by Sammi Cee
Shyly, I reach one hand out to cover both of Azorath’s where they are still clasped in front of him. “I think you’re pleasing to the eye.”
Azorath unclasps his hand to pin my hand between them, squeezing gently while continuing his story. “But fallen angels have gotten a bad rap. Our wings are black, just as our eyes are. Where an angel reflects their nature for purity and helpfulness, a fallen angel’s appearance denotes our mission and calling.”
“Which is?” I whisper, scared that it’s as gross as why his friend Caedmon was created.
“I’m assigned to those who are on the cusp of making a horrible decision. My goal is to help them turn toward saving their soul.” One of his hands lets go of mine to wave between us. “Don’t ask me about the nuances of the soul and spirituality right now. Whatever the beliefs my target has are fine, that’s not my issue to deal with. That’s between them and what they worship. The Ancient One’s assignments for me are to ensure that my target’s heart is for the empowerment of humanity, not to the detriment. Most of my job isn’t even done in my supernatural form, but in my human form.”
“Like us? Today?” I ask.
“Oh no, Denny. Nothing has ever been for me like us today. Not in all my centuries have I ever had a connection with a subject. I’ve never wanted to kiss them or hold them. I’ve never thought them beautiful and irresistible, wanted to make love to them and tie them to me forever. Only with you have I ever had this connection. It’s how I know you’re truly my soul-mate. Everything about you from your handsome face to your enticing smell to your mouth-watering taste is perfect for me. I want to know your every wish and desire. Protect you and meet your every need. No, Denny. What we have is different on every level for me.”
Staring at him stunned, I force my mouth to close. As he’s talked my mind has been whirling with information. Puzzle pieces have been slotting together to prove that what Azorath is saying is true, and that he’s really not crazy. I remember the feeling of being propelled out of the water, feeling tossed. And then I think about Ophaniel saying he saved me, but his hair was dry and his clothing perfect. I recollect my clumsiness throughout the week, but that I somehow never hurt myself. And I recall the peacefulness surrounding me as a pressure pushed into my back, supplying me with the courage to stick up to my uncle.
Of course, what my uncle may have done to my parents keeps trying to invade my mind, as well, but I push it back and concentrate on Azorath’s descriptions of his world and the beings who I thought were nothing but myths. I ponder the differences between Ophaniel’s sparkling, luminescent eyes in conjunction to Azorath’s dark, bottomless eyes. I haven’t seen the wings of a fallen angel, but I’ve now seen an angel’s wings, and if what Azorath is saying is true, it all makes sense in some strange way.
You know it’s true, Denny. You can feel it deep down. Azorath’s words ring true in every fiber of your being. You can trust him; he’ll protect you and keep you safe.
Again, I hear a voice in my head that I don’t remember ever hearing before. But it’s not even as if someone’s actually speaking, it’s more like an impression in my mind and in my heart. I allow myself to search Azorath’s steady gaze and all I see is kindness and intelligence. Sincerity emanates from his pores, but even more than that, I discern his need for me to believe him.
“The way you’re telling me about your world and what you know seems so believable, Azorath.” His face falls at my choice of words, snickering quietly, I put him out of his misery, “And I believe every word of it.”
“You do?” There’s a hint of wonder in his tone.
“Of course, I do. Why wouldn’t I?”
He shrugs his shoulder while tightening his hands around mine again, I reach my other hand over to settle on top of our already joined hands. “I was nervous that you’d continue to think I was crazy, like you did earlier.” I snicker a little louder this time. “I can’t blame you. My Ancient One commanded that I find and show myself to my suflet mwenza, but I didn’t think it was possible. With the laws against revealing ourselves… it could get dangerous, Denny. First, we’ll work out whatever is going on with your uncle and get you out from under his control, but then I’m going to have to hide you away while I figure out what we should do from here to ensure your safety from my world.”
Panic seizes me, making my chest constrict in fear. “You’re leaving me?”
“Oh, no. I’ll never leave you unless you ask me to. I meant we’ll have to go somewhere safe together.” Then his cheeks flush for the first time. “I mean, if you want to stay with me after we get you out of this situation. I could take you to your aunt; I didn’t mean to assume.”
“Azorath, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Why don’t you take your clothes off and crawl in bed with me so I can show you what I want.” Even as the words come out of my mouth, I’m shocked by my own boldness. Not since my parents were alive have I felt this confident. When I’m rewarded with lust-filled eyes and a sweet smile, I know my life will never be the same.
13
Azorath
Shrugging out of my clothes until I’m down to just my boxers as fast as I can, I climb over the top of my mate so that I can rest on his other side. Propping my head up on my hand as I lean on my elbow, I gently trace the lines of his face and the shell of his ear. Everything about Denny is so little and perfect to me.
“Are you thinking about how small I am?” he asks.
“How’d you know?”
His face pinches a bit, and he asks, “Are you disappointed that your creator not only gave you a human for a mate, but such an underdeveloped one?”
I bend down and gently brush a kiss against his lips, murmuring, “You’re perfectly sized for me, I told you that, already.” Sitting back up, I say, “And I guess I didn’t really make the whole soul-mate thing clear. That’s why not being able to reveal our supernatural nature has been so devastating to us. All of our mates are human.”
“What?” His face scrunches up, all discomfort about his size forgotten as he ponders the implications of what I’m saying. “Then, do you have relationships anymore?”
“Some do, in the other realm. Those beings generally don’t even come to your plane anymore. Most don’t, though. They only seek physical contact when they need it, many times from a random mortal.” I begin to press kisses down his face now, soaking in the calm settling into me from being so close to my soul-mate.
“Is that what you’re doing, then?” Denny questions softly.
Hovering back over his face, I whisper back, “What do you think?”
And the confidence returns, I can see it shimmering in his eyes. He knows I want him, and he knows he’s special to me. Both of them true, and equally as important. Leaning down, I recapture his lips and this time, I give myself permission to get lost in everything that is Denny and feel. With a pressure that is barely beyond featherlight, I stroke my fingers down his arms and up across his chest. When his body arches in to mine with the gentlest tease of a fingertip across his nipple, I pull back from our sweet kisses and smile. “Ahh. Your nipples are sensitive.”
Fluttering his eyelashes up at me, he responds, “Right now everything is sensitive. Do you plan to keep talking?”
“Little man means business, huh?”
Surprising me, he pushes me back and plants himself on top of me. “It appears one of us needs to.” And then his mouth is on mine again, devouring me, much like I taste as good to him as he tastes to me. The energy in the room charges, and I have to fight the compulsion to allow my wings to emerge and wrap Denny in them. One day I’ll do that, when we’re in my realm with plenty of space, but not here on this tiny bed.
As he moves from my lips and begins kissing down the side of my face, I drift my hands up and down his spine, trying to make myself keep my touches soft and gentle. Denny’s life has been so hard since his parents died, I want to love on him, not attack him.
No sooner than I have that thought, then he’s pulled my b
oxers down, and swallowed my cock down as far as he can. The happiest little hum comes floating up, and I decide that maybe I need to let my mate show me what he wants instead of deciding for him. Stroking my hands through his hair, I lower my eyes down my body to enjoy the show. His head bobs steadily as his tongue strokes up the underside, and he fondles my balls with enough pressure that I’m fighting not rolling my eyes into the back of my head. But it’s his humming that’s making me crazy. Not just the vibrations from his lips, but how happy he seems to be to please me.
Finally, not being able to take it anymore and needing to be inside my mate, I grab his head firmly with both hands to stop his motion and say, “Denny, you have to stop so I can prep you. I need to be inside you. Like, yesterday.”
As he lifts his mouth off of me, and kisses back up my belly, stopping to lick my nipple, and then makes his way up to nip at my chin, he giggles. “You must have really been into that blowjob, Azorath.”
Confused, I pull him up for another deep, long kiss before whispering against his lips, “What do you mean by that?”
And out of the corner of my eye, I see him hold up a bottle of lotion and waggle it around. “All done. You were talking too much, Azorath. I get that you’re here to save humanity and all. But at the rate you were moving this along, I was gonna lose my sanity before we ever had got to have sex.”
Squeezing him tightly to my chest, I ask, “Where did you get that?”
Color creeps up his cheeks. “Well, you know my uncle’s men are always coming around to get me, so I had it stuck under the mattress for when I need to, you know…”
Now it’s my turn to tease him. “So you’ve been preparing yourself so that I can stick my dick in you, but you can’t talk about jerking off when you’re alone?”
This causes us both to laugh, and I roll him over, reach down and pull a condom out of my pocket—since I haven’t talked to him about the inability for an angel to carry disease, yet—and give him exactly what he was asking for, what we both need. The way his ass envelopes my cock is like nothing I’ve ever felt before, and my ridiculous musings of his kiss feeling like home are nothing compared to the feelings of home I get now. I never want this to end. There is no doubt in my mind that Denny’s body was created especially for me. Not wanting to be accused of being passive or anything, I set a quick, punishing pace that has Denny’s eyes rolling and sweat pouring off of both of us.
When I know I’m close and know I won’t be able to hold off much longer, I reach down between us to stroke his perfectly proportioned dick. Right as I get my hands on it, he explodes. His clenching channel takes me over the edge, and I barely keep myself from shouting out. Denny’s been plenty loud enough for both of us considering we’re trying to not have any unwelcome interruptions. Burying my head into the side of his neck, I relax on him without putting my full weight.
“Azorath?”
“Hmm…”
“Does your chest feel weird?”
I push a kiss against his neck, snaking out my tongue for a brief taste of the sweat coating him. “Yep. I think it’s the beginnings of the mating bond.”
“Really?” I lean up with my knuckles on either side of his head and look down at him.
“Is that okay, Denny?”
“Does that mean I’m going to belong to you forever?” he asks tentatively.
“Yes, although, I have to admit I’m not sure what that means anymore. It’s been so long since there’s been a true mate match amongst my people.”
Popping up, he places a big smacking kiss right on my lips, then reclines back with the most adorable, ridiculous smile I’ve ever seen. “Whatever it means, Azorath. I’m in!” He looks so pleased with himself, and I can’t help but wonder how I’ve made this wonderful little man so happy without doing more than spending a day on the boardwalk listening to him talk. I know the mating bond is powerful, the pull almost impossible to resist, but I can’t help but feel that this right here is special. After cleaning us both up, I slide back into bed where he immediately burrows into my side. The last thought before I close my eyes is how there is no punishment that would be worse than not having this man right here in my arms.
14
Denny
Waking up tucked into Azorath’s side feels so natural. Unfortunately, after our night of passion, I can no longer escape the thoughts of what my uncle’s done and what he still plans to do. Needing to clear my head, I get up and walk over to the coffee pot in my room to make a cup. Methodically I pour the water from a bottle next to the machine into the tank and set the pod into place. The shitstorm in my head is overwhelming, and my uncle killing his own brother—my father—cracks a fierceness open inside of me that the mechanical movements of making coffee help counter.
“Don’t start blaming yourself,” I hear Azorath’s voice from behind me.
“I don’t.” The TV is airing some ridiculous infomercial, but with the track clapping and laughing, it’s still enough noise to drown out our voices. Of course, if my guard last night was going to hear anything from inside the room, it would have been the sound of my pleasure as Azorath buried himself inside of me.
Turning, I look at my… mate? Not a word I ever thought I’d use, it settles around me like an old comfortable hoodie. Soft yet offering protection from the winds around me. Azorath’s expression is quizzical, as if he doesn’t believe me, so I resort to nonsense. “I was just thinking how being here with you feels right. But then, as I went to offer you the first cup of coffee of the day, I remembered that you don’t like coffee.” Shaking my head, I shrug. “You being a supernatural fallen angel from another realm isn’t a problem, but this distaste for coffee may still be a deal breaker.”
Azorath’s eyes widen before he blinks, and a smile lights up his handsome, scarred face. “So you have no problem with my supernatural abilities and my friends coming to your aid.” He rises to his knees and begins crawling to the end of the bed. “And you have no problem with us escaping this situation to potentially end up in a more dangerous one with the council from my realm.” I shake my head as he climbs off the bed and stalks toward me. “But my aversion to your mortal way of waking up and energizing yourself is a no-go for you?”
“That’s what I’m saying.” I tip my head up, narrowing my eyes at him as he stops right in front of me.
“Well, then, maybe I should show you the way I have for waking you up.”
The minute his head descends and his lips touch mine there’s the sound of a throat clearing. Startled, I jump back into Azorath, banging my thighs into the table behind me. Before I can register the pain of the edge digging into my legs, I see Ophaniel with his hands cupped over his mouth as he shakes with laughter.
Snarling, Azorath jumps in front of my naked body and barks out, “What are you doing here so early?”
While approaching us, Ophaniel whips the blanket that’s half on the floor off the end of the bed and walks over, thrusting it into Azorath’s hands. “Cover your junk. Eww.”
“Well, maybe if you’d texted me before barging in.”
“Brother, I’ve been texting you all night.” Ophaniel walks over and perches on the very end of the bed. “About time you got a little action. Although, your timing kind of sucks. We have a maniac to stop, your mate to protect, and what appears to be at least forty to fifty people to save.”
“What?” I gasp, peeking my head around Azorath’s body. “But there’s no way that many people could survive in the container we’ve booked to cross the ocean.”
“Yes, well, it appears your uncle is a selfish man who doesn’t expect everyone to survive, anyway. I believe his objective is to try to get as many alive bodies as he can to the destination so that he can get paid. He really is vile.” He shudders comically, but his expression is serious and his posture tense. “In the interest of keeping his men safe,” he air quotes safe. “I followed one of them up to the penthouse last night. Someone will be here to take you up soon. Now is decision time, Denny.�
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“Decision time?” I turn my head between him and up to Azorath, noticing the sternness on both of their features. “What do you mean? Azorath, what’s he talking about?”
Shuffling to face me, keeping both of our lower halves securely wrapped in the blanket, Azorath give me a kind smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. As dark and fathomless as they are, there’s normally a gleam to them when he’s addressing me. “What Ophaniel is saying is that we can get you out of here now. Take you to your aunt. We have enough information that Caedmon would come for your uncle now no matter what.” I don’t respond because I know there’s more. Taking a deep breath, he continues, “The only thing is, if you leave and don’t go up to set things in motion for your uncle to get into the shipyard tonight, there’s no actual guarantee that we’ll be able to find the people who’ve already been kidnapped.”
“How do you know all that? I thought you hadn’t talked to Ophaniel, yet, today.”
From behind Azorath’s back, Ophaniel explains, “All of us from our realm have the ability to open our minds up and speak to each other. Supposedly, the only time we can do that with a human is if they’re our mate.”
Dismissing the last piece of information for now, I say to Azorath, “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Your uncle’s working with someone to get the people for shipment. There’s no guarantee that him or any of his people even know where they are. So if you stay, not only would we be able to apprehend your uncle and his crew, but those who have been collecting people like they’re objects, as well. Potentially, we could shut down a whole organization of human traffickers.”
