is all you need to know.”
Sera looked less than convinced. “Well, isn’t that convenient. I thought you hated Kai?”
“I didn’t pick him,” Belle replied. It was the easiest, shortest truth. Though why she felt inclined to stick to the truth in this conversation was beyond her. Nephilim-population plan? Really?
“You still can’t just abandon your post,” Sera insisted.
“I do what I’m told,” Belle returned. Deliberately looking down on Sera in an effort to get her message across, she added, “Unlike you, it seems. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check out. I have a patient to return to.” She turned her back to Serafina, snatched the hilt from the bed before the angel behind her could see it, and moved to her remaining bag.
“Don’t think I believe you,” Sera finally replied. “I’ll be back.”
Belle released a breath and threw the strap of her bag over her shoulders. With the hilt tucked into a pocket and the keycard in her hand, she turned for the door. “What was her deal, anyway?” she muttered to herself as she let herself out.
She and Serafina had never been particularly close, it was true. Sera had been in line for a promotion to Master Healer when Isabella decided to break with tradition and recruit Belle. In the beginning, none of the angels were fond of her. She was a Nephilim, after all, and it was rare for a Nephilim to be accepted as a healer among the angels. Belle was the first to make Master. But she’d worked her ass off to earn it, too. She was a better healer than Sera or any of the angels at the clinic, and they all knew it. Eventually, most of her staff had come to acknowledge and even respect that.
But not Sera. For Sera, Belle’s title and station were an insult. The idea that she might be outranked by a lowly Nephilim was abhorrent. Belle knew Sera wasn’t fond of her because of her race alone; that discrimination was something she’d have to deal with. And normally she could. But normally it wasn’t so blatantly in her face, either.
She shoved the frustration of the never-ending struggle to prove herself from her mind as she checked out, doing her best to ignore the obvious flirtation attempt from the man at the desk. He could hardly meet her gaze long enough to smile. But she didn’t care; she just wanted to get out of there. As soon as she was done, she moved out of sight, heading for a couple of trees that would make disappearing a little easier.
“You want me to smite him for you?”
Kai’s question startled her, as did the sound of his voice coming from behind her, and Belle jumped.
“Kai, you scared the crap out of me!” she exclaimed as she turned to face him. His words hit her, then, and she couldn’t stop the tease. “Smite, really?”
“Seemed appropriate,” Kai said by way of explanation as he stepped into her personal space. Before she could catch her breath at his nearness, he’d slipped her bag from her shoulders with one hand and caught her hip with the other. “Stop taking risks,” he added, the order roughened by a distantly familiar thickness to his voice that sent shivers of anticipation down her spine. Before she could process what he was doing, he’d tugged her up against his chest and caught her lips in a hard kiss.
Belle moaned as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, demanding and teasing at the same time. He kissed her like a man starved, winding both arms around her as she kissed him back. Her skin burned beneath his heavy, heated touch and she threaded her fingers through his hair. It was thick and soft, exactly the way she remembered. He rolled his tongue over hers, stroking and sliding, reminding her body of exactly what he was capable of. Heat pooled low in her belly, and she leaned into him instinctively.
For a long, blissful moment it was as if nothing had ever changed between them. The past ninety-plus years never happened. They were just two people with a powerful attraction to each other. They’d
Sera looked less than convinced. “Well, isn’t that convenient. I thought you hated Kai?”
“I didn’t pick him,” Belle replied. It was the easiest, shortest truth. Though why she felt inclined to stick to the truth in this conversation was beyond her. Nephilim-population plan? Really?
“You still can’t just abandon your post,” Sera insisted.
“I do what I’m told,” Belle returned. Deliberately looking down on Sera in an effort to get her message across, she added, “Unlike you, it seems. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check out. I have a patient to return to.” She turned her back to Serafina, snatched the hilt from the bed before the angel behind her could see it, and moved to her remaining bag.
“Don’t think I believe you,” Sera finally replied. “I’ll be back.”
Belle released a breath and threw the strap of her bag over her shoulders. With the hilt tucked into a pocket and the keycard in her hand, she turned for the door. “What was her deal, anyway?” she muttered to herself as she let herself out.
She and Serafina had never been particularly close, it was true. Sera had been in line for a promotion to Master Healer when Isabella decided to break with tradition and recruit Belle. In the beginning, none of the angels were fond of her. She was a Nephilim, after all, and it was rare for a Nephilim to be accepted as a healer among the angels. Belle was the first to make Master. But she’d worked her ass off to earn it, too. She was a better healer than Sera or any of the angels at the clinic, and they all knew it. Eventually, most of her staff had come to acknowledge and even respect that.
But not Sera. For Sera, Belle’s title and station were an insult. The idea that she might be outranked by a lowly Nephilim was abhorrent. Belle knew Sera wasn’t fond of her because of her race alone; that discrimination was something she’d have to deal with. And normally she could. But normally it wasn’t so blatantly in her face, either.
She shoved the frustration of the never-ending struggle to prove herself from her mind as she checked out, doing her best to ignore the obvious flirtation attempt from the man at the desk. He could hardly meet her gaze long enough to smile. But she didn’t care; she just wanted to get out of there. As soon as she was done, she moved out of sight, heading for a couple of trees that would make disappearing a little easier.
“You want me to smite him for you?”
Kai’s question startled her, as did the sound of his voice coming from behind her, and Belle jumped.
“Kai, you scared the crap out of me!” she exclaimed as she turned to face him. His words hit her, then, and she couldn’t stop the tease. “Smite, really?”
“Seemed appropriate,” Kai said by way of explanation as he stepped into her personal space. Before she could catch her breath at his nearness, he’d slipped her bag from her shoulders with one hand and caught her hip with the other. “Stop taking risks,” he added, the order roughened by a distantly familiar thickness to his voice that sent shivers of anticipation down her spine. Before she could process what he was doing, he’d tugged her up against his chest and caught her lips in a hard kiss.
Belle moaned as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, demanding and teasing at the same time. He kissed her like a man starved, winding both arms around her as she kissed him back. Her skin burned beneath his heavy, heated touch and she threaded her fingers through his hair. It was thick and soft, exactly the way she remembered. He rolled his tongue over hers, stroking and sliding, reminding her body of exactly what he was capable of. Heat pooled low in her belly, and she leaned into him instinctively.
For a long, blissful moment it was as if nothing had ever changed between them. The past ninety-plus years never happened. They were just two people with a powerful attraction to each other. They’d
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