Restraint (The Revelation Series Book 2) (30 page)

I
drop my head in my hands in humiliation and wait for Asher to freak out. He doesn’t. Instead, he starts laughing hysterically. “What’s wrong with you? We just got caught in a compromising position by someone who once said, and I quote, relations between us would have dire consequences,” I scold.

I watch him have his
laughing fit. “That was before,” he says, throwing his muscular legs out of the bed and standing. Amused, he begins to put on his jeans and t-shirt.

My eyes widen.
“Before what?” I ask, perplexed at his sudden ease with getting caught.

He walk
s over to me and cups my cheeks. “Before you were mine.” He plants a light kiss on my lips and moves toward the bathroom to finish freshening up.
What the hell?

We make our
way downstairs to the kitchen. Asher fuses our hands together and is pulling me along like a puppy that refuses to be leashed.

As soon as we get into the kitchen, I notice the large spread Fiona
has prepared. I’m taken aback by the massive amounts of food, but then I become conscious that the counters are lined with baked goods. The sight is my downfall and I start laughing. Asher follows my sight line and smiles brightly before squeezing my hand in acknowledgment of Callan’s all-night baking session.

The rest of the clan and Michael are already sitting at the table while Fiona fusses over them like a mother hen.
She’s pouring coffee, clearing plates and refilling glasses. It is all so normal, until I remember I’m watching a panther, four gargoyles and one archangel.

Kenna shoots daggers at us when she notices our clasped hands as we make our way to the table
and join everyone. She snaps her eyes to Michael and then shifts them back to us in a warning. Asher ignores her and sits down directly across from the angel, forcing me to sit down in the seat next to him, never releasing my hand. It’s a statement, and to be honest, I’m a bit uncomfortable.

He begins to fill a plate with all of my favorite thin
gs and places it in front of me. I squeak out a “thank you” before he plants a completely inappropriate kiss on me in front of everyone.

“By
de grace.” I hear Fiona exhale but I don’t dare look at her expression.

Michael clears his throat to get our attention as the rest of the clan is frozen. “Am I to understand
, Mr. St. Michael, that the daughter of Heaven is no longer simply a charge?” he asks with a cold, calculating stare.

Asher sits tall and looks
the blond haired angel in the eyes. “Eve is not merely a charge. She is my forever.” At his statement, I chance side-glances toward Keegan and Kenna. They look like they want to cut Asher’s head off. Shifting my eyes to the other side of the table, Callan and Abby are both pale. Callan looks like he’s going to puke and Abby is biting her lower lip like she wants to hide under the table.

Without warning, the archangel jerks to his feet
and releases his large, fluffy snow white wings, then storms around the table at us. Asher stands just as fast, pulling me up with him and then protectively behind him. At the same time, Callan and Keegan are by our sides in a heartbeat, prepared to defend. The tension rises around us. All three gargoyles have their black wings out and are ready for battle.

Michael steps to Asher
, scowling. I inhale to keep from cowering. Asher stands tall, showing no sign of weakness. The furious angel lifts his hand as Callan and Keegan pull out their weapons. At the sound of the metal releasing, Asher holds up his free hand before throwing a look to his brothers that is clear. He is telling them to wait before striking.

The archangel
rests his palm on Asher’s head without permission. By the expression on his face, Michael is having a hard time with whatever visions he is experiencing. When he’s finished, he yanks his hand away as if burned. Some sort of internal discussion ensues between the prince of the gargoyles and the warrior of Heaven because the angel seems satisfied enough to retract his wings and return to his seat in a calm manner. Everyone else follows suit, but there’s a great deal of unease lingering in the air.

Michael leans forward and places his folded hands on the table
. “You both understand the consequences for such relations?” the warrior asks in an angry tone. I feel like a child who has been caught doing something wrong.

“Yes
,” Asher answers, tightening his grip on my hand and waiting for me to respond as well.

“Yes
,” I reply. As soon as the confirmation is out, Asher immediately relaxes.

The angel nods his
head once and we sit back down before Michael speaks again. “The reason I am here is because the Angelic Council has permitted me to do some exploration into the Declan clan. We’ve discovered they are working with someone very close to you. That is how Deacon was able to bypass the enchantments and get access into your London flat, knowing you would be else where.”

At this information
, Asher tenses next to me. “Are you saying we have a traitor in our clan who’s helping him?” You could hear a pin drop, the room is so quiet.

“Perhaps not in
the London clan, but yes, in a clan close to this family,” Michael confirms with authority and absolution. I wait for everyone to flip out. No one does though.

“Who?” Asher asks in a contemplative way.

“I am afraid I do not know,” Michael replies, looking at me with sadness. “My intel suggests they are gargoyle though and not another supernatural.”

At his answer
, everyone begins to talk over everyone else. Asher shifts his focus to me and rakes me in with his eyes. My hands shake as I assess what the meaning of a traitor within the clans would be.

“There is more
,” the angel continues, commanding our attention. “At first, I did not believe the information to be truth. However, after this morning, I cannot disbelieve. It would seem your traitor has informed the Royal Gargoyle Council of Protectors you have committed a grave crime against their oaths.” His eyes are directly focused on Asher.

Asher scoffs. “What crime would that be?”
The question is thrown out with an arrogant air.

“Forbidden love.
You are a prince of the gargoyle race, a loyal protector, a royal member of the high council, and now a gargoyle who broke his oath to his kin and race,” the archangel answers with flatness to his tone.

“Shit
,” Callan says with force behind it, his blue eyes untamed.

A low growl rumbles from Asher as he locks eyes with Michael.
“I’ll deal with it. Thank you for the information, warrior of Heaven.”

The archangel stands and
bows once to Asher and then me. “Apologies. I am being called back. I will return as soon as I can. To be clear, I will neither confirm, nor deny the accusation of unsuitable associations between the two of you at this time. Not until I know which councils and members are trustworthy. That said, if I were you both,” his eyes move from me to Asher, “I would heed Priestess Arabella’s warning of restraint.”

Michael
dips his head in respect to the rest of the room before he thanks Fiona for her hospitable efforts and then takes his leave. Everyone sits motionless, processing the information we’ve been provided.

Asher’s voice drops to a deep
, even level. “I will only ask this once of my family. Is there anything anyone at this table would like to say to me with regard to the council or Eve?” He’s met with silence. “I accept your peace to be truth and acceptance then. I will not bring either up again. You have my word.” The other family members nod their acknowledgment.

“Who would betray us to the council?” Ab
by inquires after a moment in a confused voice.

“
Gage?” Callan suggests with a scowl, laying his hands flat on the table.

“No
. It would be someone who has a lot to gain from Asher being removed as Eve’s protector,” Keegan answers. “Deacon.”

Asher doesn’t comment one way or the other.

At the consideration of Keegan’s words, I stand and release Asher’s hand in panic mode. “No. No. No.” Asher pushes to his feet at my sudden outburst, knowing where my mind is heading and grabs the sides of my head, preventing it from moving. My eyes widen at him with understanding. “The council will remove you as my protector and sentence you to stone petrification.”

“
Shh. Eve, stop. It’s okay,” he cajoles in an attempt to soothe me. “We’ve got this.”
He doesn’t deny it.

“My dream,” I
shriek in desperation. At this, Asher crushes me to him in a tight embrace.

Abby
walks over to us. “Eve, the council would have been here the moment this was brought to their attention if they had any plans to remove Asher as your protector.” Her words are meant to pacify me, but I’m not calm. Intense fear radiates through me.

“We will need to pull together a strategy to deal with the other clans. One that will give us opportunities to extricate
this traitor.” Keegan tries to get everyone to focus.

“Agreed. If everyone could give Eve and I a moment before we meet
,” Asher requests as the other gargoyles in the room hesitate but then agree, leaving us alone. Fiona slips out with them.

Asher stands in front of me
, taking both my hands in his. He dips his chin and catches my eyes with his. “I need you to listen to me, Eve. No one in my family is the traitor. Understood?” His voice is firm and strong as he speaks to me.

“Of co
urse. I never thought differently. Someone, though, has tipped off the council, Asher,” I remind him, pushing down the fear that rises in me at what’s happening. “I agree with Keegan that it’s Deacon.”

He takes in a sharp breath. “I know
. Despite the fact that he isn’t working alone, it’s their word against ours. That’s what we have going for us right now. As a member of the council, I can tell you that we’re strict when it comes to oaths and laws, but fair. The council will not punish me if they can’t prove the accusations. I might have a plan, but you’re going to hate it.”

I
brace myself, knowing he’s about to drop something on me that probably is going to make me snap. “What is it?”

“We need time to see who’
s leaking information to Deacon. Once we figure that out, we’ll know who the traitor is and this won’t be hanging over our heads.” He pauses before he continues in a soft tone. “It might be best if we listen to Michael and Arabella for a short time.”

I can’t hear anything except the pounding of my heart in my ears.
“Meaning what, Asher?” I ask, my voice stern.

“
I’m merely suggesting that, in public, we keep our emotions and feelings for one another in check. It’s best not to give whoever is feeding the council information, fuel to hang me,” Asher explains in a pacifying voice. “When we’re behind closed doors, away from prying eyes, we can be open with one another.” He leans into my neck and nips at it. I try to focus on his idea and not the movement of his lips against my skin.

“It makes sense. Although, I think we should try to show some self-control all the time
, including behind closed doors,” I say as he stills and pulls back, watching me. “I’m just saying, I don’t want to take unnecessary chances with your life. Just until we figure out who’s betraying us.”

“You don’t trust my family?”
he questions, misunderstanding my intentions.

“Asher, I trust them with my life
,” I say with sincerity. “They’re my family too, you know,” I retort, keeping my need to punch him in the face at bay.

He just stares at me. “Of course they
are, siren. I’m sorry. I was just taken aback at your suggestion of no touching, at all. Like possibly for months, years, cen-” I cut him off with a soft kiss.

His hands
entwine in my hair, forcing my head to tilt as he leans in and deepens the kiss. A small hum of pleasure escapes me as my hands roam over his broad shoulders, pulling him closer to me. I breathe out, “I love you,” against his mouth. A raw, needy sound releases from him as he pulls back and says, “Forever.”

I smile
, understanding his meaning as he kisses each of my hands before slowly letting go. Standing a foot apart, his face meets mine with a charming grin. “Miss Collins, let’s go show some restraint.”

2
1
Restraint

Restlessness is crawling through my veins
, making me irritated and on edge. I’m like a drug addict in need of a fix. I hate this sensation. I detest every second of this plan. Restraint sucks. It’s been days since Asher has looked at or touched me. I’m starting to wonder if a person can go mentally insane from lack of physical contact.
Pull it together, Eve.
I scold myself.

In my anxiety-drive
n state, I go into the training room to attempt to burn off some nervous energy. I decide kicking the shit out of the punching bag would most likely make me feel better. Two hours later, I’m drenched head-to-toe in sweat. It drips like rain water from my hair.