Chapter 5
Venice played with a thick strand of Tessa’s hair as she dozed on his chest, her body pressed against his, the sweet smell of their lovemaking filling an empty part of his heart he hadn’t realized was there.
How had he even gotten here?
The meeting on the beach, then the walk in the park, to her bedroom…
Time seemed meaningless at the moment. They’d met that morning, but it felt like he’d known her for years.
He should feel reckless, but instead, he felt anchored.
And maybe that was scarier.
Anchored was a dangerous word. Angels weren’t meant to anchor themselves to anything—not people or places.
They observed, protected, guided, and moved on.
Even after his fall, he’d carried that behavior with him.
It wasn’t until he met Brody that he allowed himself to stay in one place and take on a new job.
Being a police officer was similar to what he’d done before in the observe and protect vibe, and although he’d fought by Brody’s side more than once when danger came to Sable Cove, he’d never truly thought of the seaside town as home.
Lying here with Tessa snuggled against him was calming in a way he didn’t expect.
Before he met her, he’d thought of desire as a ticking clock, counting down borrowed time until the person whose eye he’d caught decided the novelty had worn off.
There was no sense of borrowed time with Tessa, though.
Just steady, sweet peace. And when the hell had he felt that before?
His gaze drifted from her beautiful face to the ceiling, the afternoon light making lined patterns from the partially open blinds.
Unbidden, the memories of the woman he fell for rose in his mind. How he’d mistaken her curiosity about his angelic nature for actual affection and the decision to fall for her. Followed swiftly by the moment he realized he’d misread everything.
The fall itself? Painful.
The loss of his wings and purpose had also brought isolation from the others like him. He hadn’t minded that, though, until he’d wound up truly alone.
A stranger in a strange place, no one by his side, and nothing to his name.
He’d had to start from scratch and learn how to be human despite never having been human to start with.
Losing his wings had been painful in more ways than one, but finding out that the woman he’d fallen for hadn’t wanted him to fall?
He’d realized that he’d taken a leap of faith for someone who hadn’t intended for things to go that far.
He swore he’d never make a mistake like that again, never mistake attention for love.
So what was he doing with Tessa?
Did she desire him? Truly desire him?
Or was she just fascinated?
She’d felt his scars while they’d been together; her soft fingers grazing the old wounds had made his spine stiffen. She hadn’t asked what they were; she’d just moved her hands, and that had resonated with him.
So was what he was feeling for her an answer to his aching loneliness, or just another mistake?
Neither of them had made any promises. The tumble in the sheets was potentially just that—reckless, wanton abandon—two souls seeking comfort in the baser natures of themselves.
But that thought didn’t ease anything inside him.
It made it worse, actually.
Because while he was wary of anything romantic, he couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her, utterly consumed with thoughts of her since the moment they’d met, and certain that they were meant to meet.
Did fallen angels even get truemates like vampires, witches, and shifters?
He had no idea and no one to ask. In the years since his fall, he’d never encountered another fallen angel.
A sad commentary on just how alone he actually was.
Until Tessa…
Perhaps.
Her hand spread on his chest, her fingers fanning out, as she let out a soft murmur and snuggled even closer to him. His protective instincts flared.
Something had brought her to Sable Cove. It was easy to see the hurt in her eyes, the vague wariness of a female who’d suddenly had the rug yanked out from beneath her feet and had to right herself in any way she could.
Feral fury simmered in his heart.
He wanted to find out who hurt her enough to make her pack up her life and move to Sable Cove and ensure that no one hurt her ever again.
Including himself.
I should leave. It was just sex. If I walk now, I don’t have to face the what-ifs.
Leaving was easy, though. And Venice hadn’t ever really had an easy go of things since he’d fallen.
But the thought of her waking up alone twisted something in his chest. He didn’t want her to think of him as a male who left without a word.
No matter that no promises had been exchanged, he was a male who would prove himself worthy of what she’d shared with him.
Even if it never happened again, he’d carry the precious sound of her falling apart at his touch with him forever.
So he would stay.
Venice woke when Tessa stirred against him. He hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep, but at some point after he decided to stay until she woke up, he’d felt at peace enough to rest too.
She sat up and stretched, the blanket pooling around her waist. She smiled at him, not a bit of regret in her eyes.
She reached for her phone on the side table and said, “It’s nearly six. I guess I really needed the rest.”
“Me too,” he said. “I should… probably get going.”
“Oh. Okay,” she said, smiling in encouragement.
He sat up and swung his legs around, and for a moment, he froze as he realized his back and scars were fully visible to her.
He could feel her eyes on him, but as he reached for his clothes on the floor, she didn’t ask him about the scars, so he didn’t offer an explanation.
It wasn’t that he was avoiding telling her he was a fallen angel, but she wasn’t asking, and that felt more like respect from her than avoidance. He was a little taken aback.
He dressed in his uniform as she put her clothes back on, and then she walked with him out into the front room.
“I’m on shift tomorrow,” he said.
His gaze slipped for a moment to the bedroom, but he purposely turned away so she didn’t think the only thing on his mind was what he could get from her. He reached for the door, his hand closing around the knob.
He should just leave.
Instead, he turned back to her. “Tessa.”
She looked up at him with a curious smile.
“I know things happened fast between us,” he said carefully. “And I don’t want to make any assumptions about anything. But I was wondering—”
He paused, the words trapped in his throat.
“Yes?” she prompted.
“Would you want to see me again?”
Her lips split wide into a broad smile.
“Oh, yes, of course.”
His shoulders relaxed, the tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in his body releasing like a popped balloon. “Okay.”
He took out his phone, and she told him her number. He added her to his contact list and sent her a text so she had his number. They didn’t make plans, and he was okay with that. He had a lot to think about as it was.
“Goodbye, Tessa,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
She turned her head at the last moment and kissed his lips. “Bye, Venice.”
He opened the door and left, his mind spinning with everything that had happened since dawn that day. As he got into the truck, waved at her in the doorway, and pulled away, he couldn’t help but marvel at how things had changed in the span of less than a day.
Could a fallen angel…fall again?
And did Tessa even want that?
Did he?
Shaking his head at his jumbled thoughts, he put the windows down and drove toward home, Tessa the only thing on his mind.