Succubus Dreams Page 0,43

him. "What about you? Do you struggle with temptation?"

He stopped walking and glanced at me over his shoulder. A small smile, rueful and sad, played at his lips as he regarded me. "Of course. You are my great temptation, and you know it. I'd like to be free of that as well."

"Are you sure?" I asked softly. Shaking his head, still smiling, he left the garden.

That had been our last truly happy day together....

Back in the present, in bed, sleepiness started to take over and interrupt my recollections. I put a bookmark in my thoughts, reluctant to leave the memory of when life with Andrew had still been sweet and good. I hadn't been able to stop that story's ending, but as I rolled over and studied Seth's sleeping form, I vowed history wouldn't repeat itself.

CHAPTER 10

When I came home from Seth's the next day, there was another note stuck to my door reminding me about the package. I plucked it off and went inside, surprised to find Vincent there again. I'd figured his angel business would be keeping him busy elsewhere.

"How's it all going?" I asked. I rummaged through my cupboards, looking for food. I'd skipped breakfast. "I mean, if you can tell me without having to kill me."

He sat at my kitchen table, leafing through newspapers. "Ah, well, still can't give you details, of course, but I can say that...um, well, progress isn't being made as quickly as we'd like. There's leftover lasagna in the refrigerator if you want it."

I opened the refrigerator door. Sure enough. "Wow. Did one of the angels conjure this up for you?"

"Only if you consider Yasmine's cooking a type of conjuring."

I uncovered the casserole dish. It looked great. There might be magic afoot after all. I put a piece in the microwave and set the timer.

Sitting down across from him, I peered at the spread out newspapers and remembered finding them left out the other day. "You sure like your news."

He grimaced. "Most of it's depressing."

Glancing at the headlines, I had to agree with him. Murder. Corruption. Theft.

"You hear about the cop shooting the other day?" I asked. "That one was really depressing."

Vincent turned his attention away from a story about domestic abuse. "No, what happened?"

"This cop was outside a convenience store and claims someone was inside shooting his partner. So, he ran in, gun in hand, and started shooting. He ended up killing his partner himself."

Vincent frowned. "Huh. I hadn't heard that one," he murmured. From the distracted look in his eyes, his mind had clearly latched onto something I wasn't privy to.

I gave him a sidelong glance. "That mean anything to you? Maybe to this mission from God you're on?"

His easy smile returned. "You're good but not that good. You know I can't say anything."

The microwave dinged, and I retrieved my food. As I stabbed a piece of cheesy pasta, I recalled what he'd said about Yasmine's cooking. My curiosity got the better of me. As it often did.

"Vince..." I began slowly, carefully keeping my eyes on my food. "I know it's none of my business..."

He laughed. "I always love it when people introduce topics like that - and then go ahead and dive in anyway."

Blushing, I shut my mouth.

"No, no," he said, clearly entertained. "Go ahead. What were you going to say?"

"I...well, nothing really. It's just, I mean, it doesn't matter to me...but I just sort of noticed that you and Yasmine seem, um, close."

His levity faded. I quickly looked up and met his eyes apologetically.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out. "Forget I said anything."

"No...it's, I don't know." He folded up the newspaper, staring at it without really seeing it. "Yeah, I guess. I've known her for a long time, and after a while, it's easy to...well, she's easy to like."

"Yeah, she is."

A few pregnant moments passed. When he spoke again, I heard affection in his voice. "I first met her at this fair in Akron, of all places...about, oh, fifteen years ago. Not sure what she was doing there - you never do with them - but I found her walking away from a concession stand. She had this giant tower of cotton candy. I swear, it was taller than she was. And, since I could tell she was an angel, it made the situation that much more absurd."

The story made me smile too. It also shed light on why he was here with the A-Team. I could tell she was an angel. He was another gifted human, like