Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 1

feet, made it to the door, and leaned against the wall. The room spun for a moment, and then he was able to force his fingers to work, to twist the deadbolt and open the door. He stared at the figure in the hallway, his mind not believing what his eyes saw.
    "Raziel?" Raziel was dressed. He was dressed . T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers. No wings. And he was smiling. "What the hell?" Cole slurred.
    "I go away for a few weeks and you return to alcohol." Raziel huffed softly and crossed his arms. "I can't save your liver this time around, so you'll have to take better care of yourself now."
    Cole blinked. "What? Where the hell have you been? Do you know what it was like waking up after what we'd shared to find you gone ? Not a word, a note, anything?"
    Raziel's expression wilted, and he twittered gently, stepping into Cole's apartment and shutting the door. "I didn't have a choice. Chamuel came for me. I'd broken so many rules, Cole, and I had to face my superiors. I had to face the consequences of my actions."
    "Consequences?"
    Raziel helped him to the couch, and then sat down with him. "Consequences." He smiled, and Cole thought his heart would break with how beautiful Raziel's smile was. "I saved your life when I shouldn't have. I became visible to you. I admitted I loved you. I made love with you. I broke all the rules."
    "So, you were grounded for three weeks?" Cole asked, his head still swimming, though he was quickly sobering up.
    "No." Raziel laced their fingers together. "Do you love me, Cole?"
    "I thought I didn't," Cole breathed. "When you first appeared and I was longing for Daniel, I thought I couldn't love anyone but him. But when you were gone that morning and didn't come back... All I could think of was you."
    Raziel smiled again. "Do you love me?"
    "If I don't, I damn near do," Cole admitted.
    "Good." Raziel kissed Cole's knuckles. "I had to make a choice. I could be reassigned to a new life while another angel took over my position, or..." He paused, flushing. "Or I could let them take my wings, make me human, to live out my days with you."
    Cole's heart pounded in his chest. "You're... not an angel anymore?"
    Raziel shook his head. "No. An angel's soul in a human body. I didn't know if you could love me, if you would keep me, but the idea of never seeing you again, touching you... I couldn't choose any other way."
    Cole stared. He wasn't sure how long he stared at Raziel before making his lips work again. "But, what happens... y'know... in the end?" If Raziel had an angel's soul, then that would make him immortal, right?
    Raziel chuckled and shook his head again, squeezing his hand. "I live a human life, and then—provided you lay off the booze enough not to keel over—we both end up in Heaven once we die."
    Cole couldn't help but smile. "Trying to keep me on the straight and narrow?"
    "It's been my job from the very beginning. Being human doesn't change that," Raziel laughed, following the sound with a musical twitter that made Cole's heart swell with happiness. Raziel was truly back. He'd given up everything and come back. Cole reached around with his other arm to pull Raziel close, hugging him so tightly, Raziel made more of those gorgeous bird-like sounds. "It's all right, Cole. Everything will be all right."
    Cole's eyes stung, and he didn't have the willpower necessary to keep the tears back as he breathed in Raziel's scent and ran his fingers through Raziel's blond hair. "I have so many questions."
    "So do I," Raziel admitted softly. "Watching humans live is very different from living as one. I'll need your help."
    "You have it," Cole promised instantly, sniffling and grinning. "But now isn't the time for Twenty Questions."
    "It isn't?"
    Cole shook his head, pressing his cheek against Raziel's for a moment, whispering into Raziel's ear. "Now is when you make up for flying off without leaving a note."
    He heard Raziel swallow thickly, and the shifting of Raziel's jaw next to his told him Raziel licked his lips to stall for another second. "I'm sorry, Cole. I told them you wouldn't understand, but they insisted. How do I make it up to you?"
    It's the question Cole had been waiting for, and he straightened enough for their eyes to meet. "You can start with a kiss. Your very first welcome-home kiss."
    A becoming flush moved over Raziel's pale cheeks, and then his hands cupped Cole's cheeks, drew him down for a soft, chaste kiss. It had to be one of the most erotic kisses he'd ever been