Fallen: An Angel Romance Page 7

  She shook her head slowly. “Not really. Daydreaming was dangerous. Still is. That’s how you get upset with life and angry with your reality. Spending hours locked in fantasy wouldn’t put any more food on the table. It was a harsh lesson, but I learned it early. I didn’t have a choice.”

  It was a sad way to live life. Alex knew that even though he never had the experience of growing up as a human. Oh, he had the fake, implanted memories the Court had given him when they exacted his punishment, but he hadn’t explored those fully, and there was no guarantee they would outline a typical upbringing.

  “So when you were younger you never had a dream job? Astronaut? Fire fighter?” Those were the typical ones, weren’t they?

  She sighed. “I guess when I was little, I wanted to be a doctor. I don’t think it was out of a genuine desire to be one, but that was around the time that Mom was diagnosed with cancer for the first time. I would have given anything to cure her. I was scared that she would leave me forever and then I would be all alone. That came true, but at least she held on until I was an adult before she passed away.”

  Zara took another gulp of wine, but this one wasn’t for the pleasure of it.

  Good job, Alex.

  Being millions of years old didn’t gift an ability to avoid making an ass out of himself. He’d wanted to learn more about her, and he’d ignored the conversational warning signs she’d set out. He would have to work on that.

  He reached across the table and took her hand in his, looking into her eyes. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  He couldn’t say anything else to make it better, and she didn’t appear to expect him to. Alex bit his tongue to avoid making the situation worse.

  They sat together like that, a long moment in each other’s company, comfort granted from sharing pain with one another.

  An odd sensation tugged deep in Alex’s torso. At first he thought it was another new emotional reaction, but the push was low and insistent, rapidly growing to an urgent need.

  It took a minute to piece together what was going on. For the first time in his long existence, he’d begun sustaining his body with food and water. His mortal body had processed the fuel in the way mortal bodies do, and he needed to take care of it.

  He considered holding it back, but he was scared of the potential consequences.

  “This is bad timing, but I have to excuse myself,” Alex said. “I’ll be right back.”

  What a silly system, waste interfering with important moments.

  At least he knew Zara was safe.

  Alex washed his hands, bemused.

  That is a strange sensation. I don’t get why humans are constructed the way they are.

  Mortal considerations made for a conflict of purpose. An angel’s penis is used only for sex, an organ dedicated purely to pleasure, as it should be.

  Well, this is my new reality. I must test out this body’s capabilities at some point.

  He’d love to run it through its paces with Zara. The feelings that had overcome him while watching her drink wine earlier had awoken his body to its potential, and it had become difficult to lock them back into the box they’d come from.

  Alex fantasized about Zara for a few moments as he washed his hands. He was slowly growing more comfortable with the idea. As an angel, there had been no point even entertaining the thought, but he was now a mortal.

  The High Court didn’t exactly sit me down and explain the rules before they sent me to Earth. It’s not my fault if I sleep with a human and it’s against their intentions. If they wanted those limitations put upon me, they should have said something.

  He wondered what she would look like when he entered her, how her crystal blue eyes would widen and look into his as he gave himself to her and took what he needed in return. The image hung in his mind, perfect.

  Wait. What am I doing?

  Why had he suddenly launched into thoughts of ravaging Zara? He was supposed to protect her, take care of her and make sure that nothing bad happened to her. He wanted to find out more about her, not pin her down and…

  Stop!

  A wave of anger washed over him, rising quickly and sharply out of the usually calm waters of his mind like a tsunami.

  Zara made him feel strange. His thoughts were bouncing all over the place, and it was her fault. He should just push her away and never see her again. It would serve her right if the Dark mages got her. She thought she deserved the attentions of an angel? Ha!

  It was her fault he was stuck in this limited mortal form. He should be free to soar over the Earth, able to use his powers to their fullest extent for the glory of the Light. If she weren’t so helpless, then he wouldn’t have had to rescue her and receive the punishment from the High Court.

  I could just leave the restaurant. Slip out without returning to the table and leave her to sit there wondering where I went. She’d have to deal with not being able to pay the bill, and that would serve her right.

  He’d be glad he’d never have to see her again, would never…

  Wait.

  Never see Zara again?

  Alex shuddered. Where were these thoughts coming from? They rose in response to the waves of anger that pushed through his body. Just like the lust that had filled him moments ago, the anger had seemingly come from nowhere.

  Dark mages.

  A certain kind of mage could project feelings onto others, riling people up and making them more susceptible to their baser instincts. It was a violation of the highest order, influencing decisions and injecting poisonous behavior into someone who would never otherwise act according to their anger, or despair, or lust.

  Once he made the connection, Alex could observe the emotional states that crept through him like insidious snakes, sneaking into his mind and nudging his thoughts to more extreme patterns, encouraging him to make rash decisions.

  But why was this happening right now?

  His stomach lurched.

  They’re here for Zara.

  God, this wine is good.

  The velvety liquid rolled through her mouth. She savored it, not caring how it would stain her lips and tongue.

  Worth it.

  Alex didn’t seem like the type to judge if she had wine-stained lips. Hell, he’d ordered the bottle of red. He’d already been so kind to her. If he kept this up, she’d be so far in his debt she’d never escape.

  The thought wasn’t as repulsive as it should have been, and that frightened Zara. She’d lived her life according to her mother’s lessons, and part of that was avoiding any entanglement with a man who might try to take control of her life and remove her autonomy.

  I can’t let myself fall for him. Not like this, not this quickly.

  A lump grew at the base of her throat, a ball of terror that crept through her. What was she doing at a restaurant with a man she’d met only two nights ago? She barely knew anything about him! She couldn’t trust him.

  The lump grew, spreading and infecting her thoughts. Despite the wide expanse of the restaurant, she grew claustrophobic, chafing at the invisible chains Alex had been throwing on her.

  All of the worst fears she’d been pushing back fought loose at once, spinning through her mind until she couldn’t focus on anything, just the overwhelming sense of panic that overcame her.

  I need to get out of here!

  Zara’s breaths came in short gasps as she climbed to shaky feet and headed for the exit. Shadows at the corner of her vision threatened her, making her jump and look around with short, jerky motions.

  She passed a couple engrossed in an intimate conversation who looked at her with first annoyance, then concern. In her panicked state, Zara’s mind saw them as a danger.

  They want to hurt me, her mind whispered. I need to get out of here. It’s a death trap!

  By the time she got to the front door, she was close to a run. The hostess stared at her, dumbfounded.

  The open air outside the restaurant helped to quell the terror that had swamp
ed her, but only for a moment.

  Run!

  Her mind screamed at her, danger on all sides except for one. The danger took no tangible form, but she knew it was there. If she stopped to think, it would catch her.

  Zara broke into a sprint, charging up the street until she came to a small alley. It looked safe, and she ducked into it, her breath coming in gasps as the exertion of her escape caught up to her.

  Safe. I’m safe now.

  The terror receded, so she slowed to a stop. As suddenly as it had overcome her, it faded away, leaving her standing in the alley, chest heaving.

  “Why did I run out here?” she asked. Confusion filled her as she looked around. Why had she thought running into a random alley was safer than being at the restaurant with Alex? She had concerns about the way things were going, but in an excited way. She’d never had a relationship. Alex might represent someone worthy of changing that if she could trust him.

  And she trusted him for now. He’d never given her a reason to doubt him. Why did she run away from him?

  A door opened behind her, and a hand grabbed her arm before she could fully turn around.

  “I’ve got her,” a low, gruff voice said. “Let’s get out of here.”

  The terror this time felt much more organic.

  “No!” Zara shouted as she struggled to break the man’s grasp. His hand was strong, and a sharp pain pulsed from where he gripped her. “Get away from me!”

  “Shut up.” A hand struck Zara’s face, the stinging impact tossing her head to the side and giving her a new influx of pain to worry about.

  Her head rang, the blow making her eyes water and interfering with her ability to struggle as she fought to regain control of herself. Her vision blurred, making it difficult to see what was going on, but it appeared as though there were three dark shapes around her.

  No, four.

  One of the men stood back from the others. Zara didn’t get a good look at any of them, still reeling from the hit.

  Despair swamped her, the emotion overriding everything else and sapping the strength from her limbs. What was the point of fighting this?

  “Zara!” The voice rang down the alley and the men froze.

  Her heart leapt into her throat. She’d recognize that voice anywhere.

  The malaise that had settled around her made it difficult to act. She wanted to call for help, ask for Alex to save her, but it all seemed so pointless. He couldn’t fight them all back.

  Low curses surrounded her as the dark shapes wheeled to meet the incoming threat. The man who’d been standing apart was now too far from the protection of his fellow captors, and Alex’s tall, powerful form barreled into him, taking him to the ground with a vicious crunch that echoed down the alley.

  As the man’s head hit the ground, the despair thwarting Zara’s ability to think and resist was abruptly cut off as if a switch had been thrown.

  Alex pushed himself up and gave the still form another elbow before climbing to his feet.

  Three against one. Not good odds, but better than they’d been a moment before. The four men faced each other, neither side looking eager to make the first move.

  I’m just watching. I need to help him!

  The man who’d grabbed her arm was watching Alex. They all were. He wasn’t paying attention to the woman at his side.

  Big mistake.

  Growing up in the midst of oppressive poverty had taught Zara certain lessons she would never forget. One of those was how to defend herself. As a tiny woman, she had to pick her battles against larger men.

  The big equalizer was the element of surprise.

  Careful not to use any big motions or cause any sounds that might attract her captor’s attention, Zara lifted her leg, finding her balance before stomping at the man’s knee.

  She connected with a heavy crunch, and the knee bent sideways in a way it wasn’t supposed to. The man gave a strangled yell and collapsed to the ground.

  Zara didn’t wait for the others to figure out what just happened, leaping from behind them to race toward Alex.

  “Let’s go!” she shouted, tugging his hand and pulling him behind her until he turned around and caught his momentum up with hers.

  “Good job,” he said. She chanced a look at his face—it was grim, his mouth in a straight line as they sprinted down the alley back toward the street.

  The men behind them gave chase. Zara didn’t dare look, but judging by the sounds of pursuit echoing in the narrow space, they were close behind.

  “Left,” Alex said under his breath as they neared the street. The less help they gave their pursuers, the better.

  They rounded the corner into a nightmare.

  The street had disappeared except for the single streetlight above them on the sidewalk. It wasn’t just dark—it was as if there was nothing there at all. It looked like a black, impenetrable curtain had been drawn around the area immediately surrounding the alley.

  “What the hell?” Zara asked.

  They’d come to a halt in the center of the pool of light cast by the streetlight.

  “Dark mages,” Alex said through gritted teeth.

  She looked at him. His eyes darted from side to side, examining the darkness as if looking for a key that would unlock that gut-wrenching blackness and return reality to the way it was supposed to be.

  “Dark mages?” her voice cracked. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Alex gestured at the nothingness beyond their circle of light. “They can summon the Darkness in the same way you can summon the Light. I hope you can do that again because that’s our only chance.”

  Her mind struggled to process what Alex said. He’d pulled her back with him to set their backs against the building next to the alley. The two men chasing them had finally caught up, bursting free onto the street and pausing for a moment before spotting Zara and Alex pressed against the cold brick.

  “You know about that light?” Zara hissed to Alex under her breath. “What is going on?”

  He shook his head. “No time. I’ll tell you if we get out of this.”

  The two men had been joined by four others who stepped into the circle of light through the darkness. Their feet appeared first, followed by their hands and then their torsos and heads. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie, like characters coming through a portal.

  Thoroughly outnumbered, Zara felt the terror returning. More and more, she was coming to the realization that there was more to this than she’d thought. The first attack couldn’t have been a random mugging or kidnapping attempt. And it hadn’t been a hallucination from a knock to the head.

  “Stay behind me,” he said, his voice a whisper. “Run if I can give you an opening.”

  The men edged closer, and Alex stepped in front of her before she could say anything.

  What would she have said? They were out of options. She couldn’t do anything to help, she was just a liability, and it is her fault they were in this situation. If she hadn’t run from the restaurant and into danger like that…

  One man lunged forward, and Alex grabbed his arm, pulling him off balance and driving his elbow into the man’s face. Bright crimson fountained forth, streaming down the man’s face as he fell back and disappeared into the blackness.

  No. What had Alex called it? The Darkness.

  He’d given it special emphasis, as if it were an entity.

  To Zara’s eyes, it was like the man ceased to exist, but she could hear the thud as he hit the ground out of sight.

  She mentally cheered at Alex’s quick counterattack, but the move had left him extended, and there were still five others—too many for him to handle. Several of the men leapt at him at once, seizing the opening to grab hold of him and haul him to the ground.

  They kicked Alex, using full, powerful strikes and stomping at his exposed limbs. He curled into a ball to protect himself, arms held over his head and face, but the assault was furious and came from every direction.


  “No!” Zara shouted. Somehow, she had believed Alex would save them, would find some way to get them out of the situation. Instead, she watched as he took endless abuse.

  Two of the men didn’t take part in the beating, instead coming toward her with wary eyes and arms outstretched to either side. She didn’t have an opening to get away, and she couldn’t leave Alex even if she did.

  Unable to escape, she watched him with horror. He’d stopped struggling, his arms sagging to the ground and his body limp. Still, the attackers piled on the punishment, paying attention to every part of his body as though trying to break every bone he had.

  Tears streamed down Zara’s face. Numbness had overtaken her, and she didn’t even react when rough hands took hold of her arms on either side.

  “No…”

  Chapter 5

  The hands on her arms tugged her away, but Zara barely noticed.

  Her focus was taken by the man lying in a bloody heap on the sidewalk. The scene was surreal—an island of light occupied by a prone figure being kicked and trampled by several men. Visually, nothing existed except for the stark reality of the situation in front of her.

  And I can’t do anything to help.

  If it hadn’t been for Alex, she would have been taken by these men two nights ago. Now her savior was experiencing a beating beyond anything she’d ever seen. It was sickening.

  She couldn’t do anything. She was helpless…

  Wait.

  Alex had chased off her attackers and been there when she’d woken up, but she’d put up some resistance, even if it was instinctual. That flash of Light that had come from within her had pushed the men back and even seemed to hurt them.

  Alex’s words came back to her. They can summon the Darkness in the same way you can summon the Light. I hope you can do that again, because that’s our only chance.

  The numbness within her faded, anger took its place. Rage at these men and the way they were hurting Alex, the way they came into her life and threatened her. They deserved to pay.

  They deserved judgment.

  Zara’s mind crackled, whipped into a frenzy as though making up for the lethargy she’d felt for the past five minutes. A place deep within her shone, pulsing with light, and she reached for it, pulling it to her and squeezing it.