Hope in Love (9 page)

Maybe he should have more compassion, but this man asked to
die. Ram smiled at Luke’s trick. Blood flowed down his face from the gaping
hole in his head. He stretched his arms in front of him and did his zombie act.

“I am a dead man walking.”

Hoodie, gun now at his side, backed down the alley until his
body hit a wall.

“Oh God, help me,” he cried.

“You freaking piece of shit. How dare you even say his name?”
Luke grabbed the killer and snatched him right through the pavement. The Devil
wouldn’t relieve him of any of his pain on the trip to Hell. And this time he
didn’t blame him.

The body that lay at the foot of the wall no longer
contained a soul.

Ram floated down and landed beside the dead punk. He picked
up the gun and placed it back in his hand.

The headlines would read
Gunman robs convenience store,
injuring three. He then went into an alley and shot himself once in the head.

Sadness dug into his heart. The man in the green shirt would
live. No one else need die this day.

Ramiel really wanted to go home. He hoped Yael would be
there.

They stopped to have refreshments. The table Yael occupied
with Patricia and Osce was located in a quiet corner of the restaurant. She
thought about Ramiel. When he’d stood on the patio earlier, she noticed his
eyes were the most brilliant blue she’d ever seen them. They reflected no pain,
no death. Only his need for her. He seemed different. Happier.
Lord, let it
be because of me
.

She peered at Osce and wondered about his friendship with
Ram. Osce’s eyes were like dark liquid gold and pierced her like an arrow. They
seemed to never move, yet saw everything. He sat with his back ramrod straight
and his long legs stretched in front of him. Legs like small tree trunks.

He was almost as tall as Ram and had a broad, muscle-laden
chest. A straight nose regally sat above a pair of lips that would make most
women scream in pleasure. A handsome devil. Yael smiled at her colloquial use
of one of Lucifer’s many names, but Osce fit that image in her mind.

She could see Patricia felt the same because she had not
taken her eyes from the man. She was smitten. And when he gazed at her, his
whiskey brown eyes darkened. Yael wasn’t sure, but she thought she felt energy
emanate from her friend as she tried to put an enthrallment on their guard. She
even noticed a slight quiver around his lips as though he fought a smile. How
smart Ramiel was to have picked Osce.

He had yet to say a single word. Not since his last words to
Ramiel—
their wish will be my command
. And it had been. They dragged him
through store after store, but bought nothing. Yael just enjoyed the idea of
shopping and looking at all the pretty things. She didn’t need anything after
their previous trip. At least not yet.

Her friend wanted Osce to pay attention to her as a woman,
not just a body to guard. But he had stoically avoided that situation so far.

“It’s so hot,” Patricia said as she loosened the top two
buttons of her thin, sleeveless blouse. The mounds of her breasts peeked out
above the piece of material she flapped to either side. Yael noticed she had
chosen a shirt to wear that made her eyes look even bluer.

“Yes, it’s the humidity. My homeland was very dry. But I
like the heat.” Yael was tired. “I think it’s time we return home. Perhaps Osce
has other things he needs to see to.”

Earlier she’d been stabbed with a feeling of sadness that
came from Ramiel and she wanted to get back to him.

“I am completely at your disposal,” he replied.

“He does speak then. I thought that honor would only be
bestowed on an angel.” She saw Patricia’s mouth curl in a smile as she poked
fun at Osce. She flipped her long black hair across her shoulder.

“Then you would hear my voice often,” Osce said, piercing
Patricia with his eyes.

Yael watched her friend with interest at this turn in the
conversation. She too had begun to wonder if he would ever speak again. And
this was the first sign he showed of having noticed either of them.

Patricia nervously fluttered her hands to her throat. But
Yael could tell she liked what she heard. She’d never seen this side of her
friend before. Of course, above, everyone acted more reserved.

“Shall we go then?”

Once they hit the walkway outside and turned into the alley,
they would vanish before anyone noticed them. Their bodyguard traveled through
space and time without disturbing a single molecule. No one would even feel the
air disturbance that accompanied dematerialization.

* * * * *

Osce disappeared to wherever he’d come from, Patricia rested
in her room, and Yael sat with Ram on the patio watching the red sun melt into
the horizon. The wine must have been to her liking because she accepted a
second glass.

“Did you enjoy your afternoon out?”

“Yes, very much,” she said.

“I didn’t notice any more bags.” He didn’t know where they
would put everything if she bought more. The closet brimmed with dresses of
every type. All of which he could have fashioned for her but she seemed to like
shopping. He could always enlarge their room.

“We window-shopped.” Ram like the way her face lit up in
smile.

“Would you like to go out to dinner tonight?” He’d rather
stay there and take her to bed but he would love to see her in one of her new
dresses. He must admit, Patricia had an eye for fashion, especially if
everything they purchased fit and looked as good as the jeans she still wore.
He remembered what he wanted to do to her ass earlier.

“I’d love to, but I don’t want to leave my guest alone.”

“Osce can accompany us. Do you think that would be to her
liking?”

“Oh, I think she’d like that a lot.” Yael’s smile told him
she suspected the same thing he did. “I’ll go shower and get ready.”

Ram remained on the patio and reflected on his friendship
with O. He’d felt the electricity in the air between him and Yael’s friend.
Osce might prove to be even more helpful than he initially thought. If he
occupied Patricia, Ram could have more time with Yael. Bringing Yael to his
domain on Earth was supposed to give him more time with her but so far it hadn’t
worked out that way.

He didn’t think Michael would be too happy with this new
turn of events. Osce was kept under close watch for a good reason. Uriel had to
be considered also.

The great archangel of the Earth, Uriel oversaw Hell as the
fire of God, in direct opposition to Luke. Uri and the devil hated each other
with a passion only angels could sustain. Uri held the key which would open the
doors of Hell at the end of time. Luke thought the key should be his.

But the Father had been right. Uriel, also known as the
angel of repentance, was a pitiless bastard but he provided the necessary
balance to how many souls Luke could take without explicit permission.

His other responsibility—the half-human offspring produced
by the fallen angels who had taken human wives. It was this debacle that was
the reason angels couldn’t mate with humans. Many of the children from these
unions ran rampant around the world causing untold chaos. Quite a few were on
Luke’s list of best friends. This was another bone of contention between the
two powerful angels.

Osce came under Uri’s care, but he’d be glad to be rid of
him. Uri often referred to him as a pain in the ass. Michael laughed at that
because he considered Uri to be a much bigger pain in his ass.

Like Ramiel, Uriel did his own thing and Michael’s hold on
him was tenuous at best, often needing the Father’s intervention.

Tired of such boring thoughts, Ram’s mind wandered in
another direction. His cock strained against his pants. Envisioning Yael wet
and soapy in the shower became too much for him. Why not join her there? After
all, she didn’t seem to mind the picture of the act he’d put in her mind
earlier.

He massaged the head of his cock through the thin material
of his slacks until drops formed on the tip. Shit, no way was he going to take
care of himself ever again. Not as long as Yael lived in the world. Ram
vanished from the patio.

So much steam filled the bathroom it would have been
difficult for a human to see. Ram didn’t have that problem. Her luscious body
was silhouetted against the glass doors. Already naked, he moved to the door
and quietly slid it open.

“Oh!” She jumped back at feeling him there and he had to
reach out and catch her before she slipped on the wet floor.

“I’ll leave if you’d rather be alone.” His breath held in
his throat, waiting to hear her answer.

“No…you may stay.” Her voice was hesitant.

“I want to do more than just stay, Yael.” Hearing her inhale
the air told him she’d read just what he wanted. “Let me bathe your body.” She
handed him the lavender-scented sponge and turned her back to him with her arms
across her breasts.

“No, we should do the front first.” He eased her back around
to face him. Her eyes were shut. “Look at me, baby. See what you do to me.” He
pulled one arm loose and placed her hand on his cock. He sensed her excitement
as air whistled through her teeth.

Slowly, he ran the sponge around her chest. Her other arm
dropped and she braced her hand against the wall. The one around his dick began
to stroke and pull the skin back and forth. Ram’s blood was on fire and raced
to fill his erection even more.

He brought the sponge down and circled her breasts. The
nipples stood in plump peaks and poked at him as he moved over them. Going
lower, he washed her belly in circular swirls before he shifted to the place
between her legs. He squeezed the sponge and her legs tightened against his
wayward hand. “Ah, you liked that.”

“Yes.”

Short strokes back and forth over her pussy made her rock
into his hand.

“Turn around.” She released her hold on his cock and faced
the wall. Both hands were raised and placed flat against the wall. “That’s
right. Hold tight, baby.” Dropping the sponge, he used both hands to pull her
body toward his. She bent slightly at the waist and he put one arm around her
there to hold her.

His free hand stroked and caressed her hips and her sweet
cheeks. He let his cock bob against the back of her thigh as he pushed his
fingers into the crease of her ass. Using the water that cascaded from the
showerhead, he played at the pucker of skin and plied one fingertip inside.

“Oooh, Ram,” she moaned and threw her head back. Arching
even more, she pressed her behind further onto his finger.

“Tell me if it hurts, I’ll stop.”

“NO! Don’t stop.”

He chuckled and planted kisses down her silky back as he
pushed deeper inside. His heavy erection begged to be placed there and he moved
it into the crevice and slid it between the silky cheeks, keeping his finger
buried.

Drops of cum formed on the tip of his penis, and with the
water washing over them, he wouldn’t need any lubricant. He’d enter her slow
and easy. Removing his finger, he grasped his cock and bumped the slick tip of
it at her tiny opening. The head slipped in and she gasped.

“Relax, baby. I won’t give you any more than you want.” He
nudged it further in and waited for her muscles to loosen and accept him. She
slid her hands down the wall, and bending lower, she pushed her ass back,
taking more than he would have given her.

Ram waited for her to move again. When she pulled away, and
came back again, he gave her the rest of his cock.

“Oh yeah,” he groaned as he started to pump inside her ass.
Slow, very slow. He took his time and let her grow accustomed to the thickness
that penetrated her anus. Felt so damn good. Both hands now rested on her hips
and pulled her back and forth on his penis.

He moved one hand to the front and stroked her pussy. She
moaned loud, the sound bouncing off the tiled walls. He touched and pinched the
nub nestled in the folds. Rubbed in a circular motion until she bucked her hips
tighter against him. Picking up the pace a little, he thrust in and out.

Shit, he could even come in her this way and not impregnate
her. His balls were so tight, ready to explode.

He plunged fingers deep into her pussy and worked in and out
while his thumb massaged and caressed her clit. All the while he stroked in and
out of her ass.

Her breath came in ragged gasps and she called out to him.
“Faster, I…”

“Come on, baby. Let it go.” He strummed her cunt, moved in
her anus in rhythmic thrusts. “Come for me, Yael.” Her body arched up, her head
came back and she screamed.

“Ramiel!”

“I’m coming, fuck!” he groaned as he released a never-ending
stream of semen in her ass. Her passage was slippery and she pushed his fingers
out with convulsions from her pussy and the strength of her orgasm. “Sweet.” He
straightened her body against the wall, lavished kisses on her neck and across
her shoulders.

Reaching for the sponge, he worked more soap into it and
gently ran it between her thighs and into the crevice of her butt, bathing the
inside of her thighs and down the back of her legs. Turning her to face him, he
rinsed the sponge, prepared it again, and washed her nipples and her stomach.
His lips covered hers, then he dotted her face with feathery kisses.

So she wouldn’t have to move, he turned the showerhead
toward her and let the spray of water rinse the suds from her body.

He asked, “You okay, baby?” He moved his hands with the
water through her thick curls, removing any traces of soap from her hair.

“Umm,” she murmured. “Good.”

Ram turned the water off, and lifted her from the shower. He
placed her on the counter, grabbed a towel from the rack, and began drying her
body.

“I’m fine. You need to prepare for dinner also.” She smiled
at him. “Let me get ready.”

“I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

He left her sitting on the bathroom counter, a smile on her
face. If only he could leave her like that always—smiling.

* * * * *

Ram sat with Osce waiting for the women to make their grand
entrance. Both men wore immaculate, black, designer suits. Neither used a tie,
and the tops of their shirts opened to show a bit of dark hair sprinkling their
muscular chests.

Two hours passed and still no sign of the ladies. He could
have dressed every woman in the world by now, and they would all look fabulous.
What could be taking so long? Both were already good-looking. Well, Yael was
stunning. He smiled to himself as he thought how freshly showered she was. His
dick jerked at the memory of being inside her ass.

He got up and went to the door for the tenth time and looked
down the hall with hopes of seeing them on their way out. He’d even lifted his
spell of silence so he would hear them approach.

“What in Job’s name could they be doing? I could fashion a
living woman in less time.” He could feel Osce’s smile behind him.

“Women are such frivolous creatures. They never think they
look good enough,” he said. “They must bathe and fuss with their hair, then
they paint themselves. They spray their bodies with expensive scents and then
there is the final powder to the nose. I’m sure they’ll be done shortly.”