Heavenly Lover (20 page)

“You are my angel,” he whispered.

I am claimed. I belong to him. I am as close to human as I can get…

Claire’s muscles clamped down on Daniel’s member, causing him to moan again, and in a flood of pleasure she felt like she was going to burst. Her body surprised her with the sensation of her erupting climax, satisfying something missing and now found. She let the experience take hold of her and carry her away outside her physical body. Every part of her that touched him made her want more. Her skin tingled with pleasure.

There was a brief moment where he was overcome, and began to shudder, which Claire felt inside her, filling her. She could feel the strength of his life force.

She was suddenly sad she had no womb to accept him, to grow his child.
I would bear you a child if I could. I would. I would.

They lay together, breathing hard, touching, kissing, and lapping the sweat from each other’s bodies. He whispered words in Portuguese, exploring and telling love poems. She tasted the saltiness of their lovemaking, the way his body excited hers where they touched. Claire loved the way the sparse hair on his chest tickled her breasts. The candles mimicked whispers like hundreds of angels who had come to watch this holy union. She felt a part of that secret society made up of all the angels who had gone before, who had experienced real physical human love.

He was spent, breathing hard into the side of her face, and even so he was kissing her softly on the cheek, in her ear and hairline. She wrapped her arms around him like she had done so many times before, but this time it was real. How wonderful to experience how he felt on her skin. Claire watched him breathing, restoring, and healing his body. Her legs remained entwined in his. She soothed down the bits of black hair at the sides of his eyes that had been ruffled out in the pillow, and kissed them into place. She traced the lines at the sides of his mouth. His lips took hold of her two fingers and sucked them.

She smiled at the love play. These were golden moments stolen from a timekeeper distracted with something else. For however long it lasted, she reveled in all of it.

“I have to sleep a little bit. Will you wake me up in an hour or so?” he asked.

“Yes, my love.” She continued to trace all his little lines. Her fingers moved across his full deep red lips and rubbed against the roughness of his beard. The sensation to her fingertips was thrilling.

“If you keep that up you will kill me.”

Claire frowned at him.

“Just kidding,” he said softly, “But I promise to be a better lover if you let me sleep for a few minutes.”

“I promise to leave you alone.” She said with a sigh. She watched him, peaceful. His eyes were closed, but they did not move from side to side like in the dream state. When she tried to enter his mind, there wasn’t anything there.

“I can tell you are watching me,” he said.

“Yes.”

“You are distracting me from sleeping.”

“I don’t want you to sleep, Daniel.”

“Yes, I can tell.”

Claire leaned over and kissed him long on the lips, pressing her breasts against his chest. He groaned and rolled over to his back. Claire raised herself, straddling him. She undulated back and forth, caressing him, looking for a hint that there was a friend between his legs. She leaned over him, and he was now looking intently at her breasts as she plied her sex against his groin, seeking its gentled manhood.

“This I didn’t expect,” Daniel said.

“You forgot I don’t need to sleep.” She kissed his chest, alternating between nipples. She let her breasts brush against him again. He squeezed her butt with both hands.

“I didn’t count on the difference in our appetites,” he said with a smile.

“Ahhh.” She slid down lower. Her tongue explored his belly button. She covered his belly with tiny kisses. “Is this what a woman does when she wants more of her man?”

“Yes . . . sometimes. You know, I won’t always be able to do this. I hope you won’t be disappointed.” He was trying to look to see what she was doing. Then her lips found him. He gasped, and she chuckled. Her tongue curled around the end of his shaft and she sucked on him gently, watching his eyes. The lust in his face matched the little quiver his body produced, which made her laugh. He was growing larger now.

“Do I act disappointed?” she asked him back as she licked her lips.

“No.”

“You don’t seem disappointed either.” She licked the length of his enlarged penis, which was fully aroused. It responded to her tongue and the pressure her lips applied.

“You are sure you didn’t have any classes in . . . this?” Daniel asked through clenched teeth. “You are a natural lover.”

“What do you think we read at night, hmmm?”

“Well, I don’t know. I thought maybe the Bible, a book of prayers, or . . .” Daniel was having a difficult time speaking.

“Yes, but we read love stories too. I have always wondered what this felt like, what this tasted like.” She moved his head across her lips.

I see he wants me again. Look at him need me.

“You read romance novels? In Heaven?” He raised himself up on his elbows.

The long length of his flat stomach and muscled torso shone in the moonlight. Claire stopped for a moment to look at him on the bed.
I have dreamed this. I thought of this the first time I saw you in the shower. I belong to you now.
“I was made for you. I cannot help it if I need . . . more of you.” She said this through her lips and teeth as they were pleasuring him.

This caused a reaction in Daniel, who sat up, took hold of Claire by the shoulders, and led her into the soft folds of the bed, positioning her beneath him. He looked into her eyes like he was asking permission. She smiled, the anticipation building as he spread her legs apart carefully.

I am yours for however long you want me. I cannot resist you. There is no turning back. We have now but we may not have much more. Love me now while we can.

“I want to stay in this bed with you forever,” Claire spoke to his ear.

“And I will love you forever, Claire.” They looked at each other. The candles infused lavender and vanilla throughout the room, and cast dark and light shapes onto the walls and ceilings around them.

This is the ancient ritual. This is how it feels to need someone so badly you cannot . . .

He touched her there.
Oh, that spot.
His finger massaged the little nub until it hardened. He was waiting for her, she realized, waiting for her to show him what her body felt like inside.

Oh please. I need you.
Her body exploded into bursts of pleasure as he entered her again, slowly, working his way past her already engorged and swollen lips. Even the pain was a pleasure to her, as he rode her gently, claiming her, calling her body forward to do his bidding. His strokes continued until the pain turned to pleasure. The spasms in her body preceded his.

Exhausted, he collapsed into the pillow at her side. She felt a little twinge of regret that he could not make love all night long. She was not sure how many they would be able to share.

“Sleep, my love,” she said while she caressed the soft hair at the nape of his neck. “Sleep and see us here. Then I can have you all over again, in your dreams. I want every part of you again.” Claire had no more finished those words than she heard him snore.
I will wake him when it is time. Are the books real? How many times can he make love tonight?

Pressed into the mattress with the weight of his sleeping frame on her body, Claire wondered what the days ahead would bring. She had knowingly violated a direct order from Father. Would He take away her remaining few days of pleasure as a consequence? For sure there would be a consequence. She saw a faint image of the garden with the white stones.

But the love in her soul was worth the price, every bit of it.

Chapter 25

With new light bleeding pink into the bedroom, Claire let Daniel sleep. It was Saturday morning. She imagined what she would do if she was human—go have breakfast at a restaurant somewhere or play footsie over a cappuccino. If they were in a hotel they could order room service and eat naked or wear those motel robes, leaving them open down the front. They could tease each other; stay there all day long; take a bubble bath together.

His head lay on her chest. She had spent the last five hours or so watching him sleep. Several times he half awoke as if to make sure she was still there, giving her a kiss somewhere unexpected before falling off to sleep again. She raised the sheet up to look at the length of his tanned body on hers. He covered one hip and thigh completely, holding her in place. If she tried to leave, he would awaken and pull her back down.

I like how possessive he is.

The pink roses by the bed had infused the room with their floral and spicy fragrance. This man with his strong male smell, the hair she loved to run her fingers through, the full lips that melted everything inside her whenever they claimed her—this man had picked these out for her and had placed them so she would have a reminder of what was in his heart. Now she was basking in the glow of what they had done, what they meant to each other.

Daniel’s fingers stroked her shoulder as he inhaled and awoke. He raised his head, leaning his chin against her, midway between her breasts.

“Mmmm, you smell nice. Wonderful to wake up in the arms of an angel. Almost magic.”

Claire smiled and traced around his eyebrows and down his nose with a forefinger. “It is magic, being here with you.”

“How do you feel?”

“Wonderful.”

“No regrets?”

She had to think about it. “No, not really. Oddly enough.” She had pushed her concerns out the window the instant she saw his face.

“What will happen now?” he asked.

Claire looked up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and smiled. Daniel chuckled as he began to kiss her nipples, sucking on them and turning them into knots.

“Mind reader.”

“I told you I had special powers. And you didn’t believe me,” he whispered.

“I want those special powers again, right now.”

“You’re lucky I’m in a mood to please. I haven’t even had my coffee and you have me wide awake.” His penis lurched against her upper leg. He pressed his hardness slowly up. She groaned and pushed back against him with her thigh. She opened her legs to him as he maneuvered to the warm place between. He burrowed through her swollen lips, straddling her, then slid his arms under her back and pulled her onto him with his hands under her shoulders.

He was inside, and deep. As her muscles accepted his shaft to the hilt, the sensation instantly sent her pulsating. She ground her pelvis against him and pulled his buttocks. The strong smooth muscles of his lower back worked as he slowly and carefully stroked her passion. She could see him watching her pleasure ripen. She tried to keep her eyes open to drink in more of the intensity of his eyes, but found she couldn’t.

The gentle motion of their bodies rocked them and they entwined limbs. They urgently played each other out in a rhythmic fashion against the blue sheets. His physical form was delicious to her touch, but even more so as she felt the muscles under his bronze skin, muscles taut and spent, then soft and tender. Her appetite had no limit. His deep breathing cooled her, and she was swept away by the force of his exertions. When she moaned in pleasure he covered her mouth with his as if to capture every sound, every breath coming from her body, as if to savor all of her pleasure completely.

His warm wet lips and tongue coaxed her, pulled her, and stripped from her any thoughts that there would ever be a separation between them. He kissed her neck, squeezed her breasts. His undulations increased and she felt the waves of pleasure coming over her, muscle contractions inside her coming again. He arched and plunged in deeper and slowly spent himself inside as she jerked in unison. She covered his face with kisses, smoothing her palms down his back while softly calling out his name, her body jolting in her climax.

“I love you, Daniel.”

“I love you, Claire. Always.”

It was a day of passion. Stolen passion. Was He being merciful or was He being cruel? To Claire it was the beginning of her life, a life she never thought she could have.

Is this what it feels like to be alive, to be a real woman?

They sat at a little shoreline restaurant fishermen frequented. The coffee was terrible, Daniel told Claire, but the chowder was to die for. She winced, and corrected him on the use of that term. It was probably time to clue Daniel in on Josh, so that he could be prepared next time he was tempted by the dark angel. Now that she was real to him in human form, she hoped she could deliver a message he’d believe.

“I need to tell you something about Josh.”

Daniel looked up from tasting the steaming bowl of white chowder. “Josh?”

“Yes.” She leaned across the red and white oilcloth to be closer to his face. She dipped a forefinger into the hot soup and inserted it in her mouth for a taste. Daniel’s half-lidded eyes immediately went to her lips, sending a tingle down her neck.

“Were you Josh’s Guardian too?” He furrowed his brow.

“No. He is like me, an angel. But he’s a dark angel. A very powerful one.”

Daniel leaned back in his chair and it squeaked. He chuckled, looking out the window to the array of boats in various forms of disrepair. Very few of the boats were seaworthy. Occasionally someone would show up, but not much work was being done.

“I just can’t accept this. I mean, he’s been my agent and my best friend for over a year, Claire.” Daniel shook his head. “This makes no sense.”

“You trust me, Daniel?”

“Absolutely.” He reached for her hand and kissed it.

“For your own sake, you must believe me in this.” Because Daniel shook his head again, Claire added, “He is only your friend to claim your soul. He is the one who tried to get you to kill yourself.”

“No, it was Aud—”

“Who introduced you to her? Josh?”

He nodded his head.

“Don’t you see? Why do you think he just swooped down that night? How did he know you were trying to kill yourself? You didn’t call him.”

Daniel dropped her hand, then folded his on the table in front of him. “So explain this to me. Explain how you know about this.”

“He told me. He came to me the next day, put down the challenge. He thought he could scare me off.” Claire left off the part about Josh saying he was going after her.

“But Josh has always been looking out for me. He helped me with the introduction to the galleries. He made calls for me, helped promote my work.”

“How else to get in your good graces? You want to paint, to show the world your talent, to be recognized for it, right? Every artist does. He got to you in your softest, most vulnerable place.” She lowered her voice to add, “And he introduced you to Audray. Was that looking out for you? Really?”

Daniel had to laugh at that one. “No, definitely no.”

They sat in silence for a bit. Claire hoped he was convinced she was telling him the truth about Josh.

“So, how does all this work? Is Audray a dark angel too?”

“Well, the rule is that humans have to kill themselves to be turned. They have to agree to give up on their human life. They are denied access to Heaven permanently. And I don’t know if all of them become dark, but darks are known for their skill in ‘negotiating’ death with people, making deals. And just for the record, Father never does.”

“And what about angels?”

“To turn me, he would have to sleep with me, just once.”

Daniel frowned.

“You can’t think that would ever happen, Daniel. You know me.”

“Yes I do. I do indeed.”

Claire blushed.

“So, Josh is no danger to me unless I start wanting to cut myself again, right?”

“No, he’s more dangerous than that. I mean, he could also take you if he got you to go on a drunken rampage, drive your car off a cliff, get you to overdose on something to drown your sorrows. Those would all count. There are lots of ways to do it.”

“Or he could hold me hostage.”

“Hostage?” Claire asked.

“He could give me what I wanted most in the world. You.”

“No. No, Daniel. He can’t deliver me.” She leaned in again. “Look, you are never to trust a thing he says to you. He will say anything to get you over to his side. Anything, understand?”

“I understand. What about Audray?”

“I’m not sure. I need to do a little research on her. Darks have black eyes, and, as far as I know, hers are still, what…”

“Green,” Daniel whispered.

“But I would say that if she isn’t one already, she’s headed there. Her vanity, her desire for conquest, desire for power and youth—all these things make her dangerous as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns soon. She would make a very stunning assistant. If she was a dark angel, she would be easier for Josh to control and impossible to break.”

Daniel’s body tensed.

She shivered. “Stay away from him, Daniel. Stay away from them both.”