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What was I, a dog that followed commands? He could be a little less of a dick about it.
Diana, could you please come back from your time-hop? I think you’re at the playground in Brooklyn, right? I saw you both in the bushes that day,Zaz said. I switched my gaze to him, and as if on cue, I saw the past version of him raising a brow at me.Fucking great. I can’t get anything past these assholes.
“The guys know we time-hopped, and they’re super mad. Azazel just saw from the bench, by the way.”
Angie looked over at him, peeking her head around the bush. He rubbed his temples with his hand in frustration after he saw her. “Shit, angel-boy caught us. Let’s get back before we see us.”
I held her hands again, focusing on her suite in the present day. The trip didn’t feel as awkward as the first time. Traveling forward in time was much easier than traveling back. When I arrived, five angry men and a very concerned looking Nonna stood in Angie’s room, frowning at us.
Bash’s face was beet red, and his veins blackened around his face. His swoon worthy midnight eyes turned black, and I had the feeling he was beyond mad at me. Actually, all the guys except Azazel looked furious. Desmond sat in a chair, rubbing his face with his hands in frustration. His horns were out, curled around toward the back of his head.
“What were you thinking, taking off like that without telling anyone? Do you know how dangerous time travel is, Birdie? You have assassins and dangerous people after you… and you thought your secret time-hop escapade was a good idea? Your magic isn’t developed yet–you need training! You acted foolishly and could have hurt yourself and your aunt with your reckless behavior!” Bash was one decibel down from yelling.
His growly, disciplinary tone, paired with his posh British accent had the opposite impact on me than he intended. It just turned me on.Seriously, I gotta get him to scold me more often, my undies are wet as fuck.Who knew I had a punishment kink?
“Yeah, it was dangerous. How did Azazel know where she was?” Desmond inquired. He didn’t seem mad, per se, but frustrated. “If you knew she had time-hopped there, why not stop her beforehand?”
“Diana and Angela not going back in time could have altered the original timeline. So far, I’ve only ever caught them time-hopping together that one time, so it wasn’t hard to assume where they were,” Zaz calmly explained. “And I know how it feels to miss your family. I wasn’t an original guardian angel…I was given the choice to become one after I died in my human life. So I’ve been there. They were safe and inconspicuous about it, and I knew they left for the present without doing damage. The risk seemed minimal to me.”
“Thank you, Zaz, for being so understanding,” I said, peering up at him from under my lashes and sniffling, trying my best to sound like I was upset.
Bash was way more likely to let this go if he thought I was about to run into Azazel's arms like a hurt little girl. If I could get Ares on my side, too, I bet I could get this all to go away by tomorrow night. Manipulative? Yes. But I had no time for them to ruin this for me. I just saw my mom and wanted to enjoy it.
“Diana Stella Madonna Rossi, don’t you dare play that game. All five of them are smart enough to see through that shit,” Nonna reprimanded me, cutting me down to size as she glared at both of us. “Angela, you know how dangerous that was; they explained it to us while Diana and Malcolm were away. What the fuck were you thinking?”
She waved her hand, and both of us screamed. A stinging pain hit my ear, as if she flicked it.That witch pulled my ear. She just treated me like a five-year-old in front of my boyfriends.
“Tell them, Nonna! I can’t believe you did this, after we spent days worried about you already. I know what it feels like to miss your family, and if you had told me about it ahead of time, I would have gone with you to keep you safe.” Ares’ disappointed tone riled up my guilt, cutting me deep.
I didn’t think about the fact that Mal and I had just returned from being MIA earlier that day, nor the fact that I went missing for a month before that. We just really wanted to see her, damn the consequences. I made them worry about me again, and that was a shitty thing to do. I fucking hated feeling guilty; it was like sitting in a wet puddle and having to carry that grossness around with you all day until you dried off.
“You’re right. Next time you can come with me,” I agreed. Even though I knew I was wrong, I didn’t want to apologize, because I didn’t regret going to see my mom.
“There shouldn’t be a next time. Time-hopping is too dangerous,” Bash huffed. He inhaled deeply, and his nose crinkled as he frowned. He glanced around the room again, seeing the empty bottle and mini bottles. “You were both drinking. You time-hoppedintoxicated?” he rhetorically asked. His voice was raised, and the black veins in his face throbbed. He reminded me of a teapot, except he was tall and lean, and if I tipped him over with one more misstep, he’d pour a shit-ton of piping hot anger on me.
“Okay, how about we all calm down, go to our respective rooms, and talk about this tomorrow?” Mal chimed in. “I don’t think Bash throwing a tantrum–where he’ll most likely say shit he doesn’t mean and piss Diana off even more–is going to help the situation.” I smiled at Mal, because I was really digging this ride or die level of support. “Oh no, don’t smile at me like that. I’m not happy about this either. I’m diffusing the situation because I don’t feel like hearing you two go at it until you’re burning furniture to a crisp.”
Okay, then. I guess Azazel was my only ally, not that it really mattered. Sometimes I loved having a whole group of men who were obsessed with me and dicked me down like the world was ending. Other times, it was a pain in the ass trying to balance everyone’s feelings and expectations.Do I have to run things by five different people now? Am I expected to follow rules?If there were rules for me, were there rules for them too?
“Fine,” I tried to say without pouting, failing miserably. “I’m still sleeping here though.”
“Probably for the best,” Bash snapped. He spun on his heels, fading out.
Ares bent down to kiss my cheek. “I’m mad, but I still love you, Little G.” He faded out too.
Desmond nodded at me, following him. Mal hugged me, kissing me on my other cheek. He smoothed some of my hair off my face and gave me an awkward look. “I know you didn’t set out to ruffle feathers, princess, but you just pissed off a whole group of peacocks,” he sighed, scratching the back of his head. “I know you didn’t mean to, and you and I are fine. This will all blow over tomorrow.” That made me feel a little better. Mal really was trying to be supportive, even when I was a complete asshole.
Azazel waited for him to leave, before he sat on my other side and gave me a huge hug. He rubbed my back and waited for me to let go. He always knew what I needed, sometimes before I even did.
“How often have you watched me? I have a feeling that wasn’t the first time.” He was too skilled for that to be his first time.
“No, it wasn’t. Part of my job as your guardian was keeping an eye on you, being there when you needed me. I tried to be hands off, so you could have a normal childhood, but sometimes I had to keep a closer eye,” he vaguely explained.
“A few days before we took you to the park, your mom broke up with a warlock she had been seeing for a few months. She felt like something was off about him, and he didn't take it very well,” Nonna revealed. “He showed up at the house the next day and threatened her. Thank you, Azazel, for being there that day. At first, I found it creepy that you were with my granddaughter–you watched over her almost since she was born. But now I understand how perfect that is, especially with all the danger she’s in right now.”
“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t start having feelings for her until well after she turned eighteen. My feelings changed recently, and I don’t regret it,” he admitted. The declaration warmed my heart. He kissed me chastely on the lips, and stood. “Goodnight, Diana. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
“You’re fucked,” Angie laughed after Zaz faded out. “They’re all so mad.” She laid back on the bed, snorting with laughter.
