Page 16 of Archangel

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.”

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