Hope in Love

J. Hali Steele

Book 1 in the Angels in Love series.

The world is changing. Hope is
fading. Darkness beckons. And one angel holds the answer.

Tired of death, destruction and
mankind’s race to ruination, Ramiel, archangel of hope, finds it harder and
harder to care about those he’s meant to help. Now the Fates have decreed that
Ramiel must mate with Yael, an exulted human. On his shoulders rides the universe’s
only hope for survival, but the ties that bind him to Yael force him to face
his own unexpected reckoning.

Yael, elevated to Heaven to live
out her days in peace, recoils from the sadness and shadows of death in Ramiel’s
eyes. Yet the need to ease the despair haunting him is stronger. During nights
of searing sensuality, Yael and Ramiel light an erotic fire between them that will
not be extinguished.

As the combined forces of the
heavens try to tear them apart, Ramiel must find a way to hold on to the love
he finds with Yael or an end will come, so devastating that Heaven will drop to
its knees.

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica
Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Hope in Love

ISBN 9781419924125

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Hope in Love Copyright © 2009 J. Hali Steele

Edited by Sue-Ellen Gower

Photography and cover art by Les Byerley

Electronic book publication October 2009

The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of
Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not
be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written
permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home
Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or
distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without
the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.  (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not
participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your
support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

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.

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to Boz, Gil and Edy, who take me away
from it at the right times—I’m glad you’re my sisters. Pat and Nancy—you’re my
girls. A special shout out to Kira—thanks for hanging in there on this one. To
Sandi and Teirney—your comments were invaluable.

And finally, for Sue-Ellen Gower, my editor, who had faith
in me. I’m proud to be a
Suzette
!

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark
owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Gucci: Gucci America, Inc.

Home Depot: Homer TLC, Inc.

JLO: JLO Holding Company, LLC

Vera Wang: V.E.W. Ltd.

Victoria’s Secret: V Secret Catalogue, Inc.

Babylon, B.C.

The scorched stench of the three bodies assailed Ramiel’s
nostrils. Nothing offended him as much as the smell of burning flesh. There
were those in his realm who would glory in this abomination. Not the angel of
hope. He’d viewed man’s ruin for too long now. The sight before him would be
forever engraved alongside the other scars on his soul.

When had man become so cruel? Hope? There was none left. The
angel’s heart ached for them, for all life. He was tired of the death and
destruction brought on by mankind. Nothing else could be done for them.
Nothing.

Ram watched as Ezekiel raised the three dead bodies, giving
them back their lives, and this time he got it right. The idiot responsible for
the burning lay unconcerned on a divan nearby. He was the angel of hope’s
responsibility and Ram wasn’t feeling hopeful.

Wings spread wide, Ramiel remained invisible to human eyes
as he floated to the spot occupied by the reclining despot.

“Say your prayers,” he whispered. The man clutched his
throat, air gurgled from his throat and spittle ran down his chin. The last
thing he would see was a specter surrounded by white light. Having read his
mind, Ram knew the cur could be saved.

“I really don’t give a shit.” The angel of hope was past
salvation.

Present day

“You can stop him, please.” Yael’s distress rolled from her
in thunderous claps, the sound heard clearly on the Earthly plane below. “I
cannot do this.”

“The Fates have decreed it.” Deborah, who’d been given
special powers because she was the only female prophet, was Yael’s true friend.
She also answered to a higher power. “He is the merciful one. Perhaps if you
play to his softer side…”

“He doesn’t have a softer side, we both know this.” Yael
thought about the archangel coming to claim her. She often saw Ramiel in
Michael’s palace. The angel of hope’s hair was the color of metal, like the
gray clouds she’d created. Sinister in its darkness. His eyes carried the color
of most angels, blue. But his were cobalt, closer to the Lord’s sapphire than
any other heavenly being. They hid secrets no one would ever know, not even
God.

Like everyone, she’d been unable to look in his eyes for
more than mere seconds. The hopelessness, the pain of the world was so clearly visible
there.

And all because of the past bungling of
Gabriel and Ezekiel, who had attempted to bring life to the dead but had
instead raised bodies that resembled man in looks only, bloodthirsty creatures
who would multiply and devastate the lives of so many, she was being
forced to participate in this unthinkable deed.

She must mate with an archangel. The girl
child she and Ramiel were fated to create would one day save mankind from the
blood-lusting night creatures created by Gabriel and Ezekiel.

“He’s the angel of hope. He is not cruel.”

Deborah was the reason she resided in Heaven and the
prophetess felt responsible for her well-being. Yael had helped her and the
Israelites defeat the Canaanite army by staking Sisera, their leader, in the
head. For this, she’d been granted eternal life as an exulted.

“Have you ever looked in his eyes? There is so much death
there.” Yael trembled and remembered her last time in the presence of Ramiel.

He’d lounged, disinterested, on a divan and watched as
Deborah spoke with Michael and Decima about Gabriel and Ezekiel’s most recent
debacle.

Ramiel’s incredible tall frame looked out of place. Sinewy
muscles, clearly visible through the filmy white robe, rippled across his
abdomen as his chest rose with each breath. His slender fingers drummed out a
rhythmic beat on his hard thighs.

Thighs she had envisioned wrapped around her voluptuous
body.

Yael always felt this need in his presence. It frightened
her even more than his eyes did. She remembered lips, drawn in a thin line,
slashed across handsome features. His full lips would be warm and sweet pressed
against hers. His smooth, burnt-sienna-colored skin did not have a wrinkle upon
it. Except around the eyes.

There, she’d seen the years of despair imprinted. His black,
thick, long lashes hadn’t created the shadows under those eyes. It was what he
saw each day as he walked the Earth and the pristine halls of his heavenly
domain that put the darkness there.

Though Ramiel was the angel of hope, Yael did not feel his
compassion for mankind when he stared out at the world with such bleakness. How
could she let him hold her, make love to her? She’d remained celibate after her
husband’s death over a thousand years ago and she didn’t seek courtship here.
But whenever she saw him, he evoked such sensuous pictures in her mind. Things
she didn’t even dream of. Even now moisture collected between her thighs.

“It’s the only way,” Deborah said. Come, you need to refresh
yourself before his arrival.”

* * * * *

Ram delved into each woman’s mind and hesitated to enter
Deborah’s palace upon hearing Yael’s description of his eyes. So much death
showed in them lately that he was unable to even hide it from an exulted being.
Shit, he was slipping. He didn’t think he’d been that distracted the day she
saw him at Michael’s. She was very perceptive. He would need to take better
care in her presence.

And he guessed he would have to readjust his approach. He
had assumed she would be pleased to be bedded by him. Her body betrayed her,
let him feel her excitement. How hard could it be?

He remembered the day Yael spoke of clearly.

Michael and Decima, one of the Fates, had summoned Ram to
discuss the destiny of those involved in the unfortunate mess with the undead on
earth. He’d known long ago that this day would come and that the Fates had decided
that Yael should be the one to help him with his task.

At the time he hadn’t been excited about what measured up to
being just another conquest. They were all the same lately. But he thought
about her Rubenesque beauty. Her long, gloriously thick hair was sun kissed
with coppery highlights. Yael’s almond-shaped eyes rivaled the shade of the
most precious amber gems and her full lips were made for kissing.

She stood above average height for a woman and her large,
copious breasts rose high over a femininely rounded stomach. Her full hips
would fit him well.

Ram didn’t realize until his cock flared to life and became
engorged that he thought about her at all. She always seemed to avoid him. Now
he knew why.

Yael saw the world’s death in his eyes.

He hadn’t, in fact, known how much he looked forward to
their coupling until this moment. Though Michael thought differently, he’d been
much too busy lately to satisfy his baser desires with a woman. He’d become a
bit too friendly with himself for his liking. The time had come to remedy that
situation. He grew harder at the picture of her thick thighs over his shoulders
and his hardness deep inside her.
I need to stop this line of thought.

But he couldn’t get the swell of her hips out of his mind.

He was shown to the courtyard to await the arrival of
Deborah. So, they felt better entertaining the angel of hope and resurrection
on the patio
.
Since when did he engender such fear? He wasn’t like
Lucifer. Ram rarely brought death with him, though he saw much of it. He
delivered the blow of justice occasionally. Lately, he enjoyed that part of his
job far too much.

“Ramiel, I hope you did not wait long?” Deborah asked as she
came onto the patio.

Yael entered closely behind her and took the seat across
from where he stood. He made note of that. She sat as far away from him as
possible. He pulled out the chair he stood by, offering it to Deborah. He moved
around the table to sit right beside Yael.

Ram caught the scent of her womanhood as he approached, and
sat down quickly to hide his enormous arousal. Her effect on him was
unbelievable. It was not as though he was some youngster who hadn’t had the
benefit of being with a woman. Here and below, he’d taken what he wanted for
thousands of years. This one held magic that was different.

And she didn’t want him.

“I have spoken a little to Yael about the situation below
with the undead. She will assist you.” Deborah turned to her friend. “I will
leave you two to get to know each other.” Ram waited for her to disappear
inside before he spoke.

“May I pour you some wine?” Yael had an aversion to his
eyes. He’d agreed to do this and saw no reason to hide anything from her,
especially the fact that he read her mind and knew her thoughts. He spoke
bluntly. “I know my eyes upset you, it’s like that with many. You don’t have to
worry. I will keep the death you see at bay when we must be together.”

“Thank you, I’m sorry.”

“No need to be. I fully understand.” Suddenly Ram wanted her
to see more in him. He wished to garner her approval. He wanted her to see him
as a man, not an instrument to be used by the higher powers for destruction. He
was the angel of resurrection as well as hope, and that’s what he wanted her to
see in his eyes. Not death, but life. Shocked as hell, he wanted a chance to
get to know her. Since when did he give a shit what a woman he was going to
fuck thought about him?

In that instant he decided to have her in his domain for
their time together. He didn’t want to couple with her under the prophetess’s
roof. This must be handled delicately. But he could barely think with his cock
so painfully engorged. He was confused.
I want her
. He stayed quietly in
her mind, his powers too great for her to feel him there.

“Do you understand the reasons we must do this? Gabriel and
Ezekiel have created a situation with the damned vampyres, and by coupling, we
will help other species to continue their lives.”

Yael hadn’t looked up since her friend left, and her hands were
clasped tight in her lap. She still feared his eyes. When she raised her head
to look at him, he kept his promise, made sure the gaze he turned in her
direction held only his clarity of purpose. Ram couldn’t care less about the
unfortunate creatures below right now—he wanted her.

Everything she felt, so did he. Her face was pink with
embarrassment. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her heart hammered out
its beat. A delicious aroma surrounded her and wrapped around his head like a
wreath of thorns. Her thighs were already warmed by moisture that collected
between them. She would taste so sweet.

Shit, he wanted to dive right into her pussy and work her
into a frenzy with his tongue. She’d been so long without sex it would take
only minutes to coax her tightness to fill his mouth with honey.

Her next thought caused his body to quiver with lust. She
was lonely for the company of a man. Ram intended to fill that gulf in her
life. He could provide her what she craved for a little while. He would give
her something to make her happy. Satisfied beyond belief. He’d fill her very
well. He wished he’d ignored the old-fashioned decorum and worn his earthly
clothes because his heavenly robe inadequately served to hide his hard-on.

Then he felt the sadness wash over her at the knowledge that
now her name would be linked with a carnal beast like him.

Yael thought he was Heaven’s greatest whore.

Shit.