“Really?” Denise set her soda on the table. “Come over here, big boy,” she purred softly, smiling and waving her fingers at the man. “My friend needs what only a man like you can give her. Please come over and ask her out, because she’s way too chicken to make the first move.”
“Are you nuts?” Jillian wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
She knew it wasn’t possible he’d heard what Denise said, so why did she have such a weird feeling?
Denise laughed. “If he comes over here, you’d better say yes.”
“He’s not going to come over here.” Jillian knew that for a fact.
She ran into handsome men all over the city, and she considered herself a fairly pretty woman, but they never asked her on a date. They never asked for her phone number. Not even coffee.
What was she doing wrong?
Denise said she was closed-off and jaded, and that men could sense it. Jillian liked to think she was just waiting for something extraordinary. For a man who made her breathless.
The gorgeous stranger standing in the café of her museum seemed like a good place to start. In spite of her embarrassment, she stole another glance over her shoulder. He appeared to be waiting for someone and he checked his watch. She took the chance to study his powerful, chiseled profile: his straight nose, the sharp angles of his face, covered by a soft dusting of blonde stubble. Despite the fancy suit and well-groomed hair, the shadow of a beard gave him a rugged, savage look. Like he’d be just as comfortable standing on a battlefield with a sword and armor.
Jillian could stare at him all day and, judging by the ravenous looks directed at him from the rest of the women in the café, she wasn’t alone.
“Where do guys like that come from?” Denise propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand.
“Heaven,” Jillian said, once again feeling breathless. “Straight from Heaven.”
***
Kyriel wasn’t blind to the desirous looks he got from women. Those were exactly the kinds of looks that had landed him on Earth in the first place. He couldn’t help the enticing lure he had as an angel. He was irresistible to humans. God made the angels that way on purpose. Through the centuries he’d gotten used to the unwarranted attention he received from women.
Eventually every female pair of eyes in the room would become trained on him, and they all held the same secret desire.
Sex.
Kyriel used his irresistible sexuality to his advantage. He figured if he was banished to Earth, he might as well enjoy his punishment. Women were his favorite pastime, along with food and drinking. And driving, of course, but he put his love for expensive cars and high speeds in a separate category. He’d already committed the greatest sin—disobeying God—so he didn’t think indulging in a few of the mortal sins would make much difference. It certainly made his endless sentence more bearable.
Once there had been a time when he couldn’t stand being stuck on Earth, and now he almost preferred it over Heaven.
Having his full powers made all the difference.
He checked his watch again, not necessarily concerned with the time, but upset that the man he was supposed to be meeting was late. Manners had become a thing of the past. People today placed less value on respect and more emphasis on money. It was a shame, but Kyriel didn’t like to get involved in human affairs. If they wanted to live an empty existence he wouldn’t stand in their way.
As an angel he’d risked everything to bring them forbidden knowledge but, unfortunately, he couldn’t make them use it. To their credit, being ignorant wasn’t totally their fault. There were dark powers at work. Organizations that wanted to keep the sacred knowledge for themselves and enslave the rest of humanity. Thanks to angels like Kyriel, those of them who were watching, that would never happen.
While he waited, he perused the small cafe. No threats and nothing to hold his interest, until he spotted a watchful pair of green eyes looking at him with genuine attraction. Blonde hair, cheeks soft with color, nose dainty, mouth rosy. She was a natural beauty. The kind of woman who didn’t know how beautiful she was.
Kyriel also knew Jillian Whitmore was smart. Wicked smart. She’d gone to school at Columbia and had earned two doctorate degrees, one in Art, one in History, and at twenty-eight years of age she was Head Curator of her family’s museum.
His excitement grew. Kyriel had found the perfect mode of introduction, and after seeing her in person, he couldn’t wait to meet her.
Because she had something he wanted.
***
“Who do you suppose he is?” Jillian wondered as she continued to study the man with casual glances.
She couldn’t keep her damn eyes off him.
He radiated a savage intensity. It glittered in his wild, blue eyes. He looked like he belonged on an ancient battlefield, or seated on some royal, Heavenly throne, not loitering in the café of a small museum like The Whitmore.
“It looks like he’s waiting for someone.” Denise leaned back in her chair and popped a cold French fry in her mouth. “Let’s wait and see if she’s gorgeous model material, or another handsome hunk, in which case you’d be out of luck.”
“He doesn’t look gay.” Jillian fumbled with the clasp of her gold necklace and routinely centered it at the back of her neck.
“They never do, honey.”
Jillian reached for the tube of lip gloss and opened it, swiping some of the sticky, sweet stuff on her lips, when she saw Denise frown. “What is it?”
“It’s worse than I thought. Take a look.”
Jillian braced her arm on the back of her chair and pivoted around to see the man being joined by her boss. He and Jonathon shook hands.
“Oh God,” Jillian heaved a sigh. “I hope they aren’t friends.”
“Deal breaker.” Denise reached her hand out for the lip gloss.
Jillian passed the sparkly tube back. “Total deal breaker.”
She’d known there had to be something wrong with a man that perfect. A friend of Jonathon Crawford’s was not a friend she wanted to have.
“He might just be interested in making a donation, or lending the Whitmore a rare, valuable collection,” Denise tried to see on the bright side. “In that case, he’d be working with you.”
“Unless Jonathon needed to suck up to him,” Jillian said. “Then he’d take over.”
“You two are both fighting so hard to maintain control of everything around here that one day, one of you is going to drop from sheer overload, or one of you is going to have to let it go.”
Jillian knew what Denise meant. Jonathon was the legal owner of the museum through the Will her grandparents had left behind, but Jillian couldn’t let it go so easily. She loved the museum. She’d been raised by her grandparents and had spent endless hours roaming the halls and exhibits. It was all she had left.
As for Jonathon, his dishonesty was apparent. She could sense a layer of darkness in him and knew he didn’t care about the museum. He was after something else, and she was going to make sure he didn’t get it. She only needed a majority vote from the Board of Directors to push him out of his position, then she could work on the legal part.
“I won’t let him win,” Jillian declared. “This is my museum, and I know it better than he does.”
“You know I’m in your corner,” Denise said. “I can’t stand Jonathon.”
Jillian watched as the two men conversed, marveling at the striking contrast between their features. Jonathon