Refresh

by Suzanne Steele

She walked away, leaving him alone. When she entered the bathroom Candy had taken her stockings off and was sitting on the toilet with a bottle of peroxide and several cotton swabs. The cut on her knee was grotesque, like a mound of flesh had been scooped out, leaving a gaping hole in its place.

  She winced right along with Candy when she poured peroxide on the wound. If she didn’t know any better she’d swear she felt the pain right along with her. She was bonding with the human. She smiled as she thought about the other human she had every intention of bonding with, on a much more intimate level.

  Chapter Thirty One

  Inc slammed his hands against the wall on each side of Electra’s head and his hard body pressed against her soft curves. She wasn’t going anywhere, not now. He wouldn’t breathe easy until he could make sure it stayed that way.

  Electra couldn’t figure him out. When it came to her, his mood swings were beyond volatile. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, he frightened her. Not to mention the fact that she was still coming to terms with him being a fallen angel. She didn’t even really understand what that was, but if it was true he had more power than a mere mortal and had the means to make her bend to his will.

  The thought thrilled her, although she’d never let him know that. In his own way he was holding her captive, and yet it felt entirely different than what Randy had done. Randy had just been someone’s flunky. Not so with Inc; he was powerful in his own right and was holding her for his own selfish, intractable reasons. For reasons she didn’t understand, he made her feel loved. Maybe there was no love without obsession, after all.

  “So, you think you’re going home, hmm? Woman, when you say things like that it sends me over the edge. It makes me think about doing things that could really hurt somebody. You wouldn’t want me to hurt you now would you?”

  She could barely look at him, his expression was so intense. His arctic blue eyes had taken on a luminous look that cut through her like shards of ice. He was a man undone.

  “Maybe,” she said softly, knowing she was playing with fire. “I only said I was going home. You know, back to my house, where my things are, where my life is.”

  “You’re not. Your place is here with me now. Don’t force my hand. Your destiny is to abide with a fallen angel. You’re not dealing with one of the mortal men you’ve probably toyed with in the past. They were fools. But I’m no fool, Electra. You haven’t even begun to see my dark side.” He leaned in whispering in her ear but he may as well have shouted. “I won’t be denied, ever. I’ll destroy everything you love, right down to your plants and animals.”

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she sputtered. “You’re acting like a spoiled brat! And why me, anyway? Why are you so obsessed with me?”

  He slowly shook his head back and forth, his expression changing from one of intense anger to that of a man mourning. Only he knew the truth: he was a broken man and she was the only one who could heal him. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t let her go; he couldn’t. “With the way you push me, I could almost believe you enjoy the things I do to you. Is there a part of you that craves my displeasure and all it would entail?”

  She didn’t know how to answer that, because she didn’t know how to admit it was true. How could she explain something she didn’t understand? “Fine then, we need to go pick up my things.”

  “Done. Of course.” His face was still solemn. “You could be in grave danger. Randy’s killer may very well seek out the women he kidnapped next. The others aren’t my responsibility. I’ve done all I can do for them. You are. I’ve made you my sacred responsibility, for all time.” His hand reached out to stroke hers, brushing over it like a light summer breeze. “I can’t make excuses for something I don’t fully understand. I’ve never felt like this about a woman, and certainly not a mortal woman. I could beg you to stay or try to win you over but I’m not a gambling man, and when it comes to you it is not a risk I’m willing to take. Stay with me, be mine.”

  “Do you think whoever killed Randy will come after me too?”

  “I don’t know. All I do know is there’s more going on behind the scenes than a robbery in an alley. Whoever hired Randy is going to want to retrieve the money he lost. I don’t want him trying to use you to get it. There is much you don’t know, but I think it’s important for you to understand certain things.

  “I will discuss this only once and never again. There is a reason why I’m holding onto you for dear life, Electra. Each angel has their story, their past. Fallen angels are born of unspeakable grief. When I died, my wife and unborn child also died. They moved to their eternal rest. Only I came back as what you see before you.”

  His stepped away from her as he spoke, and spread his arms wide as if inviting her to look closer. He closed his eyes and tilted his chin as his black, gray, and white gray wings emerged, luminous feathers rustling as they expanded over his shoulders. “An angel…a fallen angel.”

  “Oh, Inc,” Electra breathed, “they’re amazing. You’re beautiful.”

  He merely smiled. “When I asked why I came back alone, my mother-creator said that even though Celie had been my wife, she wasn’t the love of my life. And it’s true. I married her out of duty, not love, when I found out she was pregnant. I did the right thing, and I did my best to be a good husband to her. But more and more, I think Luminous is right; I’ve never felt about any other woman the way I feel about you. You’re everything to me and you have been so since the instant I saw you. So yes, I hang on too tightly. The loss of you is unimaginable. Are you prepared to spend eternity with me?”

  She arched a brow and couldn’t stifle the grin that curved her lips. “Why, Inc, are you proposing?” she teased.

  He paused and considered her words, then replied, “Yes, I believe I am.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  He arched a brow and slowly shook his head. “I think not, my love. The ‘powers that be’ have spoken. There’s no sense in fighting them. You’re only postponing the inevitable. Your place is here with me, by my side.”

  She took the steps that brought her close to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Resting her head on his chest, she reached up and stroked a fingertip along the edge of a feather, smiling as the wing quivered at her touch. “Do I get my own set of wings?”

  “Someday. When your time among these mortals is done. There’s no need to hurry. You have plenty of time.”

  So it was true. There really was a force far larger and greater than anything she’d ever imagined. Inc was right; she could fight it, but it would do no good. He belonged to her as surely as she belonged to him. He was her fallen angel, always.

  “Then my answer is yes. I guess we need to start looking for the…being…at the center of all this chaos. I have no intention of my mortal self dying before my time.”

  “Good girl,” he whispered and leaned down to take her lips in a lingering kiss that was a benediction.

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Sic couldn’t believe his luck as he scrolled through the online article. He pointed to the grainy image of what could easily be a Ken doll in a shirt and tie. “You’re sure this is him, right?”

  “Yeah, man, I got a real good look at him before he ran out of that alley screaming like a little bitch.”

  “Seeing somebody damn near decapitated will do that to a person. You really are coldblooded, Razor.”

  “They don’t call me Razor for nothing.”

  “What’s it like being that up close and personal when you kill somebody?”

  Razor’s eyes took on a dreamy, faraway look, like he was anywhere other than sitting in a car stalking his next kill. Sic looked up from the laptop, giving his undivided attention to the man’s next words.

  “It’s like the best high ever. It makes me wonder if I’ll die violently. The whole ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ kind of thing. When it’s a high-profile killing like this guy, it’s even better. Getting away with murder when every news station in town is covering the
story and the fuckers still can’t find you is a damn aphrodisiac. Makes my dick so fucking hard. It’s like no one can touch me, no matter what I do. Feeling the lifeblood of a victim drip through my fingers while I watch the light leave their eyes? That shit’s better than sex.”

  “You’re one sick fuck, Razor. They should call you ‘Sick’, not me, and spell it with a ‘k’. Because that’s what you are, man.”

  “You’re no better,” Razor spewed indignantly. “You kill for a living, too.”

  “Yeah, but I’m a contract killer. It’s not personal, it’s just what’s needed to satisfy a contract. But you? You like it a little too much. Have you ever thought that maybe something evil inside you is driving you to kill?”

  “Yeah, the threat of Phenex’s wrath is all the motivation I need. Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I get off on the hunt, the planning of it all. Speaking of, how are we going to handle this high-society jerk?”

  “Stage it like a carjacking or a robbery. If we could lure him back down to a bad neighborhood, it would make it more believable.”

  “We could snatch the girl and force her to contact him. We could make her watch when we do it. Maybe torture him and see if she begs for his life.”

  “I told you, Razor, you’re evil, man. That’s some sick, sadistic shit you’re talking about doing. And I don’t think the girl would piss on him if he was on fire.”

  “I like playing with my prey,” Razor said with a slow smile. “Seeing how frightened she was walking home last night was fantastic. Compared to a man’s fear response, a woman’s is so much more palpable. You can smell it, taste it–like good pussy. It almost makes you want to let them live, just so you can really dig in and enjoy it.”

  “If he hadn’t been so busy making sure his mug was in the society page of the paper, we wouldn’t even know who he is.”

  “Nah, no one can outrun destiny; not even him. Hell, maybe there is an evil spirit compelling me. One thing’s for sure; I’m not normal.”

  Sic perked up and narrowed his eyes, swatted Razor’s shoulder with the back of his hand and pointed at something in the distance. “Look, there he is. Let’s follow him and see where he goes. If we get the chance, we’ll off him and then get the girl out of the way, too. I don’t like the threat of Phenex hanging over my head.”

  “Agreed,” Razor muttered. “Let’s get this shit done.”

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Fey tiptoed around the bed and just stood there, staring down at the object of her affections. Reese was beautiful; he was perfect. The time had come for her to make him hers. She closed her eyes and assumed her corporeal form. The weight of it was disconcerting at first, until she reached out to touch him for the first time.

  She brushed the pad of her thumb over his full bottom lip and smiled when he stirred slightly, murmuring unintelligibly as a frown marred his brow. Her fingers trailed down his chest and over his beautifully sculpted abdomen. When his cock stirred beneath the sheet, she smiled. He arched his back and kicked the sheet off, stilling with his arms akimbo and legs splayed in manly repose. Fey noted with satisfaction that he slept nude…and he was a big, big boy. She slid a fingertip through the trimmed thatch of hair surrounding the base of his rock-hard cock.

  “Baby…damn…want you…”

  Oh my, a wet dream. Well, I’m just in time… Fey wrapped her lips around the head of his cock and swirled her tongue around the bulb. Wrapping her hand around his girthy shaft, she nailed him, sucking him deep into her mouth.

  Reese’s body jerked at the unexpected contact, and his eyes fluttered open. He raised up, rested his weight on his forearms, and looked down, blinking several times. Not believing the evidence of his own eyes, he reached up and ran a hand through his hair. What he saw was the equivalent of a dream come true.

  Fey was in his bed with her lips wrapped tight around his cock and her busy little tongue working him over for all she was worth. Holy shit.

  “Baby? Are you–are you real?” he rasped disbelievingly. He reached out his hand and stroked her hair. “Fucking hell…” His hips bucked up when she relaxed her throat and swallowed against the broad mushroom head of his cock. As the bell end slid past the slick ring of muscle at the back of her throat, she pressed in closer and took the rest.

  Reese’s mind was blown. Her mouth was heaven on earth. He wasn’t going to last long. She gently stroked his balls, and that was all it took to send him hurtling over the edge. He fully expected her to pull his cock out of her mouth but she took everything he was spilling into her. Waves of pleasure washed over him as what felt like a never-ending orgasm coursed through him. He couldn’t remember a time his body had ever felt this damn good.

  Fey crawled up onto his chest, nestling in the strong arms that eagerly cradled her.

  “I love you, Reese. I’ve always loved you. From the first day I laid eyes on you I knew we were destined to be together. I brought you something.” She reached over grabbing the picture he’d asked her brother for.

  “Thank you. But he’s going to be pissed that you took his picture and gave it to me,” he teased with a wink.

  “It’s just a copy.”

  “You heard me when I asked him for it? You were there?”

  “I’ve always been nearby. I just had to wait for you to invite me in. I had to wait until you believed I was real. Do you?”

  “Real? Yeah. You’re definitely real,” he said as he slowly slid a hand up her torso to cup her breast. “Very, very real. So let me ask you something. Why do you present yourself as a ghost rather than an angel?”

  “I’m a fallen angel, my love. I walk a thin line between light and dark, good and evil. I have to so I can fulfill my destiny. But in the meantime, being a ghost is more fun. Ghosts make their own rules. It lets me satisfy my mischievous side. Like the night you went on your little date. Now, you have to admit, that was fucking hilarious.”

  “Yeah, it really was. Wait. Aren’t you supposed to be guarding Candy?”

  “I get the occasional night off, honey. Oh, speaking of Candy, Randy’s haunting her.”

  “What the hell? Why would he–oh, I get it. Does he think he has to wander the earth because he was murdered? I don’t know how all this works, you’ll have to bear with me. But she was there, so... Well, hell.”

  “You’ve got it. It looks like I’ve got myself my own sexy ghostbuster. I’m a lucky girl.”

  He laughed. If anyone had ever told him he’d believe in angels, demons, and ghosts–and that he’d know at least one–he would have told them they were crazy. Now? The supernatural realm was becoming as real to him as the physical world had ever been.

  Fey’s grim voice pulled him from his thoughts. “He followed her home and hurt her. She gashed her knee so badly she probably needed stitches, but she didn’t go get them.”

  “Fucker,” he muttered.

  “Unfortunately, it gets worse. She’s drawn the attention of Randy’s murderer, an evil creature who puts Randy to shame. He isn’t going to stop until he kills her. Loose ends, you know.”

  “Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dammit.”

  “Well, he seems to be under the influence of a powerful spirit. I need your help to save her.”

  “Anything for you, baby. What can I do?”

  “Put the son of a bitch in jail. If Phenex thinks there isn’t any threat of the police stopping his sex trafficking ring, maybe he’ll back off and leave her alone.”

  “Phenex? Sounds like a bad guy. I’m sure there are plenty of other rackets he could get involved with. I just don’t get it; why sell women? I hate that shit. Any man who traffics women isn’t a man.”

  “Because it’s one of the most heinous things you can do. Locking a woman in a cage and selling her to the highest bidder gives him power. For every evil deed he does, he gains more power and control. We’ve got to stop him.” She grimaced and wondered how much she could really tell him. “And you’re right, he’s no man.”

 
; He shifted so they were lying on their sides, facing each other. He rested his head on his forearm and let his free hand wander over her curves. “I’m sure there are more pleasant things we could talk about.”

  She smiled impishly up at him and shimmied closer to him as she draped her leg over his hip. “Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

  He rolled over on top of her and nuzzled her neck. “Oh, yes, ma’am. I’ve thought of little else for quite some time now. For example, I have big plans for these breasts.” Several quiet moments passed as he worshipped them, touching and tasting them to his heart’s content. He caressed her soft skin and tasted her pretty pink nipples, humming with pleasure as he suckled at each one.

  “Reese…please…”

  “Hmm? You were so good to me; is there anything I can do for you?” Her eyes twinkled up at him and she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a masterful stroke of his finger against her clit. “Hey. No, baby,” he said with a solemn shake of his head, pausing to kiss her between each phrase. “No more jokes; no more teasing. Things are about to get very…very…serious.”

  “Oh,” she whispered, her eyes large and luminous. Bossy Reese was sexy as hell.

  “Yeah, oh. So let me get this straight: I work in the natural realm and you work in the spiritual realm.”

  “Yes…oh…” Her face twisted in a grimace of pleasure as she arched her back. “Oh…”

  “Hmm?” he murmured as he slid down and eased his shoulders between her legs. His tongue nudged and swirled against her clit. He slid two fingers inside her and began pumping them in a vigorous rhythm. “I can’t believe I finally get to touch you. How are you managing that, anyway? No, don’t tell me. I don’t care. Now, you were saying?”

  “Oh…oh…damn,” she groaned and closed her eyes before continuing breathlessly, “Well, while you’re at it, you should probably come up with a reason why you don’t date anymore. I’d hate to have to melt someone else.”