Underworld Lover (A Guardian Angel Romance #2) (32 page)

“What are they going to think about all of this?”

“By ‘they,’ you mean the human world?”

“Yes.”

“You think anyone will believe the reports of black-winged creatures flying through the sky?” Father shook his head and chuckled under his breath. “No, they write stories of alien babies and abductions. The Underworld and its creatures are not hot press. Nobody believes it anymore.”

Josh had to agree.

“Father, I am concerned about my friend Jonas. I heard him come here, but he has disappeared again. Did one of the things get him?”

“No. He is quite safe. He has another destiny, Josh. You have nothing to fear from him. He has an interesting path to follow, in the grand experiment.”

Josh nodded his head and waited for some sign Father was ready to discuss what was really on his mind. Another question popped up.

“Melanie…what happened there?”

“Oh, I felt the suicide coming. You were actually quite right. If her death had been allowed to complete, she would have been a candidate for the Guardianship.” Father began walking slowly away from the transport station toward the street that lead back to town. “Ah, it’s complicated, and I am weary. I could have made her a Guardian, but I have the feeling I’d be turning her human in no time, just like Claire. I decided to save myself the trouble. I reversed the effects of the pill, brought her soul back, and made her whole.” He tilted his head and looked at Josh. “I raised the dead. That’s all.” He winked.

“Didn’t know that’s how it worked,” Josh remarked.

“Neither did I! I make it up as I go sometimes.” Father shrugged and looked down at his feet. “I rather like walking on gravel. Reminds me of the crushed diamond dust in Heaven. Has Angie told you the stories?”

“No. I never gave her the chance.”

“Interesting.” After a pause, the soft crunching sounds of their walking became a peaceful rhythm. Father continued, saying, “You are a strange combination of forces, Joshua, a welcome distraction.”

“That mean I have a shot at redemption, a chance to become a Guardian?” Josh smiled at the older man.

“Everyone does. One of my rules. Haven’t you heard?”

Josh nodded. It seemed so natural to be walking side by side with Father, like they had been friends for generations, or perhaps were family. This last thought brought on a little panic. Josh cleared his throat.

Father laughed softly. “Don’t be afraid of your destiny, Joshua. I’m glad to see you back in the fold, where you always belonged.”

Josh felt his brows furrow. He didn’t think there was room in Father’s world for predestination.

Father stopped walking as they came to the paved street. There was a bus stop bench nearby and he sat down, motioning Joshua to join him.

“I want to ask a favor of you, Joshua,” Father said, looking deep into his eyes. “And you have the right to say no, if that is what you really want.”

Josh could feel the honesty in Father’s gaze, but also knew he would not be able to refuse his request. He nodded and hoped it would not be another battle involving fire and brimstone, or ripping wings off evil creatures.

“Help me bring back my lost Guardians. Can you do this for me, as a personal favor?”

Josh didn’t know how he would manage such a request. With his now limited resources as a human, he wasn’t quite sure he was capable of such a feat.

“Find a way,” Father said as if he read Joshua’s mind.

“How soon must this be done?” Josh asked.

“How about within your lifetime? I see a long, fruitful future for you, in case you wanted to know.” Father smiled at him.

“It would be my honor then, sir.”

“Good. Then it’s settled.” Father sighed.

They waited in silence as Josh’s black Hummer came into view, Melanie at the wheel. Father leaned into him and whispered, “Safer if you drive.”

“This I already knew.” Josh smiled and shook Father’s hand again.

Father waived to Melanie and began walking down the lonely street. Before Josh could get into the vehicle, Father’s image disappeared, without fanfare. Josh thought it was the most elegant exit he had ever seen, and missed the old man already.

Chapter 43

Audray stood in the living room of Peter’s former home, staring out the tall windows at the gathering of good people. No dark angels left among them.

Time to start re-filling the vacancies.

And now that the former Underworld chief had been eliminated, the first vacancy she was going to fill was the Directorship, a job she felt completely suited for.

She noticed the burly biker angel in the shadows and wondered why he didn’t say good-bye to Joshua.
Perhaps his loyalty has changed.

When the crowd dispersed, she opened the sliding glass door to the metal balcony and looked out over the landscape of rusted buildings and railroad tracks. And of course there was that hunk of a man in his blue shirt and tight jeans, who walked out into the center and stood, staring up at her with a grin. It had been awhile since someone looked at her that way. Someone who didn’t have fetishes and kinky thoughts.
He looks at me like a man is supposed to look at a woman. A woman he could worship not from his damaged side, but from his strong side. A warrior’s side.

Her red boots were hurting her, but she liked how tall they made her feel. She would need help getting them peeled off. Or maybe she should leave them on, but then she’d have to cut off her favorite pair of pants.

Choices, choices. Too many choices.

It was shaping up to be a warm day, finally, as she glanced around the yard. She heard the rumble of a truck as it arrived. Its doors opened and closed, and then it left. It sounded like Josh’s Hummer.

Goodbye, you little devil. Enjoy your human life. And thank you for your gift of immortality. I will work very hard to fill your shoes.

She smiled and looked down on the face of the still-waiting Jonas. She liked seeing him there, waiting for instructions. Waiting for a command. She liked watching his fully packed chest muscles rise and fall with each breath. She could smell his muskiness. The place between her legs was starting to get wet. She suddenly wanted to feel his thin moustache against the lips of her sex.

She sighed. One hand rested on the railing as she leaned over, her other hand curled up in front of her face as she motioned to him slowly with her index finger. Then she blew him a kiss, for some strange reason. It was a young girl’s action, but he made her feel giddy and almost virginal and she liked it.

Hot with anticipation, she came back inside, closing the door to await his arrival.

He appeared at the top of the stairway and hesitated before entering the living room, as if waiting for an invite. She liked that, too.

“I have a few things in mind to reward you for your intelligence. You will find pleasing me not a difficult task—as long as you perform.”

He made just one step into the room and again, she liked it. “Oh, I can perform. Nothing wrong with my equipment.”

Audray’s peach quivered. For the first time in her life, immortal or human, she hoped a man saw how much she needed his attention. She was rewarded with the lazy glance he gave her as his eyes went from her crotch, slowly up her waist, and over her breasts, like he could see through all her clothes. He followed that look with a tilt of his head and a slight grin. He drew a hand over his chin and then down as his thumb found a belt loop toward the right side of his package.

Though they were nearly twenty feet apart, Audray could feel his heat mingling with hers already.

“Where’s your bike?” she asked.

“You like to ride?” His voice was husky, his eyes hungry.

“I think I might.” She let him wait. The sight of him was too delicious for words. He broke the silence at last.

“It’s stowed in your garage next to your red car.”

She liked that he divined her plan without her saying so, and liked the sound of it coming off his tongue. She was fairly sure his tongue would be one of his best features. She also hoped he liked to talk during sex. She needed to hear him say things to her she had not heard before.

“Want to ride now, or later?” He had crossed his arms and legs and was leaning against the metal railing of the stairway landing. The package was prominently tenting in front of him, growing larger by the minute. She didn’t mind showing him she noticed it.

“Later.” Audray smiled with what she hoped looked like a sweet smile. She tried to feel demure, fresh and doe-like. It was a thrilling fantasy.

“I’ve heard you like to cause men pain and torment,” he said, then grinned.

“Forewarned is forearmed.”

“I’m okay with just watching. The view in this room is rather nice.”

“Yes, it is.” Audray crossed over to the window again, turning sideways so she could show him her flat tummy and enormous breasts. She leaned into the glass of the window and pressed her flesh against it, then rolled back to face him.

“How’s this view?”

His eyes grew wide. She would have expected traces of red there, but nothing like that showed up. She watched him lick his lips and stand straight, untangling his arms and legs, adjusting his junk.

“I like it when you do that,” she said.

“Do what?” he said in mock confusion.

“Where you put your hands.”

“I’d rather you did it with your hands.” His eyes bored into her. Another wave of moisture slowly drizzled from her peach.

“I didn’t ask you what you wanted.”

“I know. But I’m going to tell you anyway, if you’ll permit me. Or maybe I’ll have to die trying.” He walked slowly across the room to her and stopped before the tips of her nipples could touch his chest. They knotted into tight little fists. Audray’s breathing was ragged and shallow. Her body craved the heat of his, knowing he was feeling the same.

His eyes must have been blue at one time, she guessed. His light brown hair was prematurely tinged with silver at the temples. He would look rugged if he was bloody and wet with mud, but today he looked like a man with strong desires who needed satisfaction. His deep pink lips were full and exposed under the thin neatly trimmed moustache of his upper lip. The muscles of his shoulders gave way to a smooth bronzed neck. A vein pulsed on the right side.

He opened his mouth to speak, and she watched as his lips and tongue hesitated, and then formed another one of those grins. He didn’t reach out to touch her, but he did with his eyes, which wandered all over her chest and neck to land on her mouth.

In a surprise move, he knelt before her. “I have worshipped you from the first moment I saw you. It is you I think about all day and all night.” His eyes were clear and sparkled with mirth
.

 It’s an oath.

“Reward me,” he begged. “By letting me pleasure you. You are my queen.”

Queen?
Audray had never thought of herself as a queen. But one thing was clear. She had a loyal subject, and she wouldn’t deny him his gift of devotion. She saw he was perhaps a very old angel, perhaps a queen’s warrior at one time.

A partner in every sense. Someone to help me exact my revenge upon my enemies. Get that bastard, Burt.

But that would be for another day. Today was a day of celebration. A day for passion.

Audray took her hands, which suddenly felt tiny and delicate against the hot skin of his flushed cheeks, and pressed them to the sides of his face. The instant she touched him, she knew there was something more, some history between them she was yet to discover.

“Your wish is granted, noble knight. You are the keeper of my flame.”

Jonas encircled her waist and pulled her torso against his face. She felt the need to wrap her arms around his buried head. His lips began seeking flesh under her red sweater. His tongue found her belly button and she thought she would come undone.

He stood, picked her up with powerful arms. She felt lighter than air. She looked up into his eyes, watching how intently he carried out his mission of desire. Her thigh felt the muscles of his abdomen flex as he leaned over and gently placed her on the fur coverlet as if she was a maiden in a field of daisies, waiting to be ravished by a dark knight she only dared to dream about.

She did not remove her hands from around his neck, so he began kissing her wrists and worked his way up the inside of her right arm. He kissed the indentation at the base of her neck, and then with a hot tongue tasted her flesh all the way up to her jaw. He claimed her mouth at last and Audray felt herself climax, lurching as he plunged his tongue deep inside her. Her fingers went to his shirt she began to unbutton, but then got frustrated and ripped it open, popping the buttons and sending them flying throughout the room.

“You like destroying clothing?” he asked. “How nice.”

The words were pearls to her ears, sending ripples of heat down her spine. Her pants were too hot; she felt moisture as if she’d run up ten flights of stairs.

“Do you like to talk—”

“Yes, during sex. I like to talk during sex. I like to tell you how you make me feel.” He stopped abruptly and looked down at her, his shirt hanging open, his tanned pecs and abs ready to slam into her breasts. “Unless you don’t like it.”

Audray sighed. “I like it. I like it very much.”

“What else do you like, my queen?”

“I like being your queen.”

“Yes. I am your humble servant.”

He raised himself and removed his shirt, shoes, and pants, in that order. Audray’s red sweater had migrated to up around her neck, exposing a red satin bra. He removed the sweater. While breaching the ridge of the red fabric with his tongue, he removed the device with quick flick of his hands and released her breasts to his hungry mouth. His tongue laved her nipple while one large hand squeezed the white flesh of her other breast and made her moan.

Fully naked, he pulled her spine up to press into him in a sitting position while his hands looked for a way to remove her leather pants.

Audray laughed, letting her head fall back as he held her.