[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
of all the things he loved about Yuri. His smile, the way he talked, his
ridiculous addiction to sports magazines, his brainy side that loved
puzzles and books and would be satisfied with nothing less than the
truth about a given situation. All of those things and so much more
made him uniquely Yuri.
Never loved anything like I love you, either, baby. Madigan
couldn t tell if he was hearing Yuri s voice inside his head, inside his
heart, outside, or all three. It didn t matter though, because either way
he d carry Yuri s light, his soul, inside him as long as it took to banish
the darkness and get him healed and whole and back to his normal
self.
The pain ebbed gradually, fading to a dull ache and then to
nothing as the light in the room dimmed and the energy level dropped
from almost explosive to nearly nonexistent. Madigan head spun as
his energy level dipped with the room s. It was like having a major
drop in blood sugar and just as disorienting.
Get them something to drink. Scepta s voice was hoarse when
he spoke. Yuri s wings disappeared into his back once again, leaving
the glyphs displayed in their wake. Madigan was glad his men were
behind him because otherwise he wasn t entirely sure that he
wouldn t fall over.
Someone left the room. He wasn t sure who. He tipped forward
and curled against Yuri s side for the hundredth time this week. Yuri
turned his head, seeking Madigan out even if he was too tired to
move.
How you feeling? Madigan asked, his voice the barest of
whispers.
100 Jana Downs
Pretty good, all things considered, Yuri whispered back. Thank
you for holding me.
Madigan smiled at the phrasing. Anytime.
I hope orange juice is all right. It s all we have other than water,
Michel said, tugging Madigan into a sitting position.
Madigan shook his head. Yuri first, he insisted, turning his
mouth away as Michel tried to put the glass to his lips.
Don t be silly, Madigan. We ve got a glass for the both of you,
Dex s voice cut in. Madigan forced open eyes he hadn t even realized
he was closing and watched Gabriel s angel haul a boneless Yuri up
off the mattress and press a glass to his lips. A cursory glance around
the room had Bren hovering near the edge of the bed and Cross
paying Scepta out of a large wad of bills near the doorway.
Let s not do that again, Madigan mumbled as he took a long
gulp from the plastic cup Michel had gotten for him. His hands were
shaking so badly that he didn t think he would ve been able to hold it
up without Michel s help.
Agreed, Michel said. I vote we all get into bed after this and
get some rest. We re going to be dead tomorrow otherwise.
I second that, Bren said. He had a worried look on his face that
was more reminiscent of Cross than the brash and brave Bren that
Madigan knew. He smiled and lost some of the orange juice as it
escaped down his chin. Cross was really rubbing off on Bren. Michel
made a noise of comfort and wiped the juice away before it could go
any lower. More and more they were moving and acting like a single
unit, a single relationship that could move mountains if they so chose.
Madigan couldn t think of anything better than that.
He let his men fuss over him and Yuri as they stripped off their
own clothing in favor of boxers and briefs for sleeping. A brief
argument ensued over who would be taking the additional space on
the bed before the others finally rock-paper-scissored it for the
position. Michel won.
Angel Kin 101
As the light was extinguished and Madigan snuggled firmly
between a healing Yuri and a slowly relaxing Michel, Madigan only
wished that they could teleport that custom bed that Yuri had been
ordering earlier.
102 Jana Downs
Chapter Nine
The smell of something cooking teased Madigan out of his sleep,
beckoning him up from his place of exhaustion. He reached out his
hands and found his bed empty. His eyes slowly opened, the lids
unwilling for a few seconds to give up their precious sleep in order to
come back into the land of the awake. Finally, they obeyed his
command and opened.
The first hints of dawn were just beginning to glow behind the
curtained window, and a quick glance at the alarm clock showed the
time of six fifteen. The sun wouldn t really be up for another hour, but
that was good because the day hit Madigan like a ton of brick. It was
Levi, Erik, and Marius s wedding day, and he had to get to the venue,
get set up, put his clothes on, and about a million other things before
the noon service followed by the reception.
It was then the smell of bacon and the soft sound of merriment
from outside the bedroom drew his notice. Maybe Dex is cooking.
And where is Yuri? Madigan had thought he would need the day to
recover at least. The energy that the healing had taken yesterday was a
hell of a reason to stay in bed. Madigan was still feeling sluggish
himself. Of course, the hour might have had something to do with
that.
He rolled out of bed, realizing he d been stripped in the middle of
the night, and pulled on a pair of boxers and a robe from the closet
that someone had thoughtfully hung there for him. He padded on the
carpeted bedroom floor to the dark hardwood hallway, following the
smell of bacon and something else as he neared the kitchen.
Angel Kin 103
Surprise flickered through him at the sight that greeted him as he
swung into the last door. A half-naked and shirtless Yuri was flipping
bacon and sausage over in a pan, looking up every once in a while to
share a joke and laugh with the other men who were crowded around
the island. Levi and Erik were sitting on the stools wearing matching
white robes and the rest of his men were standing to the sides of them
watching Yuri and Dex, who was turning pancakes on a griddle, as
they moved around the kitchen.
Michel, set the table, will you? Yuri asked, putting some pieces
of food he d deemed done onto a paper-towel-laden plate.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]