Asmodeus drew Gabriel close, wrapped his arms around hershoulders to stand and look as contentment filled him.
“What is this place?” he asked, almost reverently.
Gabriel looked at him over her shoulder, her hands curledaround his powerful wrists where they encircled her.
His voice was a soft rumble she could feel throughout herentire body. She loved the sensation of it.
“It’s home,” she said simply.
“Home?” he echoed, not quite comprehending.
Gabriel’s heart ached for him, for what he and the othershad lost—Ashtoreth and Ba’al, the others of his brothers she had met—but shesmiled and nodded.
“Home.”
His hands tightened on her, his breath going still as shesensed understanding dawn.
“Yours?”
A little lightly, she said, “Yes. Mine and the bank’s, butit’s my name on the deed.”
Asmodeus let out the breath he held and pressed his cheek toher hair.
Stroking his forearms, held within the circle of them,Gabriel spoke quietly, uncharacteristically diffidently, her throat tight.
“I have an apartment in the city, in D.C. but when I can, Icome here,” she said, and looked around at the quiet beauty, “to escape. When Ineed to remind myself what it’s all about, when I need to ground myself, to bearound green and growing things. No one wanted it, the ground is too stony togrow much, so the land was cheap. I didn’t know when I bought it why I boughtit.”
She looked back over her shoulder at him, at his stronghandsome face, at the peace in his eyes, and the longing there.
“I think I do now. Is it big enough, Asmodeus, for all ofyou? For all the Daemonae?”
Asmodeus looked around and his heart went still.
A home. And not just for him, but all of his people. All ofthe Daemonae. It was there in her mind, opened now to him. She was offeringthem a home and so much more.
A return to this plane, this world. Not just that, but aplace to fly, to be unobserved, where they would not have to hide their truenature as they had in the past.
Asmodeus looked around at the pretty, little valley andbrushed his cheek against his mate’s silvery hair, seeing in his mind’s eye thesky above them filled with Daemonae wings. If ever he had loved her, he lovedher more now for what she gave him and his people.
He turned, looked back toward the entrance to the valley, tothe world that waited for them out there.
“Templeton,” Gabriel said, following his gaze.
Nodding, Asmodeus took a breath. “Does he know we survived?We know he knows about my brothers. It’s unlikely he has given up.”
Around him birds chirped and the air smelled sweetly ofgrass and trees.
“We have to know.”
Chapter Ten
Around the room, keyboards went still, voices stoppedtalking on telephones and cell phones, and, an unusual enough occurrence there,silence fell. In this place that was striking.
Gabriel saw heads turn, women—and one or two men—sighedwhile others broke into smiles.
There were only a few people she knew who could provoke thatreaction among some of these cynical hard cases. She turned in her chair towatch with pleasure and admire the man who walked down the aisle between thedesks, her small office cubicle clearly his destination.
He moved like a cat, lithe and graceful.
To all appearances he was a handsome man—tall, beautifullybuilt, with high, sharp cheekbones and slanted dark eyes, his silvereddark hair drawn back at the nape of his neck. He made his way toward her withlong, easy strides. The deep curves of his pecs were limned beneath a tight,thin silk tee shirt. The short sleeves revealed strongly muscled arms while hisjeans hung comfortably on narrow hips. The man practically radiated sex.Looking at him, you knew he could wear a designer suit as if he’d been born toit. He lifted a hand to some of those watching in easy greeting.
Like all his kind, he was astonishingly beautiful butsurprisingly he roused little envy in those who looked at him.
She smiled to see the warmth of those greeting him in returnand as he smiled at her, his grin changed his face completely, making himappear much less daunting.
Planting a hand on each arm of her chair, he bent and laid ahot kiss on her that would have rocked anyone’s world, his mouth moving overhers slow and easy.
Grinning, she curled a hand around his head and slid herfingers into hair like black silk, sinking into the kiss as warmth filled her.
A hard hand clamped on his shoulder to pull him back andaway.
With a grin Gabriel let him go.
“Five minutes to park the car and he’s trying to steal mywoman. Get your own, Ash,” Asmodeus complained with a smile and a shake of hishead, nudging his brother aside to yank Gabriel up out of her chair and intohis arms.
The kiss he planted on her did more than rock her world, itblanked it out completely. There was nothing for her except his mouth and hisstrong, hard body against hers as he lifted her off her feet as if she werenothing.
Gabriel smiled, savoring the taste of him as she wrapped herarms around his shoulders, slightly broader and more solid than Ash’s leanerframe. She loved the feel of the massive size of Asmodeus beneath her hands,within her arms. Ash was just that little bit leaner.
And, of course, Asmodeus was hers.
“I’m working on it,” Ashtoreth said complacently, grinnedand folded his arms to lean back against the door.
He just liked to tweak Asmodeus’ chain now and then. Gabrielknew because he’d told her.
Getting out into this world was quite an experiment for allthe Daemonae. Like the others, Ash hadn’t yet found anyone he felt safe enoughto reveal himself to or to feed from much, but as long as he didn’t use magicoften he didn’t need to, yet.
In fact most of the brothers were enjoying themselves andtheir return to this plane quite thoroughly as far as Gabriel could tell. Mostwere rarely home on Friday nights, changing to human form to visit the localbars.
There had been a few adjustments all the way around.
Coming to terms with the idea that she was Asmodeus’ fatedmate hadn’t been that difficult. For years she had longed for someone
