Hey lovelies! I am back from NYC! I had a blast, but I am so glad to be home! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. I think this will be the last one for a little bit, I have a LOT of planning to do, because there is a ton more story to tell, and I need to get it right. Please please hang in there! Love you guys for reading, and thank you so much for your follows/reviews/likes. xoxo
The next two days of travel passed quickly until the humvee broke down in Winchester, VA. They had broken down outside of a gated, wealthy looking housing development, and Michael and Gabriella were arguing over who should go check out the development for a new car, when Alex stepped between them.
"Uh hey guys, why don't you take the bike and go check out the development, and I'll work on jimmying the car so I can get it down the road to that other smaller development. Sound good?" He asked with a grin, knowing it was the best plan to get them to stop arguing and have some time to themselves to talk…or not.
Gabriella nodded and tied her belt on her jacket tighter before throwing a leg over her bike. She buckled her helmet on and glanced over her shoulder, "You comin flyboy?" she asked with a grin, holding out the extra helmet.
Michael huffed and strode over, grabbed the helmet and fastened it on before climbing onto the back of the bike. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and when she tore away from the side of the road, his hands tightened deliciously against her, pulling his hard body closer to her.
A few minutes later the roar of the bike died as they came to a stop in front of a large house. Gabriella swung herself off the bike after Michael had gotten off, and both set their helmets on the bike. Gabriella grabbed the small pack from the bike and upholstered her 9mm, heading towards the front door of the house. She heard Michael step lightly behind her, his hands on his swords.
She tried the door and found it locked, with two deadbolts. She sighed and tucked the gun into her waistband before pulling a lock pick set out of her pack. She took a deep breath and began to pick the locks, taking her time. She had nearly finished when suddenly the lock sprang open and the door swung wide, with Michael standing on the other side, a faintly smug look on his face.
Gabriella stuck her tongue out at him and replaced her lock pick set before pushing past him and moving to explore the house. She quickly found the garage door and pushed it open, smiling at their luck. She felt Michael behind her, "This should work, yea?" she murmured softly.
Michael nodded; the hummer was certainly large enough for all of them, plus their supplies. "Let's find some supplies and the keys. Alex will be expecting us soon."
He walked through the house and found a pantry that was mostly empty, but still had some canned vegetables and fruits. He grabbed them and brought them out to the kitchen where Gabriella was waiting with a bottle of whiskey and a pack of cards. She grinned at him, "Feel like another game of strip poker?"
He barely smiled at her, but she could see the desire in his eyes. Gabriella stepped closer and took a hearty swig from the bottle before offering it to Michael. He shook his head, "We shouldn't, we need to get back."
Gabriella shrugged and smiled wolfishly at him before taking another heavy swig. She set the bottle on the counter behind her, and then slowly began unbuttoning her shirt, watching as Michael's eyes darkened with lust. She dropped her shirt to the ground and reached out, pulling Michael closer, while pushing his jacket off, shoving it to the ground.
Michael felt the desire for her grow in his chest like a fire given fuel. He grabbed her, pulling her tightly into his arms and kissed her deeply, tasting the whiskey on her lips as his hands tightened on her waist, pulling her harder against him. Her hips ground into his making him moan into her whiskey flavored mouth.
He pulled away from her mouth and took a deep breath, his hands grabbing her waist tightly as he lifted her onto the counter. Gabriella wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed her center against him, making a soft noise in the back of her throat at the sensation of being pressed against his hardness.
She grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off of him, a noise of satisfaction escaping her at the sight of him shirtless. She remembered the first time she had seen him shirtless, when they first knew each other, and the thought that she would like to lick him had flashed into her mind. At the time she had pushed it away, now she smiled and pulled him closer and ran kisses down his neck and over his chest.
He moaned as she darted her tongue out and traced his nipple, blowing on it a second later, and then nipping it gently with her teeth. He pushed his hips harder against hers, moaning at the sensation. Gabriella nipped harder at his nipples, then darted her tongue across them, eventually moving her mouth back up to his, biting his bottom lip gently before kissing him intensely.
Michael felt a bolt of desire flash through him, and stepped back to unbutton his own pants, shucking them quickly before undoing Gabriella's buttons and pulling down her pants and underwear. He stepped back towards Gabriella and slid into her quickly, his eyes sliding shut at the sensation of being inside her. Gabriella's head tilted back, her hands sliding up to lock behind his neck.
Michael began to move, slowly at first, then faster, setting a punishing pace that had her moaning loudly in moments, her hips jutting up to meet his. Gabriella felt her orgasm building as Michael repeatedly pounded into her, hitting her gspot. She reached a hand down and rubbed her clit, leaning back as her body shuddered with tiny little tremors, her gasps and moans of Michael's name pushing him to take her harder. A few minutes later she cried out loudly as her orgasm came hard, her body shuddering, Michael's face buried in her neck, breathing heavily.
They sat that way for a few moments as they caught their breath, the small tremors in Gabriella's body subsiding. Michael pulled away and bent down, coming back up with her pants and underwear. He handed them to her with a soft kiss before pulling on his own clothes.
Gabriella hopped off the counter and pulled on her clothes and shoes. She felt unsteady and lightheaded, a combination of the powerful lovemaking and the fact that she hadn't eaten more than 1000 calories per day in the past two days.
They packed up the hummer with the food Michael had found and were pleasantly surprised to find it started, with half a tank of gas. Gabriella remounted her bike and was closely followed by Michael in the hummer as they made their way down the road to the other development to find Alex.
They found him outside a small-ish two story house and quickly settled in. Alex saw the dark circles under Gabriella's eyes and knew they needed to rest for at least a day. He spoke to Michael, who upon inspection of her face as she prepared dinner, also noticed that her cheekbones appeared sharper under her skin.
Alex walked over to Gabriella, "Hey, why don't you let me do that? You look like you could use a few minutes of rest."
Gabriella raised a brow, "Oh do I?" she asked sarcastically.
He grinned back at her, "Come on, don't pull that shit with me, I can tell you are tired. Go nap and I'll make dinner. It's going to take a while anyway." Gabriella sighed, she knew he was right, and it was sweet of him to offer. She headed into the upstairs bedroom and kicked off her boots, groaning as her sore feet yelled at her. She flopped onto the bed and pulled the quilt at the foot of the bed up over her, and within moments was asleep.
An hour later Alex came and shook her gently on the shoulder, "Hey, Gabriella, come on, dinner's ready." She stirred sleepily and smiled up at him before sitting up slowly, her head spinning for a moment. She sat for a moment and then stood, walking behind Alex as they descended the stairs. They all ate dinner together, somewhat quiet, for they were all tired, and Alex missed Claire.
After dinner Gabriella sat on the couch and studied her tattoos, meditating, trying to see if anything would appear. After an hour of meditating and another two spent on the book with Michael, she stood, stretching.
Michael motioned for her to follow, "Come on, you're exhausted, let's go to bed." Gabriella smiled tiredly, "Be there in five, I'm going to stretch out first." He shook his head at her stubbornness but didn't comment, instead heading upstairs.
Gabriella waited until Alex and Michael were both upstairs and then headed outside. Her sense that an angel was nearby had been growing stronger, and when she stepped outside, her head began to pound. She drew her 9mm and walked a few steps further into the yard, then halted. She sighed, "Gabriel come out."
He chuckled softly and stepped out from the trees, hands raised. She stared at him, "What do you want?"
He grinned at her, "Just thought I would check and see how you were fairing. How are you feeling?" he asked in an oddly kind manner.
She stared at him, and then sighed, "Fine, thank you. Why?"
He smirked, "Well, you are undergoing a tremendous transformation; I simply wished to see how you fared. Any new changes?"
Gabriella shook her head, "No."
He nodded, "Not that you would tell me if there were?" he probed; a grin appearing on his face at her expression, "Ah, yes, I thought not. Well I suppose I should tell you that you are no longer fully human, though surely you have felt that?"
When Gabriella simply stared at him without saying anything he smirked and continued, "Seeing as how my brother stares at you like a lovesick puppy, I do believe that you should know that most of his previous…conquests did not end well. I believe that he feels differently about you, but don't think for a minute that he won't place saving humanity over you. He's more in love with humanity than he is with you."
Gabriella raised a brow, "Are you quite done?" Gabriel laughed and nodded; Gabriella raised her gun again, pointing it at him, "I don't believe that I am an angel, I would have known a long time ago. I also don't believe that you hate humanity as much as you pretend to. I've met your Father, seen the sadness in his face, and I know how much love he bears for you and Michael, and for humanity. He knows he made a mistake asking you to destroy us, but now he needs you to realize it. Give up this war Gabriel, help us reclaim heaven."
Gabriel stared at her, anger in his eyes, then spat, his face twisting, "A pretty speech. But I am not about to destroy humanity, I am going to rule it." Gabriella stared at him, thinking he was mad.
Gabriel unfurled his wings and lifted into the air, and before leaving, turned back to her. "I don't lie to you about you being an angel. Should you realize this and decide to join me, you will find it easy to find me." He flew off into the night, leaving her behind to contemplate their discussion.
Gabriella sank to her knees as a wave of violent pain washed over her, slamming into her head. She lay on the ground, her vision black, until, her breath panting, she blinked rapidly and her vision cleared. Her head still ached, but now, she felt as though she could see…everything.
She could see how the light from the sun, coming off the moon, glinted off the tree leaves, who absorbed even that small amount of light and turned into food. She could hear the smallest breeze through the branches and knew without seeing that there was a burrow of rabbits 100 yards from her.
Terrified, she picked herself up off the ground and made her way slowly back inside and upstairs, where she divested herself of her clothes shakily before getting into bed with Michael. She watched as the tattoo on her chest, above her heart changed and read, unbreakably bonded. She smiled at that and lay her hand on Michael's chest, above her steadily beating heart and was startled when the tattoo on her chest appeared on his, in the same place.
Michael's eyes fluttered open and rested on first her tattoo, and then on his, staring at them in wonder. Gabriella ran a finger over the tattoo on his chest and whispered, "I think the message is pretty clear, don't you?"
Michael stared at the tattoo and was surprised to see he could read it. He smiled at her and pulled her into his arms, brushing a kiss to her forehead, "Crystal." Gabriella sighed and snuggled into his arms, falling asleep quickly, her headache and previous exhaustion catching up to her quickly.
Michael was amazed by the way Gabriella's powers were growing, and though he was loath to admit it, Gabriel seemed to be right, she did appear to be transforming into an angel. She had probably been one all along, and the power of the prophecy had kept her in human form. He sighed, this wasn't going to be easy on her, but if he knew her, she was probably more worried about saving heaven than herself. He drifted into an uneasy sleep with that thought lingering in his mind.