but every day counts for me.”
“Perhaps we could discuss days in the baths.”
I chuckled. “I’m not bathing with you, Commander.”
He pressed his body against mine. Warm hands cradled my cheeks; golden eyes bore down on me. “I shall have you know this is my world, and you’re mine. Therefore, I shall have you. Baths or no baths, I will tear down your walls,” he brushed my cheek with his, “and when I do, you’re going down too, soldier.”
I held his wrists, pulling to try to get him to stop touching me. No luck. “I’m just another thing for you to conquer,” I concluded.
“Of course.” He leaned back, looking genuinely surprised I’d even say such a thing.
“It sounds like you have a war plan.”
“Certainly. What kind of other plan is there?”
“That would make me…” I paused, trying to wrap my mind around his way of living, thinking, or his way of being in general.
“My opponent.” He smiled, eyes twinkling. “And winning concludes my war plan.”
“And what happens with me after you win?”
“Nephilim.”
“Hm?”
“Nephilim. The mortal reign over this realm is finished. I will make Nephilim. An angel born of a mortal.”
“Oh, okay. And when you say make, do you snap your fingers and create one?”
“I’m not the maker, Julia. I will breed my soul’s mate. You’re it.”
My brain short-circuited, and I drew blanks, staring at him. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me.”
“I’m not your girlfriend, or wife or…breeder?”
“You’re my soul’s mate.”
“Holy crap.”
“Very holy.”
“You want me to have your babies?”
“Precisely.” Michael kissed my forehead, then wrapped me in a hug. His wings around me, his scent, his skin, his hard body… I didn’t stand a chance. He consumed me. He could heal and comfort and war, and fuck, and make babies.
“Those who remember must die,” I reminded him. “They’re susceptible to Lucifer. What if…”
He pressed a finger over my mouth and whispered in my ear, “Those who remember are lost. You’re very much found.” He picked me up, and I yelped. He carried me back to my room and dumped me on the bed, a sexy gleam in his golden eyes.
In the distance, the bells rang.
The windows blew open. I shivered as wind swept the room.
Michael levitated over me. “Until tomorrow.” Then he flew out the window.
I rushed to close it, watching him disappear into the gray skies. Back on the bed, I slung off my backpack and lay down, staring at the celling. Holy crap, Michael the Archangel asked me to have his babies. I smiled. Not asked. He told me I was to have his babies. How does a girl say no to that?
Tired and, despite the healing, beaten up, my body needed rest for the day. At night, around six, I awoke anew, showered and dressed in the uniform, then waited for Georgia to bring me dinner. She knocked on the door when the clock hit six thirty, and I opened it. “Hey,” I said.
Georgia wore a smile and a uniform. “Grilled lamb cutlets with roasted potatoes, and …” She placed a tray on the table, then reached under her shirt. She pulled out a wine bottle, a big grin on her face. “The commander sent wine.”
So he delivered the breeding news and figured I’d need a drink. He was right. “The commander knows best.”
Georgia winked. “I hear you two are having a thing.”
“We haven’t had a thing yet.” I felt like I was speaking about the baby. I couldn’t stop thinking about the baby thing.
“Yet,” Georgia repeated and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” I followed her.
“To the chow hall.”
“Is that where everyone eats?”
“Yes.”
I glanced back at my food. “I’ll come with you.” I headed out, but Georgia put a hand on my shoulder. “I think you’re supposed to have dinner in your room.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” I continued down the steps. “You coming? Because I don’t know where the chow hall is.”
Georgia caught up with me. “I’m not taking you there because I can’t get in trouble, but I’ll show you where it is.”
“Stop by after dinner. I’m not gonna have that bottle all by myself.”
Georgia gave me a side-eye. “The commander is gonna stop by after dinner.”
Nervous, I gulped. “I’ll tell him I have company.”
“That will go well.”
“He needs a little rejection once in a while.” Frankly, I needed a girlfriend. Georgia was fun and kind, and I liked her.
She gave me a blank stare. “Have you not wondered what it’s like to have sex with all that maleness?”
“No.”
“Bullshit.”
“Okay, maybe I have wondered, and we could talk