Hope in Love by J. Hali Steele Page B

keeping her in the damned
swamp, Ram?” Raph sounded surprised.
    “That’s none of your concern.”
    Yael sat quietly and listened to both angels. She now spoke
up.
    “Ram, if you’d like to leave, then let’s. But I’ve not seen
Patricia for quite a while and I’d be pleased to have her visit with me. Do you
think Peter would mind?”
     
    Aware of what Raph was up to, Ram had very little control
left. This was what came of angels playing cruel games with each other. He’d
used this same ploy many times to take women from Raphael. His blood raged
through his veins in anger. He didn’t want Yael upset, but neither did he want
her keeping company with Patricia. This could turn into a disaster.
    Patricia, much, much younger than Yael, had some serious
issues. The Roaring Twenties affected many young women the same way. Knowing
Peter’s penchant for hard, loose women, Ram knew why he selected her as his exulted.
    No one believed him, but nothing had happened between the
two of them. Peter was a deviant bastard and he’d helped her to escape him. If
she had not used her powers of enthrallment and attracted the attention of the
vampyre, she’d be free today.
    Ram thought he shouldn’t be unkind to Patricia. She had
performed a very useful service for him while in the company of the vampyre by
procuring information. He owed her something.
    “She may visit with you if it’s her wish.” This decision
would bring unwanted trouble.
    “I don’t think… There’s Peter…” Patricia’s words were barely
audible.
    “Don’t worry, Patty, I’ll take care of Peter. The apostle
owes me a few favors.” Raphael’s eyes lit up like twinkling stars. What was he
up to? This visit was intentional, and he’d planned all along to leave the
other woman in Ram’s care. Bastard.
    Settling a scathing look of dislike on the archangel, Ram
reached for Yael’s hand and pulled her tight to his body. His other hand
grasped Patricia’s tightly and he vanished from the restaurant. Raphael would
not follow him. Yet.
    Damn it. He hadn’t even fed her.

Chapter Eight
     
    Ram had returned to the restaurant for two reasons. Though
takeout wasn’t his idea of a romantic evening, he insisted Yael have the meal
he wanted her to enjoy. And secondly, he searched for Raphael who was nowhere
to be found. He’d looked for as long as he dared without drawing Michael’s
attention. The hopeless ones called to him and he took better care of them than
usual because now Michael watched him.
    It dawned on Ram that lately he really didn’t mind being the
angel of hope. For some reason his heart felt lighter. This responsibility was
truly an honor. To be so trusted by the Fates and Michael was indeed something
that would have filled any angel with delight.
    After performing his duty, he had soared through the
darkness and marveled at the brightness of the stars above him. A comet
streaked close overhead, and on the off chance it might cause damage to an
earth being, he broke it up. It showered around him and filled him with light
and energy.
    He still needed to deal with the meshing that had grown even
stronger. At the restaurant, he failed to keep Yael out of his mind—she’d been
there and felt Raph’s presence through him. He hadn’t mentioned it to her because
he wanted to draw as little attention to the matter as possible. He’d seen the
look of embarrassment on her face at doing something she did not want done to
herself.
    But now Ram hurried home to put another kind of flush on her
face. He appeared quietly in the bedroom.
    Partially uncovered, her mouth slightly open, she looked
vulnerable, and so damn tempting curled on her side in the middle of the bed.
The swell of her hips beneath her thin cotton nightgown called to him. He sat
the food down and quickly forgot about it. Tonight, Yael would be his
again—that was all the food his soul needed.
    Candles flared to life around the room and their sultry
aroma permeated the space. His