Angelic Desires

by Stephani Hecht

  Angelic Desires:

  Prequel to Angel Warriors

  Appolion’s Story

  By

  Stephani Hecht

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Angelic Desires: Appolion’s Story

  Copyright ã 2008 Stephani Hecht

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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  Angelic Desires

  “You know, if I didn’t know better, I would say that you’re turning nice.”

  Cadean pivoted and gave her friend, Lilith, a disgusted look. Nice? She had been called many a vicious thing in her immortal life—demon, bounty hunter, harpy, bitch, but none of them stung nearly as much as being called nice. It probably hurt so much because, unlike all the others, it simply wasn’t true. She was a demon, had been for as long as she could remember. She couldn’t recall the days that she’d been an angel. She was a bounty hunter, and a damn good one. The best that Hell had to offer. Harpy? Yep, you could check that one off the list. She had the long raven like wings and clawed fingers to prove it. She would even cop to being a bitch. But, she would never, never, never stoop so low to actually be nice. “Bite me,” she snapped.

  Lilith licked her lips before parting them to reveal a set of pearly white fangs. “You know it’s not nice to tease a succubus.”

  Cadean pointedly ignored her and started to pull her ebony hair back into a tight braid. When she bent over to tuck a dagger in the top of her black boot, a loud pop accompanied a severe stinging sensation on her ass. The harpy let out a yelp of surprise as she spun around and snarled. “What the fuck?” she demanded, still clutching her molested backside.

  Lilith tilted her head to the side, causing one of her golden locks to fall over her bare shoulder. She giggled and bounced on her feet a few times. The movement made her boobs almost pop out of her top. She frowned as she jerked it back up.

  Cadean smiled. Since succubi had wings, too, they always had to wear backless tops, just like harpies. The fact that Lilith’s shirts were always five sizes too small and whore red were all her own choice though. Her friend was in constant danger of being arrested by the Fashion Police.

  Lilith gave her breasts one last plumping to make sure they were in place before returning her attention to the harpy. “That’s the whole problem with you. When is that last time that you had a good fuck?”

  Cadean realized her jaw had dropped open and she clamped it shut as she continued to rub the back of her tight black leather pants. They and the matching corset style top were expensive, handcrafted by the best tailors in Hell. Being one of Lucifer’s best bounty hunters had its perks and great pay was one of them. If Lilith so much as wrinkled them, then she would find out how vengeful a harpy really could be. “Harpies aren’t like succubi,” she reminded, speaking slowly like she was addressing a petulant child. “We aren’t ruled by the need for sex.”

  Bright green eyes with long feline-shaped irises rolled upward. “Every female, be they succubus, harpy or angel needs a good dick from time to time. Frankly, girlie, I think your desperate need for a good hard screw is why you’re getting soft on your hunts.”

  “I’m not going soft,” Cadean hissed. She ruffled her wings in annoyance. Unlike her friend soft leather bat-type wings, her wings were covered in black feathers and a bit smaller in size, just reaching at the top curve of her rump.

  A sly smile played on Lilith’s lips. “We’ll see.” She held out a folded piece of paper. “I have your next assignment here.”

  Cadean snatched the paper from Lilith’s hands and opened it up. Appolion. “Oh shit.”

  Cadean was still muttering curses under her breath one week later as she approached the small human home. Even though she’d been given the name of the human city that he was currently hiding out in, the bastard hadn’t been easy to track down. He was a wily little bugger.

  Appolion was the first angel she ever tracked. Before now, it had always been demons she took down. But then Appolion wasn’t just your average everyday angel. Not very many angels could claim that they’d been raised in Hell.

  She looked around at the rundown street covered in dumpy cars, half-filled garbage cans, graffiti covered walls, and curled her lip up in disgust. It never ceased to amaze her that angels would actually leave Heaven and live on Earth. Really? If Earth and humans are so bad then why do you cling to your Mp3 player, your soap operas and your mystery novels? All those things are human made. Next thing you know, you’ll be fighting side by side with the angel warriors, protecting them. You are getting soft.

  A growl built up in her throat as she pushed the thought to the back burner real fast. Cadean was a harpy and had brought countless demons to justice, enjoyed every minute of it, too. She was not getting soft and now it was time to prove it by bringing Appolion home to his Mommy and Daddy.

  Her dagger drawn, she cautiously approached the house. Cadean kept her steps as light as possible, all the while, waiting for a surprise attack. The last bounty hunter sent to bring in this mission came back in pieces. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake he had in underestimating her prey.

  She frowned at the sight of the front door open and slightly ajar. That was easy…too damn easy. In fact, the beat up brown door seemed to be mocking her. Daring her to enter. Damn it, Appolion knew she was there and the jerk was playing games with her. Lucky for her, and unlucky for him, she loved playing games. Ignoring all the warning bells ringing in her head, Cadean pushed the door open and slipped inside.

  It was dark, really dark. There were no lamps on and he’d covered all the windows with heavy drapes so no sunlight crept in. Leery, she bit back a curse before it escaped her lips. Cadean really hated the dark. She knew there was some bitter irony in a demon being afraid of the dark, but damned if her poor night vision hadn’t been her downfall more than once in the past.

  She deliberately left the door ajar. Some sunlight spilled in as she inched her way into the bastard’s house. Halfway across the living room, a slight movement brushed the air by her cheek. Cadean spun around, but there was nothing there. A second later, the door slammed shut. The house went as dark as a tomb.

  Braced for an attack, she sucked in a breath when another flutter of air brushed by her face. With a blind lunge in the direction it came from, she met with empty space. Then the arrogant jerk laughed at her. It was a slow, deep chuckle, both annoying and, strangely enough, sexual. Wet between her thighs, she bit her bottom lip and shook her head in order to clear it some.

  After a steadying breath, she ordered, “You may as well make this easier on the both of us and surrender now, Appolion.”

  There was another whisper of movement, then she was smacked on the ass for the second time that day. She shrieked in outrage and swung her dagger around. The on
ly thing that accomplished was having the weapon make an impressive whistling sound as it sliced through nothingness.

  An arm shot out from behind her and captured her in a hard grip. His chest crushed her wings as she struggled to escape his hold. Cadean tried to stomp on his feet, but he dodged, almost like he was able to anticipate her moves before she even thought of making them.

  “If you think I’m going anywhere with you, little demon, then you’re fucking crazy,” he rumbled into her ear.

  His lips caressed her ear with each word he spoke and she became aware of how good his muscular body felt tightly pressed against her back. It took every ounce of control she had not to thrust her ass back to feel even more of him. There was a soft tickle at the side of her neck as he leaned in and inhaled.

  “You don’t smell like a demon,” he commented.

  “That’s because I’m a harpy,” she revealed in a shaky voice. Now why did she find it necessary to admit that? She sensed his smile.

  “A harpy. The only demon besides a succubus that stays beautiful. This is my lucky day.”

  His tightened grip brushed his arm up against the bottom of her breasts. She sucked in a breath as her nipples became hard points. Longing pooled in her stomach at the thought of him taking them in his fingers and playing with them. How long had it been since a male touched her there? Too long, way too long. “I’m not here to play games, Appolion. With the bounty I get for your sorry ass, I’ll be able to take a month’s vacation to someplace warm and sandy.”

  His other hand seized her hip, then his fingers splayed out for a nice tight grip right before he jerked her backward. Cadean gasped when her backside slammed into the unmistakable hardness of his cock. Gods, he was freaking huge. Unable to retrain herself, she let her hip undulate in one slow circle, so her body rubbed against his erection even more. Lilith had been right, she did need a good fuck.

  But now was not the time or the place for fun. She was here to bring Appolion in, not ride him like a dollar store pony. With a sigh of regret, she snapped her head back, aiming for his face. His grunt and immediate release said she scored a good hit. As soon as his arms dropped, she lunged forward and ripped down one of the heavy curtains.

  Blessed sunlight filtered into the room and the first thing she spotted was a lamp on a nearby table. It was an ugly thing actually, the base was a hideous brown color and the shade was yellowed. Tacky or not, it served her purposes. She picked it up and swung it around, hitting Appolion square in the head.

  He fell heavily to his knees, his head in between his hands.

  She drew up short, impressed in spite of herself, by the first good view of her prey. Nobody had told her that he was so damn good looking. The biggest misconception humans had about angels were that they had halos and wings. No angel that Cadean knew ever had either of those things. In fact, angels looked just like your average human at first glance. It was only when you looked closer that you realized they were taller, more muscular and looked like a supermodel. Appolion here, filled in all those qualifications in spades.

  He was dressed in a blue uniform, the same one that Cadean had seen human police officers wearing before. The fabric was cut so it showed off all of his hard muscles. She licked her lips at the sight of his strong biceps, remembering how good it they felt wrapped around her. Dark, almost black short hair was styled neat. Well neat, except for the spot he clutched right now. He bled from that area like a stuck pig. She couldn’t help but smile at the site of the injury. After all, she was a harpy and did enjoy it when others felt pain, especially if she was the cause of said pain.

  He raised his head.

  As soon as his gaze locked with hers, satisfaction evaporated. Intense deep eyes gazed into her soul. Her womb tightened in response. This male didn’t just emanate sexual waves, he was a frigging come fuck me tsunami.

  Full sensual lips curled in a wolfish grin. “You break into my house, destroy my curtains and hit me with my favorite lamp? Do you have any clue how rude that is, even for a demon?”

  “Enough with the smart ass comments.” She clutched the fugly lamp even tighter. “I already told you that I’m not here to play games. Your father put a huge bounty on your head and I plan on being the hunter that collects it.” As soon as that little nugget slipped, she knew she made a huge mistake. Full lips pressed tightly together as eyes grew so stormy they almost became black.

  He unleashed a dandy of a cuss word using demon talk. Then every window in the small house started to rattle, then shattered, one by one.

  Cadean yelped, surprised by both the glass and the flurry of emotions Appolion exuded. Before she became a demon, she’d been an empath angel. That is an angel able to sense others emotions. Because of that, she could feel everything he did—the anger, hate and fear.

  Powerful male leg muscles tensed and she knew he was getting ready to attack. She swung the lamp around and hit him again on the side of his head. His eyes rolled back as he crumpled to the ground.

  Cadean dropped the lamp and struggled to compose herself. What the fuck did he just do with the windows? She never witnessed any angel or demon do anything like that in all her immortal life. Her head cocked to the side as suspicion nagged. Why was it that his demon father suddenly wanted his long lost son back so much? From what she knew, Appolion and dear old Dad never shared a close relationship.

  Most of her knowledge about Appolion was speculation and rumor. Cadean knew for sure that his parents had taken him to Hell when they sided with Lucifer in his failed revolt against Heaven. She, herself had just been a child when her own parents had been exiled from Heaven. In fact, she and Appolion had gone to angel school together for a few years before things had, literally, gone south.

  After that, she lost all contact with Appolion and heard through the grapevine things had not gone well for him. According to rumors, Appolion had been abused all through childhood because he refused to turn his back on his angel side. After centuries, when he finally reached adulthood, he was exiled to Earth. Exiled from Hell, and unwanted in Heaven, Appolion had nowhere to call home.

  Cadean knew she should take him right to Hell. The reason why Appolion had a price on his head should be no concern of hers. She just couldn’t do that though. Not because she felt sorry for him. Truth was, curiosity got the better of her. There was something special about him and she was determined to find out what it was.

  If it was what she suspected, then Appolion’s bounty should be twice as much as promised and she intended on collecting every cent of it. It only took her a few minutes to tie him up to one of his kitchen chairs. Once she had him secure, she studied him while she waited for him to wake up.

  He really was one fine piece of male. His hair was a bit longer in the front, so right now it fell into his face a bit. She was still able to make out his high cheekbones and firm jaw line. Cadean was again drawn to the uniform he wore. It was somewhat surprising that, not only was he living on the human’s world, but survived by living as one of them.

  She patted him down for weapons and since, he was unconscious, saw no harm in letting her hands linger at certain areas of his anatomy. Cadean ran her palms over his rock-hard thighs and couldn’t resist leaning in a bit to breathe his scent. Sandalwood, gun oil and earth filled her nose. Frustrated, she whimpered. It wasn’t fair that he was so damn yummy.

  Her gaze traveled to his lips. They were so soft and inviting. What self-respecting harpy could resist such temptation? It had always been a fantasy of hers to have sex with an archangel, but she’d always been too busy with her job to act on it. She was pretty willing to bet that today wasn’t the day that fantasy came true though. Somehow she didn’t think Appolion would agree to a quickie before she took him in. But, one little kiss right now couldn’t hurt. Could it? Licking her lips in anticipation, she crept forward. Just as she was about to make contact, his eyelids fluttered open and blinked several times, like he was trying to clear away the little birdies, then he seemed to focus on her.
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br />   He cocked one brow and gave her an incredulous look. “Oh just my fucking luck. Cadean, it’s you.”

  Appolion would have laughed at the pure irony of this situation, if it didn’t royally suck. He lunged, only to realize the harpy had frigging tied him up. With rope from his own kitchen. The heavy weight on his wrist told him she put an angel harness on him, too. The device made it so he couldn’t flash out and, the only one that can take off an angel harness was the one that placed it there. So she most definitely had him by the short and curlies. Lucky for him, she’d left his best weapon free. His smart-ass mouth.

  “Hey, Caddy-Cat,” he purred with a smile he didn’t feel. He really wanted to tear her head off, then get the hell out of Dodge. There was no way he was going back to Hell. She’d have to destroy him first. She narrowed her eyes and he noticed they were dark green and with a circle of black around the pupil. Very demon like and yet hot.

  “You remember me?” Cadean pursed her lips.

  “How could I forget you? When we were kids in our first year of angel school, you peed your pants one day. If I remember correctly, you filled up your brand new pair boots. What color were they again? Red?” He knew he scored a couple points when she growled and kicked his chair.

  She really looked cute when she was angry. Who was he kidding, she looked damn good, be it angry, happy or whatever. The blackest hair he’d ever seen framed her pale face. Even though she had it pulled back, the tresses still looked so soft and silky he found himself wondering how they would feel spread out over his naked chest.

  Her dark wings should have repulsed him because they marked her as a demon, but on her, they were sexy. Raven feathers matched her—dark and exotic. The leather outfit molded every one of her lush curves, so much that his gaze drifted over them. Appolion stared at her full breasts, down to her slim waist, before ending at her long legs.

  “Stop looking at me like that,” she demanded.

  “Like what?”

  Cadean tilted her chin up. “Like you want to screw me. I’m not a succubus, so I’m not going to fall into your bed just because you look hot and have great eyes.”