Ardeur (Abbey of Angels)

by Danielle Gavan

  The angel watched everything unfold with the calm detachment of one who had seen death a million times and was unmoved by it. I wanted to rage at him, scream for Rae to do something, anything to stop what was happening but I was a specter, unseen and unheard in this little vignette.

  “Sir, are you alright? Did you inhale any smoke?” A paramedic was crouched in front of my parents, his attention divided between Peter and Sandrine. My father drew the EMT’s attention to my unconscious mother as tears flowed through the grime on his face.

  “She won't wake up. I think her water just broke.”

  Another paramedic bumped over with a stretcher while the first one took a brief history from Daddy and started working on getting oxygen masks on both of them. They loaded my mother on to the stretcher and Azrael moved to follow it. His attention focused on the infant she carried and its struggle for life.

  Sandrine began to come around as she was lifted into the rear of the ambulance and she cried out as a contraction took her by surprise.

  “Pete. Da baby. It come.” Maman called out in her thickly accented English. A string of French expletives were quickly followed by a scream as another contraction took her in its grips. “Non. C'est trop tot.” It's too early. I wasn't due for another month, but I was coming whether my parents wanted me or not.

  Both my parents, the Lisle's, were in the ambulance and the doors shut them in for the trip to the hospital. Death, in the form of a six-foot-four, dark haired and blue-eyed angel, followed.

  Thirty minutes later, Maman and Daddy found themselves in a delivery room at St Joseph's General Hospital pushing their child into the world much earlier than they had expected her to arrive.

  A final scream-filled push expelled my small body from my mother's womb into the doctor's waiting hands. All eyes in the room fixed on the doctor as they waited for the wail of a live baby to fill the room, but none came. My newborn body was handed off to waiting nurses and the doctor turned back to face my anxious parents. They were about to receive the worst news of their lives.

  “I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Lisle. Your daughter didn't survive.”

  Daddy fell to his knees beside the gurney my mother laid on, wailing at the loss of the child she had carried. I watched while he sat there, on the cold tile of the floor, stunned and disbelieving for a moment before picking himself up to go see for himself that I was truly dead.

  Azrael took in their anguish at the loss of the child they had eagerly anticipated as he held my spirit in the palm of his hand. His eyes turned back to study the body that had contained the small, glowing energy moments earlier.

  I was a tiny thing lying there amidst the towels smeared with the blood and detritus of my birth. The blond fuzz on my head shone like a halo under the bright lights on the bassinet. My father reached down, finger sliding under the tiny fingers of my left hand and quickly jerked back with a cry as the small fingers curled around him.

  “She's alive. Quick. Somebody. She's alive!”

  An Angel of Death was not meant to give life, but take it. In putting my soul back in that body, Azrael had not only gifted me with life - he'd given me a piece of his own.

  Seventeen

  Hatred boiled inside me, hot and energizing in its intensity as it burned away the last of the vision. “My life was a living hell because of what you did. Every single day filled with torment and pain that I couldn't escape was because of you.”

  Azrael reached out a hand to touch, to try to soothe me but I was beyond being calmed by the likes of him. “Where were you when I was being put through the worst kind of hell? Where were you, Rae?”

  “I didn't know, had no idea that what I'd done had any lasting effects on you.” Rae dropped his hand back down to his side in defeat. “I put you back into that tiny body, breathed life into you and left without ever looking back. I'm sorry, Ardy.”

  The hatred and rage had built up inside of me, past seething to that scary point when calm takes over. I was still angrier than I'd ever been, but rational thought was taking over again.

  “Why didn't you warn me yesterday? Why didn't you give me a chance to decide if becoming an angel is what I want?”

  Silence stretched between us like a pregnant elephant. The grass made an audible ripping sound beneath the soles of my boots as I turned to leave.

  “I wanted you to be like me, an angel, so that you and I could be together. We’re meant for each other. Your power calls to mine. I knew it when Celine brought me to see you in the hospital.”

  My feet set in motion, anger a bubble set to burst in my veins again. “Never. I'll never be with you, Rae.”

  I didn't notice the destruction my anger had wreaked on the trees, plants and shrubbery in the garden. Branches lay broken, whole shrubs uprooted and entire flowerbeds razed. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Try a pissed off angel.

  The wall behind the door shuddered from the impact of my shoving one into the other in my haste to get as far away as possible from Azrael. Glass from the door's window tinkled to the floor in a shower of tiny, razor sharp bits. Large, angry cracks zigzagged through the walls and ceiling; a dusting of plaster mingled with the remnants of the window.

  My mind reeled with Rae's words until I had to stop so that my jumbled thoughts could catch up with the rest of me. Brody. Need Brody. My brain hurt from the tangled emotions and lies swirling around inside of it.

  I stumbled down the hall toward the stairs; my senses seeking the telltale flare of energy that would lead me straight to the wolf that was becoming a necessary part of my life.

  Finding him turned out to be easier than I'd expected. His room was next to mine on the second floor, halfway down the hall. The wolf energy that emanated from behind the oak door was insane and pulled me along like a compass seeking its true north.

  The door stood ajar, voices drifted out and pulled me closer. Remiele tried to soothe my ruffled wolf but he was having none of it. Brody's voice was more beast than man as it reached my ears.

  “I'll kill him. Rip that bastard limb from limb.”

  “Relax, Brody, please. If Rae had known that his actions would lead to a life of torment for Ardeur he would have made sure that one of us kept an eye on her. We would never have let one of our own go through that kind of hell.” A soft blue light spilled out from around the door and into the hall. Peaceful feelings accompanied the light as the tip of my boot and then my leg stepped into the glow.

  I slipped inside the room, instantly awed at the sight of Remiele and the soft incandescent blue that surrounded her. Majestic pearly white wings stood out from the middle of her shoulders and arced above her head before sweeping down to the floor in a glorious fall of downy feathers. “Oh, wow.”

  Remiele turned to face me and the beauty spread to her face and the sapphire glow of her eyes. “Hello, Ardy. I assume you can see me as I truly am now?”

  “Do I?” I cleared my throat and took a cautious step closer. “Can I do that too? The glowing thing?”

  The hot snap of energy from Brody's wolf caught my attention before the beautiful angel could respond. I peeked around Remiele and my eyes widened at what they found.

  My wolf, because let's face it - that's what he was, was standing in the middle of the room, bare chested with nothing on but his dog tags and a pair of jeans that sat very, very low on his hips. Droplets of water glistened from his wide shoulders and wild, disarrayed hair.

  “I'm okay, Puppy. Relax, please?”

  Brody's eyes had the golden glow that warned anyone wise enough to realize it - the wolf was near the surface and would make an appearance if push came to shove. He held a hand out for me and I stepped into his arms without hesitation. The scalding heat of his chest against my cheek drew a gasp of surprise from me which was quickly silenced by his mouth as it came down on mine and took what little breath I had away.

  The wolf calmed with each passing second that our lips melded. Each sweep of tongue over soft, silky tongue turned the level of anxiety in Br
ody down until he was as calm as he could be.

  “Thank you.” His fingers remained buried in my hair and his chin rested on the top of my head as he held me against him.

  “I'll leave you two to talk.” Remiele turned toward the door and stopped before closing it. “There are a few things you need to learn about who and what you are, Ardy. Come see me when you have a minute and I'll explain.”

  With a soft click, the door shut, leaving Brody and I to stand alone in the middle of his room. Nothing but the sound of our breathing and the beat of our hearts touched our ears. Brody shifted slightly and I found myself lifted up, legs wrapped around his waist while he carried me to his bed.

  “I want. God, baby, I need you.”

  Those were the last words I heard before I found myself lying across Brody's bed with him firmly planted between my thighs. The rigid, denim-covered proof of how badly he needed me pressed against the much softer dip of my belly. My eyes went wide at the feel of how big he was, compared to what my own imagination had cooked up. “You, um, wow, Puppy.”

  Reason must have reasserted itself in his head when I spoke. Brody's eyes cleared completely and he backed away from me with dismay clearly written all over his face.

  “Stay there. Please? I need to finish my shower and then we can talk. Okay?”

  He didn't give me a chance to answer before ripping off toward the bathroom.

  I sat quietly on his bed while the angry, frustrated energy of his wolf swarmed through the room like a swarm of angry bees until just as suddenly as it had started, the energy level dropped off and everything was quiet. The walls of the rooms were thick, but they hadn't been thick enough to muffle the shout of my name from the other room just before the peaceful quiet blanketed the bedroom.

  Brody exited the steam-filled bathroom wearing nothing but a towel that cupped and molded to his ass like a second skin. My hands itched to tackle him and peel the damn thing off but I sat calmly in the spot I'd chosen and closed my eyes. Super Glue had nothing on my will power.

  “Feel better?”

  “Yeah, for now.” Brody dropped the towel and smirked as he heard the intake of breath behind him. He bent to pull on a pair of boxer briefs and frowned at the beginnings of a tent forming again. Just the smell of her in his room was enough to make him salute like a good soldier.

  The thick denim of his jeans had just covered his ass when her hands were on him and Brody felt himself pulled around to face the object of his desire.

  “Your lips. Mine. Now.”

  Her hands were on his shoulders and before he could say much more than, “Thank God,” Ardeur had her legs clamped around his waist; the heat of her against his belly told him how much she wanted him.

  Ardeur clung to him with her mouth, her arms and her legs and he wouldn't have had it any other way. His hands came up to cup her ass and hold her up against him while he walked the two of them over to the bed.

  “Nothing you don't want to do will happen here, do you understand?”

  Seconds ticked by while he kissed his way down her neck to her breasts. His hands wove through the silken strands of her hair and gave a light pull when she didn't answer him.

  “Keep your pants on, and we're good to go.” Ardy nipped at his ear, her soft laugh a gentle brush of air over his skin.

  Brody turned to lay the beautiful woman in his arms against the mattress. He sat back on his knees and looked down at her. “Beautiful. Flawless and golden. Shoot me if I don't want to strip naked and make love to you right now, Goldie.”

  The sun cast a golden glow over the concavity of her abdomen and he knew then exactly what he wanted to do with her. Brody slid to hover above her and bent his head to nip and lick his way across Ardeur's narrow waist.

  He flicked his tongue once inside her belly button and groaned as an image of him tasting her elsewhere flashed through his mind. The smell of her lust was driving him crazy with need. Her fingers in his hair and the soft moan urged him to be bold, take more.

  Ardeur's pulse beat frantically under her skin as he licked his way up her abdomen. His mouth closed over the thin layer of cotton covering the peak of her breast. One hand rested on her hip and the other poised, trembling and hesitant, to touch the most intimate part of her.

  “Can I?” he asked, the need to touch her clear in his voice. The struggle with his wolf and the need to take it slow with her caused sweat to bead on his brow. Brody was doing everything he could to stay in control but her soft mews of pleasure did more damage to his will power than an F5 tornado in a trailer park.

  The desperation in Brody's voice matched what screamed through my veins as his hand hovered over my most secret place. My hands lifted to his face and forced him to look up at mine.

  “Puppy, if you don't touch me soon, I'm gonna touch you and then we're in for some serious trouble.” I tilted my hips up to bump his hand. “Feel me?” The pun was just too funny not to say it.

  His hand came down, the heat of his finger traced along the seam of my jeans and scorched the delicate skin beneath before it flattened and pressed the denim tighter against me. “Oh yeah, I feel you.”

  The light fluttering of his fingers against the thin denim and the sweep of his tongue over my throat had me squirming like a worm on a hook in shark-infested waters. I might as well have been naked under him for what minimal barrier my clothes provided.

  I didn't know if I was coming or going after a couple of minutes of his mouth on my skin and the press of his fingers between my thighs. His lips were like hot heaven skimming across the sensitive skin of my neck and caught my mouth in a tawdry kiss that would have made any other virgin blush. The man was magic, seriously.

  I wrapped my legs wrapped around his hips and pulled him down tight against me, his hand trapped between us. “Um, Brody?”

  Golden eyes, shinning and dangerous, opened to meet my own. “Goldie.”

  His mouth hovered over the sodden red cotton covering the pebbled peak of my breast. I wanted to feel that heated wetness against my skin almost as much as I wanted to strip him down and roll myself up in him. Brody wanted to take his time with me, and I knew he meant every word he'd said about courting and doing things the right way.

  “Take the damn shirt off.” The slow grin that spread over his lips was priceless and the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.

  Brody didn't give me a chance to change my mind, not that I planned on doing any such thing anyway. He lifted the edge of my top over the swell of my breasts, drew it over my head and used it to hold my wrists captive.

  I watched through eyes narrowed with lust as his head dipped and caught the dusky pink nipple of my right breast in his mouth. The gentle flick of his tongue across the sensitive bit arched my back off the bed, pressed me tighter against him and drew a satisfied grunt from Brody.

  “Better?” Brody pulled my shirt off the rest of the way, the hold on my wrists replaced by his large, warm hand.

  Holy Hannah. Better? His mouth on my exposed breast was like a lighter to dynamite. I wanted to crawl out of my skin and into his it felt so damn good. My fingers dug into his hair and pulled him back down for another kiss.

  “Hell yeah, better.”

  Brody dipped his head back down to my breast and let go of my wrists to cup and mold the other with his hand. I nearly missed it when he growled out a curse and switched his attention to the other side.

  The hand driving me to distraction was suddenly gone, replaced with the heavy weight of Brody's hips snuggled tight against my own and I couldn't help myself anymore. I didn't want to. My senses were full of him, the heat of his hands and mouth on my skin, the bulge in his pants and the weight of him just did it for me.

  “I want.” My mouth was dry and I had to force the words out. “Can I?” I feathered my fingers over the silky skin of his back, the heavy muscles bunching beneath my eager touch. My brain knew what it wanted but my mouth couldn't form the words when his mouth closed over my nipple again and tugged at it.

&nb
sp; “You can have anything you want. Anything.” The words were a growl against my skin. He slid a hand beneath the curve of my back and pulled me tight against him.

  The slow grind of his hips pushed his erection firmly against my core and made my head roll back as lust zinged hot and potent through my veins.

  “Yeah, that.” My tongue darted out to swipe over my kiss swollen lips. “You need to do that again. Now. Please?” Begging wasn't something I did often, for anyone. For that, I'd damn well start.

  Whatever reaction I'd been expecting, it hadn't been to have the weight of him pull back or the low growl that rumbled from his chest as he stood and turned away from me.

  “Do you trust me, Goldie?”

  I heard the button on his fly release and was off the bed before he could slide the zipper down. My eager hands covered his, pushed them aside to take charge of removing his pants.

  The energy rolling off his skin and over mine was blistering and I closed my eyes for a second to savor how right it felt. When I opened them again, they met his golden glow and I smiled.

  “I trust you.” His zipper gave way with a quick tug and the pants fell to puddle around his ankles after a shove of the material over the delicious curve of his ass.

  My eyes widened at the sight of him. He was barely contained by the thin covering of his briefs and my tongue darted out nervously to wet my lips. I reached out to touch him but his pleading growl stopped me and drew my eyes upward.

  “Don't touch, please, Goldie.” Brody pulled me against him and turned us back onto his bed. “I can't promise I won't lose it if you wrap one of those delicate hands around me.”

  Brody laid her out on his bed, the action a bit more rough than he'd intended, but he was so on edge anything gentler was beyond what he could offer her.

  He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked with her body flushed and her lips swollen from his kisses but he had no breath left in him to do so. Ardeur's velvety thighs were wrapped around his waist and he slid a hand behind her back again as his hips ground against the heat of her.