Chapter Nine
Miles
They didn’t speak much while they waited. Lizzie took stock of her inventory and cleaned the pub while Miles simply sat at the bar and watched her. He didn’t offer to assist her, nor did he feel inclined to. He had never been one for manual labor of any kind. He watched the way she moved, though, the way her muscles flexed when she carried boxes of alcohol out of the storeroom to the bar. The way her shirt stretched against her skin, and there was something about it that made Miles feel as though his skin was covered in electricity. It was the strangest feeling, and one he hadn’t felt in a millennium. He vaguely recalled the stirrings of this kind of feeling back when he was human, but it was so long ago that it was a buried memory, an aftertaste that try as he might, he couldn’t quite place.
When Lizzie bent down to stock the fridge under the bar, Miles couldn’t help but let his eyes wander down her body. She was perfectly proportionate to him, with an ample ass that he could imagine cupping in his hands. He gave himself another mental shake. Clearly, the conversion to Angel had messed with his biological makeup for him to be feeling this way. He never felt this way. But still, he felt so drawn to the Fallen Angel, like the tide to the beach, just ebbing and flowing.
“What?” Lizzie asked, and he realized he had still been staring at her as she stood up and turned around.
For the first time in many a lifetime, Miles blushed. “Nothing,” he mumbled before looking away.
Lizzie smirked in his direction, and it annoyed him, all trace of his previous thoughts gone. He sipped on the whiskey she had left for him on the countertop, and then he stood up to stretch. “When do you think they’ll come for us?”
“We’re here,” Christian said, walking in through the door.
Miles turned to face him and smiled. “Great, I am itching to get going.”
“There’ll be plenty to do,” Christian said, and Miles noted Jay wasn’t with him.
Lizzie set down what she was doing and tied her hair back into a ponytail.
“There is a report that three Demons are coming in through the airport tonight; Lizzie can your staff manage the bar?”
Lizzie nodded and took out her phone, presumably to let her staff know she wouldn’t be in for the night. Christian waited for her to finish before he continued, “We’re to bring in one alive and to dispose of the other two.”
“Why bring in one alive? A dead Demon’s the best Demon,” Miles said.
Christian looked at him. “A good soldier doesn’t question his orders.”
Miles nodded in understanding. “Well then, when do we leave?”
“Now,” Christian said, “so we can lie in wait for the Demons; they can arrive anytime. There’s a deserted runway they like to make use of from time to time. Lizzie can fly with you.”
Miles tried not to pull a face, but he could see Lizzie wasn’t as successful. He smirked this time and led the way after Christian. Once out in the open, Christian spread his wings and waited for Miles to do the same. He willed his wings out and held a hand out to Lizzie who hesitantly took it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “You had better not drop me.”
Miles swallowed slightly as Christian took off. He followed suit and soon they were flying through the sky, with the city sprawling below them. Lizzie held onto Miles tightly, and he, in turn, had wrapped his arms around her waist. Their bodies pressed warmly together, Miles could feel the soft flesh of her breasts against his chest, and he tried everything to think of anything but them. He could feel every curve of her body resting against his, and it felt amazing. He looked away, ahead, at Christian. Anywhere that would distract him from the Fallen Angel in his arms. He had a duty, he was on a mission, he had a goal, and he needed to remain focused. He didn’t need this sort of distraction.
LIZZIE
He smelled nice, and it almost made her want to snuggle her face into the crook of his neck. It was a musky smell, a gentleman’s woodsy smell. He smelled manly but pristine all at the same time. She was acutely aware of the bulge that pressed against her leg and how semi-hard it was, and she was aware it was her body causing that reaction in him.
She was insane. This was insane. What had she gotten herself involved in? And why? To save some humans? Some Demons? A Balancer she had met once? This Balancer? What was going on with her? You would think that she had been body-snatched with the way she was acting and getting involved in things that had nothing to do with her in the first place. She had vowed long ago not to get involved in the politics of the supernaturals and here she was right in the middle of it, her arms thrown around the neck of a Balancer pretending to be an Angel, on her way to battle Demons. In contrast, she pretended to be on the Angel’s side. To prove what exactly?
She was clearly under a spell.
Lizzie wanted off this ride; she was being foolish, and she didn’t want to be involved anymore, and yet it felt as though she could run a million steps in the opposite direction, but all roads would lead back to Miles. They landed, and he was less than graceful, but Christian didn’t notice. Jay was already there, but he had his back to them. Lizzie tried not to giggle, however, she did give Miles a small smile. They both blushed as their bodies parted ways, their traitorous bodies conveying what neither of them would ever say aloud.
Not that they were allowed to, it was against all supernatural laws for a Balancer to even have emotions, let alone for a Fallen Angel to have a relationship in general. Still, then, Angels and Demons broke those laws all the time.
“Lizzie?” Christian said again, breaking her reverie.
“Yes, sorry, I’m here,” she said.
“Good, you better stay here because once we attack those Demons, it’s going to be a tough fight; we don’t know what level they are, and they could be pretty powerful. Summon your weapons now, so you’re ready.”
The way he spoke down at her made her wonder if it was because she was a Fallen Angel or if it was because she was a woman. Probably a combination of the two. Either way, she was annoyed at him and summoned her blade, a double-edged sword that her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday.
It was an impressive blade, and all three men eyed it out. She smiled and looked at them. “Well, I’m ready boys.”
Miles’s eyes sparkled, and she knew he had appreciated her sense of humor. He had picked up on the condescending tone Christian had used earlier. Maybe the Balancer wasn’t all that bad.
“You and Miles go to the other side of the runway and lie in wait. When they appear, and you see Christian and me approaching them, approach them from the other side,” Jay explained. “We’ll ambush them.”
Lizzie and Miles both nodded and walked along the outskirts of the runway towards where Jay had said they should hide. They laid down on their bellies, side by side, and waited.
“Nice sword, a gift I assume?” Miles whispered.
Lizzie nodded. “From my father.”
“Impressive,” Miles said. Lizzie wasn’t sure why he was talking to her, but she didn’t want him to stop. It almost seemed as though he was searching for a reason for them to speak, but with no topic on hand, they fell silent again.
“How do we know which Demon to keep alive?” Lizzie whispered to him.