“Yes, and they were delicious. In any case, my question is this. What happens with us?”
“Eh?” Gabriel frowned in confusion.
“Well, there won’t be any need for us all to work together, will there? Certainly not something big, like there has been in the past, since the beginning of the century. What next?”
“Oh. Well, we won’t kill you, you won’t kill us. I guess some of us sort of like you and the others, though some of us never will. I don’t see why we can’t call on each other when other things crop up. We know that something will—there’s always ego in humanity, in the monsters and others. Shit happens, as they say.”
Adramelek canted his head to one side. “So we’re still allies but also cautious friends?”
“Cautious friends. I like that. Aye, why not?”
Adramelek extended his hand. “It’s a good start.”
Gabriel took it and they shook. “Aye, that it is.”
“I see your beloved is glowering at me,” Adramelek said as he released Gabriel’s hand, “so I shall let you go and soothe his furrowed brow and go and speak to Lily.”
Gabriel snorted, amused. “I’ll do that. Have a good chat.”
“With that young lady, that is guaranteed.” With that, Adramelek sauntered off.
Gabriel turned and made his way up the beach to Michael. Michael was indeed glowering and his brow was certainly furrowed, and Gabriel reached out one hand to lightly touch Michael’s forehead.
“What are you doing?” Michael asked, shying away from the touch.
“Soothing your furrowed brow. Stop frowning, Mishka. It’s all good.”
“What were you speaking of to Adramelek?”
“The future. The truce is in place, and he wanted to know where he and his stood. I said that some of us liked ’em, some didn’t. I also said that ego being what it is, no doubt something will come up in the future, and we’ll all need to work together again. And then he suggested that what we all had was a cautious friendship, and I agreed, so we shook on it.”
Michael blinked. Gabriel could see that was not at all what his lover had expected to hear. “I see,” Michael said. “I confess, I thought the worst.”
“What did you think he was saying to me?”
“I thought he was trying to tempt you from me,” Michael said in a shame-filled little voice.
“Oh, Michael.” Gabriel pulled Michael into his arms and hugged him. Then he kissed the top of his head. “I love you very much. No one is ever gonna tempt me away from you, not ever.”
Michael sighed softly against Gabriel’s chest. “As you say,” he said. “Gabriel, could you….”
“Oh. Right.” Gabriel let go of him. “I forgot about you not liking public displays of affection.”
“It is all right.” Michael smiled. It was a small smile, almost shy. “I am trying to do better.” He reached out and took Gabriel’s hand.
“Dear heart, you’re already perfect to me,” Gabriel said, raising their joined hands and kissing the back of Michael’s.
“Flatterer,” Michael said.
“Not even a little,” Gabriel replied. He turned to look over the party going on around them. “I’m glad to see everyone’s so happy,” he said.
“Indeed. I feel almost buoyant on their emotions,” Michael said. “It seems to me as if there has been a great lack of such unbridled joy in the last one hundred years. I did not realize until now just how much I had missed it. I can see that Lily is smiling and it is a genuine smile. Riley is with her, he stays close to her. Angelique told me that she feels they will start dating, and I confess that I am pleased to hear that. I feared greatly that Lily would never completely recover from the tragedy of her loss of Danny.”
“Riley and Lily, eh?” Gabriel watched the pair of them as Lily laughed and lightly poked Adramelek’s shoulder, obviously enjoying a joke with him. “Well why not. They look good together. And he knows about her pain, so he’d be damn gentle with her.”
“Language. And that was my thought as well. I am also glad to see that Max and Minnie are here—they are there, sitting with Aleithia and Tommy and talking with Lyudmila, Piotr, and Eleanora.”
Gabriel looked in the direction Michael had indicated. “Aye, I reckon that little group will get on very well. A strong friendship will be formed between them.”
“I thought this too. We are one in our opinions this evening.”
Gabriel grinned. “Aye, we are. So,” he stepped back and gave Michael a courtly bow, “would you dance with me, Michael?”
As if on cue, slow swing music began to play, and several couples got up to dance on the damp sand. Michael looked for a moment as if he were going to refuse and then he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.
“I would be honored, Gabriel.”
Gabriel took Michael into his arms and they began to dance, moving as one, gracefully going through the steps of the dance as both of them drew on their memories of older versions of it from older, just as terrible, wars, wars that would never be forgotten by the two of them.
“In honor of the beloved dead,” Gabriel murmured against Michael’s cheek.
“As you say,” Michael said. “To the beloved and honored dead.”
When the song ended, there was a loud round of applause, and Gabriel bowed elaborately to their audience. Michael, he saw, promptly blushed crimson. Gabriel grinned fondly at him and reached out for his hand. Michael took it and Gabriel gently squeezed. “Shall we take a wee walk?”
“As you say.” Michael sounded relieved.
Gabriel led the way and together, they walked away from the party. There was a curve in the bay, and the headland beyond had a shallow beach. Once they’d reached that spot, they were perhaps a mile away from the main gathering, and Gabriel stopped walking and turned to face Michael. He cupped Michael’s face in his hands and kissed him, a sweet, chaste kiss. “I love you, Michael.”
Michael reached up to touch Gabriel’s cheek. His dark eyes shone with the light of the moon above them. “I love you as well, Gabriel.”
“Come swim with me,” Gabriel said.
Michael pursed his lips. “I will watch you,” he said after a long pause.
“Okay.” Gabriel gave him one more quick kiss, and then stepped back and stripped off his clothes.
“Put on a swimsuit,” Michael said.
“No.” Gabriel laughed at Michael’s shocked expression. “No one can see us here. It’s night now, it’s dark. And we’re a good distance from the party, so it’s all good.” Before Michael could scold him, he waded out into the cool seawater and didn’t stop until he was waist-deep.
It was a beautiful evening, he thought as he raised his head to look up at the moon, that celestial body of which he was the Archangel. He had so many titles, sometimes he forgot them all. He unfurled his wings, making them visible as he did so, and gave them a little shake, the long end feathers dipping into the cool seawater.
Gabriel wet his hands in the sea and then raised them to his face, dampening his skin and then his hair. And then he was not alone. Michael was there, still fully dressed, his expression one of possessive desire and love.
“Michael?”
“Hush.” Michael pulled Gabriel to him and kissed him, a hard and hungry kiss.
“I love you, and I love kissing you, but what brought this on?” Gabriel thought to his beloved.
“Sometimes, I watch you and you are just… you are so unaware of the effect that you have upon me. Your beauty, your soul, your… sexuality. You are raw passion, Gabriel, and as I watched you and saw you bathed in the light of the moon, I realized that you are my passion, my inspiration. You light up my life in ways I did not know was possible. I desired you greatly then, and now, and so here I am.”
“Oh.” Gabriel had no idea what to say to that. So he acted instead. He used his power to get rid of Michael’s clothes, sending the sodden mess back to the beach. He pulled Michael close, almost crushing him against him, and Michael growled, n
ipping Gabriel’s lip as they rubbed together, cool seawater between their heated skin.
“You are my light. My light who never goes out, who illuminates my heart, my soul and my life,” Michael thought to Gabriel.
“I ain’t a poet, solnyshko, but I love you with all that I am and all that I have. Always.”
“You are more poet than you give yourself credit for, da bao.”
Gabriel slid one of his hands between them to wrap around both of their cocks and he began to stroke them, using slow, firm strokes, rubbing the heads with his thumb. Michael moaned raggedly, breaking the kiss as he melted into Gabriel, his blunt nails digging into Gabriel’s shoulders as he held on to him, gasping and whimpering and trembling.
It was impossible to hold back with those noises filling his ears, with Michael’s hands on him, his body against Gabriel’s own, his hard cock in Gabriel’s hand, and Gabriel groaned as he kissed Michael’s cheek, the shell of his ear, his hair. Michael was rocking into him now, and Gabriel could feel how close he was, feel his own orgasm building. He flared his wings and at the same moment, Michael’s wings twined with his. As their wings slid together, feathers tangling, Gabriel let out a soft cry and came, and a moment later, Michael came as well.
“Gabriel,” Michael whispered, sagging into him. “My beloved Gabriel.”
“My beloved Michael,” Gabriel said. He stroked Michael’s hair with his free hand, not yet wanting to let go of their cocks. “I love you so very much.”
“And I love you more than you could ever fathom,” Michael said.
They stood together, bathed in the sea and the moonlight, listening to the sounds of celebration and joy carry to them across the water from the party down the beach. Gabriel could hear singing and laughter, and he could hear smatterings of conversation. Most of all, though, he thought, he could hear relief.
“I am very glad that we will have some respite from problems for a time,” Michael said. He stepped back from Gabriel a little and rested his hands on Gabriel’s chest. “It will be good to have some time in which to regroup and recover. My Venatores can train and patrol as they were meant to in times of peace, and you and I can spend more time together, learning about each other and exploring our island and, indeed, the whole of this magnificent planet. And perhaps we can finally have dinner at the home of Minnie and Max, as we have long promised them that we would do.”
Gabriel chuckled at that last. “Aye, that’d be good. They haven’t mentioned it since, but I know they’d love to host us. And maybe Uri and Raz, too. They all get along very well.”
“As you say. In any event, I will be happy to attend.” Michael smoothed his hands over Gabriel’s chest. “You are very handsome, da bao, and I would like nothing more than to stand with you here in the sea like this, but I fear we must return to the others before someone comes looking for us and discovers us as we are.”
“You mean, finds us naked after having had a quick sexy session in the sea?” Gabriel asked.
“Gabriel! It is improper to speak of this in such a way.”
Gabriel laughed and laughed. It felt good, and he hugged Michael tight, kissing his temple. “Oh, but I love you.”
“As you say,” Michael grumbled, “but such talk is still unseemly.”
“Okay. Well, let’s get out of the water before we prune, and we’ll get dressed and go back to the party.”
“As you say.” Michael pulled out of Gabriel’s embrace and took his hand again. He led the way out of the sea and Gabriel chuckled to himself, as ever, amused by his beloved’s foibles. They dressed quickly, after Michael used his power to dry his clothing, and then they returned to the party and the celebrations that were getting rowdy and more relaxed.
“Here’s to a good decade or so,” Gabriel said to Michael. “And an even better new century in fifteen odd years or so.”
“It seems I must get you a calendar,” Michael said. Then he smiled, a sweet, genuine smile and Gabriel’s heart melted. “But I agree. To a good fifteen years, and to an even better next century and beyond.”
“Amen,” Gabriel said.
“Gabe! Mike!” Raziel called to them. “Come and hear this! Hiwa’s got a great story about Ahijah falling into the lake in Brazil!”
Gabriel shared a look with Michael that was half amused and half indulgent. “Ah, the antics of our nephews never end,” Gabriel said.
“No. But they are good lads,” Michael said.
“Aye. I’m proud of ’em, even though we weren’t allowed to see ’em or anything for nearly forever. Now things are good.”
“As you say. Come, let us join the rest of our Brotherhood and listen to this tale.”
Gabriel gestured grandly. “After you, then, baby.”
Michael inclined his head politely. “Thank you.”
Gabriel couldn’t stop smiling. The future did, indeed, at long last, look promising. And that was all that he could hope for—that and his Brotherhood healthy and whole and happy, and Michael by his side as his beloved bond mate for life.
“Gabe, you’re as slow as a wet week,” Uriel yelled.
Gabriel laughed and sped up from a walk to a jog. “Sorry,” he yelled back, and went to join his Brotherhood in their joy and happiness.
Archangel Chronicles: Book One
You would never know it from his flamboyant lifestyle, but Gabriel’s not just the cheerful, fun-loving adoptive father of a pair of indulged young adult humans. He’s an Archangel, commander of Heaven’s legions of Seraphim, and despite his apparently easy virtue, he’s harboring a serious crush on his superior officer, Michael.
For years Michael has devoted himself to developing a team of humans, the Venatores, to aid in the fight against Hell. He’s been pining after Gabriel for centuries without hope, believing himself to be too serious to attract the other Archangel’s interest. He’s happy to discover that he’s wrong, but their burgeoning relationship is stymied by a major problem: an egomaniacal human is recruiting demons and fallen angels in a bid to take over the world. It’s up to Michael and Gabriel, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels, to beat back the forces of Hell before the Earth is overrun.
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Sequel to No Quarter
Archangel Chronicles: Book Two
Seventy years after it began, the war between angels and demons is over. Archangels Gabriel and Michael reunite at last, but a dangerous new challenge stands in the way of their happiness: someone is kidnapping angels and selling them as trophies on the black market. When Raphael, Archangel of Healing, goes missing, his tearful lover joins with the Brotherhood of Archangels and their lieutenants to rescue him.
Without Raphael’s healing touch, disease spreads quickly through the world’s human population. The situation only worsens when the angel Agrat is kidnapped: the number of sex crimes begins to rise and her husband, Gabriel’s lieutenant, loses himself to his grief. As they mount a rescue mission, Gabriel and Michael’s relationship will be put to the test. With the threat of the world dying around them and tragedy looming overhead, can Gabriel and Michael keep love and hope alive?
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Sequel to No Surrender, No Retreat
Archangel Chronicles: Book Three
Newly bonded Archangels Michael and Gabriel are torn from their idyllic island retreat by the singing of hymns heralding stunning news: Gabriel’s ancient foe, Semjaza, has escaped from his prison in the stars and now seeks revenge and utter conquest.
With the wisdom of Archangel Raziel to guide them and help coming from the most unlikely of quarters, Gabriel and Michael join with the Brotherhood of Archangels to hunt Semjaza down and finish him once and for all. Because Semjaza’s return to Earth doesn’t threaten just Gabriel and his loved ones—it threatens the whole of humanity.
But even more danger lurks in the shadows, threatening the Brotherhood from within. If Gabriel and Semjaza finally face each other in single combat, will Gabriel survive the contest, or will Mi
chael lose his one true love?
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Sequel to No Shadows Fall
Archangel Chronicles: Book Four
Archangel Gabriel is hoping for a quiet period in his life to enjoy his relationship with Archangel Michael, but someone has other ideas.
New dangers arise when the Holy Grail is stolen. Gabriel, Michael, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels and their allies must somehow thwart the twisted desires of the thief.
Their search for the Grail takes them all over the world, calling on old friends like Uriel and Raziel, and forging powerful new alliances. Though they face a fresh set of perils in pursuit of the thief, the enduring comfort Gabriel needs so much, that of his beloved Michael, never abandons him.
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Sequel to The Wind-up Forest
Archangel Chronicles: Book Five
The thief of the Grail has been identified and the Brotherhood of Archangels is moving to counter her evil machinations. But as demons flock to the side of the thief and betray Hell, monsters are enslaved and shifters and an angel turn traitor. The love between Gabriel and Michael is tested as they join the rest of the Brotherhood on the trail of Naamah. Danger makes strange bedfellows in the form of Lucifer, the Archdemons, and Lilith.
A traitor lurks among the angels and humans, and the Venatores are discovering vital new information. Lovers Liam, a Necromancer, and Baxter, a shifter working for Michael’s Venatores unit, must face not just the living but the dead. Archangels Raziel and Uriel contend with demands on Raziel’s power that wear him to the brink of exhaustion. The Brotherhood will need all their strength to prevail against the threats surrounding them.
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Sequel to The Crystal Lake
Archangel Chronicles: Book Six
Gabriel and Michael, hand in hand and leading the Brotherhood of Archangels, the Venatores, and the Archdemon Guild of Glass Knives, march into the mouth of madness to retrieve the Holy Grail with the blessings of both God and Lucifer. They cross dimensions and battle for the future of all realities: Heaven, Hell, Earth and Purgatory.
A Candle in the Sun Page 22
