An Archangel's Promise (8 page)

“What is it?”

“I don’t really know how else to say this, so I’m just going
to go for it, okay?” At her nod, he continued. “You’re my bonded. It means that
you have the same lifespan that I do.”

“I need a little more explanation, Hunter.”

“I’m an angel, Gabby. We stop aging once we reach maturity,
which I have. There is no such thing as a natural death. And it takes a hell of
a lot to kill me. In fact, it’s next to impossible.”

Gabriella went quiet for a moment. “So, basically you’re
immortal, which makes me immortal?”

“Basically,” he answered cautiously. “Are you okay? I’ve got
to say, you’re dealing with this better than I thought you would.”

“Oh, I’m not dealing with this it all,” she said absently.
“I know what you’re saying, but I’m not thinking too deeply at the moment.”

Hunter smiled at her. Some things never changed. Gabriella
was handling it the way she always did. She gathered all the information, not
focusing too long on any one thing, and then went through it piece by piece
until she came to a conclusion.

* * * *

“I know I still have a lot to make up for…”

“Hush. No more of that right now. Now is for good, happy
feelings,” she said with a smile, turning in his arms. “And I have a few
ideas.” She reached down between them and wrapped her fingers around him
boldly. “I know you didn’t want to leave me. We’re together now, and that’s all
I want to focus on.”

“You never cease to amaze, or surprise, me,” he murmured on
a moan of pleasure. Leaning in, he kissed her as he pressed her back into the
wall.

The cold tiled wall made her shudder. “Amaze? Surprise? No,
I just know you.” She cocked an eyebrow and squeezed him tighter in her hands.
His hips thrust forward as he groaned. “And you’re so easy.”

A fierce, deep growl tore from his chest as he caught her
hands and pressed them over her head to the wall. “Only for you.” Nipping at
her lips, Hunter breathed her in slowly as he pressed in closer to her. “I want
you so badly.”

God, his look was so primal, so savage as he stared down at
her. How had she managed to survive this long without him? Her body ached to
submit to him, her mind longed to understand everything that had happened to
him, and her heart yearned to claim his.

“I need you, Hunter,” she begged.

He nibbled down her neck lightly. “You have me.”

Gabriella gasped when he abruptly dropped to his knees.
Spreading her legs, Hunter cupped her arse and pulled her to his mouth, his
tongue flicking out to find the tight, swollen bud between her folds.

She reached down and wrapped her fingers tight in his dark
hair, moaning as he devoured her. “Please,” she begged. “Oh God, Hunter.
Yessss.”

Spreading her so he could thrust his tongue into her wet
heat, he groaned. “You taste so damn good,” he told her.

“Please, Hunter. More. Please, I need to come. I want you
inside of me,” she begged.

Thrusting a finger into her body, Hunter sucked at her
clitoris and groaned softly against her flesh. Pressing a second finger into
her pussy, he pumped his fingers in and out of her hard and fast. “Come for
me,” he demanded against her damp folds.

Gabriella had no choice but to obey. She screamed, arching
her back as pleasure raced through her. Her vision dimmed and she sobbed his
name, which echoed on the glass enclosure and through the marble room like a
chorus of need.

Getting to his feet fast, he lifted her up and thrust into
her. Gabriella felt him shudder as she squeezed him tight. Grabbing her hands,
he held them up as he forced his cock deeper into her inner heat. Rocking hard
and fast, he took her, pushing and pulling in and out of her. She saw Hunter’s gaze
flick to her wrist where he held it, and if possible, he began thrusting
deeper, harder.

Gabriella cried out, her legs tightening around him. She
might not be able to have her arms around him, but she could hold him with her
legs. She planned to hold on and never let go. Arching against him, she moved
harder against him with the help of the shower wall. “I love you, Hunter.”
Gabriella mewled and whimpered, she was again ready to come.

Hunter leant forward, nuzzling into her neck, and the feel
of his teeth on her skin took her over the edge she had been balancing on.

“Hunter!” The sound of her own heart beating drowned out
anything else. She felt the splash of heat deep inside her as Hunter found his
peak, the piercing of his teeth into her flesh as he bit down hard. She
shuddered uncontrollably in his arms until the darkness engulfed her.

The soft whisper of Hunter’s voice dragged Gabriella out of
her haze, and she blinked up in surprise when the ceiling of her bedroom came
into focus.

Huh?

“Hey. There you are,” Hunter murmured, pressing his lips to
her forehead. “You had me worried for a second.”

Gabriella could hear the concern in his voice and wondered
how long she had been out of it. Certainly long enough for him to get them out
of the shower and dry her off. “What…what the hell happened?”

Hunter smirked. “What can I say? I’m just that good.”

She slapped him on the chest but laughed. He really had been
that good. Gabriella opened her mouth to make a snide comment when the light
shining through her blinds caught her attention. Was that sunlight? “How long
was I out, Hunter?”

Hunter grimaced. “Since last night. You passed out while we
were in the shower. I didn’t think much of it, until you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Am I all right?” she asked, stunned.

“You’re fine. Just extremely worn out mentally and
physically. My father returned when he sensed my distress. He was the one who
told me you would be fine. I just needed to let you rest.” Hunter sighed. “I’m
sorry my returning has put you under so much stress. I didn’t mean for that to
happen. Hell, I don’t know what I thought would happen. All I could think of
was that I was finally free to be with you again.” He chuckled mirthlessly.

“Wel—” Pounding on her door interrupted her, and she rolled
her eyes. “I swear, the next person to interrupt me is going to get a foot up
the arse.”

Hunter collapsed onto the bed in a fit of laughter, his mood
shifting dramatically. “Oh, I’d pay to see that.”

Glaring at the laughing baboon, yet glad his somber
disposition had vanished, Gabriella climbed off the bed and began searching for
something to wear. “Go make yourself useful, and find out who that is while I
get dressed and pack a few things. I highly doubt they thought we would take
this long.”

Guilt hit her when she remembered why they needed to worry.
Damn, the kid.

As if reading her thoughts, Hunter wrapped her up in his
arms, kissing her on the top of her head. “He’ll be fine. While we were here,
the others were planning. Isn’t that what you told me?” Gabriella nodded. “And
until we have a plan there is nothing we can do, right?” Another nod. “So stop.
That’s probably one of them now, coming to tell us that they’ve finally come up
with a plan. Sebastian, Dominic, and Julian are the planners. The rest of us
wait to be told what to do.”

The banging grew louder, and she shoved him away with a
smile. “Go answer my door before they break it down.”

Grinning, he dropped a quick kiss on her lips. Haphazardly pulling
on his pants and throwing on his shirt, he left her in her room. She took a
long, deep breath, trying to absorb everything that had happened. Could it have
only been a few hours ago that her entire world had been thrown upside down?
Crazy.

She had just finished putting a few things in a carry bag
when Hunter came back into the room, his shirt still unbuttoned, and his
deliciously bare chest on display. She licked her lips as she drank him in. The
man was simply gorgeous. Hunter’s lips quirked at her perusal.

“Honey, you might want to stop looking at me like that. I
doubt Sebastian wants a show, and I really don’t feel like giving him one.” He
chuckled.

Shaking her head, she tore her eyes away from him to see
Sebastian standing in her bedroom doorway. Gabriella stretched her head back to
gaze up at the man, feeling extremely tiny in his presence. Sebastian must have
had at least four inches on Hunter. There was something about the other angel
that made her pause. Maybe it was the fact that he was the son of Michael, or
that the very sight of him in his golden magnificence was a little
overwhelming. Either way, something about his amber brown eyes seemed very old.

“How old are you?” she blurted out. Heat infused her face at
her unexpected words. She really hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

The older angel looked at her curiously. “Funny. That was
the first thing your bonded asked me too. Do I really look that old?”

Hunter snorted, slapping the other man on the back. “Dude,
you are that old.”

“Guess you have a point.” Sebastian chuckled. Turning his
attention back to Gabriella, he said, “To answer your question, I’m one hundred
and forty-two.”

“Oh, wow. Okay then,” she said more to herself than anyone.
Gabriella figured the guy was older, but seriously? That gave a whole new meaning
to the word for her.

Sebastian’s eyes danced with amusement before he focused on
Hunter. “Anyway, I came here to tell you that we’ll be leaving soon.” His eyes
slid back to her. “You’ll be safe to stay here while we’re gone.”

Gabriella frowned. “But I thought you said we had to leave
before Ash decides to come back with reinforcements. I know we don’t have to
travel far to search for Landon now, but surely we should try to find somewhere
safer, shouldn’t we?”

“That was before,” Sebastian said simply.

Yeah, because that answered the question. “Before what?”

“While you two were, ah…well…busy…” Sebastian cleared his
throat. “We had a visit from a few of our fathers. The external mess from Ash
and his men was far greater than we could handle on our own, too wide spread.
They told us that they had
acquired
the tower we’re in about a month ago
and all of its penthouses, bar this one which Gabriella already owns. The
residents have since been extremely well compensated, and what furniture that
will need replacing is already being taken care of.”

Jeez, those angels sure don’t mess around.

“After fixing everything and making sure no traces of the
incident could be found, they placed wards in every place imaginable.
Apparently, the gold surrounding the penthouse floors will help reinforce the
wards. They said there wasn’t a better place for us to finally set up. Set up
for what, I have no idea, but then again I’m used to them only feeding me
tidbits. It’s how they work.”

The man sounded bitter about that, not that she blamed him.
Lack of answers were seriously starting to piss her off too. Hang on…what did
he just say?

“Wait. So you’re telling me that your fathers own the entire
tower? They’re the ones that bought it a couple of months ago?” she asked
incredulously.

Hunter shrugged. “Well, it is one of the highest points in
the southern hemisphere. Kind of makes sense that the archangels would own it.”

Make sense? When did any of this start making sense? Huh,
she guessed she missed that memo. “And how did they manage to do all this so
quickly?”

Hunter and Sebastian shared a look. “They’re archangels,”
they explained in unison.

They’re archangels. Of course. Silly me.

“Guess there’s no point in packing?” she said, extremely
relieved. Having spent so many years building up her business, the last thing
she wanted to do was let it go. She would have though, for Hunter.

“No. However, we are heading out soon to begin our search.
We’ll be in teams of two, Hunter you’re with me. The sooner we leave, the
sooner we find him,” Sebastian replied.

Gabriella nodded, trying to hide how nervous she was to let
Hunter out of her sight. She didn’t know which she feared more, the idea that
he could be hurt, or that he wouldn’t return.

“Hey, it’ll be fine,” he whispered, kissing her softly.

Wasn’t that what he had said last time?

“I know,” she whispered, though who she was trying to
convince she had no idea. “Just be safe, okay?”

“I will. I’ll be back soon,” he promised, then turned and
followed Sebastian out of the room.

* * * *

Hunter and Sebastian had been gone for almost an hour when
Gabriella’s phone rang. Seeing the number for the tower management, she
answered quickly while making her way to the kitchen in search of coffee.
This
should be interesting.

“Hello?”

“Ah, yes. Ms. Richards. It’s Reginald.”

“Reginald, hi,” she answered stiffly, not knowing what to expect.

The man was a continuous thorn in her side when she made
arrangements for functions. He was neither management, nor owner of the tower,
however many requests passed through him. He had a god-like complex from the
power such a position afforded him and enjoyed making things difficult. They
had been in a silent war since the time she had gone over his head and spoken
directly to management about an issue.

Had he given her a choice, perhaps she could have handled it
differently, but as it had stood, the man’s arrogance had left her with no
other course of action.

With the business she brought in, and the fact that she
owned one of the penthouses, the management had been quick to appease her,
which had served to piss the man off further. So Gabriella couldn’t even begin
to imagine the gloating she would be on the receiving end of after the mess
from last night. The men may have worked hard to tidy the debris up, but there was
no hiding the gaping big holes left in the walls, or the shattered windows.

“Ms. Richards, management has asked me to call you and thank
you,” he said.

She stumbled to a stop. “I-I’m sorry?”

“They appreciate that you and your brother will not be
taking any action against them for the previous evening’s incident. It is
terribly fortunate that no one was harmed.”

“Um…yes, it was?” Damn, that sounded like a question, but
she really didn’t know what was going on.

“Yes, yes,” he continued as if she hadn’t even spoken. “Who
would have thought bursting pipes could do so much damage? Regardless, we thank
you very much for not taking things further. Though, since your husband’s
company has officially purchased the tower I suppose it would seem rather
redundant.”

Her what?

“My husband?” she inquired.

“Yes. The representative for the company revealed that you
have in fact married one of the co-owners of Archsons, Inc. Is this not the
case?”

Archsons
? Oh, for the love of…

“Ah, yes,” she replied quickly. “Well, it was supposed to be
kept under wraps, but I suppose the cat is out of the bag. Listen, Reginald, I
have another call I have to make. No need to worry about the faulty pipes, I’m
sure my
husband
will take care of everything.”

“Excellent. And congratulations, ma’am,” he responded,
sounding eager to get off the phone.

Gabriella hung up, dialing Hunter’s number immediately,
thankful he had thought to give it to her before he left.

He answered on the second ring. “Hey, honey. Everything
okay?”

“I guess that depends on what your opinion of okay is,
husband
,”
she stressed the last word and waited for his response.

A nervous chuckle sounded through the line. “Um, yeah, about
that…”

“Yes?”

“I honestly didn’t know until about an hour ago.”

She thought about making him sweat it out, letting him think
she was furious, but she really didn’t have it in her. What she wanted was
answers. “When will you be home?” she asked absently.

She heard his intake of breath. “Home?”

“Yes, home,” she said softly, suddenly understanding. “Come
home when you can, and we’ll talk. You can explain things to me, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll be home soon, Gabby.”

The emotion in Hunter’s voice reminded her that none of this
was really his fault, and that he felt just as lost as she did. “I’ll see you
when you get here.”

After hanging up, Gabriella’s stomach alerted her of how
long it had been since she had eaten. Deciding to go in search of food, she
grabbed her purse and keys. Since it wasn’t safe to travel outside of the tower
at that moment, she would make do with the café downstairs.

If Hunter would be staying then she needed to begin grocery shopping
more often. Living alone, she’d never felt the urge to cook for one, but now…it
could be nice having someone to share a home-cooked meal with.

Taking the lift, Gabriella slowly began to absorb everything
that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Her life had changed so
dramatically, and yet each time she remembered Hunter was back in her life
because of it, she couldn’t help but feel grateful.

The doors opened on a
ping
, and she stepped out.
Gabriella made it three feet before her name was called. Turning to see who it was,
she was drawn up short by a familiar face.

“Brad? What are you doing here?” she asked as the man moved
toward her.

She was taken a little by surprise when Brad wrapped his
arms around her, hugging her tight. “Ah, Gabriella. It’s been too long.”

Extricating herself out of his embrace, she chuckled
awkwardly. “Um, yeah. About five years, or so.”

“Like I said, too long,” he replied.

She felt more than saw the way his eyes raked over her, and
she tried hard not to grimace.

“Five years? Really? Then I’m so glad my bosses insisted I
come down here to drum up business. I hadn’t been too impressed when I got the
call this morning, but I am now.”

“So you’re here for business?” She tried to act interested,
but the man had always rubbed her the wrong way.

Gabriella had met him in her third year at University and
had thought he was nice enough. Thinking nothing of it, she had invited him to
her twenty-first birthday. Brad had taken that to mean she was interested in
more, and her party had ended in disaster when he tried to
persuade
her
to give them a go. She remembered being furious when he had brought Hunter into
the conversation. Somehow he had heard about him, and rightfully believed that
she was still holding out hope for him. Managing to ignore most of his remarks,
it had been when he had spoken about Hunter negatively that she had become enraged.