[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
He d been a part of heaven s ranks his entire life and had never felt
loyalty to any other entity, even himself. However, if it came to
Madigan s welfare, he would fall, he was sure of it. For the first time
in his existence, he had something that was more valuable to him than
any tie before. Their bond was everything.
Michel let out a snarl that sounded so inhuman the fine hairs on
Dex s body stood on end. Threatening Michael s angel wouldn t bode
well for their enemies. Let them try. He bit off the sentence. I
should ve gone to hunt them once everyone was back. Azrael has a
few sins to answer for that I would fucking love to make him regret.
Cross s arms circled Michel s waist from behind. Enough,
Michel. I don t want to hear such anger in you. Release it or else it
will become poison in the blood.
Dex knew Cross was right, but he didn t know if Michel really
had it in him to give up the rage that seemed to be consuming him
lately. Once they got to a safe place, they all needed the opportunity
and time to heal. Dex felt emotionally battered from the conflict, and
Angel Kin 45
they were all reacting like they were still in a combat situation. PTSD
was a bitch.
Be strong for us, Michel. Our Madigan is holding it together
better than we are. We re supposed to be his strength, not the other
way around, Dex said.
Michel took a deep, shuddering breath as if casting off the anger
was physically painful for him. I know. I just& I love you guys, you
know?
Dex certainly did. It was one of the things that helped him hold
himself together when he really wanted to fall apart. Yes, he was a
warrior. Yes, he d been trained for combat. But, the reality of what
failing really meant had never hit home before. He d been more than
willing to give up his own life, but Madigan s life? Cross s life?
Yuri s life? Unacceptable. Why had he never considered this when
he d agreed to take on this mission? These men were everything.
I know, Michel, Bren said, going to stand in front of the blond.
It was odd watching them interact lately. The tension that usually
came with one of Michael s choir and one of Lucifer s choir working
together was absent since they d truly bonded. It was a beautiful yet
fragile truce that Dex hoped would continue. Though with Bren s
smart mouth, it was only a matter of time before he was picking a
fight again. Of course, that mouth had been decidedly less biting
lately. The somber attitudes of the house had affected them all.
It s amazing that we can accomplish anything. Cross s stern
voice cut into an impromptu cuddle session. We need to stop acting
like lovers and start acting like the soldiers we are. Our sole purpose
in coming here is to protect Madigan and keep everyone safe. Our
weakness has been our feelings for one another.
Bren turned hurt eyes in Cross s direction. What the hell does
that mean?
It means that we need to stop whatever this is. One of us gets
their feelings hurt and we all jump up to comfort. We ve lost the hard
edge that made us warriors when we became lovers. Cross was about
46 Jana Downs
to get his ass in a crack, and Dex watched helplessly as it grew wide
enough for him to fall in.
So what? We go back to being just comrades-in-arms or some
shit? Michel snapped, pushing out of Bren s embrace. We re all
supposed to bond together, remember? For Madigan.
It s a selfish desire on our parts. We can delay this& affection, if
we choose to, the redhead said stubbornly. Yuri said that it didn t
have to come right away.
Well it did! It did fucking come right away! Can you really go
back, Cross? Do you really want to? Bren snarled, advancing on
Cross until they were chest to chest.
Here we go, Dex thought, closing his eyes to block out the image
of his lovers fighting. Dammit. Damn this whole situation. I just want
everyone to be happy.
No, I don t want to go back, but I also don t want one of us dead,
either! Cross was shouting now, something Dex was sure came from
the stress of the situation.
We re dead either way, Cross. I d rather die happy, wouldn t
you? Bren s words cut to the core of the thing, piercing Dex in a way
that made the desire to clutch his chest in pain come at him like a
wave.
You call this happy? Cross asked bitterly.
Shut up! Dex shouted, unable to take the spiraling moment a
second longer. Just shut the hell up already! I can t take anymore!
He squeezed his eyes tight as the pulse in his temple pounded. This
was too new to fall apart so soon. This was all too much on such a
fragile bond. They hadn t even had enough time together to learn one
another s favorite ice creams. He d been alone his whole life. He
didn t want to go back to that.
Masculine hands touched his chest, forcing his eyes open almost
against their will. He looked down into Michel s eyes. Bren stood at
one side, Cross on the other. God how he loved the touch of his
men&
Angel Kin 47
We re sorry, Dex. Just a little stressed out, and I m not sure how
to deal with it. Cross spoke for the group, a look of pain on his face.
We re all shaken up by what has happened.
I know, Dex said.
Then you know that things can only get better from here. Fuck
waiting until Thursday. We ll leave tomorrow, first thing. Everything
about this place screams danger to me, and I won t risk our
relationship over something as stupid as a few days time. Cross
leaned in and kissed Dex s lips. It amused Dex that he had to lean
down slightly in order to give him the kiss he wanted. Times like this
made their few inches of difference in height more noticeable.
Let s go get Yuri and Madigan and have them come lie down
with us before supper. We can break the news to the Fallen and his
nephilim when we go down to dinner. We ll use the rest of the night
to rest up and start fresh. Michel s suggestion was a welcome change
from his earlier attitude. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]