Redeeming Angel (25 page)

I felt a rush of something utterly
foreign fill my lungs. It was air, I realized dumbly. I hadn’t even
comprehended I’d been holding my breath. “Oh God.”

He chuckled deeply. “You said that
already.”

“
I’ll probably say it ten
more times. Is this real?” I wanted to pinch myself. Hard.
Wonderment whirled through me like a windstorm.

“
As real as my feelings for
you. Angel Chloe Morgan, will you marry me?”

This was Chase Winters on one knee for
me. Tears stung my eyes and a lump formed in my throat as I dropped
down beside him, framing his face with my shaky hands.

“
Say something.” He took
the pad of his thumb and wiped at the corners of my
eyes.

Feeling like an overemotional girl, I
said, “I think I’m still in shock.” Then I tipped my head forward,
pressing my lips to his in a quick kiss that tasted of my salty
tears. “I want to sear this moment in my memory forever,” I
whispered.

“
You still haven’t said
yes.”

I smiled. “What else would I say? Yes,
I will marry you, Chase—” My brows drew together. “I just realized
I don’t know what your middle name is.”

He laughed and pressed his forehead to
mine. “Liam.”

“
Chase Liam Winters.” I
meshed our lips together in another quick branding kiss. “I want
nothing more in this world than to marry you.”

His body shuddered, tension releasing
from him all at once. Wonder clouded his smoky eyes dashed with
bits of gold.

Happiness like I’d never known
trembled through me like magic. It might have been a simple
proposal, but I didn’t need flashy or over-the-top. I wasn’t that
kind of girl, but this had to be the single most swoon-worthy thing
he’d ever done or said to me. Then again, he was
otherworldly.

We were young, but in so many ways
we’d been through a lifetime of ups and downs. It didn’t matter if
we were nineteen or ninety, there would never be anyone else for me
but Chase. Tears clogged my vocal chords. “I’m going to love being
your wife.”

He laughed, a delicious sound that
lightened his gorgeous face into sheer happiness. With a hand not
completely steady, he slipped a ring onto to my finger. It fit
snuggly. “I didn’t want to give you something traditional. I wanted
it to be special, like what we have. The stone is a tanzanite. It
reminded me of your eyes.”

I was going to start crying again.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” The white gold band
wove around the stone much like our matching marks.

“
That’s how I feel about
you.”

From the corner of my eye I saw a
shooting star gracefully speeding across the dark night. “I love
you.”

He flashed me a lopsided grin,
enveloping me in his arms. “I want to marry you as soon as
possible.”

“
Like now?” My heart sped,
and my face lit on fire.

“
Not this instant, but
soon. Very soon. I want to start our life together without the
constant threat of Alastair. When this is all over, I’m going to be
rushing you down the aisle.”

He wasn’t going to hear any arguments
from me. I would marry him right here in the middle of a field if
he asked. “I’m going to hold you to that, Winters.”

One dark brow lifted.

In a blink, he was standing and I was
ensnared in his strong embrace. I felt as if I was floating, my
body soaring with love. I glimpsed down at the ring on my finger,
its weight foreign on my hand. He took a little breath and his arms
tightened around me. “Let’s go home, fiancée.”

I giggled. “I don’t think I’m ever
going to get used to hearing you say that.”

“
Maybe we should
elope.”

I swear my feet didn’t touch the
ground as we left the grove swallowed by wheat. “Lexi would kill
us.”

As we leisurely weaved through the
fields, we decided not to tell anyone just yet. I felt giddy to
have such a huge secret, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how long I
could keep something like this to myself. My mouth had a tendency
to move without communicating with my brain. It was a disease
almost.

There were no lights on as we broke
through the fields, crossing the road, only the glow of the
crescent moon above and a huge sky full of stars. We couldn’t stop
touching and talking about random things, like where we would go
for our honeymoon, whether Chase was going to go bald in his old
age, and my personal favorite, how many kids we would
have.

“
So have you changed your
mind about kids?” I asked, tiptoeing to the subject. I enjoyed
making him squirm.

“
My gut says it’s a bad
idea. With our genetic makeup, can you imagine what kind of kids we
would have?”

I could, and they would be perfect.
How could they not? With Chase’s incredible looks and my sparkling
personality they would be destined for greatness. He must be dense.
“And you always trust your gut?” I countered.

“
It’s kept me
alive.”

“
But has it made you happy?
What did your gut say when you met me?” I challenged.

He snorted. “Run. As far and as fast
as you can, because this girl is going to get you in
trouble.”

I smiled. “Wow. That was what my gut
told me, too.”

“
And your gut was
right.”

I shook my head and looped my arm
through his. “Not a chance. Why didn’t you listen to your
gut?”

He shot me a grin. “You know why.
Besides, I tried. I just couldn’t stay away from you.”

Thinking about the days when we first
met and the mix of feelings I had about my sexy douchebag neighbor
brought a smile to my lips and made my insides light up.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling
our faces close.

We spent to rest of the night wrapped
up in each other, trying to forget about the things we’d soon be
facing. It was a night I would always remember. How absolutely
loved and cherished he made me feel. I didn’t think life could be
more blissful than being in love with Chase.

Chapter 24

{Angel
}

Moonlight streamed through the sheer
curtains, and an eerie feeling I was being watched prickled my
skin. Chase was sleeping soundly next to me, a rare sight. I
climbed silently from the bed, careful not to wake him, and went to
the window. Glancing out into the yard, I could see nothing out of
the ordinary.

I shivered.

Whether I could see anything or not, I
knew someone was out there.

It wasn’t just because it was
incredibly dark out, or that the moon was full and the streetlights
were out. It was the sudden shift in the air. My heart raced as the
demon marks on my side swirled in radiance.

I opened up my night vision, and in
the darkness, trailing through the evergreens, was a glowing red
light. It didn’t take a brainiac to know the light was a demon. I
know it was probably a trap, but the fear I’d seen in Kira’s eyes
combined with my newfound skills gave me a boost of confidence. I
wanted to know who and why a demon was lurking outside my window,
although I had a hunch who it was.

After slipping on a pair of
worn jeans from the floor, I slid my feet into a pair of sneakers
and glanced toward the bed. Chase hadn’t moved a wink. He must have
been exhausted, and how could I blame him? The real trick was to
sneak out of the house without disturbing him
and
make it back. I wasn’t holding my
breath, but I moved silently down the stairs, avoiding every
creak.

I left the front porch and took off
toward the woods. My heart was pounding in my ears and my stomach
was in knots, but I didn’t run back inside like I wanted. As I got
closer to the edge of the woods, the hair on the back of my neck
stood up, and my demon marks went haywire. I twiddled the ring on
my finger.

This was stupid. I knew better than to
wander off at night, let alone gone near the woods. No matter how
curious and brave I was feeling, nothing was going to lure me into
those woods. Not even an entire box of apple cider donuts. As I
berated myself, I stopped and stared at the spot where a group of
trees were the thickest.

Yikes.

Bewilderment leaped into my violet
eyes, and I felt the dizzy sense of vertigo. “You?”

“
Who were you expecting,
the queen of England?”

“
You know who the queen
is?” I shook my head. “Never mind. What are you doing creeping
outside my window like a jealous girlfriend?”

Kira stepped out from the shadows. “I
wanted to talk.”

I took a conscious step
backward. “To
me
?”

The ends of her lips tipped up in a
not-so-nice smirk. “Well, you’re not Queen Elizabeth, although my
nephew does treat you like a princess.”

I snorted. “So you’re not here hoping
to catch a glimpse of Travis or Lexi?”

There was something less intimidating
about Kira; maybe it was the way she was dressed, in a pair of cute
jeans and flat riding boots. “Not tonight, but it would have been
an added bonus.”

At least she didn’t try to deny it.
“How many nights have you been out here?”

“
Do you want an exact
number?” She appeared impatient, eyes lively.

I glared and folded my
arms.

She blew out a smoke of hot air.
“Every night since they came home, okay? Happy now?”

Far from it.
Chase would not like to hear about this. It would
definitely set him off into a demon rager, and so would my being
alone with Kira. If he were to wake up…

Ugh. Best not to think about those
consequences.

The demon and I would be in hot water
for sure, and that thought was enough to make this a short
conversation. I glanced at the window just to make sure it was
still dark. “I don’t have much time, so spit it out already. What
did you want to talk to me about?”

Her scarlet eyes lifted behind me.
“Honestly, I’m surprised you came alone.”

“
Who said I’m alone?” Never
reveal anything to a demon, lesson number two. Lesson number one:
never find yourself alone with a demon. I’d already broken rule
number one; it was better to not push my luck.

She wore a dark cloak that covered
most of her silvery-blonde hair. “It doesn’t really matter whether
you believe me or not. I mean you no harm. None of you.”

The scary thing was, I believed her.
“Okay.”

Her shoulders relaxed in a way that
her movements were nothing but flickers. “I came to warn
you.”

Now she had my undivided attention,
and the fear I’d been dreading since I returned home became real. I
knew what she was going to tell me, what we’d all been waiting
for—Alastair to strike back.

“
There have been whispers.
Alastair is on his way.” A breeze suddenly blew through the
timbers, kicking up the ends of her cloak and shaking the dried
leaves off the branches. They frolicked eerily in the air. “He’s
gathered his army, and he isn’t looking to use you. He wants you
very, very dead.” She circled me like she was dancing, and I turned
to follow, keeping my eyes glued to her.

Funny…that was exactly how I wanted
him—dead—body and spirit.

My chin tipped up as the mighty wind
teased strands of my hair, thrashing them over my face. “Tell me
something I don’t already know.”

“
I plan on it,
Lucerna.”

I raised my brows. I wasn’t fond of
being called names I couldn’t pronounce. “Just to be clear, I’m not
making a deal with you.”

And with a snap, the wind died, but
the dark clouds above remained. “Consider this a gesture of
goodwill.”

“
I’m listening.”

“
There is such a power to
destroy not just the flesh of a demon, but the soul.”

“
Chase was right; it’s
possible,” I muttered.

She nodded, but I could tell by the
seriousness in her eyes, there was a catch, as there always was
with Hell. “It is, but there hasn’t been a demon slayer in
centuries.”

“
A demon slayer?” I
echoed.

“
It takes a unique
individual to have the skills necessary to extinguish a demon. Even
then, sometimes it’s not enough.”

I wasn’t going to be discouraged, not
when the first real seed of hope took root inside me, just waiting
to bloom. All it needed was a little rain and sunshine. “Where do
we find one?”

“
You think you are the
first to seek such knowledge? There have been many over the decades
who sought out the legends of slayers, but they remained a myth…to
most.”

And like that my bubble burst. How the
hell were we going to find someone who essentially didn’t exist? If
there hadn’t been a slayer in centuries, we were doomed.

Then Kira said, “But you already have
a slayer.”

Umm. Say what?
Elation trekked through my veins. If she was
screwing with me, I was going to light her on fire. Somehow. I
rummaged my brain. “Do we know them? Who is it?” Immediately, I
thought of Emma. I didn’t know anyone more badass—Chase excluded of
course. “Emma?”