“I don’t take advice from strangers.” She didn’t look at him. She wondered why she didn’t feel uneasy around him. Usually when one of the players paid too much attention to her, she got nervous but she had a strange feeling of safety.
“I would never hurt you. Indeed, I can’t hurt you without severe punishment and I’m not willing to face that.” He didn’t even pretend to be playing his cards. “William wouldn’t hurt you either, not like your father did. All of this means nothing to him.” His gesture encompassed the entire casino. “He gambles because he’s good at it and it gives him something to do. Bradford has seen a great deal in his life and not all of it has been good. He’s had his heart broken many times but he’s still willing to reach out and get it broken again. Do you have the courage to do the same?”
She shook her head. She didn’t know why she was listening to him but his deep voice seemed to force her to pay attention. “I won’t risk my heart on a gambling man. I won’t be like my mother.”
The stranger laughed. “You could never be like your mother. You’re not weak. She never had the backbone to stand up to the charming monster your father was, but William isn’t a monster that will steal your heart and break it. He would be there for you if you would let him, as he has been since he learned about Thompson’s obsession with you. Don’t let your fear cause you to lose a wonderful chance like this. Even if you don’t trust me, trust your instincts and what they are telling you.” He picked up his chips and stood up. “Trust in your dreams as well because they’re telling you something different than your mind.”
Abby couldn’t get the conversation out of her mind. She knew what her dreams and instincts were telling her. Her body was more than willing to accept William as a lover, but her heart wasn’t sure she would be able to survive if he ever broke it. She thought about the thousands of tears she had seen her mother cry when her father had broken his latest promise not to gamble. Could she be strong enough to take William as her lover but not allow him into her heart? She shook her head. Living life was a risk but it wasn’t worth much without knowing how to enjoy it. She was sure that William could show her how to do that.
She would call him when she got home. She knew she was agreeing to more than just a date but she was more than ready to take that step. Her breasts felt heavy and her nipples were hard as she thought of William’s rough hands on them. Her underwear got damp as her pussy readied itself for his cock and she knew waiting was going to be difficult.
* * * *
William snatched the phone up on the first ring. Please let it be Abby, he thought. “Hello?”
“Mr. Bradford?” Abby’s voice flowed over the phone.
“I had hoped you would call me William if you were calling to accept my proposal for a date.” William felt a rush of disappointment. She was going to turn him down and he would die from a permanent hard-on.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better when you come to pick me up.”
“You’re saying yes?”
“You can pick me up around seven tomorrow night. I’d like to go someplace nice.”
“Okay, I know just the spot. I’ll be there at seven. Wear something sexy. Hell, anything you wear will be sexy. I don’t think I’m going to be able to wait.” He knew he sounded desperate but he couldn’t believe she just agreed to go out with him.
“Maybe I’ll see you in my dreams tonight.”
“I doubt it,” he said to the silence after the phone call ended. He couldn’t visit her or he would go crazy anticipating the next night and he wasn’t going to have sex with her until she knew for sure it was real. A dream man was nice but the real thing was going to blow her mind. He made reservations.
* * * *
William wiped his palms on his pants. Why was he so nervous? He was just picking her up for a date. Having taken women out for hundreds of years, it shouldn’t be anything new. He laughed. Who was he trying to kid? She had been different from the moment she had stomped into his life. His cock was achingly hard every second she was around him and all he could think about was crawling between her thighs and riding her to paradise. As he knocked on her door, he wondered if she would ever let him.
He knew it was going to be a long night when she greeted him. A pair of slim black pants hugged her hips. Her breasts were barely covered by a gold halter-top that bared her belly button ring to glitter in the light. High-heeled sandals brought her closer to his height.
He groaned. Reaching out, he pulled her to him. “Slap me later,” he growled as he crushed his lips to hers. It wasn’t just a kiss. He devoured her and thrust his tongue into her warm moist mouth. With one hand tilting her head back, he plunged deeper into her. His other hand cupped her ass to bring her closer to him. He rocked his hips against hers.
He came to his senses as his hand slid down between her legs to stroke her. Setting her down, he rested his forehead against hers, trying to calm his breathing. “I wasn’t going to kiss you. I swore I’d keep my hands to myself.”
Abby laughed. “I wasn’t fighting you off.”
“You would tempt a saint, love, and I’ll never be mistaken for one.”
“Let me grab my purse and we can go. I don’t want you to get any ideas.”
“My head is already filled. I don’t want to miss our reservations, so I guess I should get my mind out of your bed.”
She whistled softly as they headed to his car. “Nice.”
He skimmed his hand over the hood of the BMW Z3 convertible. “I only bring her out to impress my dates.”
“She must get a lot of work.” She slid in and let him shut the door. Running her hand over the leather, she savored the silken feel of the fine fabric.
“Lately she’s been feeling kind of lonely.”
She wasn’t sure she believed he hadn’t had some kind of date in the last couple of weeks. “Do you really think I’m gullible enough to believe you haven’t been on a date lately?”
His smile flashed. “I’ve been busy. I was in Detroit last week helping an old friend. Before that I was getting bored with the usual bunch of women I date.” He pulled from the curb and blended into traffic.
“What was wrong with them?”
“Too much of the same thing, I guess. They were nice women with beautiful bodies who knew how to flatter a guy to make him feel important and the sex was great.” A frown marred his forehead.
“And yet?”
“There was something missing. I finally figured out what. These women could stimulate my cock into wanting them, which isn’t very discriminating, but my mind is another story. None of them had anything to talk about, so I tended to be the topic of conversation. They wanted to know how much money I made, what kind of car I drove and how many houses I had.”
She could picture the women he went out with. They would be the ones who grew up with silver spoons and blue blood pedigrees. All they were looking for was money and if it came attached to a good-looking package, it wouldn’t be easy for them to let go. She laughed softly. She wasn’t interested in his money but she had a feeling it would still be hard for her to let go when he chose to leave.
“You’re different. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you. You sparkled and you weren’t afraid to tell me what you really thought of me. It isn’t a pretty picture you have of me but I can understand why. Your father wasn’t a shining example of men. I want to prove to you that not all men who gamble are like him.”
She felt uncomfortable. She knew she tended to judge people quickly and not give them a second chance. She wondered if there was the slightest chance he would be different than the other men she had known. Maybe that was why she had decided to go out with him. Something about him touched her deep inside her heart.
“What made you decide to go out with me tonight?” His voice caused her thighs to clench.
“Part of my decision had to do with these dreams I’ve been having of you.” Her cheeks flushed as he gave her a satisfied smile. Her pussy was starting to get
damp. “I want to see if the reality can live up to them.”
“You’ll have to tell me about them so we can compare.” He shifted slightly in his seat. “What’s the other reason?”
She brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “You make me feel safe. For some reason, I know you’re not going to take advantage of me. My mother gave everything she had to make my dad happy, so I had to watch out for myself. Someone reminded me that I’m not like her and that by going out with you, I’m not giving up everything I am. I can relax with you and know you’ll take care of me without seeing me as weak.”
He picked up her hand from where it rested on her thigh. Carrying it to his lips, he kissed the knuckles and then turned it over to kiss her palm. She felt the tip of his tongue caress her skin and a shock of electricity raced from that small point to her pussy where she became drenched.
He smiled. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing had quickened. He could smell the faint hint of her arousal in the car. He longed to be able to stop the car, spread her out on the hood and fuck her. Shaking his head, he placed her hand on his thigh and sped up. Dinner would be a special kind of torture for him but he would get through it. He wanted to show her how special she was to him.
“After all your protests about not being seen with me, what made you change your mind?” Her fingers stroked his thigh.
He tried to concentrate on her question and not on all the blood pooling in his groin. “A friend reminded me that I could waste an eternity being afraid of losing my heart. I don’t know where our relationship will go. Maybe it’s only a case of lust between us but I need to explore it. My not wanting Thompson to know about us was just an excuse not to step out on a limb and risk your rejection. My friend reminded me that I can take care of you without worrying about Thompson so I took the chance. I think it’s working out so far. Don’t you?”
She nodded. He groaned as her fingers brushed against the front of his pants. He spread his legs wider to give her better access. She fondled him through the fabric and gave a slight squeeze. He glanced over to see her smiling at him as his leg twitched. Grabbing her hand off his cock, he grinned at her.
“You’re a tease. Now behave because I don’t want to get us in an accident on our first date.” He held onto her hand intertwining their fingers together. He pulled up in front of the restaurant a few minutes later.
* * * *
“Why aren’t you gambling tonight?” she asked as he held her chair for her.
“I didn’t feel like it. I would rather spend my night with beautiful lady instead of a bunch of guys.” He ordered drinks for them.
She was surprised. He didn’t sound like a guy obsessed with cards. “I thought you played every night.”
He shook his head. “I only do it when I have nothing else to do. I have more than enough money to last me a lifetime so I don’t have to bet another hand.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“It’s a game that takes skill and luck to win at. I’ve been blessed with both, plus when you’ve lived as long as I have, there’s not much happening that I’ve never done.”
“As long as you? You’re not more than 36 or 37.” She laughed. There were no wrinkles on his face and no gray in his hair. His body was hard and the muscles were defined. When she met his startling blue eyes, she saw they held an emotion deep down in them. It was a weary look full of sorrow and shadows and she wondered at the pain hiding in them.
“I’m a fallen angel. I’ve lost all the hope of Heaven and for more centuries than I care to remember, I’ve wandered this earth. There have been few mortals I’ve wanted to become close to over the years because you mortals have an upsetting habit of dying on me.” The sorrow became more pronounced in his eyes.
“You’re joking, right?” She couldn’t believe the handsome man across from her actually thought he was a fallen angel. “Fallen angels are just old wives’ tales, aren’t they?”
“I guess since you don’t believe in God or angels, believing in fallen ones would be even harder for you. What is your instinct telling you?”
“It’s telling me that you’re not crazy. My head is telling me to run as far away from you as I can get.”
“Which one will you listen to?”
“I’ll listen to my instinct. It hasn’t led me wrong yet.”
“You can chalk it up to a harmless delusion if you want to. I won’t hurt you.” He didn’t try to force her to believe him. He was willing to allow her to make her own choice.
“If you’re a fallen angel, why aren’t you bad or crazy? Didn’t the fallen become demons?” She tried to remember what she knew about the Fall.
“The most stubborn and defiant of us did indeed become demons. There was a small group who came to our senses only after we were banished from Heaven and lost our wings. We petitioned God to forgive us and allow us back, but for reasons known only to Him, He refused us. His archangel came to us with an offer. Mika’il told us there needed to be—for lack of a better word—a police force to stop the fallen from preying on mortals. We would become Enforcers.” He rubbed his chest right over his heart. “Those who chose to do that were branded with a cross the demon fallen call the mark of Cain.”
“Why would you choose to do that? Why turn on your brethren?”
“Boredom was part of it and I had no interest in making mortals suffer. I deserved my punishment because it was my arrogance that brought me to that place. There was a need in me to prove to God that I had changed. All I wanted was a chance to show Him I knew what I did was wrong.”
“Did it work?”
He stared at his hands for a moment as a brief flash of sadness raced across his face. “I don’t know and I’m not sure I’ll ever know if I’ve proven anything. I gave away the most beautiful thing in the world for a moment of madness and no matter how much I try, I’ll never get it back. Now I do what I can and maybe someday forgiveness will be mine.” He shook off the sorrow. “What a boring topic for you, especially since you don’t believe me.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t believe. I’m not sure what to think.”
“Would it be easier to think of me as just a gambler? I could be another man like your father, destined to hurt you.”
“It’s too late for that. I have a feeling I know too much about you to ever be able to think of you as a man like him.”
Relief shone in his eyes. “Good. I wasn’t sure how I was going to prove to you that gambling has no more control over me than any job I might have.”
“You being here with me tonight is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t being an Enforcer take up all your time?”
“Occasionally it does. I spend most of my time living a normal life until the dreams get too bad and I get a visit from an annoyingly smug archangel who tells me where I have to go next.” He waited until the waiter delivered their dinners and left. “I don’t like to see Mika’il.”
“Why?”
“He brings back memories of a place I can’t see again.” He took a bite of his steak and seemed to be thinking about something. “Did you ever have a place that made you feel safe? At any point in your childhood, was there a place that you would return to—if you could—that protected you?”
“When I was twelve, we lived out in the country. I guess my father thought his creditors wouldn’t be able to find him there. There was a huge oak tree in the back yard. When my parents fought, I would climb up into the branches and let the leaves hide me from view. I used to believe that no one could hurt me there and I dreamt that my parents loved each other.” She felt silly telling him the most precious memory she had.
“If you take those feelings of safety, beauty and love and multiply them by a million, you might come close to the feelings Heaven gives you. It’s the feeling of total acceptance and love that everyone searches for here on earth. Mika’il brings those memories back to me and it kills me to know that I’ll never have that again. It’s because of my own arrogance and stupidity that I�
��m banished from paradise.” He looked down at his plate and she could tell he was fighting not to cry.
A figure stopped by the table. She looked up to find the stranger who had convinced her to go out with him standing there. He laid his hand on William’s shoulder as tears filled his eyes.
“One day, my friend,” the man said before he seemed to disappear before her eyes.
“I’m sorry to be so emotional. Some days the pain seems closer to the surface than other days.” He seemed to shake off the sorrow. “Now, tell me about the places you’ve lived.”
She took the hint and steered the conversation to less emotional topics for the rest of the dinner.
CHAPTER SEVEN
They pulled up in front of Abby’s house and her nerves started to kick in. What had she been thinking asking this gorgeous man into her house? He came around and opened the car door. Staring up at him, she took a deep breath and plunged ahead.
“You’ll come in for some coffee, won’t you?”
“If I come inside, it won’t be coffee I’ll be having. We knew your bed was where we were headed when I asked you out.”
“I know, but I’m a little nervous now. It isn’t every day I ask a fallen angel to fuck me.”
“Darling, I won’t be fucking you. I’ll be making love to you. Let’s go inside.” With a gentle brush of his fingers over her cheek, he leaned down and kissed her. This kiss wasn’t as fierce as the one that started the evening. This one moved slowly and she yielded to it without protest.
They walked up to her door with their arms wrapped around each other. She fumbled with the keys as he rubbed her shoulder with one large warm hand. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and gestured for him to go in. He stayed silent as she locked the door and led the way to her bedroom. One step inside her room and he reached for her. Pulling her close to him, he eased his mouth down on hers. Their lips moved together in a sensual dance as their tongues dueled for supremacy. Her hands slid up to spear themselves through his hair while his moved down her back to grasp her ass and lift her into him. When the thrusting of their tongues got their hips moving in the same rhythm, he reached up to undo her top. He eased it off her while he enjoyed the sight of her breasts being bared for him.
Fallen: William Page 4
