Crushed Seraphim (21 page)

“Wait! What the hell did you do to that thing?” She had to hold his face to keep him from kissing her neck.

“I jammed the fuck out of it. Shh… The sex? It’s gonna happen. Now.” He started on her neck again and she began to squirm.

The music played without interruption now, and he was talented and determined. When her dress skimmed the top of her thighs, she had to bite her lip to convince herself to make him stop.

“Okay, one more thing?” she said.

He growled and lifted himself away from her with a push up. “Yes, pretty child?”

“I didn’t even know it could be stopped.” She looked past him to the busted wall.

He sighed and eased himself to her side. He twirled her hair around his finger. “That’s because you follow the rules, princess. I never do.”

He was looking at her again in that way he had. Like she was a drink of water and he was dying of thirst. It made her feel adventurous and sexy.

“Can I take you somewhere now?” she asked. She wanted to see him in the sunlight, see him free from smoke.

“You lost the bet. But because you have spectacular breasts, I’ll let you do whatever you want.” He reached out and felt one lovingly. She lost her train of thought until he clicked his tongue, frustrated by waiting.

She curled into his arms and felt him kiss her hair as she began picturing her gift to him. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see just what she’d imagined. They were in a sunlit forest. The trees wore their most glorious fall colors. They were lying on a big, fluffy bed in the middle of a patch of sun. The music he’d imagined for the bar continued to play, but softly now so they could hear the birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves.

She looked up at his face. “This. You in the sun. That’s my dream come true.”

He reached down, found her hand, and kissed it in appreciation. She touched his chest, and he rolled onto his back, the white linen shirt he now wore falling open. His skin absorbed the sun gluttonously and felt warm under her fingers. Emma traced her name on his chest again and added more ink with her fingers and imagination.

He lifted his head and saw that he was now a sexy billboard emblazoned with the words
Emma was here!

“You little sneak.”

The tickling began immediately, but just when Emma laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe or fight back, he stopped.

He straddled her and spread her hair out around her. Emma smiled and rolled her eyes as he touched her face and bit his knuckle.

“If I get nothing else for the rest of my days, this sight is enough. More than I deserve.”

It took her a second to talk around the lump in her throat. “Kiss me, Jack. All these promises you’ve made? Threats to please me? Make them come true.”

He set to work immediately, obviously battling an internal clock and a plan to touch every inch of her skin. She pulled off his shirt, and he had to back up a bit so he wasn’t kneeling on her dress.

With a sassy smile, she stood up on the bed to take her dress off, bouncing slightly for good measure. She tossed the dress high, and it caught on a low-hanging tree branch, where it swayed gently as testament to Emma’s decision to please this bad man with a good heart.

He knelt before her as if deep in prayer. “You skipped the panties, I see,” he breathed. He nuzzled her stomach and gave a gentle nipping bite to her thigh. She shivered and put her hands in his long hair. He ran his palms from her ankles to her breasts. He watched her carefully as he explored inside her with his fingers.

His fingers were long and knew exactly when to curve or rub harder. She knew instantly she would come like this: with him watching her, supporting her as she stood and he knelt.

When she thought she could come no harder, he pulled her back down to the bed and added his mouth to the blissful mix. She could die here, with the trees swirling in a blur above her, and that would be okay.

She was unmotivated to do anything other than breathe, content with her ridiculous pleasure, when Jack stood. The sound of his belt unbuckling made her pay attention and remember there was more. Of course, there was more.

She watched him get naked in front of her and gave a low whistle of appreciation. She wasn’t even sure she could fit him. He was everything he’d promised in his dirty voice.

“Don’t be afraid, pretty child. I won’t let it bite you.” He stood for a second more before taking his place between her knees.

“I think I would be all right with that.” She was languid and a little slow. He’d overwhelmed her, and now he wanted to do it again. “Wait, you. I should get to you first.”

He shook his head. “Sweetheart, you’re not in any shape to get on your knees.”

Then his hands were everywhere again and she had to almost fight him to get to his manhood. When she held him he stilled.

“Seeing you like this? It was worth a thousand years in Hell.”

She looked into his eyes. “Seeing you like this? It’s like finally seeing the truth.”

With that he pulled out of her hands and entered her. She arched her back as he hit a place she didn’t know existed. But he clearly knew exactly where it was because he twisted and turned her legs and hips so he could hit it again and harder.

She went feral with him inside her, biting his shoulder and scratching his chest. His eyes rolled, and he went faster still, slipping a hand between them to rub her so quickly and perfectly all she had left to do was scream.

So she did. And soon after she felt his warm release as well.

He cuddled this woman, this angel, to his chest. She was purring and moaning, so he knew he’d done a masterful job. That she would imagine him in the sun, that she would give herself to him — it was everything. If only she knew that, and maybe she did. His heart hurt in his chest.

It suddenly occurred to him that he’d never before been with the one he loved. Maybe that’s why he’d never really fit in in Heaven. He hadn’t known where in his body love flowed from. Turned out it
wasn’t
his dick. This whole situation was doomed, though. He did know that. But he listened to her contentment and felt the sun on his skin and thought maybe, just maybe, things wouldn’t change.

He reached down and pulled the fluffy blanket up from where it had landed on the forest floor to cover them both. She had her head on his chest, and he could feel her deep breaths blowing across his skin.

He knew he should get her dressed. The last time he’d busted a pause button there had been a legal hearing in Heavenly Court. Those righteous types were
such
sticklers for the rules. That was shortly before he’d been condemned to Hell a thousand years ago. His only defense had been that he had a really great hand of poker and wanted to play it through, which didn’t go over so well with the other angels.

Emma’s skin pressed against his was more addicting than any of his other vices.

Finally she peeked out from under the blanket. “Will we stay here forever?”

“I don’t think so, princess. I should let you get dressed. But first…” He slipped his clever hand under the blanket and brought her even more pleasure. When she was done again, he sighed. He refused to let her be embarrassed in front of the impending angel crowd and closed his eyes. He imagined her in a crisp white business suit, complete with inappropriately high heels. He twisted her hair into a fall of curls on top of her head and secured it with a diamond clip.

“Am I going somewhere special?” She tossed off the blanket to reveal his choice for her attire.

Without answering, he began dressing himself. He got as far as the leather pants when a very different alarm sounded. It was more of a fire alarm and he pulled her to his chest, hoping they’d end up in the same place.

“Deny me. When they ask, I forced you to come with me. Your presence was against your will. Promise me.”

She looked confused as they both began to disintegrate. When the anger reached her face they were gone — separate.

Jack landed with a hard thud in his Purgatory room. It was empty. He could still smell her scent on his hands, and he hugged his middle. He’d never been a fearful man, but he got it now. Fear came when you had something to lose.

Or someone.

Emma tumbled, dressed to the nines, and landed in front of two very official-looking chairs. She recognized the elaborate clawed feet immediately and picked herself up from the cloudy ground.

It was Heaven, and it was good. She was still human, which confused her. But at least the view was one she’d seen many times before. The angels milled about, mindful that their wings didn’t touch one another. There were little clear spots on the ground where portholes looked to Earth below. This was Heavenly Court, and Emma was disappointed to see Seraph Gabriel occupying a throne.

He caught her looking at him and acknowledged her with a nod.
Probably because it’s less awkward than openly shunning me
, Emma thought as she nodded in return. She went to brush the dirt off her Jack-imagined suit, but of course, it looked cleaner for having touched Heaven’s clouds.

The second throne was empty. Emma held her shoulders back and tried to be as proud as those around her. It was hard to be human. The angels had a certain magnificence.

Seraph Gabriel started the proceedings and the angel audience stilled to watch. He was always a stickler for titles and conforming to the rules. Emma really wished God were here instead.

“Former Seraph Emma, you’ve been brought before this court for participating in an illegal entry into Purgatory. Once there, you enabled the pause, after which you and your accomplice proceeded to disable the timing mechanism.”

The angels standing around tittered at the outrageous allegations. There was a shuffle and a parting as Jack was dragged into the scene, wearing just his leather pants and no shoes. The angels on either side looked down their noses, as if just being near him was a torment.

Jack only had eyes for Emma. When they locked gazes he mouthed, “Promise me.”

Subtly shaking her head no, Emma let him know she would not deny him. She would never abandon him.

The next set of angels walked a very scared Claudette into the circle. Emma couldn’t help but give Gabriel a hard stare.
The woman you love? Your partner? To bring her here like this is the ultimate slap in the face.

Emma was thankful she’d once run these very proceedings, sitting in the chair Seraph Gabriel now occupied. The second chair should have contained another seraph, and she wasn’t exactly sure why it was vacant.

Jack was already shouting in her defense. “No! I forced her. I tricked both Claudette and Emma. They aren’t to blame. It’s me, Gabriel, you limp asshole. Let the women go.”

Seraph Gabriel wouldn’t look at Jack, insulting the former angel by refusing to acknowledge his words.

Just then a loud peal of thunder announced Everett’s arrival. “Sorry I’m late. Looks like I missed some good stuff,” he said, surveying the circle around him. “Emma! Hello, whore. Jack, you bastard. Claudette, I sensed weakness in you last time we faced off. Gabriel, I bet your balls feel huge right now sitting in God’s chair.”

Everett wore a black silk suit that looked like pajamas. He seemed completely comfortable in his role as the new Devil.

Guess the place hasn’t started to get to him yet.
Emma wanted to whip her heels at Everett, ninja style, as he leered at her. Jack was running an endless stream of curses at him and straining against the angels.

You can do this. You were a seraph. You
are
a seraph.
Then it came to her, what she would do, and she felt peace. She nodded calmly in the midst of the chaos. The current Devil was here to transport the former Devil to Hell, obviously. She ran through the Angel Offenses law book in her head. Claudette would be stripped of her wings and demoted to a spirit, possibly a ghost on Earth. She knew Seraph Gabriel would administer the harshest possible punishments, and that meant Emma’s sentence would include becoming a ghost as well. Maybe even Hell. There was no breaking and entering tolerated in Heaven, particularly with Gabriel in charge.

Claudette was shaking as Everett settled into the second judging throne.

Calm, peaceful… Get your angel sense back.
Having a panic attack wouldn’t keep the others safe, so Emma stood even prouder.

She looked at Jack’s angry face and smiled. As if he could hear her love, he raised his eyes to look at her again. “Jack, let me do my job. Trust me.” She wanted to say more but they had witnesses, so she just nodded her thanks when he stopped his cursing.

Emma turned to face the judges. Seraph Gabriel seemed pleased at the return of decorum. He spoke in an official voice. “I shall hear the truth from each party involved, starting with Claudette.”

There were no angel lawyers. They weren’t necessary. When the truth was demanded, angels would never lie. Claudette was shaking and whimpering, but the words came tumbling out of her like water from a leaky faucet.

“I felt bad for Jack in Purgatory. He’d been there so long… I wanted him to make a choice. I visited him, but he wouldn’t speak to me.” Claudette kept her eyes on her feet, which were buried in wafting clouds.

Emma watched as Gabriel’s wings tinged red with his anger. Claudette’s deception was bringing out the worst in him.

He’s harsh with her because he’s jealous. What a hypocrite.

“I knew he had feelings for Emma, so I brought her up here to help him make his decision,” Claudette continued. She looked painfully in Emma’s direction, knowing now that her choice had been a poor one.

Emma was grateful for her time with Jack — just the opportunity to know he still existed. But she couldn’t convey this to Claudette. She had to seem in control, professional.

“I pressed the pause button I received when I became Emma’s Christmas Angel because I wanted to give her more time to convince Jack.” Claudette abruptly stopped talking because she was finished outlining her sins.

Although she wanted to, Emma didn’t point out that Claudette was acting out of concern for another’s soul, which was a very angelic action. She had a plan, and she needed to stick to it.

Seraph Gabriel listed Claudette’s actions more formally. “You, Angel Claudette, admit to manipulating the blessings of a Christmas Angel to aid and abet the destruction of Purgatory and a pause button.” At least Gabriel had the decency to look a little sad as he added, “You shall be justly punished by this Court.”

He then turned to the next defendant. “Jack, former angel, former Devil, and current human, I shall hear the truth from you.” Seraph Gabriel looked more than angry. His powerful hand gripped the chair’s arm like he wished it were Jack’s neck.

Jack would be tricky, Emma realized. As a human he could lie. He was not bound by his previous stint as an angel and his experience as the Devil probably gave him extra power to fib in Heaven.

Jack smiled at each woman involved and then leveled his eyes at the thrones. “Gabriel. You can suck my dick. You’re a traitor to your lover. I actually can’t think of anything worse than you right now — even with that ball-less wonder Everett sitting next to you.”

Seraph Gabriel held up his hand to stop Jack’s words, but it would take more than a gesture now.

“I’m the Devil,” Jack raged. “That asshole is just keeping my place warm. Do you think a silly angel or a stupid vampire is any match for me? My powers of persuasion are legendary.
Legendary.
Neither one stood a chance. I could’ve had them both at the same damn time wearing devil horns if I wanted to. They had no will. Punishing them just makes you a big tool. A jerk. A fucknob.” Jack gave Claudette and Emma withering looks, meant to seem demeaning.

Nice try, Jack.

Gabriel looked perplexed. If Jack was telling the truth, the only correct thing to do was forgive the women and return the man to Hell. He waved in a few angels for a consultation.

Emma was grateful she had a plan. Jack was trying to warn her with his eyes, silently begging her to agree with his testimony. He hoped she remembered she could lie — she was still human.

She tried to thank him for his efforts with her smile. This would be the last time they saw each other, she knew that. She had to tell him, even if it didn’t matter. She waited until Jack looked in her eyes again. Then she said it out loud. In Heaven.

“I love you, Jack.” And her eyes filled up because his did.

The jig was up. He knew she was planning something big. She’d been too calm during this whole song and dance.

“I love you right back, Seraph Emma.” Jack’s jaw was tight as he used her most prestigious title.

An angel and a Devil had admitted their love. This was cause for much upheaval and excessive commenting among the spectators. Even Claudette stopped looking sad and nodded in approval. She was a true angel and more love in the world only made her happy.

Everett’s snicker could barely be heard above the din. But Emma caught it and looked at his horrible face. There was rage, as usual — there might always be. He moved his hand in a suspicious way and Emma was the first to notice Jason hovering, trapped in yet another cloud coffin. He’d been a silent witness to the proceedings.

Everett’s smile was huge as he watched her die a little inside. She’d not anticipated Jason — with his beautiful, hurt face — having to witness this, her confession of love for another man and the shame of being judged in Heaven.

Damn it. Jason will never believe in good again. I’ve failed.

She took a few steps in Jason’s direction and was chained instantly. The silver handcuffs were so beautiful, they looked more like jewelry. Everett tipped an invisible hat to her, his eyes merry.

Now what she needed to do would hurt Jason as well. Emma closed her eyes in rage, envisioning all the possible ways she could kill Everett. Her calm was cracking and her hands began to shake, making the elegant chains clatter. She took a breath.

When she opened her eyes she was ready for the next part. Her testimony.

Seraph Gabriel used his deep, most intimidating voice, as if he could scare her. “Emma, former seraph and current human, I shall hear the truth from you.”

Everett jumped in. “The truth shall set you free, Emma. Oh, wait — no it won’t. I feel like it’s my birthday and I’m having an orgasm.” Everett clapped his hands in delight.