Oriel (Fallen Angels 2) - Paranormal Romance

  Table of Contents

  ORIEL (Fallen Angels 2) Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

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  READING ORDER

  Shifters in Seattle

  True Alpha (Book 1)

  Dark Alpha (Book 2)

  A True Alpha Christmas (Book 3)

  River Pack Wolves

  Jaxson (Book 1)

  Jace (Book 2)

  Jared (Book 3)

  Wilding Pack Wolves

  Wild Game (Book 1)

  Wild Love (Book 2)

  Wild Heat (Book 3)

  Wild One (Book 4)

  Wild Fire (Book 5)

  Wild Magic (Book 6)

  Fallen Immortals

  Kiss of a Dragon (Book 1)

  Heart of a Dragon (Book 2)

  Fire of a Dragon (Book 3)

  Chosen by a Dragon (Book 4)

  Seduced by a Dragon (Book 5)

  Touched by a Dragon (Book 6)

  Loved by a Dragon (Book 7)

  Marked by a Dragon (Book 8)

  Claimed by a Dragon (Book 9)

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  (follow-on series to Fallen Immortals)

  FALLEN ANGELS

  TAJAEL (Fallen Angels 1)

  ORIEL (Fallen Angels 2)

  ASA (Fallen Angels 3)

  RAZAEL (Fallen Angels 4)

  MICAH (Fallen Angels 5)

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  Oriel (Fallen Angels 2)

  Copyright © 2017 by Alisa Woods

  November 2017 Edition

  All rights reserved.

  Sworn Secrets Publishing

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. For information visit:

  Alisa Woods

  Cover by Steven Novak

  Oriel (Fallen Angels 2)

  Paranormal Romance

  Okay, the military escort was unexpected.

  The driver who met Lizza at the SEA-TAC airport had been all stiff-backed and muscular. Could be he just worked out, but then he kept calling her Ma’am—which made little sense. She was only twenty-six, and she looked eighteen, plus her driver was easily in his forties. At least, he didn’t hit on her, like a lot of older guys. She didn’t have time for any guys, much less creepsters. The driver dropped her at a downtown Seattle office building that looked normal enough but then their security was way decked out in black tactical gear like they expected terrorists to crash through the windows any minute. Plus the short-buzzed hair was a dead giveaway.

  The military-security guys said little, just checked her credentials and took her suitcase. She kept her tote bag—with her computer, purse, sketch pads and Mr. Charley, the tiny rainbow unicorn that went everywhere with her. She’d only brought the minimum in her hasty exodus from Harvard over the last twenty-four hours—she’d barely made the cutoff for dropping her classes, and her advisor only had a small heart attack when Lizza requested a sabbatical. All to dash across the country to work in a secret lab doing secret science. That extensive Non-Disclosure Agreement she signed meant no talking about the research, either, much less publishing it.

  But it’ll change the world. That’s what Charlotte Netherman said when she recruited Lizza—and honestly, she hadn’t hesitated a picosecond. Charlotte’s work was brilliant. And exciting. And just freaking cool. Lizza hadn’t nailed down her Ph.D. thesis yet, and she’d been avidly looking for ways to build on Charlotte’s transdimensional framework studies ever since they met at the American Institute of Physics regional conference. And now Charlotte—Dr. Netherman—wanted to bring Lizza in on her secret project? Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Totally worth dropping everything for.

  The military-level security just stamped legit on that decision.

  Still, Lizza was relieved when she reached the 70th floor, and the military escort guy keyed her into the entrance then fell back, leaving her to a cubicle field bustling with normal looking people. Scientists. Probably some engineers and techs. Definitely a lot of IT, given the computation-heavy work they were doing. Although Charlotte promised she had a prototype built for testing her theories on transdimensional travel. And a wall at the back was scrawled with big black letters that said SExI MRI. That had to be it.

  Lizza grinned. She was totally in the right place.

  “Well, hello there,” a slimy male voice said. A guy had emerged from one of the cubicles and was quickly crowding her space. “You can’t be lost. We have spectacular security these days.”

  Everything in her cringed, but she forced herself to extend her hand. “Elizabeth Robinson. Biophysics and quantum mechanics.” She shook his hand then tried to pull it back, but he held on with two hands and kept shaking. Ugh. Creepster.

  “I’m Dr. Jerry Treacle, lead physicist.” Ew—he was talking to her chest now.

  She was still in her Tesla Was Robbed! t-shirt and jeans from traveling, but she knew it didn’t matter what she wore. Guys always stared at her boobs. Or her butt. But mostly her boobs. She’d inherited her mother’s Italian curves, even though she’d gotten her father’s red hair and blue eyes. Lots of days, she wished it was the reverse. Then again, that probably wouldn’t stop the creepsters, either. Her dad might if he were still alive. For sure, any creepster would rue the day he pissed off her mom… but her parents were both long gone. Lizza hoped they might be still watching over her—and she ran her life accordingly.

  The guy just wouldn’t let go. And he was still talking. “So you’re going to be working with us.” The drool was practically oozing out of his mouth, and he was rubbing his thumbs over her skin. Ugh.

  Dang it. Would she have to make a scene before even getting started? “Yeah, well, Jerry, I’m here to do some science—”

  “Release her.” The voice jolted her with its sudden nearness, but Dr. Creepster jumped back like he’d been electrocuted.

  Her body was still shuddering from the shock, but she turned to see who made him back off, and… Holy Hotness. Another security guy with the same black tactical gear as the guys downstairs, but this one… if he wasn’t on a Top 10 Hottest Men list somewhere, he’d been done a grave injustice. Slightly messy brown hair, but totally sexy. Cheeks that looked sculpted by an ancient Greek artist. A five-o’clock shadow that somehow didn’t toughen him up—like he had an infinite well of sweetness that even rugged sexiness couldn’t tame. And the thick lashes around those deep brown eyes…

  Hot Security Guy wasn’t even looking at her—too busy shooting death-ray glares at Dr. Creepster—but then he swung his gaze to lock with hers, and her heart jolted again. The blazing anger on his
face softened immediately, turning those brown eyes into something sweet and gentle and… kind was the only word she could come up with. “Dr. Robinson? Are you all right?”

  “Sure. Yeah. I’m…” She glanced toward Creepster Jerry, but he’d already oozed back into his cubicle. She cleared her throat and looked back to Hot Security Guy. “I’m fine.”

  His shoulders were broad under all that body armor, and a small nameplate glinted shiny black on his chest. Oriel. Such a strange name. She jerked her gaze up to meet his again. There was so much concern on his face, it seemed like a force drilling straight into her head. For a moment, she couldn’t speak. Lots of guys were creeps, some were borderline creeps, and the ones who were semi-decent still had eyes that roamed her body like a dessert they couldn’t wait to taste. But this guy… he seemed completely indifferent to all that. And he was searching her face like it held the secrets of the universe.

  Then a frown marred all those good looks. “You do not look fine, Dr. Robinson.”

  She could barely hold back the smile. Guys never said she looked “not fine.” Not that she was Miss America—they just all seemed to think complimenting her looks was the way to get in her pants. Little did they know, that wasn’t on the agenda for any of them.

  “I appreciate the save,” she said, hooking her thumb toward Jerry’s retreat into the cubicles, “but I promise I’m fine. Not the first time I’ve had to deal with something like that.”

  He scowled deeper. “All right.”

  It didn’t seem all right with him. Which gave her the strangest feeling in her stomach, like butterflies were having a party in there.

  Then he swept his hand out toward the back of the cubicle land. “If you’d come with me, Dr. Robinson? I was told to escort you to the laboratory.”

  “Great!” She let her smile loose and turned to walk with him. “Oh, and I’m not Dr. Anybody. Haven’t gotten the degree yet.”

  “Oh. I, um… apologize.” He seemed ridiculously flustered by that, staring at the industrial carpet ahead of them.

  She gave him a smile because, really, it was nothing to apologize about, but he didn’t see it. “No big deal,” she said, trying to catch his attention. “Just call me Lizza.”

  His gaze snapped back to her. “Lizza? But your name is Elizabeth… oh. Right. A nickname.” He dropped his gaze, awkward again.

  “Does that break some security protocol?” she asked, teasing. “Using first names?” What was this guy’s deal? It was like he’d flown in from Mars and had no idea how to interact with the natives. She’d seen her share of awkward geek guys during her time at Harvard, but this was something different.

  His gaze was sharp on her again. “Of course, not. We can use any name you’d like.” He took a breath, wincing at some internal thought he was obviously not sharing. They had stopped in front of the SExI MRI door. “Sorry, I’m a little new to this job.”

  She smiled again, trying to ease some of that awkwardness, but she really couldn’t puzzle out this guy. Oriel. Was it Greek like the Greek Adonis he appeared to be? He was young-ish—mid-twenties like her—so maybe he was fresh out of Security Guy Training or something.

  “First day jitters?” she asked.

  “Yes, exactly.” Then he beamed a smile, and it about knocked her out. Holy heck, he was gorgeous. And there was a sweetness about him—a kind of innocence—that made his soft brown eyes mesmerizing.

  Don’t stare, Lizza. Good grief, what was wrong with her? She cleared her throat. “Well, no worries. I’m new here, too. Obviously. Excited, though.” She gestured to the door. “Can’t wait to see what Dr. Netherman has cooked up in her secret lab.”

  “They’ve been waiting for you to arrive.” His expression dropped into seriousness as he pressed his security badge to the door, and it clicked open. He held it for her but gestured for her to go first. Inside was like a full-keg party at a geek-boy frat house—wall-to-wall people and strange equipment. Not that she partied. Like, at all. She went to one, got groped, and decided that was enough of the “college party” experience for her. Besides, she’d devoted herself to fulfilling her parents’ hopes and dreams, and that meant a lot more time in libraries than beer-soaked parties.

  Lizza edged into the room with Security Guy’s encouragement—Oriel. She should remember his name. A giant MRI dominated the room with its metallic donut structure, but it was also Frankensteined out with all kinds of extra cabling, monitors, and tubing. The tiny twenty-feet-per-side lab had maybe a dozen people attending to all the tech.

  It took her a moment to spot Charlotte—she was bent over some piece of equipment—but when she stood up, her long black hair and bright, animated face lit up the room.

  Lizza waved and couldn’t help the grin.

  “Elizabeth!” Charlotte exclaimed then nudged the security guy standing next to her.

  Holy crap. Were all the security guys European models or something? The one by Charlotte’s side was just as gorgeous as Oriel only with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. As they wove through the crowded lab toward Lizza, she saw his nameplate said Tajael—another strange name. These guys were definitely from some other planet. Probably one called Source of All Male Hotness. She may not date guys as a general and pretty much absolute rule, but that didn’t mean she was blind.

  Then her attention was entirely captured by Charlotte’s beaming face. “You made it!” she said.

  Lizza shifted her tote so she could put out her hand, but before she managed it, Charlotte had swept her into a hug. Okay. They were on hugging terms. Cool. Lizza hugged her back, and by the time Charlotte pulled away, Lizza’s smile felt like it was cracking her face.

  “I can’t tell you how excited I am about all this,” she gushed. Then internally cringed. Way to fangirl, Lizza. “I mean, all this secrecy and the NDA… I figure you must have something pretty lit going on.” Okay, that was only slightly better. Somehow, she always reverted to sounding like a teenager when she got excited.

  “You have no idea.” Charlotte exchanged a smirk with Tajael the Hot Security Guy. Whoa. Okay, those two… they were totally together. As Lizza was trying to wrap her head around that, Charlotte went on, “You are going to be amazed, Elizabeth.”

  “Please, call me Lizza. That’s what my friends call me. Er, not that we’re friends-friends…” Shut up, shut up, shut up! The message finally got through to her mouth, and it obeyed.

  Charlotte laughed lightly. “We are definitely friends. I knew that the minute we met at the conference last year. And I wouldn’t be bringing you in on this otherwise.”

  The full-scale panic in Lizza’s body relaxed a little, and she forced the grimace off her face. “Sorry. I kinda ramble when I’m nervous.” The understatement of the century.

  Charlotte smiled. “I bet you’d like to see what we’re doing.”

  Lizza nodded, trying rein it in and not be a complete spaz.

  Charlotte stepped around some cabling to get closer to the MRI and gestured Lizza forward. Oriel had stuck by her side this whole time, but now he shuffled over to stand next to Tajael. They had some kind of brief non-verbal conversation comprised of tilted heads and nods.

  Charlotte captured her attention again. “I know you’ve signed the NDA, Lizza.” Her voice was serious now. “But I hope we are friends. I didn’t just bring you in because your paper on quantum effects on biological systems was groundbreaking and insightful.”

  Lizza struggled to keep the glow of that praise inside.

  “I need people who are capable of understanding what we’re really doing here and who I can trust. And I need you to understand that this has to remain strictly secret for now.”

  “Totally,” Lizza replied quickly. “This is your research. I’m just excited to be part of…” She gestured with both hands at the MRI. “Whatever this is.”

  Charlotte frowned. “The NDA isn’t because I’m worried about you stealing the research. Or taking credit for it. This is very important Lizza, so please list
en carefully.”

  Lizza nodded, eyes wide. A prickling sensation ran up her back.

  “When I said this technology could change the world, I was dead serious,” Charlotte continued. “And I’m not talking about inventing a new iPhone or a better way to sell groceries. I’m talking the kind of change that could bring about great or terrible things. The kind that is dangerous. The secrecy for this has to be absolute… or people could get hurt. A lot of people.”

  Lizza’s mouth had run dry. What had she gotten herself into?

  “It’s not too late to back out.” Charlotte’s words were almost a whisper, but they rang through the lab, which had gone silent. The crowd had thinned out, leaving just three lab techs gathered by the monitor on the far side, but they had stopped working to listen. Oriel and Tajael were both watching Lizza closely. Everyone was looking at her.

  She swallowed down the dryness in her throat. “Great science isn’t about publishing papers and winning over your thesis committee. Great science is about changing the world. I want to change the world, Dr. Netherman. I’ve dropped everything to come here. I’m not turning back now.”

  Everyone must have been holding their breath because an audible sigh went through the lab. Charlotte grinned and gave some kind of hand signal to the techs. They turned to the monitor and tapped away. Oriel and Tajael were having a whispered exchange—she could almost hear it, but it was a foreign language she didn’t recognize. Then Tajael stepped to the far side of the lab and called someone.

  The MRI started humming.

  Charlotte grabbed headphones off a rack—a pair for each of them. “Put this on,” she said over the rising clacking sound. “We’ll talk over the headset.”