Wanted Angel - Sadie Moss Page 0,57

angel want to try to take over Earth, they’re gonna have to go through us—”

“No!” The word bursts out of me before I can stop it.

The others all look at me. Even Remi steps out of the kitchen, his brows drawn tight over his blue-green eyes.

“What do you mean?” Ryland asks. I can’t quite get a read on his tone. It’s not quite cold like it normally is, but it’s slow. Careful.

I leap up from the couch and all but fling myself at Beck, wrapping my arms around him as tight as I can. It feels almost like I’m trying to restrain him, to keep him from leaving.

“No,” I repeat, my voice choked. “You can’t keep fighting.”

“Of course we can, angel. Just because you lied about the reason for coming into our lives, that doesn’t change the fact that you were right—if these portals open all over Earth, if some fuckhead demon and slimy angel get a toe-hold here, it’ll change everything. We can’t let that happen. Earth is our home.”

My heart expands at the conviction in his voice. But I squash the feeling down, shaking my head as much as I can with my cheek smashed to his chest.

“No! I love you. I’m in love with you. All of you. I care about every single one of you. I need you in my life, and if you keep fighting, you’ll die. When I thought you were gone—fuck, Beck, I can’t go through that again.”

His grip on me tightens, becoming almost as crushing as my hold on him. I don’t know if it’s the tone of my voice or hearing me say his name, but I can feel his body responding to me.

I pull back just enough to tilt my head up and gaze into his eyes, my voice low and sincere. “I won’t lose you. I can’t. I’ve spent my entire existence trying to do what’s right. But if you do the right thing right now, if you keep fighting Salinas and Anderson and trying to protect Earth, you’ll be redeemed. Because those are good things, virtuous things to do, and that means you’ll die.”

The second the last word leaves my lips, I press up onto my tiptoes, hooking the back of his neck to pull him down until our lips meet. I kiss him with everything I have in me, as if the kiss can convey everything my words can’t. He reacts immediately, hauling me against his body as he kisses me back, hard.

When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard. The other sins are all gazing at us, and I realize this reminds me of the moment we got back from the arena during the Blackfire Tournament.

That was the first moment I realized just how much these men might really care for me. The night our relationship entered an entirely different realm, one there was never any hope of returning from.

Not that I fucking want to.

Stepping away from Beck, I turn and kiss Ford, our lips meeting in a harsh and passionate fusion. Then I kiss Sawyer, long and sensuous. I turn back to Nix and Knight and kiss them too, taking my time with it. When I break away from Knight, I march over to Remi, who dips me playfully.

And then there’s just Ryland.

Ryland might not be sure about me, and I might not be sure about him. There’s still some distrust between us, some distance, but I can’t deny that I care about this man.

I respect him.

I want him.

I think I could even like him, really like him, if he would open up to me.

Not sure of how close he’ll let me get, I kiss him softly on the cheek. Then I step back. Ryland grabs my wrist, not like he’s really trying to stop me but like he just… needs the reassurance.

His dark eyes glitter as he gazes at me in silence for a moment. I can’t tell if he’s trying to see into my soul or show me a part of his, but I gaze back, drawn by his intense stare and unable to look away.

When he pulls me toward him again, I’m already moving almost before I feel the tug on my wrist. I can’t even quite tell which one of us initiates the kiss, but I go up on my tiptoes as I reach him, and then our lips are pressing together.

This is no chaste kiss on the cheek.

This is the kind of kiss that shifts your world on its