Hope in Love (10 page)

“And how do you know so much about what they do?” Ram asked
as he lounged against the patio wall.

“I’ve taken women out before. You, Ram, only fuck them and
whisk them back to where they came from.”

“You son of a bitch, I’ve wined and dined some of the most
beautiful and famous women in the world.”

“They came to you fully powdered and dressed. I’m sure not a
single one dared to be late. For you this is a first.”

Ram heard the laughter behind Osce’s words as he stood and
joined him.

“I should send your ass back to Uriel right now.”

“It is you who needs me, my friend. I was fine in my little
corner of Hell.” Osce’s eyes darkened and became hooded.

Ram often inquired of Michael what Osce had done to cause
Uriel to lock him away. He never answered him. It seemed not even Luke or
Raphael could get their hands on that information. All anyone knew was that it
involved Morta, one of the Fates. He had never asked the man himself.

“What happened between you and Morta?”

“What happened between you and Patricia?” Osce retorted. Ram
noticed a glint of steel in his friend’s eye when he asked that question. One
day he’d be able to tell him, but not yet.

“Touché.”

Finally, he heard the sound of women’s high-heeled shoes on
the marble floor. Both men waited with their backs to the patio wall.

The first to appear was Patricia and she looked lovely in
her royal blue sheath. It brought out her eyes which were almost the same
color. He watched Osce’s eyes change. They flashed with excitement. Ram found
that interesting. He had not seen his friend look at a woman like that in
years. It pained him to not be able to divulge what had happened in Europe.
Part of the story would be up to Patricia to tell. The rest Ram made sure she
would never remember.

And then Yael appeared.

Holy Christ, she was magnificent. Covered in gold sequins
that caught the setting sunlight, the fitted, off-the-shoulder dress glittered
like magic. It stopped midthigh and allowed just a peek at the top of her
stockings, drawing attention to her long, shapely legs. Her high-heeled shoes
were the same shade of gold as her dress, and the open toe of her shoe showed
off her pretty pink-painted toenails.

He hadn’t seen her backside yet, but he hoped the stockings
she wore would have seams. His cock yearned for release. No way could he spend
hours with Yael and not tear that dress from her. His mind drifted to the scene
in the shower, and her hot, tight butt. He wanted to shoo everyone away and go
back there again. It had become impossible to keep her out of his mind.

The curls he loved were back in her hair. They brushed below
her bare shoulders and bounced when she walked, begging to have his hands
tangled in their thickness.

“Ladies,” Ram said, “shall we go?”

He grasped Yael’s hand in his. Osce had Patricia’s as they
left.

* * * * *

The maître d’ offered to escort them to a private room but
Ram wanted to show Yael off. They descended a short stairway and were seated at
a table in the club right off the dance floor where some customers swayed to
the music of a live jazz band. He couldn’t wait to hold Yael in his arms and
show her how to slow dance.

The club had been popular in the forties and fifties and
still kept a lot of the décor from that period. A low, glass wall topped by a
chrome railing ran around the upper level of tables, which surrounded three
sides of the room. A teakwood bar full of patrons curved around the fourth
wall. Tables not too close together were covered with the best linen. Cushioned
seats had high, comfortable chair backs.

The French cuisine served here was the best in town. Most
waited months for reservations. Ram didn’t have that problem. He’d been here
often and befriended the owner.

After a sumptuous meal of shrimp with
beurre blanc
sauce and couscous, he and Osce relaxed and sipped brandy as they waited for
the ladies to return from the restroom.

Ram had watched Yael leave the table and cross the room with
practically every other man in the vicinity. Her legs went on forever, and the
way her hips swayed was hypnotic. Thank God Michael saw fit to remove the spell
and he had regained some control over his otherwise errant erection.

He seethed as one young gentleman got up, seeming to follow
her, but turned instead to the bar. His eyes had probably been glued to her
sweet ass as she walked in front of him.

“They will return eventually,” Osce said smiling. “It’s the
powder thing again and the application of fresh lip color.”

“I’m very curious how you’ve come by all of this
information. I see a new side of you, my friend.”

“Just because I don’t have your credentials doesn’t mean I’ve
lived as a monk.”

“Have I truly been that much of a cad?”

“Cad isn’t quite the word I would have chosen…but, yes. You
are legendary for your use and discard of women. One day it will come back to
bite you in the ass.”

Ram listened to Osce but got distracted when he noticed Yael
and Patricia standing at the bar, talking with the same young man who he
thought earlier had followed Yael.

He saw her face light up in a smile at something the guy
said, and his chest grew tight.
I will kill him if he touches her
. No
sooner did the thought cross his mind than the man rested his hand on Yael’s
arm. He decided, for her safety, he needed to hear the conversation.

So the gentleman you are with is not your husband?

No, we are…I don’t know how to explain it.

Hey, sweetie, I’m just glad you’re not married. That
means you’re a free agent.

Free agent?

Osce immediately became aware his friend had tuned him out.
He followed the direction of Ram’s eyes and watched the scene unfold at the
bar. Osce made himself privy to the conversation taking place there. Patricia
waited as Yael talked to a handsome stranger.

He could feel the energy around Ramiel escalate and he
smiled. Maybe that bite in the ass was on the way sooner than expected.

He wasn’t sure before, but now he was convinced Ram was more
than a little attracted to the exulted. He had felt the same vibe from her when
he guarded both women while they shopped. Any minute his friend would head to
the bar and show his displeasure.

Osce was shocked the guy hadn’t already disappeared. It
wouldn’t be the first time Ram got a little touchy and sent some unsuspecting creature
hurtling through space. He wouldn’t hurt them. He’d just drop them somewhere
real nasty. Like the nearest trash receptacle.

“I don’t think you want to do that,” he said to Ram.

“Do what?” Osce had his attention once more.

“It’s written all over your face that you’d like to bring
harm to the gentleman who has his hand on Yael’s arm.”

“No, I wouldn’t dare think of bringing him harm. I’m way
past that. I kind of thought I’d kill the bastard.” Ram’s head turned back to
the bar. Osce’s attention returned there also. The stranger had no idea how
thin the thread of his life had just become.

So give me a call and we can have lunch the next time you
come to town to shop. I’ll show you some of our more famous sites.

That sounds pleasant. I will call you.

I wish you would give me your number.

I don’t think I have one. But I will let you know what it
is when I find out.

“Jesus fucking Christ, I am going to rip his damn head off.”
He stood to go to the bar and Osce stopped him.

“Ramiel, sit down before you make a complete ass of
yourself. She doesn’t understand how things are here and you won’t help the
situation if you tear the poor bastard’s head off in front of her.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do? I can’t just sit here.
He’s making a blatant pass at her. He’s wants to get her into his bed.”

“Just relax. I’ll go fetch the ladies.”

Osce chuckled. It was funny to see Ramiel so worked up over
a woman. He didn’t give any thought to how he’d have reacted if it had been
Patricia. That was best left alone.

Shit. Ram hadn’t counted on this. How could he make her
understand what the guy was up to? Yael was so naïve and she believed the best
about everyone. Things were different here, not like they were above, and he
had to find some way to let her know and not seem too overprotective.

He remembered how she reacted earlier when he told her he
didn’t want her in bars such as the one she and Patricia visited earlier.

He had to be very careful how he handled the situation. But
damn, he couldn’t take her being out without giving her better knowledge of
what men were after in this day and age. Yael was gorgeous and she would
attract attention anywhere she went. Thank God Osce had been here and able to
get him to see reason. He would have plucked the slimeball up, dropped him in
the Gulf and left him to drown.

The guy’s eyes followed Yael all the way back to their
table. Ram decided to give him a little something to think about for being such
a blatant pig. Before he could follow through on his plan, he heard Yael’s
sweet, innocent voice.

“Ram, do we have a number that I can give to the nice young
man I met? We are going to have lunch together the next time Patricia and I are
in town. He’s going to show us some of the famous tourist sites.”

“I don’t think that will be possible. I’m fairly sure he’s
going to be away for a while.”

Ram heard Osce’s laughter ring out across the table.

Ramiel was livid and needed to do something to distract
himself from the anger that had taken root inside of him.

“Yael, would you like to dance?”

“I’m not sure that I can, but I’d love to try.”

“It’s very easy. You only have to follow my steps.”

What he intended to do was reaffirm his place in her life.
He didn’t question why he felt a need to remind her she was with him.

When they reached the dance floor, he’d calmed down somewhat
and couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms. It seemed like an eternity since he’d
touched her.

Without realizing what he was going to do, he pulled her
close and became entranced by her amber eyes. His hands went to her face and
his thumbs caressed their way down her neck. Her body trembled beneath his
touch as she looked up at him. He couldn’t believe how much she got to him.

His hands brushed the sides of her full breasts as his arms
encircled her, bringing her closer. She felt so right held against him. Her
curls brushed across his face as she laid her head on his shoulder.

He rested a hand at the small of her back and one hand
stroked her neck as he started to move with her. His cock pressed against her
stomach and told her how much he wanted her.

“I like the feel of your body next to mine,” he whispered in
her ear.

“Ramiel.”

“Shh, just let me hold you.”

Ram slid silently into her mind. He should do better with
his promise but it was too damn hard. With his power, and if he was careful,
she’d never know. He told himself it was so he could keep her safe from pricks
like the guy at the bar. That made him feel better about the violation of her
privacy.

Yael craved his touch also. She wanted him inside her and,
Lord knows, that’s where he wanted to go. Deep inside her again. She had sensed
his tension and wondered what happened. Now he was much calmer and she relaxed
against him. Her arms encircled his waist and she held on to him. Her hands
crept up his back and it felt like heaven. He continued to move her in a slow
motion. Ram’s erratic heartbeat matched hers.

“Ramiel, please take me home.” Her voice sounded weak and
unsure.

Shit, she wants to take me to bed
. He swallowed the
groan that started in his erection and grew upward.

“Now?”

“Yes, I want you.”

Ram missed a step. That had never happened before and it
shocked him. He dared not hesitate. She might change her mind.

She blinked and when she opened her eyes, he’d transported
them to their bedroom.

Yael was going to make love to him. Lord, he hoped he could
stand it. Just being in her mind had driven him beyond the point of return.
Drops of fluid gathered on the tip of his penis.

“Do not undress us.” Her voice rasped with desire. She
wanted to do that. Christ, was this his Yael?

She surprised Ram by her boldness, but it made him so happy
she wanted to take him. Glad he wasn’t the one who had to take the first step,
his whole body sang out in joy. Standing still, his penis wedged behind his
zipper, he waited for her to speak again.

He watched as she pushed the shoulders of the dress down her
arms. God, he’d never make it through this. Unable to move, he stared as she
slipped the golden fabric over her hips. His cock throbbed with pain as he
stood there, eyes glued to her.

She stepped from the dress and kicked it across the floor.
She still wore her golden heels. The shiny piece of gold fabric that held her
breasts and her stockings clung to her body. The thin strip of material that
covered her pussy set him on fire. She didn’t remove it.

He could smell her. Ram exited her mind. His body was
overwhelmed with hunger.

Yael wanted to take him, like he’d taken her in the shower.
But not yet.

She moved to stand in front of him, still in her silky
underthings. She would undress him before she took off anything else.

She heard the air catch in his throat as she pushed his
jacket down his arms and discarded it. She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her
hands across his sculpted stomach and up his chest. His muscles rippled as she
caressed him.

Leaving the shirt hanging open, she unfastened his pants and
slowly pushed them over his hips. Kneeling down, she caught his musky scent and
it drove her mad. But she continued to push his pants down until they pooled at
his feet. She lifted one leg, took off his shoe and removed his sock and pulled
the pant leg all the way off. Repeating the same ritual for the other side, she
tossed them away.

His thick cock waved in her face. A teardrop slipped from
the tip of his penis and was caught in the cup of her tongue. She feathered a
kiss across the moist tip and heard him growl as he fought to control himself.

Standing, she pushed the shirt all the way off and put her
arms around his waist. She pulled him into her body, planted light kisses on
his nipples and then took one between her teeth. She bit it, flicked it with
her tongue and sucked the nub into her mouth. The other nipple was given just
as much attention.

His breath came in rapid gasps as he moaned. She loved the
power she now held over him.

“Yael, please,” he begged.

“Shh, lie down.” She pushed him back until his legs hit the
bed and he fell on it. “I want you.” She hooked her thumbs in the sides of the
thin gold band of material covering her womanhood and slowly slid it over her
thighs and down her legs. She kicked it aside.

He reached to pull her onto the bed with him.

“No,” she said as she rose over him and straddled his body.

She leaned down and covered his mouth with hers. Her tongue
slipped through his soft, sweet lips and again, she knew heaven.

“You are so delicious, Ram, so sweet,” she said as she
kissed him deeply.

His tongue slid into her mouth and he buried his hands in
her hair. He held her still while he tasted her. Yael loved it. But she wasn’t
done with him yet.

“No,” she whispered again and pulled back. She took his
hands in hers and held them there as she sat up and covered his cock with her
creamy folds. Rocking back and forth on his thickness, the head of it almost
slipped inside her. She was drenched.

“Honey, you’re going to kill me.” His voice grated through
his teeth.

“Give me what I want, Ram.” Slowly, she continued to slide
over his erection. Each time it nudged her clit, she moaned.

“It’s there for you, baby, take it.” Ram arched his hips up
to meet her.

Yael was lost. She wanted to make this last but she couldn’t
wait any longer. Sliding back far enough to feel the head of his shaft at her
entrance, she lifted slightly and allowed his penis to slip into her.

“Mmm,” she murmured as he burrowed into her tightness. It
felt so good. She didn’t move. She wanted to savor the thickness of him as her
canal convulsed slowly.

She let Ram pull her down so he could take a nipple in his
mouth. He sucked and teased it with his teeth, licking around the peak until it
grew even harder. All the while, he drove his cock into her slick sheath. He
laved her other nipple and tugged as though he couldn’t get enough of her in
his mouth.

“So good,” he said as he plunged deeper into her.

She still clasped his hands tight in hers on either side of his
head and she rode him, bouncing up and down on his shaft. Leaning forward, she
felt him touch that special spot inside that made her crazy. He shoved his body
up each time she came down on him, trying to bury every inch of his cock inside
her.

“Take it all, baby,” he croaked.

“Yes.” Yael never felt so good. This was what she needed.
Him. All of him. She couldn’t release his hands because she used them to lift
herself after she met each onslaught. She clenched and released her sheath around
his penis.

He gave her more and more of his length each time she came
down on him.

She felt her release build like a storm. It gathered with a
force of its own, ready to rip from her in a torrential downpour. She went
wild. The urgency to let it out tore through her and she continued to ride him
mercilessly. This was her time. But she wanted to make him remember it too.

“I know you’re there, baby. Let it go.” Ram punished her
pussy with his cock. He wanted to take everything from her. He wanted it all.
To feel her juices drench him and cool his own passion.

“Ram,” she screamed as the dam broke and her life poured
out. It flowed and dripped around him. She slowed her assault on his shaft as
she leaned into him, rising up until the head almost came out, and then sat
back down on him. She did it again and again as her pussy trembled around him.

His own release gathered and rushed from him like an
avalanche and his cum filled her. The sound of their wet desire washed over him
and made him give even more. He crammed his thickness into her until there wasn’t
a drop left. Pleasure sang through his veins, singed his senses. Suddenly the
realization of what he’d done slammed into him.

“No,” he whispered. It was too late. Too late to stop the
flood of his seed filling her.

Yael fell forward and rested on his chest.

Ram wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He
couldn’t move. He was sure she’d conceived their daughter. It saddened him to
think that he would lose her. Maybe it wouldn’t happen. There was so much he
wanted to share with her. If only he could use his powers and make time stand
still, freeze this sweet moment of Yael in his arms forever.

He moved their bodies so that they lay with her butt curved
against his now flaccid cock. Every night from now on he would hold her until
she was gone. He thought of what it would be like when she was no longer in his
bed or his arms.

“Why are you sad?” Yael asked.

“I thought you were asleep.”

“No.”

He didn’t want to talk about his sadness. He couldn’t think
past this moment. He felt anger at losing her well up inside. He tried to put
it away from him, but he failed. For the months ahead he would share her with
no one. He thought about the son of a bitch at the club.

“We have no need of a phone and if we had one, you couldn’t
just give the number to anybody who asks for it.”

He felt her body stiffen against his.

“What you really mean is I can’t choose my own friends?”

“That’s not what I mean at all.” But that was exactly what
he meant. “The bastard had one thing on his mind.” He felt her pull away from
him.

“Is it so hard to believe someone might just want to be my
friend?”

“Yael, I don’t want to argue with you. I only ask that you
be more careful of the kind of people you befriend.” His pain was so raw at
losing her he didn’t care what he said.

“In other words, don’t choose male friends.”

This was going to end badly but he couldn’t stop. The
possibility of her being in someone else’s arms after their affair ended drove
him forward like a bulldozer.
She’s mine.

“No, you can’t have male friends.” There, he’d said it.

Yael got out of the bed and stood naked with hands on her
hips. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and they pierced him with anger.

“How dare you insult me? I do not care what he may have had
on his mind. Do you think so little of me? I would not bed just anyone. I would
not have bedded you if I had not been forced.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“The hell you didn’t. I won’t be insulted by you even if you
are an angel,” she growled at him.

“That has nothing to do with anything.” Ram said—to himself.

Yael had vanished.

“I’ll be goddamned!”
She did not just leave me?
“And
she’s naked.”