Hot House: Dante and Hayley

by Sheri Gilmore

  “Whose power, my lord?”

  Zeus opened his eyes. The look of disgust on his face would have made a lesser god cringe, but Hades stood his ground.

  “They are calling the power of Dis.”

  “But to no avail. He is in a weakened state.”

  The chant rose louder above the two armies. “... annihilation to his enemies.”

  “Humph. Thinks he’s a damned god, or something.”

  “To some, he is.” Zeus’s gaze narrowed suddenly, and his skin paled. He grabbed Hades’s arm. “Pull back. Pull back now!”

  “Are you crazy? We have the advantage in numbers. We’ve always had more souls than their Creator. We were around centuries before His Hell came into existence.”

  “Imbecile! Don’t you see what Dis is doing? He’s combining the forces of his dark magick with the forces of the Creator’s light. To believe in one is to believe in the other. We don’t stand a chance if they’re in accord. They will become a unified weapon of such power, no entity could withstand their strength. Pull back at once!”

  Anger seeped into Hades’s consciousness at the same time understanding of the angel’s intentions dawned. His scream of frustration rent the night air before he issued the order to retreat. “Damn you, Dis. I will have my name back one of these days.”

  “Why are they running?” Gabriel’s indignant voice sounded behind Dis.

  Dis turned and smiled at his brother for the first time in thousands of years. “I think they realized we’d defeat them too badly this time.”

  “This time?”

  “Yeah. We overtook them two thousand years ago and cast them into temporary oblivion.” Dis turned back and watched the last of the ancient demons disappear beneath the pavement. “We would have destroyed them completely this time, without mercy. Although disgraceful, Zeus knows that his retreat will allow for the continued existence of the gods in the world.”

  “Hmm, we’ll have to negotiate terms for a treaty.” Michael rubbed his chin.

  “We could always hold one of his favorite children as a permanent ‘guest’ of Hell to ensure his good behavior.”

  Michael nodded. “Hey, not a bad idea.”

  “But I wanted to cut something up!” Gabriel swung his khukuri in a wide arc, sending several nearby demons into a panic. “Or, better yet, use ‘Greek fire’ on their asses.”

  Dis cringed; Michael laughed and thumped his middle brother on the shoulders. “All in good time, brother. Save the sulphur, resin, and tar for another day.”

  “And you all call me barbaric and sadistic!” Dis shook his head, stalking to the entrance of Hell.

  “Where are you going? This is call for celebration.” Gabriel pinched Gina on the ass as she strutted by him. “We could share.”

  Dis stopped and looked back at his siblings. Disgust roiled through his gut. Hayley wouldn’t understand him accepting another female’s companionship for the celebration of any type of victory after he had confessed his love. He wouldn’t -- no, couldn’t -- disrespect her memory that way. “I don’t really feel like celebrating.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Miss Thomas, you need to rest.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Hayley wished the head librarian would leave her alone. Yes, she was tired and her head ached, but she didn’t want to go home. There was nothing there but lonely walls and memories. Hayley shoved a book onto the rack with more force than she had intended. Several books from the other side of the stack fell to the floor.

  Damn! If she kept this up, Mrs. O’Connell would have security escort her to her house. She glanced down the row to see if the old battleaxe had seen the mishap, but the woman had returned to her office.

  The stacks were long and high, and here in the back of the library the silence could be deafening with the lights dimmed. Research books weren’t popular until time for yearly term papers. Then all hell broke loose in the quiet little library.

  Hayley stifled a giggle and smiled at the thought of Hell breaking loose on Mrs. O’Connell. The poor woman wouldn’t know what to do. Her straightlaced mannerisms would fly out the window in the face of the sweaty, naked, gyrating bodies Hayley had come face to face with several months ago.

  Her smile faded when her thoughts centered on Dante. She bit her lip at the same time she bent down to retrieve the books she had knocked over. I will not think about him.

  She repeated the words over and over, without success. The more she tried to forget him, the more she wanted him. Correction. The more she needed him. She sighed, the sound loud in the quiet recesses of the stacks. Maybe one day she would forget, but not today. Today would be another step forward, slow and painful.

  A book slipped from her hand. With a curse, she looked to the ceiling. “Get a grip, Hayley. You’re all thumbs.”

  She knelt again to retrieve the book, but hesitated when she read the title: How to Summon Angels.

  “What in the world? What’s this doing back here?”

  Her heart skipped a beat, and her hand trembled. She felt a slight breeze lift the hair from her neck. Goosebumps tickled her skin, and she had the impression of being watched. Her eyes narrowed in the dimness to search her surroundings. Nothing. Not a soul here but her.

  “You’re hallucinating. Put the book back and keep working.”

  With a decisive nod, she rammed the book back onto the shelf, not caring that the order might be incorrect. Someone else would find the mistake and put the book in the New Age section. She refused to be the kind of person who went around having séances to call up spirits. She needed to be in the quiet of her own home where no one but her knew the hell she’d been through.

  Michael shook his head. They were both miserable, both stubborn as hell. He had placed the book where he knew Hayley would find it, the tool for communication plain as day. But no, she refused to accept the messages he tried to pass to her.

  His brother was no better. After their victorious near-battle with Zeus, Samael had retreated to his quarters to wallow in self-pity and despair. Nights and days filled with drinking himself into a stupor. The demons were restless. They needed a leader, but Sam wasn’t up to the task. Something drastic needed to be done.

  Michael sighed. He hadn’t wanted to take this problem to his master, but he had no other choice. The solution his Creator had come up with was not to his liking, but Michael knew he would obey the command given to him. He shifted his shoulder and felt again the sting of his wounds. Wounds he deserved for the forbidden desires he possessed for a human woman. His jaw tightened.

  He’d hidden that desire well, but the revelation to Sam of his lust for Lilith had cost him. His Creator was angry with His most powerful angel. An example had to be made, or others would follow, and the downfall would be complete.

  Michael knocked on the door but didn’t wait for an answer. Inside, the lights were extinguished and total darkness abounded. Out of habit, he snapped his fingers and the torches flared to life. Light was unnecessary to an angel. They could see everything with the light from their own eyes. He looked at Samael sprawled naked across the divan, snoring and drunk. Everything except what was right in front of them.

  He kicked the bed, but only received a grunt in response. Anger infused his belly. “Get up, Sam. I’m tired of your moaning and groaning about how life is so unfair.”

  He kicked the bed again, this time sending the mattress and pillows flying to the floor.

  “What the hell?” Samael came up from under the pile, his hair in disarray, his naked body crouched in the attack position. Several days’ growth of stubble made his face more swarthy than usual. To one who didn’t know him, he was an imposing figure.

  Michael cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. “Over here, slick.”

  Sam turned toward him with slow, unsteady movements. He narrowed his eyes to focus on Michael. Recognition dawned, and he rubbed his belly.

  “What’s the big idea, waking me up like that?” He smacked his lips like a bad ta
ste coated his tongue. “I was sleepin’.” A yawn escaped his parted lips.

  Michael snorted. “Yeah, well, you’ve been sleeping a damned lot lately. Have you seen the state of your kingdom?”

  He watched his brother wave a hand at him in dismissal and stumble over a pillow. Sam weaved his way to the bathroom with arms outstretched to steady himself.

  “Who gives a rat’s ass?” he shouted.

  “Several thousand demons and an angry Creator, for starters.”

  He heard Sam snort over the sound of piss hitting the side of the urinal. Michael sighed. He was going to have to go into his tough-love routine. He stifled a groan. Didn’t anyone care how hard his job was? Did anyone appreciate the indecencies he had to stoop to in order to take care of business?

  Samael returned to the doorway, rubbed his belly, and belched, long and loud.

  Obviously not.

  “Sam, look, there’s something I have to tell you.” Michael forced his voice to sound uncertain. He turned his back to his brother so Sam couldn’t see his face. He was counting on Sam’s hangover and his sensitivity to being overlooked to help in this situation.

  “Whuh you talkin’ about?”

  Michael hid a smile. He heard the suspicion in his brother’s slurred speech. He let out an exaggerated sigh and hoped he wasn’t overplaying his role.

  “Well, our Creator isn’t happy with me at the moment.” That’s putting it mildly. “And he’s thinking about casting me down to earth like he did all of you.”

  “Why? What for?”

  Michael paused and turned to his brother, but didn’t meet his gaze. He let his voice drop to a whisper, as if he were ashamed. “For loving Lilith.”

  Sam didn’t utter a sound, but Michael could feel a change in his awareness. He looked up and saw his brother’s gaze narrowed in thought.

  Good. Now he’d drop the bomb. If Samael loved Hayley, this would surely set him off.

  “Since you’re tied up here in Hell with all this --” He waved his hand. “-- I’ve decided to look Hayley up and see if there’s anything between us.”

  The look of total outrage on his brother’s face had Michael averting his head to hide the smile of satisfaction he felt spread across his face.

  “I mean, there might not be anything, but Lilith was a great fuck, and if I’m going to be human, I’ll have to take care of my sexual needs --”

  The air rushed from his lungs with a whoosh. Samael sat on top of him, fists raised to pummel his face. Michael grabbed his brother’s wrists and wrestled him down until he was the one on top. He laughed.

  “What’s wrong, little brother?” He pinned Sam’s arms to his side. “Jealous?”

  “I’ll kill you before I see her with you.”

  “Ooo, I’m scared. Especially since the last time we fought each other, I won.”

  Sam glared, and his lips were drawn away from his fangs in a snarl. “She’s mine!”

  Michael’s smile evaporated. He looked his brother in the eye. “Then prove it.”

  * * * * *

  “‘Stand facing east. Perform the Qabbalistic Cross.’”

  Hayley touched her forehead with the index finger of her right hand. She looked at the book and frowned. “Hmm, says to ‘visualize a sphere of white light at that point, and vibrate: Atah.’ Okay, here goes. Atah.”

  She went through the movements. “‘Lower hand to solar plexus and visualize a line extending down to your feet, and vibrate: Malkuth (the Kingdom).’”

  She shook her head but followed through with the words and gestures the book instructed be used. Several more minutes passed until she reached the part of the ritual she was most interested in. She studied the words carefully, with her mind focused on the book in front of her.

  “‘Extend your arms out to your sides, forming a cross. Vibrate (visualizing the Archangel standing guard). Before me --’”

  “It won’t work.”

  Hayley jumped at the sound of a voice behind her. The book fell to the floor and lay open, but she couldn’t move to retrieve it, or turn around. Her heart thumped hard in her chest. The form of a man reflected in the window, though she couldn’t make out a face. But that voice. It was his voice. How could that be? She hadn’t completed the incantation. “W-Why not?”

  The reflection moved until she couldn’t see the man’s form. When he answered her, he stood behind her. His breath washed warm against her neck. Awareness tingled down her spine at the smell of his skin.

  “Because that angel is not known in Heaven or Hell any longer.”

  She closed her eyes at the sound of the rich timbre in her ear. “Where did he go?”

  Strong hands grasped her waist and pulled her against a body, warm and hard.

  “Why do you wish to know?” His lips caressed her ear through strands of hair.

  She gasped at the tiny shivers of need washing over her skin. She closed her eyes and tilted her neck to give him better access. Fingers dug into her waist, and he pulled her closer until she could feel his hardened cock against the small of her back.

  “Answer me.” His voice was soft, but authoritative.

  Hayley swallowed her fear. The voice said the incantation hadn’t worked, but here he was with his lips on her neck and his dick pressed into her back. She glanced at the book on the floor. The pages flipped gently with the night breeze from the open window. A page caught, and she inhaled sharply at the illustration shown to her -- an angel in the throes of passion with a woman.

  One hand moved away from her waist to circle in front across her abdomen. Her muscles tightened in anticipation. Long, warm fingers eased under her shirt to caress her skin. First her abdomen, then her breast. Fingertips grazed the tip of a nipple.

  Hayley bit her lip, but too late. The moan she tried to stifle escaped.

  “Tell me what I need to know.”

  At that moment, she knew that this was real and not her imagination playing tricks on her. Only Dante would demand she tell him what she wanted. He always craved the words. She smiled and leaned her head against his chest. “I miss him and want to see him again.”

  She rotated her hips against his erection. He groaned, and she laughed. Fingers pinched her nipple, and she cried out in pain and pleasure.

  Yes. That’s what she wanted. The pain and pleasure only Dante could make her feel. Hayley tried to turn in his arms, but he held her fast.

  “Is it just for a good --” He grabbed her hips and ground his pelvis into her backside. “-- fuck that you need him, or do you have other reasons?”

  Hayley breathed hard at his roughness. Her eyes closed at a flood of desire between her legs, while her nostrils flared to take in the musky scent of their arousal. “Oh, I can think of a few more reasons to have him here.”

  Her giggle turned to a screech when she was lifted, then thrown to the sofa. She struggled to sit up, but his weight pushed her down into the cushions, pinning her hands at her sides. When she looked up, her breath caught at the sight of his face. God’s most beautiful angel. “Dante.”

  His mouth took hers and crushed her lips until she opened to him. At the first sign of submission, his tongue invaded to take and conquer. Hayley didn’t fight him. She wanted this. She wanted him. A small mewling sound escaped her throat, and he withdrew.

  “I-I’m sorry, Hayley. I don’t know what came over me.” He swallowed, his breathing ragged, and released her arms. His eyes glowed with passion, but they weren’t iridescent like before.

  She frowned. “Why are you sorry? I want you to love me like that.”

  Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she offered her lips, but he didn’t respond. He had withdrawn into himself. Hayley swallowed her disappointment and leaned her forehead against his. “I missed you.”

  Chocolate eyes burned into hers. “But you still didn’t tell me why.”

  So that’s the problem! Hayley rolled her eyes. “You numbskull. I’ve been trying to show you for the last ten minutes.” She gentled her words
and voice when she felt him retreat. Her arms tightened around his neck, and she pulled him fully on top of her.

  “Dante, I missed you because I love you.” She kissed his nose. “I’ve been trying to live without you for the last several months, and not doing a very good job of it.”

  She sighed and turned her head toward the book on the floor. “I even stooped so low as to try magick to get us together again.” Her eyes lowered. “I was that desperate for you.”

  Could this be true? He looked at the woman in his arms. Her face was averted in what looked like embarrassment. He shook his head, too afraid to believe what she told him. A tear escaped the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek.

  Dante reached out and caught the drop with his forefinger. Light refracted off the tiny sparkle of moisture before he put it to his tongue. He closed his eyes at the taste of Hayley and buried his head in her neck to breathe in her scent -- cinnamon and apples, everything down-to-earth and simple. Everything he had always desired.

  “I love you, too.” His voice sounded muffled against her hair. He raised his head to look into her eyes. The love he saw reflected there caught him off guard. He wanted to believe, but he had to be sure she wanted him and not the power he had once possessed.

  “I have to tell you. I’m not the same.”

  She frowned, and his heart sank. Now she’ll turn away like Lilith and Beatrice. The thought burned like the fires of Hell, but he continued. She’d hear the truth, and nothing else. Then, if she wanted him to leave, so be it.

  “I’m human now. That was the price for having you.” He watched the frown disappear, but she didn’t seem angry. In fact, she smiled. He tried to smile back, but couldn’t be sure he succeeded.

  “I think that’s great.” The smile grew tremulous. “I think that’s wonderful!”

  He kissed her hard. “I do too.”

  Michael watched from outside the window and nodded in approval. Finally! He shook his head, but smiled. He knew happiness for his brother. Samael had always wanted a companion and mate. Now he had both.