The Divine Whisper (24 page)

Deciding that it had gone on long enough, she grabbed his upper arms, took a deep breath, and sunk down as far as she could go.
They both cried out at the sudden movement. The amount of pleasure she felt was shocking.

“Oh Gemariah…”
She knew that after holding him in her hand that he wasn’t all the way inside, so she started to move her hips back and forth to try and work herself down farther. Little shots of pleasure fired through her body, and she balance her head back on his shoulder. “Hold me. I need you.” She knew that she sounded desperate, but she could care less.

Almost immediately, she felt an arm snake around her to grab her shoulder, and another hand at her hip.
Ever so slowly, he angled his hips up and moved hers back and forth while pushing down with the hand at her shoulder. It took no time at all for her to be completely embedded.

When it got to the point where she didn’t think she could take anymore, she spoke up.
After the time before, she was a little nervous that he wouldn’t stop, but he quit moving before she had finished speaking. It was a testament to how much he had changed, how much they had both changed.

She raised her head, and he started leaving small kisses on her cheeks, nose, lips, and neck.
“Are you okay?” he asked between kisses.

She smiled at his actions, and realized that the intense pressure was gone.
“Better than okay,” she said when an intense need came over her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, the only thing she wanted to do at that moment was start moving, and so she did.

She tightened her thighs to his hips and started to rock back and forth.
When her speed picked up, his mouth came down over hers. She felt like she had on the island, but only more. The feeling kept climbing the harder she pushed, but it still felt as if it were out of her reach.

Thinking about the island, she remembered how he liked to know what she was feeling, so she thought she would take a chance.
Ignoring her nervousness, she tore her mouth away and placed her lips at his ear before whispering, “You make me feel so full, full of want, full of need, full of you. Every time you push inside of me, I feel like I’m going to shatter into a million pieces. It’s addicting… you’re addicting.”

Her words had the result she was hoping for.
Letting out a long growl, he gripped her tighter, rocked her faster and pushed into her harder than before. He had lost that control he was clinging to so tightly, and she loved it.

Almost instantly, she felt the pressure inside of her increase.
It was too much. Without thinking, she clamped onto his shoulder with her teeth and yelled as she crested over the peak.

She had always read that people saw stars at that moment, not a beautiful mountain valley like she had, but she figured everyone was different, and it
had been
beautiful.

The grip around her back tightened, and he pushed into her one last time and held still.

She raised her head, and without thought gave him a gentle kiss where she had bitten down.
He groaned long and loud, and he ran both his hand down her back and gave her butt cheeks a squeeze. The action caused her insides to spasm once more and Gemariah sighed into in the crook of her neck.

“What are we going to do with you?” he asked.

She couldn’t help but giggle, and drop a light kiss on his neck. “I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll have no problem thinking of something.”

He laughed, and brought his head up to look at her.
“Come on, Tink,” he said as he lifted her off of him. “You wore me out, so come lay with me until we can go again.” He stood up, and before she could protest, he had the covers pulled back and he pulled her into the bed with him. For a fleeting second, she thought how sweaty she was and thought about the wetness between her thighs and she didn’t want to get too comfortable, but when he turned her back towards him and wrapped his arm around her, she had no intention of moving.

She didn’t know if it was what they had just done or the fact that his hand was pressed protectively over their baby as they both drifted off to sleep, but she couldn’t remember ever being happier.

CHAPTER 10

He was screwed; totally and unequivocally screwed!
What was I thinking
, Gemariah thought? He had no idea what had changed in him, but when he woke up with her in his arms, he liked it. He liked it too much!

There were too many things wrong with what had happened last night.
First of all, he never let a woman sleep over. That should have been the first indication that things were changing too fast. Then, to actually cuddle… He cringed at the thought of the word. What was wrong with him? That was not him; a man that had lived many years and never gotten romantically attached.

If she had noticed something was off with him that morning, she didn’t show it.
Instead of being shy and uncomfortable, something he thought she would have been, she had never looked more at ease. They both got dressed and he made them a quick breakfast before driving her home. They kissed each other goodbye with a promise to see each other for her doctor appointment at lunch. Nothing awkward, nothing weird, just two people making plans for later.

Every minute, he wished he could read her emotions.
It was as if nothing had changed with her, but to him it felt like the whole world was tipping off its axis. Five months ago, he was living with not a care in the world, and only thinking about his next mission or his next lay. Nothing else mattered. Hell, not even seven weeks ago, he thought that his life was still his own. Now he was sleeping with a woman that he couldn’t help but imagine waking up to every morning, and making plans to go see their baby on a sonogram machine later that day. It was too much. With that kind of commitment, people were going to start relying on him permanently, and that didn’t sit well.

He drove to work the rest of the way in silence.
When he got there, he passed by everyone with their curious faces. Sure, he usually made a loud entrance, but some days there was just too much to think about.

He wasn’t even sitting down for five minutes before Gideon came into the room holding a stack of files.
“Here, these were left for me, when they’re clearly your jurisdiction.” He tossed them on the table which caused them to almost slide off.

“Thanks.”
He couldn’t keep the sarcastic tone out of his voice.

“What’s up your ass?”

“Do you care?”

Gideon turned and started to walk out.
“Not at all,” he said before clearing the door.

Gemariah pulled the files over towards him, and started looking at the information.
Sure enough, there were more reports of assault, neighborly disputes, and domestic violence in the neighborhood that he was looking into. There was either something in the water or something on the unnatural side going on. He just couldn’t find the link.

“Okay, I’ve been approached by three people now that have mentioned your unusual entrance, and they wouldn’t leave me alone until I came in here to see what was going on,” Malachi said as he stormed into the room and plopped himself down on the couch against the back wall.
“Have mercy on me, and give me something to tell them.”

Gemariah swiveled around in the chair to look at his friend.
Shrugging, he answered, “Tell them that I have a bad case of hemorrhoids and they’re flaring up.”

Malachi laughed and Gemariah couldn’t help but grin when he thought of their faces.

When his laughter died down, Malachi cleared his throat before speaking.
“Seriously though, what’s up?

“The ceiling.”

“Really? That was weak, even for you. Now, I know something’s off.”

Gemariah shook his head.
“Nothing’s off. Can’t a guy not be the center of attention for one day?”

“Sure, but that’s never been you.”
A look of realization came to Malachi’s face. “It’s about today, isn’t it?”

When Gemariah stayed quiet, he continued.
“I’m sure everything is fine with the baby. It’s going to be healthy and if it’s a girl, I pity what her dating life will be with her overprotective aunts and uncles.”

Gemariah raised his eyebrows at that one.
“What dating life?”

“Precisely my point.”
Malachi chuckled and stood to leave. “And if it’s a boy, God save us from a little you.” He dodged the blow Gemariah tried to give him when he swung out. “Now get your ass moving. You’re going out with Tori on a quick run, East of the city.”

Malachi left, and Gemariah stood to gather his weapons.
Once he was prepared, he took a moment to calm his mind. Whatever was going on in his personal life would have to wait.

The quick run was nothing more than a string of convenient stores that were getting robbed every day in the mornings.
Cops had been called, but were always too late, and all the attendants’ descriptions were too fuzzy for a positive ID. It was as if the person always had a distorted image.

Sure enough, it was a demon that was too weak to hold onto its disguise that kept its true self hidden, long enough to take whatever it wanted from the stores.

They caught him at the counter of one, and easily came up behind him unnoticed.
The clerk had tried to be a hero and pulled a gun to stop the robbery which gave Tori and Gemariah the upper hand. It was a good distraction, but it had been a good thing they came when they did because the demon was more than prepared to char the clerk with the fireball it had conjured in its hand.

It was just the situation Gemariah needed to get his mind off everything else.
Stepping in front of Tori, he pulled out his ax, and held it to the throat of the demon. “Simmer down,” he commanded. Eying the fireball, he saw it flare hotter. “I mean it! Put it out!”

By the look of horror on the attendant’s face, Gemariah could bet that the demons face had fallen away.
The clerk probably saw something that he had only seen before in horror movies; skin falling from bones, red eyes flaring bright and teeth that probably grew longer and sharper by the second. It wasn’t anything Gemariah hadn’t seen before, but to an ordinary human… Gemariah knew that he would have his work cut out for him afterward.

At least the clerk had been smart and chose to drop the weapon and hide rather than shoot.

“You’re making a mistake.” The demon’s words came out garbled and rough.

“Yeah, yeah.
I haven’t heard that one before. Let’s go.” Gemariah yanked the demon by his arm, but kept his ax resting securely at his throat. “You’re going out back, so we don’t scorch this nice floor.”

“This is much bigger then you think, and the best part… you’re clueless about it all.”

“You seem awfully chatty. You want to fill us in before the barbeque?”

They pushed through the back door that opened up to a secluded parking lot.
The demon started to hackle; a sound that grated on Gemariah’s nerves.

Over the sound of the laughing, Gemariah detected a faint whistling sound.
Before he could pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, something hit the demon hard in the chest. A second later, the demon erupted into flames, and the laugh turned into a high pitched shriek.

Completely taken off guard, Gemariah had to quickly jump back, so not to get burned.
Not knowing what he was up against, he brought his ax up in a defensive position, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Tori had pulled out her bow and had it drawn as she eyed the rooftops surrounding them.

See anything?

He asked her telepathically, so there was no chance of being overheard.

No.
Whoever it was isn’t showing them self.

Cover me.
I’m going to see if I can find what did this.

Without waiting for her answer, he knelt down next to the flames.
At first, he couldn’t make anything out, but then he saw a glint of metal near the bottom. To hurry things along, he decided not to wait till the fire died down, but instead ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and wrapped it around his hand. Reaching down, he grasped the object, and held it up.

“Do we know anyone that uses throwing stars as a weapon… ones that are blessed anyway?”

“Not that I can think of.” She never took her eyes off the rooftops as she spoke. “It looks like we got a new player in our little game.”

Or one that didn’t want it talking to us.

Gemariah stood and gestured to the flames.

No, those are blessed.
A nephilim that fights for the wrong side doesn’t get blessed weapons.

They do, if they turn after receiving them.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said as she backed through the same doorway they had come out of. “You still have to talk to the human behind the counter, I’ll check for cameras.”

Groaning, he turned and followed her back inside.

Sure enough, the human was still behind the counter and in the fetal position. Sighing at the imposition, Gemariah crouched down next to the figure. “You okay there, Buddy?”

He was expecting somewhat of a reaction, but was not prepared when the man screamed and backed into a corner.
It was going to take more effort than he originally thought.

“You okay?
Your store got lucky this time, and didn’t lose any money.”

The man’s eyes opened wide and looked from side to side.
“Where is it?” he asked in a strangled voice.

“Where’s what?
Did you lose something?”

“That thing!
The thing with the…” He waved a hand over his face. “And the…” He then stuck out his teeth and gestured towards them.

Gemariah put on his best confused look.
“Are you okay? Because…” His hand shot out and grabbed the other man’s forearm. Before the guy could panic, Gemariah sent as much calming sensations into him as he could without putting the man out. “There was a guy that tried to rob your store. You scared him off with your gun, and now he will never come back. You’re a hero.”

The guy thought for a moment before a grin spread across his face.
“I’m a hero.”

“You sure are, Buddy.
You should get a raise.”

Nodding his head, he got up off the ground.
“I should, shouldn’t I?

“Damn strait.”
Gemariah started to back away. “Listen, we’re gonna get out of here, but you can handle everything from now, right… hero?”

The glassy look still in the clerk’s eyes had almost disappeared.
“Yeah sure, no problem.”

Without another backward glance, Gemariah walked out.
He felt sick to his stomach, and just wanted to get as far away as he could. He hated using compulsion to that extent. It reminded him too much of Ramiel.

Ramiel was given the gift of divine sight before he fell.
When he guided souls into the Promised Land, he could show them anything he wanted to of heaven. Then when he went to Earth, he planned to use his gift to spread the word of God. That was before he became corrupt. After that, he used his gift as a way to manipulate other by showing them anything he liked.

When Gemariah used his compulsion, it was hard to see too much of a difference between them both.
Hadn’t he just used his ability to manipulate the clerk
, he thought?

Walking up to the passenger side of the car, he opened the door and slid in silently.

“What do you think that demon meant about something bigger?” Tori asked as she pulled away.

“Who knows?
But this might be a clue as to what.” Pulling out the throwing star, he held it up.

“Be careful with that.”
Before either of them could say more, the star pulled out of his hand of its own accord and flew out the open window.

“Dammit,” Tory yelled as she slammed on the brakes and looked the direction it went.
“Don’t you remember that most flying weapons are enchanted to return to their rightful owner? How do you think that I still have all my arrows?”

He did recall something about that.
Shit.

“There went our only lead!” she snapped.

“Can’t you see where it went?”

“No, it was too fast.
You know that whole needle in a haystack thing? This is worse.”

Gemariah hit the dash and yelled, “Shit!”

Tori quickly threw out her arm and backhanded his chest. The impact was hard, sudden, and successfully took his breath away.

“What… was that for?” he asked between gasps of air.

“Just wanted you to know how it felt.” She reached over and ran her hand gently over the dash. “Don’t fucking hit my car again.”

She started driving once again.

“You’re crazy you know that, right?” He gestured to the dash and said, “Car…” Then he gestured to himself and said, “Person.” After repeating himself a few different times, Tori silently looked over at him. The look she gave said it all. In her world, her car ranked higher than any person.