Loving Angel (A Divisa Novel Book 4) (4 page)

I skimmed my lips over her forehead. “You make me want to be a better person.”

“What does it feel like, you know, to give in to the demon?” She brought up her leg, resting it over mine.

Always full of questions, it made me smirk. I ran my hand down her hair, silky strands falling between my fingers. “Like I lose my freewill. It’s why I try so hard to keep him at bay. I hate not being in control. He is unstable, and being ruled by the demon is not living. I know the triggers… Anger. Pain. Fear. Passion.” Her expression clouded, and my breath caught. “But even knowing, I can’t always stop it. Like when I’m with you. I find that the demon and I merge together more and more, no longer pulling in opposing directions.”

“Good,” she said sleepily, closing her eyes.

We lay, tangled together until she could barely keep her eyes open. I walked her home, looking forward to the day when we weren’t separated. I wanted to spend every night with her warmth beside me. Tonight, I just had to settle for the scent of her that lingered on my cool sheets.

The demon and I both sighed, missing what was ours.

Chapter 6

I could tell by the smug grin on her face she was bursting to tell me something. The large white envelope she was clutching in her hand, as if she was afraid it would slip through her fingers, caught my eye. I refrained from releasing the grumble that was at the base of my throat. She had sprinted up the stairs, her feet pounding on the carpet, and exploded through my bedroom door.

More than anything I wanted to give Angel everything, but that didn’t mean I held a sliver of her excitement. Whatever was written in that overstuffed letter seemed more like a death sentence. “Well, what are you waiting for?” I asked. “Rip that sucker open.”

“What if I didn’t get in?” There was vulnerability beneath the glimmer shining in her eyes.

I kissed her softly and quickly pulled away. “Then we’ll get married, move in with Devin, and have a gazillion babies.”

If I didn’t know better, I swear her face paled slightly. “Oh God. I can’t be a mom. I’m not even eighteen yet.”

Speaking of, someone had a birthday next month. She had such maturity about her I often forgot that I was almost a year older. Ten months to be exact. I would be spending my nineteenth birthday in September at some college housing—preferably co-ed.

“Just open the damn thing before you hyperventilate. Not that I wouldn’t mind a little mouth to mouth.” I gave her a lopsided grin.

She rolled her eyes. “Can you be serious for one minute?”

“I was.”

“
I
think we need to give our mouths a rest.”

I
wholeheartedly disagreed and was contemplating showing her how much I never tired of kissing her. But now wasn’t the time to make a point. Not when her emotions were a mess, ranging from anxious to eager. They rattled my insides, and I just wanted to get this over with. “Okay,
your
suspense is killing me,” I said, gesturing toward the package clasped to her chest.

Taking a deep breath, her fingers worked the corner of the envelope. The tearing of paper filled the quiet room. Her eyes scanned the typed sheet of paper, moving from left to right as she bit her lip in concentration. Although only seconds went by, I was itching to snatch the sheet from her fingertips, knowing I could read it twice as fast. Then a burst of joy exploded inside me, and I got my answer.

We were going to college.

I groaned.

She jumped into my arms, squealing. “I got in!”

Instinctually, I tightened my grasp, taking advantage of any chance to hold her. “See, you worried for nothing. I never doubted you.”

She pulled back, looking up at me with bright eyes. “You have to check the mail.”

“Right now?” I was reluctant to let her go yet.

“Now,” she drawled out the word.

How could I say no? How could I tell her that college wasn’t important to me? She was. Her safety. Her wants. Her needs. Whether or not I got a higher education was irrelevant if we weren’t alive. I would be by her side regardless. Nothing was going to stand in my way, certainly not a little slip of paper.

But staring at the hopeful expression on her face, how could I refuse? I just prayed for her sake, she wouldn’t be disappointed. It wasn’t like I had been a model student.

Just as I was about to zip to the mailbox, a flash of blonde glimmered at the corner of my eye. I should have known Lexi would be listening. In my house, no conversation was private.

She popped next to us with pink floppy bunny slippers on her feet. Though her lips were pursed together, it was impossible to take her seriously. “What is all the screaming about? Everyone in the house heard you,” she said.

Only if you were eavesdropping
, I thought to myself.

Angel spun in my arms, facing Lexi with a silly grin and her acceptance papers clutched to her chest. “I’m going to NIU.”

Understanding splayed. “Holy crap. We’re going to be roomies,” Lexi shrieked, piercing my eardrums and doing an embarrassing happy dance. If you could call what they were doing dancing.

Angel nodded, which led to the two of them jumping up and down, hugging in the center of my room. My sensitive ears were buzzing, but I wouldn’t spoil their girlish glee. Angel was the first
real
friend my cousin had ever had. She deserved more than any of us to share this moment with her best friend, and I was just in the way.

Since Angel and I had more or less cemented the final bond, I knew that Lexi felt like she was losing her friend. I didn’t want to take the relationship she had formed with Angel away. As much as I loved Angel and wanted to spend an unhealthy amount of time with her, I knew that not only for us, but for Lexi, some days I needed to step back.

“You know what this means?” Lexi asked.

The look on Angel’s face was priceless. “I’m afraid to ask,” she replied.

“Shopping! We have so much to plan. Color schemes. School clothes. Dorms—” Lexi started ticking of the items on her fingers.

“And this is where I check out,” I butted in before Lexi tried to rope me in as her baggage handler. Not to mention, the prospect of any more screaming, talk of fabric colors, or the possibility of the mall would gag me.

Angel’s lashes fanned her cheeks as she glanced up at me, understanding in her eyes. Before I could sneak a kiss goodbye, Lexi grabbed her hand, pulling her from my room and across the hall. I heard the click of Lexi’s door and the murmurs of their voices as they started to plot.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I needed to clear my head, work out the kinks. All the estrogen in my house was smothering me. I wanted wide-open space, blue skies, and nothing but the sounds of nature. Slipping on a pair of black basketball shorts, I trotted down the stairs into the kitchen where I pillaged through the fridge for a bottle of water. Travis was nowhere in sight. He had been spending more and more time with Emma, knowing that they had only a few weeks before she left for college with the rest of us.

The thought of the little hunter being so close made me cringe.

Angel might have muddled with her memories, but I still didn’t trust her.

I had mega trust issues.

As I stepped outside, a warm breeze washed over my face. Lifting my face, I inhaled the solitude. The sun’s glaring rays beat down over my already golden skin. I preferred summer over all other seasons, and here in Spring Valley, summers were short and winters were long—too long for my blood. It was most likely the demon inside me—the hotter, the better.

My muscles tightened in anticipation, and I rocked on the balls of my feet, but at the last second before I took off, the wind carried troubled. It was followed by a hair-raising trickle down my back.

Shit. Not again.

The same apprehension I’d felt at graduation came flooding back. I was being watched.

By who or what, I couldn’t sense.

My eyes shifted, circling the area, the demon coming forward, pushing my humanity further away. I pressed my lips together in a hard line, focusing on a car that was parked across the street. It was a beater, white chipped paint, rust gathering at the bottom, and dents in the sides of the door. But around here, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

I disregarded him for a moment, testing the air for supernatural vibes. The tattoo at my hip, a usual sure sign of mischief, tingled ever so slightly, but I assumed it was Angel’s presence inside the house that caused the tingles. There was something else that I couldn’t identify, but it unnerved me, rattling the peace I sought.

My gaze snapped back to the man.

More than ever, the demon wanted to fight, feeling threatened by an unknown source. And right now, he was targeting the man standing in front of his car. He looked harmless, but it didn’t change the fact that he was interrupting my run. I wanted speed, the wind slapping my face. I wanted to glide over the ground. Then I heard the click of his camera as he snapped a picture of the field. Just like that, a fire erupted in my chest.

Rage.

In a bat of the eye, I was eyeballing the back of his form like I wanted to do him permanent damage. I didn’t even know the guy’s name, but the demon didn’t care.

Him, and his camera, had to go.

His heart beat steady and calm, until he turned around and saw me in his face. “Whoa, you scared me. I didn’t hear you.” He laughed nervously, looking like a deer in headlights. A thick striped belt hung around his neck, hooked to the end of his expensive-looking camera.

That was because I hadn’t made a sound. I wanted to crush the little device with my hand. “Sorry.” I angled my head. “I have that effect on people.”

He took a nervous step backward. “It’s a beautiful country you have here.” His gaze shifted to the landscape.

“You’re not from around here,” I stated. It was obvious. Locals wouldn’t call their hometown beautiful, quaint maybe.

His skin was pale, even for Illinois standards. “No, definitely not. I’m here for work.” He lifted up his camera.

I kept him talking while trying to size him up. Was he being sincere? Was he lying through his crocked, yellow teeth? Was he a threat? “Photography? What, do you work for a newspaper or something?”

“Nature magazine,” he supplied. “I hope I am not trespassing.” A gust of wind blew his thinning dark hair.

I shrugged. “It’s no biggie. Just be careful. You never know who or what you might meet out here. It can be dangerous.” The warning in my voice was clear.

Intimidation was my specialty.

He chuckled, fumbling with the camera still clutched in his hands. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

With that, I gave him a quick nod farewell and took off at a jog. Circling my house, I looked over my shoulder to see him climb in his car. As I disappeared behind the house and into the coverage of the trees, I heard the engine start up with a sick sound. Dude was in desperate need of a tune-up. I waited in the woods until I could no longer see his red taillights in the distance. Then I exhaled.

Something was wrong. I didn’t know whether to be glad we would be leaving, or worried about what we were leaving behind. There was a shit-storm blowing our way. I just didn’t know from which direction it would be propelling. My hand fisted against the bark until it cut my flesh, blood dripping onto the dirt.

Repressing the demon came with a cost. More than ever, he was chaos-thirsty and becoming difficult to control. There were still so many unknown factors about Angel and the powers she’d received when I made the ultimate sacrifice—bringing her back from the other side. We hadn’t really talked about it. Honestly, we were both avoiding the subject, each seeking a semblance of
normal
.

The link she had with Hell scared the piss out of me. Not in a fear-for-my-life kind of way, but a holy-shit-will-she-be-okay? Who knew what the long-term effects could be for someone who was linked to the underworld? As if a tie to Hell wasn’t enough. She was bonded to me in some kind of crazy triforce.

The girl could only be divided into so many fractions. We were going to have to talk about what this meant soon, whether I was ready or not. Pretending that nothing had changed, that she wasn’t deeper involved in the workings of Hell, had gone on long enough. We both needed to stop avoiding the major issues. And they didn’t stop at Angel and me. There were still the hunters. Killing one of their founding fathers didn’t exactly make the target on my back any smaller. Not far in the near future, there would be a day when they came for my head. Of course we couldn’t discredit the demons and their pets. Angel might have power over the demons of my bloodline, but there were others. How long before they came looking for her?

The thought made me shudder.

And because my adrenaline was suddenly pumping through me, I got my run after all.

Chapter 7

Our summer was coming to a close. The idea stirred bittersweet feelings. Tonight was the last day of July. It was also Angel’s eighteenth birthday, and I wanted it to be spectacular—a night she would never forget. Not our usual memorable dates that ended in a demon fight or some other hellish undertaking.

I wanted a truly, perfect night.

“A date?” she echoed.

Only Angel could look at something as normal as going on a date as a strange thing. We had been so caught up in my demon drama that we hadn’t had the luxury of doing normal teenage things, but I wanted to make up for that. “Yeah, you know. A movie. Dinner. Parking on a country road. Typical teenage stuff.”

“I know what a date is, genius. I just wasn’t sure
you
did.”

The edges of my lips curled. “So, I take that as a yes.”

She folded her arms. “Do you need me to spell it out for you?”

Geez, this was going swell. Just like her to get her feathers ruffled over something as simple as me asking her on a date. God, I loved this girl. “Let’s go.”

“Now?” She sounded horrified.

“Yep.”

She glanced down at her holey jeans and “Gaming Girls Need No Rescuing” T-shirt. “I’m not ready.”

“You look great.”

“I look like I just rolled around in a pile of hay. Do you see this hair?” She pulled out strands of her windblown dark hair.

I gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Your words, not mine.”

She shook her head. “Not everyone can look like a million bucks on the fly.”

True. She had me there. “I’ll give you ten minutes,” I conceded.

She bit her lip, and I knew she was going to counter. “Thirty.”

We might have been joined in three unholy bonds—our hearts, our bodies, and our souls might be synced—but Angel and I hardly ever agreed on anything. I think the fate just wanted to screw with us.

Thirty turned into fifty, and my patience was wearing thin. Just as I was about to haul her butt from her room, dressed or not, she bounced down the stairs.

Holy smokes
.

My mouth went dry.

She was wearing a pair of dark denim jean shorts that did wicked things to her tush and a white lacy tank top thing-a-ma-bob. It had these braided straps that exposed her back. My jaw dropped, leaving me speechless. And that didn’t happen often.

A whimsical grin spread over her lips. “That was better than the reaction I was hoping for, and the best compliment.”

Words were unnecessary. She could sense how seeing her made me feel. A devious glint lit my gaze, and I brushed a feather-soft kiss on her lips. “I love you,” I whispered.

Her eyes darkened, shifting colors.

Once we were in the comfy confines of my car, I set some ground rules. “Okay, before we go on this date, you have to make me three promises.”

Her brows rose suspiciously. “What kind of promises?”

“No talks of demons. No mention of hunters. And don’t utter a word about supernatural gifts. Deal?” All the crap in our lives would be waiting for us when we got back. One night. We deserved that.

She looked like she was biting back a grin. “Okay. I think I can manage that for
one
night.”

“Good,” I replied, letting the car rumble to life.

While I drove us out of town, she flipped through the radio stations, finally settled on a country song. Who would have thought? A year in the sticks and she’s turned hillbilly. We had the windows down, letting the balmy winds blend with the low twang.

I felt a contentment I only could feel with Angel. And that contentment was a two-way street. Her grin spread from ear to ear. Unable to stop myself, my fingers brushed over the back of her hand, and static raced up my arm. Warmth infused her cheeks, staining them a soft pink.

There were some aspects of our bond that I wasn’t sure either of us would ever get used to.

I took her to a little Tuscan-style restaurant where Devin sometimes brought us. It was nestled into a small corner of Princeton and offered a culinary food tour from all over the world. The shabby brick building had ivy climbing from ground to roof, but the exterior was deceiving. It reflecting nothing compared to what was waiting inside.

Sandblasted exposed brick walls. Tall rounded archways. Terra cotta floor tiles. Each cloth-covered table was lit by a flickering candle. The warmth of summer followed you inside.

She unsuccessfully fought a love-struck grin. “I feel as if I have just been transported to Paris. I can’t believe you know of such a place. It’s so…romantic.”

“You only turn eighteen once.” I glanced up as the waitress approached. Her name, Stacy, was stitched onto her white polo shirt, and her eyes glazed over me in intrigue with a hint of fear, a common side effect of being both awesome and dangerous.

We already had our drinks. Angel cleared her throat, giving Stacy a turned-down pout over her menu. “I’ll have the grilled chicken alfredo,” she said after Stacy finally got a clue, asking Angel what she would like.

Handing Stacy our folded menus, I met Angel’s gaze, the candlelight deepening the hue of blue. “And what is that look for?” I asked.

She sighed. “Having a sexy demon for a boyfriend is bewildering.”

I waved my finger over the candle flame. “You think I’m sexy?” Of course, I already knew she thought I was God’s gift to woman, but it never got old being told.

“Duh. And so does the entire female population.”

I couldn’t stop the smirk from splashing across my face. “I love your backward compliments.”

She twined her fingers with mine over the white tablecloth. “Are we going to talk about your carnal prowess all night?”

“And if I was?”

She relaxed in her seat, crossing her tan legs. “Go ahead. I’m ready.”

I laughed.

A giant basket of mixed breads and oils arrived at the table. And just in time. I had been contemplating nibbling on her fingertips. This gave me something else to do with my mouth. She broke off a piece of French bread and dipped it into a plate of olive oil and shredded Parmesan.

“Oh mah gawd,” she gushed with a mouthful. “This is to die for. I could make a meal out of this bread.”

I chewed off a hunk of my own. “If I had known that, I could have saved myself a ton of money and just bought you a loaf of bread.”

She playfully kicked me under the table, taking another chunk. “This is nice. You know, being on a date.” Her pink lips formed a half-smile, cheeks blushing slightly.

“It’s the least I can do.” There were shards of darkness inside me, but none of that mattered to Angel. She never shied away from me. She never made me feel unwanted, unloved, or alone. She never looked at me as if I was the black scum on the bottom of her Converses. And for that, there wasn’t a proper way to express my gratitude or my love.

She had blossomed that fragile seedling of hope I’d been afraid to let grow.

I had worked myself into a sentimental mess when our meals arrived. She twirled a thick noodle around her fork, her blue eyes hitting mine with a secret light shining behind them.

I stabbed a hunk of butter-smothered beef. “What are you thinking about?”

Flickering shadows of candlelight danced over her face. “I was thinking that I can hardly believe we are going to be living together.”

In just two short weeks, Angel, Lexi, and I would be moving into a house on campus. Ugh, and Emma. Her name made my stomach muscles cramp. I wasn’t thrilled with the living arrangements, but it was pointless arguing with Lexi, or Travis, for that matter. She might be his girlfriend, but I didn’t trust her as far as I could throw her. And I could toss the heck out of her soaking wet.

On the flipside, I thought it might be a strategic move. The whole keep your enemies closer. “Technically, we are sharing a house. We have our own rooms,” I said.

She waved her fork in the air. “I’ll remember that when you try to sneak into my bed.”

“If I want into your bed, Angel, nothing will stop me.” My voice dipped low and sensual. For a millisecond I forgot we were in a public place. The noise and the bustle of the restaurant dissolved, leaving just her and me locked in some heavy eye-action. The trance was broken by our over-attentive server, Stacy. I almost growled at her.

“Hush,” Angel whispered. “Before you cause a very unwanted scene.”

I snuffed the rumble at the base of my throat and forced a fake smile on my face. “We’re fine,” I replied to a startled Stacy.

She nodded, and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t be back to disturb us, except to bring the check.

Other than that one hiccup, as dates went, this one couldn’t have gone smoother. So, of course, it made me restless. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one.

Leaving the restaurant, Angel walked out in front of me, which I might add, gave me quite the pleasant view. I wasn’t complaining, except she was providing quite the distraction. So much so, that when she stopped dead in her tracks, I almost bulldozed right into her.

What the hell?

Thank baby Jesus for my ninja reflexes or we would have both ended up splattered on the blacktop. Preparing to give her a tongue lashing, I noticed that she stood frozen, angling her head in a weird position. Her gaze was zeroed in on…

My eyes became two slivers as I searched for what captivated her attention. Immediately, I thought demon, and I waited for that creepy vibe to flicker over my skin, but I felt… Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

“Angel,” I spoke her name.

She didn’t respond. Not even a blink. As I stared into her eyes, my blood ran cold. The dark blue of her irises was rimmed in crimson. That wasn’t the worst part. The red outline was glowing.

Holy freakin’ Toledo.

There went our so-called normal night. I had no clue why that surprised me. Delicately, I rubbed the pad of my thumb over her chin. She didn’t flinch, just kept staring off into the darkness. By the third time I had called her name, I was near panic.

My hands framed either side of her cheeks as I turned her to face me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I did the first thing that came to me. Leaning in, I kissed her. She went still in my arms, unsure how to respond, and I thought,
Crap, this isn’t working
. Determined, I deepened the kiss, not willing to give up. I would reach her, and later, I was going to find out what the hell happened. Her lips were warm under mine, too warm.

Just when I had lost hope, I felt her kiss me back. It was like breathing again. The terror faded from the pit of my stomach, and the world once again spun on its axis.

Breaking our lips apart, I searched her eyes frantic, afraid what I would see. I exhaled. They were crystal blue. “Thank God,” I muttered, every muscle in my body relaxing. I pressed my forehead against hers.

Her expression was clouded and disorientated. “What happened?” Her was voice soft, uncertain.

“You don’t remember?”

She shook her head. “Chase?” Trepidation laced, and it sliced a gash on my heart.

I never wanted her to feel afraid again. As unfeasible as that was, it didn’t stop the demon I lived with, or me, from vowing to dispatch those who would do her harm, cause her fear. “It’s fine now. Everything’s fine,” I said, soothing both of us.

Her brows drew together, and she shot me a look of confusion. “You aren’t making sense.”

“Forget it.” I twined her fingers with mine. “Let’s go. Tonight is not the time to psycho-analyze my screwed-up paranoia.”

Color morphed back into her cheeks. “Oh goodie. I thought things were getting interesting,” she said dryly.

A ghost of a smile curled at the corner of my lips. If Angel could exercise her sarcasm, she was going to be fine. I glimpsed at our joined hands, weaved together in a perfect fit. She had given me a fright, but I was known for overreacting in situations like this. Something strange had happened. In my head, it had to be demon-related, prompting my gut reaction—to go gung-ho and rip the culprit’s head off.

I get that was not everyone’s first response, but I wasn’t everyone.

As soon as she was tucked into the passenger seat, she lay back against the leather seat. “I think I am about to go into a food coma.”

One-handed, I steered the car smoothly onto the highway, beams of yellow headlights reflecting off the asphalt. The twisted trees that assembled on the side of the road blurred past. “Not before cake, you don’t.”

She groaned. “Please tell me my mom didn’t bake a cake.”

Although I was glad our date had gotten back on track, a piece of my brain couldn’t suppress the nagging feeling that things weren’t okay. I would have to deal with it eventually, just not tonight. “You want me to lie to you?”

The corner of her eyes crinkled in fondness. “It wouldn’t matter if you did. She has never missed making me a foofy cake for my birthday.”

“Good. ’Cuz I’m still hungry.”

She rolled her eyes.

Even though it wasn’t much of a surprise, Angel still jumped at the huge “happy birthday!” that greeted her when she walked through the door. Her face turned an unholy red. “Oh wow. Everyone is here,” she mumbled. Her glance slid sideways at me in way that made me think I was in the doghouse.