Meet you at the 1st Ave Diner?
Remi:
Late, but yes. Midnight. Get Jude fed and rested in case he needs to use his powers.
That sounded ominous. I glanced at Angel, and we shared a nod. We needed answers, and I wasn’t about to hide in the corner hoping it would all be over. But that gave us a few hours to prepare, me to study, and to find the safest place to hide my kid brother in case the worst happened.
38
The problemwith Angel’s studio apartment was the lack of privacy. Even the bathroom gave us no pretense of reprieve, and I really didn’t want to kick Ivan out. My kid brother deserved to feel safe and at home.
Angel wanted to snuggle and nap, even while I browsed the grimoire until I could barely hold my eyes open. Rest and recharge, sure, but I thought maybe Angel and I needed more than a nap. And kissing him stupid in front of my little brother wasn’t an option.
A knock on the door jolted me awake. My heart raced in my throat as Ivan answered it. The guy on the other side was one I didn’t recognize. Young, maybe early twenties, with dark hair and a genuine smile.
“Can I bring Peanut Butter?” Ivan asked. Whatever else was said between them, I’d lost in my doze. Angel, a warm, solid weight against my back, didn’t tense.
“It’s Luca,” Angel murmured in my ear. “Xavier’s PA.”
“Oh.” I’d heard the name before.
Ivan popped over to the bed, staring down at me with a hopeful expression. “Can I take Peanut Butter upstairs with me to Xavier’s office?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s safe, right?”
“Perfectly safe,” Luca promised, still carefully standing just inside the doorway. “Lots of wards and guards. But we have a lounge area with a gaming system and a comfortable place for Ivan to work on homework or read if he wants.”
“You guys can rest until your thing tonight,” Ivan offered carefully. “Without me in your hair.”
A pang of guilt shot through me. I never wanted him to feel like a burden. He must have seen it on my face because his expression softened.
“It’s okay,” he said, lowering his voice. “This place is a little small for all of us. Solve this case, and we can go home, yeah?”
Home. The word hung in the air, a promise and a goal, as he scooped up the cat and slipped out, granting us the one thing the apartment couldn’t provide, a moment alone. Luca left a key on the counter and closed the door behind them.
The silence that followed settled over me like a thick, warm blanket. I began to doze, lulled not by tiredness but by a profound sense of comfort and safety. Angel breathed against the back of my neck, wrapped around me like a weighted blanket, soaking me in his scent and adoration. I could have died in that moment and found myself in heaven, wanting to return to the perfection of his embrace.
Was it too soon? Would he run away? The words were at the tip of my tongue, a truth too big to contain.
“Angel?” I whispered, heart in my throat, worried, but desperate to tell him even if it meant we shattered. I had to know.
“Hmm?” He hummed into the back of my neck.
“I love you,” the confession left me in a rush. “I know it’s soon, and a lot, and I’m… well, me.”Fuck, should I apologize?He mated with me, which he knew meant he’d be stuck with me. But love was more, right? Emotions carried a lotof baggage, and I’d been shoving mine in a dark corner for a long time, trying not to trip over them. “I’m sorry.”
The silence stretched for a few seconds, though his embrace remained solid. “You’re sorry for loving me?” he asked.
“Sorry you’re stuck with me,” I corrected.
He huffed out a half laugh and kissed my ear. “You get that we are in this together, right? It’s not all about you or me. It’s about us.”
“But I’m a lot.”
“Sometimes, sure. But aren’t we all?”
I rolled over to meet his gaze and stare into that beautiful face of his. “I love you. Just fair warning, I’m pretty sure I’m doing it wrong, so you'll have to tell me when I fuck it up.”
Angel’s smile was soft. He leaned in and kissed me, a slow, deep kiss that tasted like promise and forgiveness for mistakes I hadn’t even made yet. When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against mine and let me breathe him in.
