Archangel (Black Reign MC #11)

Chapter Seven

Sonya

Fuck. Yeah. I’d run straight to Archangel. To be fair, I hadn’t planned on bailing and hadn’t been able to get an idea of my surroundings or the layout of the whole compound. And Black Reign MC had a seriously large compound area.

He leaned against the gate, one foot hooked on the bottom rung and an elbow resting on the top. The smug bastard looked bored. Unconcerned, even. While me? Yeah. My stupid insides were fluttering like freaking fairies had taken up residence.

Three other men hung out at the gate, obviously on guard duty. Their vests labeled them as prospects, but I didn’t know them.

“Hey, Angel!” I waved and smiled brightly when I really wanted to punt him in the balls and dart out the gate before he could recover.

“Hey yourself, little runaway. Pretty sure this is not where I left you.” He raised an eyebrow, daring me to contradict him.

“Yeah? Where, exactly, did you leave me?” If he wanted to play hardball, we’d play hardball.

The bastard didn’t even flinch. “Beside me, in my bed.” His gaze didn’t waver from mine and he didn’t speak quietly, but I was too busy gaping like a fish to form any kind of witty reply. Also, it was hard not to notice how the prospects all perked up and crept closer, obviously listening intently to the conversation now. “Uh-huh.” He grinned when I said nothing. “That’s what I thought. Come on, Sonya. Back to bed with you.”

“I can’t believe you said that!” Not what I needed to say, but that’s what came out.

“Oh? In that case, what lesson did you learn from our encounter?”

“That you’re a bastard?” I smiled sweetly at him.

“Not to bait me. You might find you’re the bait.”

“You realize what you said is on the way to Salvation’s Bane right this second. Right?”

“You mean, good news travels fast?” Archangel didn’t look the least bit concerned.

“You’re happy about that?” I know I looked like I thought he was insane. Because the man was totally insane !

“Your dad would have found out sooner or later.” He shrugged. “Might as well start as I mean to go on. I’ll never lie to him about you. I respect you both too much for that.”

“And what, exactly, is he finding out? That we slept together?”

“All of it, Sonya. And I wouldn’t keep our relationship from him.”

“Are you stupid or something?” I couldn’t believe this shit. “My dad will kill you, Archangel. Dead . No further questions necessary.”

“No, he won’t.” How could he look so smug at a time like this? And why wasn’t I panicking about my dad finding out about me and Archangel like I let on I was? Probably because I knew I was the only person in the world who could stop Thorn from doing anything he Goddamned well pleased. Well, me and Mom. So if I told him not to kill Archangel, he wouldn’t.

“You think not?” I gave him a skeptical look. “How do you figure that? And exactly what kind of relationship you gonna tell him we have? That we’re fuck buddies? Yeah. I see that going over reeeeally well.”

“Because --” He crossed to me and threw an arm around my shoulder, and guided me back toward the clubhouse. “You’re going to be my old lady.”

Of all the reasons I’d expected Archangel to name, me being his old lady wasn’t even in the top fifty.

We’d taken several steps before I could finally find my voice. “You really have lost your Goddamned mind.” I stopped moving away from the gate and freedom, planting my feet on the asphalt as best I could. Of course, Archangel tried to make me continue, but he didn’t force the issue when I refused. “What makes you think I want to be your old lady?” I totally wanted to be his old lady and that was the shit of it! He was going to break my fucking heart!

Archangel raised an eyebrow at me. “Don’t you? You came to my bed, Sonya. You initiated this between us. And I know you felt what I felt -- this isn’t just physical attraction or a casual fling. There’s something deeper here.”

“That’s not the point!” I sputtered. “You can’t just decide something like that without even asking me.” I swallowed hard, unable to deny the truth in his words. There was definitely more than just lust between us. At least, there was for me. Knowing Archangel, he saw this as his way of taking responsibility for his actions.

He shrugged. “I’m asking you now. Be my old lady, Sonya.”

I gaped at him. “That’s not asking! That’s telling!”

“Fine.” He grinned slightly before taking a step closer, never looking away from me. God, I loved having his full attention. I was in so much trouble. “Sonya, will you be my old lady?”

My heart was racing. Part of me wanted to snag what he was offering and hold on for dear life. The other, more realistic part knew this was the wrong thing to do.

“I’m sorry, Archangel,” I said softly. “I’ll tell Dad it was my doing, but you don’t love me. And I…” I swallowed. “I d-don’t love you.” Emotion was clogging my throat because the lie burned like acid.

Archangel’s eyes narrowed as he studied my face intently. “You’re lying,” he said softly. I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “Don’t. I can see it in your eyes, Sonya. You feel what’s between us just as strongly as I do.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I whispered, fighting back tears. “This can’t work. You know that.”

He stepped closer, cupping my face in his large hands. “I know there are obstacles. I’ve been tellin’ myself that for several days now. But it’s been a long Goddamned time since…” He trailed off. Something like anger and hurt flashed on his face before his expression smoothed over. He took a step back, giving me some space, clearing his throat. “Never mind. Come on. Let’s get back to the clubhouse. We can get your things, and I’ll take you back to Salvation’s Bane.”

“NO!” I yelled, stepping away from him. I took a breath and spoke again, this time more softly. “No. I’ve got Linnie coming to pick me up.” As if on cue, I heard her little Mustang rumbling as it pulled up to the gate. “See?” I smiled and waved.

“Wait!” Archangel lunged for me, grabbing my arm and pulling me to him. “You have my number programmed in your phone. Use it, woman.” His gruff tone was as rough as his voice. Then he kissed me until my head spun.

I was so startled I forgot I wasn’t going to kiss him anymore… and kissed some more. God, I was going to miss sex with him! I knew to the depth of my soul I’d never find pleasure like he’d shown me ever again. He was still the man of my dreams and probably always would be.

He caressed my cheek as he ended the kiss with one last sweep of his tongue and press of his lips to mine. I stared up at him and I knew my emotions were clear in my eyes. Archangel would know how I felt. Would he pity me? The young woman who had a hopeless crush on him?

I shook myself and backed away from him a couple of steps. “I’m sorry, Archangel. About everything. I took liberties I shouldn’t have.”

“You were curious. I could have stopped you at any time.”

“Yes,” I whispered. “I suppose you could.” This was so much harder than I thought it would be. And I knew leaving him was going to hurt, which is why I’d snuck off on him in the first Goddamned place.

“Promise me you’ll call me if you need me, Sonya.” His gaze was steady on my face, his expression relaxed. This was his serene mask. I’d always seen it, but I’d gotten to know that look very well over the last few days. It meant he’d put up a wall between us. Though I was the one leaving, I found the distance, both physical and emotional, was an ache I wasn’t sure I could overcome. Also, I found I hated that fucking mask.

“Yeah,” I said, giving him a smile that was as fake as his was. “I will.” No way would I ever call him.

He sighed. “Sonya, promise me.” That was his stern voice. The one that said I better do what he told me to do.

“Fine, Archangel. I promise.” I had to get outta here before I did something unforgivable. Like throw myself in his arms and accept his request that I be his old lady. Or cry. I started to go again, but somehow, I ended up in his arms, clinging to him like my life depended on it. He hugged me just as hard and those stupid fucking tears tried to prick my eyes again.

I’d just loosened my grip when another car whipped through the gate ahead of Linnie’s Mustang, side-swiping the driver’s side, and headed straight for me and Archangel. His arms tightened around me and he whipped around to put himself between me and the approaching vehicle. I heard the screech of tires and the scent of burning rubber hit me in the breeze as the little red sports car skidded to a halt.

One of the prospects at the gate pulled a gun as he ran toward us. The other prospect was with Linnie. Shouts came from the clubhouse as everyone inside hurried outside to contain the threat.

The engine was shut off. The doors opened upward at an angle. I didn’t recognize the emblem on the front, but I was guessing it was something Italian and very expensive.

“Colm! What do you think you’re doing? This your new little bitch?”

I gasped and my focus went immediately to Archangel. Or, rather, Colm. Of course, I’d known Archangel was his road name, but that’s all he’d ever been to me. I’d never even wondered what his real name was. Not because I didn’t want to know about his past or anything. It was just a name. No matter what name he was given at birth, he was still the same man.

“Gloria?” Archangel still had his arms around me. If anything, he held me tighter since the driver had revealed herself.

“Don’t act so surprised to see me.”

“Now isn’t the time, Gloria.” Archangel’s face hardened. For the first time since I’d met him, Archangel looked just as deadly as every other member of his club or mine.

“Why? Because you’ve not sent your little whore on her way yet?” I stiffened and a stab of hurt sliced through my belly. I tried to push away but Archangel still refused to let me go. I knew what he was doing. By retaining his hold on me, he knew I’d wait passively until he either let me go or this Gloria left. Though I loved pulling pranks, I didn’t like true confrontation. The shit that went down in Moore Haven was just that. Shit. All in good fun. This was a whole different ball of wax.

“Call her names again, and I’ll forget our history, Gloria. She’s off limits.”

Gloria gave a delicate snort and stepped away from the vehicle. The woman was as sexy as the car. Long, loosely spiraling golden hair, a killer figure that spoke of both hard work in the gym and not a little bit of plastic surgery. She wore skintight leather pants and a formfitting leopard print halter top that showed her cleavage to perfection, and six-inch pumps that matched her pants. Her makeup was flawless, and she carried herself like someone used to being obeyed. She was older than me and had history with Archangel before he was Archangel. So where did that leave me?

Gloria waved her hand dismissively. “Whatever. Say goodbye so we can talk, Colm.”

I looked up at Archangel. He’d already taken up for me. He was holding me so possessively and protectively I knew he was going to tell her to go to hell.

But he was silent, staring at me. When he spoke, something inside me died. “Maybe it’s best if you go, Sonya.”

“Angel?”

“Linnie is waiting for you. I’ll have Red and Rosanna fix her car. If they can’t make it better than it was when it was new, I’ll get her another one.”

“I don’t care about the damned car, Angel! What’s going on? Who is this?”

Archangel winced and, once again, for a very brief moment, I saw what he was feeling. Regret. Longing. Resignation. Anger. Pain. I reached out and touched his face, wanting to take away his pain.

“Go on. I’ll talk to you later.” He gave me what I thought was supposed to be a reassuring smile, but it was anything but comforting.

“No. Tell me who she is, Angel.”

He looked down at me and I could see that whatever he was about to say was going to kill something inside me. I wanted to tell him never mind. I didn’t want to know who she was. But he’d already taken a breath to speak.

“Gloria is… my wife.”