Page 16 of The Redeemable 4

Our time was up.

I passed on whisper soft feet back to the door and rattled the knob like I was just returning from the hall.

“Arcadia.”

She sighed and rolled into Eli’s arms.

“I have to go. Tell everyone that I love them. Kiss the babies for me.” She kissed him gently, and his eyes were wet. Despite his words, deep down he thought this was it. This would be the last chance he’d get to hold her.

We were drifting out the door, into the swirling nothingness beyond Eli’s room. “Oh I forgot, Raphael will be bring-“

We were sucked out of the dream realm with a snap. My head was on Gus’s lap, and he was stroking the silky lengths of my hair rhythmically.

Eli is going to get a surprise when Raphael shows up with the boys, if he hasn’t already.

I was resisting the urge to purr like a cat in heat as Gusion’s nails scraped gently on my skull with each pass. Mmm.

“Memphis told me what you did for the children of Aleppo. You’ve changed the course of their lives.”

Is that a platitude or a prediction from the Angel of the Past, Present and Future?

Gus chuckled deeply. I always thought his laugh was the most marvelous thing. It was like the rumble of thunder in an electric storm. It made you feel alive.

“A bit of both, Arcadia Jones.” He leaned down and kissed me with reverence. “I’ve enjoyed the ability to stare at your beauty for a few hours. I’d forgotten how magnificent the curves of your face are.”

I punched him in the shoulder. “Save the lines for the demonesses, you suave bastard. I just think you watching me sleep is creepy.” I batted my lashes at him with faux coyness. “Although, I will take another kiss.”

He leaned down and kissed me again, this time with more passion and way more tongue. This was why Gusion fell. No angel should know how to kiss like that.

A throat cleared in the doorway.

“I came to see how your meeting with Raphael went. As you still possess Arcadia’s soul in your body and you are currently, as the humans would put it, sucking face with Gusion, I am going to assume it didn’t go well.” I shrugged and Luc shook his head bemusedly. “Also, I’ve had a message from Lux. Apparently Raphael dropped off two small children from a war torn country this afternoon. I assured him that it had nothing to do with me. Does anyone want to explain?”

Uh oh. Busted. Why does this feel like I’ve been summoned by the principal?

“Reminds me of this time when Luc bent me over his desk and caned me like a naughty schoolgirl.”

Arcadia made a disgusted noise. All that tells me is that A) you’ve never been to high school and B) you and Luc watch way too much porn and C) I am going to need a butt load of therapy after this.

“Ha, butt load. That reminds me of a time when-“

Argh enough! Lucifer, did Lux seem mad?

Luc was barely containing his mirth. He relished making people uncomfortable. He liked it even better when his sexual exploits were the cause of people's uncomfortableness.

“Confused, yes. Mad, no. From when I gathered, Eli had a visit to the dream realm last night and he knew to expect Raphael, but not the reason why.” He came over and stroked my face, but didn’t try to move me from Gusion’s lap. If there was a man more confident in his own appeal, I had yet to meet him. Maybe one of the Greeks, those guys literally had a god who liked to stare at his own reflection.

“Cady is a bleeding heart. She couldn’t leave the boys to the subpar medical treatment of a country in turmoil.”

Luc smiled. “Careful, my love, or we’ll get confused about which soul is the angelic one come time to divest you of your extra soul.”

I rolled my eyes, but maybe Luc was right. My battered old soul would not have thought twice about those boys beyond saving their lives from the immediate threat. As angels, we become immune to the daily suffering of the individual.

Unlikely. Her heart is bigger than any of you give her credit for, Arcadia argued. Bless her heart. I was going to miss her.

Luc nodded his head in acquiescence. “Touché, Arcadia Jones.” His eyes focused back on my face. “So Raphael was a bust.”

I nodded. “Yes. He suggested that Gabriel would be a dead end also. He is all about The Word, that one.”

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