Read Desiring A Demon (Archangels) Online

Authors: Missy Jane

Tags: #Raphael, #Fallen Angel, #Paranormal, #Contemporary, #Demon, #Epic, #Romance, #Entangled, #Missy Jane, #Angel, #Fantasy, #PNR, #Heaven, #love, #Archangel, #Series, #Covet

Desiring A Demon (Archangels) (4 page)

BOOK: Desiring A Demon (Archangels)
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Rafe tried to concentrate on his search for Asta’s symptoms, but they kept reminding him of his conversation with Mike.

“How is the demon?” Mike had asked.

“Same as always,” Rafe replied. “She cooks, she cleans. Nothing more or less. I told you. She’s safe.”

But what if he was wrong? Could she be hiding a darker side even his angelic senses couldn’t find? He truly felt the good in her. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

He groaned and put down the book he was reading to pace around his office. Mike had called him to the warehouse district because the cops had found the scene of a failed summoning ritual. Luckily
,
the person who’d been trying to call forth a demon didn’t seem to really know what they were doing. It had looked more like a bad movie set than a real summoning circle. However, they still needed to find and stop the person. They also needed to find Forge. He appeared to be the man passing out the knowledge on how to summon demons
.

Mike wanted Asta under constant surveillance but Rafe couldn’t do that to her. He hadn’t even told Mike about her getting a job. He’d just found an excuse to get home quickly so he could follow her to work. But now it seemed that wouldn’t be an issue. Maybe she really did have the flu or some sickness humans got.

His phone rang
,
and he answered to find Mike on the line. “Was she home when you got there?”

“Yeah. I told you, she doesn’t really go anywhere.”

“Zerach said she was looking for a job.”

Rafe sighed. He knew better than to try to keep anything from his brother. “Yeah. She got one
,
too
,
but I don’t know when she’s going to start.”

“Hmm.”

“So, you never said why you’re using the phone now.”

Mike sighed loudly. “Cam. He bought it for me and said I have to use it for a full week before he’ll listen to me any other way. I figured he’d already told everyone by now.”

Rafe’s laughter echoed throughout the room as he doubled over. Mike was always the last of them to try new technology. He could be very old
-
fashioned.

“I can’t believe he talked you into even taking the new phone from him. What did he threaten you with?”

“He didn’t dare threaten me.”

“Yeah, of course not.”

Rafe chuckled as he waited Mike out. Finally his brother answered. “Fine. He threatened to send his secretary over to organize my kitchen. That woman is a snake.”

That had Rafe rolling again. Cam’s secretary
,
Eleanor
,
was brilliant and extremely organized. She drove all of them crazy sometimes. “I can see how that would be an incentive. So, how do you like the phone?”

“It does too damn much. I just want to talk…maybe. I keep pulling up the internet instead and doing all kinds of other shit. I almost threw it away three times today.”

“In the long run this will be a good thing. You know we can’t feel each other if one of us is unconscious. At least now you’ll have a GPS tracker in your pocket.”

Mike snorted. “And if the damn thing rings when I’m trying to be quiet?”

“Just turn the ringer off.”

He sighed loudly again. “I can’t figure out how.”

“I’ll look it over when I see you again. Any more activity on the police scanner?”

“Not the kind we’re searching for. Just the usual depravity and violence. Sometimes I can’t believe the humans have lasted this long.”

“Yeah. I feel ya.”

“I’m hanging up now…I think. If not, you hang up.”

Rafe burst into laughter again as the line went dead.

Chapter Four

By the next morning
,
no evidence remained of the black smudges on the kitchen floor. Asta moved around the room she spent most of her day in, comfortable in her role as cook, while Rafe read a newspaper at the table. He sipped his coffee without a word, most likely waiting her out. His gaze burned into her back and she tried to ignore it because she had no idea how to explain what happened. But as usual, he won. She spun on her heel and set her hands on her hips as she glared at him. “What?”

One thick brow went up as he set the paper down. “What, what?”

“What are you staring at me for? And don’t say you weren’t, because I felt it.”

He grinned. “Yeah? I stare at you all the time. You’re nice to look at.”

She growled and went back to cleaning the breakfast dishes. “Whatever.”

“I guess you feel better this morning?”

“Yeah.”

“Want to tell me what the hell happened last night?”

“Want to tell me what your secret meeting with Mike was about?”

He didn’t answer right away and she fought the urge to look at him. “It can hardly be considered a secret when you knew about it,” he finally replied.

“Whatever.” It didn’t really bother her much. He met with his brothers while she stayed home all the time. At least Isadora hadn’t been there either, so it wasn’t like she was the only one excluded
.

He huffed out a breath and she nearly caved. She finished the last pan and set it in the dish rack before turning to face him again. “I’m fine, Rafe. It’s no biggie.”

“It smelled like the darkest pit of hell when I walked in here last night. How is that no biggie?”

All her blood seemed to drain to her feet
,
and she didn’t realize she was swaying until she felt him grab her arms.

“Damn, you’re fast,” she said weakly
.

He moved her to sit in a chair and gently pushed her head down until it was between her knees. “Yeah, and you were about to drop like a ton of bricks. What the hell, Asta?”

She shook her hanging head. “Fuck if I know… Did it really smell like that?”

When she raised her head it was to see he’d squatted down to her eye level. “Yeah. Brimstone and sulfur are two scents that never really leave you once you’ve smelled them. Even though it’s been a while.”

She dropped her head into her hands and tried not to sob. “Fuck.”

“I know you didn’t summon a demon while I was gone, but I can’t think of what else could cause that scent.”

She sat up slowly and when the room didn’t spin she released a pent-up breath. “No. No demon summoning or virgin sacrifices for me last night. I’m cutting back.”

He smirked. “Good to know.”

“I’m not sure what happened last night but it’s over.”

He studied her a moment as if gauging her sincerity and finally straightened. “All right. Since you appear to be okay this morning I guess I’ll believe you. But you scared the hell out of me last night.” He placed the back of his hand against her brow and her pulse sped up. She bit back a groan at how good it felt to have him worry over her.

“At least you’re not burning up anymore.”

He turned away and the loss of his touch left her empty. She looked away to hide her expression in case he turned back around.

“I have court this afternoon so I’ll be gone for a few hours. We can go out to dinner when I get back.”

“Okay.”

She felt his stare before hearing his footsteps recede as he left the room. A short time later
,
his bedroom shower turned on. She groaned and dropped her head back into her hands. Picturing him in the shower was another one of her favorite pastimes, and a torment unto itself.

She stood and was happy the room didn’t spin. One way or another
,
she needed to find out what was happening to her. Unfortunately, the only people other than Rafe who might know were demons. She’d encountered a few over the years but usually got away from them as quickly as possible. Now she might need to actually find one on purpose. Not a happy prospect.

By the time Rafe left the house and headed to his office, she was dressed and ready to go
,
too. He thought she’d be grocery shopping at the little market a few blocks from his house. In reality, she’d be in the seedier part of town drumming up trouble. Somehow, she needed to find a demon to talk to.


Hours later, Rafe tried not to squirm as the judge peered at him over the wire-rimmed glasses perched on the end of his hawk-like nose. The man was seventy if he was a day but still sharp as a whip, and he didn’t seem to like Rafe much. That was okay, so long as he didn’t let the bastard who had beaten Rafe’s client gain custody of their two kids. Rafe was working this case pro-bono. The violent bastard had enough money to make his wife’s life miserable, but his lawyer had shit for brains
,
so things might actually work out all right.

“Mr. Maxwell, is there anything else?” the judge asked.

“No, Your Honor.”

“Mr. Vernon?” the judge asked the other lawyer.

“No
,
Your Honor.”

The judge grunted and looked over the papers in his hands again. “Fifteen
-
minute recess while I finish going over all this.”

He pounded his gavel and left the courtroom. Rafe reassured his client for a moment before pulling out his phone. A glance showed no texts or calls from Asta, which wasn’t odd. But an unsettled feeling in his gut had him dialing her number. It went straight to voicemail. “Hey, I’ve got a minute and was just calling to check in. Call me back and I’ll answer if I can talk.”

He hung up and stared at the phone in apprehension.

“Is everything okay?” his client asked.

He turned to face the too-thin woman beside him and offered a smile. “Yeah. You? How are you holding up?”

She smiled in return but it was still a bit battered. The shadows under her eyes spoke of fatigue and stress. The one on her temple spoke of still-healing bruises. Rafe ignored them so his anger didn’t flare again.

“I’m better today than I was last week at this time,” she said. “Randall thinks he can buy the world after my last lawyer took his bribe. Thank God for you, Rafe.”

He took her hand in his when she held it out and squeezed it for support. “I do what I can.”

“Thank you.”

He gave her a nod and looked away when her eyes moistened, giving her a small bit of privacy to compose herself. His gaze found her ex-husband glaring at him. Rafe wanted to beat the bastard to a bloody pulp, but keeping Sabrina and their kids away from him would be a better way of defeating him.

When the judge returned and demanded Randall pay a huge sum in child support, as well as have only one supervised visit per month, Sabrina broke into quiet sobs of relief. Rafe finished up all he needed to do and walked her to her car with one eye open for Randall.

“Do you see that motorcycle over there?” he asked.

“Yes,” Sabrina said.

“That’s my brother, Mike. He’s going to follow you home and keep an eye out while you get the boys and the bags I told you to pack. Then he’ll get you to the safe place I promised.”

She threw her arms around him, sobbing against his chest. “Thank you, Rafe. Thank you so much.”

He patted her back and let her hold him a moment, taking the gift of trust he knew she no longer gave to men easily. Then she slipped into her car and drove away with Mike right behind her. Rafe’s brother was a behemoth compared to most humans. Randall would be an idiot to try anything in front of him.

He pulled his phone out. His call to Asta went straight to voicemail again and dread hit the pit of his stomach. This was the longest he’d gone without talking to her since they’d met. “What the fuck, girl?”

He strode to his car when what he really wanted to do was rip off his shirt and fly home. Sometimes, acting like a human was a real pain in the ass.


Asta tightened her grip on the bat in her hand and looked over the man before her. His filthy clothes and unwashed body told of a lifetime on the street, but his clear eyes also told of more intelligence than most probably gave him credit for. He grinned at her, showing more rotten teeth than not, and motioned to the doorway behind him. “He’s in there. If you really wanna see ’im. Forge is in there.”

Forge. She’d heard Rafe and his brothers say the name a couple of times and could tell this human meant trouble. Unfortunately, all of her questions had led her to this decrepit building in the heart of Houston’s warehouse district. She was afraid to believe finding answers would be this easy and knew her search wasn’t over yet.

“Fine,” she said. “Back the fuck away so I can go in.”

He scoffed and released a laugh that faded into a coughing fit. He shook his head as he regained his breath. “Not till you pay the toll, girly. I got you here, right? You owe me somethin’.”

She growled low in her throat and slipped a hand in her back pocket. A five
-
dollar bill was all the cash left after paying her way this far. She tossed it his way. “There. That’s all I got on me.”

He picked it up and examined it as if it might be fake. Then he scowled at her. “Worth more than this.”

“Too fucking bad. Back off before I move you.”

She raised the bat like a pro and he stumbled back a step. “Bitch.”

She nodded in acknowledgment of the title then walked to the door. He moved behind her faster than she would’ve expected and made to grab her arm. She swung on instinct, hitting him across the forearm with a satisfying crack. He wailed and dropped to the filthy ground, holding his arm now bent at the wrong spot.

“You fucking bitch!”

“I warned you, asshole.”

She didn’t waste another second before going into the building. Let one of his drug-addled friends come to his rescue. Her only concern at this point was finding Forge and getting some answers.

The darkness that engulfed her wasn’t nearly as frightening as the noises coming from down the long, narrow hallway. The brick walls were covered in graffiti and filth but she could barely see them. Her only illumination came from the open doorway she was quickly leaving behind. She nearly fell when she came to the top of a set of stairs. One look down and she almost gave up and turned back, but she wasn’t a coward. She’d been through a lot of bad shit in her twenty-four years. This wasn’t the time to turn tail and run.

The concrete steps were steep and narrow and filthy. God knows what crunched beneath her boots as she descended one slow step at a time. She shuddered in disgust and held the bat up
,
ready to strike, walking sideways to keep anything behind her in her peripheral vision. The old bastard she’d just left might send his friends in after her…if he had any. She stretched out her small touch of psychic senses and felt more malice than she’d ever known. Unfortunately, it was coming from everywhere.

After what felt like hours
,
but was only about thirty steps, she found a concrete floor. Feeble light flickered in the distance as if from a dancing flame. She squinted in an effort to see better and realized she was in a large room. The ceiling loomed invisible above her
,
and the walls were made of stone. She took a single step into the room and froze at the sound that followed her action.

“Who the hell are you and what the fuck do you want?”

It was the voice of Armoros, and it was not. Something evil and painful filled her ears but the pitch was a bit off. A little deeper
,
maybe, but close. Very, very close.

“I’m Asta. Are you Forge?”

She didn’t see him until he moved in front of the distant firelight. Then she couldn’t stop seeing him. He was huge, larger than any of the angels in girth but about their height. She also sensed on a primal level that he wasn’t completely human.

He threw back his head and laughed. “Oh
,
what a treat. A little demonling for dinner. Who should I thank for this gift?”

She growled low in her throat and raised her bat higher.

He chuckled. “You’ve got spunk. I like that. I detect your fear, but it’s not nearly as deep as it should be. Do you have any idea what I am?”

She made a point of sniffing the air and grimacing in distaste. “Ugh. More demon than I am.”

“Right you are. But I’m still a half
-
demon like you, little girl. The difference is, I don’t try to hold mine back.”

Then he moved and before she knew it
,
he was dragging her farther into the room, toward the distant flame. She stiffened and tried to pull her arm out of his grasp but he was stronger.

They reached a massive fireplace that roared like the pits of hell. Two small demons stood on either side of it
,
stoking the fire lovingly
,
reaching in now and then as if to pet the flames.

Forge released her and she barely stopped herself from falling on her face. She spun on her heel to cuss him out and froze as all thoughts fled. He was glorious.

Over six feet tall with long
,
wavy black hair, Forge could’ve been a cover model for every romance novel she’d ever read. His bare, muscular chest was hairless and gleamed with a sheen of sweat in the firelight. Massive arms matched tree-trunk thighs covered in black leather. She wanted to laugh at the cliché but he was freaking hot
.
Or at least, he would be if evil didn’t waft from him like a cloying cologne. Besides, he couldn’t hold a candle to Rafe.

He clenched his fists and scowled at her. “What the fuck do you want? I don’t have time to play nursemaid to a demonling.”

She shook her head
,
both in answer and to clear her thoughts. “I don’t need a fucking nursemaid, asshole. I need answers. Word on the street is you might have them.” She sniffed the air again. “Smells like you do, anyway.”

“And why should I waste my time with you?”

“What the fuck else you got going on?”

He stepped into her personal space and she fought the urge to back up. She craned her neck to keep her gaze on his face.

BOOK: Desiring A Demon (Archangels)
5.8Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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