Desiring A Demon (Archangels) (15 page)

“Gabriel, wait!”

Mike’s shout drew everyone’s attention to the open doorway Gabe had slipped through. The angels all but ran from the room while Rafe stood
,
unsure of what to do.

“Go,” Asta said. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

“Asta—”

“Go, Rafe. I’ll be right here waiting.”

As if to punctuate her point, she sat on the mattress and crossed her legs.

He leaned down and kissed her quickly before following his brothers.

They stood in the front yard, all five of them talking over each other to Gabriel
,
who stood facing them with a look of acceptance on his face. He kept shaking his head. Behind him a rusty, twenty
-
year
-
old pickup truck stood idling. A woman waited in the driver’s seat
,
curiosity on her face. She was pretty in an almost plain sort of way. Rafe walked past his brothers and straight to her window. It seemed as if she didn’t want to roll it down, but she finally did and smiled hesitantly.

“Hi,” he said.

“Uh, hi.”

He stuck out his hand. “I’m Rafe. One of Gabriel’s brothers.”

“Oh. Uh…we call him Gabe.”

She shook his hand and pulled hers back quickly. But the brief touch assured him of her kindness and empathy. She was a good soul.

“Have you known him long? He sort of wandered off one day
,
and we lost touch.”

She bit her lip and glanced at Gabe, who was still fending off the others’ arguments in his silent way.

“Yeah, well…I met him about five years ago. He kind of showed up on my doorstep and wouldn’t leave.”

That surprised a laugh out of Rafe, who knew Gabe would never stay where he wasn’t wanted or was desperately needed. “Oh? And so he’s welcome to stay there now?”

Her attention snapped back to him. “Yes. Absolutely.”

He took a deep breath and leaned in. “Look, I’m going to be completely honest with you. We’ve been very worried about him for a very long time. If he’s happy, we’re happy. But we’re afraid he won’t admit to being unhappy to us.”

“Why? If you’re his brothers
,
and you really care about him—”

“It’s…complicated. He wasn’t always mute.”

True surprise lit her face. “Oh.”

He nodded. “Yeah, and when he lost his voice he lost a deep part of himself.”

“I see.”

“I just want to know that he’s happy and in a good place.”

“He is. We were in Madrid for a while, but recently moved back to the States.”

That was unexpected. “How recently?”

“Like…two days ago. He got really frantic about two weeks ago and started making all these plans. It took me a couple of days to even realize what he was doing. Finally
,
he said he was coming with or without me. I packed that same day.”

And that told him all he needed to know about her loyalty to Gabe. “I see.”

“Yeah. Kinda crazy, huh?”

He chuckled. “Not in this family.”

“So, is everything all right?” she asked. “He got really anxious this morning and made me drive him around until we found your house.”

Gabe should have been able to sense exactly where his brothers lived, if his angelic senses weren’t out of whack.

“Yeah. He showed up right when we needed him, and it’s all good now.”

“Oh. Good.”

Someone tapping the roof of the truck had Rafe straightening to find Gabe watching him from the passenger’s side. He raised his brow in question
,
and Rafe went around the truck to face him.

“Thank you, brother.”

No other words were needed so he didn’t bother with them. Gabe nodded and gave him a hug. Rafe let go reluctantly and said nothing as Gabe got into the truck. His brothers stepped forward until they all stood side by side. Gabe gave one final wave before the truck pulled away from the curb and drove off.

“Damn,” Rafe said. “I forgot to ask her name.”

“Jennifer,” Mike replied.

“And Gabe is very protective of her,” Zerach added.

The brothers gave each other knowing grins.

Mike slapped Rafe’s shoulder. “It looks like you now have a fully human girlfriend.”

“Yes,” he replied as relief filled him. “And perhaps the Source is no longer ignoring us?”

Mike’s grin faded and a pall fell over all of them. There was no easy answer to that question. They could only guess if what had occurred was truly the Source responding to their call, or simply the strength of all their healing powers combined.

“I hope so,” Mike said quietly.

They all said their good
-
byes and left Rafe and Asta alone.

Chapter Fourteen

Asta waited in the bedroom, curious about why the mattress was on the floor, but too tired to move much farther. She stared at her human nails and hands, before realizing all of her appeared human. She was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. She lifted it to see her belly looked a normal shade of human
,
too. Then she ran to the bathroom and stripped her shirt completely off. The birthmark was gone.

Joy filled her and tears welled up as she ran her hands through her hair. It was different, but she liked it. She loved looking so
normal
.

“God, I hope this lasts.” She gasped at the lack of pain in her head from saying the G word and laughed through her tears.

Maybe she was normal again? Hope filled her for the first time in too long. She could hardly wait to talk to Rafe now. But had that really been his long-lost brother who woke her? She pulled her shirt back on and returned to the mattress to wait.

…

Rafe took his time returning to his bedroom when what he really wanted to do was run. It had been an extremely emotional morning, but he knew it wasn’t over yet. There was no telling what Asta was feeling and thinking now that she had woken. He hoped she hadn’t snuck out the back door while he’d been with his brothers.

He stretched out his senses to find her still in his room and some of his anxiety eased. She’d waited, like she’d said she would.

He found her in almost the exact same position as before, but tear tracks marred her beautiful face. He sat beside her and waited for her to speak.

She smiled at him and the tightness in his chest eased.

“I’m normal… I mean, I
look
normal again.”

He grinned and wrapped his arm around her. “Yes, you do. I’ve always thought you beautiful, and I still do.”

She rested her head against his chest and sighed. “Is it really over? Am I human now?”

“Yes. My brother Gabriel helped us heal you. We prayed and our prayers were answered.”

She nodded against him. “The voices are gone, I don’t have the urge to trash anything, and I feel…at peace.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“A very good thing. It’s almost…scary.”

He chuckled. “How so?”

“Well…I don’t know. I mean, I hadn’t been planning anything before, you know. I was just surviving. But now… Now I can really think about things.”

His arm tightened around her shoulders a bit. “Yeah? Like what? You want to travel? Go back to school? What?”

…

She bit her lip in indecision, afraid to voice what she truly wanted. “I’m not sure yet.”

“That’s all right. You’ve got all the time in the world to think about it.”

She looked up to find him watching her with a blank expression on his face.

“And what about you?” she asked. “Are you going back to work now that I’m better?”

He seemed to think it over for a minute. “Forge is dead, but the threat from Armoros hasn’t disappeared. I don’t know if you being fully human now will make a difference to him or not.”

“Forge is dead?”

“Yes. Killed by his own actions.”

“Oh.”

She thought that over and realized all she felt was relief. “But Armoros…”

“You don’t need to worry about him for a while. He should still be weak from his last banishment. Plus, my brothers are working on a way to make that banishment permanent.”

She sagged against him in relief. “I hope they succeed.”

“Me
,
too.”

“So…”

“So, for now you should take it easy. Try to relax and get used to being human…fully human.”

When she looked up again
,
he took her mouth. His lips demanded her full attention
,
and she gave in willingly, starving for his taste after so long without it. He made love to her slowly, and she had never felt so cherished.

As she lay in his arms that night
,
waiting for sleep to come, she tried not to worry over what he hadn’t said. She was a tough girl. She could take care of herself just fine. If the Archangel Raphael decided to remain an angel and not pledge himself to her as Zerach had to Isadora, then she’d move on. It would hurt every step of the way as she left him. But she was completely and absolutely in love with him. She wanted a family and to have him at her side as her husband for the rest of her life. Hopefully in time he’d realize he wanted the same things.

…

Two months later things were as normal as they’d ever been in her life. She slept in Rafe’s bed every night, and woke in his arms every morning. He still hadn’t returned to work, but he was cooking up some kind of big change with his brothers. She tried not to let their secrecy bother her, but his lack of talking about their future together was starting to piss her off. Setting a date to make her ultimatum had been on her mind, but she was afraid of what his answer might be.

She sat in the living room flipping through television stations while Rafe showered and dressed for dinner with his brothers. It was another Friday night she would spend home alone baking cookies to keep from crying.

Rafe walked into the living room and stared at her. “Are you ready to go?”

She frowned. “Go where?”

“To dinner.”

She put down the remote and stared at him. “I wasn’t invited.”

He came to her with open arms and she stood to receive him. It was a natural reaction now, like breathing.

He tilted her chin up with one finger. “Baby, you will never
not
be invited again. You’re family now.”

That left her speechless for a moment. Then he kissed her and patted her on the ass before she could think of what to say. “Why don’t you run upstairs and change real quick.”

“Uh… What should I wear?”

He looked her over with a familiar heat in his gaze that made her whole body ache in expectation.

“A dress would be nice. I’d help you pick it out but then we’d never make it to dinner.”

With a sigh
,
she left the room to get dressed.

They headed downtown and she wondered what tonight’s dinner was all about. She watched the passing scenery and realized they were headed into the heart of downtown Houston. Rafe pulled up to Birraporetti’s, an Italian restaurant she’d wanted to try. The valet opened her door
,
but Rafe beat him to helping her out of the car.

She stepped toward the restaurant
,
but he stopped her with their clasped hands. “Hold on. I want to show you something first.”

He smiled as she gave him a questioning look. Then he led her to the crosswalk. They walked across the street to a glass building that appeared to be closed, but he led her to the statue that sat in front of it.

“This is one of my favorite pieces of art in all of Houston,” he said.

The piece was a beautiful sculpture of a large cello with a disembodied head and hands as the performer. Music played through a nearby speaker, which gave the sculpture more life.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “I can see why you like it so much.”

“This piece is named Virtuoso. It was sculpted by David Adickes, as were the smaller musicians behind it. I met him when they began putting the giant statue of Sam Houston together in Huntsville.”

“Wow.”

He pulled her close and kissed her. “In the past when I’ve felt burdened, I’ve flown here to find peace. The music, the sculpture, the beauty of this setting has always calmed me at my worst times. I’ve spent many nights here listening to the sounds of the city and staring at these works of art. But I haven’t been here once since you entered my life.”

“You probably needed to more than once. I know I’ve been stressful for you.”

He grinned but she couldn’t match his smile. It slowly faded.

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “But at the same time, you’ve given me peace. You’ve given me renewed purpose, and you’ve shown me such beauty.” He released her and took a step back. “I haven’t needed to come here to find those things since you entered my life, Asta. Plus you’ve given me something else I never expected to find with a human woman. Love. I love you more than I ever thought possible, and I want to keep that love between us for the rest of our natural lives.”

Her heart nearly stopped as he dropped to one knee. Her vision blurred but she still saw him reach into his inside jacket pocket and pull out a little black box. The diamond he revealed nearly blinded her, and she covered her mouth with both hands to keep from shouting out her joy.

“Astaroth Sinclair, my beautiful fully human lady, will you marry me? Will you accept me as your fallen angel and pledge your life to me as I will to you for as long as we both shall live?”

She dropped her hands and nodded as the words caught in her throat. After choking a laugh out with her tears she replied, “Oh God yes, are you kidding me?”

He chuckled and caught her as she fell into his arms. Then he stood and placed her on her feet before kissing her. “I’m so glad you said yes.”

“Did you really think I might say no? I’m so in love with you I can barely see straight.”

He kissed her again before slipping the ring onto her shaking finger.

“Everything’s going to be fine now, you’ll see. Everything’s going to be perfect.”

“It already is
,
Rafe.”

Then she grabbed him for a scorching kiss before they headed back to the restaurant.

His brothers didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see the ring on her finger, and Isadora made a production of admiring it. Joy filled Asta again as she told them how he’d proposed.

“On one knee?” Zerach asked. “You’re kidding.”

Uri clapped Rafe on the shoulder. “I had no idea you could be romantic, bro.”

“I’m full of surprises,” he replied.

They all shared a laugh before Mike got their attention. “Congratulations to both of you. I know things haven’t always been great between us, Asta. But I hope you realize everything I’ve done has been in the best interest of my brother.”

She nodded and offered a shy smile. “I don’t hold any of it against you, Mike. I promise.”

He nodded but quickly looked away as if maybe the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Cam pulled everyone’s attention away from Mike by changing the subject. “So I guess you don’t have to go through the big change now with the rest of us.”

The others nodded in agreement while Asta looked to Rafe for an explanation. “The big change?”

He shrugged and took a sip of his beer. “You know we don’t age. So every decade or so we have to make some changes to keep the humans around us from noticing. Last time I was in a horrible accident and became a recluse until I eventually died in obscurity. Meanwhile, Rafe the lawyer emerged.”

“Wow.”

“You should hear what Zerach went through,” Isadora said. “It’s really something. They’ve all died a few times.”

The brothers nodded and made sounds of agreement.

She looked at Rafe again. “But you don’t have to now?”

“Nope. You’re going to make me human. And we’ll get to grow old together like any other human couple.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He grinned. “Me
,
too.”

“I think I want to be a teacher next time,” Sel said.

“You’re already a teacher,” Cam replied.

“I’m more of a coach. Martial arts instructor isn’t the same as school teacher.”

“What subject?” Isadora asked.

He thought that over for a few seconds then grinned. “Literature.”

They all laughed.

“I guess that’s better than librarian,” Mike replied. “Remember that one?”

The others nodded and Cam smiled sheepishly. “I can’t help my love of the written word.”

“Yeah,” Uri said. “But you were supposed to leave the books at the library, not take them all home with you.”

The others teased him for a few more minutes before discussing the possible career changes for Uri and Mike.

“I think it’s amazing that you guys get to try on different personalities every decade,” Asta said.

“We have to,” Rafe said. “Our true nature has to remain hidden.”

It made sense, but Asta’s mind still reeled at the thought of how long the angels had existed. They had seen everything from the beginning of time. How could she possibly hold Rafe’s interest for even another sixty years when he had probably been with countless women?

“Hey,” he said in her ear. “What’s wrong, baby?”

She tried to smile but wasn’t very successful. “Nothing.”

He frowned and leaned in again to keep the words between the two of them. “I can feel your emotions now, Asta. We began to bond the first time we made love, but it’s even stronger now that I’ve pledged myself to you.”

“But…you haven’t
fallen
yet.”

“No, not yet. But it’s only a matter of a small ritual where my brothers remove their bond to me, to make room for my bond to you.”

“Oh, yeah. Isadora kind of explained it to me once.”

He grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “Well, then you know you can’t hide your feelings from me anymore.”

“Yeah.”

“So, what’s wrong?”

She looked around the table where everyone else was having individual conversations. Then her gaze went to Zerach and Isadora, who were completely wrapped up in each other.

She looked at Rafe again. “Are you sure?” she asked.

“About us?”

She nodded.

“Yes. I don’t have a single doubt in my mind.”

That only worried her more. “What if…what if I do?”

“You’re not sure you love me?”

“No. I’m positive I love you.”

“You’re not sure if you want to marry me?”

“No, Rafe. I do. I love you
,
and I want to marry you, very much.”

He frowned in thought. “So, you’re not sure you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”

She huffed out a breath in annoyance and crossed her arms. “Of course not. If I love you and want to marry you, then you should know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Exactly.”

“What?”

He grinned and gave her a kiss. “All of that is exactly how I feel too. Without a single doubt in my mind.”