by Deena Remiel
***
Emma walked back into the family room where the Brethren now congregated. “So what’s next?”
“Well, we need to start planning our offense. We’re going to infiltrate the Homecoming gathering on Sunday to get close to Agremon and Namirha. Since they’re looking to increase their flock, I think we’re in a great position to be counted as one of them. Make sure you’re all wearing biker clothes. We’ll no doubt draw some attention, but if we appear as bikers, our size shouldn’t be a problem. There are about five hundred followers already camped out on the site, so we could easily blend in with our own tents.”
“That’s fine, Kemuel, as long as Hannah isn’t counted amongst them. You’ll have to go over my dead body to take her anywhere near that encampment.”
“Don’t worry. You, Michael, and she will be staying right here,” Raphael interjected. “The positive energy flowing through this house is enhancing the speed of your success at training. Do you know anything about this house, the land that it’s on?”
“Only that it belonged to my mother. I inherited it after she passed away.”
“There’s something special going on here,” Gabriel chimed in. “If I may?”
“Go ahead, Gabriel. You’re the master of intelligence,” Raphael proclaimed. “Lay it on, brother.”
“Well, your house and the land it sits on are part of a large energy vortex. Have you heard of those before? Since you live here in Arizona, I would think you have.”
“Yes, I know a little. Great spiritual energy flows down certain magnetic lines. There are many supposedly in Sedona.”
“Correct, and one of the strongest lines flows southward, right through your property. It’s enhancing both of your powers many times over. So, Raphael will train you tomorrow, Kemuel and the gang will work with Hannah some more, and Michael will work on protecting this place like Fort Knox. As for me, I’ll go back to my computers and get the latest information on our resident evil man. I’m actually going to head out now.” Gabriel got up then and headed for the door, opened it, and walked right out without so much as a wave or a goodbye.
“Abrupt bugger, isn’t he?” she commented.
“Yep, that’s Gabriel for you,” Michael replied. “Doesn’t like goodbyes all that much.”
“Well now, that leaves eight of you to battle it out for the couches, chairs, and floor tonight. I’m sorry my place isn’t bigger.”
“Don’t worry about us. We won’t be sleeping,” Raphael said. “We’ll be standing guard around the perimeter of your property through the night.”
“You can’t possibly think you can stay up all night and then train all day. You’re mad!”
“Emma, we never sleep,” Raphael answered simply. “We’re angels.”
“Oh, right, what was I thinking?” she responded, feeling like a total fool. But really who knew angels didn’t sleep? It’s not like someone would have an opportunity to question an angel regarding their sleeping habits.
“I’ll be staying in the house, if that’s okay with you, for extra protection,” Michael offered.
“Yes, that would be great, actually. I know we have the talismans to wear, and I haven’t had any more trips down terror lane since Raphael cleansed me, but still, I would feel much better.”
She looked at him, he looked at her. She knew it was the lamest excuse in history and ventured that he was thinking the same. But she wasn’t going to admit it, especially not with the other Brethren in the room. With handshakes and good nights spoken, the Brethren made their way out the door. Emma and Michael watched them through the kitchen window as they faded into the night, and were now alone, left to deal with the impact of the day’s events and raw emotions. So much had happened in so little time that it left her dizzy.
“So, can I get you a cup of coffee or something?” Emma finally asked, her voice near breathless from the deafening silence that had grown between them.
“Or something,” Michael replied, as he gathered her up in an embrace that took the rest of her breath away. His eyes hypnotized her with their deep oceans of blue and gold. And then, he kissed her. Oh so gently at first, nibbling at her bottom lip, masterfully parting her lips so he could enter and taste her. Then he slowly raised the temperature to blistering.
At first, her arms hung limply at her sides. But as his seduction deepened, she found her footing again, and her hands slid up his arms, caressing and gripping Michael’s back and shoulders. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him as she fought with his tucked-in shirt. And then, she won the battle. Touching his smooth skin, his taut muscles clenched with every brush of her fingers. He lifted her off the floor, never once breaking their kiss, and she was surprised to find herself planted on the countertop.
“Oh God, Emma, do you know what you’ve been doing to me?” he growled. “Driving me crazy, woman. That’s what.” His lips left a feverish trail from her jaw line down her neck. “I need more of you, Emma. So much more.”
Emma took his face into her hands and looked at him, his expression blurred by her own desire. She threw all caution to the wind. “My bedroom, Michael, take me there, now.” She could barely speak anymore, she could barely think. He swung her up in his arms, never taking his focus off of her, and made his way to her bedroom.
He closed the door with his foot, and proceeded to lay her on the bed. Michael stood motionless.
Unwilling to let his uncertainty ruin the moment, Emma rose to her knees and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. What she revealed was every woman’s fantasy, and yet he was here, with eyes and a body only for her. Muscles strained from the sexual tension and showed off their sculpted beauty. Emma couldn’t stop herself. She leisurely ran her hands up and down his hard stomach and chest, teasing his taut nipples.
Michael brought her face up to meet his and ravaged her mouth with a kiss so deadly Emma thought she might never recover. As he eased back, he ripped off her shirt.
***
Emma hadn’t worn a bra, and he’d known that all damn day. But finally, he was going to see and touch and taste what he’d been craving so desperately. I can’t believe I’m finally standing here in front of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. Six years! Six years I’ve dreamed of this moment. And now, she wants me, too.
“You’re so beautiful, Emma, so damn beautiful. And I’ve wanted you for so very long.” He reached out to hold her to him, skin to skin. Flames shot through his body from head to toe.
“Make love to me, Michael,” she pleaded and then, merely whispered, “I need you so much it hurts.”
No more words were necessary as he took her then and there. This was no unhurried, rainy Sunday morning kind of lovemaking. It was frantic. It was feral. It was his hands and mouth in a frenetic quest to explore every inch of her, and both of them in a heated battle to become one.
Emma’s reactive body pushed his to the brink of madness. As he reached the climax of their lovemaking, Michael groaned in ecstasy and wings sprouted from his shoulder blades; large, snowy white, iridescent wings that reached from his shoulders down to his feet.
“Oh God, no!” he moaned. He looked at Emma in utter dread and tore away from her before she could say anything. He jumped off the bed, but didn’t know where to go, so he staggered his way to the farthest, darkest corner of the room, turning his back to hide his humiliation. Through the blood shushing through his ears, he heard sheets rustling. He prayed Emma would leave the room and let him collect himself. Instead, the wooden creak of the floorboards told of her approach.
“What’s wrong, Michael? Have I done something wrong?”
A gentle stroke of his feathers sent him reeling. His breath hitched. The stroking immediately stopped.
“I’m so sorry! Did I hurt you?”
“No. It—it feels so good, you touching my wings. I’m sorry. It’s not you. It’s me. I should have controlled myself better back there.”
“What on earth do you mean? Michael, explain to me why you’ve sent yourself
to the corner like an errant schoolboy.”
“You’re probably so sickened by the sight of me right now. I’m an abomination. Give me a little time…to hide my wings. Can you turn away? Don’t look at me and don’t say anything, please. I’ll get myself together and go stand watch with the others. No one has to be the wiser.” Damn it all! Why couldn’t he keep his wings under wraps this time? He’d been able to so many times before.
“Oh Michael, I’m the farthest thing from sickened a person can be. You’re an angel, for heaven’s sake! You’re supposed to have wings. Where are you getting this crazy notion that you’re an abomination and that I’d be sickened by them?”
“I learned early in my immortal life that showing my wings unfortunately never produces the desired effect of awe and peace in you humans. In the past, they’ve left the women who supposedly loved me shocked and repulsed. I never showed them to Beth. She never knew I was an angel.”
Emma stroked his wings again ever so gently. He turned around, in all of his naked glory, and saw fire smoldering from deep behind her eyes. Because of their threaded connection, he could sense that a yearning had taken hold of her like none she’d ever experienced before. Her voice trembled as she spoke. “This human thinks they’re beautiful. You’re beautiful, and truly the answer to my prayers. And now, I’m yours and you’re mine, Michael. Never mind the women in your past. I’m your present. Come back to bed with me. Stay with me, make love to me again, my angel.”
Her words soothed him. He delved deeper into her thoughts looking for assurances that what she said was true. Over the thousands of years he’d been manifested, here was the first time he could believe. He could trust. She would accept him for all that he was. Physically perfect, yet emotionally damaged.
Michael drew her to him, held her close, and he floated them across the floor back to the bed. And as he laid them both down, his wings encircled them like a cocoon. He made love to her as though it was the first time, but now, he took his time. He languished in the floral scent that was uniquely hers, and luxuriated in her well-toned body sliding sensuously over his. She watched him and writhed rapturously as he explored every inch of her and tasted every morsel of her. And when they came together as one and she cried out his name, he was convinced he knew her better than she even knew herself.
“I think I love you, Michael,” she sighed as she drifted off to sleep.
“God knows, I love you, Emma.” He placed a light kiss on her temple and whispered against her ear. “I’ve never known before the rapture a simple touch could bring or the joy of sharing all that I am with another whose heart is kind and true. You’ve brought these gifts to me. You’ve awakened the man inside the angel.”
Chapter Sixteen
Before the sun rose, he reluctantly left Emma’s bed so he could slip into the guestroom, lest Hannah wake too soon and catch him in her mother’s bedroom. He didn’t think this was the time to have to explain their relationship.
“Hey there, where’re you going?” A drowsy voice murmured from behind him as he reached the door.
Michael walked back to the bed and knelt next to her lying in naked perfection. He couldn’t help but weave his fingers delicately through her sleek, black hair and place a whisper of a kiss on her lips. “Emma, honey, the sun will be up soon. I didn’t think you’d want your daughter to wake up and possibly find us in bed together. I’ll go into the guestroom so she won’t have a clue. It’s okay.”
“I hadn’t actually thought about it. I’ve been a bit distracted, you know.” She had a gleam in her eyes. “Michael, we’re fine. She loves you. You’re one of her favorite people. She wouldn’t think unkindly of you just because she may see you walk out of my room this morning. In fact, I’ll bet you she’d do her little happy dance if she found us both in here when she wakes up this morning. Put on your boxers, and I’ll put on a nightgown. Then we’ll be ready for her. And until she comes in, which I’m sure she’ll come in, we can—talk.”
“We can talk, huh? Okay then.” He stepped awkwardly into his boxers while watching Emma float a nightgown over her head. “We can talk about how I love your sexy body and the way it responds to my slightest touch.” He pounced on her and she let out a sigh as his hands took a lazy sojourn over her body. His eyes captured hers with a look of possessiveness. “We can talk about how you set my body on fire to the point of madness, and how you soothe my spirit and heal the damaged parts of my soul.”
Emma responded with a kiss so sweet and complete he’d forgotten to breathe. “God, Michael! Nobody has ever said anything quite so romantic to me before. And certainly, no one has ever made me feel the way you make me feel.” She leaned up on an elbow, bit her bottom lip, and continued. “You know, after Ron, my ex, left us high and dry for my best friend, I didn’t think I could trust or feel this way about any man ever again. But you’re not just any man, are you?”
“No, I’m certainly not,” he agreed with sincerity.
She rested her head back down on his chest and her arm on his stomach. Michael could feel tension working its way through her shoulders, so he began massaging them lightly.
“Truth be told, it scares me to trust again. It scares me a lot. And then there’s this whole Trinity business and our lives on the line to save the world. I’m not sure what the hell’s going to happen there. And the little matter of you being immortal and I’m—well, I don’t know what on earth I am. Honestly, Michael, regardless of how we feel about each other, I don’t know how this can ultimately work out.”
Pausing, she lifted her head and gave him a solemn look. “What I do know, and I’m telling you straight out I’m taking a big risk saying this to you, so you better not screw around with my heart; you’re everything I want and need in a partner, a lover, and as a part of my family. As you’ve seen, I can be pretty protective and possessive about my family.”
“My, but you’ve been busy thinking in the few minutes you’ve been awake. And I kinda like the cavewoman side of you. A man like me could get used to being your possession.”
Emma ensnared his lips with hers for a quick demonstration of the cavewoman she could be. Michael laughed and responded with his best caveman impersonation. He tangled her hair around his hands to pull her nose to nose with him and grunted. Then, he eased his hands out of her hair.
“Listen, in all seriousness, your ex-husband and your ex-best friend are assholes, and they’ll get what’s coming to them eventually. You shouldn’t have let them have this kind of power over you for so long.” She nodded in agreement and turned away. “As for us, I know we’ll work it out. I’m going to take a big risk here myself. Look at me.” He gently caressed her cheek. “I gotta tell you, I can’t imagine being without you. There’s no way I’ll let anything come between me, you, and Hannah. Not my immortality, not Agremon, not a chance in Hell.”
“Speaking of Hell and Agremon,” she pointed out, sitting up a bit. “Tell me more about him. I’m curious. What made him turn away from the Brethren?”
Michael shifted himself to sit by her side. He gathered her closely to him while he spoke. “Well, Agremon was a Savior, originally, but he was never satisfied with those powers. He saw the warriors as the ultimate immortal and became extremely jealous of their gifts, so much so that he began spending most of his time on a quest to acquire those gifts as well.
“E.L., our boss, wasn’t happy at all. Every group has its own gifts and no one is allowed to have more. It’s like checks and balances, you know? Well, the boss man had a big sit down with everyone, including Agremon, and laid down the law again for everyone to hear. Agremon protested, got really angry, and stormed out, cursing E.L. and the rest of us as he left. He said he’d find a way to gain all of our powers and damned us all to Hell.
“You can imagine how quickly Satan got wind of that and took him immediately into his service. He’s been working for him ever since. His appearance has changed since working with The Brethren. He once looked as we do, tall and formidable, and not t
oo shabby in the looks department,” he bragged with a toothy grin. “As you can bear witness to, what he looks like now only mirrors the evil that lives inside him. And as you’ve seen, he’s acquired incredible power, as well. One thing he hasn’t got is a Protector’s powers. And I know it pisses him off in the biggest way. I don’t know the why of it. He can’t break through our Protectors’ shields. Only if….” He stopped himself.
“Only if someone has deadened your abilities to sense him, right?” Emma offered.
“Yeah, well, Gabriel tried to explain why E.L. did that to me. I’m not ready to accept that explanation yet, but it doesn’t matter much now, does it? What’s done is done, I am what E.L. needs me to be, and Agremon will pay for what he’s done to me and my family, eventually. I imagine Namirha probably is getting good and aggravated with him now, since he hasn’t been able to deliver Hannah to him. That could make Agremon so nervous and frustrated that he begins making mistakes. That’s all I need is one simple mistake on his part and he’s null and void in the history books.”
“But how can you do that? He’s immortal like you, right? I thought immortal meant living forever.”
“Yes, he’s immortal, too, and we can live virtually forever; however, there is a way to kill us, for good. Since I am a Protector, I was given the key to that knowledge.” He paused. Something occurred to him. He sat up. “You know, I always wondered why E.L. didn’t give the key to Gabriel and Urie, too. I’d thought maybe he didn’t feel they were ready yet. But now that I’m supposed to be this ‘Great Protector’, it makes sense somehow that they don’t know. I am the ultimate Protector, and I alone hold the key to life or death for the Brethren. Lord Almighty, he really socked it to me, didn’t he!” He shook his head in disbelief, and worried the whiskers on his cheeks with his hands.
