instead of throwing me on the bed like
I wanted him to, he shook his head a few times as if to clear his
thoughts.

“
God, as much as I want to,
this is the worst timing. C’mon, let’s go get your present. You’re
going to love it, trust me. I can’t wait to see your
face.”

That piqued my curiosity more than
anything, and as soon as he ran out the door to get whatever my
present was ready, I opened my wardrobe door and tore through it to
try to find something to wear today. I settled on a FSU fitted tee
that I knew would make Max happy and a pair of cutoff jean shorts
that emphasized my 5’ 11” frame. I ran my fingers through my curly
locks and tossed my hair into a French twist with little whispies
hanging out of the end.

As much as I wanted to open this
present, I knew I shouldn’t go anywhere without at least brushing
my teeth, so I took another ten minutes brushing, putting on
makeup, and a dab of perfume behind my ears. Looking at myself in
the mirror, I knew that was the best it was going to get on fifteen
minutes’ notice, so I turned and headed into the living
room.

When I got there, I was shocked to see
it full of people. “Surprise!” everyone yelled once they saw me. I
was stunned and frozen in place, so Max came around, taking my hand
and leading me through the small crowd that gathered. I said hello
to the members of my team, giving quick hugs or waves.

“
I can’t believe you did
this!” I stammered.

Max pulled me closer and kissed my
temple. “You deserve it.”

A pang of guilt stabbed me at his
words, but I swallowed it down. I needed to live my
life.

Amelia and Elizabeth were in the
corner. Each waved to me (though Elizabeth’s could have been more
of a finger twitch). I received several birthday wishes from people
I’d gotten to know over the last six months and smiled when I
noticed Marco decided to come. I said a silent hello and thanks for
coming, knowing that he was probably reading my mind anyway. He
tipped his head in acknowledgement and went to grab some fruit from
the platter on the kitchen counter.

I was listening to David Stone, who
was once again telling the tale about being sucked into a swell as
he tried to go surfing during a Category Five hurricane, being spun
so forcefully that his limbs were dislocated from their joints
before his death when Cassie nodded to Max. He handed me a mimosa
and clinked his own glass with a fork.

“
Can I have everyone’s
attention for a moment?” he asked. The room quieted. He always was
able to command peoples’ attention. “First, I’d like to thank you
for coming this morning and joining us for this birthday brunch. I
know we as Patroni don’t celebrate the anniversary of our births
anymore, so it means a lot that you’d take the time today, knowing
it was special for Lucy.”

“
We wanted the free booze!”
Paul Clever shouted from the back of the room. Everyone
laughed.

“
Well, there’s plenty of
it, and food as well. So please, help yourselves and thanks again
for coming,” Max continued. “I want to propose a toast. To Lucy,
may the laughter never leave your lips, smile never leave your
eyes, and love never leave your heart.”

“
To Lucy! Cheers!” The
crowd toasted around me, clinking glasses.

Max leaned down, tucking a stray piece
of hair behind my ears and kissed my cheek. “Happy birthday, my
love.”

“
Thank you for this. It’s
wonderful. This is the best birthday present ever.”

He chuckled lightly and shook his
head. “No, sweetie, this isn’t your present. You’ll get that as
soon as everyone leaves.”

I didn’t know what to say to that and
didn’t get a chance to reply as Max placed his hand on the small of
my back and led me through the room so I could say hello to
everyone. Since there were only about twenty people or so, I was
able to spend a little time with each of them so I could thank them
for coming and catch up on their current missions. It was fun to
see the differences in our jobs even though we all technically
worked together.

I finally made my way to the kitchen
and grabbed a plate of French toast, piling fresh strawberries on
top and smothering them with syrup. I added some sausage links and
dug in, savoring the blend of the flavors and smiling. Cassie sat
next to me, telling me about Adam’s newest scheme to tear down the
wall to the adjoining apartment since it was empty and expand their
place. Upon hearing his name, he came over, lifting her easily and
planting her on his lap before stealing a kiss.

We talked and mingled for another two
hours, but eventually people needed to get back to work and left. I
was hugging the last person when Max came up behind me.

“
Ready for your present
now?”

Cassie and Adam were sitting together
on the couch; it was just the four of us there now. I couldn’t
contain my squeal of excitement and nodded my head.

“
Good, be right back,” Max
said, quickly darting out the door and closing it behind
him.

“
Where’s he going?” I had
no idea what he was up to, but by the gleam in his eye I knew he
had something big up his sleeve. Cassie and Adam eyed each other,
having a silent conversation but no one said a word. “All right, I
know you guys are up to something. What is it?”

I could see Cassie sucking in her
cheeks, probably biting them before she spilled. I was about to lay
it on thick to get her to tell me, but before I could say another
word, the door opened and Max walked through, carrying a large box
wrapped in pink and black paper with a big black glittery bow on
top.

“
Wow. What is it?” I asked.
The wrapping was so beautiful that I didn’t want to ruin it by
taking it off. I could only imagine how much better the present
would be.

“
I know this is something
you’ve wanted for a very long time. I worked some magic and pulled
some strings, but it’s going to be totally worth it to see how
happy this makes you.” Max gently set the box down, came over and
took my hand, leading me to sit on the floor next to the box. “Go
ahead, open it.”

I pulled the end of the black bow,
slowly peeling it away from the top of the package. As it fell in a
heap to the floor, the wrapping dropped from each side. Inside was
a small, metal crate and sitting in the center, sound asleep, was
the most adorable puppy I’d ever seen.

“
Ohhhh, he’s so cute! Oh my
goodness, look at him!” I cooed.

I flipped the latch to open the door
and reached inside, scooping the puppy up into my arms. It was a
French bulldog puppy, white with one brown patch on its belly in
the shape of a star. His little ears were twitching as he listened
to me, but he snuggled into my lap and fell back asleep.

“
It’s actually a girl
puppy, Luce. Her name is Frenchie.”

“
I love her. Oh Max, this
is the best present anyone has ever gotten me.” I leaned over and
gave him a small kiss, careful not to disturb Frenchie. “I always
wanted a dog, but since Jessica was allergic we could never get
one. How did you do this? I haven’t seen any other animals since
I’ve been here.”

“
There is a special place
where animals are kept. It’s a huge sanctuary where they can freely
roam and play; it’s not on this realm. Domesticated animals,
especially pets, are met by their owners in the Alpha’s realm, not
here. So we usually don’t get to see them unless we go to earth for
something. But, I pulled a few strings and got a rule changed.
Frenchie’s the first. Patroni are now allowed to adopt dogs or cats
to keep in their apartments as pets. You’re the first to get
one.”

“
This is amazing. I’m the
luckiest girl in the universe, ya know that? I don’t even know how
to begin to thank you.” Max came and sat behind me, his legs
straddling me where I sat. I leaned my back into his chest, turning
my head to kiss him. It was a long, sensual kiss. I put everything,
all my feelings of love for him into the kiss. I wanted him to feel
how much I wanted him.

He cupped my face, tracing a finger
back and forth over my jaw. I parted my lips slightly in
invitation, and it was all he needed to deepen the kiss, searching
and exploring my mouth with his tongue.

I was about to lay us both back on the
floor when someone cleared his throat. I sat back up and looked at
Cassie and Adam sheepishly. “Sorry, I guess I got a little carried
away. I actually forgot you were still here.”

Adam chuckled. “We can see that. All
right, we’re going to go. Gotta pack for our trip. You two enjoy
your afternoon.” He took Cassie’s hand and helped her stand up. She
came over and gave me a quick hug before scratching Frenchie behind
the ears.

“
She is really cute. I
can’t wait to take her with us on runs. She’s gonna love those
woods.”

I laughed in agreement. “Yeah, until
she stops to sniff a twig or chase a drifting leaf. I can see our
runs being a little more chaotic now.” I leaned over and kissed the
soft fur on the top of her head. “Totally worth it though. Look at
that face!”

Cassie and Adam left, and Max and I
were alone with Frenchie. She woke up a few minutes later and was
excited to play. I found an old tee shirt that I twisted up into a
tug of war rope and Max took the ends of two turkey basters and
turned them into a bouncy ball for her to chase. We took her on a
long walk, stopping every few feet for someone else to come up and
pet her, cooing about how cute she was. I knew whoever people
requisitioned to get a pet would be bombarded by
morning.

Eventually, we made it back to our
apartment where the three of us snuggled on the couch and watched a
movie. We made a doggie bed for Frenchie, but she seemed quite
content burrowed in my side and I was too much of a pushover to
make her get down.

“
Thank you again for today.
It was the best birthday ever.”

“
Better than your
thirteenth when you got your first kiss?” He teased me, poking my
ribs playfully.

“
Absolutely.”

“
Better than your sixteenth
when you got a car?”

“
One hundred percent
better. Because no matter what I got any of those years, I didn’t
have you.”

I took his face in my hands, staring
into his clear blue eyes so he knew I was serious. He leaned in
slightly so our noses touched. I could feel my heartbeat
quickening, and closed the distance between us.

Luckily, there was no one left in the
apartment to distract us and I planned to make good use of our
alone time. Until Frenchie woke up, running over to the door and
scratching it to go out.

I sighed into Max’s mouth, not wanting
to get up and leave his warm embrace. “I guess I’ll take her out.
Don’t move.” I slid my feet into the flip flops by the door and
reached for her leash quickly. “I’ll be back in five minutes, and
then we’ll continue this,” I promised Max.

He nodded, closing his eyes
in frustration and leaning his head back on the couch. By the time
I got back, he was fast asleep.

Chapter
Five

“
So, how are we going to
spend four days all alone?” I asked Max, giving him my most sultry
smile.

“
Um, we’re not going to be
alone. Well, not the whole time. I thought we all could head over
to Tasnim.”

I took back my pout at not getting Max
all to myself when he mentioned our destination. Tasnim was an
exclusive island on a separate realm. Very few ever got to go
there, and it was rumored by most to be where the Garden of Eden
had been relocated after the fall of man. It was the oldest place
still in existence, and now used as a meditation spot for very
high-level angels. It took a lot of ass kissing and red tape to
even get permission to go.