Page 54 of Guarded
In how he called meJem.
It was silly to be touched by a simple shortening of my name, but I was. Down in Hell, none of the others had ever done that. Quill was the only one with a nickname, and that was more because of all the times he got into trouble. ‘Quill’ was a lot faster to say than ‘Quillian.’ That precious second was often necessary when it came to intervening in time to stop whatever mischief he was up to.
It was another reminder of how much he’d changed since coming topside. He was free, but he seemed more trapped than he ever had downstairs. I’d tried desperately to get him to come travelling with me this month, but nothing had been enough to tempt him.
His increasing weakness wasn’t even enough to persuadehim to step outside the front door. Demons had to be exposed to sin on a regular basis to keep them operating at full strength—not an issue when you were in Hell, or even just out amongst humans. They sinned almost as often as they breathed.
I knew that was why Nox and Micah had fucked on the roof again the other week. Lust from an arch as powerful as Micah would be enough to keep Quill going for another few months.
I’d already decided that this next trip would be my last. Quill needed me. For all the big talk he gave about being fine, it was clear that he wasn’t. Dahlia and Darius were both at the house for the time being, neither of them appearing to be making headway with their own mates. Whoever they were. Neither of them were talking.
That was us. A house of stubborn demons who refused to communicate.
A therapist would have a fucking field day.
I’d been tempted to bin off the next leg of my travels, but they’d persuaded me not to. Like Noah, they understood how important my freedom was. How badly I wanted to experience everything I’d missed out on.
It was all great in theory, but I was beginning to suspect that the biggest thing I’d missed out on was back in London. Less than half a mile from my home. Living in a mansion and sending me increasingly more tantalising pictures every day.
I hadn’t known love in Hell. I’d had companionship, friendship, even lust. But never love. I hadn’t known what I was missing.
With Noah though, I was suddenly desperate to find out.
He’d encouraged me not to cancel my triparound the Far East too. Apparently, he had some big conference he had to attend on the behalf of the Seraphim, one that was going to take up a couple of weeks of his time.
While my soul and heart were screaming for me to stay in London, my brain knew it wasn’t logical. Quill was cared for, and Noah wasn’t going to be here himself. And if things went in the direction I was hoping with him, I’d have less opportunity to travel in the near future.
That knowledge didn’t bother me. I wasn’t going to be trapped or tied down.
I was going to be with Noah.
It was very fucking different.
Heat licked over my palms as I made my way to the front door of the Seraphim compound. I’d half expected Noah to meet me when I’d arrived half an hour ago, but he hadn’t.
The door swung open and I couldn’t stop my smile falling. “Oh. It’s you.”
“Good to see you haven’t lost your charm.” Nox winked, biting into an apple. “Here to see Noah?”
“Obviously.” I shoved him playfully in the shoulder as I stepped inside. “Seen enough of your ugly mug to last me a lifetime.”
Micah appeared from one of the numerous doorways, going up and kissing his mate’s cheek. “I think his mug is beautiful.”
“I truly pity you,” I said solemnly. “Living with such poor eyesight must be a heavy burden to bear.”
Another voice joined us. “Jeremiah, you might be new, but I will make you take a walk if you need it.”
I nodded apologetically at Ezekiel’s human mate. “My apologies, Sam. I’m only mucking around. Don’t worrythough, I’m fully aware that I likely have many walks with you in my future.”
Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “See, you say that like it’s a good thing, but really you’re just admitting that you don’t know how to behave.”
“None of us do. It’s what makes living here so much fun.” One of the twins had popped up, grinning. I scratched my head. Where the fuck were they all coming from? Had everyone heard the bell and decided to come and investigate?
They felt me cross the wards at the door.
Ah. Yes. Really, I was lucky the whole unit hadn’t appeared to greet me. Time to make my exit before that happened.
My eyes ran over the welcoming committee. “As lovely as it is to see you all, you’re not really who I want to see.”
