Redeemed

Gabe is a guiding angel who has been kicked out of heaven for the sin of pride and is made to live on Earth as a human. The only way he can earn a place back in heaven is to have a human fall in love with him and give their life for him. Josh, the human doctor, captures him like no other and Gabe quickly finds himself becoming attached to the handsome mortal. But can Gabe sacrifice Josh in order to reclaim his place in heaven? Because if he can’t, Gabe faces having his existence snuffed out when his mortal body dies.

After a bad relationship, Josh has concentrated almost exclusively on his medical career. He becomes dazzled when gorgeous artist, Gabriel Michaels, sets his sights on him. The sex is the hottest he’s ever had, but something about Gabe is not quite right. The man has a face like an angel, the arrogant attitude of a politician, and seems to be sexually innocent.

Falling in love was the last thing either man expected, but falling in love may cost one of them their lives.

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Chapter 1

Michael sighed and stared at the man sprawled across from him. He drummed his fingers on the desk, fighting to restrain his impatience. Gabriel couldn’t be any more disrespectful if he tried. The other angel was stretched out on his white office couch, his head resting on one end with one leg draped across the top of the cushions and the other bent at the knee so his foot was planted on the ground. Gosh darn it, Gabe was the most insolent guiding angel he had ever come across. But he was good at his job, and Michael didn’t relish what he was about to do.

So, Gabriel began, who’s the next ape you want me to guide? And wasn’t I supposed to get a vacation after the last primate I set on the right path. I mean, putting up with these humans is exhausting.

Michael gritted his teeth. Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as he’d thought. He grimaced as Gabe crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. The angel really had insolence down to an art. Whoever had thought Gabe would make a good guiding angel needed to give their head a shake. The man was more suited to create works of art in solitary than to try and set humans on their proper path. But they all had to deal with the lot they were dealt. I didn’t call you here today to give you a new assignment.

Something in his tone must have tipped Gabe off because the other man sat up and leaned forward intently. Was my request for a transfer approved?

No. It has come to my attention that you have been disrespectful to the humans you have been assigned to. That you have acted as if you are better than them.

Gabe re-crossed his arms and smirked even as a hint of uncertainty glimmered in his eyes. They’re humans, Michael. Of course we’re better than them. They do nothing but waste the life and talents that have been gifted to them.

Massaging his temple where his head had started to throb, Michael suppressed another sigh and returned the other man’s gaze. Gabriel, because of your behavior and attitude you have been expelled from heaven.

Gabe shot to his feet and stormed over to the desk. He planted his palms on the cherry surface and glared down angrily. That’s bullshit and you know it. I have always completed my assignments with a one hundred percent success rate. You don’t have any other guiding angels with that achievement level. You can’t get rid of me because you’d be up shit creek without a paddle.

Language, please. You are an angel, not a heathen. His head pounded in earnest, and he fervently wished for a bottle of painkillers.

Pushing away from the desk violently, Gabe paced the room. I spend most of my time with those hairless apes, how else am I supposed to speak? He shook his head and stopped right at Michael’s chair, looming over him. You can’t expel me. You can’t run this department without me and you know it.

It was true. He really couldn’t run this department very efficiently without Gabe. The angel really was the best he had. But this could not be avoided. You have been found guilty of the sin of Pride. You are hereby expelled from heaven. Your case is not without hope, however. His headache lifted a little as the irony of the situation finally hit him. Oh, Gabriel would not like what he was about to say. You will be accepted back into heaven when a human falls in love with you and willingly gives their life for yours.

Gabe rounded on him. You mean I have to… He trailed off as if the thought was too horrible to entertain.

Michael’s lips twitched uncontrollably. It wouldn’t be loving and righteous of him to take pleasure in another’s distress. Of course it wasn’t exactly easy to hold back his amusement. Gabriel had this coming to him. He just hoped the younger angel would learn his true lesson so he could live on the path that had been chosen for him. Yes. You have to live on Earth among humans. Hopefully your experience with them will teach you humility.

*

How had this day gone so bad? One minute Gabe had been anticipating the well-deserved vacation coming his way, and the next, he was being told by his boss that he had been expelled from heaven because of the sin of Pride. To top it all off, he had to live amongst the very humans he detested and make one fall in love with him.

He collapsed onto the couch and dropped his head into his hands. How could this be happening to him? He had always done his job and had done it well. He loved and respected God. All he’d ever wanted to do was honor Him by using the talents that had been gifted to him. He’d wanted nothing more than to lock himself away and let his brush and paints convey his reverence.

Sweat poured down his back, soaking through his shirt, and his heart raced. A sour tasted welled in his mouth and his stomach heaved threateningly. Wait a minute. Angels didn’t sweat, and they certainly never felt nauseous. He opened his eyes and found himself perched on a milk carton in an alley. What the fuck?

Michael crouched in front of him, eyeing him somewhat sympathetically. God is not without mercy, Gabriel. You will never want for anything. The apartment in this building is yours outright. As is the money in the bank account we’ve set up for you. All you have to do is learn humility and how to love.

Gabe shuddered with full-body shakes as he took inventory of his new mortal body. His stomach heaved again, and this time he vomited from the sensation. His eyes watered, the muscles in his abdomen ached, and his throat burned. There was an uncomfortable feeling low in his belly, like some sort of pressure fighting to escape. What is happening to me? His voice croaked, hardly more than a gravelly whisper.

The other man shrugged. You have a mortal body now and all the needs and sensations that come with it. You will experience hunger, the need to eliminate and urinate, fatigue, even arousal.

Genuine fear coursed through him. What happens if this body dies before I find someone to fall in love with me and willingly give their life for mine? Do I go to hell?

Michael patted his knee and urged him to his feet. No. You will cease to exist.

Gabe let himself be led into the apartment building’s lobby and into the elevator. He couldn’t decide what fate was worse, hell or nothingness. He was so lost in thought he didn’t even realize Michael had steered him out of the elevator and into an apartment. The space was dull and drab. Taupe-colored walls and a recently cleaned off-white carpet greeted him. It was perfectly neutral and normal. The artist in him rebelled instantly. The walls should be painted an angry red and the carpet should be ripped up and tossed in the dumpster where it belonged.

Michael led him to the couch and gestured for him to sit. I’ll leave you now. But if you should ever need anything, do not hesitate to call for me. I will always be here for you.

He nodded, for once completely mute. This was the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to him.

Then it hit him. Michael was going to leave and it meant he would be alone in this world full of ungrateful, unimaginative, ill-mannered, body-wrecking slobs. "No!Michael, don’t leave me here. You can’t leave me. What will I do? How will I survive? I can’t live like them." Gabe felt desperation welling up in him.

His boss crouched and stared up at him. The amusement Gabe had detected earlier had melted into an expression of pity. It pricked at his pride but he would do anything to avoid this sentence. Tell me what to do. Do you want me to beg? I’ll do it. Lowering himself to his knees, he gripped Michael’s sleeve and lowered his head to press his lips to the angel’s hand. "I’m on my knees, Michael. Please."

Michael gently extracted his hand from Gabe’s grasp and stood before he stepped back. You need to learn your lesson. I’m sorry you detest this so much, but this is where you need to be.

He faded from sight with one last sympathetic look.

Dropping his head so it practically hung off his shoulders, Gabe fisted his hands and pounded them against his thighs. Fury like he’d never felt before ripped through him, and he screamed his pain and anger to the ceiling. He felt the tendons popping out in his neck. His throat was raw, his lungs burned for the need of oxygen, and his eyes felt as if they would explode out of his head any minute. He screamed until his voice broke. He continued screaming silently until his rage turned to panic.

The pressure of his bladder and rectum became too much, and he suddenly realized he had to empty his body. Having dealt with humans for some two hundred years, he knew the toilet was for just that purpose. Struggling to his feet, he staggered around the apartment looking for the toilet. By the time he managed to wrap his mind around his predicament and locate the tiny bathroom, he was desperate to relieve the growing pressure.

His nausea returned as his body began the process of evacuating itself. He was completely horrified with what was happening. He was now no better than the human monkeys he’d guided for so long. The thought of what he might have to do to get a human to fall in love with him disgusted him. How could he ever lower himself enough to touch a human, let alone have some sort of meaningful relationship with one?

And getting a human to willingly give their life for