Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
“ M y date is here,” Kinley explained at the sound of the prestigious chimes echoing through the house.
Poor fucker on the other side of her front door had no idea just what he was getting himself into. I knew I should run him off, for his sake.
I watched as the fallen angel before me sauntered over to the door, her hips swaying with each step. My cock hardened in my pants again despite common sense telling me that Kinley was nothing but bad news.
With her hand on the door handle, she glanced back at me over her shoulder and winked. She knew damn well what she was doing shaking her ass like that. Always fucking pushing the limits, teasing, and looking for new ways to lead others into temptation. In my book, she qualified as the eighth deadly sin.
Folding my arms in front of my chest, I leaned my shoulder against the wall and hung around to see the likely soul I’d be escorting to judgment later.
“Alex, you’re just on time,” Kinley greeted her victim. Opening the door, she stepped back, allowing him inside. “I was just finishing getting ready, please come in. I just need to switch purses.”
My jaw clenched when I recognized the man coming in through the door.
Motherfucker …
Atlassian. I didn’t know too much about him on a personal level, but I knew enough to realize he shouldn’t be there. My eyes grew cold as I made eye contact with him. He seemed to carry the same level of tension when he recognized my face.
I didn’t pretend to know all the answers, but I did know that he was given the blessing to be guided into a position as a guardian angel. Specifically, a guardian assigned to watch over Kinley.
One of the first things they taught as a guardian angel was to never interfere with your assignment. I was pretty fucking sure that going on a date with them was a blatant middle finger to all the rules and regulations set in place for a reason.
Kinley gave him such an innocent smile, it was sickening. Approaching me, she patted my arm gently as she whispered, “Behave yourself. I don’t need my client spooked by your mean mug.”
Fuck that, I’d mean mug his ass for all of eternity for the overstep of him simply being in her home. Just wait until the higher-ups found out about his extracurricular activities. He’d be known to have the shortest stint of service in our kind’s history.
Her heels clicked against the wooden floor on her way into another room, leaving Atlas and I in a staring contest with one another.
Atlas’s dark blonde waves were neatly pulled back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck, his steely blue eyes warily watching me for my next move. His hands remained tucked in the front pockets of his dark-wash blue jeans.
Dropping my arms from in front of my chest and pushing away from the wall, I stalked over to him, nearly bumping into his chest I got so close to his face. His shoulders pulled back under his black leather jacket, squaring up with mine.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” I asked in a low voice, expecting him to respect my rank over him and answer me.
The corner of his mouth drew up in a grin. “Taking a pretty girl on a date.”
My fists clenched at my sides, not taking well to the bullshit. I wanted to knock him back to the century he had come from. Whoever decided to make a cambion – half demon and half human– an angel of any rank must have been out of their mind. The transition may have only been for his human half upon his death, but I still didn’t trust him as far as I could smite his ass, which was pretty fucking far.
“You’re in direct defiance of your orders,” I reminded him. “Or did they not teach you that during your training?”
“I must have been sick that day.” Smirking, he shrugged, unbothered. “Relax, it’s not like she has even recognized me. She hasn’t even figured out I’m not human yet.”
That revelation gave me pause, and I blinked several times. Oh, it wasn’t going to bode well when Kinley realized that her powers were damn near useless on him. Equally concerning was that she couldn’t see past her devolving madness to recognize a former lover—which if you asked me, was a conflict of interest in terms of guardian assignments.
Hearing Kinley’s footsteps drawing nearer, I gave Atlas one final warning. “Stick to the damn rules.”
Tension erased from his face and his eyes lit up as the crazed woman we both had come to see that night returned to the foyer.
Atlas brushed by me on his way to Kin, his demeanor shifting to one of excitement. “You look incredible,” he complimented her. “We better get going, don’t want to be late for our reservation.”
I watched as Kinley made a show of looping her arm through his, a hand on his bicep as she clung to his side. Her sweet blues looked at me daringly as she did so.
She really didn’t have a clue he wasn’t human. That was going to be a damn nightmare. I hoped he knew what he was doing, though I very much doubted it.
“Sy, be a good boy and show yourself out, will ya?” she tossed out at me as she walked through the front door with Atlas.
Once the latch clicked shut behind them, I bowed my head and closed my eyes. My finger and thumb pinched the bridge of my nose, cursing all things holy at the cluster of feelings raging inside me. How had she changed so much from the angel she was before her fall from grace with Lucifer and the others?
From the other side of the garden wall, I heard my name.
“Sylas?” Kinley gave a radiant smile as she placed her hands one over the other on top of the flat section of stone dividing us.
Despite being on the cusp of taking a nap, I opened my eyes and looked at the fully blonde-haired beauty beckoning my attention. “Yeah, Kin?”
With the sun beating down on my face, I remained lying back in the chaise with my arms tucked behind my head.
She rested her chin on the backs of her hands and subtly batted her eyelashes at me. “Would you mind doing me a favor?”
I smiled to myself. It was rare to have Kinley ask a favor from me, so I was more than happy to oblige. Sitting up, my hands dropped to rest on top of my muscular thighs.
“Sure. What do you need?”
Biting her lower lip lightly, it was clear she was trying to contain her excitement. “My sword that you made, is it ready yet? I’ve been so excited to show it off, it’s the most gorgeous one I’ve ever seen you make. I know Lucifer has been anxious to see your craftsmanship as well.”
Standing, I walked to the half-wall she stood behind. I leaned forward on my forearms against the cool stone next to where her hands were situated. She was so damn cute when she began to babble in excitement.
“Remember what I told you? This is your one and only Divinity Sword. You don’t let this out of your sight – ever. It is a powerful weapon to wield, but always be aware of where it is. Otherwise, it is ? —”
She cut off my words as she finished my lecture, “—it is the one weapon that can be used against me and result in my ultimate demise. You’ve told me ten times already.”
Reaching over, my finger ran along the bottom of her chin with a tender touch. “And I will tell you ten more times if I must.” I never wanted to see something happen to the sweet soul before me.
Disrupting my thoughts, an arm wrapped around my shoulders as an accented voice spoke. “Aw, it looks like it’s just you and me tonight, mate.”
Dropping my hand from where I still grasped the bridge of my nose and tearing my shoulders away from the embrace, I opened my eyes and stared at the sudden presence.
“You want top or bottom?” Rook smirked.
Squeezing a hand onto his throat, I lifted him a couple of inches off the ground. “Don’t touch me.” My words squeezed past my gritted teeth.
He barely got a laugh out, not bothering to fight the chokehold I had on him. “Top, then?” His words came out strangled but no less irritating. I swore that this one must have been drinking from the pools of insanity by the gallon.
Releasing my hold on him, he dropped onto his feet with a soft thunk against the floor. As much as I would have liked to deny knowing the trickster demon, he managed to involve himself in nearly everything. He had an annoyingly pervasive reputation.
As aggravating as he was, he was mostly harmless. His antics may have been cruel, unusual, and bizarre but rarely did they result in death. More likely, a person was more apt to croak from a heart attack thanks to his illusions.
“Are you looking for punishment, or do you have a purpose for being here?”
The demon’s face twisted in amusement. He opened his mouth to say something before promptly shutting it as I hardened my gaze on him.
His hand scratched at the back of his head casually as he gave thought to my question. “This Alex fella,” he said, nodding toward the door Atlas and Kinley had just left through. “He seems a bit odd, right?”
That was rich coming from Rook of all beings.
“What’s it matter to you, Rook?” Since when did he give a shit about who Kinley hung out with?
Shrugging it off, he busied himself by looking at a few trinkets on a decorative table along the far wall. He picked up a small ceramic bucket, turning it upside down like he expected contents to pour from it. “Just looking out for our girl. The guy seems like quite the wanker if you ask me.”
I snorted and then it was my turn to be amused.
It captured Rook’s attention, and he set the trinket back down and came to stand in front of me. “You know something,” he stated accusingly.
“So? Why do you think I’m going to tell you anything?” It wasn’t any feathers off my back if a half-crazed demon didn’t know all the gossip.
Popping his cane out of seemingly nowhere, he rapped the rounded knob on top against my chest. His hazel eyes narrowed. “Because between the two of us, I’m the one who knows how to keep her madness from fully consuming her while embracing the darkness she wraps around herself.”
Silence hung heavily in the air as I allowed his words to sway my thoughts.
“His name isn’t Alex, it’s Atlassian.” I wasn’t sure how much further explanation would be needed, but Rook was quick to react.
“Atlas? Stabbed-through-the-entrails-and-fell-off-the-side-of-a-mountain-to-a-horrific-demise Atlas?” He raised both eyebrows in shock. Setting his cane down, he lifted a hand to stroke over his chin. “He looks incredible. I will have to get the name of his surgeon.”
Shaking my head at his daftness, with shortened patience I replied, not hiding my low opinion of the situation. “You’re an idiot, you know that? Against all odds, he’s been assigned as Kinley’s guardian angel.” Go figure, a guardian angel to watch over a fallen angel. I had my opinions on the matter, but I wasn’t the man in charge of making these decisions.
He slapped a hand onto my back, and that mischievous grin of his appeared. “You know what this means?”
Honestly? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Pulling me to his side, Rook used his cane to press to the front of my chest.
Threateningly, I looked down at the demon’s accessory. “Rook, if you touch me with that thing again, I will shove it up your ass.”
Begrudgingly, he withdrew the cane and gave it a whirl in his hand before tucking it underneath his arm. “You promise, Daddy?”
The tension bristled under my skin, and before I could knock him straight to the moon, he continued his musings.
“This means you and I are going to be practically family! A demon turned angel? I mean, sure, technically a half-demon, but close enough, am I right?”
I groaned. Did he ever have a sane thought?
A dramatic gasp suddenly came from him as he finally stopped trying to fucking touch me. “Oh dear, whatever does that mean for you, Sy?”
Growing more tired of his meaningless questions, I merely stared at him, knowing that I wouldn’t be so lucky for him to shut the fuck up.
“Let’s be honest, mate. Kinley ruffles more than just your feathers.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as his eyes dropped below my belt. Raising the pitch of his voice he mimicked the words I had spoken earlier but with a lot more creative liberties. “Oooohh, Kinley, you used to be so beautiful.”
The asshole had been eavesdropping on my earlier conversation. Nosey fucking bastard. Up to my limit with his antics, I lunged at him. Rook’s laughter filled the air before his presence disappeared.
What the hell did he know about my feelings for Kin anyway?