Page 26 of Angel I Am Not

He froze as she turned her attention to him, a piece of jerky hanging from her full lips. “Is this okay?” she asked as she crawled a little closer, leaning into his side.

Nick hesitated and then nodded, leaning his chin on her head as they continued to watch the show.

Yeah, this shit was becoming a little too domestic for me.

Ariuk had no idea what being mated to a demon meant, but I was beginning to think neither did we. Nick had spent yesterday glaring at her like she’d personally offended him by existing and now he had one arm around her waist like letting go might kill him. I wasn’t doing much better. Every time she laughed at the television, I wanted her attention pointed at me instead.

“You’re staring,” Nick muttered without looking away from the screen.

“So are you.”

His arm tightened around her. “Fuck off.”

“Let’s go for food,” I blurted out, feeling a bit jealous. I wanted to be on that couch right beside her but doing so would start another fuckfest and as glorious as that idea sounded, I needed a break.

Ari sat up a little, a smile overtaking her face. “Can we go to Pink Flamingo?”

Nick coughed, twisting her around to look at him. “How the fuck do you know about that place?”

Pink Flamingo was one of the few strip clubs around here and it wasn’t somewhere I had thought angels frequented. She shrugged. “I used to go there all the time for food. Well that place and one other.”

Oh, Ari had more layers than an onion, didn’t she? “I’d ask when the fuck you’ve been on Earth but I’m beginning to think you break more rules than follow them. Ari, no one goes there for the food,” I said, waiting to see her reaction. Had she really been waltzing into a strip club for food? Had she truly been that pure?

“It gets stuffy up there so I come down here for a breather.” She shrugged as if it was just that simple. That’s when I caught her blush as she sat up, sticking her hands between her thighs. “I also didn’t always go there for food.”

Nick burst out laughing, clapping his hand on her back. “You’re not all that angelic are you?”

Instead of taking it as a joke though, Ari popped off the couch, putting distance between her and Nick. “Don’t remind me how much I don’t fit in, alright? It’s bad enough being here, attracted to you two and not understanding what the fuck is going on. No, I know you’ve explained it. You’ve explained it a hundred fucking times but it doesn’t make me feel better about it. I like this—whatever this is but I shouldn’t. I’m an angel.”

Nick’s amusement disappeared immediately. “Ari, I wasn’t making fun of you.”

She folded her arms tighter. “Could’ve fooled me.”

I caught Nick’s eye before he could make it worse. For someone built around Wrath, he looked almost guilty.

“Come on, Ari. Let’s go to the mall and get you some clothes that actually belong to you, alright?”

She stared down at her clothing. “What’s wrong with these?”

“You’ve been wearing those for a day and there’s no telling how long you’ll be down here. We’ll just go for a walk, pick up some items and—” I paused, her eyes starting to glitter again. They were so fucking distracting when she got excited about something.

“Can we stop by Cinna Café?”

My gaze narrowed at the woman standing before us nearly vibrating out of her skin. She had been freaking out a moment ago and now wanted to go to a coffee shop. “Seriously? You’re an angelic caffeine addict? I love it.”

While all the other angels were most likely following rules and trying to fit in, Ari had been slipping down to Earth, chasing everything Heaven told her she shouldn’t want. The more I heard, the harder it was to believe Temptation had suddenly appeared when Dante got his hands on her. It had always been there. Heaven had just kept it buried.

“Right, we’ll stop by the café. On one condition.” Her brows raised as she waited for my demand. “You let us dress you.”

Nick finally looked away from the television. “Why the fuck do you get to pick?”

“Because I have taste.”

“You wear black every day.”

“And I look fucking fantastic in it.”

Ari’s mouth twitched before she finally agreed to my selfish request.