Revenant

Wait… she’d been crying in her office. In front of Revenant. She groaned and covered her head with the blankets.

Blankets that smelled like Revenant.

God, how could she have fallen apart like that? She wasn’t even sure what, exactly, had caused her to break down, but what she did know was that it couldn’t happen again. She was stronger than that. She’d had to be, to survive this long.

“Hey.” His voice, smoky and resonant, broke into her thoughts, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. “I have food.”

She poked her head out of the covers and peeked at him as he entered the bedroom with a brown paper sack. “Food?”

He held up the grease-stained bag. “Fresh delivered from my favorite underworld pub.”

Hunger beat out embarrassment, and she sat up, realizing at the last second that she was naked. Hastily, she tucked the blankets between her arms and ribs to keep herself covered.

Not that Revenant hadn’t seen every inch of her by now. Still, naked during sex was different than naked and emotionally exposed. She felt like he’d seen not only her body uncovered, but her mind as well.

Something glittery caught her eye, and she reached across the pale blue comforter, her fingers finding the most exquisite feather. Roughly the size of a bald eagle’s tail feather, it was a luxurious blue-black satin shot through with gold and tipped with silver.

“Wow,” she said. “Yours?”

Revenant turned about ten shades of red. Why, she had no idea. If her feathers looked like this, she’d be showing them off all the time. Sadly, hers were the translucent with a pinkish shimmer that all False Angels had, and while they looked exotic from a distance, up close they were crepe paper–thin and meant only for show.

Not that she was complaining. She had no idea what her real wings looked like, and she didn’t want to know. Knowing meant her False Angel enchantment was gone, and she’d likely be dead before she could get intimate with her feathers.

“Ah… yeah. It’s mine.” Revenant sank down on the bed and pulled four foam boxes out of the bag, plus napkins and plastic utensils. “There’s smoked ribs, saucy meatballs, and chops.”

“Not one for vegetables, huh?”

He opened the last box to reveal crisp, golden fries. “Voilà. Vegetables.”

“As a physician, I’m going to throw down a bullshit flag on that one.” Carefully setting aside the feather, she reached for the box full of charred ribs, but pulled her hand back at the last second. “Dare I ask what kind of meat this is?”

He rolled one broad shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Dunno. How strong is your stomach?”

She had a feeling he was teasing, but she wasn’t going to test that theory. She poked a meatball with a plastic fork and gobbled the thing down in two bites. Next, she put a hurting on the ribs, not caring that Revenant was watching her with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“What?” she mumbled through a mouthful of fries. “Never seen anyone eat before?”

“I like watching you eat. I’d have liked to cook the food myself, but I didn’t want to leave you alone while I went hunting.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” she said, even as she wondered how often he cooked for females. “But I’m definitely not going to ask what you would have gone hunting for.”

“That’s probably wise.”

They finished eating in surprisingly comfortable silence, and when she was done, Revenant disappeared into the bathroom. He returned with a wet washcloth and stunned her into silence when he very tenderly wiped her face, dabbing beneath her eyes with the greatest of care. Then he moved on to her mouth and hands, catching every bit of sticky sauce and fry grease.

She had a feeling he’d tended to someone like this before. It was hard to imagine that this big, bad Shadow Angel could be so gentle and caring.

As he finished up, she covered his hand in hers. “Who was she?”

He knew what she meant, and shadows flitted in his eyes. “My mother,” he said quietly.

And then, as if he’d gotten a shock stick rammed up his ass, he shoved to his feet and tossed the washcloth in a corner pile of clothes. He yanked a black Guns N’ Roses T-shirt out of his drawer and handed it to her.

“I don’t have any underwear that’ll fit you, but I think I have a pair of sweats that’ll work if you cinch up the waist. You know, a lot.”

“It’s okay. I can wear my scrubs. I should be going anyway.”

“Where? Back to the hospital where you just got suspended?”

His words stung… because he was right. Her life was spiraling out of control, and the suspension had been the last straw. Angels were after her, her False Angel enchantment was wearing off, her mother was missing, and she’d lost her job. Then she’d had amazing sex with Revenant that had felt anything but casual.

Her emotions were frayed, but for some reason, here in Revenant’s lair, it was easy to let all of that go.

“Revenant? Why did you bring me here?”

“You were upset.” He gathered up the boxes and trash and shoved it all into the bag it had come in. “You needed to be safe. This is the safest place for you to be.”

“But why? I was safe at the hospital, too.”

“It’s a… rule.”

She climbed out of bed and started to dress. “A rule?”

He nodded. “When a female is in distress, you tend to her.” He appeared to consider what he’d just said. “Unless she tries to kill you. At that point, she’s fair game.”