"Humans are not like me."
It wasn't a question, but Rex answered anyway. “No, Hunter, humans are not like you."
"What will they think of my wings?"
Rex sighed and turned away. “They won't. We'll have to keep them hidden."
Pulling his shirt back over his head, Hunter turned on the wooden bench, facing Rex. “I know that you aren't as you appear. Will you hide me the way you hide yourself?"
Rex went still, his heart beating fast. “What do you mean, Hunter?"
He stood for a long moment, hazel eyes meeting blue, and the depth of knowledge that he saw in the other man frightened him. Nor did Hunter hesitate to meet his gaze. There was power there in the angel's eyes.
"When I look in your direction, but not directly at you, I see ... something. When it's just the two of us, you relax a bit. When the humans come, I can no longer see it."
Rex resisted the urge to press a hand over his pounding heart. His magic had been breached! Perhaps he'd grown lazy around Hunter, or perhaps the angel was simply more powerful at seeing through illusion. He took a deep breath, willing his racing heart to slow.
"No, Hunter, I'm not as you see me. Not much different, but it's still not wise to show myself completely."
"Are you a demon?"
That brought a slight smile to his face. “No, Hunter, I'm no demon. Demon-kind are of the fire. You are of the air. My kind are of this earth."
Hunter sat quietly, expectantly. Rex smiled and shook his head. It was time to give the angel a bit of his trust. “I'll have to take off my clothing.” He started to pull his shirt away, and then paused. “Be sure you don't get too happy...” He trailed off, knowing that Hunter wouldn't get the joke. As far as he could tell, the angel had no sexual awareness at all. Very little sense of humor, either.
Quickly, he slipped from his shirt, bending to unfasten the leather ties from his boots. Once those were off, he slipped from his trousers and stood naked in front of his charge. Rex knew what Hunter saw then, a slender man of medium height, nearing his middle years. His graying hair was glossy, his body well-muscled.
"What are those marks on your skin?"
Rex glanced down at the tattoos. “Magic. These are what keep me hidden.” He dipped a finger into a cup of water and traced a pattern onto the skin of his chest. Gracefully, he painted invisible marks on his body. “This negates the charm."
Hunter nodded, watching with interest.
Once he'd reversed the charm, Rex felt the frisson of magic crawl across the skin of his body. Again, he felt life flowing as it should. He closed his eyes, savoring the bliss of freedom, though it would be short-lived. Sighing, he looked over at Hunter, whose eyes had grown wide in shock. Rex reached up and ran a hand through the curls that were now glossy and dark, spilling down past his shoulders. He pushed his hair back to display delicately pointed ears. With barely a thought, Rex spread his own wings; they weren't feathered like Hunter's, but velvety and marked like those of a great butterfly.
With a grin, he turned sideways, displaying his pride and joy.
"You have a tail!"
He burst out in laughter, partly at the shock in Hunter's voice, partly at the sheer joy of revealing himself again. He might not glow with the otherworldly light that the angel was unable to suppress, but Rex was of a blessed race and he knew that it showed. He laughed again as Hunter rose, circling him slowly, gently fingering his wings. He shivered at the touch of the angel's hands upon the sensitive skin of his tail. He breathed deeply, willing his cock to remain still.
"This feels good?"
Rex allowed his sinuous tail to slip free of Hunter's grasp. “Aye, it does, but not in the ordinary way.” Without thought, the tail wound safely around Rex's thigh.
Slowly, Hunter circled back around to the front, closely examining Rex's face. “Your appearance ... it's the same, but different. You're young, but old. Your eyes glow brightly, and the color of your skin ... it hasn't changed, and yet it has."
Rex grinned and reached for his trousers.
"I tone down my coloring to blend better with the humans. I also give the illusion of age so they don't name me a witch and burn me at the stake.” He slid onto the high stool. “I can recover from most injuries, but I doubt I'd survive burning."
"Are you of the Fair Race? A Sidhe?"
"Not very fair, am I?"
"There are other meanings of that word.” Hunter moved away, sitting on the table well away from the food he'd been cutting. “It's said that your kind are guardians. You tend the earth itself. You're the color of the forest."
That was true enough. To the casual glance, Rex's hair was deep brown, but in the light, color could be seen shimmering in its depth; greens and golds and other forest hues. The patterns on his wings were of iridescent green and gold, etched out in burgundy and ocher. His very skin was a light, golden-brown hue.
He could feel the damp patterns drying on his skin, and knew that within moments, the illusion would once again take hold. Rex gave a roguish smile, feeling loss even as he shifted to his more mundane appearance.
"Can you fly?"
"My wings aren't as powerful as yours. But yes, I can fly."
"Do all members of your race have a tail?"
"Nae. No. There are many of us; the Fae and Fairy, Brownies and Pixies and Boogles. Some do, some don't.” He gently folded his now invisible wings to his body and pulled the shirt over his head. Bending down, he stomped into his boots and tied them up. When he straightened, Hunter stood just feet away, watching.
"You're very wondrous. Truly magical."
Rex chuckled at the irony of the angel marveling at his mundane appearance. “To answer your earlier question, I'll be doing a few things to hide those wings of yours. You'll have to learn to keep them close to your body, no matter what. Then I'll design a charm to hide them and the other things that set you apart."
Hunter glanced down at his body, and then looked back at Rex in question.
"You glow, angel-man. Even without the wings, no person would believe you were of this Earth."
Rex turned to the table and began loading the cut food into the stewpot. “We'll need to get this over the fire, and then you can help me with a liniment. Old Billie Turner is on his way up the hill yonder. He'll be needing an ointment for sore joints."
"I can stay this time?"
"Aye, Hunter, I don't see any harm in it."
Hunter joined him, and together they quietly worked, while Rex hummed a jaunty tune under his breath.
* * * *
Rex groaned, his eyes coming open in the velvet darkness. He'd awakened to the feel of a soft, wet mouth on his cock, and soft, strong hands running up the skin of his belly.
Hunter!
That initial thought combined hope with horror. The angel was far too innocent to have such knowledge and experience. But still, the idea of Hunter sucking him off was enough to twist his insides with sheer, mindless lust.
His back arched, and the shadowy figure above him sat up and smiled, though he wasn't certain how he could see it in the inky blackness of his bed nook.
The curtains were tightly closed against the frigid cold, letting in no light at all. Another wave of sensation rolled over his body, and again he groaned. A gentle hand came down to his lips. Hush. Don't wake him.
Obediently, Rex swallowed down the gasps and moans that she so easily brought. In spite of the darkness, he could see her in precise, vivid detail. Inky black hair cascaded down past her shoulders in waves. Her eyes were as dark as a moonless night, and her lips as red as the roses that grew in Stella Cameron's garden. She was full of breast and narrow of waist. The dark wings that rose over her back were the only part of her that he couldn't clearly see. He wanted to reach out and stroke the sleek feathers, but she moved back, avoiding his touch.
Rex was locked into place by her touch, unable to move, to stroke her skin or kiss her lips. But for now, he was content to allow her to explore his body, to take h
is needy cock between those pouting lips and swallow him down. As soon as his needs became thought, then thought became reality. His balls drew up tight, his ass clenched, and a moist finger was there, stroking past the tight ring of muscle, finding its way to that sweet spot. When he cried out in pleasure, her mouth was there to take the noise, swallowing it up.
Somewhere in his mind, Rex knew this was a dream, a vivid, wonderful dream.
She was the polar opposite of the angel that slept on a pallet near his fire. She was wanton and carnal, dark and so very knowledgeable.
Is this what you want? Her voice was a sweet whisper in his mind.
Once again, his cock was engulfed in wet heat. She went down until there was no part of him untouched. Her throat convulsed around his shaft, and her nose rested against the skin of his belly. He wanted to buck ... to thrust to completion, but she held him frozen in place.
Or do you prefer this?
Golden light spilled from her, and suddenly, Hunter took her place, his hair blazing like fire. Knowledge that did not exist in the angel resided there in those blue eyes. Those eyes looked like Hunter's but they were not his. He knelt there over Rex's body, grasping Rex's hard cock, slowly lowering himself onto that shaft. Rex shuddered with the sensation, his breath coming in great, painful gasps. Hunter rose, his eyes dropping closed as he slowly fucked Rex. He reached down and clasped Rex's hands, their fingers interlaced with simple intimacy.
The figure shifted, and she was again a dark beauty. His cock was now deep within the wet clasp of her pussy. Their hands remained linked, and she braced herself on his strength.
She rode him, thrusting down with sweet deliberation, her hips swaying in a slow, hypnotic dance. He shook with his need; heat and desire coursed through his veins. He wanted to roll her to her back, to plow into her body with all the passion that he'd been stifling for so many years. He wanted to spill his seed, to watch her swell with his children.
Her hands clasped, digging into his skin, applying just the right amount of pain to make Rex cry out. His body clenched in spasms as he released his hot, life-giving seed into her body.
He smelled blood and sweat and the earthy fragrance of semen. In the darkness, he saw life coming forth in a brilliant blaze of light. Behind the shadows of her body, he saw an image of Hunter, tall and strong and confident, his face a study in joy as he fucked her with his eyes locked on Rex's face.
She didn't seem to know the angel was there. It was a vision within a dream.
The anomaly jarred Rex. He broke from the vision, and he woke from the dream, blinking his teary eyes against the darkness. A dream visitation. The shade of Kokabiel. Was it a portent of things to come, or simply his heated imagination and frustrated sexuality? Perhaps even a glimpse into Hunter's past?
Rex closed his eyes, fighting to conjure up her face, her image, but she was elusive. Like a dream, the vision faded almost as quickly as it came, leaving him sticky with sweat and spilled semen, and with fuzzy impressions and feelings akin to fear. Dread.
He did manage to conjure up her image, dark and indistinct. She leaned forward, kissing him gently on the lips, and she tasted of ice and fire and the depths of despair.
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Chapter Three
"Rex."
Hunter lay flat on his back, looking down at his body in fear. “Rex!"
"Whaaa..."
"I think something's wrong."
Across the room, Rex rolled off his pallet in the bed niche, dark hair tousled, and his face heavy with sleep. The air was chill; morning's light had just begun to creep into the room. He hated to wake Rex so early, but fear made his heart race in his chest. Hunter lay perfectly still, afraid lest he disturb the beastie that had taken up residence on his belly.
"What's the matter, Hunter?"
Concern showed on his face, and immediately, Hunter felt relief. He wasn't alone. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out. Fear was a new and rather unwelcome sensation.
"Something's wrong with my man part.” He pulled the blanket away to reveal the swollen, distended organ. It throbbed with a sensation that he was unable to put a name to. Veins bulged under the skin, throbbing with every beat of his heart. It had grown to several times its normal size, and now rested on his lower belly; the taut head nearly flush with his navel.
"That's it?"
Rex was looking at him in amazement; laughter had taken the place of concern in his eyes. “It's not paining you now, is it?"
Hunter shook his head. “But..."
"But that's just your morning wood, Hunter. Leave it alone and it'll get back to normal."
But it wasn't getting back to normal, and he'd lain abed for nearly an hour, tormented by the pulsing member.
"Your body wants to fuck. It's hard like that so you can enter a lassie's quim."
"Breeding, you mean?” Feeling slightly reassured, Hunter rose on his elbows, looking down at the length of his body. There seemed to be no change.
"Your cock's hungry for a female. That's all."
"Will this happen every morning?” Hunter could hear the dismay in his own voice. And oddly, Rex's presence seemed to aggravate the condition. A droplet of clear fluid had emerged from the slit.
"Aye, most mornings. Other times as well. And if you don't have a lassie to tend you, you can take care of it yourself."
Though he turned away, Hunter saw a devilish light gleaming in his eyes ... he recognized it as humor. He didn't quite know how to combat Rex's sense of the ridiculous, so he set his irritation aside for the moment. “How?"
The other man had retrieved his shirt from the foot of his bed and pulled it over his head, leaving his long legs bare. “Just touch yourself, Hunter."
Touch? Tentatively, he reached down and ran a finger lightly over the rigid shaft of his cock. It felt even tighter. “That makes it worse."
"It's supposed to. No ... don't do that ... take a good grasp...” Rex returned to his side and knelt, his long shirt hanging to the floor. “That's it. Hold it ... and stroke."
Hunter felt a strangled groan bubble to his lips. The pressure, the friction was glorious! He stroked again, and warmth radiated from his body. Unconsciously, his free hand drifted over to clasp Rex's thigh. His eyes fell closed for a long, breathless moment. When he opened them again, Rex was staring into his face, an indescribable expression on his own.
"Here...” Rex laid his hand over Hunter's, guiding him into a steady rhythm. “Relax, Hunter. It's not going to hurt you."
Obeying his instructions, Hunter lay back, liking the feel of Rex's hand over his, the taut muscle of the other man's thigh in his grasp.
"Take your other hand, and use it to tug on your sac..."
Hunter rolled his head to the side, eyes half open, drinking in every sensation that tingled through his body. He'd given control over to Rex. Though the other man was not touching his skin, he guided Hunter's touch in a wicked dance. An unbearable tension began to grow in his back, up his ass and into his belly. Hunter bucked against the sensation, feeling a culmination of some sort seizing his body. He moaned. The faster his hands stroked his flesh, the more intense the sensation grew.
"That's it, now try this..."
Rex's hand guided his own up over the head of his shaft; he'd grown wet and slick. When his cockhead bumped into his own palm, he nearly howled with pleasure.
"Let go! Stop fighting it!” Rex grasped the root of Hunter's shaft, pumping with a quick, light hand.
Hunter moaned in bewildered ecstasy. Spasms that centered in his pelvis radiated out from his body, wracking him with pleasure. He felt the hot spurt of fluid leaving his cock, felt ropes of it spatter on his skin.
And still, it went on and on, drawing hoarse cries from his throat. Ruthlessly, Rex forced him to stroke his cock, wringing every drop, every spasm from his exhausted body. His heart slammed in his chest, and his lungs pumped desperately for air.
Under their joined hands, he could feel his flesh growing
soft and flaccid. Rex's hand opened, fingers spread wide over Hunter's tender stones.
Though he didn't open his eyes, he knew that Rex was affected by what had happened. He felt the quick caress of breath on his face and knew that if he looked up, Rex's face would be hovering near his own, lips close to his ... The other man took a deep, shuddering breath and then let loose his grip over Hunter's fist. Hunter looked to see Rex's pale face moving back from his. He moved backwards, rising stiffly. He'd gone white, yet flags of color were on his cheeks.
"Was that normal?” Hunter watched Rex's back as the other man donned his pants, and then sat down on the bench to pull on his boots.
"Aye, Hunter. That was a normal, healthy reaction for your first time.” He stood and reached for the heavy tunic he wore when he tended animals in the morning. Spring had crossed into summer and the days were much warmer now. “I think we'll need to look into introducing you to a lassie soon. I'm sure Betsy Brown will be willing to take you in hand.” He shot a grin in Hunter's direction and waggled a brow. “You get yourself cleaned up and start the fire. I soaked the oats for porridge last night."
He left the cottage whistling a careless, happy melody. Hunter sat up in the bedding, looking down at the shining, milky fluid on his skin. His cock was normal once again, soft and small. The knowledge came quickly; this was the seed of his body, and was to be shared with a female. But somehow, he knew this wasn't always the case.
Rex might have acted casual about what just happened, but Hunter knew otherwise. Something very intimate had taken place between the two men, and Rex was running from it. He regretted what he'd shared with Hunter.
Something stung his eyes in counterpoint to the ache in his chest.
Hunter felt two hitherto unknown sensations. The first was humiliation, and the second was anger.
Somehow, that latter sensation was the easier to grasp.
* * * *
Rex made it to the small whitewashed barn before coming to a halt. In truth, walking was a slightly uncomfortable proposition considering the sizable erection he was burdened with. He paused by the pump at the ancient stone water trough and turned to look back up at his cottage.
Bad Angels: Falling Page 2
