Divine Temptation (33 page)

Aedan turned back to Maggie and stated matter-of-factly, “As I was saying, either accept the great honor I’ve chosen to bestow upon you, or you will most certainly die a torturous death.”

Every circumstance surrounding Maggie suggested she should be trembling, cowering in the same fear she’d felt earlier that night, but despite the increasing precariousness of her position, she laughed. A dark, half-hysterical chuckle that allowed her to shove aside fear and deal with what was in front of her. While her seducer watched her mirth, he attempted to endear himself further with an engaging smile.

“Well,” Maggie said. “I understand the torturous death part, but what exactly does this ‘great honor’ entail?”

“First of all, it entails me getting to touch you again—as I recall, you quite enjoyed that.” His voice had lowered to a sensual growl. “And secondly, it entails you nurturing my child here on Earth. While you do, you’ll be given every indulgence, as will your existing mortal children. Creature comforts, the best of everything, a bounty of friends, a bevy of talents. Whatever you want.”

“And after this Earth?”

His lips curled. “You’ll be my queen in the afterlife, placed above all human souls in my master’s kingdom.”

“Why me?” she challenged, causing his sure smile to falter for a moment before recovering into something softer.

“I didn’t expect you to come easily, Magdelyn. You’re too discerning for that—and you’ve been unfairly deceived too often, so I’ll be nothing but straightforward with you. I came to Prairie Oaks because the town was ripe for me. I required just the right balance of holiness and dedication to sin. Do you know your town has some of the most active churches in the country? Ah, but also present is a strong undercurrent of materialism and competition.

“Trouble was, the women around here are either fully entrenched in their faith, not leaving one sliver of bare thigh or cleavage open for exploitation, or in more cases than not, they’ve been victims of the evils of this world for so long that they’re spoiled goods, unable to give my child a properly prepared and righteous incubator in which to steep his wickedness.”

He watched Maggie’s brow wrinkle and commented, “Ironic, isn’t it? For too long, I assumed any womb would do, so I bedded the brazen and wasted my seed. It never took. Not even with the virgins. I eventually realized it had more to do with the woman than the womb, and it was through infiltrating the church archives in Rome that I discovered the roadmap to success. I needed a woman who’d awakened spiritually—but one who also wavered just enough to give me the opportunity to gain her willing cooperation. That’s where your priest came in handy. I was only able to observe so much on my own, and he helped fill in the blanks with his inside knowledge of the parishioners. The information only came in drips and drabs, but the more he gave himself over to me, the more he poured forth.

“I was making progress with some God-fearing women in the area—my calling card at the garden proved quite productive, and the priest made himself useful with his attempts to deflect unwanted attention. It was nice of you to visit, by the way.” A smile slid across his lips before he pouted. “Only once? And here I was becoming so smitten with you—all your struggle to do good while you found ways to bend even the most clearly delineated of church rules. I advised your trusted pastor’s warning to stay away from the urn. It was seemingly innocent enough advice, though I’d hoped that for you it would prove a temptation. But that didn’t work. So I set my minion on legs to get to you and others showing promise.

“A good plan, but as the adage goes, if you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself. He nearly had you on that last, valiant attempt though. Who knew you’d grab onto that blasted crucifix at the last minute? I think that’s when I decided I had to have you, rather than any of the others.

“Imagine my delight when Father Flambé over there revealed that you’d fallen for an angel. An angel!” He opened his mouth wide in a laugh. “You really are too much. He was wrong in thinking I was the angel, but he was right to know that somehow this was my ticket in. After correcting his attempt to derail me, I had to fully impress upon my priestly servant that
I
was in charge, resulting in the debacle with the altar candle. I hadn’t counted on the demon hunter walking in and freeing my servant from my grip. But even that worked in my favor in the form of your growing mistrust of the monsignor and, therefore, the church.

“I had a limited window in which to work before you, too, spoiled. So I threw in a field fire to kick up the tension in your household and bind the angel to you because of the increased threat. I knew that the combination of stretched nerves and having the object of your temptation so close at all hours would eventually pique your desire, leading you to at last drive him far enough away to allow me an opportunity. All I had to do was wait. You came closer to succeeding with him than I’d expected, I’ll give you that. But he did reject you and fled far from his temptress, just as I’d predicted.”

He moved the side of his face to within an inch of Maggie’s. “And you know what happened next.” He couldn’t touch her, but his hot breath penetrated the buffer, rolling across her cheek. “Taking you was so much more satisfying than I ever expected. Your surprised gasps. Your eager participation. There was even an innocence to your screams of ecstasy.”

Maggie stiffened. “Those screams weren’t meant for you.”

Aedan jerked his face away from hers. “Oh yes, that’s right—they were for the angel. The one who rejected you. Repeatedly.”

“Because he’s good!”

The demon frowned. “Rejection equals goodness? Well then, glad I chose this side. Let’s look at your
good
life recently, shall we?” He held up a finger for each rejection he ticked off. “Besides the angel and all his brethren, there was your husband, then the fabulous Raymond—I only brought the girl around; I didn’t make him choose her. Then who do we have…ah yes, your BFF Sharon. And how are things going with your daughter these days? She seems more than eager to trade in her old mommy for the newer model. Let’s not forget that the good, holy monsignor was going to kill you—rejection doesn’t get more poignant than that.”

He wiggled his full hand of fingers. “And while all these people rejected you, who was the only one who wanted you? Who pursued you through all the blockades you put up? It was me, Maggie. And I still want you and am here begging you to accept me the way I’ve accepted you. I celebrate everything about you, including this push and pull between good and evil. Annoying as it is, I find your persistent struggle irresistible. I will want you for all eternity for exactly who you are.”

Maggie stared at him, dumb struck, as he made his declaration. It was true. How many times had she been rejected by others while he steadfastly looked after her?

“
He’s lying
,” a voice said out of nowhere. Maggie’s head twitched toward Father Tom, who stood straight with his attention riveted on her through the flames, but the voice had been too low—barely above a whisper—for it to have come from him, and there was no reprimand from Aedan.

“I don’t understand something,” she said. “One of the angels who came to my room to take Evan away said he had to prepare for what I was to bring into this world. He knew it was your child—why didn’t he try to kill me like Sarto did?”

“Angels can’t kill humans. It’s against the rules. Believe me, your darling Evan would certainly have strangled you himself if it were possible.”

“You’re an angel,” she said with an accusing bite.

“I make my own rules, sweetie.”

Her lips curled. The bond between them seemed to be getting stronger, his influence over her growing, and she sensed that he enjoyed this back and forth. What she was doing now was more like flirting than defiance. “But if you can’t touch me, you can’t kill me.”

“Nor do I want to.” His charcoal eyes held hers.

“Of course not. Precious cargo.” Her hand instinctively stroked the section of wool that covered her ever-boiling abdomen.

His gaze snapped downward and followed her hand longingly. “Will you deny me the right to caress the worthy and beautiful body in which my son resides?”

Maggie watched him and asked coyly, “How are you so sure it’s a boy?”

He lifted his eyes to hers, and there was a new tenderness there. He didn’t answer, merely stared into her reluctantly receptive gaze. The moment felt as if it could be between a genuinely loving husband and wife expecting their first child.

“What if my answer is no?” she asked, more softly than she’d intended.

“The child will be born, regardless. But it will be much easier to keep both of you safe if you accept my protection. I want to take care of
you
, Maggie. You’ve never really belonged with them. None of them knew how to properly care for you—you’ve been taking care of yourself for so long. You must be tired. Let me take care of you now. Please. It’s what I want more than anything.”

He was saying things to her that no one else ever had. Things that she now understood she’d been yearning to hear. Even while she knew he must be lying, she was no longer sure she’d refuse him. After all, what was left for her outside of him? He’d at least keep her safe from the world that wanted to cast her out. When the angel had said he couldn’t help her, she’d taken that to mean she wasn’t welcome in Heaven either, and feared she never would be, after this. So why should she refuse the only being reaching out to her?

Aedan watched her internal deliberation and nodded in understanding. “That’s right. They don’t want you. You’ve strayed from their ways and teachings too much, sullied your soul with sin.” He leaned in closer and whispered, “I’ll tell you something I shouldn’t—I only get one shot at this. One successful fertilization. I believe in you enough, Maggie, that I put all my trust in you. You’ll be my only queen for all eternity.”

Father Tom’s voice rang out. “The weak must seek his shelter at all times and moments. The truly strong have stepped into the fire, saturated themselves in it, and still tear themselves away to walk toward the light—it’s only someone as strong as this who can defeat him.”

Aedan glared at the priest, and the flames tightened their circle. At first Father Tom cowered, but then he stood straight, and the flames fell to a low, blue shimmer at the ground. The priest’s features had gone slack, and in the odd lighting his eyes seemed to glow. When he spoke, his voice was clear and resounding. It obviously wasn’t his. “He didn’t choose you, Maggie. I did.”

The flames snapped back up to full height, and through them, Maggie saw Father Tom frantically glancing around, bewildered. He didn’t have long to question what had just happened—Aedan clutched the forked weapon he’d laid against a nearby tree and blasted it at the priest, catching him in the chest and depositing him directly into the flames. Thomas’ howls went up with the snapping sparks, and Maggie had the urge to pray for his immortal soul as she watched his horrendous struggle, but she couldn’t. Not in her state of limbo. Eventually the torment ended, and Father Tom’s charred body was at last free from the pain of this world.

“How many more have to die before you give yourself to me?” Aedan asked.

“How many more will die if I do?”

“Look, sweetheart, you can cut the good girl act. You chose your side; I won. We can both win, if you’ll just stop dicking around!”

She flinched, and his hand went immediately to cradle her face, but he stopped just shy of his goal. “I’m sorry,” he cooed. “I’m so sorry. I lose patience easily. You can help me with that when we’re together. But I don’t have time for patience right now—pink will be showing in the horizon soon, which means joggers and workers in the county building just beyond those trees. I’d rather avoid any more unnecessary bloodshed. You’ll see that I’m not nearly as bad a guy as they make me out to be.”

She backed away. She didn’t want this, it was so clear to her now, but she didn’t know what to do, so she mindlessly continued taking steps backward, away from him, away from the influence that had been clouding her mind.

He followed. “This is really just a formality. Face it—you’ve already accepted me. You can say you didn’t know who it was, but that’s not true. A small part of you knew the truth, but you liked the feel of me on you and in you, so you pretended it was someone else. You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

She’d stumbled through the forest and then moved into an open expanse, jerking around to find that she was directly behind the county building. Her mind clicked to the angel stone she’d visited there, and she instinctively ran to it, slipping on the frosty grass along the way but keeping her balance until she reached the circular patio. Turning back toward the forest, she expected to see Aeden casually striding across the lawn since she’d heard no heavy footfalls directly behind her, but he already stood at the edge of the pavers.

“I don’t accept,” she said. “I know I’ve probably closed the door on my chances for an afterlife anywhere else, but that doesn’t mean I’ll make things easy for you. Others will come for me! And this time I won’t fight when…they try to…kill me…” Her voice became small and died away when the trees along the perimeter of the forest seemed to move. The shadows grew in bulk and emerged from the tree line. Horned demons. She gasped and looked back to Aedan, who’d shed his human form. Red eyes glared at her from a blackened, spiked head as he tensed his clawed fingers. His inhuman voice was a shrill, hideous hiss. “Well, my dear, I hardly promised to make things easy for you either.”