Page 33 of Sleeping Redemption
Unable to help but notice his body against mine, I rolled my hips against his. The movement confirmed that I wasn’t the only one here enjoying the proximity.
“Kinley…” His words trailed off after whispering my name.
Whatever was left unspoken remained unsaid as we were interrupted.
“Um, mate? There might be a bit of a situation.” Rook stepped up next to us, the white box that had been delivered in his hand, the stuffed doll facing up and returned to its nest of tissue paper inside it.
Easing up off of me, Sylas loosened his grasp on my limbs. Hesitation and wariness lingered in his eyes as he did so.
My arms fell to my sides, resisting the urge to rub where he had gripped me so tightly.
I already knew what was in the box, there was no need for me to torment myself with another look.
“What in the hell is that?” The disgust tainted Sy’s words as he leaned over to look at the soiled doll.
Rook casually answered his question. “The sticky lovin’ nutter of a demon.”
Quickly, he added, “Not mine.” Then he paused thoughtfully, leaned over and gave a few sniffs. His nose wrinkled in repulsion. “Definitely not mine.”
There was no hiding the judgmental stare Sylas gave him.
“You sure you don’t want to give it a taste test to be sure?” he sarcastically asked.
Holding the gift box in one hand, Rook brought a finger near the black gunk on the doll but recoiled before he made contact. “No, I’m sure.”
Sylas shook his head, then turned his attention to me. “Who sent this?”
I shrugged. “No card. Probably whatever demon tried to trick me into thinking Atlas is still alive.”
That was when the air turned awkwardly silent. Rook and Sylas exchanged looks with one another and yet no one dared to acknowledge what I had just said.
In case they’d both spaced out and hadn’t heard me, I slowed my words down. “I said: probably whatever demon tried to trick me into thinking Atlas is still alive and kicking.”
Rubbing his forehead, Sy shifted uncomfortably in his stance. “Look, Kin, I wanted to talk to you about that.”
What was there to fucking talk about? I began to get worked up again. Ancient memories of Atlas’s rapidly decomposing corpse were hard to shake once they took hold of my mind.
“Ah, mate, allow me.” Rook patted Sy’s arm before shoving the white box into the archangel’s reluctant possession.
With my mind less frantic, I watched as the trickster approached me. Was thatmyrobe he had on? I had been acutely aware of it earlier, but other pressing matters had been at hand. Now with a clearer mind, I considered it a miracle his wide-set shoulders hadn’t ripped the seams trying to get his arms in the sleeves.
Taking my hands in both his, Rook smiled gently at me. “Love, when a man feels deeply for a woman, it is only natural that these deep-running emotions manifest in mysterious ways,” he began, only to be quickly interrupted.
“The human half of Atlas’s soul was saved,” Sylas blurted out. “He’s one of us now.”
One of us, or one of Sy? If my Atlassian had truly returned, everybody was going to need a few extra prayers.
Chapter Fifteen
Iwas beginning to feel like Sylas with the way I sulked and brooded around my apartment ever since my date with Kinley. The drive to be with her—to help her—was overwhelming. Yet, Sy had insisted I keep my distance until he could ensure she wouldn’t have another next-level meltdown.
Nothing was a bigger hit to one’s spirit than knowing your mere existence caused your soulmate to spiral into a dark place of suffering. God knew I’d do anything for my angel, but when it meant not being at her side, it was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do.
Tossing a Chinese takeout container into the trash, I headed for the fridge to grab myself a beer when my phone rang in my pocket. Digging my hand into my jeans to pull out my phone, I looked at the caller, and the first flicker of hope filled me when I saw Sylas’s name on the screen.
“Hey, did you talk to her?” I skipped past all the pleasantries of polite conversation.
Faintly, the sound of a door clicking shut carried over from the other end of the line before Sy responded. “Yeah, Rook and I spoke with her.”
