I have been reading this book for the last couple of weeks (yes it’s taking me that long to read it) and I have to admit I’m really liking it, I don’t know why as I love her books. I just read this scene and I had to share it. I hope it wets your appetite for more of this book and the most unlikely of heroes Zacharel.
Annabelle had never before spent an entire night in a man’s arms, had never thought to, since had always had to jump out of the window of her bedroom so her parents wouldn’t catch him. But last night, she had remained snuggled into Zacharel’s side. Warm and strong, he held her, soothing her back to sleep when bad dreams dared to intrude.
She woke well rested, drug free and ready for whatever came. Or so she thought. By the time she’d brushed her teeth and showered, she had to face Zacharel and nerves nearly got the better of her.
The things he’d done to her…He was a man who had given her more pleasure than anyone else ever had, burning away the terrors of the past, leaving new, amazing memories to sigh over for years to come. She wanted that again..but did he?
Probably not, she thought when she emerged from the bathroom once again wearing the maid’s uniform, because he did not look happy to see her. Although, if she were honest, his unhappy look pretty much matched all his other looks. Except for his smile, when those gorgeous dimples made an appearance.
I really want to see those dimples again.
He stood in front of the bed, his white robe pristine, unwrinkled, and his muscled arms crossed over his chest. He smelled of morning sky and sunshine, his hair brushed to a glossy shine.
“What’s got you in such an irritated mood? No demons attacked us last night,”she said, going for bravado rather than timid insecurity. “And notice I used the word irritated and not irritating, even thought that’s what I was thinking.”
“I am not in a mood,”he replied. “Perhaps I am just overcome by my first sexual experience.”
Oh…well. Okay, then. Blood rushed into her cheeks, heating her skin. “You sure didn’t seem like a beginner,” she admited.
“Thank you. Also,” he continued blithely, “I am content. I was right. You are harder to find when other humans surround you, which means I now know how to protect you.”
“Subject changed accepted,” she muttered.
“That was not my intention.”He frowned, his emerald gaze moving just over her shoulder, as if someone had intruded.
She twisted, looking, but found nothing out of the ordinary. When she turned back, he was frowning at her.
“Your glow is more pronounced,” he said, “and the cause is not the lamp. I left my mark on your skin. My essentia.”
Heart drumming in her chest, she held an arm up to the light, turned it left, then right. “I don’t see anything.”
“You have glowed since the first day I met you, but the fact that the glow is now more pronounced tells me it was and is not natural.”
“I wasn’t touched by another angel, if that’s what you are implying.”
“I;m not. Not two essentias are the same, adn you definitely carry mine. I wonder…could you have been born with mine, meant for me and only me? I have never heard of such a thing happening, of a mark appearing before claiming, but…anything is possible, I suppose.”As he spoke, he shook out his wings, “I will check…”
She lost track of his words, her mind ensnared by the beauty of those wings…so strong, so majestic, so wonderfully gold.
“I have already given you permission to touch my wings, Annabelle.”
Now he sounded irritated. “I know.”
“Then why are are your hands fisted at your sides, rather than on me?”
“Because you look so enthused by the idea.”
He opened his mouth, snapped it closed. “Sarcasm?”
“Good call.”
His put-upon sigh echoed between them.
Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless—and if he isn’t careful, he’ll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions at any cost
until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he’s never known before.
Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation—or her ultimate damnation?
