Divinity (12 page)

By the time they reached Julia’s townhouse, all thoughts of Clyde were gone. Alex kept one hand on her leg for the length of the drive, trailing a finger lightly along her inner thigh and sending electric pulses quivering through her body. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, her words dried up, and Alex smiled, moving his finger higher.

When they reached the door, they tumbled inside, pulling off each other’s clothes and leaving a trail all the way to the bedroom. Julia pushed him backwards onto the soft down duvet and lowered herself onto him, her warm flesh pressing against him. Her hungry eyes searched his.

“Make love to me,” she said, her voice breathy and full of desire.

Alex had a hand on each of her arms, and gently rolled her over onto her back as he pressed his body on top of hers. His eyes twinkled with a teasing spark as he leaned in, kissing his way up her neck to her ear, his hot breath electrifying her. “Now?”

He ran his tongue back down her neck, trailing over the soft flesh above her breasts. Julia ran her fingers through his hair, her breath coming short and fast.

“Now,” she pleaded.

They reached the peak of their passion together, both of them crying out as they rocked together. At last, Alex fell off her, gasping. His skin glistened, and his right hand fell into her left. They lay there, spent, basking in the afterglow while they caught their breath. Julia had never felt more connected to Alex. Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes.

The peaceful moment splintered when Julia’s cell phone rang.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait,” she said, her voice thick. She shivered and curled up beside him, laying one hand on his chest, waiting for the phone to stop ringing. She pressed her warm cheek against his shoulder and smiled. “If you keep loving me like that, I won’t be able to walk.”

“I love you, Julia,” he said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her tight into his side. “Always have. Always will.”

Julia sighed, tracing a finger along his chest. “I suppose we should have a shower.”

Alex propped himself up on one elbow, a broad grin spreading across his face. “A shower, huh?”

“Join me?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Steam filled the bathroom, and the scent of Julia’s plumeria body wash saturated the air. With a large sea sponge, Alex rinsed the suds from her back, then turned her around to face him.

“I have a place I want to show you,” Julia said, pressing her chest against his. “My secret hideaway.”

Deep within Alex’s eyes, a flicker of recognition shone. He raised one hand to her smooth, wet hair and stroked it. “Then show me. I want to know all your secrets.”

Startled, she took a half-step back, holding onto his arms for balance. “Really?”

“Why not?” His smile put Julia at ease. “Where is it?”

“There’s a place just south of Baltimore I used to go to.” Julia took the sponge from Alex and turned him around. She drizzled body wash onto it, then made tiny circles all over his back, massaging as she washed him. “It’s a pond, just off the highway, hidden in the woods. There’s a path of stones leading out to a large boulder in the center. When I lived with my parents, I used to go hide there.”

She rinsed and wrung out the sponge until the water ran clear, then filled it with clean water. She squeezed it out over Alex’s back, washing away the suds. As she spoke of her childhood hideaway, the muscles in Alex’s back tightened.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to tickle you. So, will you go there with me?”

Julia thought being in that place with Alex would give her the courage to tell him about the Archangels. She could show him the spot Michael had taken her to, and somehow use it as a segue to get to the truth. She longed to escape the burden of her untold story.

Alex turned, took the sponge out of Julia’s hand, and set it on the edge of the tub. He pulled her to him, pressing himself against her, and looked into the depths of her eyes. “I would go anywhere with you.”

Julia smiled and kissed him softly. “Now?”

“No,” he said, his groin pushing into her. “Tomorrow. I have plans for you tonight.”

He shut off the water, stepped out of the tub, and took her by the hand back to the bedroom.

“Well, this is awkward,” Michael said with a raised eyebrow.

Gabriel stood amidst the clouds, looking through the opening at his feet where he could see Julia’s bedroom—and everything transpiring within. He glanced up at Michael and grimaced.

“Indeed.”

Gabriel stepped back, closing the viewing hole in the clouds, and shot Michael a suspicious look. Michael’s humor shone in his eyes until Gabriel’s harsh gaze wiped it away.

“I think she has had enough testing,” Gabriel said heavily. “There must be a way to change the course.”

“It isn’t a test, Gabriel. It is a fork in his path. There is still the matter of choice. She could decide not to go there. It’s not likely, but it’s possible.”

“What about him?” The set of Gabriel’s jaw radiated his frustration. “Theirs is a palpable love, as it always has been. Could we not influence his choices? We have done it before.”

“And if we do, Brother? What happens to her? Have you become able see the infinite outcomes if we interfere?” Michael’s wings began to spread open, making it seem like he was raising his voice as he spoke.

Gabriel stood, undaunted but silent.

“No,” Michael continued. “He joined her to save her. He has done it once, pulling her from despair. We must let him do so again. She is stronger than you think.” Michael stopped and examined Gabriel intently. “Interesting.”

“What?”

“You. So protective. It’s almost…human…” Michael waved a hand, dismissing his own thought.

“Funny, Michael. How did the apostles all miss your incredible sense of humor in their careful recollections? I am not acting like a human. I am concerned. There is a lot at stake.”

“I know. He made his choice long ago. It is done.”

XII

I
T
was a few minutes past eleven the next morning when Alex and Julia were almost ready to get in the car and head out. She had packed them some roast beef sandwiches and a bottle of wine. After eyeing her crystal wine glasses, she grabbed two Dixie cups and tucked them in the box along with some napkins and paper plates.

Alex picked the box up off the counter. “Do we have everything?”

“Maybe some fruit?” Julia pulled open the refrigerator door and frowned. “All I have are apples.”

“I’ll pass,” Alex said. “They give me heartburn.”

“Oh! My phone,” she said, dashing into the bedroom. She had silenced it the night before and left it on her nightstand.

“I’ll just put this out in the car,” he said, balancing the box awkwardly with one hand while opening the door. “See you out there.”

Julia picked up her phone as the door shut behind Alex. There were four missed calls, all from the restaurant phone or Sandra’s cell, and three emails. One email was from Charlie—titled “Are you around?”—and two from business email addresses she decided to look at later. She dialed her voicemail, and heard the first message from Sandra in her bubbly British accent.

“Julia, I fired Clyde. He didn’t ask me why, only smiled and said, ‘It doesn’t matter now, anyway.’ Bloody hell, he’s horrid! Anyway, he’s gone. Thought you would want to know as soon as it was done.”

The second was Sandra again, this time not so bubbly.

“It’s me again, just closed down and left with Phillipe. Someone threw a brick through my windshield and slashed my two back tires. I’m waiting here for AAA, but don’t worry, Phillipe is staying with me until they come.”

The third call was from the restaurant phone, and was a stretch of a few minutes of silence. Julia’s finger hovered over the button to erase the message, but the chills she got convinced her to save it to memory instead.

The fourth call was from Sandra again, this time from the restaurant, placed an hour ago.

“Hi, Julia, I just got in and opened up for lunch. Seems we had an electrical problem here last night and lost power to the walk-in. We lost all the food we had prepped last night. Freezer is still working. I’m calling the electrician. Please call me back.”

Julia erased the call, frowning. She didn’t want to take the time to call, so she quickly sent a text: “Sandra, glad you are okay. Will be in later to look at the cooler. Going for a drive. Let me know what the electrician says.”

She dropped her phone in her purse when Alex came back in.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, but there’s something strange going on at the restaurant.” She explained the calls to Alex. “I’ll go in and check on it later. Right now, we have a picnic to attend.”

Alex brushed Julia’s cheek with his hand and kissed her softly. He stepped back and held her gaze for a few moments.

“What’s wrong?” Julia asked.

“Nothing, I just love looking at you.” He paused. “Are you sure you don’t want to check on the restaurant first?”

Julia narrowed her eyes at Alex. He almost sounded hopeful. She asked, “Would
you
rather go check the restaurant first?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I want to go wherever you want to go.”

She studied him for a moment, and then smiled. “Let’s go, then. The pond meant so much to me growing up. I really want to share it with you.”

Alex stepped aside with a grand flourish of his arm. “After you, m’lady.”

Julia grinned and hustled past him. She cast a look back over her shoulder toward her bedroom ceiling. Her stomach rolled as she thought about telling Alex about the Archangels.

Please let him believe me
, she thought.

She had moved fewer than fifty miles away from her childhood home in the suburbs south of Baltimore, but it might as well have been on the other side of the country. Julia had avoided making this trek for the last several years. Even though she felt the conversation with Alex needed to be at the pond—so she could show him, not just tell him what was going on—she was dreading the drive through her old neighborhood.

Alex chatted with her and kept the conversation light, as though he sensed her anxiety. It was another of the things she loved about him—his ability to comfort her with his presence without prying. He held her hand, and every few minutes he lifted it to his lips and planted a soft kiss on her fingers. Julia was thankful that he didn’t ask her why she wanted to drive all the way out to the area where she had spent such an awful part of her youth, and she didn’t offer him the information.