Summon Dorn (Archangels Creed)

by Azure Boone

  Archangels Creed 2:

  Summon Dorn

  © 2013 by Azure Boone & Kenra Daniels, LLC.

  All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Azure Boone and Kenra Daniels or their legal representative.

  Author's Notes:

  This book contains explicit scenes of sexual activity between two different couples, both committed to exclusive, monogamous relationships.

  There are scenes of graphic violence, some directed toward women.

  Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, by any of the characters within is entirely accidental.

  We have taken extensive liberties with certain religious dogma and traditions – no offense intended – to fit the plot of our story.

  Some readers had an issue with the Archangel Kassern encouraging premarital sex in the first Archangels Creed book. We've addressed that concept in "Summon Dorn" and will continue to develop it further in future books in the series.

  Finally, we genuinely hope you enjoy reading "Summon Dorn" as much as we enjoyed writing it. At the end of the book, we've included information on our other books and how readers can contact us. We love hearing from readers, so drop us a line!

  A HUGE Shout Out to Danielle! Kenra's adult daughter described something that gave us an idea and we ran with it in one of the main subplots. Big hugs and thanks to Danielle!

  Thank you for purchasing "Summon Dorn"! Enjoy!

  Just in case you missed the earlier books:

  Archangels Creed: The series ~ "Archangels Creed" will explore the story of each of the twelve Archangels as they struggle to complete their arm of the overall mission.

  Satan has found a loophole in the rules that govern his battle against Good. The Archangel Uriel sends twelve Warrior Archangels to Earth on a mission to even the odds.

  Each Archangel has one month to find a couple, unite them, and use their union's power to create the Holy Warriors needed to defend the world against Satan's unholy creations.

  But the mission isn't so simple when inheriting Humanity comes with challenges beyond the Angel's training, and every milestone in the couple's relationship affects the triumvirate's strength.

  Summon Kassern:

  How can Archangel Kassern get the World's Most Unlikely Couple to fall in love and help him form the Holy Warrior? He's too busy dealing with annoying human traits he picks up along the way.

  Desperate to save her best friend, Karly, and herself from a life of prostitution, Devyn takes a chance when the preacher, Troy, offers escape. But someone offers Karly's boyfriend big money, and he can't let them go without a fight.

  Called by God to minister to prostitutes, Troy is careful not to get too close to his flock. Sworn to celibacy, he isn't even tempted, until he saves Devyn and becomes embroiled in her desperate life.

  Can Kassern keep them all safe from Karly's psycho ex and whichever demon horde is onto their scent at the moment? Especially with the train wreck that is Karly along for the ride?

  Summon Dorn:

  Perfectionist Archangel Dorn confidently steps forward to form the second team in the Archangels' Holy Warrior plan. Things go wrong from the beginning, but being teased for choosing a nun as his human partner is worse than having Kassern witness his mistakes. Fortunately, Archangels can learn from their mistakes.

  Jessie has the unfortunate habit of making a fool of herself whenever a good looking man is nearby. Devastatingly handsome Lucian seems able to look beyond that and puts her at ease right away, but is he as good as he looks?

  After a lifetime of pain, Lucian's heart is a closed door and he permits no one a peek inside, but Jessie blows the locks away. Will she cause him even more pain?

  Dutifully heading to the convent, Sally falls into a vipers' pit of evil. With no hope of rescue, she sets out to destroy the horror on her own, even if it means her death.

  Can Dorn put everything right again and snatch them all from the jaws of the most devastating evil to ever stalk the earth?

  Watch for the next Archangel coming Summer 2013! The Mercury Archangel, Toren, will have his hands full studying to be a cowboy, wrangling his humans into the triumvirate and hog-tying demons while he keeps a soldier in line, sets a Rodeo Queen straight, and convinces a disillusioned heiress of the sincerity of his love.

  Chapter One:

  "No, no, no." Jessie looked in the darkness of her rearview mirror and pulled her sputtering Volkswagen off the road, barely managing to avoid plowing into the ditch disguised as a black abyss. Darn it. Not now, not tonight, heavens please. Short-shift nights, never went well as it was with that century-old nurse that wrote her up for breathing wrong. What a way to begin this one.

  She stared at the silvery bit of empty highway leading to the hospital and the nursing job she was a hair away from losing. Late could very well push the Director Of Nursing over the edge. Her headlights flickered briefly before flaring bright, then dying. She flicked the switch several times, but the lights didn't come back on. Fantastic.

  She dropped her head onto the steering wheel with a sigh. Whatever. All she knew was she'd be fired and broke if she didn't get her butt to work on time. She blindly ransacked her purse and felt around until she found her phone. Unable to decide who to call, she stared at the lit dial pad, wracking her brain. Couldn't call Sally since they were sharing the car until she left for the convent. And of course, her perfect sister's car had to sell the second she put the ad up, instead of waiting like any normal car.

  Maybe Liz… No, she would already be in the parking lot, spending every possible moment with her orderly girlfriend. Girlfriend who was an orderly. Whatever. She smacked her forehead with the heel of her hand realizing she hadn't called her shift supervisor yet.

  She selected the number and waited for the voicemail prompt. "At the tone, please record your message."

  The beep sounded and Jessie began her long and painful excuse. "Hi, this is Jessie Hutchinson. I uh, wanted to let you know I'm going to be a little late, had some car trouble. I'm calling for a ride as soon as I get off the phone, and I'll be in work ASAP. If I inconvenience anybody, I'll be happy to stay longer and make up for it, whatever it is it doesn't matter, just pl—"

  Beep. "Message recorded. If you are satisfi—"

  Jessie hung up and released her held breath, praying the old night-shift bitty didn't write her up.

  She moved on to the next dilemma. Who the heck to call for help.

  God, she didn't want to call her dad. She'd rather walk to work than hear how irresponsible she was to let this happen. As if her car broke down every day. The smart-phone's flashlight app glowing, she fumbled through the oversized bag again and pulled out her pack of gum. And a card. The second her eyes landed on it, her stomach fluttered. Oh. Oh right. That guy from the bar last weekend was a mechanic! A crazy-hot one too.

  She popped the gum into her mouth, staring at the glossy black surface with gold lettering. Leo Dade. Maybe this was God's way of telling her the guy was truly as good as he looked. Or maybe she was broken down and desperate enough to put aside the whole he could be a psychopath possibility.

  And who was she kidding? There were no good men, not entirely. If she ever got that through her thick head, she might actually get a real boyfriend, instead of the random childish flirtations she'd had since high school. Todd at the hospital was the closest she'd come to a relationship in a decade and he wasn't exactly in much of a hurry for anything serious. Mostly teasing and seductive toying. Just enough to make her hold her breath and wait. But waiting was good, taki
ng time was good. Even if part of her did wish he'd hurry up while he waited and took his time.

  But this Leo guy…he wasn't like the guys she was used to. Had to be the man factor. Definitely all man, nothing boyish about him, or guy-ish. Kinda scary actually. She could thank her intolerably male father for that fear. Every time she thought masculine, she flashed back to one of the hundreds of beatings from her childhood.

  Jessie chewed her lower lip, staring at the card. Darn, if he weren't so cute, it'd be easier. No, cute was most definitely not the right word. Breath-taking. Gorgeous. No, beautiful. The man was beautiful in an entirely male way. And so built. Wow, his body. Sheer perfection. Gee whiz she wasn't helping herself make that call. "Your eyes remind me of warm mocha on Christmas morning."

  Doggoooone that was…that was what? Sweet? No, no, there was more than sweet in his tone and seductive brown eyes. Yes, brown, but not dark, more like, fan-my-face baked honey. Darn it, she was twenty-three years old. Maybe a man was exactly what she needed. And he'd been the perfect gentleman – the whole masculine intoxication aside.

  Fisting her trembling fingers several times, she huffed courage into her scaredy-cat limbs and dialed the number. Please don't let him be sleeping. Eleven o'clock on a Thursday evening? Likely not.

  "Hey there."

  Ohhh wow, he knew it was her. "Hi-hi." She clenched her eyes at the stutter.

  "I'm glad you called. I was hoping I'd hear from you. What's up?"

  "Oh, not a whole lot, really. Well. Actually my car is up. I mean, up like…" Jessie cancelled the witty route with a sigh. It'd only make her look like a moron. "I wouldn't have disturbed you if I weren't stranded here on the side of the road needing to get to work on time, which is pretty hopeless at this point and means I'm likely going to be—"

  "Stop." He chuckled, a deep, slide-inside-your-pores sound. "Where are you? I'm coming, don't worry."

  She released a held breath along with some weird airhead noise. "Gosh, that is so sweet, and of course I can pay."

  "Don't insult me, please. We're friends."

  Friends. Thirty minutes of casual chatting at the bar and they were friends. That worked. "I owe you then. Something friendly of course."

  He gave a little chuckle that said he could happily work with that. "I accept. Now where are you?"

  Such a simple question for most people. All the praying in the world didn't prevent the nervous chatter from accompanying the coordinates. Random stuff no one gave a rat's butt about, nor made a lick of sense, ran from her mouth. If the man found her within the next year, it'd be a miracle.

  Finally done, she threw the phone on the seat and let her composure fall to pieces in an ohhhh myyyy gossshhhh squeal. She quickly rummaged through her purse and found make-up and fumbled to put it on by the light from her phone in the little mirror on the back of her sun visor. "Shoot, stop your shaking or you'll look like a clown." Who was she kidding? She looked like a clown even when the cosmetics were applied perfectly.

  Fifteen minutes. That's how long he took to get there. Absolutely astonishing. And yet it felt like a life time while she waited. Five minutes of checking under the hood determined she'd need a tow. "Don't worry." He grinned when Jessie started to hyperventilate. "I'll give you a ride to work and get my guy to come pick your car up and bring it to my shop. I'll have you fixed up by tomorrow afternoon."

  "Oh, are you sure?"

  "I'm positive. Just lock up and get in, you're already late."

  "Alright." Jessie got her purse and keys. Take charge kind of man. But in a nice way. So why was she so nervous? Because he smelled so good? Because the body rippling beneath that white T-shirt captivated her? His sweet smile? The sound of tempered strength in his rough voice? Have mercy, all of the above.

  The drive to the hospital wasn't as awkward as she'd anticipated. He made casual talk about her job, and fortunately, it was interesting enough to carry them the entire way. She wanted to avoid discussing her personal life. He didn't need to know the evening they met was her first-ever time in a bar, or that she wouldn't have been in one then, if not for her day shift supervisor's bachelorette party.

  "Well, thank you so much for the ride." She wrestled with the seatbelt release, but no matter how hard she pressed the orange button, the mechanism refused to open.

  He took mercy on her and reached across to free her, bringing that devastating grin so close she almost missed his words. "Do you have a way home?"

  "Oh, well…I'm sure I can find one."

  "What time do you get off?"

  "At an ungodly hour. Six in the morning."

  "I can pick you up. I'm up early."

  "Oh, you've done enough, really."

  "But I want to." His sensual lips remained perfectly void of the boyish grins she was used to. She didn't know what to do with that mysterious and…promising pout.

  Jessie's mouth remained open and poised with more objections, none she managed to vocalize. He wanted to. Seemed almost rude to deny him. "Oh my goodness, okay, I just…feel terrible."

  He chuckled. "Ouch."

  "Not-not like that, I'm grateful—"

  "Do you want me to pick you up?"

  "Of course. Yes, I'd love that." Love? "Like…it. Yes." She nodded incessantly and opened the door, trying to avoid that sexy smile he wore. He was so on to her inexperience and seemed to be enjoying it. But not in a mean way. In a way that made her insides all jittery and made her drop her purse. "Shoot, clumsy." She stooped and picked up her sack pouch as her sister called it, stuffing the few contents that escaped back in. "There, okay, thank you so much again." She threw him a little wave, eager to get the awkward moment behind her.

  "See you in the morning."

  She smiled and shut the door, waving again, then spun around and headed for the hospital before she could ramble on and make the usual fool out of herself. Oh my gosh, how many times had she gaspy-laughed and sang oh well and it's cool after complaining about her job? But then double-oh-my-goodness, he'd winked at her as she shut the door! Shooooooot. The things that did to her were not normal.

  ****

  Kassern ignored the smirk Dorn did such a poor job of hiding.

  His aqua eyes flashed deep blue in the darkness. "That was easy. My male human is playing along perfectly and my female is quite receptive. I couldn't have chosen a better pair. They'll likely kiss when he sees her to her door."

  But Kassern wasn't so sure. "We'll see. Humans are fickle creatures, and your guy isn't exactly a saint."

  "He isn't supposed to be. Redemption, remember?"

  "Oh I remember. I just think you're overreaching with that one."

  "But imagine the warrior he'll make. The greater his flaw, the more power his redemption brings. My research predicts the two of them are a perfect match."

  "Match?"

  "Chemically and biologically, their bodies match. Fit. Work out."

  Kassern pursed his lips, looking for a tactful angle. "They may have the right chemicals, but both are tipping the balance scales psychologically, so, it's not a guarantee. Just saying." More like warning the cocky bastard. If it wasn't for their damn time constraints, he'd sit back and eat popcorn and watch him fall flat on his beautiful face.

  "This is about instinct. He'll be compelled to protect her and see to her safety and well-being, while she will prepare herself to raise a family with him. The female will bring out his favorable side." Light chinking filled the night as Dorn released his aqua wings and rose slowly into the air.

  Kassern nodded, totally disagreeing. They may have the right instincts, but damn it, they were at flammable levels. Too difficult to predict which way they'd swing. "Where are you headed?" Kassern hated being the perfectionist's babysitter—but he unfortunately needed to ensure the success of the first step in forming the Second Triumvirate. Or…Quadumvirate now. "You could just ride with me, you know."

  Dorn eyed the massive red muscle car Kassern obtained for the duration of their stay on earth. "No thank you.
I prefer flying."

  Kassern ignored the implication that he didn't prefer flying. Every comment Dorn made implied he thought Kassern had betrayed the Archangels Creed and loved humanity more or some shit. Dorn knew Kassern couldn't fly because he was visible to humans and couldn't be roaming the skies like a man-bird. What Dorn was really pissed about was being forced to accept the same humanity that he believed caused Kassern to become weak.

  "I'll meet you back here at pick-up time. These two need serious shadowing." Kassern paused with his hand on the car door. "Have you checked in on your future wife yet? Made sure she’s still available?"

  Dorn remained hovering just above, not hiding his distaste at the term wife. And Kassern didn't hide the joy that gave him. Served the jerk right for screwing with him. "There is no need. I have enough information in her to know she's the best selection available in this human wasteland."

  Kassern couldn't hold in his laugh. He shook his head at the stubborn warrior. "Suit yourself." Ole Dorn was about to learn humans were different than two thousand years ago. The words studying to be a nun on the reconnaissance report hardly made her a saint. That could go bad in so many different ways and Kassern definitely couldn't wait to see how the OCD angel handled it—not if, but definitely when—it did go bad.

  Talking about human wives, Kassern sank into his car, ready to see Karly. He bid Dorn a telepathic farewell in the ancient language of angels. "I'll see you in the morning. After I spend the night with my wife."

  Kassern sensed the angel's disgust with that bit of oversharing, TMI, as humans called it, and couldn't contain his grin.

  "Better get used to it, Dorn. Your turn to kiss your bride is coming."

  "There is no rule that says we have to kiss. That's why I chose her. She's more heavenly-minded than some archangels I know."

  Kassern bit back laughter at how absolutely priceless this all was. "Whatever you say, Dorn."