Michelle Rowen - Wicked Kiss

If I gave in to the kiss much more, I’d also become one of those zombie grays. Which was why what had happened with Colin had frightened me so much. Once a gray turned to that zombie state, there was no coming back from it. The horrible thought of losing myself completely kept me awake at night staring at my ceiling with my sheets pulled right up to my neck.

“We have a visitor,” Connor said with surprise as he noticed Cassandra—and it was very hard not to notice the beautiful blonde. “Hi, there. I’m Connor.”

“A pleasure.” She nodded.

Zach’s previous smile faded at the edges as his gaze widened with recognition. “Cassandra.”

“Zachary. I’m glad to see you made it here all right.”

“Stupid ritual.”

“Totally agree.” She smiled warmly at him. “So this is the entire team?”

“It is,” Bishop confirmed.

“Why are you here?” Zach asked her.

“The same reason as the rest of you. To lend a hand with a difficult situation.”

“Of course.”

She chewed her bottom lip—which struck me as a nervous gesture. It surprised me that she and Zach already knew each other, although I wasn’t sure why. Angels would be associated with each other on some level in Heaven, kind of like going to a big high school. Not everybody knew everyone else, but there were those you saw every day, some you made friends with, some you...didn’t.

I got the strange feeling that these two weren’t exactly best friends.

“Will you be staying with us here at the church?” Zach asked.

Cassandra swept her gaze around the sanctuary, ending with Roth. Her expression soured. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh, come on,” Roth said, grinning darkly. “We can be bunkmates.”

“Definitely not.” She looked at me. “I’ll stay with Samantha.”

I stared at her. “I...uh, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“Of course it is.”

I cast a look at Bishop, hoping for backup.

There was amusement in his gaze at her suggestion, which didn’t bode well. “I think it’s a good idea. Cassandra can watch over you at night when I’m not around. You’ll be safe from any more...potential problems.”

Kraven snorted again. Honestly, I’d think the demon had a head cold if I didn’t know better. “Right. Wouldn’t want you to have problems, sweetness. That story doesn’t have a happily ever after.”

Bishop shot him a look. “That’s not what I meant.”

The demon waved a dismissive hand. “I wouldn’t know. I barely listen to anything you ever say.”

Don’t fight this, I told myself. Go with the flow. Don’t raise any alarms, not after what happened at Crave.

“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “Wouldn’t want to be a problem.”

“Way too late for that,” Roth mumbled.

“Before you go, Cassandra...” Bishop beckoned for her to join him on the other side of the sanctuary. I watched them with a tight feeling in my chest, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying anymore.

Zach moved to stand next to me and he scrubbed a hand through his short, red hair as he also watched the two beautiful angels in their tête-à-tête.

I glanced at him. “So you and Cassandra know each other, huh?”

“Yeah.”

I twisted my index finger into my hair, pulling tight enough to squeeze off my circulation. “I bet when she was human she was, like, a cheerleader. One who stole other girls’ boyfriends. I mean...not that this observation is relevant right now or anything. I’m just saying.”

He grinned at my babblings before the expression faded. “She wasn’t human. She’s one of the hosts.”

I blinked. “One of the what?”

“She was created as an angel.”

I stared at him with shock. “Really?”

He nodded. “Really.”

“Is...is that how it normally is? Or are angels usually human first?”

“They try to keep it balanced.”

“Right. Balance. Can’t forget that.” I worked it over in my head. “How does it happen? Like, do you do enough good deeds in real life and you’re given the job when you die?”

“Pretty much. For me, I saved a kid from drowning. Saved him, but managed to drown myself in the process. I was only a week from graduating from Harvard top of my class. My father always wanted that more than anything—for me to be a lawyer just like him. He was so obsessed with my grades and my...my future. Sometimes I wonder if he’d approve of what I did become.” He glanced at me guiltily. “Sorry, sometimes I still dwell on my past.”

“Dwell away. Believe me, I totally get the parent angst. I’ve lived it all my life.” It was crazy hearing someone talk about their own death, but he said it so matter-of-factly that I found I was able to take it in stride. “When was that? When did you, uh...die?”

“Fifty years ago, give or take. And, yes, I was given the chance when I died to choose between eternal rest or eternal...work.” He shrugged. “I guess I like to keep busy. Never enjoyed taking vacations, anyway. Such a waste of time.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that, but I quickly sobered. Fifty years ago. And he still looked so young. Wow. “So what happens to your body?”

“We get to keep our human bodies, which are resurrected and healed so they’re even better and stronger than before.” He frowned. “It’s hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it personally. Anyway, our mortal bodies then go through a very intense transition to become celestial and immortal. That part isn’t fun.”

That was when they’d give up their human souls and gain any special abilities as they were transformed into their angelic selves.

In two minutes I’d gotten more information about life as an angel from Zach than I’d gotten from Bishop in two weeks. I was both stunned and grateful for anything I could learn. Now I knew Zach was the go-to guy for stuff like this.

“What about Bishop?” I whispered. “Do you know his story?”

Kraven shot a look at me as he rose from the pew. I wasn’t sure if he was close enough to hear me and Zach talking. He gestured at Roth for them to leave, which they did. I figured they were sick of waiting and they wanted to go patrol. Connor swung into a pew halfway up the aisle.

Zach didn’t speak for a moment. “I’m not sure I want to know his story.”

I tensed. “Why?”

“Heard a few things about him before I left. He wasn’t well liked. There were many who believed he didn’t deserve his placement as an angel.” He shrugged. “I don’t know the truth. All I know is he was a workaholic...really driven. He took every assignment given to him without any argument as if he was trying to prove something. Frankly, I expected him to be a real dick. Maybe the fall knocked a lot of that attitude out of him. But knowing Bishop and Kraven were brothers once...” He sent a look toward the enigmatic angel in question. “I mean, it does make me wonder.”

Me, too. I wondered way too much about the two of them and what it all meant. It had become a driving need inside of me to get to the bottom of the mystery of how and why one brother became a demon and the other an angel.

“Do me a favor, Samantha,” Zach said.

“Sure,” I replied, now distracted. “Of course. What?”

“Don’t fall in love with him.”

My gaze shot to his, and my cheeks immediately heated up. “Excuse me?”

He had the grace to look embarrassed. “Love...well, it makes people do crazy things, even if they’re not crazy to begin with. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

I bit my bottom lip so hard I nearly drew blood. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cassandra give Bishop a hug.

A freaking hug.

I swallowed hard. “Any other sage advice tonight, Zach?”