by Azure Boone
Troy was in the middle of praying his erection away when he heard her bare footsteps over linoleum. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she grabbed his arm and spun him around.
His air left him all at once at seeing she put a T-shirt on. Until his eyes landed on her nipples through the thin material. He clenched his eyes shut again.
"Cut the virgin act, seriously, surely you've seen breasts before, what with thongs hanging in your bathroom. Don't tell me you're like one of these closet Christian cross dressers. Oh my God, are you?"
Troy popped his eyes open. "Cross dress—wait, what? God, no, of course not!"
She swung the panties before his face, like a demonic pendulum, slender brows raised.
Troy pointed at them while looking at her. "I threw those in the trash three times."
She screwed her face up. "What? These? The ones I'm holding in my hands?"
How was he supposed to explain this? "Look. I know how bad this looks, but you have to believe me, the panties just keep showing up, no matter how many times I throw them out. I know how crazy that sounds, but it's true."
She dropped her arm, eyes narrowed.
He raised his brows and pointed at her neck. "What about my crucifix, huh? Have you ever taken it off? Maybe it's stalking you too? Like those damn panties of yours?" It was a long shot, but something was going on with the panties and his crucifix.
"What do you mean you threw them away three times?"
"I put. Them in the trash. Three times." He sliced the air for emphasis with a firm hand. "I woke up once and they were neatly on the pillow next to mine. I swear, this is really creeping me out, nothing like this has happened, and I worry—"
"Worry?" Devyn held the panties up again. "Why are you acting like they're demonic. They're my panties."
"I'm not saying your panties are demonic Devyn, I'm saying that the fact that they ended up in my pocket and then neatly on my pillow after I put them in the trash is not what I would call holy. Or Godly. I mean whatever is going on here is bad." He scrubbed his face.
Devyn burst out in snickers, covering her mouth.
Troy balked. "What is so funny?"
She shook her head and twirled the panties before him. Troy jerked away and she laughed more, taking a step toward him with the offending red silk. "So, what…" She continued forward, aiming the panties at him until his back hit the wall. "Are you seriously…afraid…of panties?"
"No! Not the panties, but what they stand for."
Devyn's brows shot up. "What they stand for?" She put a hand on her hip. "Do tell preacher. What do these red panties stand for?"
He swallowed at how great this wasn't going for him. "Just…it's not the panties, it's…it's that I'm celibate and they keep showing up and…"
"Sounds like a problem with you Troy, not these panties."
"No, it's not me. I'm a Godly man. I'm not interested in that…Devyn, please back up."
She stopped inches away and placed her hands on either side of the wall next to him. He met her gaze, determined to prove he wasn't like that. Wasn't interested in her looks or…her body or…any other parts of her-her temple. He willed his heart rate to slow the hell down while meeting the sultry look in her eyes. Ignoring the tilt of her seductive grin.
"No, it's not you," she whispered.
"Devyn." His breath stuck in his throat when she leaned forward just enough. Just exactly enough to graze his chest with her breasts. He pressed his hands into the wall behind him, unable to take his eyes from hers now, unable to not feel those two rigid tips against him.
"It's surely not you."
He gasped and clenched his eyes tight again as she pressed her body against him more.
"It's those slutty…" she slid her hands along his sides, "Sinful…" pressed herself into the hard evidence at his groin, "Red…" gripped his hips, "Panties." With her final whisper, she jerked him against her.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, couldn't let this happen, couldn't...
Troy hardened his jaw and opened his eyes. But the mocking look he'd expected to find in her gaze wasn't there. Mockery would've been so much better.
Confusion. Fear. Hope.
Jesus. Troy saw it so clearly. She needed him to want her. She needed to be wanted by something good. Everything she'd known had been bad.
God she was beautiful.
In a flash the need in her face morphed into anger and she stepped away from him. She threw the panties on the floor. "That's right, preacher." She reached up and jerked the crucifix off her neck. "It's the slut part that's all wrong." She threw the necklace at him. "It's me that's all wrong!"
Two steps put him exactly before her, holding her furious gaze, his breath labored. "It's not you," he whispered, reaching up and wiping the tears running down her face. He shook his head a little, his chest tight with the need to make her see. "It's not you."
The pain in her face intensified, trembling in her lips. "It's my life," she wailed, shaking her head. "I'm so ruined."
Troy took her face between his hands. Her eyes closed and fresh tears ran down her face. He leaned and kissed her forehead. "Shhh, I got you." He kissed her cheek softly then. "You're not ruined." Her soft sob warmed his face, fueling the need to make it all better. To erase every trace of pain in her broken life. He glided his lips along her face, tasting her.
Her trembling fingers stroked along his cheek, hesitant…hoping.
Troy slipped his arm around her waist and let his hand slide up her back, slowly, carefully. Her breath came unsteady and when he cradled her head in his hand, she let out a soft whimper.
Like the one from his dream.
The memory sent him to another dimension. He settled his other hand possessively on her lower back just as his lips found hers.
At the first contact, their breaths mingled, hard and erratic. Troy had never felt anything so amazing as her breath in his mouth. Except for her perfect breasts pressing into his chest. His fingers clenched in her hair and he pressed her hard to him, needing to feel all of her. She gasped and he took that moment to taste her, his tongue seeking as his lips pressed hers softly.
Devyn just stood there, letting him. It was suddenly more than meeting her need, it was meeting his. And God did he seem to have a lot. Go slow, go slow, slow down. His hands became dyslexic, sliding up and down her sides, eagerly feeling her shape, confirming the haunting fantasies that had plagued him. She was perfect. Her lips, all giving and submissive under his, were sweet and perfect.
Devyn's fingers slid into the hair at his neck, encouraging with light moans. Her mouth opened more and the feel of her eager tongue fueled his well buried hunger. Her hands slid down his back and ended on his butt, fingers digging into muscle as she stepped into him, causing him to step back until he met the wall. His own hands became desperate, feeling the curve of her butt, pulling her leg up. Getting her closer was all that mattered. Their moans turned hungrier and Troy's heart raced at where this was headed. He held her face, needing to break the kiss. "Devyn." The attempt to get her attention came across as begging for more, especially when his tongue continued to taste all he could reach. But God, she tasted amazing.
"Troy."
Jesus, did she just whimper his name? Was she really stroking his abs under his shirt? If she didn't stop, he wouldn't be able to, he wouldn't care what he did or where. He couldn't let it be that way, not with her, never with her. Every man was fast with her, and he… he cared far too much for her to let that happen. In fact, the realization of just how much he cared startled him. The sudden importance of making sure everything was exactly right felt surreal, as if the rest of his life would be determined by how he handled the next few moments.
He grabbed her hands and held them tight, then broke the kiss. "Stop, please." He reminded himself to be careful.
She searched his face and Troy grabbed it between his hands at seeing the panic taking her.
"Not like this, Devyn, you're too…I'm not…I don't want to do this…not li
ke this."
Confusion marked her brows. "What are you saying-I-I don't understand what that means." Troy held tight at feeling her try to get away. Her anger rose. "Not like this? You're not what? You don't what? Can't you just talk fucking English?"
Troy crushed her in a tight embrace and pressed his mouth to her ear. "You deserve better— roses, romance, love, time. I'm not going anywhere."
"It's really true, he's not." The deep, unfamiliar voice rumbled through the room.
They jumped and turned. "Oh God!" Troy shoved Devyn behind him, eyes darting around for more intruders. "Who the hell are you?"
Chapter Eight
The man sitting casually at the dining table grinned. "That would be who the Heaven."
"Oh Jesus, oh Jesus," Devyn whimpered, gripping Troy's shirt with both hands, peering around him.
In a panic, Troy took in the insanely odd man. Floor length shimmering ruby-red coat, hanging open over naked alabaster skin that nearly glowed, emphasizing the deeply defined musculature of his chest. Red jeans, apparently of the same material as the coat, hung low on narrow hips, not bothering to conceal the thin line of dark hair extending from just below his navel and disappearing under the waistband. Troy lowered his gaze to the white bare feet below the jeans' hem.
Shoulder length onyx hair framed the flawless face. Dark beard stubble emphasized square jaws and high cheekbones. Full lips curved into an innocent grin. A cleft chin combined with the other features to give the man a deceptively boyish look. The relatively benign façade veiled something entirely different; Troy's best friend from High School had that same look after becoming a Special Forces sniper.
Troy finally forced himself to look into the man's odd eyes, like glittering, finely cut stones, rubies. "What… are you?" Definitely not a simple human.
The man reclined in the chair a little, stretching out one long leg, as if he were truly enjoying himself. "An archangel."
Troy's grasp on reality slipped a little more. An archangel in his kitchen was nearly as farfetched as an extraterrestrial or something similar.
"I thought angels had wings?" Devyn's trembling whisper heated Troy's arm.
He didn't blame her for not speaking, who knew what would set this crazy person off on a killing spree?
"Ah, yes. Wings." The man stood and giant scarlet wings materialized behind him, threatening to fill half the room. Each exquisite feather glistened with countless sliver sized gems, cut perfectly. A small movement from the man, and the stones glistened in a magnificent show of refracted light and tinkling chimes.
Devyn squealed her terror, digging nails into Troy's arm. He barely noticed as he plastered them against the wall. It was hardly far enough.
Troy stared, transfixed, as a ruby cross slowly surfaced from beneath his skin until it glowed over his entire torso and radiated unbelievable heat across the room. Belief that the man was what he claimed to be grew right alongside the dread in the pit of Troy’s being. Those wings were no joke, and neither was that crazy heat, which begged the question what on earth was he doing there?
"I'm on the good side." His wings disappeared like a mirage, but the glowing cross on his torso remained. "Name's Kassern."
Troy cringed away from his extended hand, covering Devyn with his entire body. He swallowed back the freight train of fear slowly taking him. "What do you want?" His voice sputtered, barely audible over the erratic pounding of his heart.
The archangel suddenly held up the red panties in one hand and the crucifix in the other, seeming to compare their weight. "Your undivided attention for one, which I think I now have. And complete cooperation would be really nice too."
"Cooperation?" Troy's eyes remained fixed on the conflicting panties and crucifix. No doubt about it, in big trouble.
Kassern brought the items together in his hands, stepped closer and held out the necklace. But the crucifix was no longer gold, it was red. Like the panties. Which were gone.
"Yeah." Kassern dangled the necklace a little. "First thing you need to get through your crazy head, is that those two things belong together."
****
Kassern was more than happy with their little kiss that opened the portal. It was made of just the right stuff to get the job done.
"Mind if I speak bluntly?" Kassern tilted his head at the terrified human and grinned when Troy answered with barely a head shake. "Great." Kassern returned to sitting comfortably in the chair before diving right in.
"There's a little trouble here on Earth that has come to our attention." Kassern resisted a snort at seeing his little preachers eyes fill with guilt. As if his misconceptions about lust would require the undivided attention of the Archangel Brotherhood. "We have thirty days. Well, twenty-eight now."
"F-for what?" Troy asked.
"Devyn, I won't bite, please, you can come out of hiding." Kassern fixed a friendly smile on his normally rigid face. Odd to see the normally fearless woman behaving like a scared child. He hoped he'd made the right choice with her. Too late to change vessels, since he'd already stepped through the portal. He would just have to work with the raw material, that’s all.
What to reveal first? Considering the amount of fear in the room, he worried about propelling them into insanity by giving the wrong info at the wrong time.
"Satan's building an army. A scientist found a sort of loophole in the human genome. A simple way to alter the basic code that makes humans human. Satan has teamed up with the scientist, removed ethical boundaries, and convinced him to create…new beings."
"New beings?" Troy scrubbed a hand over his face in a habitual reaction to stress.
Kassern nodded once, resisting the urge to influence their minds. If he violated their Free Will, the rules that governed the entire system would be broken, and the archangels would be penalized, giving Satan's team a free advantage.
"What kind of beings?" The girl finally spoke.
"Like a rabid animal. But smart. And human-based. Some can pass for human, some can't. Very strong. And very demonic. And we don't know nearly enough about them."
Silence followed as the impact of his words sank in. Kassern smiled at how his couple held hands. Already leaning on each other for comfort. Nice.
"What…are we supposed to do? Why are you here? For prayer?"
Kassern met Troy's terrified gaze. The boy knew he was there for more than prayer.
"I need a human base, from which to operate while in this realm."
Troy's relief was palpable. "Like…my home?"
Kassern agreed to that partial truth with another nod.
"Will…will it be dangerous? These girls don't need more trouble."
Kassern was impressed with Troy's immediate concern for Devyn and her friend. "Trust me. They're safer than they've ever been in their lives. As long as they're here. Where I am." Kassern studied Devyn for a second then leveled his gaze on Troy, seeing he needed more convincing. "The fate of the world depends on the success of this mission. If we fail, Satan will destroy mankind. Within a year." Kassern kept his voice even.
"He-he can do that?" Devyn's voice trembled with fear.
"If we don't stop him, yes."
Kassern watched Troy weigh everything. Watched his faith kick in. "It-it would be an honor…of course. Do what you need. My home, my life…belongs to God."
A slow grin bloomed on Kassern's face as he studied the man-boy before him, admiring the sudden power rippling from his spirit in soft white waves. Faith had never looked quite so beautiful. But he needed them together in this. "Devyn?"
She locked her wide gray gaze on him. "Why does my vote matter?"
Kassern gave a slight shrug. "The man you're standing next to has staked spiritual claims on you. Your agreement is required." Keep it casual, he warned himself, or she might bolt.
She glanced from Troy to him, looking as offended as she was curious. Troy barely looked any different. Except for that little tiny knowing in his spirit.
Kassern grinned. "When a man
like Troy prays for a woman the way he has for you...bonds are formed. It was designed that way."
Devyn's eyes narrowed at that round-about info and Kassern propped an arm on the table, drawing on his angelic patience. She finally looked at Troy, and Kassern stilled at the sudden admiration in her eyes. That's it…trust him. Start building the foundation.
"Troy's the man of God here. What he decides is fine by me. What do I know?"
Kassern wanted to clap. Her words quipped with feigned casualness but fear surrounded her like a cape. Kassern removed it with a wave of his hand, leaving only her caution, a far more useful emotion. Now that he had their agreement, he could use his powers. All that remained was to watch them grow fonder of each other. And once they consummated, the next portal would open. And the biggest part of his job would be accomplished.
Chapter Nine
Devyn lay in the bed beside Karly, listening to her friend's steady breathing. What a day. They'd had nice guys, asshole maniac boyfriends, and a visit by an Archangel. And even though that last one had her in a state of euphoric impossibility, that wasn't what was responsible for the hum in her body. Troy's kiss. My God, he was…so damn hot. For the first time in her adult life, she'd felt real sexual excitement – the kind that made every nerve sing with anticipation.
As she drifted to sleep, her thoughts filled with the sensations Troy had created in her body, and wondering what might have happened if they hadn't been interrupted. What had he said? Something about her deserving romance and flowers and time? Did that mean he wanted to be the one to give her those things? Or was it just a unique way of letting her down gently?
Sometime later, Devyn woke, needing to pee. She fought her way free of the unfamiliar sheets and stumbled to her feet. Where was Karly? Probably starving and went to find food. Devyn's heart jolted when she remembered that stupid rig Karly'd found. What if she'd woken up dying for a fix, and left to find a connection? Fuck.
Devyn hurried to the bathroom before she peed on herself. The light was on. Relief slammed into her as she entered the steamy bathroom. Wow, nice. Real hot water. Karly needed that. It was good she sought to wash some of the poison out of her system when she woke up. Before Devyn could say a word or pull her shorts down, a muffled, strangled noise froze her. It didn't sound like one person.