Ascension (18 page)

Jamie and Thor had moved the carriages a safe distance away. They were in the process of tucking the rescued women inside.

Lillian wiped some blood from Reece’s face as they too watched the building fall.

“What the hell was in that pot?” Reece asked.

“Whatever it was ate right through the foundation of the building,” Gabriel said.

Lillian turned to them. “I think it may be time to call in more troops. If this is what happens on the full moon, then the horrors of the new moon are far beyond the capabilities of the four of us. Gabriel is a fine addition, but it is not enough.”

“We’ve always managed before.” Reece’s tone bit with pride.

“This is different. They are getting stronger.”

The building made noises similar to screaming. The hunters backed further away and watched open-mouthed while the structure crumbled down to a pile of stones.

Several local people gathered around and with each creak and grumble of the settling ruins they jumped back a step. A man in his nightclothes grumbled about it being long overdue that the damned place crumbled. A woman commented that the odor was already going away.

“I think it is time we retreated,” Reece said.

Lillian nodded. “Agreed.”

Quietly, they made their way to the carriages. Jamie’s carriage was full with the rescued women so the hunters all climbed into Thor’s carriage. Gabriel stopped prior to climbing in. Thor watched the crowd gathering while holding the door open.

“We had best get out of here, my lord. No telling what these folks will think of the four of you.”

The driver was right, but something needed saying. Gabriel waited until Thor met his gaze. “I shall forever be indebted to you, my friend. What you did tonight cannot be repaid.” It was not enough, but what more could he say?

Thor smiled for just a fraction of a second. When he spoke, his voice was for the earl’s ears only. “I’ll be watchin’ out for you, Gabriel. And the lady too.”

Gabriel throat tightened with stifled emotion. He slapped the driver’s shoulder soundly. “Good man.” Then he cleared his throat and climbed into the carriage.

Belinda looked out the window. Dark smudges marked her face and she glowered, lost in thought.

He longed to know what rattled through her magnificent mind. He’d never thought of her mind before he left for France. All he thought was that he loved her, and she would be his. He imagined her body beneath his while he was in prison. In his darkest moments, those dreams had kept him alive. Now there was so much more to her. She was as bright as anyone he’d ever met. She was also righteous and honorable, traits not often attributed to women. Perhaps that was an error on the part of men.

Across the carriage, Reece and Lillian whispered together.

“What will happen to those women?” Gabriel asked.

Lillian ignored whatever it was Reece was saying to her and turned toward Gabriel. “We have a very nice home that has been set up as a hospital here in London. The doctor there is well trained for these types of injuries. She will know what to do.”

“The doctor is a woman?” Gabriel didn’t know why this shocked him. He’d never heard of a female doctor, but nor had he ever seen women do what Lillian and Belinda were capable of.

Lillian smiled sweetly. “Doctor Emily Barns. I will introduce you to her if you would like.”

He would like to meet a woman who was able to learn medicine with all the obstacles she must have faced. “I would like that very much. Perhaps we can check on the patients in a day or two. What do you think, Bella?”

She smiled in a way that made him wonder if it was the idea that she liked or did she just thrill at being asked her opinion? Was it that he had asked or would any man asking have elicited the same response? His idea that he knew her completely shook with each passing moment they spent together and yet the learning excited him beyond imagining. This magnificent woman would be his wife. He would find a way to convince her.

“I would like to check on them as well.”

Lillian gave them a broad grin. “Very good. We shall tour the hospital the day after tomorrow”

The carriage stopped in front of the alley that led to the office.

Reece jumped down and turned back to assist Lillian, though she certainly did not need help. Gabriel had seen the attractive redhead leap across the altar, spin through the air and bury both of her strange knives in the priests back. She could manage getting down from a carriage. However, he liked the idea that the demon hunters allowed for certain traditions when the situation permitted.

The carriage door shut and they were on the move again. “Are they lovers?” Gabriel asked.

“No. They are the best of friends. I think they may have been lovers once, but not for a long time. Why do you ask?”

“Perhaps, because we are lovers, and it was very difficult for me tonight when you struggled to get out of that building.” Even saying those words caused his chest to tighten painfully.

“I’m sorry I frightened you, Gabriel. But what happened tonight changes nothing. I am willing to die for this cause. You will have to accept that or you must find another to make your life with.” The sweet tone of her voice contrasted the ferocity of her words.

Her face was dirty, her legs were still clad in trousers, but she spoke gently. Her tone reminded him of the girl she had been all those years ago. His Bella had not gone, only metamorphosed into something more.

Out the window, London was shadowed in darkness. Each street held some memory of his life. This was his home, his and not the demons that made an abomination of the city. “I understand, Bella. I could not run from this problem either.”

Her hand touched his arm and turned toward her. Her expression change from whatever question she was about to ask to deciding not to ask.

“What is it, Bella?”

She sighed. “I loath to go home tonight. It is nearly morning.”

He touched her chin. His fingers made a small clean spot. His other hand made its way to her breast and between her firm, round mounds. Her eyes never left his as he pulled out the small handkerchief she had tucked there. He wiped the smudge from her chin and under her eyes. “May I stay with you tonight, Bella?”

“It is almost morning.”

“You said as much, but I suspect that neither of us will sleep for some time.”

“True.”

He wrapped his hand around her small waist to her hip, bumping the large dagger she’d secured there. “What is this?”

She pulled the strange knife from her belt. “I forgot. I meant to give this to Reece. It is the ceremonial dagger that priest was using. I have never seen anything like it or him before. I will have to have it delivered to the office in the morning.”

“I will send Thor back tonight. It may be important. The writing is very strange and the shape.” He touched the wide curve on one side and the jagged edge on the other.

“Heavy too.” She handed it to him.

She was right. The blade was far heavier than it appeared. “I wonder what it is made from.”

The carriage stopped and Thor was at the door. Belinda plucked her skirts from the bench not bothering to put them on. No one would be awake to see her at that hour.

“Her ladyship forgot to give Mr. Foxjohn the dagger from the building tonight. It could be important.” Gabriel held up the blade.

Thor’s eyes widened and he took the knife. “I’ll bring it back right away.”

“I’m so sorry, Thor. You must be so tired.”

The driver smiled, showing his teeth. “Not so tired as you, I imagine, my lady. Don’t trouble yourself about it. It’s no bother.”

She stepped down. “Thank you, Thor. And thank you for coming in after me.”

He blushed and nodded before jumping back up into his seat and moving off down the street.

The garden was silent. They walked hand in hand toward the house. Belinda stopped and tugged on his hand.

“What is it?”

A wicked grin lit her face. “Follow me.” She took off at a run. Her skirts were tucked under her arm and her round bottom called to him in those tight trousers.

He ran after her, keeping pace as they moved deeper into the garden. The shrubs grew taller as they moved farther from the house. “Bella, where are you leading me?”

“Trust me,” she called back.

The sound of moving water was soothing in the dark garden. He should have remembered the large fountain where they had often played as children. As children they had splashed in the cold water on the warmer days of summer. Now as he approached the marble structure, his sweet Bella perched her trouser clad thighs on the edge of the low wall and tugged off her high boots. Three small knives tinkled onto the ground.

Gabriel laughed.

She looked up and shrugged. “One can never be too prepared.” She removed her sword and leaned it against the fountain wall.

He stepped closer, and she stood up on bare feet. “The water is cold, Bella.”

“It will be refreshing after the heat of that building.”

Neither one of them wanted to call it a church. It had been a house of God at one time, but demons had desecrated the place. “Shall I help you?”

She pulled at her bodice and turned her back. “The ties are cleverly hidden.”

Finding the tucked in ties, he unlaced the bodice revealing soft flesh beneath. “No stays?”

She turned, her bare breasts with hard peaks turned up as if calling to him. “It is difficult to fight with my breath cut in half. I never wear them.”

He cupped the soft peaks in both hands while his head moved down to take one into his mouth. “You are so beautiful, Bella.”

She moaned. Working the buttons of her trousers, she tugged them from her hips while pressing her breasts forward.

Gabriel released the morsel, knelt down, and pulled on her clothing until she could step out. Her clothes lay on the ground all around them. He slid his hands up her thighs to the swell of her hips and further to the narrow of her waist. Every inch of her was lined with tight muscles and soft flesh. She was the perfect contrast between warrior and woman.

His body burned with desire for her.

She gave him that same wicked smile again and jumped into the fountain. The water was only a foot and a half deep, but she lay down on her back and submerged herself.

His heart filled with pure joy as he watched her come up slightly cleaner.

Her hair hung around her shoulders.

“Your gardener will be furious with you.”

“Yes, but it will have been worth it if you would just take off your clothes and join me, Gabriel.” She stood under the spray of several stone, sea animals spewing water and giggled.

His heart beat faster and his cock pressed against his trousers. He remedied the problem by complying with her desires. He divested himself of his filthy clothes and dropped them on the ground with Belinda’s.

He jumped directly into the extremely cold water. “This is freezing.”

She continued to titter at his discomfort, meanwhile scrubbing the dirt from her face and neck.

He did the same, trying to wash the dirt and grime off his skin. “My dearest. Perhaps you do not realize that certain parts of a man do not react well to extreme cold.”

Her mirth continued.

He watched her magnificent body, rosy from the cold water, splash across the large fountain.

She reached her arms out and pulled him against her lithe form. “I will warm you, Gabriel.” Then she moved away.

He reached for her, but she was too quick.

She leaned down and splashed his face with the icy water.

He laughed and knelt in the fountain, cupped large handfuls of water, and splashed her. It was better than when they were children. They had been clothed then and had been scolded for getting wet. Now they wouldn’t be scolded, and watching Belinda play in the fountain was as close to heaven as Gabriel had ever imagined. “I am taking that as a promise, my love.”

She tumbled into the water and spread out on her back. Belinda was completely unashamed of her body. She didn’t attempt to cover herself.

Even in the frigid water, Gabriel responded to her stunning figure.

She scrubbed harder until the dirt was gone.

He crept on hands and knees in the fountain until he reached where she was floating. He crawled over her body.

She smiled as his mouth reached hers.

“You may take me at my word. I shall warm you as you have warmed me.”

He pulled her bottom lip between his and sucked gently. She moaned and arched against him. The water rolled around them and between them, sloshed back and forth and splashing over the sides. His arms were stiff and his legs settled between hers.

Worry continued to roll through his mind. “I need to know something.”

Her eyes opened. She reached one hand up and smoothed his wet hair away from his forehead. “What is it?”

“Foxjohn?”

Her nose wrinkled in the expression she always made when she thought he’d lost his mind. “You want to talk of Reece now?”

“He saved you.”

“He and Lillian. Why are we talking about the distant past, Gabriel?” She kissed his cheek using her arm around his neck to lift herself in the water. Her warm lips made a trail down to his jaw and his neck.

He hated that he couldn’t keep his mouth closed. She offered herself freely and it was not enough for him. He had to have all of her. “Were you in love with him?”

She pushed on his chest and forced him away. Then she sat up, the water covering her to the waist. “In love with Reece? How could I be in love with Reece? I have been in love with you my entire life, Gabriel. Even when I hated you, I loved you.”

Joy surged in his heart at hearing her say those words. “And the instructor from Scotland?”

He sat cross-legged in front of her. He loved watching the way the water lapped over her skin.

“Brice?” She took a deep breath.

He wondered if she knew how her breasts rose and fell with the intake and exhale, or if she knew how enticing she looked sitting cross-legged in the water. “You spent a lot of time with him.”

“I never realized how jealous you are.”

“You never gave me reason to feel jealous when we were young.” He hated the pouting tone of his voice.