Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) by Cyndi Friberg

smiled. “Hiding from you is the wisest course. I’ve known from the first moment I saw you that I couldn’t trust you. I find I can’t even trust myself where you’re concerned.”
    Why would she admit this to him? Did she not realize the power it gave him?
    “You know my body responds to you. So what point is there in pretending?”
    Stepping toward her, he asked, “What point is there in resisting?”
    Her hand came to rest in the middle of his chest, holding him back. “I mean nothing to you. I’ll not lie with a man who has no feelings beyond desire.”
    He shrugged off her hand, not understanding how she’d turned the situation around. She ran, he pursued. That’s how the game was played.
    “If I walk with you, will you answer my questions?”
    “If I answer your questions, will you let me touch you?” he countered.
    “Perhaps,” she said, shocking him. “We both know I enjoy your touch.”
    Heated desire tore through him and he felt his fangs distend. The little minx. She wasn’t supposed to enjoy the game. She was supposed to struggle and resist.
    “There’s something I wish to show you,” she said softly. “Will you agree to behave if we go to the scriptorium?”
    “I’d be pleased to see anything you’re willing to show me.”
    He couldn’t read her expression as they retraced their footsteps. She learned quickly and she was not nearly as helpless as he had first supposed. Or perhaps he was just less dangerous. That thought disturbed him greatly.
    “Where did you pass the day? Gabriel didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me,” he said.
    Her musical laughter floated around him like the warmth of a summer breeze. “Gabriel was in the chapel when I left the scriptorium so he wasn’t hiding my location.”
    “Which was?” he asked impatiently.
    “Most recently the dormitory. Brother Aaron didn’t want me appearing before the Frenchman looking like a beggar so he persuaded Sister Renee to donate her clothing to me.”
    “Thus the new gown.” Her cheeks blossomed with color and Gideon smiled. Was she pleased that he had noticed or embarrassed? “It’s most fetching. Though I find myself quite envious of the material.” She was definitely embarrassed now.
    They reached the top of the curved stone steps and Naomi paused. “Do you always say exactly what you please?”
    “Aye. I find no reason to do otherwise.”
    “Tact and politeness?” She made the suggestion with just a hint of challenge in her smile.
    “Boring concepts created by hypocritical old men.”
    She laughed again and his whole body clenched. Did she not realize how she stirred his hunger? Nay, how could she? She didn’t know what he was, unless Gabriel told her—and that was unlikely.
    “So did my brother finally admit that he is an angel?” he asked casually, but what he really wanted to know was how much Gabriel had told her about him.
    “Aye. Is it physically impossible for him to lie?”
    She was struggling to light an oil lamp so Gideon waved his hand and the wick ignited. Gasping, she took a quick step back then looked at him.
    “Angels can speak only truth.” He lit two additional lamps before he asked, “What did he tell you about me?”
    “A mere fragment of what there is to know, I suspect.”
    She moved the lamp to the small stand near her angled table. The golden glow upon her face made her skin appear impossibly smooth and soft. He wanted to touch her flesh and slowly remove her new garments until lamplight caressed her entire body.
    “What did you want to show me?” His voice sounded thick and rough. He couldn’t help but smile. Hiding his emotions from humans generally came effortlessly to him. She made him feel everything so strongly he could conceal nothing.
    “I would prefer to answer your question first. Gabriel explained why you are being punished.”
    “Because I’m not content to be a mindless servant?”
    Pulling her stool away from the table, she sat and looked directly into his