A little more composed, he faced her.
She swept her unbound, inky hair back, but the mass just fell forward again, framing her lovely face as she watched him. Those amber eyes still held a trace of desire, and his momentary calm was shot to pieces.
He clenched his teeth and fought to find the words for what he had to say. Another first.
When she wasn’t biting his head off or angry with him… No, despite all of these things, his draw to her was undeniable… He’d never before reacted this way to anyone.
“Is he the same as you?” she asked.
“No. Below.”
Her smooth brow furrowed. “There’s another level below a guardian angel? Not that I know anything about the angelic hierarchy.”
“What?” Then he shook his head, her comment registering. “I am not a guardian angel. I’m a Power.”
“Of course you are,” she huffed, a teasing sparkle in her eyes. “It sure sounds lethal.”
“Depends on how you look at it.” His gaze slid back to her lush mouth, still swollen from the kiss that had rocked his world and cracked his stoicism. Just remembering her taste, her tongue moving against his, and warmth rolled into his belly, tightening his crotch again?—
Stars!He forced his attention to the time-warped, faded, domed door. “I maintain the balance of the Celestial Realm. Eliminate any danger to it, along with other things.”
“Yeah? So why areyouguarding me, then? Isn’t that beneath your pay grade?” she teased. “I mean, calling in the big guns to watch over little ol’ me?”
And like a compulsion, his gaze returned to her smiling face, another emotion surging. Irritation. Did what occurred between them have so little impact on her?
He was never easily dismissed. Even when those annoying Guardians tossed out a taunt or two to rile him, they never dismissed him.
Chamuel might force his hand, but Lore had some fluidity—a tiny loophole given who he was—which the seraphs seemed to have forgotten. While he had to carry out commands, he could choose how they played out, which was why hebattledNia and allowed her to stake him in the chest last eve. The end result was what he desired—by retaliating against hisattack, she’d broken the order’s accursed hold over him. The only pain he regretted was hers.
“I am curious,” she said when he remained silent. “Because you seem on edge.” A slight head tilt let her shiny mane fall to one side as she studied him.
She totally misunderstood his edginess.
Just as well. He could never explain to her the extent to which he had already bent, broken, and dismissed rules since finding her. His life was governed by absolutes—right and wrong, black and white. But Nia was introducing him to all the hues of gray in between.
Nothing was straightforward anymore.
“It was a favor,” he finally said.
“You,granting favors?” She pressed her kiss-swollen lips together, but he could see the curve of her smile. “Wow. Michael must be eternally grateful to have someone like you doing menial work.” She strolled closer and leaned against the balustrade next to him. Her delicate scent swamped him, filling his lungs, along with a faint tantalizing musk that tightened his crotch again.
Her face tipped up, and she watched him, her irises glinting like gold coins between her lashes. He fought the impulse to caress the dent on her chin, to put his mouth back on hers and demand more of her tormenting kisses?—
By the dark stars! He had instinctively moved closer. They stood just a breath away. Fingers clenching, he put space between them, and her brow furrowed.
“I should have known,” she muttered under her breath, but he heard her. Aloud, she said, “Hey, it’s just a kiss. Don’t get your divine panties in a twist. If I had to take offense at every kiss ending as fast as this one did… Nah, that never happened.” She smirked, bracing her arms on the railing. “Guys love locking lips with me.”
Lore jammed his clenched hands into his pockets. “Be careful.” He kept his voice soft. “You fall again, and maybe I won’t catch you next time.”
“Then don’t.” She whirled off, yanked open the door, and disappeared inside.
Lore pivoted and gripped the barricade so he wouldn’t follow her and stared at the rolling green forest far below, where the river appeared like a winding silver ribbon, and tried to calm down. But he received no relief from the unfamiliar sensations gripping his gut like claws, refusing to let go.
Heavens! He had to get himself under control. If the seraphs found out, they’d kill Nia.
The granite guardrail beneath his clamped fingers cracked, the sound echoing like a warning. His jaw clenched.
She was an innocent, caught in the crossfire of their wars. She didn’t deserve death!
