by Maggie Mundy
Ridge moved closer and touched her face, his fingers trailing over her lips. A tear flowed down her cheek for what might be the last time in her life. He shook his head and for a moment Nicole thought his eyes were watering too.
“This is most unfortunate. You should have put her in stasis,” the angel said.
They were not the tinkly words Nicole expected, or wanted to hear. How about, ‘Ah, sorry. Oh dear, the poor weak human I threw across the room is in pain?’
“It’s imperative you leave and return to Earth with her. We will inform you when another guardian is available.”
The tinkles changed to rumbles again. It didn’t matter as she would be dead soon. Dead, she would be able to find out everything she wanted to know about angels and demons.
Ridge turned away from her and let out an angry growl as he faced the angel. “What do ya’ mean, return with her? I save em’ and that’s when my part of the deal ends. I can’t protect a human without an Angelic attached. The Demonics will be after her like bees to honey.”
Yes, definitely a growl. If she could have made her lips work she would have said, “Woof, woof.” She doubted either of them would appreciate her humor at this point. This wasn’t funny. She must be becoming delirious.
“There has never been a death in Pergor, we will not allow it. You will return with this human. She is dying. We require you leave.”
“She’s dying ‘cause you hurt her. What if I don’t agree to take her back?”
The white glow surrounding the angel took on a red hue as he raised a hand in front of Ridge’s face. It seemed she wasn’t the only one struggling for breath. Ridge clutched at his own throat but managed to get his words out. “I request to speak to her guardian, Mira. As the Midworlder ordered to protect her human, I’ve the right.”
“You broke the rules and forfeited such a right by bringing her here not in stasis. It is your fault I needed to take this measure.”
Nicole was surprised she’d lasted this long. The ice-cold feeling encircled her neck like a hangman’s rope. Everything became hazy as Ridge’s voice echoed in the distance. The wall relinquished its grip on her and she fell into his arms. She inhaled his scent. Cigars and an overpowering muskiness. She never thought earlier she would find his aroma so reassuring.
“I’ll be back,” Ridge called out as he held her close against his chest.
“I can’t go without Mira,” Nicole whispered as she cradled against his body for warmth. “She knows the answers.”
“You can’t do a darn thing if you’re dead, honey. I ain’t lost anyone before, we’re leaving.”
His warm breath on her cheek made her turn towards him, their lips so close. She wanted to fight and to stay and find Mira, but didn’t have the strength anymore. Her head rested against his chest so she could hear his reassuring steady heartbeat.
She needed to live and find out what the hell was going on. If Mira wasn’t dead but in trouble, then she needed to find a way to help her. Ridge could help.
She took a slow, painful breath and listened to the sound of wings flapping before the darkness closed in.
Chapter 5
Unwanted Mate
Nicole awoke in a bed, and for the first time in over a year it wasn’t her bed. She wasn’t alone. Even in the darkness she guessed who was next to her. Two things in particular hinted at her longhaired rescuer. The erection pressing into her back, and the vise-like grip from his arm around her middle. She assumed from the sound of cars and a fire truck’s siren they were back on Earth. She should be jumping up screaming and yet she just wanted to yawn and stretch. Ridge must be using mind-melding Prozac on her.
She remembered last night up until the point where her body had frozen from the feet up, and Ridge said they were leaving. She also recalled him saying Midworlders couldn’t touch humans sexually if they didn’t have a guardian angel. The comment obviously didn’t include him being naked and cuddling up in bed with someone. At least he had left her underclothes on her.
“You can let go of me now,” she said.
“Ugh, what?” Ridge mumbled as he rolled onto his back and switched on a bedside light. He turned to her and smiled with a cheeky grin. He pushed his hair back from his eyes and stretched out his body, which was muscled, well-formed, and incredibly sexy.
From the cocky expression on his face he wanted her to look. She did, and tried to control the hot sensation growing deep inside her. She hadn’t had sex for a long time, but she still remembered the throbbing. He must have sprinkled her with supernatural pheromones or something because near death experiences didn’t usually have this effect on her.
“Good, you’re alive. Sense you’re irritated, confused, and aroused.” He reached out and touched her chin with his finger. “Expected the first two, but admit I’m surprised and pleased at the latter. Nice to know I still got what it takes.” Flinging back the sheets he rolled out of bed. “If you’ll excuse me, little lady. I need the bathroom.”
She watched him walk away. To be truthful she couldn’t draw her eyes from him. He might have saved her but she still didn’t trust him, and with the way her body was heating up, she didn’t trust herself. Even naked he moved with confidence in every step. His hair hung loose over his shoulders covering the top of intricate tattoos. The tattooed wings stretched down his back, over his buttocks and down to his knees and were the only sign left of the large wings from the night before. He got to the door, glanced back, and winked.
Nicole had no intention of being undressed when he got back. She needed more than a cotton sheet and her underwear between them to hide the heat coming off her. Scanning the room she wondered if they were in a hotel or if this was his place? So much for getting a new apartment. Everything appeared neat and tidy to her, and not particularly lived in apart from her clothes. When she finally spotted them she shook her head in disbelief. They hadn’t been ripped off and thrown on the floor like she expected, but folded neatly on a chair next to the bed. The thought of him undressing her was somewhere she wouldn’t let her mind go.
The folded clothes didn’t match the womanizer Ridge gave the impression of being. Sitting on the edge of the bed she managed to get her jeans on before she heard the toilet flush. The door opened as she grabbed her sweatshirt.
Ridge sauntered back in wearing a robe, but didn’t glance her way. Nicole continued dressing as he opened the curtains. At least his Southern gentlemanly behavior was asserting itself. He gave her the courtesy of keeping his gaze averted. Eventually he sat on the end of the bed looking towards her and tapping his fingers on his knees. Was he contemplating what to do next? Nicole sat with her back against the pillow trying to keep some distance between them. Folding her arms across her chest and crossing her knees she stared straight back at him.
“We need to talk about last night. How much do you remember?” he asked.
This was good. This was businesslike. She could cope with this even if she didn’t want to recall last night. Running away screaming wasn’t going to help, even though the idea had lots of appeal. Where would she go anyway? Her hands hurt. She gazed down and saw nail indentations in her palms where she clenched her fists. She took a deep breath.
“I remember everything apart from how I ended up in bed with you.” Why was she bringing that up? It just brought back pictures of his body again. “I think it’s best if that little scene doesn’t get repeated. We should keep our distance from each other, and keep our relationship professional till we sort whatever’s going on here.”
Ridge shook his head at her. “The sensations you’ve been throwing off since we woke up aren’t professional, well not in the way you mean professional.”
The heat of a blush rose up her neck from a mixture of guilt and desire, especially if he could sense it. “I’m willing to listen, only because I don’t get what’s going on.”
“That makes two of us,” Ridge said as he pulled his hair back in a ponytail. “And I didn’t touch you up. The only reason you were in bed with me was to save your life. You were like an ice block. You can’t blame me for my body. I react like all males of your race when I’m next to a beautiful woman. Plus it’s morning.” He winked and smiled.
Why couldn’t he have a lisp instead of speaking with his sexy Southern drawl? That voice of his created pictures in her mind of pulling him into bed and having incredible sex, and somehow she knew it would be incredible. She needed to think rationally, but it wasn’t easy when he called her beautiful. It wasn’t something that happened often, except with Ben. She convinced herself long ago she would never want to hear it again, but wasn’t so sure right now. Her heart beat fast and the throbbing was returning again.
She grabbed the pillow from beside her and hugged it to form a barrier between them. “I think this situation is complicated enough without us bringing sex into it. And the fact you can read my mind totally freaks me out even more than the other stuff going on.”
“I can’t always read your mind unless we’re real close, but I sense your feelings.” He leaned in closer and lowered his voice as he gazed into her eyes. “At this moment the words cold and frigid aren’t the way I’d describe you. You’re body has so much contained passion it looks like it could explode.” His forefinger lightly touched her lips tracing their shape. “Your need is so enticing. You may not believe me, darling, but I’m trying to be a gentleman here.”
Nicole held her breath until he moved away knowing what he said to be true.
“You’re also throwing out a shitload of emotional pain. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to help with the desire, but I can’t touch. Much as I’d like to, which means I can’t help much with the emotional pain either. You’re not crazy or abnormal either. When Midworlders are close to humans there’re side effects and our sexual thoughts kinda leach out.”
Nicole stared down at the pillow. She needed to look at anything other than Ridge, his body, and those blue eyes. Taking a deep breath she went into work-mode where she could focus her thoughts on the task at hand.
“If I’m going to protect myself I need to know what’s going on.” She glanced up to see him move away and purse his lips as he studied her. He obviously wasn’t convinced she could protect a fly, or maybe she was still oozing out sex.
He stood up and strode towards the door. “I’m gonna get a scotch.”
“Scotch for breakfast, I haven’t done that in a while. Do you think it’s a good idea after last night?” She used to have a drink with the cops back in Australia when she finished a night shift, but that was years ago when she was younger.
“Drink it or not, it’s up to you. You’re gonna need something to cope with what you’ll hear.”
Ridge returned with a bottle of Chivas Regal and half-filled their glasses. She didn’t want to drink it but she thought she was dying earlier, so this might be her last drink before she really did. Taking a gulp of whiskey she coughed, but enjoyed the warmth when the amber fluid slid down her throat.
“I’ll put it so you can understand.”
She glanced at him over the rim of the tumbler and raised an eyebrow. If he thought his condescending attitude was going to help, he was wrong.
“In the world I come from we’ve two dominant races, Talarians and Cahirs. We’ve another race, the Relin. What you’d call servants. On Earth the first two races are known as Demonics and Angelics. Up there they don’t mix but they do mate with the Relin, the result is a Midworlder. Sayell’s the result of a mating between a Demonic and Relin, and I’m a result of an Angelic and Relin. Midworlders try to protect the people of Earth, and watch after our own guardian angels. Most of the time it stays pretty much equal. Sometimes one side gets ahead. Midworlders try to keep the balance.”
Nicole tried to process what he said but her head just went into a spin, and it wasn’t due to the scotch. “So let’s get this right. You’re saying angels and demons don’t exist and you’re all a bunch of aliens, but there are still good guys and bad guys?” She shook her head at the thought he believed what he said made sense. The fact was nothing about the past twenty-four hours made sense.
Ridge finished his scotch and reached for the bottle, offering her some more. She shook her head. He refilled his glass and took a healthy mouthful.
“The whole demon, angel stuff is what humans built up around us. Admittedly Sayell’s team isn’t exactly friendly. My lot can be a bit righteous as well.”
Nicole’s head throbbed, she massaged her temples but it didn’t help. “You said Mira’s Sym contacted you. What’s a Sym?”
“The Talarians and Cahirs have symbiotes in them. Relin and crossbreeds aren’t suitable for symbiotes. Can’t say it’s bothered me much. They enable the guardians like Mira, to come to Earth and attach their essence to humans. The Sym’s also mean the two races can communicate with us over vast distances. Midworlders don’t have symbiotes. Instead we’ve been genetically modified so we could physically come down here.”
Ridge appeared calm but her stomach turned at the prospect this was all true. It was like a movie trailer for the next science fiction blockbuster. “So what happened when we went to Pergor? How come you couldn’t get me a new guardian, and is Mira really alive still?”
“Not getting a replacement is a first. Mira, being alive isn’t such a big issue. It was only her essence here. You seeing her all the time ain’t usual, but it’s happened with others. A human blowing stuff up with their mind is a whole other ball game.”
Nicole hugged the pillow even tighter like it could protect her somehow. “I knew being able to see her wasn’t normal, but I never imagined it would lead to this. I’ve been able to see her for the past year since I lost my husband, Ben. She kept me going. I didn’t want to tell a doctor, because they might give me treatment and she’d go away. The only person I told was Ben’s younger brother, Peter. Oh my God, I forgot. He’s hiking this weekend. I need to contact him. He’ll think I was killed in the explosion when he gets back.” Nicole’s chest tightened and she could sense the panic rising at the thought something would happen to Peter. Ridge reached out and touched her arm.
“If you know where he is I’ll get one of my men to fly up tonight and watch him till he gets back.”
Nicole was about to ask about Sayell, and why he wanted to get her pregnant, but there was a knock at the door. The person on the other side didn’t wait for an answer.
A tall young woman with short blond hair entered. Nicole gazed at the deep blue leather pants and top she wore. They must have been poured on. There wasn’t an unsightly bump anywhere. The woman came over and stood next to the bed. She pursed her lips and wrinkled up her nose as if she smelt something bad when she peered down.
She turned back to Ridge. “I checked your bedroom, Kerry’s still asleep. I assume you want me to get her a taxi later. And while I didn’t think double dates were your thing, I didn’t hear Kerry screaming with pleasure last night. She’ll be back pestering the bouncers if you don’t do her.”
Ridge stood up and laughed. “Sara, meet Nicole, she’ll be staying a while and she’s not my date.” Ridge downed his drink.
“Funny, Boss. Usually a female, a bed, and you equals sex. Just saying.”
Nicole shook her head at the comment. Who did this woman think she was talking about her like that? Just because Kerry usually screamed all night, didn’t mean she would do the same. Okay, so at this moment she would pretend to forget her erotic thoughts of earlier.
Sara stared at her and glanced around the room. “I can’t sense the presence of a guardian. Come on, Boss. You know the rules about screwing the unprotected.”
Nicole stood up and threw the pillow aside and glared at Sara. “I’m here you know. It would be nice to be invol
ved in the conversation, especially when you’re saying I had sex with him, which I didn’t.” Sara might work for Ridge, but it didn’t give her the right to be rude.
Ridge stood in front of them. “Nicole, I’d like to introduce, Sara. She’s a Midworlder like me. She is also the manager of my club. The one we’re above at the moment.” He turned to Sara. “They won’t replace Nicole’s guardian. She’ll be staying here until an Angelic comes up for the job. And yes, we did spend the night in bed together, and no, I didn’t touch her. Well, just enough to defrost her.” Ridge turned and winked.
He needed to stop doing that. Nicole held out her hand and even though they had been introduced, Sara ignored her completely and turned on Ridge.
