by Zoey Ellis
He stood slowly and she caught sight of him; her eyes locked on his and her lips parted. He wanted to kiss her right there, to gather her into his arms and hold her against him. One thing that stopped him was the look on Thea’s face. While pleasantly surprised, there was a reservation in her eyes. The closer he came, the more she fidgeted, unsure of his approach. He could only hope that she would be willing to hear what he had to say.
Cam slowed to a stop in front of her, holding her eye for a long moment. He drank in her beauty and basked in her presence. She blinked and opened and closed her mouth as if she didn’t know what to say.
“Elithea,” he said slowly, almost whispering, gazing at her face. “I need to talk to you. Would you come over here for a moment, please?”
Thea didn’t know what to do with herself. “I.. Maybe it’s not…”
“It will only take two minutes. I won’t keep you from your training.
Thea turned and spoke to the angel with her. Cam didn’t even try to listen to what she was saying. Her scent awakened something in him he had been missing so much and between the sight of her and her scent, he was slipping into mild euphoria. He held fast to his intentions; this was not the time to fuck up.
Thea turned back to him as the other angel wandered away. He led her over to the benches where he had been waiting.
They stood in front of the benches, Cam unable to tear his eyes away from her beautiful face. “Thea. Forgive me.”
She smiled, and Cam’s heart lifted. He had the urge to reach over and take her hand, to stroke her soft skin with his fingers. Just to touch her would be enough.
“That sounds like an order, Cam.”
“You know as well as I that anything I felt before is irrelevant to our relationship,” Cam said, jumping straight to the point.
Thea lowered her eyes. “I know.”
A moment of silence hung. “So why are you upset?” Cam asked, as softly as he could. “You know I love you.”
“I’m not upset, Cam. I’m just…”
Cam stepped closer to her, forcing her to look up at him. “What?”
She searched his eyes. “Disappointed… doubtful…”
Cam’s heart constricted. “About what?”
“About us.”
Cam tried not to let the panic rising in his throat show on his face.
“I know I shouldn’t let it affect me,” she said, quickly. “I know you love me. I just can’t help the way it feels to know you tried to get rid of me after our first fight.”
“It wasn’t a little argument, Thea. We practically broke up. I was hurt and angry. You cannot say you weren’t either.”
Thea nodded, her expression thoughtful. “But if they had removed you from my protection, that would’ve been permanent. You would have been removed from me permanently.”
The panic coiled in him. “I would have still seen you and made things right. I was planning to when I found you battling the Asmos demon.”
“You’re impulsive,” she said. “And that just makes me a little uncomfortable, that’s all.” She sighed. “I’ll be okay, I was just surprised by it and I wasn’t expecting to hear it. I’ll get over it.”
Cam’s heart sank. He had never thought about how it might look that he had tried to be switched from her protection. She would definitely struggle to trust him now. “My feelings for you are not casual, Thea.”
Thea sighed. “I don’t…” She squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head.
Every muscle in Cam’s body tensed. “Say it. Say whatever you need to say. ”
She looked up at him and smiled. “It’s fine, Cam.”
That gorgeous smile almost made Cam pull her to him in that instant, but he resisted. “What can I do?”
“I just need time, that’s all.”
Cam exhaled harshly. Time away from him? She’d had that. Surely she hadn’t enjoyed being separated from him? “Thea,” he said, reaching forward to touch her cheek. He pulled his hand away at the last minute, clenching it into a fist and lowering it back into his side. “How is your training going?”
Her expression lightened. “Good. My flight training is going slow, but I’ve just started learning about different energy formations.”
Cam frowned. “You’re not flying yet?”
Thea shook her head.
“Where are your quarters?”
Thea gestured to the flightway. “Half way down.”
“How do you get up here then?”
“Asteroth brings me up and—”
“What?” Anger surged through him. “He touches you?”
She looked at him surprised. “Well, he just carries me up—”
Cam growled, his fists clenching. “That is unacceptable. I will escort you from now on.”
Thea stared at him for a moment and then laughed. “Cam. Are you jealous?”
“You’re my mate,” he said, unable to prevent the snarl in his tone. “No one should touch you, except me.”
Thea pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. “Cam, that’s very caveman of you.”
He stepped even closer to her and leaned in, until his mouth was inches from hers, and whispered, “I don’t give a fuck. That body, that pussy, those nipples are mine to lick and fuck and suck. I don’t want anyone else touching you. For any reason. Ever.” As he spoke his cock stiffened and his whole body responded to the level of proximity to her. He’d missed her so much, her scent and her touch, the way she moaned for him when he was inside of her and the way she sometimes took control, commanding what she wanted. It wasn’t just about the sex, but sex was such a big part of who they were, of how they were together, that it was impossible to separate his urges from his feelings for her.
She sobered, and her blue eyes softened with desire. Cam held onto his self-control and backed away. If he could, he would strip her right there. “When do you finish?”
“In four hours.”
Cam nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Okay,” Thea smiled, turning away. “See you then, Cam.”
Cam watched her rejoin her friend, wondering what it would take for her to trust him again. He had once promised himself he would do whatever it took to win her trust and to keep trying for eternity. That was still true. Only now, he’d made things worse for himself.
He stood by the benches watching Thea until she disappeared into the common room, and then sat down to wait.
Chapter Five
THEA
“How do you know Camael?” Dani said, her face a picture of disbelief as Thea approached her.
Thea’s heart raced. Although she had missed Cam desperately, she had almost forgotten the intense way he made her feel. Her panties were already soaked, her nipples were hard and that tingle in her stomach fluttered wildly. Cam looked so fucking good. His gray eyes were as intense as ever, his deep brown hair had lengthened a little, curling just above his ears and his gorgeous body just begged for her to press herself against it. When he almost kissed her, she nearly melted into him. She didn’t know if it was appropriate to display affection like that in the training center, but if he had kissed her, she wouldn’t have cared. Although, she may have doubts about his rash decisions, he was still hers and she was still his.
The days in the Angel Realm seemed to stretch on forever. The last time she had seen him felt like absolutely ages ago even though it had only been nearly a week. It was still hard to believe that six weeks have passed in the human world.
“Thea?”
Thea blinked at Dani. “Huh?”
“How’d you know Camael?”
They headed to the common room on the same floor, where most of the training angels spent their breaks.
“He trained me.” They headed over to the water fountain. “When I lived in the human world, he was sent to teach me how to fight.”
“Wow,” Dani breathed. She stood frozen for a moment and then squealed, “I can’t believe it. I know someone who knows Camael!” She whooped and grip
ped Thea’s forearm. “Do you think you could introduce me to him?”
Thea stared at her, bemused. “Er… Sure.”
Dani clenched her hands and scrunched up her face. “Yesss. I can’t believe it.”
Thea laughed. “It’s just Cam, Dani.”
Dani looked at her like she was crazy. “Just, Cam? You call him Cam? Are you serious?”
Thea stared at her; she was missing something.
“You do know that Camael is one of the greatest warriors in the Realm? Not just the greatest Power angel, the greatest warrior. Period.”
Shit. So he hadn’t been exaggerating. “Erm... Yeah, he might have mentioned it.”
“Everyone in this room, hell, every training angel, wants to be just like him.” She thought for a moment then shook her head. “Nope, scratch that. Every angel that exists.” Dani grabbed a cup and filled it with juice. “He has done so much for the Realm and defeated the most hideous demons.” She paused. “And he trained you.” She gulped down her juice, shaking her head in wonder. “No wonder you’re so good.”
Thea smiled and guzzled her water. At least Dani thought she was good. She hadn’t been sure. The training with Asteroth was so different from training with Cam. Asteroth made suggestions, let her try things out, went to look at other angels and then circled back with further suggestions. She’d grown more confident and honed her attacks and her defenses, using angelic energy in different ways. Each day, he matched her with a different angel, and she learned new ways to approach a demon and how to defend herself. She hadn’t been sure about some of the things she’d tried or how she was doing, but at the end of each day, they had time to discuss things with the angel they were paired with, which was Dani for her.
With Cam, she’d had specialized attention; he pointed out her flaws ruthlessly and she adapted quickly because of it. He’d constantly corrected her form and— Thea stopped pouring juice, in deep thought. When Cam was training her at the beginning, he had been distant, short-tempered, snappy; all the signs were there that he hadn’t wanted to train her.
She shook the thoughts from her head, annoyed with herself. She already knew that. Why did she keep dwelling on it? It wouldn’t do her any good. Over the last week, she had scolded herself numerous times for being so petty. Of course she couldn’t hold how he felt at the beginning against him, he hadn’t even known her and she’d been rude to him. It was the way he reacted after their fight that bothered her. It signified something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on.
Another factor was that he hadn’t truly known what was expected of her in the Angel Realm. She had left her whole life to see what life was like here and be his mate, and the Angel Realm seemed to have plans for her that didn’t include Cam at all. How much could she trust that what he said was true? How much could he prepare her about the Angel Realm and what was to come? Every time she thought back to when she had been without him, she knew she wouldn’t want that again. But how could their relationship be open and true and honest, if she was always wondering if he’d be reliable?
She sighed and grabbed a bowl of salad and some fruit off the food counter. Maybe she did just need time to figure things out.
Thea and Dani strolled to the other side of the common room and entered one of the bookshelf aisles. Thea hadn’t been matched with Dani yet but was looking forward to seeing Dani’s particular powers. Dani was a Virtue angel, which Thea hadn’t ever heard about before. According to Dani, Virtue angels had a special relationship with the elements and used the energy from nature to influence the environment in the human world.
“What was life like in the human world?” Dani asked, dropping into an armchair and turning toward Thea. They found one of the little private areas among the bookshelves called cubby-lounges that held a couple of armchairs and a coffee table.
Thea sat cross-legged in her overstuffed chair and thought for a moment. “For me, it wasn’t that great.”
“How come?”
“I grew up in a poor part of a huge city. There are high levels of crime, poverty, and shortage of jobs. Life was stressful and I grew up with my dad, who has mental health problems.”
“Your dad lives in the human world?” asked Dani, throwing her legs over the arm over the chair.
Thea glanced back to the main area of the room, noticing that Dani was the only angel slouching on a chair. She smiled. Most of the angels took themselves so seriously, it was great to be with someone with a more human demeanor. Dani was clearly more free-spirited. “Yeah,” Thea answered. “He’s human.”
Dani raised her eyebrows. “Your mom’s an angel? Whoa. Normally, it’s the father.”
“I know,” said Thea. She bit into a pear. “So that’s the human world. Not too pretty from my experience, but there are parts of it that are just beautiful. Areas where there are beautiful people, amazing scenery, and pretty things. And that’s just my city. Across the world, there are so many different cultures and landscapes and people. It’s fascinating really.”
“It’s really different than growing up here,” Dani said wistfully.
“What was it like?” asked Thea, curiosity blooming within her. Although she had gotten used to the Angel Realm in the last week, it still seemed a little surreal. There were never any raised voices, most angels smiled at her, and everyone had the same routine—at least they did in the training center—but she couldn’t imagine growing up here.
“Boring,” Dani stated. “All angels are kind of the same—we have the same principles and the same knowledge and the same intentions in terms of humans and the human world. So day-to-day it can be so boring.”
“You’re not really the same as much as you think,” Thea said. “I didn’t realize that angels had different skin colors or such drastically different personalities, like humans.”
Dani shrugged. “I suppose, but that’s normal for most beings.”
Thea pursed her lips and nodded, that was true. “Your upbringing couldn’t have been all that boring. You’re the most fun angel I’ve met.”
“It was,” Dani said darkly. “No, scratch that. I came into existence with eleven other Virtues: six male, five female. And that was fun. We played and laughed and had so much fun with our powers until we began training. Then it became so boring.”
Thea thought for a moment. “When you say ‘come into existence’ what does that mean?”
“It means the moment we start to have a consciousness.”
“Wow. I don’t remember that exact moment,” Thea murmured.
“No.” Dani shook her head. “You wouldn’t. It would probably be too traumatizing for humans to remember that. But we start out with a grown body and our powers. So those first few decades, we’re just experimenting and trying things out. The Seraphim are such pushovers, they let us do what we liked mostly. Our powers were never strong enough to hurt anyone.”
Thea nodded, fascinated. She made a mental note to do some research on the seven orders of angels so she knew what they all did.
“We always watched the human world though,” Dani said. “We had to so we could learn about them and the different natural energies in their world. I stayed close to the northern hemisphere and found human behavior and speech fascinating. So I copied it as did most of my brothers and sisters.” She leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. “I always kind of wondered what it would be like to be human.”
“Really?” Thea made a face. “I think being an angel is better.”
“Nope,” Dani said, shaking her head. “Humans have so many adventures.”
Thea laughed. Adventure was one word for it. She wondered what Dani had seen to make her think that the human world was fun at all. “How long did you watch the human world?” asked Thea.
Dani squinted as she thought. “Only about a century—it was before my first millennium training. I didn’t get to do much while I was there.”
“If we ever get out of here, we can go there together. I’ll take you on an adventu
re around my neighborhood. That’s all the thrill you’ll need to never want to return,” Thea said, chuckling.
Dani laughed and gave her a look, then glanced at the clock on the wall. “We’d better go.”
Thea almost groaned. Soreness had settled into her body from the morning training—always a sign she had worked hard. She got up and walked with Dani back to the training hall and saw Cam still waiting by the benches. He stood up when he saw her, watching her as she made her way back to the hall, that gray intensity in his eyes and the smile on his lips doing all kinds of crazy things to her. Surely he wasn’t truly going to wait until after her training session? Wasn’t he back on assignments?
“Oh wow, he’s still there,” Dani whispered.
Thea grinned and glanced at Dani. She turned and headed over to him. “Cam,” she said, as she approached. “I’d like you meet Dani.”
Cam’s face widened in surprise as Dani… bowed. Thea blinked. She bowed?
“It’s so nice to meet you, Camael,” Dani said, her usual chat faster than normal. “It’s an honor actually. I’ve heard about you for millennia and I’ve always admired the stories... I mean, you know, the tales of your experiences. My siblings and I listened to our trainers talk about them for hours and we loved learning your strategies and battle plans and combat methods, even though we’d never be able to use any of it. I mean, we hardly understood much—”
Cam tilted his head. “You’re a Virtue?”
Dani nodded. “Two-millenniums.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” He gestured to Thea. “Look after her, will you? And make sure she’s pushed in her training sessions. She can be a lazy one, especially with cardio.”
Thea slid her jaw to one side, trying not to laugh. She tried giving him a deadly look, but his eyes just became more intense on her, hardening her nipples and sending a hot rush through her.
