AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Clive, may I give your number to a friend of mine? When she’s ready, I think she may need some company.”
“Does she work with you?” He looked uncomfortable, shooting an embarrassed look at Zaqiel.
“No.” I tried to keep my smile reassuring. “I just think she’d like to meet you.”
Zaqiel had insisted he carry me to my apartment and then further insisted I drink a glass of water. But slowly,slowly.He scolded me as though I couldn’t look after myself, with a constant frown plastered on his face as he watched me drink.
“Do you want a shower?” he asked.
“Are you offering to join me?”
His eyes shot to mine, having been watching my hands as he ran his thumbs across the inside of my palms. His eyebrow cocked, and there was a spark to his eyes that was instantly replaced with concern.
“Evie…”
I laughed. “Relax, will you? You can wash my back.”
“You’ve been through a lot, and I don’t feel you’re coping with this grief.”
Taking his face in my hands, I planted a kiss on his lips that left his eyes darting between mine. “I’m not an idiot, Zaqiel. A lot of fucked-up shit has happened. I’ll deal with it, but later. Right now, I just want to enjoy this moment with you.”
“Because you’re scared it won’t last?”
The smile fell from my lips.How did he know that’s what I was thinking?“I—”
He grabbed my wrists and gripped, almost painfully. “I mean what I said before. I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’llnotleave you again.”
I allowed myself a small smile, kissed him again, and stood to make my way to the bathroom. He was immediately behind me, his hands hovering around my waist, ready to catch me if I swayed or fell. His proximity was reassuring, although I still grabbed onto the towel rack out of instinct rather than falling against him, not used to having his presence so close to protect me.
I chuckled to myself because I’m sure, in no time at all, I’d be so used to his presence I wouldn’t want to live without him.
The childish part of me wanted to stumble, to feel how quickly he could move, how fast his hands would grab me and hold me again to make sure I was okay. I got the feeling he wasn’t going to let me out of his sight ever again, that he’d spend every day making up for everything, and I would too. I also realized if I wanted to touch him and be touched by him, I didn’t have to pretend to fall. I could simply turn around and touch him because he’d be right there.
So, I let myself feel safe with him. I let the guard down and realized I’d have to try to remember who I was beyond it.
He slid a steadying arm around my waist as he reached past me to turn the shower on, lightly swatting my hands when I went to remove my clothes, I obediently lifted my arms so he could slide my top off. When I flinched with the exertion to my shoulder, he frowned again. Kneeling in front of me, he slid my pants down, tapping the inside of my ankles until I stepped out of them as I rested my hands on his head to balance myself. As he stood, the vulnerability surged in me. Here I was, naked in front of this man, who beyond the fact that physically he was an imposing figure—tall and sculpted— he was an angel.
A literal fucking angel.
Should I be panicking or freaking out? Should I be questioning my place in this world, my mortality, and what exists beyond this Earth? But all I could do was focus on his eyes and know that I knew the man beyond the supernatural. I could deal with the rest later.
The strength I noticed when we first met, I imagined it was only part of what he was capable of.
I wondered if he was strong enough to hold me up and fuck me as he hovered above the city, those big, beautiful wings of his beating against the wind.
He could kill me in an instant or hurt me by accident even.
There was strength in the vulnerability, I think, in allowing myself to be vulnerable with him, letting him see the part of me that had been peeking through my inner darkness with increasing insistence since we met. It was as though, because my whole life I had been hiding behind a mask of false bravado and indifference, now that I was exposed as only human, it was too much.
Invigorating but too much.
I trembled slightly as he touched my shoulders, and he rubbed his thumbs across my skin before lifting my chin with his fingers. That concern was still written on his face. I imagined it was an emotion he usually didn’t allow himself to show, and I was honored he was willing to show it with me.
“Are you going to get naked too?” I asked, very aware of my nudity as I took him in, still in cargo pants, boots, and a t-shirt.
“Later. Let me wash you now.”
Nodding, I took his hand as I stepped over the edge of the bathtub and under the warm flow of the shower, lifting my face into the water and allowing it to wash away the day. But more than that, allowing it to wash away the months and years, and every moment up until now because none of those moments mattered anymore.
