In the blink of an eye, Pen was standing on the long, covered porch of the house with her arms spread wide. “It’s my house! What do you think?”

  I stopped at the bottom of the steps, not at all shocked to see how fast she got ahead of me. Angel speed was an ability that I wanted big time. “But you grew up in the Divine City. How do you have a house in the middle of…” I trailed off, having no idea where we were.

  “Montana,” she said with a large grin. “I bought it with the allowance given to me when I was assigned to investigate you.”

  My eyes went wide. “Who gave you enough of an allowance to buy an entire house?”

  “The Talaivarkal. Do you remember who they are?”

  I nodded. “The Throne council. I remember. The ones who want to kill me.”

  Riyon stopped beside me and put an arm around my shoulder. “They don’t all want you dead, Erin.”

  I turned to look up at his tan, handsome face and rolled my eyes. “Oh, how reassuring. As long as only some of them want to kill me I’m happy as a clam.”

  The sarcasm practically poured out of me with a shocking amount of cynicism. I understood that he was trying to be nice and make me feel better, but I was tired of the threats from angels and Nephilim who didn’t know me at all. I still felt like just another girl, and all sides wanted to tell me I was evil. I never hurt another person or thing in my life. It all felt unfair.

  Riyon raised an eyebrow and took his arm off of me. “I’m going to just check out the house.”

  He hurried off and Penelope followed him inside. She threw a wink over her shoulder after looking between me and Zander. I still needed to yell at her for lying to me about purposely keeping Zander away from me in the Divine City. Even if it was for my own protection, I still wanted to at least give her a stern talking to.

  Pen and Riyon disappeared, and Zander cleared his throat behind me. I turned slowly toward him, my heart rate instantly picking up, remembering how he kissed me in my dorm room only hours ago.

  I found him standing with his arms crossed and green eyes locked onto mine. I hoped he would never wear a shirt again. I was thoroughly enjoying his thick bare chest, always at my eye level.

  His eyes scanned my body from my bare feet to the messy dark hair on my head. “Are you alright? I think you hurt Riyon’s feelings.” The corner of his mouth lifted, not fully a smile, but teasing enough.

  I sighed and closed my eyes. “I know. I’m just irritated, I guess.”

  When I opened my eyes again, Zander was standing directly in front of me, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed. “Listen, Erin. I understand if you feel… differently than you did in your room earlier.”

  I tilted my head, assessing his sincere face. He was sad, and looked at me like I was about to punch him in the stomach.

  I shook my head. “Do you think that I’ve changed my mind? About how I feel about you?” Was he nuts?

  He shrugged. “I just know that I treated you awful for so long, and I imagine that can be confusing. I don’t want to add more stress to your life.”

  His eyes were so worried and unsure. He figured in front of me, looking like a normal boy for once, and it was absolutely adorable. A slow smile tugged at my lips and his eyebrows pressed together.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” His bottom lip poked out slightly in a pout, and I took that opportunity to capture it with my mouth.

  Zander hesitated briefly at my sudden kiss, but he soon recovered. His arms captured me and he pulled me tightly against him with a groan. The rumbling from the sound had my chest feeling hot, and I wanted to feel more of him.

  I tangled my fingers into his hair, needing him closer to me. I squealed when Zander’s hands slid past my bottom and gripped my thighs, hoisting me onto his hips easily. The movement broke our connected lips and I took advantage of the much needed gulp of air.

  “Zander. My feelings haven’t changed. I want you to know that.” His hooded eyes watched my mouth as I spoke. I rubbed my nose against his, tightening my legs around him. “I love you, Zander Reid.”

  Zander’s eyes shot to mine and his hands squeezed my thighs tighter. He looked around us and growled. “I swear, Erin. If we were alone right now, your virtue would not be safe.”

  My eyes widened. His words excited me way too much, and my mouth went dry. I pressed against him further, raking my fingers through his hair and tugging gently on the strands.

  I moved my lips closer to his again, feeling bold as I whispered into his mouth. “Is that a promise?”

  Zander’s sharp intake of air had me smiling again at how I affected him. His eyes closed tight and he gently dropped me back to my feet. “We need breakfast. Breakfast is good.”

  “Yes, breakfast is good.” I giggled.

  He grabbed my hand and towed me toward the house to find food, and maybe a cold shower.

  Chapter 2

  * * *

  Penelope’s house was incredible. I marveled at the tall ceiling and perfectly polished tile floor. The furniture was all well taken care of, to my surprise. She had to have hired a housekeeper that came by for upkeep.

  Zander and I found Pen and Riyon in the large kitchen that was accented in dark wood and granite countertops. They laughed together as Riyon cracked eggs into a bowl. It looked sweet, and normal.

  The two stood side by side with their arms touching, and it was clear that they had deep feelings for one another. I turned to Zander and his eyebrows rose. He had a knowing smile on his face, and I wanted to start kissing him all over again.

  “Oh, hey guys. Ry is attempting to make omelets, but we may have to toss it all out and stick with cereal.” Penelope grinned at us, teasing Riyon.

  Riyon nudged her arm with his elbow and growled at the mess in front of him. “This is my first time cooking, and so far it is not going well.”

  I laughed and sat at a barstool against the kitchen island, watching Riyon continue to drop egg shells into the mixture. Zander ran to the fridge to find cold water bottles and brought one to me, leaving a kiss on my cheek.

  “Okay.” I addressed the room, needing some sort of plan. “As much as I’d like us to stay this way, we have some issues. Specifically the Divine angels who are after me.”

  Zander grabbed my hand, comforting me. How did I go so long without this?

  Pen nodded and grabbed Riyon a napkin to clean himself up. “Luckily, this house is off of their radar. Nobody knows that I purchased this place or the surrounding land. The Talaivarkal don’t exactly know what the cost of living is, so they grossly overpaid me for my stay. I paid cash for twelve acres.”

  My jaw dropped. “Holy crap. But why would you buy a secret house?”

  She tilted her head and gave me a motherly look. I loved the gentleness on her usually teasing face. “I bought it for you, hon. I don’t know how I knew you’d need it, but I had a feeling that you might.”

  I wanted to cry at her kindness. I reached over the counter and grabbed her hand in my free one. “Pen, that’s amazing. When did you do this?”

  “About a month ago. We were becoming closer friends, and I was afraid that your parentage would cause problems.”

  “Thank you, Penelope. I was her Guardian and I had no idea about any of this,” Zander said beside me.

  She waved a hand in the air. “Your job was to be with her, and you did more than that.” She smiled suggestively to Zander and he shook his head.

  “I didn’t do enough.” His voice was sad, or maybe disappointed.

  I sat up straighter. “You guys. I’m right here, and I for one think you have all gone above and beyond each of your duties. You too, Ry.” I used Penelope’s nickname and Riyon grinned from ear to ear.

  He winked at me. “Being your guard has been the best job of my existence.”

  “Awwww,” Pen cooed, and we all laughed, comfortable and happy to be together.

  Zander turned toward me, his eyes searching my face. “As for your safety, I agree that we need a plan.”

  I nodded. “I don’t really know where to begin. I’m not going to lie. I’d like to go see my parents and Bruno. Is that a possibility?”

  Penelope shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can. For now, we’ll need to stay here. It’s the safest place.”

  I stared down at the reflective counter, thinking about being shut off from my family. Zander dipped his head into my line of sight and gave me a sad smile. “Erin, this is for the best right now. We’ll get you back to your parents. I promise.”

  I nodded. “I know.” I looked toward the Power angels. They seemed like regular people without their wings. Incredibly fit people, but not like angels. “What will I do here? How long do we have to stay under the radar?”

  Penelope and Riyon looked at one another. Pen pointed between them and at Zander. “We’re going to keep training you.”

  “What? Why?”

  Riyon smiled. “You have been improving greatly, and I think you have much more divinity within you. Pen and I talked about this, and the possibility of bringing out each of your abilities. Once we do so, we can present you to the Talaivarkal here on earth.”

  I scrunched up my nose. “Thrones live here?”

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  “Why?”

  “The human race is our reason for existence.” Pen said it so matter of factly. “Many Divine angels live among them, always protecting and keeping watch.”

  “So, what then? I’ll be presented to a group of old angels? What if they don’t like the presentation?”

  Zander squeezed my hand again. “They will. They’ll see the truth.”

  “I don’t even see the truth, Zander. I’ve met my father. There’s no doubt that he’s a Nephilim.”

  All three of them gasped at me in shock. The questions came pouring from them all at once in a jumble of what’s, when’s, and where’s. It hit me that I hadn’t opened up about the dreams to any of them. So much happened so fast that I didn’t get the chance.

  I held up my hand to stop their concerns. “I’m sorry. I should have said something sooner. His name is Kieran. He came to me in a dreamwalk while we were in the Divine City. Twice actually.” They continued to stare at me, so I added some details to my story. “The first visit, he claimed to just want to meet me. It scared the crap out of me and I woke up screaming that night.”

  I looked shyly at Zander, knowing that he was really there with me, touching my face and calming me when he was supposed to stay away. His eyes looked deeply into mine and he nodded for me to continue, so I did.

  “The second dream, he told me that he wanted to bring me ‘home’, to the Underworld.” I shivered at the thought. “He said I had darkness in me and would continue to show more of it as I developed.”

  I turned away from them, ashamed of what I was. Amell saw that darkness too that was blackening my soul. Would the Talaivarkal actually accept me, even if I did show Divine qualities? My soul will still be tainted.

  Zander pulled me into his arms, stroking soothing circles on my back. I sank into his bare chest, reveling in the warmth of his skin. “Everyone has darkness in them, Erin. The task will be to show the others that there is so much more light inside of you.” I nodded against his chest, staying silent.

  Penelope clapped her hands together and sighed. “We’re going to prove the sperm donor wrong. Tomorrow morning, we will continue with training. We’ll do all that we can to showcase the good in you, Erin. Trust us, okay?”

  I did trust them. With all of my heart.

  We spent the rest of the day snacking on junk food from the fully stocked pantry and binge-watching Netflix. I really liked normal life with my angel friends.

  It was time for bed, and we all picked our rooms. The house had five bedrooms, so none of us had to double up. My room was at the end of the hall, with Zander across from me, Pen beside me, and Riyon across from her.

  The rooms were all equally large and cozy. Settling into the new place was easy after a long hot shower, and slipping into normal pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt.

  “Oh, thank heavens for human clothes,” I whispered loudly to myself as I fell onto my bed, giddy.

  A warm chuckle sounded from my bedroom door and I sat up to rake in the freshly showered beauty of Zander Reid. His hair was damp and messy. He had on a tight gray t-shirt and baggy exercise pants that bunched around his bare feet.

  His arms were crossed over his chest and he had a sexy smile on his stubbly face. Just for me. I thought I’d miss the shirtless Zander, but something about the casual bedtime Zander had my stomach swirling with a need that I didn’t recognize. Holy hell.

  I swallowed down a lump in my throat and Zander’s smile fell, his eyes watching my reaction to him. He stepped away from the door frame, slowly stalking toward me. I silently wished he would have shut the door behind him, but that would have been mighty presumptuous on his part.

  I stood from my bed, my chest meeting his. I placed my hands on his shoulders, loving the feel of the taught cotton beneath my fingers. “I like bedtime Zander.” The words came out before I had the chance to think them over.

  Zander’s eyes widened, and a hunger took over his expression. His arms slid around my waist, holding me against him. “I like being able to touch you anytime of the day, or night.”

  I laid my forehead against his chest, breathing in his fresh cotton scent. I looked up through my eyelashes. “What was it like?”

  His eyebrows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

  “What was it like to watch after me all this time, but never have me know you were there?”

  His eyes unfocused from mine momentarily as he thought back. A sadness was in them, but was quickly replaced by joy. He kissed my forehead with a smile. “Honestly, I wasn’t interested in looking after a child.”

  I scoffed and pulled away from him, but his grip tightened on me and he yanked me back to him with a soft laugh. “Wait. That was only the beginning. Now listen up and stop being impatient.” His eyebrow was raised in a demanding way and I rolled my eyes at him, snuggling back into his hold.

  “I watched you grow up, Erin. I saw you through troubles at school. Times where you felt different and unlikeable. I sat beside you when you broke your arm the first and second time.” He laughed at the memory. “I grew to cherish you completely.”

  My heart swelled as he spoke. “Still, though. I was always content just being there. It wasn’t until you were sixteen. You were becoming a woman. You started dating…” He didn’t say Joey’s name. He didn’t have to. Joey was the only boy I ever dated. “As you can imagine, I was taken very off guard when these feelings started coming up.”

  His hand left my back to stroke my cheek and trail down my neck. He left a burning feeling everywhere he touched me. “My admiration for you turned into a… need.” His dark green eyes watched my tongue dart out to lick my dry lips. “A need to be close to you all the time. A need to reach out and touch you.” Zander’s thumb rubbed along my bottom lip and I purred like an actual cat at the contact.

  “But you couldn’t,” I added to his story.

  He nodded. “So, to answer your question. It was like a slow torture.”

  I grabbed the hand that gently explored my skin and placed his palm against my cheek. I sank into his hand, loving the warmth. “But you can touch me now.”

  “And I don’t ever want to stop.”

  Zander’s lips crashed into mine, expressing his need to be closer. His need to feel me there with him. I sank into the feeling, loving every minute of it. After much too short a time, he stopped his exploration of my mouth and demanded that I sleep, and dream only of him.

  I complied.

  Chapter 3

  * * *

  “I’ll be fine, Ry. I promise. I can learn to cope.” Penelope’s whisper travelled to my ears as I approached the kitchen.

  I paused, the gentleness in her tone made me feel like I was interrupting a private moment. I peered around a corner of the hallway and could see Penelope’s back. She stood beside the dining room table, and Riyon was standing in front of her, very close. His eyes were worried, and the normal calm of his features was strained.

  “Pen. You have to go to them. I can’t let you stay here like this. You are vulnerable.” Riyon’s hand rose and stroked down Penelope’s left wing. It was gentle and loving, and it caused her wings to flutter.

  I didn’t understand what Riyon was so worried about, until his fingers touched a part of the red wing that looked bent, causing Pen to flinch. Her wing had been broken by the Power angels that attacked me in the Divine City, but I had assumed it would be healed by now.

  I was wrong.

  “I can’t leave Erin. You know that.” My beautiful friend ran her always manicured fingernails through her platinum blonde hair, and she looked up into Riyon’s eyes. It was quiet as they watched one another, and the moment felt much too intimate for me to sit back and watch.

  I used the silence to make my entrance. “Hey guys. Good morning.” I stepped into the large room with a smile.

  Pen turned to me, jumping away from Riyon and quickly drawing her wings back inside of herself before I could get a good look. “Hey, sweetie! I’m glad you’re up.” She gestured to the freshly made cinnamon rolls on the counter. “Made you some breakfast.”

  I eyed her, hoping she’d see that I knew something was wrong, but she ignored my stares. My mouth began to water when I got closer to the delicious cinnamon rolls. “You made these? It’s barely morning. How’d you have the time?”

  She waved a hand at me. “Oh, hon. These came from a can. Thank the General himself, Mr. Mills.” She winked and I couldn’t help my smile.

  I nodded. “Either way, I’m starved and ready to get the day going.”

  Riyon came around to my side and patted my back. “Good. We have a lot to cover this morning. Starting with a long run with your Guardian.”

  I tilted my head at him. “Any chance you know where Zander is then? His door was open, but I didn’t see him.”