Page 16 of Baking and Angels

“But we’re safe here?” Helena asked, looking about the room. “I can… I can feel it, all around us. The protection circle. It feels wonderful.”

Rafferty shifted, clearly uncomfortably at the observation. He didn’t feel a thing. Instead, he reached for the thing that always grounded him. He stuck his pinkie finger into the whipped parsnips on his plate and scooped some into his mouth, chewing anxiously. Then he stopped, a groan slipping out of him, his eyes rolling back and going closed while heshuddered.

“Are you okay?” Helena asked, alarmed by thereaction.

He gestured at his mouth; his eyes still closed in savor. “The taste… I…”

She smiled, not needing him to finish. With everything that had happened, he had forgotten that he had gone through great changes as well. The restoration of his taste was the most important to him. His punishmentwas over.

Hers was justbeginning.

At that thought, he froze and opened his eyes, “Do you taste anything?” he askedurgently.

“What? Yes, I…” She regarded the burger, then took another bite. “Yeah, it tastes fine to me,” she said around themouthful.

He took another bite of theparsnips.

“I don’t… I don’t taste anything…” He contracted hiseyebrows.

Helena wrinkled her nose. “But you looked likeyou were—”

“I mean power,” he corrected. “When I was a demon, I couldn’t taste the flavors of the food, but Icouldtaste the power I used to create it or influence it.”

“But now you can’t taste the power, just theflavors?”

“I taste…” He sighed again, unable to resist scooping up some more food into his mouth. “Everything,” he growled lustily, going for a third scoop. On his fourth scoop, she leaned in and licked it instead, trapping his finger inher mouth.

His eyes went wide as she suctioned her lips to him, slowly sliding off his digit in a playfully suggestive way. Now that she was back in a human form, he felt nothing but the usual reactions this body had to such an act, and since it was naked for her to see, see she did. His reaction made her giggle so hard she almost choked.

But as she moved the food around in her mouth, her expression became sober.

“What is it?” Rafferty asked, catchingthe shift.

“I think I taste it. The demonic… orcelestialenergies, I guess. There is an after-tang. It is almost a sickly sweet sort of taste, and this is usually a decidedly savory food. It’s sort of what I would imagine… turquoise would taste like, if that makes any sense?”

He nodded slowly, then glanced at the table, spying a dessert tray, something her power hadn’t touched. Prying off the plastic lid, he pinched off a bite of the chocolate cake within and held it out. “Taste this,” he saidurgently.

She licked that off his fingers too, albeit with less sensuality than she had with theparsnips.

“How is it?” he asked, the worry rife inhis voice.

She took her time, letting her taste buds inform her. “It… is very rich, and chocolatey. Yeah, I don’t think I taste any celestialenergies.”

Growing thoughtful, Helena brushed her fingers down the side of his cheek. “I don’t know much, but I do know… at least I’m pretty sure… This angel thing isn’t happening to me because of some divine punishment… and I don’t know why, but I’msure… Iamsure that it isn’t anything Vassago did either.”

He pressed her hand against his cheek. He really wanted to believe that. “We don’t know thatfor sure.”

She gave that a thought. “Okay, let’s test it out. Ask me for something.”

He blinked and recoiled. “What?”

“Ask me for a miracle. I have celestial power now. Ask me to do something for you. Something that would require otherworldly abilities.”

He stood up, backing away from her and her offer, shaking his head. “No. No, we shouldn’tdo that.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” she tried to assure him, lifting her hands to take his, but he pulled away even sharper.

“No, it’s not!” he shouted, losing control. “This is not how the rules work. You cannot get something for nothing, there isalwaysa cost. Always. Throughout the entire universe, this one rule is absolutely true.”

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