by Peyton Banks
“I know, right? I was on my way here when I ran into you.” He guided us to the line to place an order.
I tried to remember all the orders I had heard through the years. I was certain humans spent entirely too much money on things like this and too much time waiting in line for something to eat and drink. Still, I was feeling what was obviously cravings. I wanted a lot of things at this moment, but coffee was the safest. “What do you get here? I don’t really know what to order.”
“Do you like things sweet, a little bitter, strong, mild?” He focused on the menu as he asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t ever actually…had a cup of coffee before.” I gulped with the admission. I didn’t know what I was going to do here. I wasn’t on assignment, he could definitely see me if he was able to knock me over, and I was most definitely getting a taste of humanity because my ass still hurt and I was becoming very aware of the shoes I had selected this morning. If would have known I was going to be dropped into their reality, I would have chosen something functional over cute.
“Oh. Okay then. Let me do this for you. I will order for both of us. What about food?” he asked as we stepped one more spot closer to the station that would take our order.
“You order that too…so it all goes well together.” Not because I have never had to eat before. I looked like a human but had zero of their weaknesses, at least until now when I was experiencing everything all at once. I knew the functions. I understood the dynamics. I just never actually experienced them.
“Cool. If you hold our place, I can go wash my hands and be back in time to place the order.” He smiled again.
I purposefully ignored that little tingle sensation. I wondered why I was experiencing that particular sensation. It was a bit awkward for me to have that tickle low in my groin. I tried to process the feeling as I nodded and smiled up at him.
I watched him move away from me. I could hear a couple women behind me, and they had all sorts of comments about the man that just left my side.
“Now that is one fine looking man.” One of them stated.
“If she doesn’t want him, I will take him.” Another agreed before the cluster of women started laughing.
I turned slightly and looked back at them. He moved in next to me before I could say anything. “Hey. Your turn.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “My turn.”
He meant it was my turn to go to the restroom and clean up before we ordered since there was time. What he didn’t know was that in my human form, experiencing my human emotions, I was in no mood for those women. A possessive streak had slid up my spine and lodged into my brain. I simply acted.
I knew he was stunned when I did it. I was also stunned by the action, but something was happening to me and I couldn’t control it as easily as I thought I would be able to.
It took him a moment to put his arms around me, but he did. When I stepped back away from the kiss, I could feel my lips tingling. I had a lot of tingling sensations coursing through me at the moment. “I’ll be right back.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, sure. I will be right here.”
He was trying for a calm and cool he didn’t quite master. It made me smile despite myself. Maybe being human for a day wouldn’t be nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
I waited in line and wished I could still see him from here. I was reminiscing about the soft, but firm feel of his lips against mine as I finally entered the small space with a commode, sink, and full-length mirror on the back of the door. It was a one-person bathroom. I locked the door and stepped to the sink to wash my hands.
“Having fun yet?” I actually felt my body jerk in surprise and that only angered me. The reflection was not me, but of one of the other guardians.
“No. Why am I here like this?” I whispered so I didn’t sound crazy to the people outside the door.
She shrugged and said, “I don’t know why you are there, but word has it you won’t be there long, so you better make the most of it.”
“What does that even mean?” I turned on the water and soaped up my hands.
“How should I know? I’m breaking the rules right now just talking to you, but you looked a bit out of sorts.” Silvia put her hand up to the glass.
I put my soapy hand to hers, but they did not touch.
“You look gorgeous. Go have some fun. I need to get back to work. There is a guy down the street about to steal something unless I convince him otherwise.” She waved as she disappeared, and I could see my reflection in the mirror.
“I do look good.” I admitted as I rinsed then dried my hands. He was a little darker than me, his eyes lighter than mine, but I sure wasn’t unattractive and my body, well, I have an hourglass frame and every item I have on looks tailor maid for it. I straightened myself out a bit, and as I walked out of the bathroom and tossed the paper towel in the trash, I resolved to live it up. They wanted me to be human, fine. I was going to experience it to the fullest.
“Hi.” I stepped in next to him and glared at the women that were eyeballing him like he was a meal to be had.
“Who are you mean muggin’?” He chuckled as he asked and then looked in the direction I was glaring. “Ah.”
I pulled my focus from the women to him and asked a real question. “Do you believe in angels?”
His brow shot up and he shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean I was raised to believe in a lot of things, but as I got older and more lies were revealed, it made it difficult for me to keep believing in other things I couldn’t actually see or have explained.”
I started to say something else, but they called his name and his attention went to the tray being passed across the counter to him. “Come on. Let’s grab a seat outside and enjoy some of this weather.”
Once seated, I did notice that the air was nice, the sun was out, but we had an umbrella on the table that provided just the right amount of shade. The coffee and pastries smelled amazing.
“So, you uh, know my name, how I take my coffee, some of my belief system, and you kissed me. That is a lot of information for someone to have when I don’t even know your name.” He situated the coffee and plate with a croissant and a gourmet donut in front of me.
“Glory.” I admitted.
“Glory, glory, hallelujah!” He was entirely too enthusiastic about it. “That’s a beautiful name. I don’t think I have ever met a woman with that name before.”
“Now, you have.” I watched him pick up his coffee and I picked up mine and offered a toast, “To first names and bold moves.”
He nodded and touched his coffee cup to mine. “Hallelujah.”
I took a sip of the hot liquid and understood why people were addicted to this stuff. Once the croissant melted in my mouth, I was hooked. I thought it wise he ordered a donut for me also. By the time I ate the donut, he was looking at me with rapt fascination.
I still had some in my mouth as I asked, “What?”
“Nothing. I mean, you uh…really seem to be enjoying all this. It’s like…I don’t know. Maybe like you have never had a donut before either.”
“I haven’t.” I sipped the coffee and frowned because that was the last drop. I was starting to feel all this energy, this euphoria, and there was only one thing left at this table that I wanted and hadn’t had.
“You had really strict parents I guess, but you’re a grown woman. Why haven’t you tried any of this before now?” He pushed his donut toward me, and that gesture made the caffeinated, sugar filled brain of mine a bit wilder than it already was.
“I haven’t tried a lot of things before now.” I bit my lower lip and looked at him with every bit of intention. “Do you live nearby?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. Licked his lips. “Why?”
“Take me to your place.” I could barely hear my voice over the pounding of my heart in my ears.
“We could go for a walk, maybe get to know each other a little more…” he started.
“We could go to your place and get to k
now each other really well instead.” I licked my lips and then said something I would have before judged a woman for saying. “I want you.”
“Damn.” He smiled. “I don’t usually…”
“Me either, but there is a first time for everything and today is my day of firsts. Are you up for it?” I asked. I started to understand the complex nature of addictive behaviors with just a bit of coffee and sugar. I was up, feeling my best. All I needed now was the one thing my body was craving. Him.
He considered me a moment then rubbed his lips together and when they fleshed back out, he said, “What the hell. I only live once right?”
“Right.” Wrong, but he didn’t need to know that.
“You sure you want to go to my place, not yours?” He was such a gentleman. He helped me up from the chair and then tossed the trash into the can before placing the tray on top.
“My place is way too far.” I considered that the truth. I also realized I had no idea where my place was or would be. Was I homeless? In this outfit? I began to understand that I was now not only relying on this human for sating this pressing need of this insane body, but I was also needing his home for protection.
“Protection.” I said it out loud. “I’m sure you may be wondering about that. But I haven’t done this before, so I should be the one worried about you.”
We were walking and then he stopped. “Hold up. You mean you’re a…”
“Woman needing the specific attention of a handsome, caring man. Yes.” It was the most vulnerable statement I could make.
“You’re not going to murder me are you?” He said it as a joke, the teasing smile was back, but I could tell I was making him nervous with all my inexperience.
“No.” I stepped in closer to him. He wanted me. I could see it in that expression. Those eyes told me things his lips refused to communicate. The vulnerability in his gaze made me admit a little more. “I’ve never wanted anyone before. Now. I want you as much as I wanted that second donut.”
He nodded as a light laugh escaped. “That bad, huh?”
I bit my lower lip and agreed with a nod.
“Well, I suppose when you put it that way…”
We both laughed as he extended his arm and I looped mine, so we were walking together, connected this time. “I’m really excited.”
A few moments later and we were at his building. It was nice, upscale, and I took in all the sights like a tourist rather than someone who could have simply appeared here and looked at all the niceties before. I spent so much time worrying about the people in my area that I never stopped to take in the details. Life and death were just two events for them. When they died, I knew they were going to the next level of existence. Some of them would become guardians. Some of them would become destroyers, the army that fought against us for what humans often referred to as their souls.
I was really getting into my feelings by the time we made it to his floor and the elevator opened. I knew that I would not stay like this forever. Neither would he. It made me even more determined to enjoy every moment with him. I could worry about the rest of the human population another day.
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked as we stepped into his loft and I did my best to suppress my awe.
“This place is…”
“It’s been a hard-earned fight to get here, but I stay in it. The fight that is. I’m a lawyer.” He seemed to be waiting for me to respond to that.
I sashayed over to him and looked up. He was so tall and handsome I could barely contain myself. A faint memory of a task that was on the board surfaced. Something about a lawyer, a good cause, and protecting him, possibly recruiting him.
The sugar and caffeine were making my head spin with too many thoughts and I was currently not here for work, so I tried a move I had laughed at a woman for using before. “Well, I guess it’s about time for you to lay down the law on me.”
“You want me to lay down the law?” he asked and stepped closer.
“I want you to present your best case.” I nodded. “Convince me you know exactly what you are doing.”
“It’s like that is it?” One more step and we were close enough to get started.
“Kiss me.” I tiptoed up to meet his lips as he wrapped me in his strong arms.
It didn’t take a lot of work for the clothes to be off and in a scattered assortment from the living room down the hall and into his bedroom.
Between his kisses and his touch, I was soaked, desperate, and then he rolled to his back leaving me panting.
“Come up here.” He motioned for me to get on top. “You control it this first time, okay?”
I had seen this act before. All these acts in good and bad scenarios. I knew how to do this. I just didn’t expect it to be such a driving force. We cared about one another and those who were human before coming to the team had a lot of emotions and desires that those born this way didn’t have. We liked them, but they were still humans and made a mess more often than not when they volunteered to come to the watch rather than go through the gate.
“Okay.” I moved to position myself over him, above him, and he began kissing me again.
“Hang on.” He suppressed a laugh as he shifted enough to reach between us and put the condom on. I was desperate to feel him inside of me. I needed that connection and now.
As I pressed down on him, he made every effort to maintain my arousal, my comfort, and within a few strokes, I was sure this was my new obsession. I began pushing this human body to the limit. Working it for everything it was worth. I couldn’t get enough of his touch, his kiss, his cock.
When he stroked a thumb over my sensitized clit, things began to move, shift, arch, roll, and I finally understood why they called it the little death. I practically lifted out of this body and burst into a rainbow of sensation before settling back into it with teasing aftershocks reminding me of just how good that was. In a breathless whisper and more like an afterthought than an actual concern I asked the man looking up at me in awe, “Did you finish?”
He nodded slowly. His fingers trailed down the center of my body from my neck to my navel. I had to ask, “What?”
“You’re glowing.” He gulped.
“I bet I am, you are amazing.” I was too lit up on the inside to realize I was actually lit up on the outside, too.
“Thanks. I uh…why…exactly are you glowing?” His expression bordered on panic.
I looked at my hands and the soft gold glow that was starting to fade. I looked at him and asked again, “Do you believe in angels?”
“You’re an angel? Not an alien?” he whispered. “I uh…”
“Victor.” I touched his cheek. “Trust me. I am not here to hurt you. I would never hurt you.”
I frowned as the realization of that truth set in. I also didn’t want anyone else to hurt him. I shifted off his body and he sat up, got out of bed, went into his bathroom.
When he returned, I was ready for round two. “Get back in this bed and literally turn me on again.”
He was handling this all pretty well though I could tell he was somewhere between thinking this was real and a dream. Settled to the fact it might be a dream he was going to enjoy it. I knew that the moment he licked his lips and said, “Absolutely.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon in a haze of lips, tongues, fingers, hands, tangled bodies and soft moans between cries of hard pleasure. I was worn out and energized at the same time when I finally got out of the bed and went into his bathroom.
We showered together, touching, caressing and soaking up every moment of this. “You’re a dream.”
“Maybe.” I admitted and thought about that. I could possibly see him again in his dreams. I slipped out of the bathroom with one towel wrapped around my head and another around my body. This body was now asking for more sustenance. My tummy rumbled and I was shocked by both the feel and the sound.
A few moments later, he came out, and asked, “You hungry?”
I bit my lo
wer lip. “Yeah. I could go for more coffee and donuts.”
He laughed. “How about some regular food this time?”
“Anything you want.” I wasn’t picky and I was also eager to see what else I could learn about.
“You know.” He stood there with a towel wrapped low on his hips. “When I was little, I used to ask for a sign. I guess you are that sign.”
I was glad he left the room and disappeared into a large closet because I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. He returned with a pair of loose pants tied around his hips and handed me a pair of men’s boxer shorts and a t-shirt. I accepted the comfortable attire as I went to the bathroom to change. I placed the items on the sink and I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was happy. Genuinely thrilled and I could not stop the smile.
Until the mirror blurred and there He was.
“Sir.” Fear. I had never experienced this feeling before, but I knew what it was the moment it struck me.
“It’s time to come home, Glory.”
“No.” I was adamant about it.
Didn’t matter. As easily as I had been dropped into the atmosphere, I was stripped out of it.
Epilogue
It took a while for me to get over the whole experience. I watched without being able to reach him as Victor realized I was gone. All my things were still there, but his towels and his guest, me, were missing.
He still dreamed of me. I was not supposed to go there, but I did anyway. I did for several reasons, but the main was because in his dreams, I could spend time with him. We could talk, walk, get to know one another and I could promise him that I would see him again and mean it.
Then it happened. He thought I was a sign that he was doing the right thing by defending a case that was highly controversial. They won. He was the victor. He was also assassinated on his way home.
I still had all these human emotions, so I exacted a bit of vengeance upon his attacker.
“Hey.” I turned to see him walking toward me.
The vehicle behind me exploded and fire engines could be heard a moment later. “Hi.”
