"I'm listening, Poppy. Tell me everything you saw."
“It was some sort of party in a gallery. You were there, but humans couldn’t see you. It looked like you were watching over someone. A human woman, and she could see you.”
My body leans towards his and only now I feel a little self-conscious that I'm standing in front of him only in my underwear, aware of my own pumping arousal.
He parts his lips and moves even closer, leaning like he wants to kiss me. "Tell me, in detail, what you saw," he presses in a husky whisper.
I bite my lip and find courage in me to keep talking. "You were staring at her so intensely that it was clear to me that you had feelings for her. Then another human male came and kissed her. Monique, that was her name. She went upstairs with him and you followed. They locked the door to the room, but after some time that man left looking angry. You were there, outside, and she asked you to go in."
“What else happened?" he asks with tension in his voice. He smells like darkness and rain and I want to run my finger over his lips. In that short moment I don’t know what is going on inside his head. He can’t think that I’m hiding something from him.
"After you went in you told her that she belongs to you and no one should touch her. You spread your wings and made violent love to her. It was passionate and very graphic."
Silence is a killer sometimes, and I can feel her stabbing us both with a sudden dose of heat. Dimitrious hardens his eyes on me, probably trying to read if I'm telling the truth.
"Do you think that I was in love with that daughter of men? Do you really believe it, Poppy?"
My skin feels hot, but his question surprises me. I don’t really know how to answer him. Dimitrious is a Watcher, a man with a soul but with the heart of an angel. In my vision or memory, whatever this was, he behaved like a man who was crazy about this woman.
"Yes, I do. It was genuine and you looked happy. The sex was passionate and steamy.”
"Get dressed and we will talk in your living room," he adds and leaves the room. I stand there for a few seconds, wondering—what the hell was that? A moment ago he was furious with me. It’s so difficult to predict how he is going to behave.
I put some jeans and a T-shirt over my gorgeous body and come out.
Dimitrious is sitting on a chair, not looking at me at all. After some time he starts asking me questions about the sword. He doesn’t mention Monique but asks about the location of the penthouse. Then our conversation moves to Samuel. He wants to know how he behaved and if he had any other unusual things in his luxurious apartment.
He tells me to keep going, to make sure that Samuel keeps pursuing me. In time he will be in love and then Dimitrious will be happy to end his life. I keep thinking about the sword, wondering if it belongs to him. Maybe Samuel also knows about his past.
In the end he says something that shocks me, something that I wasn’t expecting.
“Poppy, in your past life you must have been touched by an archangel; that’s why you can see my past. I don’t get it how is this possible. Your soul is just … so tainted and spoiled.”
“Touched by an archangel? What are you talking about, Dimitrious?” I ask with confusion.
“Sometimes humans are born with a pure soul. It’s a gift from the Divine One. Later in life, if the same human continues to be good, an archangel is sent to mark the human. This couldn’t have happened to you, yet you’re showing me my own lost past.”
“But—”
“It doesn’t matter now. This way you’re more valuable to me. We don’t have time to speculate about what’s happened.”
I want to ask him a few more questions, but he just leaves without offering any other explanations. He must wrong. I would have known if I'd seen an archangel before. I never remembering being good to anyone. I learned how to lie and take care of myself from a very early age. #
I hate that Dimitrious thinks that I don’t get anything. To him I’m just another human who can show him his lost past.
I go to bed angry and fall asleep straight away, dreaming about wings and flying. In the morning I wake up with a headache, thinking about the night before. Dimitrious was so wrong. This vision about his past must have just come to me. I’m sure it won’t happen again.
I have a quick shower and wonder if Samuel will call me today.
Apart from upping my seduction game, I need to find something to do. I have studied marketing in the past, but I always enjoyed reading. It looks like it’s going to be my day off today. Rhonda didn’t say anything about my schedule, so I guess I'm free to do what I want.
For the first time since meeting Dimitrious, I feel relaxed, and spend my day staring at baby clothes and drinking coffee. Later on I get back home and eat a late lunch. My phone is dead. Rhonda doesn’t call, which means that she had a short report from her beloved Dimitrious. I shout at the woman in the dry cleaner to feel better about myself. She ruined my Chanel T-shirt. In the evening I sit down in front of the TV, waiting for the phone call from Samuel. In the end I go to bed knowing that he didn’t call and have trouble falling asleep, because I know that if he doesn’t, this is going to be the end for me.
Eleven
Samuel made me sweat a little bit. He called after three days, asking me out again. During those three long days, I was a nervous wreck. Rhonda was also on my case, calling every day and asking if I'd had a phone call from Dimitrious. She had to let me know that he wasn’t particularly happy with the way things had gone on my first real date with a Fallen.
The phone rings on Wednesday and I’m so relieved when I see his name on the screen. Our date had gone amazingly well, apart from that one small incident with the cleaner. He had eventually let it go and couldn’t wait to see me again. I tell him straight that I'm not one of those women that he is used to. That seems to do the trick.
After I hang up I make a phone call to Rhonda, wiping the sweat from my forehead. This girl is really stressing me out.
"He called and invited me out again," I say confidently, trying to sound like I knew that this would happen.
"Well done, my bitchy friend. At least you're not useless and you can keep living," she chuckles. I want to strangle her, but maybe I’ll get lucky and she will die in a car accident or something like that. It’s good that she can’t hear my thoughts now, or she would probably punch me.
"Just make sure that Dimitrious knows," I say.
“Don't worry, he’ll know; just don’t fuck it up."
Then she hangs up and I sit back, feeling like there is a lot to consider. Samuel likes me, but he needs to fall in love with me in order for this to work. I decide to have an early night, feeling that I have to look my best tomorrow. This time I have to play a perfect date, a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. He thinks that it’s a game, that he will fuck me and that will be it, but I need to make sure that I stick to the plan and act as best I can.
***
“Hello, Gorgeous Red. How are you this fine morning?’ Samuel asks as I slip into to his car.
“Good, how about you?”
“Better now that you’re here. Maybe we should just go upstairs and make love all day long.”
“I might go back upstairs alone if you don’t stop talking nonsense," I mutter as he places a kiss on my cheek and gives my hand a squeeze, laughing from what I said. In the bright morning light he looks handsome, wearing a black coat. His dark eyes move down my tight dress. I just can’t help myself, using my body to tease him. I swallowed the black pill right before his car pulled up in front of my house to make sure that Samuel can’t sense my false emotions.
“Don't, because I’ve prepared a day of fun especially for you. A shopping trip around London should lighten up your mood a little," he adds with a cheeky smile, putting his foot down and driving off.
"Shopping? You're taking a girl like me shopping?" I ask in disbelief, deep down praying that he is for real.
"You like designer marks and I w
ant to treat you. Our date has to be more special than the last one. This is just the way I roll, Gorgeous Red."
I want to scream with joy. I feel like this afternoon my life is back and I will be treated like I should. Indeed, Samuel parks his flashy car outside the hotel and we both go out into the high street, filled with all the designer shops. My heart pounds in my chest when he insists on paying for everything. Dimitrious hasn’t said anything about not accepting any presents. We visit Gucci, Armani, Chanel and many other shops. By the end of that day I can’t keep my excitement shielded, trying to pretend that he doesn’t need to buy me anything. In the very beginning I told him that his idea is ridiculous, that I feel bad accepting such expensive presents from him.
“Other women would appreciate presents like that, Poppy, so stop arguing and try this dress."
When I do, he can’t take his eyes off me. Sometimes he looks at me for a very long time, probably trying to guess what I’m thinking, but I remember what Dimitrious told me. After a moment his hard expression shifts and his eyes sparkle with lust. The black sparkly dress exposes my small breasts and gives me the sort of curves I need.
"Exquisite. You look beautiful, Gorgeous Red," he says, moving into the changing room and kissing my collarbone. The arousal swirls back to me, but I can handle it this time. His moist lips travel down my arms, and goose pimples are popping out all over my skin. I close my eyes, enjoying the surge of heat that crawls between my breasts and down to my core.
His hands are on my waist and he moves himself around me like a graceful cat. My mind spins out of control and my instincts tell me to take this slow. I do find him attractive, but after seeing what the other Fallen did, I try hard to act like I want him to continue.
"You smell divine. Let’s quit the shopping and go back to my apartment."
I push him away playfully but firmly, taking a step back.
"I'm not sleeping with you just because you bought me stuff, forget it," I snap, narrowing my eyes.
His eyes flicker with mischief and he backs off a little. "Poppy, I'm not playing any games. I'm a wealthy man, so get used to luxuries. Women sleep me with because they want to, not because I bribe them to do it."
"Good, because you need to know that I'm not that kind of girl," I tell him with a smile and then push him out of the changing room. After that, Samuel takes me out for lunch to a great seafood restaurant. I'm in heaven, and my mind wanders off to all the beautiful things that my own personal Fallen got me. Clearly he is with me because I'm intelligent, proud and have good style. Now I just have to steal his heart.
In a couple of weeks, going out to posh restaurants and driving around in stunning cars will come to an end, because Dimitrious will snatch him away from me. Any other person in my position probably would feel like a whore sleeping with a man, but I'm surviving, and sex will just be part of the job. My life depends on how well I perform, and so far Rhonda has been right. Samuel wants me because I rejected him.
Later on, we have another lavish meal with a couple of cocktails. When I drink I often change into a sweet person that loses her head for any guy that gives her attention. The food is mouthwatering, and Samuel covers me with compliments. We spend the afternoon together. Then he has to go back to work, and I pretend that I have a few reports to write. Obviously I'm a working-class woman and work is very important to me.
Over the next few days I see Samuel more and more. Our dates are getting hot and steamy. Samuel wants me. He keeps saying that I'm different than others, that I understand him much better than anyone else ever has. He seems lonely and I realize that the life of a Fallen isn’t as extraordinary as I thought it would be. He doesn’t seem dangerous, but sometimes I notice that red burning rage in his eyes and then I remind myself that I have to be careful. We are both playing his seduction game. He keeps inviting me out for the cinema, drinks and more extraordinary food. He is spoiling me. So far we have only had a few dates, but I gradually start to believe that he is serious about me.
Two weeks after our meeting in the restaurant, it’s Saturday night. Samuel is picking me up and we are heading to his penthouse in Brighton again. It looks like he is slowly falling for me. I’m irresistible.
He plays the kind of human that other women would love to have, but my emotions are false, and there is something about him that holds me back. In real life I would stay as far away as I could. Deep down he scares me, and I have to remember the black pill every time I'm near him.
"Ready for another helicopter ride?" he asks after stealing a long, deep kiss from me.
"Of course. My day wouldn't be as exciting without your sexy machine," I chuckle, running my hand through my hair.
“Tomorrow night, I’m going to have a few friends over. Neither of us has any family in London. I thought it would be nice if you met my friends.”
“Can't wait," I mutter, moving my hand over his thigh. “Unfortunately I don’t have many friends.”
"What about the girl that you were sitting with in the restaurant?"
"Not worth your time. She’s very immature."
He looks a little surprised and our conversation dies down a little after that.
The penthouse is a little cold when we get there, so Samuel puts the heating on. We have a delicious dinner in the evening and talk about his work and the friends that will come over tomorrow. I’m confident enough to charm anyone the same way I charmed him. Meeting his friends for the first time shouldn’t be a problem.
After dinner we settle on the sofa with a glass of wine. Our conversation flows, time passes, and I’m slowly getting used to the alcohol. I think this way I can forget that I have to have sex with him. I used to get drunk when I had to sleep with Curtis or Edward. It was much easier that way.
Samuel stares at me for a long time, not saying a word. My thoughts trail back to Dimitrious and the way he was looking at me in my bedroom. He is a man after all, and I don’t believe that he doesn’t feel anything. When I put the glass on the table I know that Samuel is going to suggest something very sexual, or he will ask me something very personal. I have seen this look before and I’m drunk enough to go through with my task.
“I have to apologise, Poppy, but I'm tired of waiting," he says, finishing his wine.
I frown at him. "Waiting for what?"
"No offence, but I have to fuck you tonight," he growls and then kisses me so gently that I melt under his touch. My libido skyrockets up to the roof, and my mind tells me that my game is over. Samuel pushes me so we are both spread on his elegant sofa and moves on top of me, caressing the skin on my thighs. I respond with my tongue, tasting him slowly. For a moment we kiss, devouring each other’s mouths until I gasp for breath.
"Poppy, you drive me crazy. I don’t know, I've never felt this connection to anyone else,” he growls, stopping and staring deeply into my eyes like he wants to know what I’m thinking. I remembered to take the pill, so he won’t know what is going on inside my head.
After a moment of romantic gazing into each other’s eyes, it’s all about the business. Samuel gets up and takes off his jacket, loosening up the buttons in his shirt.
I smile, unzipping my dress. Yeah, maybe this whole thing is going too fast and I need to pin him down emotionally first.
It’s too late to overthink this. I have a job to do. Sex will only last for a moment. My life is more important than my dignity.
Samuel’s hungry hands are on my breasts, pinching my nipples and sending heat waves through my core. I moan, pressing my mouth to his as he fights with the rest of my dress. The desire is so strong and fulfilling, and his abilities are helping me feel aroused.
Soon he has me pinned down underneath him. His lips are down on my thighs, moving slowly to the edge of my mound. I take a sharp breath, trembling with emotion when he starts running his tongue over my sex, his movements slow and controlled. I cry out with pleasure, enjoying the sensations. His lips are moist and I suck in a breath as the burning between my legs intensifies. I'm
lost, sweating and panting as he stops and starts stripping me down naked. This whole act looks like the one from weeks ago, when I screwed up. This angel is stronger and I can’t say no. His touch feels unbelievable and I moan when he finally enters me.
I close my eyes, remembering John, imagining that I’m making love to him, not some mythological creature. He moves on top of me for a long time, pulling my knees up to penetrate me deeper.
"Mine and beautiful. Are you enjoying this moment, Poppy?" he asks in a raspy voice.
I don’t remember if I answered him. My words come out, but I don’t recognise myself speaking.
The orgasmic pleasure hits me and I think I'm levitating over the bed. My heart pounds a hundred miles an hour and his hands are moving over my body, his hips pressing harder into mine.
My screams and his voice echo in my head; then we drop back on the bed and I close my eyes.
I am feeling oddly calm and relaxed when a startling noise makes me open my eyes. It takes me a long moment to remember where I am. Samuel is lying next to me, breathing deep but slow. It looks like he is deeply asleep. I lie there for a long moment staring at the ceiling, remembering everything from several hours ago. I hear the noise again so I sit on the bed and for sure I know that there is someone in the living room.
My gut feeling tells me to go and check it by myself, before waking Samuel up, but I’m too scared to move. I stay in bed for a little longer, thinking about last night. I let myself go, he took control over the situation, and alcohol dizzied me out enough so I didn’t feel worthless.
I don’t want to think what will happen to me if Samuel disappears all of a sudden. This is not an option. I have done enough to keep him close.
Curiosity wins and I get up, placing my bare feet on the floor. I shiver with cold, stepping over to reach for his robe that’s lying on the chair. This is absurd. I shouldn’t be going to the living room, but I want to know who is out there.
Sacred Desires (Samuel #1) Page 9