Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) (7 page)

Gideon returned his attention to the woman. She began to shake with the first brush of his fingers. Despite his mental hold over her, apparently she could sense his power and her peril. Her features were ordinary but her skin was soft and supple, as yet undamaged by the unforgiving climate of her home. He ran his fingers across her cheek and along her jaw. Turning her face aside, he stroked her slender neck with his fingers and then his lips.

His body hardened in a painful reminder of the desire Naomi had aroused. He pressed himself against the woman, allowing Naomi’s image to form within his mind. His hands wandered over the woman’s soft form. He cupped her breast and her buttocks as he rocked his cock against the apex of her thighs. She was a poor substitute for what he really wanted. If he took her now, would he still burn for Naomi?

Gideon groaned in frustration and banished his sexual need. This creature might be unable to fulfill his desire, but she could certainly appease his appetite. His mouth returned to her throat. Her pulse thundered beneath his lips. He closed his eyes, enjoying the intoxicating thrill of holding a life within his grasp. His fangs distended, growing in direct proportion to the urgency of his need. He traced the pulsing line of her throat with his tongue, tasting her skin, inhaling the sweetness of her life.

She whimpered while he pressed her trembling body against his chest, supporting her head in the crook of his arm. Gideon scraped his teeth across her skin and waited. The final penetration was so much sweeter when he prolonged the tension and built the urgency.

The erotic give of her flesh beneath his fangs sent ripples of pleasure through Gideon’s entire body. Again he paused, savoring the physical connection before he began to feed. He absorbed her energy, renewing his strength with her human essence.

Power expanded within him. Hunger gradually abated, leaving in its place a tingling heat. Gideon pulled back, panting softly, before he swept his tongue across her skin to seal the wound.

He closed his eyes, his hunger appeased yet far from replete. The memory of Naomi’s blood, sweet and pure, taunted him. Why was this happening? He must not become ensnared in his own trap.

Pressing his lips to the woman’s temple, he took the memory of his face from her mind and muddled even her memory of Crispin.

“Take her,” he told Crispin, pushing the girl away. “Then return to me. We are not finished.”

Crispin returned alone a few moments later. Again Gideon smelled fear but none of it showed on his friend’s face.

“Did your plan work?” Crispin asked audaciously.

He was clever, this mortal man. The question inferred that any dissatisfaction Gideon was now experiencing resulted from some flaw in
his
plan.

“I told you to frighten Naomi.” Gideon spoke in an even, misleadingly soft tone. He stalked toward Crispin, intentionally revealing his predatory nature.

“And was she not frightened?”

A feral growl escaped Gideon as he sprang. In an instant, he grabbed Crispin by the throat and slammed him against the wall of the barracks. He could see the golden glow of his own gaze on the stunned face of his victim. “She was a bit more than frightened, Crispin,” he whispered.

“I did what you directed.” Gideon’s hold stretched Crispin onto his toes, but his features remained in a mutinous scowl. He reached up and clasped Gideon’s wrist. “You told me to make her believe the danger was real. Had I been any less aggressive, she’d not have been convinced.”

“How long were you prepared to be ‘aggressive’? You touched her breasts. You tasted her mouth! I should rip out your throat while you—”

“I acted on your command,” he interrupted hoarsely.

Gideon released him suddenly and stepped back. What Crispin said was true. Gideon had arranged the situation. Still, he had never imagined his own reaction to seeing Naomi writhing helplessly beneath Crispin’s big body.

“She should not have this power over me,” he muttered more to himself than to Crispin.

Crispin rubbed his bruised throat and wisely kept silent.

Gideon paced back and forth, his thoughts chaotic, his emotions seething. “Where is Gabriel?”

“He has retired for the night as you expected.”

“Did he speak with Naomi?”

Crispin shook his head. “No one approached while I was observing him. Where did you take her after you returned?”

A fresh rush of jealousy assailed Gideon. He shouldn’t care that another man had touched her skin and seen her naked breasts. The persistent memory brought violent urges ever closer to the surface.

“She twisted her ankle fleeing your tender ministrations,” he snapped.

“She threw herself from my horse,” Crispin objected then asked more quietly, “Is she in the infirmary or did you return her to the dormitory?”

“I took her to the dormitory, but you must be sure Gabriel checks her condition in the morning.”

“And how will she explain her injury to Gabriel?”

“That is not my concern. She can tell him whatever she likes.”

“Do you consider this a success? Will this help her trust you or was—”

Crispin’s question was cut short by Gideon’s fist. He managed to temper his strength but he could contain his wrath no longer. Crispin grunted, the impact of Gideon’s punch snapping his head to the side. Gideon welcomed the pain that shot up his arm as bone connected with bone.

A seasoned warrior, Crispin reacted immediately. He returned each blow measure for measure then launched himself at Gideon with a string of shouted obscenities.

The two men tumbled out into the clearing in front of the barracks.

“I should break your hands,” Gideon snarled, landing a punishing jab to Crispin’s stomach.

Crispin fell to one knee but shot himself forward, ramming his head into Gideon’s midsection. “You are jealous!” Crispin laughed.

Even though Gideon could kill Crispin with effortless ease, his friend’s death was not what he wanted. He wanted to rid his mind of
her
image and Crispin seemed to understand. They pummeled each other and rolled across the dirt yard. One would gain the advantage for a moment only to fall beneath an especially vicious blow.

Neither of them cared that a small crowd gathered to watch the spectacle. Four men lounged in the open doorway to the barracks. Work had stopped completely in the armory and several others loitered near the stable trying to be less obvious about their interest in the fight.

“You will
never
touch her again,” Gideon shouted a few minutes later.

Crispin staggered to his feet and wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his sleeve. His chest heaved with each breath and several bruises were already darkening portions of his face. Even so, amusement had taken over his expression.

“Be careful, my friend,” Crispin warned with a reckless smirk. “This girl may teach you a lesson you’re not prepared to learn.”

Gideon cursed at him yet made no move to stop him when he walked off toward the barracks. With the excitement over, the crowd dispersed and work resumed.

Damn her!
How had she managed to penetrate his defenses? She certainly hadn’t done so intentionally. She didn’t even like him. He had aroused her physical desire, but she kept her emotions protected, insulated by mistrust and fear.

He needed to think. He needed to understand what was happening to him, to analyze the insidious changes this mortal woman had triggered. Checking every angle to make sure he was alone, Gideon released his form and disintegrated into mist. The night breeze carried him beyond the castle compound and out into the darkness. When he reached the crest of a hill overlooking the vast
Orontes
valley, he materialized again.

Even from a distance, the fortress was imposing. It effortlessly dominated everything surrounding it. Torchlight glowed from inside the various structures, creating a shadowy silhouette of crenellated walls and stout watchtowers against the blue-black sky.

The warm night wind caressed his face and fluttered through his hair. He embraced the darkness and forced the tension from his body. A three-quarter moon and legions of stars silvered the scene with tranquil light. This was different from the harsh, burning rays of the daytime sun, the burning, torturous rays that had become his enemy.

Gideon sat and closed his eyes, lifting his face to the moonlight. He had come to the Krak to confront Gabriel. In return for Gabriel’s betrayal, he had planned to disrupt his life and destroy his reputation. He had hoped to force Gabriel to abandon his masquerade and return to Heaven.

But Naomi had been working in the scriptorium rather than Gabriel. Gideon grinned into the darkness as vivid memories flashed to life within his mind. She was fire and ice, passion and innocence, courage and fear.

She was human.

His eyes snapped open and golden fire illuminated the night. She was a means to an end and nothing more. The moment he touched her and felt her devotion to Gabriel, he knew exactly what he would do. He would seduce her and then disappear without a trace. He would unleash all the passion he sensed within her and then tell her to ask Gabriel
why
she had been used.

It didn’t matter that she had done nothing wrong. Gabriel had betrayed him! He refused to remember the longings released within his soul by his brief exposure to her purity.

She was human!

That alone was reason enough to justify his actions. Gabriel didn’t understand his resentment of humans. Neither did Michael. They were mindless sheep, willing to serve and obey without thought or question.

This is your last hope, Gideon. You must find peace within the madness or you will be consumed completely by your own rage.

Michael’s words echoed back through Gideon’s mind and he spat a curse into the night. There was no peace in this madness yet something within him still fought against the rage. He was trapped between two worlds, neither good nor evil, neither angel nor demon, neither light nor dark.

With an angry snarl, Gideon stood. There would be no comfort in the silence tonight. He was simply too distraught. Focusing his energy on the image of a falcon, he spread his arms, crouched and launched himself upward from the hill.

For a long moment he hung suspended above the earth with no substance or form. He could feel the currents of air flowing through his being. Then he concentrated, focused his energy, and took on the outward shape of the bird.

His wings flapped strongly. His bright golden eyes were all that remained of his human shape. He soared. High above the Krak he flew in lazy circles, at home in the sky, at one with the night.

* * * * *

“Thankfully you sent Gideon to find me. If I’d walked back to the Krak on—”

“I did not send Gideon to you.” Gabriel’s gaze narrowed
 
on Naomi’s face, cautious yet intense. “Did he tell you this?”

Fear’s icy fingers stroked Naomi’s spine. She sat on one of the infirmary’s cots as she had for the past five days. Her ankle was still swollen and discolored, but with her foot bound firmly for support, she was able to walk with only a bit of discomfort.

“Aye, he said you sent him to look for me.”

Brother Gabriel glanced away and Naomi felt even more uncomfortable. He fiddled with the wooden cross suspended from his neck, sure proof of his anxiety.

“Why does your brother mean me harm?”

It took a long time for him to answer. “Gideon is angry with me, and he knows harming you will hurt me more deeply than any direct assault.”

His compassionate gaze moved slowly across her face. Warmth seeped through her. He’d always been able to calm her fears and set her mind to rest.