Of Consuming Fire by Micah Persell Read Free Book Online

never been noticed as such by the opposite sex. Never admired. On the other hand, she had never been pretty before. Had never, since that one time, been the kind of woman a man forced. No man had wanted to touch her. She’d made sure of it, enhancing her natural ugliness with a cultivated one.
    The dread won. “This isn’t happening,” Grace shrieked, her voice rising. “God, I can’t be
pretty
!” Her hands fell to her belly, which was notably smaller. Hysteria took over. “It’s gone.” Her breathing dissolved into hyperventilation. “My weight,” she moaned.
    “Hey, whoa,” Dahlia said, rising to her feet and standing between Grace and the door’s reflection. “Grace, what’s happened to you?” Dahlia reached toward her.
    Grace flinched away from Dahlia’s hand, and worried her bottom lip at the flare of concern in Dahlia’s warm eyes.
Should I tell her
? The desire to do so was completely foreign. She hadn’t told anyone since the police report and unsuccessful trial, but it was suddenly ready to burst out of her. This was her worst nightmare. She was faced with touching herself, or even having someone else touch her. She needed help. “Dahlia,” she began hesitantly, “I was — ”
    The door smashed open. Abilene started in the bed, and Dahlia was a blur as she spun around.
    The angel stood in the doorway, menace radiating off of him in waves. His honey-green eyes pinned her with a stare that was completely indefinable, and Grace shrunk back, worried that he’d somehow overheard and guessed what she’d been about to say.
    His wings weren’t visible anymore, but his shoulders took up the entire door space. His robe shimmered in the low lighting. His hair flowed over his shoulders in waves.
    Her betraying body lurched as feelings she’d never felt swarmed over her, the predominant one
lust
.
    And then his eyes softened. He swept her body with a hungry look.
    Boots sounded in the hallway, breaking the spell. Jericho and Eli elbowed past the angel, pinning him with reproachful stares. The angel tilted his head to the side as he stared right back at them. Then he suddenly spun around and stalked off leaving them all with baffled expressions on their faces.
    Grace’s confusion at the angel’s sudden departure was overwhelmed by the flare of need he had ignited with that hungry look. She closed her eyes and wound her arms around her stomach. As she tried to hold herself together, she couldn’t help but wish she’d died.
    • • •
    They were as easy to read as young children after forbidden sweets. Jayden shook his head, disappointed in the lack of challenge the defilers presented.
    He wanted to hear whatever it was that his Temptation had been about to tell the mouthy one, but the men storming in with loud thoughts of escape forced Jayden to step outside and prepare for their plan.
    Jayden reached the cave-in in seconds. He took up residence in the corner between wall and rubble, and slowly unfurled his wings — a move as close to a lazy stretch Jayden would ever get. He encircled himself with the iridescent feathers, immediately rendering himself invisible to the human eye.
    He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest and his legs at the ankle. Now, it was a waiting game. If their thoughts had been any indication, the men would not be able to wait long before acting on their idea.
    A handful of moments later, the door to the delicate one’s room swung inward without a sound.
    Jayden never smiled, but nevertheless, he found it difficult to tamp down a surge of amusement. In the years that had passed since Jayden’s last unfortunate — for the human anyway — encounter with man, Jayden had forgotten that they were a constant source of lowbrow entertainment, not too different from watching baby animals blunder around.
    The blond one stuck his head out into the hallway and looked right and left. He made a gesture as he moved to stand beside the door. The blue-eyed one sprinted out the