Hands clasped at his back, the angel remained like a statue—a very tall statue—and continued perusing the place.
“What are you looking for?” She rolled the can over her other cheek. “Dust mites? You’ll find some under the couch.”
He didn’t respond.
“So, an angel, huh?” If she had to spend an undetermined amount of time with him, the least he could do was entertain her. Nan had always maintained that a little honey went a long way.
“What do angels do when not keeping us mortals safe, huh? Fly over Earth, see where demons are causing trouble? Wait, it’s only demons you guys hunt, right? Say, do angels have homes? Families? Can you even have kids? Or, are you all like monks, celibate and boring?”
“You talk too much.”
She bit back a smile.Yay, score one for me.“Yep. Word vomit helps me cope with strenuous situations…” Her eyes narrowed. “You! It wasyouI crashed into in the street last night when I ran for a cab?”
“Yes.”
So, he’d been searching for her?
The doorbell rang.
Frowning, Nia set her soda down and pivoted to answer, only to find her way blocked by a big body.
“Christ!” She glowered, craning her neck to look at him, still not used to how fast he moved. “You scared the heck out of me!”
“You should be more careful.”
“It’s my friend Zayn—” She brushed past him, but he grasped her arm.
A zip of electricity shot through her at the skin contact. Nia pulled free, all her nerve endings tingling.
“You don’t know that,” he said as if nothing happened, but his fingers clenched.
She rubbed her arm, trying to rid herself of the eerie sensation. It didn’t hurt; if anything, it made her more aware ofthis cold angel.Nope, nope, nope!She tugged her sleeves down. “I know because I can sense demons.”
Another harder rap, and she hurried off, unlocked, and threw open the door.
“Zayn!” she cried at the sight of sanity.
Dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, her friend’s frown vanished. A smile lit his handsome face. “Hey, beautiful. Whoa. Saia mentioned the change. If I hadn’t known, I would have scored a date from you or at least bagged your phone digits,” he teased, raking back his overgrown, cinnamon-brown hair.
Nia huffed and hugged him, still thrown for a loop at her odd reaction to the angel. “I don’t date anyone who tried to convince me mudpies were a food source by eating one when we were five.”
“Fun days.” He laughed, embracing her. “Anyways, your knight in shining armor is here.” With a hand on her back, he ushered her back inside and shut the door.
Zayn’s eyebrows lifted when his gaze lit on Lore, who’d already taken up his post near the window again. “Who’s the flaming-haired statue?”
Nia pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t laugh.
He must have heard about the angel. But she loved that Zayn didn’t let the sight of a heavenly being intimidate him. “Oh, that’s Lore, sent to protect little ol’ me from all threats unknown, great and small.” She met Lore’s impassive stare. “This is?—”
“Zayn. The light of her life.” He threw his arm over her shoulders.
Nia snorted and lightly smacked his back.
He grinned, giving her a little squeeze. “Some coffee, please, Nia, love. It’s been a damn long day.”
“Coming up.” She slipped into the kitchen. He followed her, then snagged her soda from the counter and gulped some of it. “Never mind, this will do.”
Used to him always eating her food, she let it pass. He opened the cupboard where she kept the snacks and raided her stash of Oreos.
