Heaven

by Belinda McBride

  “Let it down.”

  With a slight smile, the glamour slipped and Rion was revealed in his full beauty. His blood-red hair showered around them like a glowing curtain. He rubbed his leg against Rex’s groin, passing gently over the erection gradually filling the front of his worn jeans.

  Rex broke the kiss, allowing his own glamour to slip. Mahogany curls tumbled to his shoulders and Rion pushed the hair back, kissing the pointed tips of his ears. Rex’s breath rushed from his lungs and he wrapped his sinuous tail around the angel’s hip, guiding his movement. Blood surged to his cock, making him harder, more urgent. He felt Rion’s shaft pressed against his hip, rubbing, pumping in the tempo Rex had set.

  “Come up here. Let me suck you.”

  Rion flushed at the invitation and rolled to his back, levering his pants down his lean hips. He was shirtless and his wings shimmered with unworldly light. Carefully, gently, he got up and straddled Rex’s shoulders. He dragged his heated shaft over the brown skin of Rex’s belly and chest. Reaching up, Rex clasped the angel’s cock and guided it to the warm, moist cavern of his mouth.

  He watched Rion’s face go still with pleasure. Rex never looked away, even as the angel began to pump, fucking his mouth. Reaching up, he cradled the soft sac of Rion’s balls, massaging until his finger dipped slightly into his ass.

  Rion’s skin broke out with gooseflesh, and he shivered and groaned slightly. Rex let him slip loose and twisted his head slightly, nuzzling at his balls before running his tongue over the delicate spheres.

  The angel bucked convulsively and his breath rushed from his lungs as though he’d been punched.

  “Stop… I can’t… I want…” Rion slipped from Rex’s grasp and shifted backward till his slick, wet cock met Rex’s. They lay hip to hip, moving slightly.

  “Rex.”

  He looked up into the blue, blue eyes of his lover.

  “I love you.”

  Rex smiled. “I love you too, Kokabiel.” He reached up and cupped Rion’s jaw for a moment.

  “I just want to say the words. I love you.”

  Rex lay back and let him gather his words.

  “Things are hard. I sometimes think I remember before…with Anahita. But that was then. I just want you to know that every day I’m thankful for you, and I will never stop.”

  Rex blinked, his throat going tight. He reached around Rion’s body, holding him tightly at his lower back. They were both still ready, still hard, but he was reluctant to let go of this fleeting moment.

  “I am thankful every day that it was my pasture you fell into. I knew from the moment you staggered from the mud that you were going to break my heart.”

  “No, Rex… I don’t mean to hurt you”

  Rex smiled up at his lover. “You didn’t break my heart from cruelty or pain, Rion. You broke the cold shell that kept me from loving. You broke my heart in a good way. You taught me more about love in a single day than anyone else taught me in many lifetimes.”

  “But you had so many friends, Rex—so many who loved you.” Rion’s face was solemn.

  “So many who loved me, but did I love them back? I never knew the value of my friends, of my very existence, until you taught me.” He reached up and ran a finger over Rion’s lips.

  “But I took you away from your world, Rex.”

  “No. You are my world.”

  Rion’s eyes went dark with emotion. “And Noemi?”

  “She’s part of our world. I can only guess the depth of your love for her before your Fall. I’ve seen how she feels about you.”

  “You loved her from the first day she came to us in Scotland.”

  Rex smiled. “Maybe not love, not then. But compassion and protectiveness were there. She was so bewildered and afraid. I had something she needed so desperately.”

  Rion slowly lowered his head, cradling it on Rex’s shoulder. “She fed off your excess sexuality. That’s what kept your fertility drive in control. I suppose a succubus and a ghillie dubh make a perfect partnership.”

  Rex slowly ran his fingers through Rion’s silky hair. They’d both gone soft, and he didn’t mind at all. When the moon crested the horizon, there’d be plenty of sex.

  “It seems you are right. I find I miss her sorely. Not just Anahita the succubus, but Noemi the woman. Which seems crazy, since we barely know her.”

  “Rex, when this is all over, when Noemi is back with us, do you know what I want to do?” He lifted his head up, looking steadily down into Rex’s eyes. “I want to go home.”

  “We are home, Rion.”

  “No. Home. To the croft in Scotland. We can expand it, make room for the three of us. You’ve got vast acreage there…and a forest. I dream of our hours in the cottage… I remember you repairing a harness or making medicine for the villagers. I miss it, Rex.”

  His heart twisted. Home. The croft had been his for decades, and leaving it behind had been one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. But, for Rion, he’d shrouded it in a spell and walked away.

  “I would like that, Rion. We could build a workshop for you. Perhaps Noemi could get licensed there as well, so she could practice medicine.” Rex laughed softly. “We’re making a lot of assumptions on what she might want.”

  He pulled Rion down into his arms, letting his lips rest against the fragrant skin of the angel’s neck. He pressed a kiss there, and another to Rion’s collarbone.

  As one, their cocks grew harder, lengthened and surged with blood. Rion’s aggression began to return and Rex eagerly accepted his domination.

  “Fuck me, Rion.” He reached over to the nightstand, retrieving the lube. Rion drew back onto his knees and upended the bottle over his palm. Just at the first glistening drop left the container, a sharp, staccato knock came from the door in the front room.

  “Shit.”

  Rion set the bottle aside and climbed off the bed, hopping on one leg to pull on his pants. Rex stared down at his swollen cock for a moment, sighing before he sent a trickle of magic out to the front porch. He sensed no evil.

  “Just a moment,” he called, and smiled at the sight of Rion’s tight ass in a pair of worn jeans. He laughed, shook his head and slipped into his own pants as the angel went to answer the door.

  When he peered over Rion’s shoulder at their visitor, his heart beat hard and his belly went tight.

  “We were hoping you’d eventually show up,” Rex said.

  The men stepped back, letting Cynthia enter the room.

  Chapter Three

  She sat looking stiff and uncomfortable in Rion’s favorite chair. The glass of tea in her hand sweated, and Cynthia watched beads of water drip to the dark blue denim of her jeans.

  She looked the same as she had on the night he’d taken Rex into the reservation clinic, yet she also looked different. In spite of her obvious discomfort, she lacked the hard, challenging edge she’d worn that night. Kelet had infected Cynthia with his anger.

  She was pretty. She lacked the otherworldly beauty of Noemi, but for a human she was lovely. Her cheekbones were wide in her round face and her nose was short and straight. Her dark eyes were hooded and mysterious. Today, she wore her straight black hair loose over her shoulders, with a section at the top held back in a braid.

  Cynthia wore a small leather pouch around her neck, and a fairly new tribal tattoo banded her wrist like a cuff. He wondered if the tattoo and pouch were for personal protection.

  She met his gaze and her eyes flicked away nervously.

  “First off, I know what you are—both of you.” She might be afraid, but she had courage.

  Rex sat on one of the kitchen chairs. He’d pulled on a T-shirt, but his feet were bare. He simply nodded at her words.

  “Can you tell us what happened? We found you unconscious in an alley in San Francisco.” Rion left off the part about her being possessed by Kelet.

  “Do you want to know what happened last month? Or what’s been happening for the past three years?”

  “
So long…” The words slipped from Rion before he could stop himself. He glanced at Rex, who crossed his ankle over his knee and smiled gently. They weren’t trying to trap her. They simply didn’t want to influence her story in any way.

  “Kelet. That’s what he calls himself. I was a paramedic then, and there was a motorcycle victim. He was hurt badly…too badly to recover, but we had to try. I was giving him CPR when his eyes gleamed red. He grabbed my wrist. It was just for a second, and I felt something—” She broke off, looking slightly sick. “Anyhow, it didn’t really do too much at first. I think it was trying to gauge my strengths and skills. Plus, when I was on the reservation, it was almost like it went dormant. I still felt it, but I could think more clearly then. I could withstand its voice.”

  Rex leaned forward, looking at her intently. “Noemi said that none of the tribal members were ever taken by the lesser demons.”

  She shook her head. “No. Our lands are blessed. I tried to stay on the reservation most of the time. When I left, I avoided our kids. Kelet would put a little of himself into people we met at restaurants and gas stations. They obeyed him without question.”

  “The kids who attacked me that day I came in… They were possessed. Was it Kelet?”

  Cynthia looked ashamed. “Yes. That’s why I wasn’t so nice to you at the clinic. I could sense his stench on you, but I couldn’t figure out why you hadn’t been influenced. I am sorry.”

  “No need,” Rex murmured.

  Rion shifted uncomfortably, wanting to get to the heart of the matter. What had happened to Noemi? Cynthia glanced at him briefly, then looked back at her glass.

  “Cynthia, do you know what happened to Dr. Gastineau?” Rex was calm and encouraging, not a small feat given his impending heat.

  “A man called me. I drove to the edge of reservation land and he was waiting. He couldn’t come onto our land. His name was Michael.”

  Rion frowned. Michael? When Rex caught his eye, he shook his head in confusion.

  “He’s handsome for a white guy. Too handsome. Too smooth. Kelet hates him but needs him somehow. They’d made a bargain that had to do with Noemi. They both wanted her, but Michael wanted to use her to trap someone else.” She frowned for a moment, concentrating on the memory. “Anyhow, there was another woman, a white woman they sent to catch Noemi when she was in the city. She was like you.” She gestured to Rex with his chin.

  “She looked like me?”

  “In a way. Different color. All blonde hair and blue eyes. Same race. Species. Whatever. Crazy as a bug, if you ask me. That bastard Michael is like you.” She looked at Rion. “An angel—weird as that seems. I’m not even Christian. Don’t believe in stuff like this, but here you are.” She folded her arms and glared at Rion.

  “This has nothing to do with religion, Cynthia. I’m just a person from another…dimension—or maybe another world. I don’t really know.”

  She didn’t look any more comfortable. “Still, I’m running into all these mythological beings from all sorts of different cultures. I was possessed by an Inuit demon. My mind hasn’t caught up yet.” She grabbed the pouch hanging around her neck. Rion hoped she was getting help. Between the demon possession and a forced introduction to a world humans shouldn’t know about, Cynthia was in over her head. But she was dealing. She was a strong woman.

  “But Noemi… What happened to Noemi?” Rion wasn’t willing to wait any longer. If this woman knew where she was, they needed to know now.

  Cynthia looked sidelong at him and pushed the wire-framed glasses up her nose. “She went with the blonde woman. Kelet was really mad. He’d expected to move from me to Noemi. He’d expected her to be powerful, but Michael decided he wanted her as bait to catch someone else. That made the blonde chick really upset.”

  Rex leaned forward, looking intently at Cynthia. “Do you remember who they planned to trap?”

  She sat for a moment, a frown on her face as she concentrated. “I thought it was two people. They kept using two names. One was like a comic book name.” Cynthia sipped her tea, but Rion didn’t think she really tasted it. “I can’t believe I worked with Noemi all this time and didn’t realize what she was.” Cynthia shook her head in disbelief. “But then, she never realized what was inside me either.”

  She jumped at the sound of a sharp rap at the door and Rex rose and crossed the room. Rion didn’t move. His entire attention was on Cynthia. Whoever was at the door could wait.

  Rion leaned back against the soft cushions of the couch. He watched Cynthia’s face as she frowned.

  “For some reason, it’s getting hard to remember,” she said. “The more I think about it, the more it slips away.”

  “It’s not a bad thing, Cynthia. Knowing too much can be dangerous.”

  She sighed. “Patrick. His name was Patrick.”

  There was movement at the entry to the living room, and Rion looked up, his eyes growing wide in surprise.

  “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

  The Angel of Death leaned casually in the entry, an irrepressible smile on his face, a dimple flirting in his cheek. His Irish accent lilted through the room and Rion’s heart leaped a bit in recognition, but those dark blue eyes were deadly serious.

  Part of him was glad to see his old friend, while another part of him dreaded the appearance of the angel. Where Patrick went, Azrael followed, bringing death and heartache in his wake.

  Patrick’s gaze was lingering on Cynthia. That couldn’t be good.

  * * * *

  “She reeked of demon.”

  His musical voice was now curt and clipped, though Patrick retained his human form. Thankfully, Cynthia hadn’t been frightened off by the dark angel. She was made of sterner stuff. After all, she’d essentially kept a rein on Kelet for years. She’d patiently answered his questions, though her grip on the answers had been wavering. By the time she returned home, Cynthia would probably have forgotten all about Kelet and Michael.

  Patrick paced the room, examining paintings on the walls and mementos on the shelves.

  For the first time ever, Rion wondered about the dark angel’s personal life. Did he have a home? Lovers? How did he support himself in this era of materialism? They’d once been close friends, yet he knew nothing about Patrick’s present existence.

  “Cynthia was possessed for several years,” Rex said.

  “And she survived it?” Patrick lifted a dark eyebrow, clearly impressed. He carefully set a small wood carving onto the shelf he’d taken it from.

  “Not only did she survive it, she managed to manipulate the demon somewhat so the damage was minimized. She’s a very strong woman.”

  “Will you tell me why she was here? Or are you sheltering yet another misunderstood scion of evil?”

  Rex snorted with laughter at the comment. “Actually, we were hoping to find you. We seem to have mislaid our succubus.”

  Rion saw the slightest flare of nostrils, the miniscule flush to Patrick’s skin. He reached out and lightly fingered the strings of the old lute Rex had mounted to the wall. It was now too fragile to play, except on special occasions.

  “Anahita?”

  “Yes. It seems some villainous individuals wanted to use Anahita to trap a certain dark angel.”

  “Me?”

  Rex leaned back on the couch, his arm thrown casually over Rion’s shoulder. “There are a few things you need to hear about our little Fallen Anahita.”

  As Rex relayed their story and Cynthia’s recollections, Rion was aware that it was his face Patrick studied. As angels, Patrick’s gift was justice, and Rion’s was knowledge. It wasn’t the first time Patrick had used the clarity of Rion’s gift to strengthen his own. Funny that he’d remember such a thing. It was a good feeling, to work in unison with another.

  “So, this nymph Carly was the last to see Anahita?” Patrick fingered his upper lip absently.

  “Initially we thought Noemi’s memories of Anahita were spontaneous, perhaps triggered by contact with
Rion and me. While she slept, I examined her memories and found that Noemi and Anahita were indeed the same individual. I was afraid I’d triggered a meltdown.” Rex looked guilty and pained. “But from what Cynthia told us before you arrived, Carly might have forced her to remember.”

  “How? And to what purpose?”

  Rex buried his hand in his hair, clearly distressed. After all, he and Carly had been friends and occasional lovers for decades. Centuries. Rion felt slightly sick to his stomach at her betrayal. He couldn’t imagine how Rex must feel, suspecting his old friend of doing something so harmful. Had Carly reacted out of jealousy of the succubus? Had she been protecting him and Rex from a perceived threat?

  “Carly is a nymph, Patrick. She’s a descendent of Aphrodite.”

  “So she has a strong sexual allure.” Patrick frowned at Rex, his blue eyes bright in the sun slanting through the room.

  “Not only that. She has power over memory. Carly has the ability to soothe the minds of those who grieve by suppressing their memories. Unfortunately, Carly’s gift rebounds on her. Most of her casual lovers forget her soon after she leaves their side. Nevertheless, her gift is powerful and could be easily abused.” Rion glanced at Rex. He had feelings for Carly too, but not like Rex did. The Sidhe must be reeling at what they’d learned about her.

  Patrick looked stunned. “Such a curse is…unimaginable.”

  The dark angel swallowed hard and sat heavily on the big chair. Without a word, Rex went into the kitchen and poured him a glass of water. He hadn’t divulged everything he knew. Not yet.

  “Noemi and Anahita are truly the same person?” Rex’s voice was little more than a whisper.

  Rion nodded. “And we’ve come to believe that Anahita was my…Kokabiel’s wife prior to our Fall.” His voice was always husky and painful, but forcing those words out hurt more than usual. Patrick had been his friend back then, and surely knew details of Rion’s life he’d never remember on his own.