Repent in Love (2 page)

“Shh,” she murmured. “Clothe us, please.” Uri covered her in
a dress like the one that had disappeared from around her feet. He donned his
customary black slacks and dark gray shirt.

Morta released the room from her spell and it quickly came
back to life. Glasses tinkled, music blared from speakers and voices rose and
dropped in conversation. Laughter bubbled around them. She raised her head to
look over his shoulder. The woman Uri had held earlier remained in a trancelike
state. Morta saw something she had noticed many times before.

Their hair was always the same white color as hers.

“I must go. I have duties to attend.” Heat suffused her
face. “I’ve been lax.”

“Morta, I won’t wait another six years to have what is mine.
Do you understand me?” His voice followed her as she vanished and streaked
toward the stars above.

Morta knew she’d awakened a sleeping beast.

Uriel’s finger ran along the scar on the left side of his
face as he sat in a pew near the cathedral’s entrance. The man kneeling in
front prayed for his dying child. He’d already done penance for his sins. Uri
tried to decide whether or not to give him absolution.

“You don’t really have a choice in this one.” The somber
voice beside him emanated from Ramiel.

“Ram, it-it’s been a while.” His voice hitched.

“I’ve been busy.”

Words stronger, more confident. “What’s going on with this
guy?”

“Son has cancer. I’m here to give him hope to hang on to.”

Uri grunted. He was damn tired of men seeking last-minute
reprieves. The guy up front screwed half of his life away and now wanted help. Uri
continued to stroke his cheek. Weird how tracing the scar comforted and relaxed
him. He’d carried the mark for thousands of years.
God loves you, God forgives
you and I absolve you of all your sins.
Uriel’s absolution of the dying
boy’s father had been granted for one reason—to stop Morta from cutting the
child’s thread of life. Nothing more. Uri wanted to get his Fate’s attention.
She’d not shown herself to him in days. “You know I wouldn’t have hurt Yael,
right?” What could Uri have been thinking when he’d locked Yael up? Ram didn’t
take kindly to it and Uri understood. If anyone trapped his beloved, he’d have
tried to rip them in two.

“Yeah, I was pretty pissed off. You had no right to harm anyone.”
Ram sighed.

“Life’s a bitch.” Uri would do it all over again because of
Morta. What about her got under his skin? There had been many women in his life
and he’d enjoyed a multitude of species. Why did she hold sway over him? His
slacks grew snug and uncomfortable. The bulge rubbed along the seam of his zipper
at the mere thought of her. “How’d you do it, Ram, with Yael I mean?” The angel
of hope had changed his exulted into an angel. “We all know Michael loves you
best, but he should have known what you were up to.” Uri’s words lacked
enthusiasm.

“If you’re thinking what I think you are, Fates are
different, they need to remain unbiased to perform their duties. Anyway, do you
really want Morta, Uri? I would have thought Raphael stood in line for my spot
as Heaven’s biggest whore.” Ram shook beside him with silent laughter. “Sewed
that up didn’t you?”

“Fuck you, man.” Uri had cut a wide swath through the world,
screwing any willing woman. “After you found love, someone had to take care of
all the women you left seeking to have their pussies—”

“Hey, hey watch your mouth in our Lord’s house. Michael will
smite you.”

“I allowed the father to repent but I’m not going to let
Morta take the kid’s life.” He felt Ram’s eyes on him but damn if he’d give Ram
the satisfaction of looking at him. Uri needed to see Morta and if this was the
only way, so be it. Another scar at this point wouldn’t faze him.

“If it’s any consolation just being with her may help. They
won’t let you keep her,” said Ram.

Uri tensed, his jaw clamped shut. He disliked the sound of
pity in Ram’s voice. He was right though. Didn’t matter. First, he’d have to
catch the elusive-as-hell Morta. For all he knew, she didn’t want him.

The man rose from his knees, crossed himself and headed
toward the angels. He couldn’t see them but Uri caught a new look of hope in
his eyes. Ram did his job well.

“I’m out,” Ram said. “Considering Morta almost froze my ass
because I ripped your wing a little, she feels something for you. Only God
knows why.”

“Stay out of my head. Get the fu—” Ram disappeared before Uri
finished his sentence. A sudden lightness blossomed in his heart from the idea
Morta cared. Shit! It hit him over the head like a bat—the angel had infused
him with some hope.

Thanks, Ram
.

My pleasure, man. Good luck.

Her heart ached at the sound of desolation in his voice.
Morta stood on the balcony above and saw Ram disappear. Uri’s face no longer
wore the grimace. Hell, she wanted him so bad she couldn’t think straight but
going to him was out of the question. She didn’t trust her own feelings.

Ebony hair hung in waves around his broad shoulders and long
legs stretched in front of him. His black shirt did nothing to hide the
definition of muscle on his large frame. Uri shifted sideways on the hard seat
and appeared to pay attention to the couple entering the church. Her vision was
more acute than that of humans and she saw the scar down the left side of his
face visible beneath the shadow of stubble. It made him look like a pirate or a
gladiator, and she’d always thought it was sexy.

What was she going to do? Given what Ram had said, would it
help just to give in and truly be with him? Not the delirious mental games
they’d played.
Really
be with him. She’d already neglected her
responsibility to the poor souls below. A tremor of fear shook her limbs. It
grew from another need, one much more physical. This angel set her body on
fire, sent desire coursing through her veins whenever she was near him. Wet
from thinking about the imperceptible bulge in his pants, she momentarily lost the
ability to reason. Nothing mattered but having him.

Mentally shaking herself, she tried to refocus. She was
amazed when she picked up his thoughts. What Uri planned regarding the child
could not be allowed. The boy’s time on Earth was up. Engrossed with her own
problem, Morta failed to see him move. His essence hung in the air, indicating
he was still nearby and while her eyes searched the pews, a breeze brushed her
bare shoulders. She turned and sapphire-blue eyes blazed at her.

“Sweet Morta, it was only a matter of time.” Uri leaned
closer and whispered, “Enjoying the view?”

“What view? Everything looks so tiny from up here.” Heat
flared in her chest and crept toward her cheeks. She immediately regretted the
sarcasm.

“Such bark. Do you bite as well?” His tongue swept his lips,
lips she wanted to touch, to taste.

“Do
not
try to save the boy. I can’t allow that.”

“You’re too late.”

“Don’t do this.” Nails dug into her palms as she struggled
to keep her face blank. This would not go well unless she remained calm and
convinced Uri to back off. “Should I call on Michael?”

“Do as you wish.” Hands stroked her arms, leaving a trail of
fire. One lifted her hair and grasped her neck. His mouth slammed so brutally
against hers, he drew blood. His tongue moved across the cut, healing it
instantly. Then he prodded for entrance. Unable to resist, she opened to
receive him. He was an aphrodisiac, one that tugged her into the flames of
desire.

Thunder cracked loudly overhead, shaking the balcony.

Jumping at the sound, he said, “Another time,” before
vanishing.

Lost when his warmth left with him Mort wrapped her arms tightly
around her body.

The air shimmered with a curtain of light and her sister
Decima appeared. “What, pray tell, do you think you’re doing?” Disappointment
glittered in her eyes.

“I was already too late. His soul is now in Uri’s care.”

“Had you not wasted time ogling him you could have performed
your duty. Morta, this is not acceptable.” Decima paced in front of her.

“What would you have me do?”

“Fix it. I do not want to involve higher authority. Take
care of it
now
.”

Damn it. Uri would pay for this. First, she had to find him.

Uri didn’t hide but Morta had to seek him out and he waited
for her to come. He’d taken her choice along with something else—twice he’d
tasted her blood. Angels always ingested blood to create a bond. All they
lacked were fangs, but they didn’t need them when a wish served just as well to
open one’s vein. Morta could never hide from him now. Her essence lived in his
body and access to her mind would never again pose a problem.

But this time she’d come to him because he held something
she wanted.

He’d picked a perfect place for their confrontation, one not
too public because Mort would be angry as hell. A smile tugged the corners of
his mouth. Uri liked her volatile personality and relished the idea of taming
her. Angels were stronger than Fates, so he could counteract most of her magic.
His bolts of electric heat were a wonderful balance to her swords of ice.

He sat on a bench in the United States’ oldest zoo, its wild
animals an excellent backdrop for their meeting. He loved to visit Philadelphia
though it never lived up to its nickname, the City of Brotherly Love. The place
teemed with cynical people. He’d found that to be true of most northeasterners.
He did, however, admire their tenaciousness and they always provided a
challenge.

Morta wouldn’t be long.

He watched two white lions lounge under a tree and could not
imagine what it felt like to be confined in such a small area. He understood
why they were named as vulnerable on the Red List of Threatened Species. Men had
destroyed most of what had been provided for them to live well. They weren’t
the smartest of creatures.

He smelled her before she appeared in front of him. Heaven’s
scent.

“Uri.” Her voice carried music to his ears and blood to his
cock.

“Morta.”

“I need to finish this,” she said calmly.

“Not yet.” She would have to give him something in return.
Was it wrong to bargain with a life? Hell yeah but Uri would use whatever was
at his disposal to possess her.
I’m really keeping the youngster alive.
He
felt better believing that as he noted a breeze ruffle the straight white hair
draping her bare shoulders. Her breasts rose and fell with each breath, hard
nipples pressed against the thin fabric of the short dress she wore. He wanted
to bury his head between her long, sexy legs.

“What do you want?” Violet eyes glittered with anger.

“You, and I’m certain we can work something out. I know your
sister Fate well. She will not want Michael or the Father to know she can’t
control her own.” He stared straight at her. “It’s my guess Decima sent you to
repair things.”

“You’ll pay for this.”

“Sweetness, you’ll be worth every bit of pain I suffer.”
Rising from the bench, he told her, “One thing needs my urgent attention, but I
expect to see you in my domain at sunset.” Uri pulled her to him and pressed a
soft kiss on her cold, motionless lips. “Don’t be so petulant, you might enjoy
it.”

Only one person could protect his new ward.

Yael. How would he convince her?

In very deep shit
was the phrase that popped into his
head. It explained his predicament but he was determined to make this work. Having
Morta to himself was all that mattered.

Even if just for a little while.

* * * * *

“Hang on there, man, have a seat. Second quarter’s almost
over.” Samael was mesmerized by the football game on his sixty-one-inch widescreen
TV.

Uri sat in a chair that struck him as out of place. A
fucking throne. It came from the long line of Tudors, as did the one Samael sat
on, cheering for a player.

“Shit, go left, motherfucker. Goddamn it.” Samael jumped up
and down like a lunatic. “Okay, what’s up and hurry. Your time runs out when
the third quarter starts.”

“I need you to intervene with Yael for me.” Why beat around
the bush?

“Have you lost your mind or do you have spare wings
somewhere? Ram will tear the living daylights out of you.” Sam pierced him with
a look of disbelief.

“Look, will you help me or not?”

“This has got to involve Morta.” Sam’s head bowed and shook
from side to side. “What’s going on?”

“Can’t you just get Yael here then I’ll only have to say it
one time? You can listen. If she doesn’t agree, it won’t matter. She goes home
and nothing’s ever said.”

“Man, you’re crazy and you got twelve minutes before game
time.”

Samael was so damn good he nodded and Yael stood in front of
them.

“You’d better have a good reason for this,” she stated
calmly.

“Talk to Uriel over there and you two need to speed it up.”
Sam whisked from the room, and in seconds, returned to his seat with a lager.
“Twelve minutes to game time and I’m pissed my team is losing.”

“Look, Yael, I’m sorry about Patricia and Osce. I mean it.”
Osce was an exulted, a human who for excellent service to God had been raised
to Heaven in a higher form. Not human anymore and not quite angel, exulted
carried a lot of power, depending on who sponsored them. Uri had sponsored
Osce, and no angel could hold power over him. Uri now knew better than to even
try. Uri had attempted to teach Osce respect by kidnapping the woman he was
falling for, Patricia, who was Yael’s best friend. “I need your help and it
involves a child.”

“What?” Yael’s eyes opened wide.

“Well, there was a father who repented, and I absolved him,
but his son has cancer and is slated for death. The child’s father doesn’t
deserve to have his kid die and I need some time to make Morta understand.”

A smile curved Yael’s lips. He had her.

“Where is he?” she asked.

“Well, there’s a slight problem. I only have his soul.” Uri
waved his hand and the spirit of a toddler appeared. He was probably not much
younger than Yael’s daughter.

“My God, Uriel, what have you done?”

“Don’t worry, he still lives and if you care for his soul,
he’ll be fine. No one must know. Do you understand?”
Ram is going to kill
me.

“Hello, little one.” Yael quickly forgot Uri and tried to
coax the child out of his shell. She lifted him in her arms. Uri’s choice of
protector was perfect.

“Five minutes to game time, people. Finish it.”

“Shut up, Sam.” Yael could move the wind and bring storms
and she was a force to be reckoned with. Not even the Grim Reaper scared her,
and for good reason. Her and Ram’s powers together could alter the universe.
“I’ll take him but you don’t fool me, Uri. Work your problem out with Morta so
this child can go home. Do
you
understand?” Yael disappeared.