“I guess we start all over, literally.”
“How are we going to do that?”
I shrug, taking a drink of the beer I’m holding, wishing it were something stronger.
“I don’t know.”
***
Cora
By the time we made it to Eric’s this morning it was almost dawn. Then, bring up all day trying to put some kind of life back together, or a reasonable facsimile, we’ve both been up for over twenty four hours.
Despite how we made up, in the light of day and in the aftermath of losing our home, things have settled to a much more realistic and awkward air. We talk, but there is this thing hanging between us. I look at him and know, he’s thinking about Devin. I’m thinking about it, too. I can only hope that over time, it will fade away.
Eventually, Andrew passes out in the guest bedroom beside me, where he’s been living for three months. Despite my exhaustion, I can’t sleep.
It seems that he’s home. Everything happened so fast last night. Connecting in the bar like we used to, going home and the amazing sex, him promising me that he was home to stay. Devin, what am I going to do with that? He’s going to want some sort of end to this, an explanation. Now that Andrew is home I think I’m strong enough to face him and resist… everything.
I chew on my lip, remembering Devin’s body, the way he made me feel. That familiar curling of my stomach starts, it falls into my shoes shooting fire through my veins. Suddenly, I’m doubtful. I need to avoid him. Now that I’m finally back where I belong, I don’t need to risk it.
I had to go get a new phone and, as soon as I had the thing turned on, I saw how many messages I had missed from Devin. I’ve been ignoring the messages. However, as my phone buzzes again I glance at Andy, and know if I want to make a break, I have to bite the bullet and at least answer him.
“I drove by your house and saw the fire, are you okay… I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re worried about. Call me… just let me know that you are safe… I miss you.” I chew on my lip and scan a couple more texts, a missed phone call.
It’s been a bad day. I’m okay, thanks for checking on me. I hit send.
“What happened?” His rapid reply makes me wonder if he ever sleeps.
I look at the message in the dark. My eyes hurt from fatigue. I yawn, glancing over and my husband again. I still feel the pain in my chest when I look at him. These last few months have been so painful, I don’t know how we will ever get back to where we were a year ago. I’m just so relieved that he’s willing to try.
The house caught fire, we got out. We lost everything.
“You need a place to stay?”
No. Me and Andrew are staying with family.
“Are you back together or was that just a party fuck?”
We are back together. I’m sorry it came out the way it did. I really want this to work so I don’t think you and I can see each other anymore.
“If you’re worried he will find out, I’m not concerned. There are ways to avoid that. I know you aren’t ready to say goodbye.”
You wouldn’t want to share me like that.
“I would if I had to do that to keep you.”
The message catches me off guard. Keep me? He can’t really be that attached. A guy that looks like him? Come on.
You should have no trouble finding someone. You’re gorgeous, any woman would fall panting at your feet.
I send the message in a dangerous attempt to stroke his already overgrown ego. Maybe it will help.
“Any woman except you, apparently. Meet me tomorrow so that I can see you. I need to hear it from you and see your eyes. If you can do that, I’ll leave you alone.”
I’ll think it over and let you know.
“Okay. See you soon.”
***
I delete the string of messages and push my phone under my pillow. Andrew moves, spooning me, and curling his body behind mine, warming me.
Tomorrow, this ends.
Chapter Fifteen
Devin
I pace, watching her roll in bed. Shove her phone under her pillow. Hubby curl up in his sleep and hold her.
Aw, he missed her.
I swallow back the defeat, a bitter, choking taste in the back of my throat. It’s not over, not by a long shot. I crack my knuckles and perch on the nightstand beside her, waiting for sleep to find her.
I can’t let him touch her again, that much is clear. I must own this woman. I can’t just release her and take the punishment for failure.
She is mine.
I watch her drift into sleep, waiting to touch her.
I unfurl my wings for balance as I lean over to touch her hair, her face. I take his arm and move him; he rolls onto his back. She does the same. I slip my hands down her body, under her tank top, stroking her skin. She sighs, reaches between her legs in her sleep. Bending, I kiss her thighs, pull her panties aside and invade her with my tongue until she’s panting in her dreams, I can taste her orgasm. My name is a muffled cry. I keep stroking her, she gasps and says my name again, loud enough to wake him up.
He stirs, but of course he can’t see me. All he sees is his lovely wife coming on her own fingers in her sleep and mumbling my name.
He shakes her.
She jerks, startled. Eyes wide, she looks down and flushes, realizing what she’s doing.
“What the hell, you’re dreaming of him?” he accuses.
Looking confused, she appears to struggle for memories of the dream, pulling the covers up to cover herself.
“What?”
“You were saying his name.”
She flushes a slow blooming crimson; even in the dark it’s apparent.
“I don’t remember…”
“Well I heard you. What is going on? You’re in bed with me but dreaming of him? Getting off in your sleep to him?”
“I can’t control my dreams, and I don’t even remember anything. Are you seriously mad at me because of a dream?”
He holds her eyes for a moment, as if thinking about the question. “Well, you never laid there getting off to me, did you?” It’s not really a question.
“How do you know?”
He raises an eyebrow, a smirk lands on his face. “Did you?”
She narrows her eyes at him.
“Maybe.”
“What did you do?” He leans on an elbow.
This isn’t going at all like I had hoped.
“I think you know how it works.” She smiles.
“Show me.”
“What?” Her eyes widen in shock at his suggestion.
“Show me. Let me watch.” He grins at her.
Her mouth drops open.
“Are you crazy? I can’t let you watch me do that.”
Bending, he kisses her neck, she giggles.
“Come on, it’s sexy. Let me watch.”
Their eyes meet in the dark; she smiles at him and throws the covers back.
“Okay.”
His eyes darken, she slips out of her panties, and I’m left gaping as this unfolds right before my eyes.
What just happened?
She watches his face, getting off on his desire as he bends to kiss her body, reaching down to help her in her endeavors. I’m so stunned that I can’t even think of what to do to stop this before it’s too late and he’s inside her again.
Coming to my senses, I dial my phone. It rings under her pillow.
“It’s the middle of the night for God’s sake.” He reaches under her pillow, smiling down at her as she breaks and comes. “That’s my girl.” Pressing his lips to hers as he retrieves the ringing phone without looking at it.
He glances at it, sees my name. “Fuck it.” He tosses the phone aside and climbs over her, pushing her legs wide as he pushes his pants down out of the way.
I have to stop myself from grabbing him by the hair and pulling him off her. I can’t, not yet. I walk over and start to bang on the wall that joins their room, the sound fills the air and still
s him just as he’s about to push into her waiting body. My last effort to stop him from fucking her.
“What’s that?” she asks, looking around.
I bang harder. The windows rattle. I bang out a slow, yet thunderous melody on the wall, sure to wake the whole house.
“I have no idea.” He scoots off her. Pants get pulled back up.
“Hey, what’s that noise?” His cousin, Eric’s voice sounds at the door.
Cora covers up with a blanket and Andrew leaves the room to check the house.
“Tell her you love her.”
Xander’s voice in my ear scares the shit out of me. He laughs when I jump.
“What the fuck, you know I hate that.”
He laughs harder. “Do It. That should kill the mood fast. Tell her you love her.”
I swallow as if the word leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
“Text it to her. I bet she will meet you tomorrow to let you down easy. Then you can do what I know you’re thinking.”
I pull out my phone. “I want to take her into the shadows.”
He won’t be able to get to her there.
“You know, it might drive her mad.”
I shrug. “So?”
I look down at my phone. “I need you to know that I’m falling in love with you. Please meet me tomorrow for lunch.” I hit send.
Cora retrieves her phone from the floor and pales when she reads the message. When the bedroom door opens, she tosses the phone back to the floor and the guys come in.
“We can’t find anything. I don’t know what that was.”
“Let’s just get some sleep.” She lays down and turns her back to him.
Success.
***
The receptionist in her office stares up at me as if dazed. Her eyes are glazed and her juicy lips parted. I lean over the desk, she bites her lip when I smile. She’s a young thing, one I’ll have to remember to visit again soon.
“Is Cora in today?”
She nods.
“Call her and let her know Devin is here, beautiful.” I wink at her.
She picks up her phone, proceeds to drop it, and flushes as she dials the extension. As much as I’d love to stay and play with her, I have to turn my attention when Cora comes out of her office. Her black hair is pulled back into a ponytail; she has a pen cap in her mouth and meets my eyes across the room as if to ask what I’m doing here.
“I’m here to take you to lunch.” I shrug.
“I never-”
“I know. I’m here anyway.”
After a moment, she waves me into her office. “I can’t go to lunch with you anymore.”
I close the door. “It’s just food. It’s not like I’m going to fuck you in the back room.” I smile.
She grows a deep shade of pink, glancing around as if someone can hear us.
“Andrew came home, and I need to be with him. I can’t see you like that anymore. I’m sorry, Devin. It was fun, but….”
I sigh. “Look, I get it, I do. I just needed to hear it from you. You really don’t want to… I mean… it was… we were fantastic together.”
I step closer to her. She gulps and looks up, meeting my eyes.
“We were, but I wasn’t with him then. Now I am. Please understand.”
Understand. Yeah, right.
“Well, can you just walk me out to my car then?”
She looks down. I lift her gaze back to my face with one hand.
“Please? Give me one last moment with you before you break my heart.” I say, softly.
She nods. “Okay.”
She won’t look at me in the elevator. The walk to the car is silent. At my car, she finally turns to me and lets out a breath, as if she’s been holding it.
“I’m sorry Devin. I didn’t mean for it to go like this. I thought we were just having fun. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”
Hurt. As if.
She has no idea what’s coming. No clue that she’s not going back to the office. Not going home. Not going to see her “loving husband” tonight.
I’ve got plans for her.
“I guess it was a risk we both took.” I hold her gaze. “Can I have a hug?”
She smiles. “Of course.”
I pull her into my body, curling my arms around her. She snuggles easily into my chest, her arms going around my waist.
“You smell good,” she comments.
“So do you, baby.”
I hold her tighter, just a little. Not enough to draw her attention.
“Cora.” I whisper her name. She lifts her eyes, meeting mine, just what I needed. “Veni mecum.” I follow the words with a puff of air in her face, rendering her unconscious in my arms. I unfurl my wings, throwing me into the Shadow Realm. This time, she is going with me.
Chapter Sixteen
Cora
I wake as if from a deep and restful sleep. A slow stretch tells me that I’m in a bed, under a blanket. I open my eyes and blink, rubbing them. The air seems dark and hazy, as if a heavy thunderhead hangs in the sky darkening everything in the room.
I sit up, taking in the room, realizing that I’m not at home. Where am I?
My thoughts seem to drag, coming slowly into my brain as I scan the room with a casualness that something tells me should not be there. Another slow thought pops into my brain as I absorb familiar surroundings.
I know this bedroom.
That’s right, my home burned down.
I’m not at Eric’s house.
That’s strange.
I’m in Devin’s bed.
Why am I in Devin’s bed?
I glance around, finding the room in a strange sort of darkness that curls and swirls like smoke, but I don’t smell anything burning. It pools in the air and then dissipates in an almost fluidic way. Reaching up, I try to touch it, but it slips just out of reach.
My memories come back. The parking lot, the hug, Devin.
It’s strange how calm I feel.
“Is anyone there?” I call into the black corners of the room.
I see movement in the corner; a shadow lingers there.
“I’m here.” It’s Devin’s voice.
“Why are you hiding? What’s happened?” I glance down. Realizing I’m naked, I pull the blanket up to cover my breasts and look back towards the corner where he remains in the shadows.
“I’m hiding because when I step out, you will see me in my true form.”
His true form?
“I don’t understand.” The strange cloud curls around me again. Once more I reach up, distracted by it. As if playing with me, when I reach out it leaps just out of bounds of my outstretched fingers.
He chuckles lightly. “Cora, my lovely. You still feel the effects of the realm shift, it’s making you calm. It will wear off soon. Before it does, I need to tell you something.”
He steps out of the shadows, as tall, handsome, and sexy as ever, no shirt on. He blinks, and I realize that his eyes are yellow instead of the gorgeous blue that I know. “You look the same, why hide? Hey, why are your eyes yellow?” He’s just messing with me.
“I’m a demon.” He says it matter-of-factly, as if it’s the truth and I’m stupid for asking.
I laugh, “A demon? Come on, you’re a fantastic lay, but a demon?” I roll my eyes.
He smiles at me, taking a step. “What do you believe, pretty Cora?”
“Believe?”
“Yes, as in Heaven, Hell, good and evil.”
I lean back on my hands and cock my head. He crosses his arms.
“I don’t know. I’m not religious. Andrew always believed; I’ve always kind of been up in the air about it.”
The playful thing in the air teases me again. I clutch the blanket to my chest and watch it, as it wants me to reach out for it again. It fills the room and curls and uncurls, making me feel as if I’m in a storm cloud. It darkens everything. It seems to be alive.
“So, do you believe in God?”
“I suppose.”
“The Devil?”
I shrug.
He smiles. “You should, you’ve met him.”
“I’ve met the Devil?” I shake my head. “Look, just because you put in some yellow contacts-”
He shuts me up when he unfurls wings. He has wings. They are white, bright, and soft, feathered things; the wingspan is an easy ten feet. I gasp, blinking as if it might clear my head of what has to be a hallucination.
“How?”
He turns, showing me that they are real. Growing right out of the hard muscles on his back.
“How? This is a dream.”
“Get up, touch them. It’s real. This is no dream.”
I stand, taking the blanket with me to wrap around my body. Reaching out, I carefully touch them. They are warm and soft. I touch the place on his back from where they sprung. His muscles flex under my fingers as I explore.
“If you are a demon, why are your wings white?” I ask, stroking the softness again.
“Because I was once an angel. We were all angels. You must know the story.”
“The one about Lucifer being the most beautiful angel, the war in heaven?”
“Yes. It’s true. I fought alongside him. When we lost, we were banished to Earth. Literature has always portrayed the fallen angels as broken winged, or with black feathers, but we never changed. Our appearance is the same. I look the way I did in Heaven except for the eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, you know. I’m the demon of lust.”
He turns to me, folding the wings, but I can still see them. It occurs to me that I should be freaking out, but I’m eerily calm.
“You are a demon? Is that what happened to me?” Lust. That sure explains a lot.
He nods, reaching out and touching the blanket that I have clutched to my chest.
“Yes. You don’t realize the special attention I gave you. I rarely ever work that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t usually have sex. It… affects me. I walk by and place a thought, a touch, a whisper, and I start fires that way, so to speak. You never would have been able to resist me.”
“But I did.” I cock my head.
He frowns. “Yes, you did. But only the two times.”
“So you can just look at me and make me want you?”
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