He laid her down on the bed. Ripping his clothes off, he crawled over her. He quickly stripped her and sat beside her feet. He massaged them and played with her toes. She had to laugh as he ran his fingers over the arch of her foot. She tried to jerk her foot away, but he held on. He moved up to her calves, stroking and teasing her with his hands and lips. Sighing, she spread her legs as he made his way to her inner thighs. He chuckled when she groaned in frustration as his hands skipped touching her wet curls. He slid them up and licked her belly button. Without any effort, he flipped her onto her stomach and he started massaging her shoulders. He straddled her thighs and she could feel the brush of his balls against her skin. She moaned. He was forgetting the important spots. He laughed and lifted her to her hands and knees. He nudged her knees wider so he could fit between them. She laid her head down on the pillow and sighed when she felt the head of his cock slide over her throbbing clit.
“You’ll like this,” he whispered and he thrust into her from behind.
She arched her back and cried out. One of his hands came down beside her head to support himself as he leaned over her. The other reached under her and spread her dripping lips to find the button he loved to play with. Riding her slowly, he built up the tension until she was begging him to speed up. Shifting his angle, the head of his shaft scraped against her sweet spot with each thrust. He pinched her clit and she came apart. Before she was finished climaxing, he pulled out of her and turned her on her back. Thrusting into her hard, he rushed to bring her another orgasm before he took his pleasure. She exploded again and he saw Heaven. Tears rolled down his face as he shouted out her name.
* * * *
Dominic climbed out of bed and walked over to open one of the doors. Resting his hand against the doorframe, he stared down at the swirling river running through his back yard. A cool breeze blew in. Teresa watched him and couldn’t stand the picture of lonely weariness he made.
She slipped from under the sheet and padded over to him. The single lamp they had left on highlighted the tattoo on his shoulders. A pair of wings spread from his shoulder blades to around his biceps. They were beautiful. She stroked them tenderly. They originated from the two vertical scars she had noticed earlier. Tracing them, she felt Dominic shudder.
“What are the wings for?”
He sighed. “Some would say they represent my supreme arrogance.”
“You’re arrogant, love, but these don’t feel like that to me. They feel sad. They speak about pain and loss. What happened?”
His head still bowed, he spoke quietly. “They serve to remind me of the glorious creature I once was. They also make me remember my fall from grace.”
“How could He take your wings? It’s like pulling the wings off of butterflies.” Her hands slid over both shoulders and followed the marking to enfold him in her arms.
“You’ll have to ask Mika’il. It was his job to take them. At times, I do think it hurt him far more than it did us.” Her hands were clasped around his waist and he covered them with one of his own. “He took them so we would have nothing to mark us as different from the mortals we professed to hate.”
“Why did you do it? Why rebel against the being that created you and loved you?”
“On nights like this when my heart aches, I wonder about it. Maybe it was jealousy. He loved us, but mortals were His true love. He couldn’t stay away from you, even when you turned from Him and began to take Him for granted.”
“Do you remember what Heaven was like?” Her question washed over him. She could feel him trembling. She held him tighter, trying to soothe him with her presence.
“No, I can’t. It’s been too many centuries and too many lives. Heaven is a vague memory. The closest I get now is when I’m making love to you.” Turning, he grabbed her and stared down into her eyes. “In your arms, I get a glimpse of what Heaven is like and I’m content. Being with you makes me happy, but no matter how happy I am with you, there’s always going to be a part of my soul longing for my former home.”
She felt a sense of loss. She had never thought she was greedy, but she wanted all of Dominic—heart, body and soul. She laughed at herself. The most beautiful and caring man in the world was hers and she wasn’t happy because a tiny part of him would always yearn for something she couldn’t give him. Don’t dwell on it, girl. He loves you and he’s with you now. Every time he starts thinking about Heaven, take him there.
“So I can give you a glimpse of Heaven, huh?” She pulled his head down to hers. “Then let’s go there.”
He picked her up and carried her to the bed, devouring her lips as they went. Lowering their bodies, he felt the brush of an approving mind and he smiled.
Mika’il waved the door shut enclosing the lovers in a dark world of their own.
Chapter Seven
Teresa had just stepped from the car when a man bumped into her, spilling dirt down the front of her. She coughed as she breathed in some of it. The man mumbled an apology and ran down the street. She tried to brush it off, but it clung to her clothes.
“Great,” she mumbled. “Now I have to go change my clothes.” She walked through the bookstore and waved at her clerk. “I’m going to change my clothes. I’ll be right back.”
She coughed again as she went upstairs. Grabbing a glass, she poured some water to wash the taste of dirt out of her mouth. She smiled when she thought about telling Dominic what happened. Who would have thought she would get dirt thrown on her in New Orleans where she was more likely to get wet than dirty? As she pulled her shirt off, she got another lungful of dirt.
“Ugh. This is so gross.” She checked the fabric out and figured there was no way to save it, so she threw it out. She grabbed another shirt out of the closet and turned on the TV while she finished cleaning up. She stopped when a special report came on.
“Another gruesome murder took place last night in the city. This is the third in as many days. The police have no leads and no idea how the victims are related. They do believe it is the same killer for all the murders. Police are asking the public to be extra cautious until the perpetrator is caught.”
She shuddered. The thought of a killer stalking the streets of New Orleans made her glad that Dominic was with her most of the time. No one would try anything while he was there. She turned the TV off and headed down to the store. Saying a prayer for the victims, she didn’t realize that her life was in grave danger as well.
* * * *
“Damn, another murder.” Dominic slammed his hand down on his desk. “I can’t take the chance of something happening to Teresa while I take care of it.”
“You’re going to have to do something, friend.” William’s voice came over the phone. “Mika’il isn’t going to be happy that one of his Enforcers is falling down on the job.”
“I know, but Terrance found a charm on Teresa’s doorstep this morning when he dropped her off. My manager, Randy, told me it was a bad luck charm. Vincent isn’t being obvious about what he wants or plans on doing. The charm wasn’t going to do any harm to her. Maybe make her sick or have a run of bad luck, but somehow I think something worse is going to happen. I just don’t know what and I can’t prepare for it.”
“It’s hard realizing that your powers don’t make you all-knowing and you’re just as fallible as these mortals.” William’s voice held an exasperated hint of experience. “I’d like to come and help you out, but I can’t leave Abby right now.”
“Thanks for the offer, but you need to spend some time with your lady. She was a little shaky when I left.”
“I know. If things get bad there, call me. I’ll come anyway.” A voice in the background had William saying, “I’ve got to go. I’m here for you though if you need me.”
“Thanks and tell Abby hi.” He hung up and slumped in his chair. The feeling of impending danger was hanging over him like a cloud, but he didn’t know where it was going to come from and who it was going to hurt. All he did know was that he needed to take care of the fall
en that was turning his city into a killing field.
Randy knocked on the door and came in. He sat down across from Dominic and stared at him. “Maybe you’ll want to come to one of our ceremonies. You need to get a feel for Vodou and what it can do. Unfortunately, you won’t get much information about black magic from the people in the community. We don’t like to talk about it. Superstitious lot that we are we believe if we talk about it, we’ll bring down it down on us.”
“I don’t expect you to give away any secrets, Randy. Maybe Vincent will show up at one of your ceremonies and I can talk to him. That should give me an idea of what he’s got planned.”
“I’ll check with my oungan and make sure it’s okay for you to come. I’ll call you when I find out.”
“Thanks, Randy. It’s great of you to be willing to open your religion up to us.”
“I think a lot of Teresa and you. If showing you my beliefs and religion can help you in any way, I’m willing to do it. Besides, I want to show you that Vodou isn’t all about zombies and black magic. We don’t worship the devil and have orgies.”
“I’ve met the Devil, Randy. He doesn’t need anyone to worship him to make him think he’s important. The creature has an ego bigger than the world,” Dominic muttered distractedly.
Randy looked at him with a strange expression. “You don’t sound like you’re joking.”
He stared at the wall behind Randy for a moment and thought about Lucifer. He shook those dark memories out of his head. “I’m only repeating what I’ve heard said about him.” He laughed.
“Here are the receipts from last night.” Randy was ready to change the subject.
“Thank goodness I have you. At least I know the club will keep running while I’m busy with Delacourte.”
They spent the next couple of hours going over the ordering. By the time he left that night, Dominic was happy to know his club was running smoothly. He drove over to pick up Teresa for a late dinner. When she climbed in the car, he smiled at her. Her smile wasn’t nearly as bright as usual. He leaned over to brush her hair behind her ear.
“Hey, love, are you okay?”
“Just tired, I think. We haven’t gotten a lot of sleep lately.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not complaining, but I was wondering if we could have dinner in tonight and just hang out. I don’t feel like being around other people.” She leaned her head against the headrest and smiled at him.
He felt a fissure of alarm race through him, but he managed to dismiss it. “Sure. I’ll cook us dinner at my place. How does a nice cozy night in sound?”
“Wonderful.” She sighed and closed her eyes.
She fell asleep on the short trip to his townhouse. He parked the car and carried her inside. He made her comfortable on the couch and covered her with a blanket. Putting some jazz on to play softly, he started getting dinner ready. When the table had been set, he went to wake her up. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. She sighed. As her eyes opened, he saw a flash of yellow in them before she blinked and they went back to their usual violet. Instead of the sparkling joy he usually saw in them, they seemed to be dimmer.
“Dinner’s ready, love.” He helped her sit up and they walked arm in arm to the kitchen where he had set a cozy little private dinner table. He served her a portion of the shrimp gumbo he had made and poured her a glass of wine.
He sat watching her push her food around for thirty minutes before he stood up and took her plate. “You’re not hungry, so we might as well put the food away and go in the living room. Do you want to watch TV or a movie?”
She shrugged. “The news should be on about now. I’d like to see if they found any leads on those murders.”
He grimaced. He didn’t want to hear about them. He knew he could stop them, but every instinct he had told him he couldn’t leave her alone or something might happen to her. He sent her to the couch while he put the leftovers away. He entered the room in time to hear the news anchor tell everyone there was nothing new to report. Of course, they didn’t know anything new. The fallen that was doing the killing wouldn’t leave clues for mortals to find. He wanted Dominic to come and end his suffering. He settled on the couch and Teresa snuggled close to him. He wouldn’t worry about it tonight. He wanted Teresa to rest and get better.
His phone rang. He grabbed it. “Yes?”
“Hey, boss. There’s a ceremony happening tomorrow night and the oungan said it was all right for you to come.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He hung up and looked down at Teresa. She hadn’t moved one inch while he was talking to Randy. Sighing, he picked her up and took her to bed. He removed her clothes quietly and pulled the blankets up over her.
He kissed her cheek and whispered, “Sweet dreams, love.”
* * * *
He had been pacing for hours when the voice broke into his thoughts.
Why won’t you help me?
He tried to ignore it. He wasn’t an Enforcer right then, he was a man in love and willing to forsake any promise to keep the woman he loved safe.
How many more must die before you keep your promise? Or have you managed to fool them all these years? Did you never intend to keep your promise when it came down to choosing something important to you? It’s a choice between keeping your promise to God or keeping a mere mortal alive.
Dominic didn’t answer. He knew he wasn’t doing his job. For the first time in the centuries he had lived, he found a conflict developing between his heart and his mind. His mind told him that in the grand scheme of the world, one mortal’s life wasn’t worth allowing a fallen to continue killing. By allowing the fallen to kill, he was in many ways playing God, deciding which mortal was worth saving and which one wasn’t. His heart told him that he had to save Teresa at all costs. Somehow he knew that keeping her alive and with him would save his soul in a way that God’s forgiveness never would.
Trust me this won’t blow over. I’ll keep killing them until you stop me. I want this to all end, Enforcer. I’ve lived too long and done too much. I can’t take it anymore.
I can’t either, but I have a chance to make my life better. Why should I let you ruin it for me?
It was the same selfishness that got us all where we are today, Enforcer. I left you another gift. See how far your conscience can take you.
A door slammed in his mind and he couldn’t find a link to the other fallen. He knew what the police would find tomorrow. He went into the bedroom and slipped into bed with Teresa. He pulled her tight against him and tried to close out his guilty conscience.
* * * *
Danielle joined them at the café the next morning. She didn’t say a word about the newest murder, but he knew she had heard about it. When Teresa went to the bathroom, he turned on her.
“What don’t you say something?”
She shrugged. “It isn’t my place. I can’t yell at you for not getting rid of him when I won’t do it myself.”
“It scares me the way I need her and the way I can overlook every promise I made just because I want to keep her safe.” He shook his head.
“Maybe you are supposed to make a choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Who’s to say what God wants you to do? Mika’il won’t let you in on whatever secrets the Father has given him.”
Teresa returned and they got ready to go. Dominic noticed that she didn’t eat much of her breakfast. He gestured for the food to be boxed and he handed it to her.
“Try to eat it later. You didn’t eat much for dinner either.” He dropped her off at the bookstore. Danielle came in behind them.
“I’ll just hang out here for a while. My business meeting isn’t until this afternoon.”
“Thank you.” Dominic was reassured that someone was watching out for her.
“She’s my friend as well.”
After Dominic left, Teresa smiled at Danielle. “You’re here to t
ake care of me in case Vincent tries anything, right?”
“I’m here to be a friend. I’m not sure what Dominic thinks Vincent will do, but he’s afraid the man will do something to you because you turned him down. See, men like Vincent aren’t used to being turned down like that. Most of the time, they would just give up and move on to the next woman. Yet there seems to be something different about him. Dominic and I both sense there is another spirit living within his body.”
“Like possession?”
“Yes, but not the demon kind. That kind we can handle. It’s the spirit of another mortal and we’ve never dealt with that before. I can’t say for sure that our powers would be able to defeat it.”
“What’s it like being a fallen angel?” Teresa asked as she was putting books away.
Danielle thought about it for a moment. “There are times when I think being a fallen is fine. All the things I can do with my powers and all the centuries I spent learning about the world. Sometimes though when I think about Heaven, I wonder what the hell I was thinking all those centuries ago. I think that most of us rethink our rebellion after a couple of thousand years.”
“What’s the difference between what you do and what Dominic does?”
“He’s an Enforcer. He hunts down the unrepentant who turn against the mortals. I stay out of the fight. I repented, but God chose not to hear me. I decided I wasn’t going to help Him fight the bad guys either. No point in getting myself killed for someone who didn’t care enough about me to forgive me.”
“How do you know He doesn’t love you? He didn’t destroy you, did He?”
“No, He didn’t, but He did take our wings and left us in this world where we would always be different. There are parts of me that still pray to Him and hope He will hear, but most of me knows there’s no way He’s interested in anything a rebellious angel is praying for.”
Teresa decided it was time to change the subject. “Where do you work when you aren’t in New Orleans trying to save people?”
“I work in Chicago as an antiquities consultant. The Field Museum is my biggest client, but I’ve done pretty well for myself.”
Fallen: Dominic Page 8