by Jacey Ward
“Then why do I feel like I know everything about you?” he asked, ignoring the slight stirring in his groin at her reminder.
But the inquiry was sincere.
Even in life, he had never felt so drawn to another and he knew it had nothing to do with the wager he had made with the devil.
From the second he had seen her in the hospital, it was as if Heaven and Earth had paused when they met.
She is the one. I have never been more certain of anything.
He could not understand why she was giving such resistance when the emotion between them was so raw, so primitive, and so right.
A dinging noise filled his ears and he looked around in confusion.
“Ah shit!” Serafina cursed as she picked up a device sitting on her vanity. “Shit!”
“What’s the matter?” Cassiel asked, still trying to determine from where the strange sound had come. She shook her head, hurrying as she dressed.
“I have to get back to the hospital,” she announced. “My boss is texting me. He’s been texting me.”
“Why? Did I hurt you?”
She snorted.
“You’re good, loverboy, but it’s gonna take a few more rounds than that to break me,” she replied dryly. “No, I have work to do. I left before I did my job.”
Cassiel eyed her.
“You work?” he asked, and her eyebrows almost went through her hairline.
“I meant no offense,” he assured her. “I am – well, your father does not provide for you?”
Serafina gaped at him.
“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked, confusion coloring her face.
Her voice cut like small knives to his chest.
“I only assumed that if you are unmarried that your father would tend to your comfort,” he explained, not understanding her disbelief.
“That would be lovely…if I had a father,” she snorted. She gazed at him as if she wanted to say more but she stopped herself. Again? Can’t you keep your secrets secret, smartie-pants?
“Where are you staying? I’ll call an Uber for you,” she asked him instead.
He stared at her as she dug through the pile of clothes on her floor, searching for an outfit.
“I’m staying here,” he replied.
Serafina’s head jerked up and she laughed.
“Cute,” she replied, slipping into a pair of pants and he noted she wore no undergarments as she zipped up the front.
He stared hard at that special place in her pants that he wanted to taste again and he realized he was aroused yet again. He dared not try to entice her into more love making. She kind of seemed ready for battle, another aspect which made his pants grow tight around the crotch.
Christ, everything about her makes me hard.
The jeans she wore accented her svelte frame in a way he had never noticed on another woman.
Certainly, in the underworld, there were many females who were attractive, but Cassiel was sure no one had ever looked like her.
“I have nowhere else to go,” he told her candidly, and she paused, a grimace forming on her face.
“You can’t stay here,” she growled. “This is not a hotel.”
“Will you find me a hotel?”
Her jaw dropped open.
“Where the hell have you been staying?” she demanded. “You know what, never mind. I have to go. My boss is going to fire my ass unless I bring a client in today. I’ll deal with you later.”
She finished dropping a sweater over her head and sighed deeply.
“I’ll be back in a couple hours. There’s a few beers in the fridge and I think a few pieces of pizza.”
She snatched her purse from the vanity and grabbed her coat.
“There’s nothing worth stealing or selling in here,” she added. “I mean, if you can find anything worth more than ten bucks, I’d eat it. You’d be wasting your time to check.”
“You seriously think I’d steal from you?” Cass demanded, anger rising quickly within him.
She doesn’t know anything about you, asshole. Give her a break. As far as she’s concerned, you just appeared in her life a couple hours ago.
Serafina sighed.
“Yeah, of course you wouldn’t. They probably don’t have eBay on your planet anyways, right?” she commented brusquely. “I really gotta go. Just don’t…take advantage of me, okay?” she asked, immediately looking embarrassed at voicing the request. “And, just so you know - I really…enjoyed this…afternoon.”
A second later, he heard the key turn in the lock of the front door.
She had left him alone.
He inhaled deeply and flopped back against the mattress, relishing the thickness of the material beneath his nude body.
The future is wonderful, he thought, burying his nose in a flat pillow.
He could smell Serafina’s sweet scent on the covers and it made him heady with pleasure.
Their passion had known no limits and at first Cassiel had been shocked at how right it felt to be with her. Sure, the sex was amazing, but it was more than that. If asked three weeks ago about the possibility of love at first sight, he would have snorted his disbelief. Truly, it was getting harder and harder to even believe in love at all. When you were surrounded by hate and every negative emotion there was all the time, you didn’t let yourself dwell on the softer feelings. That way led to just more wistfulness and desolation at the lack of anything good in your life, he knew from experience. But with Sera, he immediately had felt complete, as if she was the other part of him. How could she complete him when really, he barely knew her?
Is this what I’ve been searching for my whole existence? Even while living, I never had this feeling with anyone. Not even while in heaven.
His memory started to float back to his last days in that safe haven. Then his reverie was replaced by the memory of the biggest betrayal of all and a sudden flash of anger grew within him.
I’ll remember that moment till the end of time, he knew. And the look on the face of my beloved brother, the Judas who betrayed me to save himself.
Cassiel closed his eyes, trying to block out the impending fury but it only served to make matters worse.
In his mind’s eye, he saw the blood on his hands, Nath staring at him with panicked grey eyes.
“You cannot tell anyone!” he begged, his voice cracking in shame and anguish. “It was an accident! She should not have been here!”
“You should not have been here!” Cassiel raged, his usual gentle temperament forgotten as he stared at the demi-goddess drowning in her own plasma. “You’ve doomed yourself, you idiot!”
“No!” Nathaniel moaned. “No one needs to know. We can hide her away and plead ignorance to her whereabouts. She is only half-angel. Everyone will believe she has simply returned to earth forever!”
Cassiel stared at the man whose approval he had been desperate to win for so long, and realized he had made a terrible mistake by pledging his referral of Nath to Heaven.
“You are just like Papa,” he whispered, tears of disappointment filling his granite eyes. “You have always been selfish and ignorant.”
“Cassiel! If you tell, I will be cast out forever. Your probation period is not yet finished. You will also be tossed into the underworld.”
“That’s not the point!” Cassiel growled. “It’s about responsibility and what’s right. And now it’s about Michele – and that you’ve killed her. And doomed both of us, all with one selfish and violent action.”
“Please!” Nathaniel begged again. “You know I am good at heart! You know it, or you would not have vouched for me!”
Cass stared at him for a long while and closed his eyes, trying to decide what could be done.
Dear God, he is my brother, in everything but blood. I can’t be responsible for the damnation of his soul, no matter how much he might deserve it.
“You must help me, Cass!” But Cass gave no response.
Horror crossed over Nathaniel’s
face.
“You cannot – “
“I will not speak of what I have seen here,” he muttered, turning to leave Nathaniel alone in the red-stained room of white. “But I will not lie for you, either.”
“Help me hide her body!” Nathaniel bellowed. “For the love of God, I am your brother!”
“You are my stepbrother,” he replied coldly, finally realizing that it meant nothing.
It was the first time he had ever called Nathaniel his stepsibling, and the word seemed to stab him a thousand times over.
But he could not protect Nathaniel – not anymore.
True to his word, he retreated to his chambers and prayed for God’s forgiveness that night.
It was not until the sentry dragged him from his bed, that he realized that something was wrong. They weren’t removing him from his place for questioning. No, he was being blamed for Michele’s murder. Nathaniel had betrayed him. Again, the burning anger flared hotly in Cass.
That was hundreds of years ago, Cass reminded himself, turning over in Sera’s bed. Ancient history. That was when I still believed in the righteousness of Heaven. The days for anger have long since passed. Nathaniel has gotten away with murder and really, it was my fault that Michele died. Nath was only there because of me – and obviously, he should have been sent to hell upon his death. I was naïve to think Nathaniel had a core of goodness within him, however deeply I thought it was buried. But now, as for me, I have a second chance to live. And to love.
Cassiel knew he would not lose it, no matter what it took.
She doesn’t know it yet, but Serafina and I were fated to be together. I have one week to show her the truth.
Chapter Nine
Serafina
She pushed the thought of the stranger in her bed from her mind as she made her way up the stairs to the law firm, but it was proving more difficult than she expected.
Each step she took, she had a memory of his hot mouth on hers.
How can someone I just met have such a profound affect on me? She wondered, shaking her damp waves, throwing open the door and strolling inside.
Conrad jumped up when he saw her, his eyes lighting up as if he had been waiting for her return.
He’s bad for business sitting at reception, Sera thought sullenly. She was resentful that she had been dragged back into the office, but she was even more annoyed that she had forsaken her work for a quickie.
Well, that was hardly a quickie, she thought, swallowing a satisfied smile.
She also knew she would do it again in a heartbeat.
While she had pretended that she wasn’t pleased that Cassiel had stayed at her apartment, Sera found herself excited at the prospect of returning home to him.
Don’t get any weird ideas, she chided herself. You meant what you said; you’re not getting into anything serious.
“Oh, hey! I didn’t think you were coming back today!” Conrad cried, following her back toward Harry’s office. “That’s okay! There’s lots of left overs.”
She eyed him like he was a bee circling her pop can.
“Left overs?” she echoed. “What are you talking about?”
His beam widened, and he nodded as if he had discovered plutonium.
“Pizza, remember? I offered you some and you said that you were leaving for the day, but I got extra just in case anyway because, hey, pizza is even good the next day, right?”
God, stop rambling, she thought but instead of responding, she ignored him and entered her boss’ office uninvited.
Harry was on the phone and he tried to shoo her away, but Sera only leaned across the door frame, folding her arms impatiently as she listened.
“Oh, yes sir. That sounds like you have a very good case. When can we arrange for a meeting? I should come to you.”
Harry scowled at her but she only smirked, staring at him intensely to add to his discomfort. She knew he didn’t perform well with an audience.
She watched as his bushy eyebrows raised in surprise.
“I – well, she can certainly join me,” he stuttered. “But she is not licensed – “
Is he talking about me? Sera wondered, her curiosity piquing as she observed. She was the only “she” in the office, after all.
“No, I understand…well, maybe – no, no of course. We will meet you tomorrow morning. Just send me your location, Mr. Parker.”
Harry scribbled something down on a scrap piece of paper from the pile on his desk and Sera stepped forward to retrieve it before it got lost in the garbage pile which was the lawyer’s desk.
“Until then, Mr. Parker. I’m sorry we couldn’t come today but if that changes…” he trailed off and looked at Sera hopefully, but she shook her head vehemently. She had done enough running around in the rain for one day.
Mr. Parker and his trumped-up law suit could wait until the next day.
Harry replaced the phone on its cradle and glowered at her.
“What the hell have you been doing all day?” he snapped. “I must have texted you twenty times.”
“You texted me five times,” she corrected. “And how many times have I told you not to bother me when I’m working? I don’t inspire a lot of confidence with clients when my cell is going off every two minutes. They think I’m too busy to pay attention to their needs.”
Harry snorted derisively.
“Are you going to tell me that you were working all day? Your GPS says you were at your apartment.”
Sera gaped at him, her eyes narrowing.
“You tracked my phone?” she snarled. “Are you a pervert or something?”
Harry’s face turned bright red.
“I pay for your cell,” he reminded her. “And when you didn’t answer, I wanted to know where my hard-earned money had gone.”
“If you ever track my phone again, I’ll cut your balls off. With a stick.” Sera said flatly, and meant it.
Harry realized he may have gone too far.
“I was worried about you,” he backpedaled. “You weren’t responding!”
Sera scoffed and whirled away.
I have to quit this job, she thought angrily, storming toward her meager office. This is ridiculous.
He had ruined her good mood within thirty seconds.
But Sera knew she was not going to quit. Nothing short of sexual harassment was going to keep her from working for long enough to save the money she needed to move out of this city. Even though she accused him of being a pig, Harry had never crossed the line, no matter how many times she half-hoped he would, giving her an excuse to unleash on him like she had always wanted.
Of course he hasn’t crossed a line – he’s a lawyer and he knows exactly how to toe the line without being slapped with a law suit of his own.
Not for the first time, she weighed her options and succumbed to the dismal outcome.
Maybe I need to go back to school. But that costs money and God knows Harry Winston isn’t going to fork up any more from his stingy sausage fingers.
She wished she had it in her to delve into the industry.
Too bad Harry wasn’t right about me. If I was the whore he claimed I was, I would be a lot richer and happier for it, she thought mirthlessly.
“Sera, wait!” Harry called, rushing after her. “Are you denying that you went to your apartment?”
“That’s not the point, jackass, and you know it!” she spat, willing herself not to smack his porcine face. “You have no right to check up on me, especially when I landed you two clients today.”
Harry’s face lit up like a California wildfire.
“Of course you did!” he squealed magnanimously. “You are my star closer!”
“Shut up and leave me alone, Harry,” she said with a sigh, plopping into her stationary arm chair. “I’ll email you the contact information.”
She saw him visibly swallow out of the corner of her eye and she relished the slight feeling of power she felt in that moment, no matter how fleeting.
“We have an
appointment with a potential client tomorrow,” he informed her, and she shook her head. “Yes, you’re coming along,” he insisted.
Since she had overheard the conversation, she knew it was coming and the refusal rolled off her tongue as if it had already been rehearsed.
“You don’t need me,” she retorted. “You’re the brains of the operation, remember?”
“He asked for you specifically.”
Sera blinked and gazed up at her boss. That was really weird.
“I don’t care,” she said, after a pause. “Whoever referred me can vouch for my stellar work ethic.”
“The client wasn’t referred.”
The words made no sense to Sera and she tried to reconcile why she would be requested by someone who didn’t know her.
“What do you mean he asked for me? Who is it?”
“Mr. Parker? He says he met you on the 23 a couple weeks ago.”
She continued to stare at him blankly.
“He’s claiming that I, Serafina Kennedy, had a conversation with him on a Detroit bus and you didn’t see anything suspicious about that?” she demanded. Everyone who knew her would know that she did not have conversations with strangers on the city bus. Ever. “Are you sure you’re even licensed to practice law in Michigan?” That comment may have been pushing her luck just a tad, she thought after it was too late to take it back. But, come on. Really?
She made a mental note to research the answer to that question as she rolled her eyes at her boss. The more time she spent around the slimy attorney, the more she wondered how he had not been locked up years ago.
I’ll bet a thousand bucks that he isn’t even a lawyer.
She wondered who she was kidding; she didn’t even know what a grand looked like.
Harry maintained his smile, but Sera could see she had struck a nerve with him. Harry did not like being reminded that he was a mediocre attorney at best.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass where you met him. He’s from out of town and he got into an accident as a passenger in a taxi. His injuries are worthwhile.”
Sera grimaced.
“Well I’m not going. And you need to meet with the dog bite victim and the slip and fall from the hospital. I have no idea how you’re going to handle everything, but you need to count me out. I don’t even have any law experience, remember?”
