The body, it seemed, didn’t need a guide to do what it was created to do. As Gideon brought his body into even closer alignment with Val’s, as his head lowered to press his lips to her own, he gave into the truth that he’d somehow known all along.
Love speaks its own language.
Val wanted to gobble him up in one quick bite. It had been so long, probably too long, since she’d been held by a man who cared about her. Actually, this was a new experience for her, in that she knew that Gideon not only cared, he loved her. It was a heady feeling, to be loved and desired by a man. And to have that desire racing through her own body only added to her pleasure. Add to that the feelings that she had for him, and it was a very potent combination.
Did she love him? As his lips touched her own, as she felt her mouth open at the prodding of his tongue, she felt that she must. Her hands trembled on his back as she pushed herself closer into him—striving, reaching, straining toward something, anything.
Gideon’s tongue invaded her mouth, plundered and took and took until her breath was gone and her legs felt like half-set Jell-O. Val rubbed herself shamelessly against him, needing the feel of him, all of him, against her.
“We’re wearing too many damn clothes.” She didn’t realize she’d spoken the words against his lips until she felt his hands on the back of her thighs grab her tighter and felt his dick jump against her belly.
She’d deliberately worn the short blue dress to entice him. It seemed to be working, as his hands, those oh-so-talented hands, were everywhere. Val felt his light caresses on the backs of her thighs, felt the smooth hardness of his palms as they rode higher, toward her ass. Their mouths were still dueling, both fighting to give and take.
Feeling a slight stir of air, she opened her eyes to see that he’d reversed their positions. He was now sitting on the side of her queen-size bed, and she was standing in the open circle of his legs. Val couldn’t help but notice that her breasts were level with his mouth.
“Take off your dress.” It was uttered in a deep voice, rough at the edges. For a moment she hesitated, but it didn’t last long. After all, it had been her idea to take him to bed, and she wouldn’t chicken out now.
Val reached behind to undo the button that held the material closed against the back of her neck. Suddenly embarrassed, she glanced down as the dress fell, over her breasts, past her hips, to lie in a puddle at her feet. Gideon’s hands grasped her waist as she straightened up.
She’d worn the dress for him, but the ice-blue scraps of lace that covered her full breasts and the mound of her womanhood had been all for her. Val never felt sexier than when she wore sexy underwear. She’d never expected Gideon to see it. Or had she? Hadn’t she known, somewhere in the back of her mind, that this night would end up here?
Desire had rooted permanently in her belly since she’d first seen him. Sure, it had warred with the anger and embarrassment of his mistake, but the lust had always been there. So surely she’d known, when dressing for their dinner date tonight, that the scraps that covered her were for his enjoyment as much as her own.
She was thrown from her moment of self-discovery by the feel of something warm and wet just above her belly button. Val glanced down, and when she saw the top of Gideon’s mane of blond hair, and caught a peek of his tongue tracing a path of hot, wet fire along her belly, the tremors that had recently left her legs came back with a vengeance.
Along with a reciprocating wetness between her thighs.
She was going to come undone before they even had a chance to get started. But she knew then that this wasn’t simply a case of having gone too long without the touch of a man. This was something bigger, something better, than mere attraction. And then it came to her, swiftly, the knowledge that she’d had all along.
“I love you, Gideon.” His mouth stilled its foray on her abdomen, and he glanced up into her eyes. A smile lit up his entire face, and for the first time, he looked like the almost cherubic man that Val already knew he was.
“I know. And I love you, Valentine, with all of my heart.”
What else was there to say after that? Val let herself be taken over by the feelings that were churning in her body. She closed her eyes and her head fell back as she felt his hands, so gentle, upon her breasts. As his thumbs flicked over the sensitive buds of her nipples, a moan escaped her throat. As if following some internal cue that she’d given him, his thumbs flicked them again, harder this time. Over and over, until her nipples were so sensitive that she felt every pull, every stroke, in her very core.
And then his mouth was there, on those swollen nubs, licking her through the lace that was no barrier at all. He clasped her gently with his teeth, and his first tug upon one crest had her hands grabbing the back of his head and urging him closer.
As he suckled one breast, then the other, she felt his fingers dance their way to her waist, down to her hips, to the crease where the lace ended and her skin began. Light touches upon the inside of her thighs had her legs trembling, her back arching, and her hands reaching to touch him.
“Take off your shirt, Gideon, please. I want to feel your skin against mine.”
When he pulled away to do as she’d asked, she felt almost lost. She wanted contact, wanted to rub herself against him like a cat. And then he was there, shirtless, and Val’s hands roamed aimlessly over the firm, hard muscles of his chest. She looked down, and in the moonlight, saw a light sprinkling of hair across his pectoral muscles, angling sharply down into a narrow patch that disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants.
“The pants, too, Gideon.”
His smile was bright and full of love as he stood before her. When he was left only in a pair of silk boxers, she brought herself full up against him. That first contact left her breathless.
Suddenly their hands were everywhere. Val tried to reach everything, touch everything, as his mouth once again took hers. She didn’t remember falling onto the bed, but she was there, straddling him, as Gideon’s hands gripped her ass.
She was shameless. She rubbed herself against him, her smoothness against his erection that strained at the confines of silk holding him in. Val kissed him everywhere: his face, his shoulder, his chest. She let her tongue follow the path that the vee of hair made down his body. That wasn’t enough, though, so she lowered herself until her mouth hovered over him under the silk. It was cool beneath her cheek.
Val leaned closer, inhaling his musky scent, and wrapped her lips around the head of his dick. Through the boxers she pulled him into the wet confines of her mouth, and delighted when his body arched off the bed like a bow.
“Val. Val.” His voice didn’t even sound like the one she’d become so accustomed to. His hands were on the back of her head, pulling her closer or pushing her away, she didn’t know.
But then their positions were reversed, and her bra was pulled down with one rough hand. Then his mouth was there, devouring her, licking her, stirring her into a frenzy as she pushed her mound against the hard, throbbing flesh of his arousal.
And it still wasn’t enough.
“Now, Gideon. Please, now.” Val raised her hips and took off the lace panties herself. As she helped him out of the briefs, she caught one quick glimpse of blond curls surrounding the smooth, velvety steel of him. She wrapped her hand around it as she bit his earlobe, positioning him at her entrance.
Then she remembered that they weren’t using protection. It almost stopped her cold, but her body wouldn’t stop moving, and she couldn’t stop rubbing her breasts against him.
“Gideon. Wait, Gideon.” He was poised at her entrance, and Val wanted nothing more than to feel him coming inside of her in one quick thrust. “Gideon.” When he opened his eyes, wide and glazed with desire that she knew was mirrored in her own, she said what needed to be said. “I don’t have a condom, Gideon.”
His brow furrowed, and for a moment he looked as if he had no idea what she was talking about. But then the smile was back, the one that warmed her from
the inside out. “It’s all right, luv, it’s okay. I can’t make babies until it’s been sanctioned by Eros.”
Val wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. But she’d heard the “can’t make babies” part loud and clear, even through the fog of desire that made her brain cloudy. They could talk about the rest later.
And then he was there, at the juncture between her thighs. A gasp escaped her lips as he slipped inside. A little more, a little farther, and he was embedded inside of her.
Val arched her hips, feeling him slide in a little deeper, and as his lips took possession of hers once again, he began to move.
It was slow and easy, an introduction of two bodies that were finding their own rhythm. But then that wasn’t enough either, and she moved against him, raising her legs to wrap them around his waist.
“Dear God.” She felt his hiss of breath against her lips and smiled, matching the motion of his thrusts.
Harder, faster, more. That’s all she could think as his mouth once again descended on her breast, sucking a nipple deep into his mouth. Then she felt his hand at the nest of curls between her legs, prodding, stroking against her clit, and knew that she’d almost reached the top of her desire.
Gideon was pumping faster now, stroking her harder, and as her nails dug into the cheeks of his ass she heard herself cry out his name. Her climax overtook her, throwing her over a cliff that never seemed to end. She heard him breathing hard, felt the shivers that racked his body, and held on as he followed her over.
Val had come home.
If this was dying, he’d gladly stay dead forever. As Gideon lay beside Val, though, he realized he didn’t want to be dead after all. If he were dead, he couldn’t make love to her again, and he really, really wanted to make love to her again. Maybe in about ten minutes or so, if he had anything to say about it.
He was glad that his first time had been with the woman he would marry. He would tell her too, but later. Right now, all he wanted to do was lay like this, with Val’s breasts against his back, her leg thrown over his own as the moonlight silvered the bed.
“I do love you, Gideon.” Her voice was still husky, and it aroused him once again. Her hand made lazy circles over his thigh, then moved onto his back. He felt her fingers trace his backbone, then still as she felt the slight rise at his shoulder blade. Gideon felt rather than saw her raise herself up on one elbow, her fingers tracing across his back to his other shoulder, where an identical rise rested.
“What are these bumps?”
He might not tell her that this had just been his first time at having sex, but there was no way out of showing her his wings.
Gideon rolled away from her and stood beside the bed. My God, she looked so gorgeous, lying there with her black hair spread across the pillow, her skin almost glowing in the light from the moon.
Before he could talk himself out of it, he kept his eyes on her face and opened his wings. They were large, almost seven feet across when unfurled, a pearly, opalescent white with golden tips.
He watched her face carefully for signs of revulsion or anger. Instead, except for a widening of her eyes, she didn’t show much emotion at all.
“You know,” she said as a slight smile curved her lips, “I don’t think anything you can do will surprise me anymore.” Gideon watched as she came to her knees on the edge of the bed. “Can I touch them?”
He laughed. “You can touch anything you want, luv.”
Her hands were light, tentative, as she slowly stroked one wing from the tip to where it met his shoulder.
“I love you, Gideon. Wings and all.”
As he brought his mouth down to once again take hers in a kiss, he told himself to remember to thank McCabe. After all, without his “go for it” remark, he’d still be curled up into a ball in his own bed.
He also needed to thank the Circle of the Three, but as Val’s tongue entered his mouth, warring with his own, and as his hands reached out to pull her closer, he decided that that could wait for another day.
Epilogue
February 13, 2004
Cupid Headquarters
Main Auditorium
He’d finally made it. As Eros presented him with his Cupid diploma, Gideon couldn’t help but feel enormously happy, and relieved. His father smiled down at him from where the Circle of the Three sat upon their raised dais. His mother was in the audience, and he could see her wiping her tears with a white handkerchief. Then his gaze met Val’s, and he knew that this moment, although he’d never forget it, paled in comparison to all of the moments he’d yet to spend with Val.
Gideon’s life was finally complete. He was no longer a winger, no longer just a Cupid-in-training, no longer alone. He had a woman whom he loved more than life itself. His family had welcomed her with open arms, and in just a few weeks, Gideon would meet Val’s family. He had a career, his own home, a loving family, and the most gorgeous wife-to-be.
McCabe was jealous. It made Gideon grin to think of it. Poor guy now wanted someone of his own.
As he made his way back to the line of graduating Cupids, his heart was full.
February 13, 2004
Eros’ Private Chambers
Eros was once again in his favorite chair before the fire, drink beside him on the table, Agape lounging on the footstool in front of him. It had been a busy day, and an even more eventful two months.
Agape’s meow was loud, startling Eros from his reverie. As his thoughts entered his own mind, he scoffed.
“Don’t be absurd, dear friend. I knew all along that everything would work out.”
As the cat’s meow came again, sounding sarcastically like a rebuttal, Eros smiled. “All right, all right. I may have had my doubts in the beginning about Gideon’s ability to handle the situation, but it all worked out just fine, now didn’t it?”
He raised his glass and took a swallow, and as the fire burned in the hearth and the liquid warmed his belly, he smiled at his companion. “I wonder what mystery is in store for us next?”
As the cat’s thoughts washed over him, he chuckled yet again. Maybe his friend Agape was right. Maybe things would settle back down into the quiet, smooth order that they’d always been. Then again, a little upheaval every now and then never hurt anyone. Plus, he had a feeling that since Gideon had changed the rules on them all, even unknowingly, there were going to be plenty of things in the future to keep him busy.
February 14, 2004
Val’s Journal
Well here it is, my twenty-eighth birthday, and it seems that I knew what I was doing all along. I suppose, though, that I can’t claim all the credit. My sister thought I was crazy to rely on a Cupid to find me a mate. Hell, even I thought I was crazy a time or two in the last few weeks. But as the old cliché goes, “all’s well that ends well.”
I’m guessing that over the next five hundred years or so, I’ll learn all there is to know about Gideon. As of now, in the beginning of our relationship, we’re still in that new stage. Still getting to know each other, still learning about the things that make us tick. Still, thank God, learning each other’s bodies. I readily admit, as the still mortal woman that I am, that the exploring bodies part is still my favorite.
His family is wonderful. McCabe is, well, McCabe. He actually reminds me a lot of my sister, but don’t tell her I said that. So far, the one time they’ve met, they avoided each other like the plague.
Gideon told me yesterday that he’d been a virgin the first time we made love. I think my total exclamation of surprise, along with my comment that I’d never have known, made him happy. I guess no one, Cupid or not, wants to think that they blew their first time.
On another note, Mr. Allen has given me a promotion. Although he’s still an idiot, and still perverted, he’s finally recognized my supreme talent in the accounting department. Valentine Lewis, Assistant Manager. It has a nice ring to it.
I’ve been wondering lately exactly what would have happened to me, and to Gideon, if he hadn’t shot himself wi
th that arrow. Would the man he’d chosen for me be as perfectly compatible as Gideon himself is? I’ve decided not to think about it too much, over-analyze it, as it’s bound to drive me crazy.
But that leads me to another thought. Exactly where did Gideon hit himself with the arrow? I’ll ask him, tonight after the dinner and movie we’re planning on attending. Maybe I’ll even wait until after the after, if you get my drift.
Love, with all its ups, downs, and in-betweens, is turning out to be a wonderful thing. I have a Cupid to thank for that.
December 24, 2004
Gideon and Val’s Home
They’d decided to hold a Christmas Eve party at their home. The wedding had been a month earlier, a glorious affair that although simple and elegant, had been Val’s dream come true.
Now it was just family—her family, including Tasha, her mother and her father, Gideon’s parents, and McCabe. Seems McCabe had no plans for Christmas, and Val wouldn’t let him sit at home alone during the holidays.
As she stood with Tasha near the bar, she watched her sister shoot daggers toward where the rest of the family was gathered in the dining room. For some reason, Tasha and McCabe had been circling each other like fighting dogs since they’d been introduced months ago. Val couldn’t get a handle on it.
“What’s with you tonight? If looks could kill, and if McCabe could actually be killed, he’d be a dead man.”
Tasha turned toward her sister, eggnog in hand. “He irritates the hell out of me.”
Val frowned. “How in the world could he irritate you? You’ve only met him once before. You usually have more tolerance than that.”
At her sister’s quick blush, Val’s eyes widened. “What are you not telling me?”
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