Summon Lyght(7)

He tilted his head as though the offer was most unexpected. "Another kiss. Later."

Kassie's heart clobbered her chest and she nodded. Eagerly.

The next thing she knew, the man draped some incredibly soft fabric over her to conceal her nakedness. "Upsy daisy" He stooped an in the next second the semi-conscious boy lay in her arms, both of them cradled to his chest. He walked without hesitation, as if he knew the layout of the place and the two of them were light as feathers. Kassie realized the boy wasn't so young. By his weight and length, he was quite older than the ten or twelve year old she'd thought. Still a baby to her.

Before she could think anything of it, he stood holding her and the child in the midst of the group of men who raped her so brutally only moments earlier.

Terror clawed at Kassie's insides and she clutched at his neck while holding the boy to her chest, shielding him.

"Shh. Don't worry. They cannot see you sweetheart." The beautiful man extended his right hand toward her nightmare and flicked his middle finger. A pea-sized ball of brilliant light exited his finger with a deafening boom. "Nor will they ever see or hear again."

The men dropped to the floor, grabbing their eyes and heads, screaming.

"Silence and darkness shall bind them for the rest of their mortal days for the harm they have wrought this woman."

Awe filled Kassie at his words. They sounded like an absolute decree of judgment. She'd thought surely she was dreaming it all up. And maybe she really was, but if she wasn't…oh heaven help her. This man was no man.

She stared at his beautiful profile, her mouth suddenly quite dry, her mind reeling. That meant…she'd just kissed…an angel.





Chapter Three



For the forty-'leventh time that evening, Miya scolded herself for her foolishness. Never in her life would she have imagined herself capable of flirting with a black man, and a foreign one at that! Her common sense had simply grown wings and flew off without her noticing.

She wasn't racist or anything, but in tiny little Mason, Montana, the races just didn't mingle romantically. Things were different in bigger towns where folks lived and worked closer with people from other backgrounds. Mason had barely two dozen black residents of all ages, the population continually decreasing as the younger adults moved away to find mates, no doubt in a more civilized area. She didn't blame them one bit, either.

Not even the risk of angering friends and neighbors beyond redemption stopped her from indulging in her dark skinned customer. "Enjoying your dessert, sir?" She topped off his coffee that didn't need topping off, and actually paused a second for his reply.

He smiled, perfect white teeth flashing against warm mahogany skin. "I would not have believed anything so delicious could be made from a pumpkin. I have eaten more sweets this past few days than in my entire life. You have forever changed my appetites, Miya."

Her heart fluttered hearing those words a mile deeper than they sounded. She couldn't help feeling like he'd meant much more than he'd literally said. Like she'd marked him, and he wanted her to know. Could he really mean she'd changed his appetites for more than food? The idea thrilled her very bones. But how on Earth could she reply to that? She seriously wanted to ask him to specify which appetites, but anything more than a smile—

"Miya? A word please?" Craig, the owner/manager, saved her from coming up with a suitable answer.

"Excuse me." She backed a step from his table before forcing herself to turn and walk away. It only took a few paces to realize she'd given in to the subconscious urge to exaggerate the sway of her hips just in case the stranger watched her walk away. Still scolding herself, she approached Craig.

"Miya, honey, I hate to ask, but do you think you can handle closing alone? Melinda called. The baby's sick and she wants to take him to the ER. I wouldn't consider it if that man were the only customer still here, but the Lykins boy and his girlfriend are here, so he'll be long-gone by the time they leave."

Miya glanced around, a little surprised to realize the diner was wrapped up and ready to close. Only the two occupied tables and one other remained open, the counter lights had been turned down, and the kitchen lay in darkness. She'd been so preoccupied with flirting that she hadn't even noticed.

"Don't worry about it, Craig. I'll put up the Closed sign so no one else comes in and you get home to Melinda." She patted his arm with a smile. She was unbelievably lucky to have such a nice boss, even if he did periodically make half-hearted efforts to get into her pants. He didn't mean anything by it. At twenty-odd years older than his pretty wife, his ego occasionally needed some reassurance.

"I'll schedule you a paid day off next week to make it up to you, sweetheart. Thanks."