Wings of Redemption Read Online Free PDF

caress won. “I thought you said it was offensive.”
    “The offense is in the intent.” He released her ear and brushed his fingertips over her cheek. “But intimacy is a constant.”
    “If this is a punishment, you should know it isn’t very dissuasive.”
    His lips quirked and he dropped his hand. “Goodnight, Saffron. Please get some sleep.”
    He walked away and turned on a lamp next to the bed, a king-sized platform with lush blankets and pillows in black and white. Saying Virgil would call when they had news, Kes pulled a cell phone from his pocket and set it by the lamp. After turning off all the rest of the lights, he settled on his stomach on the floor. He wrapped his arms around the pillow and covered his head with a wing. Only his toes, visible at the tips of his flight feathers, betrayed the presence of a man beneath the copper, blue, and black wings.
    Too tired to do or think anything else, Saffron took her water and set the glass next to the lamp. After a quick trip to the bathroom to clean her teeth, she stripped down to her shirt and panties and climbed into bed. She switched off the light.
    “Good night, Kestrel.”
    “Kes.” His wings muffled his voice.
    She blinked in the darkness. “Good night, Kes.”
    Her day had started out normal: drinking coffee in the rental house she and Thyme shared, listening to truck traffic, reading Vogue . It had ended in an archangel’s bed while demons searched for her sister.
    What would tomorrow bring?
    …
    Kestrel woke to wind slamming heavy rain against the windows and thunder vibrating the tower. Just enough light backlit the clouds to indicate that dawn had broken. His instincts, reacting to the presence of lightning, shot adrenaline through his body, warming his limbs. His smaller feathers stood on end.
    No danger in the tower. He clenched his teeth and settled his feathers.
    Saffron sat upright in bed, her lips parted.
    “It’s all right,” he said, getting to his feet. “Plenty of lightning rods above us.”
    “I…really don’t like lightning.” Her voice shook.
    “That makes two of us.” He walked around the bed and stood next to her. He touched the smooth skin of her arm. “After poachers, lightning has killed more archangels than any one thing.”
    “I was struck as a child,” she said.
    “Really?”
    Her throat worked. “I was standing in front of a window.” She ran her fingers over a white-pink spot on her shoulder he’d assumed was some sort of birthmark. “It didn’t really hurt me, but…”
    “It burnt you.” He inspected the discoloration more closely.
    “Yeah.” She rubbed her arms and looked around the room. “You have so many windows.”
    And no curtains. “Lean back.”
    She burrowed under the covers, all but disappearing. The cell phone chimed. She threw the covers back and jumped out of bed so fast, she slid on the throw rug. She snatched the phone before Kestrel could.
    “Virgil. Did you find my sister?”
    Kestrel waited. Saffron’s expression brightened and tears filled her eyes.
    A moment later, Saffron covered her face with shaking hands, dropping the phone. “Thank you.” She laughed, the sound borderline hysterical, but happy. “Thank you—”
    Thunder made her jump. “ Crisse! ”
    Kestrel picked up the phone. “Virgil?”
    “Yes. We found the other Morin girl.” Static made the demon’s voice difficult to hear. “I’ll have her call as soon as we get better reception.”
    “Thanks.” After disconnecting the phone and setting it aside, he climbed over her legs and lay down at her side. He extended his wing and covered her, shielding her from the room and the windows.
    The odds of the lightning being the cause of her impending death were slim to none. At that moment, all he cared about was calming her.
    “Kes?” Eyes wide, she turned to face him, his feathers brushing her cheek. Her tone implied a dozen questions.
    He had no words for answers. He kept acting on impulse, first by engaging