“What do you mean Ethan wants to sleep with me ‘again’?” Dani asked.
The sound of Dani’s voice brought Gabriel back into reality like a slap in the face. He’d almost kissed her! What had he been thinking? But the answer was simple; he hadn’t been thinking. He’d been allowing his emotions to drag him to a place he could never, ever go.
“What?” Gabriel asked.
He’d been so caught up that he had no idea what Dani had actually said.
“You said Ethan wanted to sleep with me again. What makes you think I’ve ever had sex with Ethan?”
“Donna said she thought you had,” Gabriel said.
“Well, she was wrong. I’ve never done more than dance with him,” Dani said, “I don’t even have his phone number.”
“Good,” Gabriel said.
“Why is that ‘good’?” Dani snapped. “Were you afraid I was the Jezebel you thought I was?”
He’d hurt her feeling when he said that earlier. That had not been his intention, nor was what he’d said been true. He just hadn’t wanted her to know how attractive he found her. He’d never been attracted to a human before, and so he’d been thrown off balance when she’d come downstairs in that damned dress.
He still didn’t want her to know how beautiful he found her, but he also didn’t want her to hate him because of something stupid he’d said in the spur of the moment.
“Look Dani, I didn’t mean what I…” he was saying when he heard a shout from his right.
A man was thrown into Dani, knocking her from Gabriel’s arms and onto the floor.
It was a bar fight, and it was spreading like a wildfire. It seemed everyone surrounding them had joined in on the fight in a matter of seconds. He scooped Dani up off the floor and looked for an opening in the crowd to carry her out through, but there wasn’t one. The fight was vicious and unrelenting. When a beer mug flew by his head, Gabriel had had enough.
“Can you stand up?” Gabriel asked Dani.
“Yeah, I think so,” Dani said.
“I’m going to set you on your feet,” Gabriel said, pushing a man away that had careened in their direction, “When I do, I want you to hold on to me and don’t let go. Can you do that?”
Dani nodded, and Gabriel put her down. She immediately threw her arms around his neck and clung to him. The bar was packed with people; and at this point, just about the whole bar had joined in on the fight. Gabriel flexed his shoulders and let his wings rip through his shirt.
“Hold on tight,” he said to Dani and spun in a circle, knocking down everyone within his wingspan. Gabriel raised his hands, and then brought them down. Everyone in the bar except Gabriel and Dani, who’d been standing too close to Gabriel to be affected, crumbled to the floor.
5.
“What did you do?” Dani asked when she raised her head from his chest to look around the bar at all the people on the floor. “Tell me you didn’t kill all these people.”
“I put a stop to this nonsense, and of course I didn’t kill them; they’re just sleeping,” Gabriel said. “I told you this wasn’t a safe environment for you to be in.”
“Can you sober me up like you did Buddy, so I can drive us the hell out of here before the police show up?”
“Yes, just look at me for a few seconds,” he said.
She stared into his eyes and felt the cloudiness in her brain drift away.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“As sober as the day I was born,” Dani said. “Now grab Donna so we can get out of here. I’ll meet you at the front door.”
She’d barely made it to the door before Gabriel was beside her again, holding Donna in his arms like a baby. They’d just stepped out the door when she heard sirens and saw flashing blue and white lights coming up the road.
“Damn it!” Dani swore. “We’re not going to make it out of the parking lot before they get here.”
“Yes, we are,” Gabriel said.
He dropped one of his arms from Donna so that she was dangling from her waist and wrapped his other arm around Dani’s waist. With one swoosh of his large wings, he lifted them off the ground and landed on the roof of the bar.
“Climb onto my back and hold on tight to my neck,” he said.
He laid Donna on the roof and knelt to one knee so Dani could wrap her arms around his neck.
“I don’t want to do this,” Dani said.
“Well that’s just too damn bad. You’re the one that insisted we go out tonight. I told you it wasn’t a good idea,” Gabriel said. “Now do as I say, woman, so I can get you home!”
“I’m scared to fly,” she admitted.
“You’re not going to fly; I am. You’re just going along for the ride,” Gabriel said. “I promise I won’t let you fall. Now hurry.”
Dani gave in, climbed onto Gabriel’s back, and wrapped her arms around his neck. The cops had already driven into the parking lot. She clung to Gabriel as he scooped Donna back up. He waited for the eight cops that had responded to enter the bar before he flapped his wings and rose into the air.
Gabriel rose fast and high. Dani could feel the wind rushing past her. She thought she was going to fall for sure, but then Gabriel’s body leveled out. Dani was now lying on his back instead of hanging from it. She loosened the death grip she had around his neck and peeked over his shoulder at the ground below.
Everything looked small from up here. The cars on the street below looked like toys. Dani surprised herself by laughing.
6.
Gabriel smiled when he heard Dani laugh. It hadn’t taken her long to overcome her fear of flying. He had never carried anyone with him while flying, but he liked the warmth and weight of her on his back. He was disappointed when he landed in her front yard.
He wished it couldn’t have lasted longer. He’d enjoyed flying with her; and he knew she’d enjoyed it, as well. Dani slid from his back and clapped her hands.
“That was awesome!” she said, and smiled up at him.
The wind had blown her hair from the clip that had been holding it and had turned her cheeks a faint pink. It gave her a mischievous look that made his stomach flip. She danced up the front steps and opened the front door.
“Just throw her on the couch,” Dani said when Gabriel carried Donna in the house.
Gabriel laughed, “Well that’s one way to treat your best friend,” he said.
“Trust me; this isn’t the first time she’s been carried, unconscious, into this house,” Dani said. “I always just toss her on the couch.”
Gabriel did as he was told, and laid Donna on the couch.
“Wait, if we put her on the couch, where are you going to sleep?” Dani asked.
“I don’t sleep,”
“At all?” she asked.
“No, I never have,” he said. “Did you a least have a little fun tonight?”
“What I remember of it was fun,” Dani said.
“You don’t remember the whole night?” Gabriel asked in surprise.
“I don’t remember much of anything after having my third drink,” she said.
Gabriel felt relieved. He wouldn’t have to explain holding her so close to him on the dance floor or the fact that he’d been running his hands up and down her back. And he was extremely relieved that she didn’t remember that he’d almost kissed her.
“But I have to say that out of everything I do remember, the flight home was my favorite part of the night,” she said and smiled at him again.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” Gabriel said.
“It’s getting late; I should go up to bed,” Dani said and yawned, “Thank you for tonight, though.”
She surprised him by leaning over to give him a hug. Instead of pulling away from her as he should have, he pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her on the top of her head.
“Goodnight, Dani,” he said.
“Goodnight,” Dani said and looked up at him.
He made himself step back, but watc
hed her as she walked up the stairs.
Chapter Eight
1.
Dani lay in her bed for hours, just staring at the ceiling. She felt a little guilty about lying to Gabriel. She remembered everything about the night, but it was easier to pretend that she didn’t remember almost kissing him, or the way her legs had felt shaky when he’d innocently rubbed her back.
She was sure that if he knew that she’d nearly arched her back in pleasure when he’d taken her shoes off, that he’d be offended. She was surprised he’d even let her hug him before she came upstairs. He’d made it pretty clear at the cemetery how he felt about her showing him any kind of affection.
She’d hugged him in the pretense of saying goodnight, but the truth was she’d just wanted to feel his arms around her one more time before the night ended. She’d felt a shockwave rock through her body when he touched his lips to the top of her head.
The only other time he’d kissed her, he’d done it just to piss off Buddy. This time it felt different. Probably because no one was about to be smote in front of her; and because Gabriel was no longer treating her like an insignificant human, as he had when she’d first met him.
If she didn’t have a pipeline to Heaven, she’d probably go straight to Hell for just having the thoughts she was having about Gabriel. What was wrong with her? Why’d she have to feel this way about a man she could never have.
Gabriel would most likely laugh in her face if he knew about the things that were going on in her mind. She’d heard what Vertis had said about Gabriel despising humans, but Dani didn’t believe it. Gabriel didn’t act as if he hated her, but she knew he would never like her in that way.
Dani wasn’t even the same species as Gabriel. She wondered if there was a Mrs. Angel somewhere, waiting for him in Heaven. Dani found she didn’t really care for that idea. She was thinking about how nice it had felt to dance in Gabriel’s arms, when she finally fell asleep.
2.
Gabriel sat at the kitchen table and waited for the night to pass. He kept an inward watch on the perimeter of the house. He could close his eyes and see what was going on outside. There was no sign of Cambions or demons; nothing to keep his mind from turning to Dani. He dropped his head into his hands and let his thoughts wander.
“You may never make it back into our Father’s good graces if you continue on the path you’re on,” Gabriel heard his brother’s voice say.
Gabriel jerked his head up and saw Michael leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling at him.
“First Raphael, and now you,” Gabriel groaned. “Don’t you have anything better to do than watch over me?”
“Yes, but nothing as amusing as seeing you twisted up over a human female,” Michael said.
“Are you here to warn me off of her?” Gabriel asked. “Because if you are, you should know that Raphael already beat you to it.”
“No, I’m not here for that. You can make your own decisions,” Michael said. “If you’re willing to give up your chance at returning to Heaven for this woman, it’s your choice.”
“Then what are you here for?” Gabriel asked.
“You looked like you could use some company,” Michael said, and took a seat at the table. “So what are you going to do?”
“What am I going to do about what?” Gabriel asked.
“About the girl that you seemed to be infatuated with?” Michael asked. “I believe her name is Danielle.”
“I’m not infatuated with her,” Gabriel denied.
“Tell that lie to someone else. I came down to see you at the bar you were at tonight. I saw the two of you on the dance floor. You want her; I could see it on your face,” Michael said. “You can’t hide from that kind of lust forever.”
“It’s not lust!” Gabriel snapped.
“You better hope it’s only lust, because the only other option is that you’re in love with her,” Michael said. “Do you really want to have to deal with that?”
“I don’t want to deal with any of this. All I want to do is kill Lucifer, and go home,” Gabriel said, and dropped his head back in his hands. “You don’t understand what it’s like to feel this way.”
“Actually, I do,” Michael said.
3.
“Excuse me?” Gabriel said, raising his head to stare at his brother in shock. “When have you ever been involved with a human female?”
“It was right before the birth of Jesus,” Michael said. “When I came down to Earth to stand in witness to his birth.”
“I remember you being there, but I don’t remember you mentioning a woman,” Gabriel said.
“Because I didn’t mention her,” Michael said. “I didn’t know what to do about how I felt at the time, and I didn’t want any of my brothers trying to tell me what I should do, so I kept it to myself.”
“Who was she?” Gabriel asked.
“She was a young widow, and mother of two children, named Tzahala. She lived just outside the city of Bethlehem. I first saw her when I’d gone out one evening for a walk,” Michael said. “She was sweeping the yard in front of her mud brick hut and something about her just caught my attention. I don’t know if it was the way she moved, or the way her hair hung down her back.
“All I know is I found myself there again the next night, hoping to see her again. I did this for several nights before I spoke to her; and it was her that initiated our first conversation.
“She’d apparently noticed me on the nights I’d walked passed her home. It was extremely hot that evening, and Tzahala called out to me to ask if I like a sip of water,” Michael said.
“You could have just said no and kept walking.”
“I could have, and truth be told, I probably should have, but she intrigued me and I wanted to find out why. I thought if I actually spent a little time with her that I’d realize that she was just another human and not worthy of my attention,” Michael said. “But it didn’t work out that way. Instead, I found my feeling’s for her getting stronger.”
“Did you…you know?” Gabriel said, finding it difficult to ask Michael such an intimate question.
“Have sex with her?” Michael asked. “Yes, I did.”
“What was it like?” Gabriel asked.
“It was nice,” Michael said, then paused and corrected himself, “No, it was much more than nice. Unless you experience it for yourself, it’s hard to understand why humans perform such a bizarre and messy act when they’re not trying to procreate.
“The act itself is extremely, physically pleasurable. But if you’re in love with the person you’re with, then sex creates an intimate bond between the two of you. Or at least that’s how it made me feel when I made love to Tzahala. But just having sex with her wasn’t enough. I wanted us to be more,” Michael said.
“So what happened?” Gabriel asked.
“I was caught by our Father, and was summoned back to Heaven.”
“How bad was His punishment?” Gabriel asked.
“He didn’t punish me; He gave me a choice,” Michael said. “I could choose to stay with Tzahala, or I could return home to Heaven…but I couldn’t do both.
“If I chose to stay with Tzahala, I would have to spend a human lifetime here on Earth, without being able to return to Heaven for the time I would’ve spent here. And when I did return to Heaven, I would lose my place next to His Throne. I would still be an Archangel, of course, but I would lose my place in his court. Or I could walk away from Tzahala altogether and keep my place beside the Throne.”
“And…you chose to leave her?” Gabriel asked. “Did you not love her?”
“I loved her, but in the end, I loved my place in Heaven more,” Michael said.
“Do you regret your decision?”
It seemed strange to be having this kind of conversation with Michael after not seeing him for over two thousand years. But, Michael had always been Gabriel’s favorite brother, and they’d fallen easily back into their comfortable relationship.
“Sometimes,�
�� Michael said reflectively. “I often wonder what our life together would have been like if I’d stayed, but the choice I made was the choice that was best for me.”
Gabriel took a few minutes to mull over everything that Michael had told him, and Michael was kind enough not to interrupt his thoughts.
“Unlike me, you had the choice to walk away,” Gabriel finally said. “I don’t have that luxury.”
“You could walk away. It would be the end of humans’ reign on Earth, but you could leave if you really wanted to,” Michael said.
“If I don’t take care of Lucifer, I’ll never be able to return to Heaven,” Gabriel said.
“There’s no guarantee that killing Lucifer will get you back into Heaven,” Michael said. “Just because God gave you this mission doesn’t mean he’s going to allow you to come home if you’re successful.”
“Maybe not, but it’s the only chance I have,” Gabriel said.
“You’ve been forced by our Father to hold post outside the proverbial Gates of Heaven for over four million years; never permitted to step inside the Kingdom itself. You’ve been separated from your brothers, except for the rare occurrence when we run into each other on Earth. You’ve been forced to watch over the affairs of humans, and even to protect a select few.
“Low ranking angels deliver God’s orders to you, and then you’re sent to Earth to carry out those commands. Even if you’re successful in your mission to kill Lucifer, you’ll probably have to return to your banishment outside of the Gates,” Michael said. “After all our Father is putting you through, why would you even want to return to Heaven?”
“It’s my home,” Gabriel said simply.
“Maybe, but home hasn’t been good to you for a very long time,” Michael said.
“It’s a punishment that I earned, and it’s well deserved,” Gabriel said. “I should have been cast into the pit with Lucifer for defying God’s command, and you know it. Any punishment less than that was a blessing.”
“True, but you always were one of Father’s favorite sons,” Michael said with a smile.
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