The Forsaken(44)

Nat knew it was on the tip of her tongue to throw even more curse words at him but she wisely refrained.

“We are as different as night and day,” she said.

“There you are wrong Izzy. Night and day merge to be one every day in a blessed show that touches everyone in this realm. We are that. You are my day.”

“I’d rather be your night. It’s got more of an edge to it.”

Nat chuckled, allowing the reach of his fingertips to roam higher. He wanted her to claim his lips again but knew she wouldn’t.

Casually, she adjusted her head and looked at him. “So you plan to stake your claim here? Is that it?”

Nat seriously hated when she used her business tone of voice. She is challenging me. “I would have come with you. Let me join you in your fight.”

“Are you saying you’d let your b’i? fight?”

“No,” he sputtered, knowing that’s exactly what he had said. She made him flustered and that annoyed him.

“I thought as much, and Nathanael you might have said the binding words but I will not acknowledge them.”

“You dare deny the words I have said with the blessing of the Almighty?”

“No…no, it’s just that, I am…”

The tip of her tongue held the word unworthy, and Nat knew it. Gently, he captured her chin with his hand. “You are more deserving, more worthy than any Cherub or Seraphim I know. It is with my honor that I have claimed you. You wear your scars like a warrior. I am proud of you, Izzy for all you have done. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

He captured her lips, sealing her refute to his claim. Nat took his time, willing her to relax into his hold. When she did give into the kiss, flames licked his lips. Izzy wasn’t gentle with her want and that suited Nat fine. He allowed her to take over, allowed her to dominate the kiss, her lips grasping his own with a fever he thoroughly enjoyed. Their breaths mingled, hot puffs of air drawing up to the heavens, outlined against the cool of the night. She slid her hand around his head, and let her fingers play with the bristly hairs on his nape. Everything she did felt like heaven.

A resounding clap knifed through the air around them, instantly sending Nathanael’s senses into a tailspin.

“Seriously, get a room.”

The deep voice slithered along Nathanael’s skin. He didn’t need to turn around to know a demon stood in the alley with them. Nor did he want to expose Isabella. Tucking Izzy to him, he willed her to remain quiet.

“Let go of me,” she commanded, attempting to push him out of the way.

“Yes, do let her go, Seraphim. She has an urgent errand to attend to for me and it does not please me that you delayed her with your lust, which might as well have been a beacon for all my demons. Didn’t know angel lust could be so colorful. Good thing I stuck around to ensure your safety.”

The cold of the night did not penetrate Nat’s heart like the demon’s words.





Chapter Fourteen


Izzy clutched Nat’s dress coat tighter around her. She ignored all her sisters, who cast worried glances her way, to beeline to her bedroom. She longed to hop in the shower but that had to wait for another time. She’d put off facing Nathanael, not liking how he’d looked at her after what had transpired between them in the alley. They walked home in awkward silence. She hadn’t cast one glance his way, even though the longing to see him ate away at her. Conflicting emotions surged through her. She should have stopped his kiss. She hadn’t.

“You let that demon live.” His voice, rough with barely suppressed anger, ticked her off.

So did you. She barely nodded. “I need a few minutes of privacy.” She didn’t wait for his approval. Instead, she yanked out a new shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, new panties and a bra, and then marched with her obvious bundle into the bathroom. Rinsing her face with hot water, she took a second to look at herself in the mirror. I look the same, but inside everything has changed.

Something special had bonded them and it would hold for eternity, no matter what she told him. She wondered if he felt the same. Highly doubtful. The cold reality of how fast she’d let her control slip with Nathanael shocked her. Izzy liked to think she was beyond her Cherub teachings but a desperate part of her longed for even more fulfillment from him. Giving in to that tempting desire would cement their relationship even more and that couldn’t happen because she had no intention of ever leaving her sisters.

No one warned her that the longing to be with him would leave her doubting her sanity or questioning her independence. Being with Nathanael felt natural and right and while he offered salvation, she couldn’t accept it. Then again, why would anyone warn her she’d feel like this? Maybe it was another curse leveled at her by the Mistress.

The hot water on her face renewed her. Izzy dressed quickly and then strode out, knowing she had to confront Nathanael. Not liking what she had to tell him, she squared her shoulders. Time to get it over with.

“Care to tell me what you and that demon talked about?”

The question caught her off guard. Nathanael breeched the space separating them to grasp her by the shoulders. That one contact curled her toes.

“That was no ordinary demon,” said Izzy. Nathanael released her to pace around her bedroom like a caged idiom.

“Do you honestly think I am an idiot? I know exactly who that was.”