Page 18 of Guarded (Hopeless Blessed #3)

Jeremiah

O kay, I could see how I might be blamed for what we were doing right now. But honestly? None of this had been my idea.

It was all Noah.

Yes, I’d readily agreed to it, but that had been the Adamanthea talking.

Well, that and the fact that I was fairly sure I’d agree to anything this angel asked of me. Especially when he fluttered his eyelashes the way he did. It had me adding several more items to my list.

Noah likes to have fun.

Noah is mischievous.

Noah isn’t easy to say no to.

Noah has me wrapped around his little finger.

“Careful,” Noah hissed as the statue listed dangerously to one side. “If we break it before we get it out of here, it’ll defeat the point. Can’t return it to its home if it’s in pieces.”

That’s right, Noah and I were robbing the British Museum. Specifically, we were stealing the Parthenon Marbles. But was it really stealing when they’d been obtained illegally in the first place?

We weren’t returning all of them, sadly.

There were too many for us to carry. After a furiously whispered conversation, we’d decided on the caryatid.

One of six statues of female figures, the other five were all at home in Athens.

It felt right to return her to her sisters.

We just had to make sure we could get it through the doors okay.

We’d unlocked them earlier, and Noah had disabled all the alarms while I’d compelled the guards on duty.

We’d polished off the hip flask during the rest of the poetry set.

With the compulsion net in place, we’d given up the pretence of listening and instead swapped stories of other times we’d indulged in Adamanthea.

The giggling had returned as we both got a little tipsy.

Not drunk though—there wasn’t enough there for that.

Apparently though, there had been enough for Noah to remember our conversation about liberating the Parthenon Marbles.

And enough for me to enthusiastically agree.

“I got it,” I grunted, shifting my weight slightly. The Adamanthea was leaving my system now, along with the reasons why this was a good idea.

Noah grinned at me, the moonlight streaming through the skylights illuminating his smile. “This is so much fun!”

Ah. That right there was why I was doing this. It was making Noah happy. I was quickly discovering that making Noah happy did warm, squishy things to my insides. Addictive things.

I couldn’t get enough.

“Shit,” Noah froze suddenly. “We forgot about the cameras.”

Balls. “Can someone take care of them for us? ”

“Yes.” Noah bit his lip. “Let’s put this down for a second and I’ll make a quick call.”

With the statue on the floor, I leaned against it and watched Noah, captivated. How I’d been gifted someone so beautiful as him as my mate, I’d never know.

He fiddled with his hair as he waited for whoever it was to pick up on the other end. “Come on, Nate.”

Nate. One of the slightly murderous twins.

I heard the other angel drawl a greeting. Noah didn’t bother with one, just jumped straight into it. “I need a favour. I’m in the process of doing something…illegal.”

There was a pause before Nate laughed.“ How illegal? ”

I snorted and Noah looked at me helplessly. “Um, pretty fucking illegal. Can you hack into the cameras at the British Museum? Jeremiah and I are here right now, and I need you to erase the footage.”

“ Done. ” I should probably have tried to pretend I couldn’t hear Nate, but Noah knew my hearing was as good as his and he wasn’t trying to move away.“ Wait, are you fucking in there? Because I’m so down if you are. If you won’t sleep with me, then watching you is the next best thing. ”

My growl was loud enough to echo around the cavernous room. Noah’s mouth fell open as he raised a brow at me.

I should apologise, right? Noah wasn’t mine to get jealous over, even if we’d both agreed not to sleep with anyone else.

Still…the idea that Nate had hit on Noah in the past had me wanting to take a piece of this handily available marble and smack him over the head with it.

Repeatedly. Until there was a lot of blood.

“ Ooh, someone’s possessive, ”Nate trilled.

I’d show him possessive when I yanked out his windpipe and shoved it up his arse. My nostrils flared as smoke began to surround me.

Noah clicked his tongue as he strolled to my side and wrapped his arm around my waist. His hand snuck up under my Henley, soothingly stroking my side. “Be nice, Nate, or I’ll tell Sam. If I have to call him this late at night, Ezekiel will kick your arse.”

I was too busy gaping at Noah to listen to Nate’s reply. Did he realise he was touching me like this?

The smoke vanished as my demon retreated willingly. I stayed silent. I didn’t dare to move a muscle lest Noah become aware of how familiar he was being. Not that I had a problem with it. The opposite.

I wanted him to keep touching me. More than I’d ever wanted anything in my long, immortal life.

Noah hung up with a sigh. “He’s taking care of it, thank fuck.”

“Great.” My voice came out strangled. It wasn’t my fault—it was Noah and his gentle caresses. “I’ll allow him to live another day, I suppose.”

Noah chuckled as he shook his head. “I should remind you that you’re not supposed to be jealous because we’re just friends.”

“Friends who are also fated mates.”

“That’s why I’m not reminding you.” He ducked his head to hide his blush. “And because I like it.”

“You do?”

“I think so.” He kept his gaze fixed on the floor. “You’re jealous because you like me…right?”

I smirked, leaning into his touch a little. “Of course. It’s why everyone gets jealous, isn’t it?”

Noah stiffened and pulled away from me. “You’d be surprised. ”

I frowned. What did he mean by that?

“Come on,” he said, returning to his end of the statue. “Nate’s got the cameras covered but we should still get going.”

He smiled, but it wasn’t the same as his others. There was no easygoing mischief. No quiet joy. No excitement. Just a calm, polite, facade.

What had made Noah’s mood change so fast?

And what could I do to fix it?

Huh. That was new. Don’t get me wrong, I tried to cheer Quill up when he was down.

I’d even attempted to do so with Nox when he and Micah were being melodramatic.

But I’d never cared about someone’s feelings this intensely before.

It made sense, given Noah was my fated mate.

What was strange was how I was feeling about it.

It wasn’t a weight on my shoulders, or a chain around my neck.

It was a need. A desperate yearning to make him happy.

T he flight to Athens took twice as long as usual, what with the weight we were carrying between us. But it passed twice as fast because Noah was with me.

We talked the entire way. I didn’t know if it was the date, the silence under the night sky, or the crime we’d just committed, but something had unlocked between us. The conversation flowed as easily as the wind over our wings.

Despite the Adamanthea having long since left our systems, there was no regret on either of our parts, just a giddy euphoria at righting an age-old wrong. At having got into mischief .

Together.

How had I thought of being with Noah as a prison? After tonight, I was starting to suspect that spending each day with him would grant me a freedom unlike anything I’d known before. Freedom to be myself. To have fun. To experience new things, all while enjoying them at his side.

Dawn wasn’t far off by the time we landed outside the Acropolis Museum. Noah got to work unlocking the doors while I put up various compulsion nets.

“Nate’s already taken care of these cameras,” Noah said as he pushed the doors open wide. “So we’re all set.”

Thanks to my recent visit, I knew exactly where to go. “Can’t believe the Greek government built a specially designed space for these marbles, and yet the British government still won’t give them back.”

“It’s utterly ridiculous.” Noah huffed before grinning at me. “Good thing an angel and a demon drank a little too much and decided to rob a museum.”

I smirked. “What else is a third date for?”

Noah stumbled slightly, his cheeks flushing. I frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Yep.” Noah chuckled as we drew level with the display. “Just another reminder that you’re not fully up to date on modern culture.”

I waited until the ancient marble was back where it belonged before questioning Noah. “So…what am I not up to date with?”

Noah huffed. “It’s stupid, really.”

I tickled his ribs, making him squeal. “Come on. Tell meee.”

He gave me a mock glare. “Tickle me again and I won’t be responsible for my actions. ”

I waggled my fingers threateningly. “Demon, remember? I have ways of making you talk.”

He rolled his eyes. “Always so quick to play the demon card.”

I shrugged. “I was in Hell for hundreds of years. Gotta find those perks where I can.”

Noah’s lips twitched and I knew I had him. “Fine. A third date is stereotypically known as when humans generally have sex.”

I clutched my chest in mock outrage. “Wait, we could’ve been fucking instead of committing theft? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Noah’s laugh slipped through my veins like red wine. “Damn. I really missed a trick there. Orgasms probably would’ve been more fun.”

I stared at him. At how he lit up when he was happy. “Nah. I don’t think anything could’ve been as much fun as this.”

His laughter faded as he caught my gaze, and something stretched between us. Something new and precious. “You’re right. This has been fun.”

“The date’s not over yet,” I said huskily, holding a hand out to him. “Want to commit one more crime with me?”

“You really are a terrible influence,” he said, even as he slipped his hand into mine and laced our fingers together. “What did you have in mind this time?”

“Trespassing. I was thinking we could sit on top of the Parthenon and watch the sunrise.”

Noah’s throat bobbed. “That sounds…Yes. I’d like to do that, please. With you.”

I squeezed his hand as I led us both out of the museum in silence.

Our wings brushed as we flew hand in hand to the top of the ancient ruins.

Noah released a wisp of power to ensure the stones would hold our weight without being damaged.

It’d be fucking stupid if we’d gone to all this trouble only to wreck another part of the site.

“I make it a point to watch the sunrise at every place I go to,” I said softly, offering Noah a little piece of myself. “Not just because I missed out on the sun in Hell, but because it’s a good reminder.”

“Of what?”

I smiled at him. “Of hope. No matter what happens during one day, the sun will still rise the following morning. It reminds me not to give up. To have hope.”

Noah stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. “I think I’ll start catching the sunrise more often.”

Our hands stayed clasped as the sky shifted through various shimmering colours.

I replayed all the sunrises I’d seen as I went to sleep at night, to remind myself of that hope. But today, I didn’t watch the sunrise. I watched my mate instead. As I did so, I realised I’d been gifted a new image to replay. Something more precious than all those sunrises put together.

It was Noah’s smile illuminated in the early morning light. How his hair moved in the breeze. The quiet contentment as we sat in silence.

This memory was going to become my comfort. My reminder that I was free.

I couldn’t be happier about it.