Chapter Four
Appolion watched Ana walk slowly around his house like she owned the place, checking out every corner. She even opened up his drawers and peeked inside, scowling at the various demon weapons he had tucked away here and there. He was trying hard not to admire her sweet little ass while he silently asked himself what in the hell possessed him to take her home with him.
It was because she put on the angel harness and he needed to convince her to take it off. Liar. Okay then, it was because he wanted to get her to stop following him around all the time. Liar. All righty then, it was because she was Cam’s sister and he couldn’t leave her all alone and unable to flash. You really need to stop lying to yourself. He clenched his jaws together when he realized he was arguing with himself again. “I should just take you over to Barakiel’s and leave you with him.”
“Are you going to take this off then?” Without turning from the bookshelf, Ana raised the wrist with the angel harness on it and wiggled it.
He shook his head and crossed his arms in what he thought was a very intimidating pose. “Not until you take mine off.”
She didn’t appear to be impressed with his little show of power. “I’m not taking yours off until you agree to go back with me.”
“Then we are at an impasse because I’m not going back.”
“Then you better get used to having me around, bud.” She spun around and put one hand on her hip. “Because I’m not going anywhere until you do.”
“I could just take your nice little rear and throw it the hell out of my house.”
“I would just love to see you try. Cam’s not the only one in the family that bites.”
The thought of her mouth doing anything on his body instantly turned him on. He looked away while he tried to cool down by thinking of nuns, puppies and kittens. It didn’t work because he could still smell her. Damn strawberries and champagne.
“So where am I going to sleep tonight?”
Underneath me. Appolion was so lost in that fantasy, he completely forgot about telling her there was no way in hell she was staying an hour, let alone the entire night. “You can take the bed, I’ll take the couch.” He groaned when he realized what he just did. Not only did he insinuate this blonde menace could stay at his house, but he offered her his bed. Offered it up without his horny ass being in it with her.
“Great.” She beamed, then spun around and bounced into the kitchen. “Watcha got to eat?”
“I thought that all you angels ate was manna.” He followed her like some puppy dog, all the while, still checking out that delectable butt.
Ana made a face at him, then opened the cupboards. “It’s okay once in a while, but I much prefer human food.” She let out a little squeal of excitement at the when she found some cookies. “I just can’t get enough of it, everything about it is so different.” Ana pulled apart the halves of one of the cookies and started to lick the cream out of the middle.
He swallowed hard as her tongue darted in and out and caressed away the white sweetness. He never wanted to be a cookie so bad in his entire life. “How did you find me anyhow?” he croaked, trying to get his mind out of the gutter. She’s your best friend’s sister, you dirty rat.
“I figured out that you have been hunting demons that kill humans. So I’ve been watching for unsolved serial killings and going to the cities, hoping you would show your face and you finally did here.”
Appolion cursed under his breath. He just had to go and play hero and it got him caught. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he just couldn’t leave well enough alone. It wasn’t like he was some angel warrior like his brother and sister, he was a rogue, an outcast. He should have just kept to himself and minded his own damn business.
Ana rolled her big blue eyes. “Stop giving that mean look. You were doing a good thing. Abdiel was real proud when I told him.”
“I don’t care what my brother thinks,” he lied.
She snorted her own disbelief then hoisted herself to sit on the counter.
When she took off her jacket and had nothing on underneath but a thin, white, tank top, he stared at her like a hungry dog would eye up a bone. Crap, he even licked his lips at the sight of her full breasts pushed against the fabric. Appolion wanted nothing more than to go over there, strip her, grab her hips and claim her as his.
He knew angels mated forever. When a male found his mate, he marked her when they made love for the first time by placing his hand on a discrete area of her body. The marks were supposed to be like tattoos and of the male’s family symbol. Appolion had never seen one for himself.
But he wasn’t an angel so what would happen if he made love to her? Would he even be able to mark her and, if he did, what would it be? What if it was a demon mark? That would be terrible. No matter how hard it was going to be, he would have to keep his hands to himself, for both of their sakes.
As soon as she grabbed another cookie and started to dissect it with her mouth again, Appolion knew he fought a losing battle. Holy shit on a bagel. She even had a dollop of the cream on her bottom lip. Without thinking, he reached over and wiped it away with his thumb. For some insane reason, he did it nice and slow, too. Her lips were so soft he wanted nothing more than to taste them again.
He pulled back his hand like he had been burned. “You’re Cam’s sister. You also have been chasing me around Earth for three years. You’re an enforcer and I’m a rogue.”
She raised a brow. “Thanks for the scorecard there, bud. I might have gotten lost.”
“I’m just telling both of us why I should keep my hands to myself.” Her deep sigh was the final straw. The movement made her breasts strain even harder against the tank top. He let out a curse and bolted from the kitchen, leaving her behind. Her expression was equal parts annoyance and confusion, but she didn’t say anything.
Appolion went and took a long and very cold, shower. It didn’t do a damn bit of good either. He was just getting dressed again when he heard someone knocking on his front door. Panic set in when he hard Ana’s footsteps going to answer it. Don’t you dare, he sent out to her.
Oh, I dare. Quite being such a grouch, it’s just a female human.
Crap, it was Jean. If she got wind he had a female in his house, there would be no end to her meddling. He rushed out of the bathroom, but it was too late. Ana had already let the human in and they were chatting it up like they were old buddies.
“So you said that you are an old friend of Brian’s?” Jean was asking.
“Oh yeah, Brian is an old family friend. We’ve known him for ages.”
Ana turned and pretended surprise when Appolion came into the room.
“Why look here comes old Brian right now. Hi, Brian. Do you feel better, Brian?”
He gave her a warning glare and she had the utter gall to grin back at him. A lock of her blonde hair was swinging in front of her snapping blue eyes and she had one hip cocked out saucily. God, how could a female be so annoying and sexy at the same time?
“You didn’t tell me you had a visitor coming,” Jean chided.
“Oh, I just popped in on him,” Ana supplied gaily. “He had no idea I was even coming to see him.”
Shut the hell up, Ana, he snapped in her head even as he smiled at the human.
I don’t think so, it’s fun watching you sweat. Mr. Destroyer, all afraid stupid little Ana will blab too much to his human friend?
I’m going to strangle you once she leaves. You know that, don’t you?
Hah! I’m immortal so you can’t strangle me.
“So how long is your friend staying?”
Jean nosed like Appolion knew she would.
“Indefinitely,” Ana said.
“Not very long,” Appolion answered. They both turned and shot each other dirty looks. Jean laughed at their by-play and now he wanted to strangle her.
“Brian, your lady friend is invited to the wedding. Just think you’ll get to introduce her to all of your co-workers.”
“Oh, thank
you.” Ana beamed. “I just love weddings. Of course I’ll be there.”
“You have nothing to wear, Ana,” Appolion gritted between clenched teeth.
“I have my credit card.” She whipped it out of her back pocket to prove her point.
Appolion briefly wondered how she managed to fit it in there with her pants molded so tightly to her body. “You have a credit card,” he repeated dumbly, knowing he lost this battle. Her smile said she knew the same thing.
“We can go shopping. I think it would be fun to see you in a mall, Brian.”
“Good then that’s settled.” Jean clapped her hands together and got up to leave. “I’ll see you both tomorrow. I’m going to get going now, I was just checking up on my favorite paramedic, but I can see he’s doing just fine.”
Appolion walked Jean out, all the time pretending he didn’t have thoughts of punishing a blonde haired menace on his mind. As soon as he shut the door behind the human, he turned and growled at Ana. With one look at his face, she let out a little squeak, then took off running with him hot on her heels. He finally cornered her behind the couch and tackled her to the floor. As soon as he had her, however, he didn’t know what to do with her.
She rolled to the side, tossing him off her and crawled on all fours away from him. He grabbed her by one ankle and pulled her back. Since he’d been kicked in the face more than once in the past, he kept a close eye on her free leg. Finally, he reached up and grabbed the waist of her leather pants, using them to drag her back. Appolion got a nice view of her butt crack when he tugged them down a bit too much.
Ana stopped fighting him in order to pull them back up and he used that opportunity to pin her under him again. He realized what a big mistake that was when she started to wiggle around underneath him. Her hip brushed his groin and he took in a sharp breath as his body instantly responded. His desire dropped down a level when she cold cocked him on the side of the head. “Since when do angels carry credit cards?” He dodged her slapping hands.
“Dear old Uncle Mike wanted to make sure I had everything I needed. He insists I always keep several with me.”
“Do they have a spending limit or can you charge all the manna you want?”
“You know what, you are so immature.” She made to bite.
He twisted his arm so it was out of teeth range. “Oh, I’m the immature one? Does Uncle Mike know his little niece is a biter?”
“Let me up, Brian.”
Running had her panting hard and her every breath lightly brushed her breasts across his arm. “I should put you across my lap and spank your cute little rump for that stunt you just pulled.”
“You are such a kinky perv.”
“What do you know about kink? You’re a virgin.”
She slugged him in the arm, hard. “Just because I’ve never been with anybody doesn’t mean I don’t read. I know stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Before he could stop himself, he reached over and fingered a lock of her hair that fell loose in their struggle. It was so soft, he wanted nothing more than to bury his face in it. Which was crazy, he never felt like that with any other female. Why was she so different?
Her small pink tongue darted out to lick her lips. “Are you going to kiss me again? I really liked it last time, especially that thing you did with your tongue. Do all males kiss so good or is just you? I wonder if—”
Appolion swooped down and captured her mouth with his just to shut her up, but soon found himself caught up in the moment. At her soft moan, he chuckled in response. When her fingers threaded through his hair and pulled him closer to her, his laughter turned into moans.
He shifted the both of them just enough to settle his hips between her legs. Appolion pressed his erection against her so she felt how badly he wanted her. Ana responded by pushing her hips upward to grind against him. He almost lost control. Even though they were both fully clothed, the friction she caused was the best damn feeling he ever had.
He moved his hand to her hip in order to stop her from doing that and instead, slipped under her top and slowly traveled up. Appolion finally found what he was searching for and cupped it through her bra.
Ana gasped in surprise, then whimpered and arched her body up.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, his mouth never leaving hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Ana was a fast learner, too. There were no more chaste closed mouthed numbers coming from her. She was kissing better than any succubus he was ever with.
Appolion had to get control fast. Even more, he had to show her who was really in charge here. She may be the boss as far as her brothers were concerned, but not him. He lived by his own rules for far too long to let some slip of a female lead him around by the nose.
As soon as he got Ana to the bedroom he carried her to the bed and threw her on it. He then turned around and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Appolion laughed when he heard a loud curse right before what sounded like her boot hitting the door. Damn, she could out cuss a drunken sailor any day of the week.
He made it exactly two steps before the all too familiar vibe hit him. There was a demon nearby and it was the one he hunted, too. The bedroom door opened and Ana came out, hopping on one foot as she put her boot back on, showing she sensed it, too. They both grabbed their weapons and armed up. “I usually hunt alone.” She shook her angel harness at him again. “Not any more, I’m stuck to you like glue.”
He stopped dead, amazed she would use such a corny phrase. “You know what? Cam was right, you are a dork.”
“Oh, I’m the dork.” She made a face. “You’re the one who sings your own theme songs when you fight.”
“I do not.”
“When I found you fighting those demons earlier you were singing Welcome to the Jungle.”
“I was not.” His mind scrambled as he tried to remember if he really had been or not. That was a bad habit he had and sometimes he just couldn’t help himself.
She made to flash and, when she couldn’t, looked down at the angel harness and muttered, “Damn.”
He grabbed her arm and dragged her out to his bike.
* * * *
Appolion was too late again. As usual, the demon was two steps ahead of him, and because of it, another human was dead. This time it was a young female. The kill was so fresh, steam still rose up from her numerous wounds. Her eyes were opened, fixed and full of accusation. The human police force hadn’t even arrived yet.
Who the fuck was he kidding anyhow? The mere thought he could actually fight demons was a joke. He was no archangel, that was Abdiel and Cam’s job. He was a nobody. Crap, Hell didn’t even want him.
Ana went down on her knees next to the dead human and used her fingers to gently close the woman’s eyes. She then laid her hands of the woman and went into a trance while singing a melody, her voice soft and hypnotic.
Appolion watched mesmerized. Her voice was the most beautiful thing he ever heard. When she was done and opened her eyes, she gave the human a sad smile. “What did you just do?” he whispered, not wanting to break the spell by talking too loud.
“I helped to ease her journey to the upper realms of Heaven by erasing the memories of her death and absorbing her fears.”
“What do you mean about the upper realms of Heaven? I thought Heaven was Heaven.”
“I’m sorry, I forget it’s been a long time since you have lived there and when you did it was at the beginning of time for humans, when things were different.” Ana stood up. “Most angels live in the lower realms of Heaven. There are cities, we have jobs, we even educate our young in schools. There are a few angels, royalty, that live in the upper realms and protect the human souls that have passed on. These angels are called spherams. Abdiel’s wife, Gabi, both her parents live there. When humans think of Heaven, it’s the upper realm they imagine.” She started walking back toward his bike.
He trailed after her. “Can all empaths do what you just did for that hu
man?”
“I’m not really an empath. I’m a justice angel, or rather, I used to be a justice angel.”
“You mean like those assholes that have been following me? You’re one of them?”
“Used to be,” she clarified again. “They fired me because they didn’t like how close I was to Cam, Rachel and Abdiel.”
Appolion reached out and grabbed her so she stopped walking away from him. “Okay, Ana, let’s pretend I have no idea about how anything works in the angel world because I freaking don’t. What exactly is the difference between an empath and a justice angel? Don’t they both feel other’s emotions?”
“Well, yeah, but justice angels are more fine tuned. They can sense guilt and evil in other angels whereas empaths can’t always do that. That’s why the council has always used them to judge other angels and sentence them.”
“So what happens if a justice angel decides someone is guilty of being evil?”
“The offender is declared rogue and their verdict is carried out swiftly and without mercy. There are no appeals in Heaven.”
Appolion growled deep in his throat and knew it sounded demonic, but was too pissed off to care. “Correct me if I’m mistaken, but didn’t your precious council declare me a rogue? What do they do to angels they find guilty?”
“They usually banish them to Hell.”
He pushed her away and started to walk in the other direction. “Get the fuck away from me.” She ran after him. “They won’t do that to you, you’re different.”
Appolion stopped so suddenly, she slammed into his back. He spun around and glared. “Why because I’m part of their precious Order? Well guess what, I’m not their fucking pawn. I’ve sacrificed enough for their cause.” The last thing he expected was tears from her, but that’s exactly what he got.
Rogue Angel Page 4
