by Maya Nicole
"No. I never manipulated them!" I let my hands fall to my lap.
"Oh, but you did. You just didn't realize it. Do you really think they would love you otherwise? You are nothing more than a silly girl. Even your father can't stand to be around you. Why do you think he was never around when you were growing up?"
I took in her words and looked down at my hands. Part of me didn't believe a word she said, but the other part of me knew it made sense.
"Don't hurt them. Anyone, please." A calmness spread over my body. I didn't want to play into her plans, but I also couldn't let her kill millions of people.
"Very well. Tomorrow night we will be attending a gala where a very precious artifact will be on display. You are going to steal it for me."
"What artifact? Why can't you steal it yourself?" I spoke cautiously.
"I can't touch it, but I'm pretty sure since you can get onto academy grounds that you can." She laughed and sat down on the couch, crossing her legs. "You're going to steal the Holy Grail."
Holy shit.
Chapter Sixteen
Oliver
I felt the change in the air a few miles from the boarder of China. The air was thick and muggy, like an old house that had been closed up for too long. I was exhausted, but Asher had hold of me the entire flight, although it was all of a few minutes.
There were a few places in the city we could land. Shanghai had strict flying rules due to the population density and the vast amount of street cameras. The camera system was so good, it was rumored that if someone stole something, the cameras would track them all the way to where they lived.
We landed on top of the Peninsula Hotel. No one could see us when we were flying, but if you were on the street and suddenly someone seemed to magically appear in front of you, you'd start asking questions. Or freak out. In large cities, landing was tricky.
We took the elevator down to the ground floor and Lucifer worked his magic at the front desk. They seemed to immediately know who he was, greeting him as Mr. Deville.
"How many rooms do I need to get?" He turned his head towards Asher and me. We were standing next to each other. Why did everyone keep looking at us like that? It wasn’t like we had announced to the world that we had shared a kiss or two.
"We can share two rooms. I don't mind sharing with Reve, as long as he doesn't snore." Tobias surprised the heck out of me sometimes. One minute he hated Reve, the next he seemed to be buddies with him.
"I can afford separate rooms, son. Don't feel you need to share just because I'm footing the bill." Lucifer's voice lacked its normal vibrato. He was letting his guard down around us.
Tobias's face softened. "It's fine. We probably should bond or whatever it is we’re supposed to do when we share a..." He didn't finish his sentence.
"I’m fine sharing a room. I don't sleep anyways." Reve had his arms cross over his chest and was tapping his foot on the marble floor. His eyes were dark and he didn't make eye contact with any of us. "I need to go hunt."
Hunt? What the hell was he talking about? I looked at Asher and he shrugged.
Lucifer nodded and turned back to the counter to book three rooms. He hadn't even waited for a response from me or Asher.
"What do you mean by hunt? Like a vampire?" I couldn't help but ask, my curiosity probably my most well-developed trait. Although it was also the trait that got me in the most trouble.
"I feed off the fear in nightmares I create or enter into. I haven't had to feed in a while because of Danica." He stopped and frowned. "I should go."
He walked away and turned down a hall. I didn't think I wanted to find out what happened when a demon was starving.
Lucifer handed us our keycards. We were given river-view rooms, which brightened my mood just a tad. I had seen pictures of Pudong, which was the part of Shanghai across the river with all of the tall skyscrapers, and was curious to see how glorious it was in person.
The hotel staff was going to send clothing to our rooms. We hadn't bothered packing anything. We must have been a sight with disheveled clothing, messy hair, and faces pinched tight with worry. We looked like bedraggled travelers who had been mugged. If they only knew what we had been up to.
"Let's get some rest. I'll make some calls. There's not much we can do right now. I know she's here. There are too many angels packed together and I'm too tired to directly pinpoint her." He walked towards the elevators and we followed.
He scratched at his arm while we waited for the elevator and pulled back the sleeve of his shirt. One of those damn spiders from the mall must have bit him. I reached forward and healed it.
"Thanks, Oliver. I didn't even know it was there." I shuddered, remembering the large spiders that had crawled out of the demon's skin. It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen. Luckily, one of the other angels had caught her, ripped out her heart, and burned her body.
It was gruesome, images that would haunt me for a while, but killing a demon was no easy feat. I just hoped we got them all and the clean-up crew had disposed of them before humans found the evidence of our battle.
We rode the elevator up to our floor in silence and went our separate ways. Asher opened the door to the room we would share and I walked down the hallway entrance, past the closet and bathroom, to the main room. It had floor to ceiling windows and a view of across the river.
There was one bed.
I had never seen anything quite like the skyline. Los Angeles was a big city but had nothing on this.
I felt Asher move across the room towards me, my neck prickling with his approach. He was so unpredictable. So volatile. I didn't quite know what to do half the time. Which is why I always touched him, hoping to curb whatever storm he had brewing.
The thing was, I also touched him when I knew he was fine. Touching always seemed to put him in a better head space. It took the edge off, but lately it only amped up the intensity between us.
He pretended it didn't affect him, but I could see it in his eyes. I could feel it in the way he'd touch my arm. In the way he'd put a hand on my lower back for a mere second when he passed by.
And then there was that kiss.
We had been avoiding being alone with each other since the hot kiss we shared. Well, he had. I wanted nothing more than to be close to him. To explore what Danica had set in motion.
I shuddered at the thought that I had once mistreated her. She was more divine in spirit than any of the angels. She had brought us together and been nothing but accepting of whatever was to be.
"Are you doing all right?" I asked as he stopped next to me.
"It comes and goes. I'm glad you're here." He stared out the window and put his hand against it. "Where do you think she is?"
"She could be anywhere. I mean, look at this place. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. If anyone is going to be able to find her though, it's Lucifer." I tried to sound sure. I could locate people I knew well with ease, but when angels were in mass, it was difficult, at least for me being so new.
"What are you seeing?"
"It's just a sea of white light. There are too many angels in such close proximity." I sighed and leaned my forehead against the window. "I can't even do that right."
"What are you talking about? Lucifer is even struggling to locate her now that we're here."
"Everything I touch seems to get messed up. The Holy Grail, Levi, Dani, you."
"I hardly think you had anything to do with Levi being fucked up. He was fucked up to begin with. As for Dani, how is her being taken by her own mother your fault?"
"I was so angry with her for not telling us about what was going on. I'm supposed to protect her. What if..." I banged my head lightly on the window. My brain hurt. I was second guessing every decision I'd ever made.
"What if what?" Asher prompted, turning and propping his shoulder against the window.
I was distracted by his nearness. Whenever he was near me, I couldn't resist the urge to reach out and touch him. The last thing I needed to be th
inking about at the moment was all the ways I wanted to touch him. We were having a serious discussion. We'd never talked like this before.
"What if the whole reason I was created was for this moment? I was never given a purpose in heaven and all angels are given a purpose. But here I am, Oliver Morgan. First archangel since the originals, and I was just left to roam the Great City in heaven? Doesn't sound quite right. No direction. No reason. No purpose. Then one day I just felt this pull towards the religious artifacts and the cup caught my eye. The need to come to Earth and try it out was so strong I couldn't resist. What if that happened for a reason? So I'd be at the academy. So I'd meet Danica. So I'd meet Tobias." I took a breath. "So I'd meet you."
"I guess that's plausible." Asher brought his hand to his jaw and rubbed his stubble. I tracked the movement, my forehead turned slightly so I could watch him.
"My existence didn't make sense. Nothing around me made sense. Until Danica and now you. You make sense to me."
Asher's face softened and his hands dropped to his sides. It was a look I was only used to seeing when he looked at Danica. His stormy eyes looked back into mine, searching for something.
"You sure do know how to sweet talk someone, don't you?" His voice was gentle. "I don't know what to do with these thoughts and feelings I have towards you. With Danica, it's so natural, but with you..."
My heart sank and I turned my eyes back to the Oriental Pearl Tower across the Huangpu River.
He was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "With you, it's so new. Definitely unexpected and unfamiliar territory. Being intimate with a man is not something I know how to do. Hell, it’s new to you too. It's like I'm an innocent virgin all over again." He paused. "Would you even want to explore that side of things?"
I could feel his eyes on me as my face and ears felt like they were on fire. If he only knew how I'd fantasized about him and the things he would do to me and the things I would do to him. The thoughts I'd had of him were sinful enough to make me wonder if a trip to hell was in my future.
"Have you thought about it? Being with me?" I bit my lip and watched as a barge that had tires around the entire edge made its way slowly down the river. A yacht was not far behind.
"I have. I've thought a little too much about it. What it would be like to have a man's mouth, your mouth, on mine, wrapped around me, your hands on me." His voice was raspy.
My cock twitched at his words and I shut my eyes. "Have you thought about what you'd do to me?"
I felt him move closer and he trailed a finger down my arm and grabbed my hand. He held it in his and started drawing shapes in the palm, just like I always did with him. I couldn't keep back the small noise that escaped my mouth.
He spoke almost in a whisper, despite us being the only ones in the room. Not quite next to my ear, but close enough that when he let out a breath, I could feel it.
"There's so much I want to do to you, angel baby. I'd start by kissing the fuck out of you like that first time. I'd lay you on the bed and grind my dick against yours. I imagine that would feel amazing. Don't you think so?"
I grunted and let out a breath of air as he put his lips against my palm and swirled his tongue in the center.
"Then I'd take your hand and put it right here." He moved my hand down to his erection and pressed my hand onto it. "So you'd know just how turned on the thought of being with you makes me."
He moved his hips against our joined hands and groaned in the back of his throat. "Fuck, Oliver. I've never wanted a man before."
I moved my hand away from him and turned so I was facing him. I was slightly taller than him and his eyes landed directly on my mouth. I licked my bottom lip and that was all the invitation he needed to cup both of my cheeks and take my lips in a blistering kiss.
This was more urgent than our first, needier. We both needed each other in this moment. Needed the comfort. Needed the passion. Needed the distraction.
"Asher." His lips left mine and his teeth scraped down my jawline.
There was nothing soft or gentle about his mouth and teeth as they grazed across my skin. He was greedy and took me with his lips and teeth. He trailed his tongue along my Adam's apple and I put my hand against the window to steady myself.
"Are we going to do this? For real?" he mumbled against my neck. "Because I think I'm about to reach the point of no turning back. So if you don't want this, you need to tell me." He kissed under my ear and bit down on my earlobe, causing me to gasp. "Because if you don't stop me, I'm about to fucking take you, Oliver Morgan."
I moaned and grabbed a fist full of his hair and pulled his lips back to mine. He took my bottom lip in his teeth and then sucked it into his mouth. I had always imagined this happening so gently, but screw that. This was what I needed. What I wanted.
We stumbled towards the bed in the center of the room and fell onto the mattress on our sides, our lips never breaking contact. In a way it felt wrong to be doing this with Asher while Danica was out there somewhere.
"Maybe this isn't the right time to be doing this," I managed to get out as we broke for air. "With everything that's going on."
Asher looked back at me and his eyes dropped to my mouth where he took a finger and pressed it into my bottom lip.
"When is the right time?" His finger trailed down the front of my shirt and then hooked into the front of my jeans. I almost forgot about what I had asked.
Words were failing me as he popped the button and slid down the zipper. My breath came in heavy inhales and exhales. I was surprised I even remembered to breathe. I had wanted this for so long. Not just with Asher. I had wanted to explore this side of my sexuality.
"That's quite the answer." He was amused at my lack of words.
His hand dipped inside my pants and his fingers gripped me through my boxer briefs. I couldn't help but thrust my hips.
What was I so worried about?
He pushed at my shoulder so I'd roll onto my back and hovered over me, his lips close to mine, but not touching.
"You know, when I first met you, I didn't like you." His hand slid into my boxers and pulled my cock out. I shut my eyes as he gripped it in his hand. "But then, I don't know. You just started fucking caring about me too much."
"Do you care about me?" The question had crossed my mind several times. He didn't exactly give off warm and fuzzy vibes. Plus, before Danica, he was a notorious womanizer. He said so himself one night on the couch. I would hope I wasn't just going to be another notch on his belt.
"Yes." He ran his thumb up the underside of my cock and swiped his finger over the head. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be willing to try this."
I had no coherent words left, so I gripped the back of his head and pulled his lips back to mine. He parted his lips and I moved my tongue inside, tangling with his. His hips moved and he thrust his dick against my leg as he slid his hand up and down my shaft.
He pulled away and sat back on his heels, staring down at me, my erect dick pointing straight at him. His eyes moved downward and took me in.
"Danica always complains that blowjobs make her jaw hurt. I wonder if it's true. What do you think?" He moved his hands up and down my thighs a few times before his hands gripped my pants and boxers and pulled them down.
"Maybe it's like a muscle and you just have to use it enough," I said, somehow managing to get words to come out of my mouth in a complete, coherent thought.
Asher threw his head back and laughed. Things had been so tense lately, it was a pleasant sight to see. "Please say that to Dani and make sure I'm around when you do."
"I can't say anything to her until we've run some experiments." I looked at his lips. "And since you've received the most blowjobs out of the two of us, it's only scientifically appropriate for your mouth to be the first test subject."
"Is that so?" Asher ran his finger over the bead of pre-cum at my slit.
He was slowly killing me with his torture. I had noticed he had two extreme versions in the bedroom. Hard and fast
, or slow and teasing. There was no in between with him.
"Are you going to suck my dick or not?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them. He had wound me up tight like a rubber band stretched between two fingers. I was about ready to snap and make a mess and he had barely even touched me.
He smirked down at me. "I was thinking that maybe we should shower. I need to relax a little and you seem to have forgotten that you had a tongue that wasn't mine wrapped around your arm earlier."
I groaned and pushed myself up on my forearms. "You're a tease."
He stood up and offered me his hand, which I begrudgingly took. I followed him to the bathroom, shedding my clothes as I went, since I already had my pants down anyways.
Asher turned on the shower and then looked at me in the mirror. He might have been taking charge a minute ago, but now he looked nervous. I had no misgivings about us, whatever it was that we were now.
He turned towards me as I stepped closer. He shut his eyes as I unbuttoned his pants. I was so used to him taking charge of situations, that this new dynamic felt strange. A good strange; definitely a strange that made my dick even harder.
He pulled off his shirt as I pushed his pants down his well-defined legs. I always thought I'd be turned on by abdominal muscles or even strong shoulders on a man, but Asher's legs were perfect.
We climbed into the shower that had two showerheads. I moaned as the warm water hit my body. I guess I did need a shower. We didn't speak as we washed ourselves.
I finished before Asher and leaned back against the shower wall, the steam enclosed in the shower, making it feel like a sauna.
I shut my eyes and brought my hand down to my dick. Asher made a noise and I opened my eyes as he stepped forward and pressed against me, our dicks touching.
"What are you doing to me?" He reached over and squirted body wash in his hand. He buried his face in my neck and took the both of us in his slick hand. "Fuck."
His grip was strong, and as he slid his hand up and down our joined cocks, I felt my balls tingle. I wasn't going to last long with his hands and dick on me.
