Fallen William (6 page)

“You’ll
have to tell me about them so we can compare.” He shifted slightly in his seat.
“What’s the other reason?”

She
brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “You make me feel safe. For some
reason, I know you’re not going to take advantage of me. My mother gave
everything she had to make my dad happy, so I had to watch out for myself.
Someone reminded me that I’m not like her and that by going out with you, I’m
not giving up everything I am. I can relax with you and know you’ll take care
of me without seeing me as weak.”

He
picked up her hand from where it rested on her thigh. Carrying it to his lips,
he kissed the knuckles and then turned it over to kiss her palm. She felt the
tip of his tongue caress her skin and a shock of electricity raced from that
small point to her pussy where she became drenched.

He
smiled. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing had quickened. He could smell
the faint hint of her arousal in the car. He longed to be able to stop the car,
spread her out on the hood and fuck her. Shaking his head, he placed her hand
on his thigh and sped up. Dinner would be a special kind of torture for him but
he would get through it. He wanted to show her how special she was to him.

“After
all your protests about not being seen with me, what made you change your
mind?” Her fingers stroked his thigh.

He
tried to concentrate on her question and not on all the blood pooling in his
groin. “A friend reminded me that I could waste an eternity being afraid of
losing my heart. I don’t know where our relationship will go. Maybe it’s only a
case of lust between us but I need to explore it. My not wanting Thompson to
know about us was just an excuse not to step out on a limb and risk your
rejection. My friend reminded me that I can take care of you without worrying
about Thompson so I took the chance. I think it’s working out so far. Don’t
you?”

She
nodded. He groaned as her fingers brushed against the front of his pants. He
spread his legs wider to give her better access. She fondled him through the
fabric and gave a slight squeeze. He glanced over to see her smiling at him as
his leg twitched. Grabbing her hand off his cock, he grinned at her.

“You’re a tease. Now behave
because I don’t want to get us in an accident on our first date.” He held onto
her hand intertwining their fingers together. He pulled up in front of the
restaurant a few minutes later.

*
* * *

“Why
aren’t you gambling tonight?” she asked as he held her chair for her.

“I
didn’t feel like it. I would rather spend my night with beautiful lady instead
of a bunch of guys.” He ordered drinks for them.

She was
surprised. He didn’t sound like a guy obsessed with cards. “I thought you
played every night.”

He
shook his head. “I only do it when I have nothing else to do. I have more than
enough money to last me a lifetime so I don’t have to bet another hand.”

“Then
why do you do it?”

“It’s a
game that takes skill and luck to win at. I’ve been blessed with both, plus
when you’ve lived as long as I have, there’s not much happening that I’ve never
done.”

“As
long as you? You’re not more than 36 or 37.” She laughed. There were no
wrinkles on his face and no gray in his hair. His body was hard and the muscles
were defined. When she met his startling blue eyes, she saw they held an
emotion deep down in them. It was a weary look full of sorrow and shadows and
she wondered at the pain hiding in them.

“I’m a
fallen angel. I’ve lost all the hope of Heaven and for more centuries than I
care to remember, I’ve wandered this earth. There have been few mortals I’ve
wanted to become close to over the years because you mortals have an upsetting
habit of dying on me.” The sorrow became more pronounced in his eyes.

“You’re
joking, right?” She couldn’t believe the handsome man across from her actually
thought he was a fallen angel. “Fallen angels are just old wives’ tales, aren’t
they?”

“I
guess since you don’t believe in God or angels, believing in fallen ones would
be even harder for you. What is your instinct telling you?”

“It’s
telling me that you’re not crazy. My head is telling me to run as far away from
you as I can get.”

“Which
one will you listen to?”

“I’ll
listen to my instinct. It hasn’t led me wrong yet.”

“You
can chalk it up to a harmless delusion if you want to. I won’t hurt you.” He
didn’t try to force her to believe him. He was willing to allow her to make her
own choice.

“If
you’re a fallen angel, why aren’t you bad or crazy? Didn’t the fallen become
demons?” She tried to remember what she knew about the Fall.

“The
most stubborn and defiant of us did indeed become demons. There was a small
group who came to our senses only after we were banished from Heaven and lost
our wings. We petitioned God to forgive us and allow us back, but for reasons
known only to Him, He refused us. His archangel came to us with an offer.
Mika’il told us there needed to be—for lack of a better word—a police force to
stop the fallen from preying on mortals. We would become Enforcers.” He rubbed
his chest right over his heart. “Those who chose to do that were branded with a
cross the demon fallen call the mark of Cain.”

“Why
would you choose to do that? Why turn on your brethren?”

“Boredom
was part of it and I had no interest in making mortals suffer. I deserved my
punishment because it was my arrogance that brought me to that place. There was
a need in me to prove to God that I had changed. All I wanted was a chance to
show Him I knew what I did was wrong.”

“Did it
work?”

He
stared at his hands for a moment as a brief flash of sadness raced across his
face. “I don’t know and I’m not sure I’ll ever know if I’ve proven anything. I
gave away the most beautiful thing in the world for a moment of madness and no
matter how much I try, I’ll never get it back. Now I do what I can and maybe
someday forgiveness will be mine.” He shook off the sorrow. “What a boring
topic for you, especially since you don’t believe me.”

“I
didn’t say I didn’t believe. I’m not sure what to think.”

“Would
it be easier to think of me as just a gambler? I could be another man like your
father, destined to hurt you.”

“It’s
too late for that. I have a feeling I know too much about you to ever be able
to think of you as a man like him.”

Relief
shone in his eyes. “Good. I wasn’t sure how I was going to prove to you that
gambling has no more control over me than any job I might have.”

“You
being here with me tonight is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t being
an Enforcer take up all your time?”

“Occasionally
it does. I spend most of my time living a normal life until the dreams get too
bad and I get a visit from an annoyingly smug archangel who tells me where I
have to go next.” He waited until the waiter delivered their dinners and left.
“I don’t like to see Mika’il.”

“Why?”

“He
brings back memories of a place I can’t see again.” He took a bite of his steak
and seemed to be thinking about something. “Did you ever have a place that made
you feel safe? At any point in your childhood, was there a place that you would
return to—if you could—that protected you?”

“When I
was twelve, we lived out in the country. I guess my father thought his
creditors wouldn’t be able to find him there. There was a huge oak tree in the
back yard. When my parents fought, I would climb up into the branches and let
the leaves hide me from view. I used to believe that no one could hurt me there
and I dreamt that my parents loved each other.” She felt silly telling him the
most precious memory she had.

“If you
take those feelings of safety, beauty and love and multiply them by a million,
you might come close to the feelings Heaven gives you. It’s the feeling of
total acceptance and love that everyone searches for here on earth. Mika’il
brings those memories back to me and it kills me to know that I’ll never have
that again. It’s because of my own arrogance and stupidity that I’m banished
from paradise.” He looked down at his plate and she could tell he was fighting
not to cry.

A
figure stopped by the table. She looked up to find the stranger who had
convinced her to go out with him standing there. He laid his hand on William’s
shoulder as tears filled his eyes.

“One
day, my friend,” the man said before he seemed to disappear before her eyes.

“I’m
sorry to be so emotional. Some days the pain seems closer to the surface than
other days.” He seemed to shake off the sorrow. “Now, tell me about the places
you’ve lived.”

She
took the hint and steered the conversation to less emotional topics for the
rest of the dinner.

CHAPTER SEVEN

They
pulled up in front of Abby’s house and her nerves started to kick in. What had
she been thinking asking this gorgeous man into her house? He came around and
opened the car door. Staring up at him, she took a deep breath and plunged
ahead.

“You’ll
come in for some coffee, won’t you?”

“If I
come inside, it won’t be coffee I’ll be having. We knew your bed was where we
were headed when I asked you out.”

“I
know, but I’m a little nervous now. It isn’t every day I ask a fallen angel to
fuck me.”

“Darling,
I won’t be fucking you. I’ll be making love to you. Let’s go inside.” With a
gentle brush of his fingers over her cheek, he leaned down and kissed her. This
kiss wasn’t as fierce as the one that started the evening. This one moved
slowly and she yielded to it without protest.

They
walked up to her door with their arms wrapped around each other. She fumbled
with the keys as he rubbed her shoulder with one large warm hand. Taking a deep
breath, she opened the door and gestured for him to go in. He stayed silent as
she locked the door and led the way to her bedroom. One step inside her room
and he reached for her. Pulling her close to him, he eased his mouth down on
hers. Their lips moved together in a sensual dance as their tongues dueled for
supremacy. Her hands slid up to spear themselves through his hair while his
moved down her back to grasp her ass and lift her into him. When the thrusting
of their tongues got their hips moving in the same rhythm, he reached up to
undo her top. He eased it off her while he enjoyed the sight of her breasts
being bared for him.

She was
enjoying it as well. He could tell from the way her nipples stood at attention.
Dipping his head, he blew a quick puff of air over one of them. She gasped and
grasped his head tighter. The painful little tug made him smile. He nuzzled and
licked her breasts like he was a sugar addict and they were dessert. Little
nips of teeth and quick flicks of his tongue had her moaning his name. He felt
his cock swell and his balls tighten. It was going to be a wonderful night.

He stripped
her top off and unbuttoned her pants. He slipped his hands underneath the
waistband and took them and her underwear down at the same time. He could smell
how turned on she was. Kneeling in front of her, he pressed his face to her
stomach and stuck his tongue in her belly button. She jumped and gave a squeal.
She widened her stance to allow him access to her dripping pussy. He loved the
way a woman’s passion tasted and he knew he could get addicted to hers. Using
his thumbs, he parted her lips and blew a warm breath on her clit. He pressed
his mouth to the hard button and sucked. Soon her hips were moving in time with
his mouth. He slid his fingers down to her opening and swirled them around it
until they were covered with her juices. He slowly inserted one finger as she
arched her hips towards his mouth. She cried out as he pulled out and worked
two back in. He drummed the tips of them against her pussy’s walls as he
suckled her clit. He began to thrust them faster and faster until she cried out
as she climaxed. He continued to stroke her gently as her breathing slowed and
her legs stopped trembling.

He
stood up and lifted her in his arms. Laying her on the bed, he moved back to
stare down at her. Her cheeks were flushed from the passion he had incited in
her. She sat up and motioned for him to stand in front of her.

“It’s
your turn.”

He
wanted to fall to his knees and thank her. He moved close enough to feel her
warmth through the fabric of his pants as she took her time unbuckling his
belt. He wanted to strip his body naked because the fit of his pants was
getting too tight. He popped the buttons of his shirt and flung it across the
room. She murmured her agreement while she unzipped him. He drew in a sharp
breath as her hands grazed his cock.

“Hurry
please.”

He
caught her smirk before she could hide it. She was enjoying the torment he was
feeling. Finally his cock was free and it sprang joyfully from the confines of
his pants.

“Oh
my.” She licked her lips as she stroked her hands up and down it.

He found
himself whimpering when her warm moist breath washed over his heated skin. She
cradled his balls in her other hand. She rubbed and rolled them together while
she enjoyed the velvety feel of him. The head of his engorged cock flushed
purple when she applied a little squeeze to his balls.