Saving Grace (25 page)

I gulped down the shot. "
Hey, what do men and diapers have in common?" I looked around to all the shrugs. "They are always on someone's ass and they are always full of shit!"

The four of us laughed and drank
milkshakes;
yes,
we ordered more
, blasting all things manly. Then Conner and Tucker came in, and Lea said that all the man bashing had to stop immediately.

Conner walked up to our table, with his eyes narrowing and rubbed his chin, "Well, if this isn't a motley crew, I don't know what is."
He scanned the table and his eyes widened, "Milkshakes? Oh boy, who is the guy? And
what did he do
?"

I leveled a stare at Lea, "You tell your boyfriend way too many of our secrets!"

Tucker
jumped
into the seat next to me
and drummed his hands on the table loudly, "Hell...
l
o,
ladies." He slid over closer to me and whispered, "So, what does it feel like to be the most beautiful girl in this room?"
Wow, just
the sound of
Tucker's voice
caused me to have an instant headache.

"Oh uh, Tucker are you drunk already?" I teased him.

"Nah, I'm not drunk, I'm just intoxicated by you," he murmured.

"Do you own a book of the
crapiest
pickup
lines ever? Where do you hear those lines?" Lea laughed.

He laughed and wrapped an arm around me. I cringed. "Yeah, I guess I just get a bit stupid when Grace is around. I mean look at her, she's beautiful." Then he kissed me on my forehead.

I pulled myself away from him as fast as I could, "Are you on medication for your personality disorder?
Don't touch
m
e,
Tucker;
you make my skin feel crawly.
"

I zoned out the rest of the conversations, I tuned my ears into the Mad World songs playing, mesmerized by Shane's voice.
Everybody's voice buzzed and flew around me, but Shane's lyrics and the melody of his guitar pierced through my soul.
And I couldn't help thinking that if he really didn't do anything with Marie because of me, maybe he didn't really do anything with Bliss
either
.

I excused myself from the laughter and fun of the table and made my way to the bar. I pulled up a stool and slapped a few twenties on the bar. Ryan
came over
,
eyes
shining
, and bounced on his toes. "
He
y,
gorgeous, what do you need?" He flicked his lip ring with his
tongue, and it gave me a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach because I knew he had to be doing
it
on purpose. "Need another
Shane Eraser
?"

Heat flushed to my cheeks and I covered my face with my hands, "Oh God, Ryan. I'm pretty pathetic
,
aren't I?"

He shook his head and nodded to the table, "What's the
Bo
y's
Hater Club for? He screwed up didn't he?"

I shrugged, "I don't know if it's me or him who keeps screwing up."

Without me asking for one, he poured me a shot of whiskey and slid it in front of me. "Well, I
gotta
say, I am one jealous guy right now," he said leaning his elbows on the bar in front of
me. "I was hoping he'd mess up
big time and I could kiss all your hurt away."
That tongue of his flicked out and around his ring, then his top teeth bit into it.
DON'T KEEP
LOOKIN
G,
GRACE!

My cheeks burned hotter
.
I turned my face to
stop looking at him and standing at the
other end of the bar was Shane
.

My heart just stopped. I think it was trying to fling itself out of m
y body and right into his hands. M
y chest actually ached
and pulled toward him
.
How can that be normal?

Come
o
n,
Grace, you are so much stronger than this! He had sex with Bliss!
What if he didn't?

I watched the anger flash in Shane's eyes when he saw Ryan hunched over the bar talking to me. His eyes locked back to mine and his face flushed of all its color. Ryan dragged his body back across the bar away from me,
leaving me sitting alone.

Shane ran his hand through his hair and slowly shook his head. My chest tightened and a sour thickness filled my throat. He spun on his heels and walked out of the bar.

If I meant nothing to him, if I was just Monday's girl, why would
he
care if I talked to Ryan?
Because maybe I was wrong about
Bliss
?

I left the bar by myself
and practically ran all the way back to my apartment. I told Lea I was leaving and hopping on my bike to search for Shane so I could talk to him. I was only stopping at the apartment so I could change into my riding boots and
get
my
helmet
.

I ran
down
the hallway and tore through my bedroom to find my boots,
but
when I turned around to leave
,
Gabriel stood in my doorway.

"I don't have time to play with you right
no
w,
Gabriel, get out of my way."

"Running after that little pretty boy of yours? It's so beneath
yo
u,
Grace," he said
,
stepping closer.

I said nothing
. I couldn't, and I couldn't move either.

"We
re you going to try to find him? Tell him t
hat you
love
him? I can show you where he
i
s,
Grace. However,
I
don't have to show you all of Shane's
sins
now do I
, he shows you them himself qui
te often, it's amusing to watch."

He closed the door behind him, locking it. I was frozen to the spot, my heart
hammering;
I just wanted to talk to Shane
.

The air around me grew colder the closer he came, until my body shivered. Gabriel held his hand up and ran his fingertips along my cheek, down my neck and along my collarbone, stopping right above my breast
s
. Everywhere his fingers
touche
d,
an icy darkness pierced my skin.
It curled through my flesh and veins and tried to grab hold of my heart.
"I like this
shir
t,
Grac
e,
it shows so much of that soft ivory skin of yours."

My lungs felt like they were being squeezed and all the air that was left in them came out in one long painful cough. No more air was let in, and all the ability I had to breath
e
stopped. My lungs burned and the fire rose instantly into my throat burning my eyes.

Gabriel met his lips with mine and puffed a breath of air
through my lips with a kiss
. I gasped from
it and finally feeling I had control over my body again, fell to my knees.

"
Why are you doing this, now?"
I wheez
ed.

"Because, I don't want to exist without you
,
Grace."

"I don't believe anything that you say, Gabriel. You've lied to me so many times."

He pulled me by the back of my neck to him, pleasure ripping through my spine. "I've kept you safe for centuries. I stayed with
yo
u,
Grace. ME!"

"Safe, you call that safe? You destroyed me. You ripped my soul of any and all hope. And now you are trying to keep me from Shane? You lied to me
when you showed me him and Marie! Why can't I have this life without you in it?"

"Together
,
Grace, we can be unstoppable."

"Why do you
want to be unstoppable
,
Gabriel?
" I crawled closer to him, locking my eyes on his. His grip on the back of my neck tighten
ed
. "Archangels aren't supposed
to try to take over Heaven. They're not supposed to do anything against it, they
can't!
You know that it can never happen, right?"

He chuckled.
"
I was the fi
rst archangel to ever
fall;
the laws of heaven don't apply to me.
My lovely Grace, don't you feel the pleasure I can give you when I just touch your skin? Think of that and more."
He placed his lips on my neck and pure sublime pleasure rocked through my skin. I could feel it run through my veins like a cold hard drug trying to darken my soul.

"It feels like nothing compared to Shane's touch or
Shamsiel's
kiss."
I pushed away from him and stood up, "All you say are lies, Gabriel. The first archangel to ever fall was..." I stared at him and then all the hairs along my arms and on the back of my neck lifted with icy fear. My heart pounded and I could feel my lips trembling on my next words.
Oh hell no.

"
Abaddon
, Accuser, Beelzebub, Devil, Dragon, Father
of all lies, Lucifer, Tempter
, Carl
Sumptom
, Blake
Bevli
. Oh
,
my dear, I have been called so many things in my time, but Gabriel was the first, and I do like it the best," he laughed.

I backed up against my wall. Well, that just made everything a hell of a lot more screwed up. What the HELL am I supposed to do NOW? "Well, that didn't win you any brownie points with
m
e,
Gabriel.
It kind of made me vomit a bit in my mouth, honestly.
I want to live this
life;
you could just go back to hell
."

"I give you a week."

"You're giving me a week left to live M
Y LIFE?
"

"No
,
my Grace, I think you'll hold out another week, and then I think you'll beg for me to take
your life
."

And then he was gone.

The temperature in the room grew warmer and my throat was scorched dry.
I couldn't swallow throug
h the burn and I gasped for air
choking on the thickness in my own throat.
I flung open
my
door and ran down the hallway into the kitchen.
I could hear people in the li
ving room, but I ignored the voices and ripped open the refrigerator
, smashing a dozen eggs across the floor,
and tore off
the cap
to a bottle of water. I couldn't gulp it fast enough, my body felt like it was on fire and I couldn't quench the flames. When I finished the
bottle,
I threw it behind me and opened another one, then
another. Tears
filled my eyes;
the pain just wouldn't go away. Is this what he meant? That I'd suffer for days and I'd break in less than a week? He was the devil,
THE DEVIL!
I'd been
friends
with the fucking devil for centuries, and he loved me, and OH
MY GOD! I could NEVER love him.
Eww
, he wanted me to have his little red horned babies!

"Grace, are you okay?"

I spun around to the voice. My vision was blurred, like I had been asleep and just woke up and the kitchen became brighter and more colorful.
Holy crap! What the hell is happening to me?

Lea stood in the door
way
to the
kitchen;
Shane and Conner were behind her. But I couldn't focus on anyone but him. "I'm really thirsty," I croaked.

Shane rushed over to me and placed the back of his hand against my forehead, I fell into his arms. "Grace, you're burning up." He turned his head to Lea, "Get some aspirin and juice
." Then I was being lifted into his arms, and I swear I could have died happy
right there
.
The gentle sway
of his movements almost lulled
me to sleep
as I felt him carry me through the hallway
.
I tried to wrap my arms around his neck, but they were
way
too heavy.
I felt him shift my body as he opened the door to my room
, and then his body stiffened
.