Page 19 of Lips of an Angel

I shivered as my powers quivered beneath my skin, like being tickled from the wrong side, then they flushed into the room. An unnatural warmth passed through the apartment, the overhead light subtly shifting to a more translucent hue. Raleigh fanned himself with the collar of his shirt, frowning at the sudden heat, but when he wiped his tears away, no new ones replaced them. I kept my relieved smile from my face.

Raleigh extended his arm. “Come here.”

And like the good little pet I was, I obeyed. I could never deny Raleigh something he wanted. I kicked out of my shoes and sat on the floor next to him. The man had a good six inches of height on me, and I was the perfect size to tuck right under his arm and rest my head on his shoulder. Still shivering from the expenditure of my powers, I welcomed the warmth of his body against mine.

“Did you take care of it?” I signed.

“Mm-hmm.” He grabbed the Cuervo and expertly twisted the top off with one hand, taking a long swig straight from the bottle.

I didn’t drink often, but I took the bottle when he handed it to me. Alcohol didn’t affect me the same way it did for humans, but I was still wary of it after the accident.

Some people might be surprised that we were drinkers at all after what happened to us—that we decided to run abarof all things—but we had a system: We didn’t tolerate driving while under the influence ofanything, and once we’d had a drink, we didn’t leave our apartment or wherever we’d chosen to stay.

Drinking on the kitchen floor had become something of a tradition when one of us went through something tough. It began when we were sixteen, and Raleigh found out his parents were splitting up after an affair. Over the years there had been several breakups and breakdowns. Hell, even random Friday nights when we were in a funk we couldn’t shake. There were times when I mimed taking sips from the bottle, and times where it was coffee instead of alcohol.

But as I took a sip and let the alcohol burn its way through my system, I found myself grateful that we had something that was uniquely… us.

Lust

noun

a strong passion or longing, especially for sexual desires.

Chapter 8

RALEIGH

Ugh,Christ on a cracker.

Despite my room being pitch black, I somehow knew the sun was up. It was the only explanation for the jackhammer slamming into my head. In reality, it was probably the long travel day and copious amount of alcohol in my system, but I liked my jackhammer metaphor, so I was sticking with it.

I sat up and rubbed my temples, looking over my shoulder to check on Angel. Catching him sleeping was about as rare as a Loch Ness sighting, so I wasn’t surprised to find him awake, scrolling on his phone. I had half a mind to glare at him. He must have had as much to drink as I did, and yet he looked unscathed. I didn’t know how he managed it. He had no dark circles under his eyes, no signs of a headache or queasy stomach, no pale tinge to his skin.

He tapped my shoulder, and in the light of his phone pointed to the lamp on the side of the bed. I flipped it on so I could read what he was trying to say.

“How are you feeling?” he signed.

I groaned, in part from the harsh bedside light, and scrubbed a hand through my hair. “Rough, but before you ask: No, you’re not taking over the bar today.”

Angel bit his lip, bashful. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“I know you wouldn’t, but it’s time for me to find my way back to normal. Besides, it’s your night off.”

Knowing he hated it, I leaned over and ruffled Angel’s hair. He scrambled to get away from me, but I was ready and circled his waist as he tried to get away, pulling him down to the mattress. We were both fit, but I was much more muscular—enough to pin him in place. He squirmed and tried to sign that I smelled like a brewery, but I pressed a kiss to his forehead in thanks for last night before releasing him from my grip and heading to the bathroom to shower.

Although the scalding water helped me feel clean, I was no more human when I descended the stairs to the bar. I was twenty minutes late which, frankly, wasn’t uncommon for me. And it wasn’t uncommon for Ryder to have beaten me there. I didn’t know whether he sensed I was too stressed or he caught on that I was too hungover, but he remained quiet—for once.

I kept him around for a reason.

Jack had the day off, so the two of us worked in silence as we set up the bar. I didn’t even put on any music.

Fuck, I was still in a tailspin, wasn’t I?

One by one, the other employees showed up. Thankfully, they were perceptive enough to see that I wasn’t in the mood for talking, and for a while the bar was quiet—until it wasn’t. As if on a timer, all of our phones went off at once. I didn’t bother checking mine.

Though when soft mutters filled the bar, my interest was piqued. Then Ryder caught my attention. “Raleigh…”

Brows furrowed, I met his eyes across the bar. He held his phone in his hand, and for once he had nothing sassy to say. The concern in his eyes convinced me to take my own phone out. Opening it, my blood ran cold. The notification was a breaking news alert, and the picture was…

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