“Isn’t the river lovely?” She stopped a moment beside the winding, lazy, green river, slapped a delighted smile on her mug, and drew in a huge breath. Her breasts pushed against her tight white tank top as she did so.

What had happened to the old voluminous robes angels used to wear? Those were far less distracting. He nearly suggested she put her cape thingy back on.

“And there is the loveliest fresh breeze coming off the water.” She turned her beaming smile his way. “Everything smells of flowers. And the colors are glorious.”

“What are you wearing?” Angels were not supposed to be wearing form fitting white tank tops and flowy pants that the breeze molded to their long, shapely legs. The soft fabric stuck to her ass like she owed it rent.

“What?” She blinked at him and then glanced down at herself. “I thought this was perfect for the jungle. Not too tight, and natural fabrics. Linen is best in humid climates. I researched it.”

He wouldn’t know sod all about linen and humidity, but he did know what temptation looked like, and despite their day of tromping through the jungle, she didn’t have so much as a speck of dirt on her. A fine sheen of perspiration had bronzed her dusky skin like the flesh of a ripe peach, and he wanted to take a great, big ball-curdling bite.

“You must be hot.” She grimaced sympathetically.

“No.” Sweating beneath his fighting leathers like the palms of an adolescent boy with a Playboy in his hands. Leathers were good for fighting and hiding weapons, good for protecting him from glancing blows from other weapons. Plus black disguised blood so much better than all that white could. He had no idea where she’d hidden her blade beneath that skimpy top or those translucent pants.

“Okay.” She shrugged and strode off again.

And he kept right on following.

“So, your power is coming back?” She tossed the words over her shoulder as if his answer didn’t matter to her. It damn well should matter to her, because him getting his power back might be all that stood between them and a horde of angry demons determined to add an angel’s wings to their trophy wall.

What color were her wings? Ramiel’s wings mirrored his in white, the filaments shot through with red and silver. As part of Ramiel’s host, did her wings in any way mirror his? He liked the idea that they might have that in common.

Stap his vitals, but she had him thinking like a moony eyed boy. Wing feathers! He was fantasizing about the color of her wing feathers.

She’d stopped and was looking at him expectantly.

Oh right, his power, she wanted to know about his power. “I guess we’ll find out in a fight,” he said.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “You know this would be so much pleasanter if you’d stop being so grumpy.”

“I’m Wrath,” he groused. “Grumpy goes with the territory. And what have you got to be so infernally chirpy about anyway?”

“I’m having a lovely time.” She waved her hand at the jungle. “It’s not often that an angel of my standing gets to journey to hell, and then only in the company of our archangel. And it’s so vibrant here.” She bent and cradled a flower in her palm. “Look at this gorgeous pink. Have you ever seen such brilliant color?”

No, he supposed he hadn’t. He was probably going to earn himself another comment about his grumpiness, but perky angel tits needed a reality check. “There’s a reason you don’t come here without your archangel,” he said. “Demons don’t like angels and do their best to make sure angels get that message.”

“I know that.” She shook her head at him. “But let’s not forget it was me who saved you from that demon earlier.”

As if he could. A hell prince being saved by a seraph. Crap! He’d never live it down if any of his fellow hell princes discovered that.

“And anyway.” She marched off again, lithe legs eating up the ground, rounded hips swinging. “I have you, and you’re as much protection as an archangel.” Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a full body once over. “Maybe even more so, considering the location.”

“Even without my powers?” Nothing could dent her optimism. He didn’t know why he was trying. It wasn’t making her any less distracting, and he felt like a big, bad-tempered bully.

“Oh, Wrath.” She chuckled. “You’d be formidable as a human. You don’t need your powers to be big, bad, and scary.”

He wanted to ask her how big, bad, and scary but that seemed a little needy, so he shut his pie hole and dropped into place behind her. And the uninterrupted view of what he had to concede was one spectacular ass. How had he never noticed her ass before? Possibly because whenever he’d seen her, she’d been with Ramiel. And when he and Ramiel were around each other, admiring the scenery took a low priority.

They walked in silence for a long while. Around them, the jungle began to thin, more space between trees and less vegetation. Harsh sunlight pierced the leafy canopy and picked out red lights in her dark hair.

“If Ramiel was so concerned about me, why didn’t he come himself?”

“He’s very busy.” Her shoulders tensed. “He has to deal with the seals breaking.”

“And how’s he going to do that sitting in heaven?” It irked him that Ramiel had her loyalty and her affection. That glittery glob of angelic goop treated her like an amenity.

“I don’t ask all those questions.” She kept her head facing forward, but the inflexible muscles of her back suggested his line of questioning was getting to her.

“So, you just do what he asks, when he asks?” Not even his dumbest demons gave him that kind of blind obedience.

“Ramiel relies on me.”

And he’d bet she never let good old Ramiel down. He decided to give her honesty feature a little workout. “Word has it you’re in love with him.”

Her shoulders jerked. “Word has it right.”

His laughter died in his throat. It bothered him that she thought she was in love with Ramiel. Although she was annoying the creak out of his fighting leathers, Haziel was a good angel. Not one of those stuck-up butt plugs, but a basically kind and warm being. How that insufferable sphincter had managed to inspire such feelings in Haziel baffled him. “Why?”

Heaving a massive sigh, she stopped and faced him. “You know I have to answer you honestly.”

He was counting on that, and he waited.

Her green eyes softened and gleamed. “Ramiel is courageous and good. He always puts his duty before his personal needs and takes wonderful care of his host. He’s generous and kind and always⁠—”

“He’s using you.” He’d had to damn well ask, hadn’t he? The topic made him uncomfortable, so he switched it. “What’s the plan when we get to Ava’s demesne?”

And perhaps now might be a good time to mention that his welcome might be less than warm in that corner of hell. Then again, he didn’t have any ridiculous honesty thing to deal with, and she hadn’t asked. He would be on his way to Lucifer’s if Haziel hadn’t inserted herself into his mission.

“Not much of a plan.” She resumed walking again. “I thought we’d ask her what condition her seal was in, and if she’d seen Lucifer.

“I wouldn’t ask Ava about Lucifer.” He smirked. “Not if you want to keep your head. They have history.”

She stopped and looked around her, consulted her map, and then with a nod, set off again. “Bad feelings?”

“You could say that.” Those had been a few good days when Ava had hunted hell with the sole intention of ripping his twin’s balls off. Good thing Lucifer hadn’t asked him to hide him, because Wrath would have delivered him to Ava with a ribbon around his neck.

Haziel frowned at him. “I thought you were the one who had the disastrous affair with Avarice.”

He stopped in his tracks. Where the fuck was she getting all this information on him? “Who told you that?”

Waving her hand, she said, “Oh, everyone knows about that and how angry she was when you ended it over Rosabella.”

Ava had spent a few scary weeks hunting for his balls as well. “Everyone knows this?”

“Mostly.” She shrugged. “Of course, we didn’t know that Rosabella had birthed a child. I’m glad we didn’t know that.”

“Why?” Fatherly protective instinct rose in him, and with it, his rage. Power tingled over his shoulder blades, as if his wings were about ready to reappear. Wings would be great right now and would cut down on a lot of this walking.