Chasing Angel (A Divisa Novel, Book 3)

by Weil, J. L.

  My house was on fire.

  “Chase, what happened to my house?”

  A flicker of pain unfurled in his eyes. “When Alastair took you,” his hoarse voice broke halfway, “the fire started, blocking all the windows and doors. He was keeping us out.”

  And just like a demon to play dirty. A lump formed in my throat, and a sadness I didn’t know I could feel for a house pitted in my gut. “Great. Now I’m homeless.” And to think that old house used to creep me out, which was not to say that after what I just went through it still didn’t give me the heebie jeebies.

  He carefully set me on my feet, my front brushing down his. A small spark ignited in my eyes. Even after a shiteous night, Chase could make my toes curl. “I think you will make an adorable hobo,” he said, flicking the end of my nose.

  Distracted by the flashing lights in front of me, I realized he dropped me in front of the medic. After one quick glance inside the ambulance with all its gadgets, gurneys, and torture devices, I turned to him and professed, “Negatory. Not happening. I don’t need any medical treatment.”

  With the pad of his thumb, he smeared a streak of soot from my cheek. Undeniably, there had been injuries, but nothing that wouldn’t heal by morning. Chase had a gash above his eye that was caked with dried blood, a split lip, and probably a bunch of other injuries I couldn’t see.

  “Humor me,” he replied, jaw set and concern shinning in his eyes.

  An argument was on the tip of my tongue, but as I stared into his face and those defined cheekbones, I knew that I wouldn’t refuse this simple request, even if doctors made me squirmy. I patted at my singed clothes. “I must smell like an ashtray.”

  He chuckled, and I could tell by the look he was giving me, he wanted to be anywhere but surrounded by people. “Imagine what your lungs look like.”

  I scuffed my foot, looking down at the ground. “This is stupid. I’ll be just peachy in an hour,” I said barely above a whisper.

  He tipped my chin up. “Angel, they don’t know that.” He nodded to the cops, the firefighters, and the paramedics all attending to the scene.

  True.

  Hopping up on the back of the ambulance, I gave the young paramedic a pointed look and nervously rubbed my hands over my holey jeans. “Here’s the deal, you stick me with a needle and I’ll blacken your eye.”

  The sandy haired guy smiled warmly. “I’ll be gentle.”

  Chase rumbled in his throat low enough for just my ears. My lips twitched. The poor guy had barely laid a finger on me and Chase was ready to bust his chops. He hovered, watching where the young paramedic put his hands. Stephen, I learned was his name, was as good as his word. No needles, and he was indeed kind. He declared I would live.

  I wasn’t the only one getting checked out. A beautiful blonde was bandaging Travis’s arm, looking terrified to touch him. Travis caught my eye and winked at me. Emma frowned. Across from Emma and Travis was Lexi. She rolled her eyes as an attendee dabbed the cuts on her head with peroxide. If they only know how useless and a waste of resources this all was. None of us really needed medical attention.

  Sitting on the back of the ambulance, I had a clear view of the demolition caused by the fire and Hell. I stared at my house, and my thoughts turned to my mom. She worked so hard…

  As if the thought of her made her materialize, she was suddenly running toward me, her face glimmering with tears. They streamed down her pink cheeks. “Angel,” she exhaled in relief and pulled me into her shaky embrace.

  She was trembling.

  I let her cling. Mom rarely cried, and if she did, it was bad.

  She lingered for a few moments more and then pushed the hair from my face, looking me over. I think she needed to make sure I was okay. “When Devin called and told me there was a fire, I—”

  I knew that if I didn’t stop her, she was going to start bawling all over again. I also realized that Mom had not really been here earlier. It had been another one of Alastair’s twisted and deranged illusions. “I’m fine, Mom. Really.”

  “I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you.” Tears still wobbled on the edge of her voice. She looked in the distance at the blackened porch that she had painted eggshell white the summer we moved in. It looked like a tornado had touched down, but only at our home. Windows were blown out. Siding was torn off in patches, and the smell of burnt wood was unmistakable. The damage to our house was more than just exterior wreckage. It was a place Mom had put her heart and soul into so we could build a new life—our fresh start.

  This might have been a setback, but I had all I needed—Mom and Chase. How simple my priorities had become. I know that all Mom ever wanted was to provide a stable home for me. Seeing the house that she worked so hard for crumbled, broke her heart.

  It took more than an hour for the fireman to extinguish the flames and search the house. Only the family room, where Alastair and I had sat, and the porch had been victim to the fire, but most of the house had smoke damage. It still blew my mind. The authorities believed it had originated from the fireplace—a stray ember.

  But I knew better.

  We couldn’t stay in the house tonight or in the near future, which meant hotels—away from Chase. Our bond made it difficult to be away from each other for long, and we’d been spoiled being so close to each other. In actuality, it forged our link tighter. I dreaded leaving.

  We were allowed to grab some things before they sealed the house up with yellow tape. I threw clothes and crap in a bag and gave my room one last glance. I sighed, flipping off the light, and I vowed to find a way to ban Alastair from Earth. There had to be a way. I might not be able to kill the higher-demon, but if I could banish him from walking this plane, it would be enough.

  Mom was waiting for me at the top of the stairs, a sad smile on her lips. She tucked a stiff piece of hair behind my ear. “Devin said we could stay with them until the repairs and cleanup are complete,” she said gently.

  My eyes bugged out. Me. Chase. Under the same roof. Oh dear God.

  She noticed my reaction. “I thought it might be easier on you to stay close, for school, and we could oversee the work on the house. That is if it is okay with you?”

  The idea of staying with Chase was getting more and more appealing by the second. I shook my head. “No, that’s fine.” It would be simpler for Mom and tortuous for me, sleeping with him so close. Next door was bad enough, but the next room? My cheeks blushed.

  Chase and Devin were standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting casually for us to gather whatever we needed. Chase’s silver eyes ensnared mine and twinkled as if he was reading my thoughts.

  Our little interlude wasn’t lost on my mom. “Of course there will be rules,” she added.

  I rolled my eyes. “Do those rules have anything to do with boyfriends? Do these rules include Devin?”

  She chewed on that thought for a moment. “I am sure we can negotiate the rules. Like you bunking with Lexi.”

  “And where will you be bunking?” I asked, trying not to smirk.

  “Angel,” she warned, hiking her overnight bag on one shoulder. Her whiskey eyes were drained. “This is a temporary arrangement.”

  I eyed the hunky Devin talking to his nephew below and waggled my brows. “Uh-huh. If you say so.”

  She shook her caramel hair. “How did I get such a cynical kid?”

  I stepped down to the first step and said over my shoulder, “Just lucky, I guess.”

  Chapter 21

  “Hey, roomie,” Lexi greeted me, hanging over the side of the couch.

  “I am not even going to ask what you are doing.”

  She looked at me upside down with a cheery twist of her lips. “It’s some new form of Pilates.”

  “Says who?” I asked, rotating my head.

  “Me,” she stated, her long blonde hair hitting the ground.

  And that explained enough.

  She did a handspring off the couch, flawlessly executed, and landed
on her feet. “I was just going to come find you. I have this great idea for your hair…” She lifted pieces of my boring hair while nibbling on her lip in thought. Her creativity scared me.

  I had been here a week, and I was ready to take my chances next door at my smoke-permeated house. If this was what it was like having siblings, then I was glad to be an only child. The first few days had been like an extended sleepover, but now Lexi was always in my stuff. Privacy was not a thing in the Winters’ household. Travis was constantly harping me to hang out and play Xbox with him. Chase and I never had any alone time because there was always someone around. Go figure.

  Maybe Mom was underhandedly responsible for our lack of alone time. Regardless, it was driving me batty. We were living under the same roof and I was having Chase withdrawal. It made no sense. You think I would be sick of him, not his cousins.

  Currently, I was dodging Lexi’s attempts at a makeover. Not how I wanted to spend my Saturday, being Lexi’s real life Barbie doll. She was relentless, but so was I when I wanted to be.

  “Can I take a rain check?” I asked. “I’m actually looking for Chase.” I also didn’t want to hurt her feelings. We were living together, sharing a bathroom; I wanted to stay on her good side—no demon.

  She regarded me closely before her perfectly pink lips twisted into a devious grin. “I’m sure you are,” she said in a voice that implied something sinister.

  I gave her a screwy look. “I’m not sure what that is supposed to mean.”

  “I imagine that with your weirdo bond you should be able to track him down. But tomorrow…” she wiggled her navy blue nail at me “…you are getting a much needed transformation. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

  And that was a problem for another day. “You got it,” I assured her, crossing my fingers behind my back.

  I took the stairs two at a time in my rush to get away from Lexi’s beauty clutches, but mostly I was in a hurry to see Chase. We were going to spend the whole damn day together even if I had to deadbolt his bedroom door and barricade it with a dresser. I wanted a solid day, undisturbed with some quality lip locking.

  Was that too much to ask for?

  I stepped into his bedroom—big, filled with bold color and the gleam of rich furniture, and clean as a whistle. Chase was in the alcove, with his shirt off and his back glistening in a light sheen of sweat. Shell-shocked, I watched as he worked the muscles in his arms, doing some kind of tortured pushup. As if he needed to workout.

  My mouth watered.

  Ay caramba!

  There might have been drool, and my mind definitely turned into a puddle of mush. Any embarrassment that might have been there initially was momentarily forgotten. It felt like I had just been shocked with a bolt of lust. My whole body was buzzing as a shaky gasp of surprise escaped.

  His pierced brow shot up. “Are you going to just stand there and slobber?”

  What a shameless ass. Leaning on the burgundy wall for support, I knew it wasn’t long before my knees gave out. “As a matter of fact…I am.” That sounded way more breathy than was intended.

  Damn him.

  He smirked. Pushing to his feet, he grabbed a white towel and wiped beads of sweet from his brow, pieces of dark hair were plastered to his face. I would have given anything to be that towel. “How did you manage to avoid both of my cousins?” he asked.

  I blinked. “What?” Did he say something? I couldn’t take my eyes of his abs. Not when I was dying to touch—taste. Abs that yummy had to be scrumptious. And oh so distracting.

  His grin widened.

  On wobbly legs, I took a step forward and another, unable to stop staring at the trail of dark hair that dusted below his belly button and disappeared into his waistline. My brain was on a one-track mission. “Can we not talk right now?” I asked when I was standing close enough to feel his heat.

  Starting from the top, I ran the tip of my finger down his chest, watching his eyes flash. Seeing him affected by my touch made my blood spiked. And just like that, I was all over him.

  Fastening my mouth to his lips, I feasted on the exotic, sinful taste of him. One hand dove into his slightly damp hair, and the other was trapped between our bodies as he robbed me of air, occupying it with a deep kiss. It was glorious. From the moment we laid eyes on each other, desire pumped into the room. He felt it. I felt it. It was undeniable. Yet I still sensed his surprise when my lips closed over his. But his shock didn’t last more than a breath, and then he was as caught up as I was in the kiss.

  Weaving his hands into the back pockets of my jeans, he tugged me closer. I gladly slipped my other hand into his hair and pressed against him. Our bodies curved together while his lips devoured me, and his hands molded my butt, squeezing.

  He swallowed the sound of my moan, darting his tongue along mine. I ran my fingers over the back of his neck, down his shoulders, until I reached that splendid stomach again. Those tight muscles jumped under my nails, and it was liberating. I could not believe how much I wanted him.

  Right.

  Now.

  Maybe it was because we hadn’t seen much of each other the last week that it made me desperate for his touch. Maybe this was long overdue. From the first day we met, there had been an irrefutable spark. We could only tease and deny one another for so long before needs overruled logic.

  I kissed his stubble-roughened cheek, loving the feel of the pulsating vein at his jaw under my lips. With fingers that were steadier than my trembling insides, I started to inch down the hem of his basketball shorts, revealing lower abs cut like steel.

  “Hey, slow down,” he whispered against my mouth.

  Slow down? That was the very last thing I wanted to do. Pulling back, I stared into his eyes of pure fire. “Don’t do this to me,” I pleaded in a husky voice I barely recognized as mine.

  “What?” he asked as if he didn’t know what I wanted.

  “Get me all worked up.”

  Dark strands of hair teased his temples. “Angel,” he said.

  Jerkface.

  His voice alone was sending tendrils of need coursing through me. “Save it,” I snapped. “I don’t want to hear anymore bull-crap.”

  He gave me a killer grin, defusing a large part of my irritation. “I wasn’t going to.”

  “Oh.” The look he gave me had my blood racing and my heart rate skyrocketing.

  He nibbled on my neck, and I loved the feel of his teeth scraping against my speeding heart. Arching, I gripped a handful of his silky hair, holding those lips right where I wanted them. On me. “If you even think about stopping, I’ll kill you,” I murmured, just to make sure he got the point.

  “That’s romantic.” But even as he said the words, there was a gleam of gold shining in his eyes. “There will be no going back. It can’t be undone.” His fingers were at my hips, keeping me in place, not that I was going anywhere.

  Thank heavens.

  I brushed the pad of my thumb across his bottom lip. “I don’t want to go back, only forward with you.”

  His eyes flashed. “You’ll be mine,” he said in a possessive growl.

  Yes! Yes! Dear God yes!

  A smile touched my lips. “How many ways do I have to say it? I’m already yours. You are all I want.” And it was a two-way street—he would be mine. That thought made my blood boil and my heart trip. In words that sounded like a vow, I said, “I choose you. Today. Tomorrow. A hundred years from now, I will always choose you. In life and in death—I only want you. No person, no demon can take that from us.”

  He placed twin kisses on each of my eyelids. “Angel Eyes,” he said in part plea, part moan. “You must be crazy.”

  Crazy?

  Probably, but we were both nuts. “I’m thinking if you don’t kiss me, I’ll murder you.”

  His lips curled. “That is the second time you have threatened to kill me.”

  “And I am sure it won’t be the last,” I promised.

  He toyed with the button on my jeans. “I love you.
”

  Hearing him say the words warmed me to my very core. With a feather soft touch, I traced the intricate lines on his hip, lifting my gaze to his. My breath caught and in a heady whisper, I said, “Then show me.”

  “Hmm,” he murmured, nuzzling my neck. “I plan on it. And, Angel Eyes…”

  “Yeah.”

  There was humor in his tone. “Your eyes are glowing blue.”

  Did he really have to tell me that now? I didn’t want to think about my freakish attributes and the fact that they might be heightening. He was damn lucky he covered my lips with his when he did. And what a kiss. His lips shattered me into oblivion. I could only imagine what the rest of the night was going to be like.

  Leaning into his embrace, our bodies contoured like a glove, as if we were made for each other. And, in all honesty, if I were the kind of girl that believed it destiny, I would say that Chase was fated to be mine. A deep vibration rumbled in his chest as he changed angles, intensifying the kiss. The next thing I knew, he was lifting me up. More graceful than I’d ever been in my life, I wrapped my legs around his waist and sighed when his lips reclaimed mine. I held on for dear life.

  With speed that dropped my heart, he had me on the bed with his lean body looming over me. Our combined weight sunk into the fluffy mattress, and my stomach did funny backflips. So many things were in store for me tonight. Chase was my first love and my last. I knew that before the evening was over, I was going to be different. And not just because of the bond.

  His hand stole across my midriff, and the heat from his touch scorched through me. With impatient fingers, he pushed up my shirt, and I was surprised the fabric didn’t burn right off. There was an immeasurable amount of electric current flowing through his bedroom. The tip of his fingers skimmed just under my breast, and my eyes flew open and my lips parted. Watching passion storm into my eyes, he swore under his breath, his own eyes swarming with desire.

  In one quick fluid movement, my shirt was over my head and recklessly discarded. I might have heard ripping of material, but the state of my clothing couldn’t have been further from my mind. Ribbons of blue light sparkled behind my eyes, and the demon mark at my hip tingled from the inside out.