Beloved Purgatory (Fallen Angels, Book 2) by Katherine Pine

to interrupt..." He gave my hand a
gentlemanly kiss. "... You know ."
    My cheeks burned. "I can believe Princess' nerve, I
just can't believe yours."
    He frowned. "What?"
    "You said 'you know' again in that mildly suggestive
way. It wouldn't surprise me if you didn't even know what you were
talking about."
    He gave me a rakish grin. "I have a pretty good idea.
Do you want me to show you?"
    "Maybe, but that isn't the point." I bit my lip. "We
need to stop this habit. The next one who says 'you know' has to do
something for the other person, and they can't say no."
    He didn't even pause. "Done."
    My eyes narrowed. What made him so certain he could
beat me on this? But before I could ask him, the door started to
rumble as Princess attacked it with her claws.
    "Um, should we check on her?"
    "Oh, she just wants to go for a walk," Oz
mumbled.
    "What?"
    My lips curled up as hysteria bubbled up inside me.
"Like, around downtown Portland around town?"
    "Around Old Town. The Park Blocks. Sometimes we
venture into the Pearl. She's a classy kitty." He gave me a
lopsided grin. "Want to see her strut her stuff?"
     
     
     

Chapter 6
    Oz set Princess down on the chipped
honeycomb tiles outside Morrison's . So far she seemed pretty
happy--I could hear her purring over the cement truck down the
street.
    Princess waddled forward and rubbed her cheek against
one of the 35 cent racks. A book fell to the ground. It had a
weathered cowboy sitting atop a horse with inflamed, flaring
nostrils on the cover. She sure had interesting taste.
    "Impressive," I commented.
    My sarcasm was lost on him. "I know, isn't she
adorable?"
    I shook my head. Alright, watching a cat's tail
tickle the heaving bosoms of ladies caught in passionate embraces
was pretty funny. And I liked how she kept biting the red leash. In
fact, the entire scene would have been pretty perfect had it not
been for one thing--the incandescent guy in the corner.
    I tried not to notice him, which was difficult since
he'd started glowing the moment I walked out the door.
    "Devi," the angel whispered.
    My ears rang. God, I hated the devotional tone of his
voice. It belonged in a perfumed, lush garden, with cherub
fountains and peacocks strolling around, not in some dark,
crumbling corner in the heart of a city.
    I glared at the ground.
    I couldn't see his shadow move across the black and
white tiles, but I knew he was coming closer. Soon, the black toes
of his nondescript boots were inches from mine, and I could see his
delicate fingers resting on his jeans, almost close enough to
touch.
    I backed up. "Come on Princess, let's go."
    She bolted.
    Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. She's
gonna whack the angel . "Princess!" I yelped
as I fell to my knees, making the universal hand-signal for stop
with both hands.
    She let out an excited meow, as if I were wiggling my
fingers to get her to come over for pets, and leaped into the
air.
    It happened too quickly. I couldn't
react, just watch in fear as I saw her race right towards the
angel's feet. Princess, if you keep that up
you're going to get tangled up in the angel's ankles, and then I
might have to actually touch him to get you out!
    And then Princess soared right through him, as if he
wasn't there.
    I was too stunned to move, even when she began
licking my fingers, silently demanding those pets she'd thought I'd
promised. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so startled. I'd seen
people move through the angel before. But I'd thought, for some
reason, this would be different.
    Princess waved her tail in my face. I collected
myself and scratched her under her chin. "What just happened?"
    "She can't see him," Oz said.
    "Just like how no one can see him," I whispered.
    Oz sighed. "Not exactly."
    I glanced up at his face. His green eyes seemed to
be tinged with...pity. No, it couldn't be. Oz hated angels. But his
gaze had looked misty, and distant, and so tender that my heart
trembled.
    "She wouldn't be able to see him even if he revealed
himself to everyone in