Captivated

“I know, but so many centuries of searching, and now she’s here. I honestly thought we’d die before ever locating her. What now?”

Salvatore rubbed at his chin, deep in thought. “One of us will keep watch over her at all times. It’s a good thing she lives on the top floor. We can take up sentry duty from the roof.”

Together, we leaned over Angelina and placed kisses on her cheeks. We ran our fingers down her face, our movements in time with one another. She murmured in her sleep and we stroked the hair away from her face. With much reluctance, we left the bedroom. There were many beautiful paintings adorning the walls. There was a business card on the coffee table, which I picked up and handed to Sal. Angelina Squires, Dreams Art Gallery.

“I know where this is.” Salvatore turned the card over and over in his hands.

“Isn’t it the one in the grounds of that historic manor house, about twenty minutes from here?”

Salvatore studied me with wise eyes. “Yes, that’s the one.”

“Great,” I responded, heading for the door. “At least we’ll know where to find her. I’ll take up first watch. You had better go and break the good news to our parents and Diane.”

“She is going to be beside herself with excitement. So will Michael.”

A smile laced with real affection touched my lips. Diane and Michael were staff employed to take care of our house and grounds. They were human, but because they’d been appointed to care for my brother and me, the angels had gifted them with a longer than normal lifespan. We loved them like family. Even though our parents were still alive, we only ever saw them on special occasions, or if they required help vanquishing a demon. Hybrids, like us, had our own territories to oversee. We rarely left our locations because of the demon problem. Of course, once we had mated with Angelina, she would be presented at the Hybrid court where she’d meet them. I embraced my brother and then he exited through the window, flying silently for home.

I couldn’t resist going back to the bedroom to take one final peek at our beautiful woman before taking up my guard duty. With my aid, she’d drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Her face was like porcelain, full deep-pink lips, and long, lustrous auburn hair. After placing one more kiss on her brow, I walked back down the hallway.

There were photographs of her on the walls with another woman. She was pretty, but nothing compared to Angelina’s beauty. I caught the scent of a man and a woman from another bedroom, although the room was vacant. This must be her housemate and boyfriend, I surmised from the other pictures I saw.

Angelina’s smile was radiant in one particular picture, which appeared to have been taken outside her gallery. She had the most gorgeous pale blue eyes. I sighed with longing. I needed to take up watch on the rooftop before being tempted to lay by her side. That was one thing I’d never do unless my brother was there with me. She was ours, and together we would love and protect her for the rest of her life.