by Ellis,Alysha
Peter gave a desperate little half laugh. “I don’t think you can want that more than I do. There is nothing I wouldn’t give up to be in you.” He hurled the last of his clothes to land where they would. Ellie didn’t even spare them a glance.
But when he was naked he hesitated. His erection was full, the head of it purpled and engorged, his need evident. Yet he stood beside the bed, his hands by his side. An incongruity in such an angelic face, his eyes were grim, resolute. “Ellie, we need to talk.”
Ellie snapped into a half sitting position, her elbows propping her up. “We do not need to talk. Especially not now. Something else you need to learn is…” her voice rose to a near shriek, “we do not interrupt a steamy sex session to talk. Now get back on this bed and get on with it.”
He opened his mouth.
Ellie cut him off. “Now.”
He swallowed, nodded, looked down at his bobbing erection and obeyed.
But as good as he was, as ready as she had been, the exchange altered the atmosphere. Ellie was conscious of a restraint, not just in her own responses, but in Peter’s.
Each thrust, as powerful and as delightful as it was, rammed home the word talk, talk, talk, over and over again.
Peter’s face was set, his usual look of innocent delight overwritten by a fierce concentration. The look of a man who had a demanding job to do and who intended to do it properly.
She couldn’t let what they had together be turned into a performance or a duty. She wanted the oblivion that came with total involvement. She put her concerns aside, forced herself to settle into the moment, tried to let the usual rush of pleasure take her away. As Peter drove into her, stroke after stroke, she willed herself to focus on the point where his cock slid in and out of the tight grasp of her body. Let her awareness settle on the way the drag of his withdrawal made her clench and arch to follow, how the thrust of his return filled her and drove the blood pounding through her body.
She heard the little gasps she gave, heard Peter’s breathing begin to rasp in and out of his lungs in response. Felt it when his face relaxed and he lost the mechanical regularity of the rhythm he’d set up to the wild, frenzied pace that carried them both closer to ecstasy.
Ellie felt the pulsing begin deep in her body, where his cock stretched and seared her. Felt the pulsing and welcomed it, gave herself up to it with gratitude and relief.
When her muscles went rigid and her back arched, Peter groaned his own sound of relief and let himself go. His hips jerked. He buried himself deep inside her. The violent pumping of his cock as it emptied itself into her was matched by the clench and release of the waves that beat through Ellie’s body.
After, when he lay slumped by her side, Ellie closed her eyes. She didn’t for a minute think he was going to forget that he’d wanted to talk. Nothing she’d learned about him so far suggested he was less than determined in getting what he wanted, so she closed her eyes on her racing thoughts and feigned sleep as hard as she could.
Chapter Five
Ellie didn’t blink when she felt Peter pull himself up to lean on his elbow. She didn’t let a muscle in her face move, even though she felt the heat of his scrutiny. She didn’t flinch when he drew a long, cool finger down her cheek and traced the line of her lips.
So there was absolutely no reason for the clear trace of amusement in his voice when he said, “I know you’re awake in there, Ellie.”
“Go away. I’m sleeping.”
“No, you’re not. You’re pretending to sleep, and you’re not fooling anyone. Well, if anyone else were here you might be, but you’re not fooling me.”
She opened one eye in what she hoped was a bleary way, fitting for someone who had been asleep. “Is this because of your angel-power thingy?”
He shrugged. “Probably. I just know. I can almost hear you thinking, and, while I think I know better than to use the f word, I don’t see what reason you have to avoid talking to me.”
“F-word? F-word? What has swearing got to do with anything? Or if you mean the act, we’ve just done it, in case you are having some sort of Earth-induced memory loss.”
“Not that f-word. The real f-word for you, the one you can’t say or even admit. Fear.”
Ellie’s eyes widened. “I am not afraid of talking to you. I just got annoyed that you would try to have a conversation right at that moment.”
“Ever wonder why you respond to things like that with anger? No, don’t bite my head off. That is something we will have to talk about one day, but not now. What I want to talk about now does have something to do with what we were doing.”
She rolled over. “And you had to do it right then? What did you want? To try out some new technique? You should have said.”
“No, Ellie, not some new technique. I brought it up right then because I thought it would have some effect on what we were doing and why we were doing it.”
Ellie wanted to stick her fingers in her ears and start humming, or singing la-la-la. But she was learning quickly that he was no longer the baffled innocent who’d landed on her doorstep. The longer Peter remained on Earth, the more the strength and determination of his true character became obvious. If she did give in to her childish impulses, he would most likely pull her hands away, cover her mouth and make her listen.
She got out of bed and headed to the kitchen. Maybe if she fed him, it would distract him.
While he was eating, he was silent, but when he pushed his empty plate away, his mellow voice was solemn. “I can’t stay here with you like this.”
Ellie’s heart stopped beating. It was exactly why she hadn’t wanted to talk to him. She didn’t want him to leave. How dare he think he could just get his rocks off once or twice and go? Well, okay, it was more than once or twice, but that made it worse.
She felt rage begin to swell and welcomed it. Welcomed it because it masked something far worse, something she didn’t want to face. Something that threatened to shake her knowledge of herself to the core.
She was just about to scorch him with a volley of abuse when he spoke again, low, firm, commanding. “Ellie, Stop.” His free hand grasped hers. His eyes, when hers flew to meet them, were serious, but the depth of concern and emotion cooled her temper, slowed her breathing, relaxed her rigid muscles. “I am not leaving you. You don’t need to get angry. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
He raised his eyebrows at her outraged gasp. “I know. You’re not afraid. If it comforts you to think that, you can go on believing it for a little while yet. What I meant was, and what I would have said if you’d let me finish before you went into atomic meltdown, is I can’t stay here and not make some financial contribution to the running of the house. Even if I could, I need to have something to do. I need to do what I have been trained to do, what I have done for so many millennia. It is an essential part of me. I want to do my job. I want to be a counsellor here on Earth. I don’t think I can stand too much more of this filling in time, waiting for you to come home.”
Speaking loud enough to drown out the thundering of her heart, Ellie asked, “But you came to Earth to find out what made it so attractive. Can’t you do that?”
“I can. I am. But it’s not the objects or the geography of Earth I am interested in. I knew about all that anyway. It’s the people, their feelings, their emotions. And what it is that ties them to each other so strongly.”
“Is that why you came here?”
“I came to find out about love, Ellie.” He looked at her, and Heaven was deep in his blue, blue eyes. “I need to know about all kinds of love, because love is what makes humans what they are. It is that which distinguishes them from all other species. Have you read the Bible? Corinthians?”
Ellie shook her head.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mo
untains, and have not love, I am nothing.”
His voice washed over her, mellow and warm. Again she heard the sound of harps, and this time she knew where they came from. They came from within him, from his purity and grace. He thought he needed to know about love. He didn’t realise he embodied it. The power to calm, to relax, to make people confide in him, was an emanation born of the innate love that formed his soul. Not sexual love, not the physical desire once unknown to him, but spiritual love, a clear, bright, burning flame that lit him from within and warmed everyone who came in contact with him.
People responded to his warmth, and the more they hurt, the more they shivered from cold despair, the more they needed him. Not only did he radiate warmth, he possessed profound wisdom. It was an innate part of being an angel, but he had honed it, expanded and developed it by millennia of listening to the range of emotions confided in him.
Her thoughts were rudely interrupted. Peter might be an angel, he might be irresistible, but he didn’t have the patience of a saint. He poked her in the ribs. “Ellie, stop thinking and talk to me. I need to find a way to support myself, and I need your help to do it.”
“Okay. A counsellor. We need plenty of those on Earth. None of the ones we already have would be as good as you.” Her lips pursed. “But you don’t have any Earth-type qualifications. In fact, you don’t have any papers at all. That could be a problem.” She folded her arms. “You’re going to need some. There are ways to do these things, people who could do it, at least all the crime genre books suggest there are, but I don’t know anyone.”
Peter looked up at the ceiling. “I know some pretty powerful people. I mean, up there, you have the Supreme Being. He created an entire world in six days. There’s got to be a way of creating an identity for me.”
Ellie’s eyes widened until they hurt. “You mean you’d ask G—”
He laughed. “No. I won’t bother the Boss. I don’t imagine he’s too pleased with me at the moment. Someone on the lower levels will do it.”
“Oh. How will they send it to you? What if someone sees?”
Peter gave her a smug look. “Let me worry about that. Angels are good at discretion. We’re here all the time, but how many people ever realise that? Very few, and those who know it can never actually identify who the angels are. Believe me, the things I need won’t be delivered to me in a fiery chariot with winged angels driving, sounding golden trumpets.”
“If you have that kind of backup available, why do you need my help?”
“They can provide the papers, the ID, the qualifications, but you know how things work on Earth. You know where I can look for a job. You can tell me what exactly happens in a job interview. I’ve heard some strange things about those. They surely can’t ask the kinds of questions I’ve been told they do.”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“One of my clients said it was common to ask someone to name their biggest fault. That’s stupid! Why would anyone in their right mind tell a prospective employer the worst thing about themselves? It’s encouraging them to lie, and I can’t support that.”
Ellie giggled, “At least it leads to creative lying. You have to try to make your fault a strength, ‘I tend to be a perfectionist’ or ‘I am a bit of a workaholic’. Something like that.”
Peter huffed out a disgusted breath. “It’s wrong and it’s stupid. I won’t do it.” His eyes glowed with the blue fire of righteousness.
“Well, what will you do if they ask you to list your faults?”
His face was a study in complete bafflement. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. “I’m an angel. I’ve never had to consider any faults.” He rested his chin on the palm of his hand, fist lightly clenched. “Curiosity, I suppose. If I hadn’t had that I wouldn’t have fallen.” He looked over at Ellie, who sat opposite him. “But considering where it got me, and with whom, it’s hard to think of that as a fault.” He reached across to drop his hand to Ellie’s shoulder and straightened his head. “If they ask me such a stupid question, I will refuse to answer. They will have to accept that.”
Looking at the clear determination written across his face, Ellie thought they probably would.
Chapter Six
When Ellie arrived home the next evening, Peter was sitting on the lounge, a sheaf of papers spread out before him. He was sifting through them, pausing now and then to examine one more closely, occasionally shaking his head at something he read.
Ellie walked up to him and bent to give him a kiss. He reached up and pulled her down beside him, making sure the quick peck she had intended became something much more heated, much more time consuming.
When she was able to breathe normally again, she leaned forward to look at the documents on the coffee table. “Are these all your papers? Wow. They don’t waste time up there, do they?”
Peter grinned. “God speed? They certainly came fast enough, considering how much information there is. Why do people on Earth need to be so regulated? Haven’t you ever been told that the devil is in the details?”
“Well, the details are what will get you a job. We need to get online and find out what’s on offer.”
Peter leaned back against the lounge. “I’ve done that.”
“You have?” A little twist of annoyance tightened in Ellie’s chest. “I didn’t realise that an angel would have computer expertise.”
He grinned at her. “Oh, yes. It makes keeping track of things much simpler.”
Ellie ignored him. “Show me what you’ve found. Once we know which ones are suitable, I can help you write out some applications.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve already done it.”
Ellie tightened her lips. “I don’t think that was wise. You really should have waited for me to tell you what you needed to do.”
“No, I didn’t need to wait. I sent an email, and I already have a reply. I have an interview tomorrow.”
Ellie’s heart thudded in her chest. “Where?” Before he could answer, she felt her adrenaline rising, tightening her chest, sending blood rushing to fill her cheeks with fiery heat. “No. Don’t bother to tell me. It’s none of my business, is it? You’ll do what you want to do, where and when you want to do it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem?”
“No, of course not. Why should there be a problem? You drop into my life and start changing it around to suit yourself. You get yourself a job interview, which will almost certainly be successful because I don’t think you have ever failed at anything in your incredibly long life.” She glared at him. “Of course there’s a problem, you rat. You used me. I was just a temporary resting point until you learned your way around, wasn’t I? I bet you thought I was just so easy. You keep talking about how you fell, but I was the one who fell—hook line and sinker. You must have thought I was the most gullible fool on Earth. Well you know what? If that’s your attitude, you can leave now. If you want free board and lodging, you can go scam them from someone else. I’m nobody’s convenience.”
He opened his mouth and Ellie braced herself, but there was no anger in his tone, just a deep, gentle understanding. “You are angry again, Ellie.”
“You bet I’m angry. I have every right to be.”
Peter shook his head. “This has to stop, Ellie. You have to face the truth. You have to understand.”
“I understand that you’re a—”
He captured her hand in his. “You understand nothing. Not even your own feelings. You are not angry.”
Her chest swelled. Her shoulders lifted. Words exploded from her. “Don’t you tell me I’m not angry. Don’t you dare try your angel mind-reading mumbo-jumbo on me. Especially when you’re wrong.”
The heat from her temper suffused her entire body. “You just needed me for somewhere to hide out until you found your way around. The sex has been an interesting side benefit.”
Peter’s face flushed red and his lips tightened. His breath rushed in and out through flaring nostrils.
“You know that’s not true.”
Ellie looked at him and laughed bitterly. “Does something about that make you angry?”
“I am not angry,” his voice grated out.
“You think not? Take a look in the mirror, cherub. Sure looks like anger to me.”
The curls on his head lifted. His body vibrated like a plucked harp string. “I am an angel. I do not get angry.”
“You were an angel. You’re not now.” She made a gesture towards him. “This is anger. Pay attention. It will be another new experience for you.” Her lip lifted into a snarl. “That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it? To gather as many new experiences as you can? You’ve had sex. Experiencing anger is just another bonus. When you leave, at least you’ll know you got even more than you wanted.”
His hands reached out and clamped onto her arms, their grip painful. “I haven’t got anywhere near what I want.” He shook her, a short, sharp jolt. A light sparked in his eyes, feverish and dangerous. His pupils dilated.
He stood, dragging her with him. With her hips pulled hard against his, Ellie could feel his cock, rigid and hot. Every muscle in his body was tense, coiled, ready to explode. He was in the grip of an emotion new to him, and his control was tenuous. Temper, fear and a strange arousal drove Ellie to provoke him, to push him to the edge. “What do you want? Sex, a screw, a fuck?”
A fierce sound erupted from his lungs as she spat out the last words. He shuddered. His face contorted. The fine line between rage and arousal evaporated. He dropped his head and ravaged her mouth, his lips hard, his tongue thrusting.
Ellie clamped him to her and battled back. All her fear, all her anger found its outlet in a passion that was as much attack as embrace. Her blood pounded through her veins, the primal drumbeat echoed in the pulsing need gathering in her groin. A flood of hot moisture dampened her. Her need was wild, primitive and out of control.
