by Lisa Olsen
“Will the sun rise in the morning?” she asked gravely, as though there might be more than one answer to the question.
“Uh yeah, of course it will. You can get up early and watch if you want to.”
“Mummy says you mustn’t stare into the sun, it will burn you up if you’re not careful,” she nodded earnestly.
“That’s probably good advice,” I nodded back, nudging her towards the door. “Don’t stare at anything bright for too long, it’ll hurt your eyes. And you could probably stand to use some sunscreen too.” Her skin was much paler than mine, as though she hadn’t set foot under the sun for years and years, and she probably hadn’t.
“Come on, ladies, up the stairs, here we go.” Adam herded us up to my apartment on the third floor, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow as if he expected an attack at any time, but Nelo didn’t act like he found anything strange lurking in wait. “Hold up a sec…” He paused outside the door, approaching it very, very slowly, a finger to his lips.
“What is it? Is someone inside?” I whispered, placing myself between Oriana and the door. For the moment she was our biggest bargaining chip and I wasn’t prepared to let go of her without a fight.
Before Adam could reply, the door was snatched open by Sam, a thunderous look on his face. “There you are!”
“Mercy’s here?” Daphne rushed out to pull me into a hug. “Oh, thank God, we thought we were going to have to mount a rescue!”
“I’m fine, we’re all fine,” I choked out under her overenthusiastic greeting, while Adam did his best to move the reunion out of the hallway.
“Come on, let’s take this party inside.”
“A party, how lovely,” Oriana beamed, smoothing her long hair back as she followed us in. Parker and Matty rose to greet us, and I couldn’t meet Parker’s eyes after the way I’d left him.
“Told you she’d make it back okay,” Matty grinned. “Who’s this?”
“This… is Oriana,” I waved in her direction, deciding to let them introduce themselves. Suddenly, I was bone tired and the couch looked awfully comfy.
“No shit? You broke her out too? Wait, where’s Ben?” Matt’s brow crumpled in confusion, but I didn’t have the heart to get into it yet.
“Adam, can you fill in the troops?” I gave him a wan smile, and he launched into a brief account of the trip while I rested with my eyes closed. That was, until I felt someone sit beside me.
“Are you okay, Merce? You look… different.”
I opened my eyes at the concern in Parker’s voice, though I still felt guilty looking at him. “I’m fine. It took a lot out of me, that’s all.” Taking a deep breath, I launched into an apology. “Look, about earlier…”
“I get it,” Parker shook his head. “I still think you should have taken my help, but I get the whole protective thing. That’s why it drove me so crazy to find you gone like that. Do you know what it’s like to wake up and find someone you care about making a crazy move that could end up getting her killed, and there’s nothing you can do about it?”
“It’s all too familiar,” Adam smirked. Sitting on the other side of me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “You must be the infamous Parker,” he offered a hand.
“And you must be the infamous Adam,” Parker matched the tilt of his smile, shaking his hand, and I remembered that most of them hadn’t met Adam before either.
“I’m sorry, guys, I forgot to mention, this is Adam. Adam, that’s Matty, Parker and Daphne.”
“I know, I’ve been around, remember?” he reminded me he probably knew more about my friends and family than I did, with his ability to skulk about. Daphne gave him a shy smile, and Adam appeared vaguely amused to see her take her place at Sam’s side, picking up his hand by habit. Sam caught sight of Adam’s knowing look and proceeded to look everywhere else but at Adam after that. Matty barely gave Adam a second glance, much more interested in Oriana. He followed her to the rear sliding door to watch her breathe on the cool glass and trace patterns in the steam. Parker rose from the couch, pacing slowly once Adam pulled me to relax against his warmth.
Adam picked up the thread once the introductions were over. “We made it back from Midian with an unexpected guest. But we’ve been thinking this is the break we need to get Ben out of there.”
“We need to keep her under wraps until we figure out how best to handle it,” I nodded. “Sam, I thought maybe you could keep her at your place? Raum doesn’t know where you live, and you’re strong enough to look out for her.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Daphne nodded for him, “There’s more room there than here or at my place, and they won’t know where to start looking for her.”
“I’ll come too,” Matty volunteered by Oriana’s side, and she flashed him a radiant smile.
“My champion,” she beamed. “Will we have cakes and tea?”
“Ah, sure, cakes and tea sounds cool,” he replied with a bewildered smile. “Only we call it donuts and coffee here. I happen to be a connoisseur of donuts, as a matter of fact.”
“Sam, does that sound like a plan?” I asked again, not wanting him to get steamrolled into doing something he didn’t want to.
“No harm shall come to her in my care,” he agreed with a wary eye on the witch, and I could tell he wasn’t a hundred percent on board with the plan. But I also knew I could take him at his word, he’d do his best to keep her safe, she was too valuable to lose.
“I hate to meet you all and show you the door, but it’s been a long night for us, and Mercy needs her rest,” Adam said with a note of finality.
Parker’s eyes swept over my face as he rose, something unreadable in his expression. “I’ll see you at work.” I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I knew something was up with him. I was too tired to try and figure it out that night, so I let him go without another word. The others shambled out after him, even Nelo went to rest in his closet, and finally we were all alone.
I felt Adam’s arms wrap around me from behind, and I closed my eyes, resting against his solid chest, trusting him to keep me upright as I leaned on his strength. “You’re the one who’s been trapped in a demon realm. Are you really alright?”
“It looks like I should be asking you that, you look wiped out.” Adam spun me around to get a better look.
“That’s not exactly what a girl dreams of hearing,” I pouted, remembering Parker’s words as well. “Do you think I look different?” I wondered if it had anything to do with Raziel’s Grace. At the time it had given me such a rush of power, but I felt drained.
“I think you look beautiful,” he smiled, brushing the hair away from my forehead. “God, I missed you.” Adam leaned down to kiss me tenderly, almost reverently.
“You said that before,” I murmured, between kisses.
“I meant it.”
“I missed you too.”
“I missed you more.”
“How do you know that’s possible?” I smiled against his lips as I felt him walking me back towards my bedroom.
“More time went by for me, remember?”
“Oh right, I guess you did miss me more. How much time did go by for you, Adam?” What had he endured? How many times had Raum fed from him? Or worse? A wave of sadness washed over me, bringing the sting of tears to my eyes, even though he stood there whole and healthy in my arms.
“Shh, it doesn’t matter now,” he frowned, catching a tear with the edge of his thumb. “All that matters is we’re together and we’ll never be apart again.”
“Do you really believe that?” It seemed almost too much to hope for. We’d spent far more time apart than together.
“I told you, Mercy. No man will ever love you more than I do. I wouldn’t have left you in the first place if I wasn’t trying to keep you safe. Now that we’re both here, I won’t let anything come between us again. I’ve already done my time in hell, even I deserve a little happiness now, don’t I?”
Instead of his usual smirk, I saw a trac
e of vulnerability there, as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe the words, even though he’d spoken them.
“Yes. Yes, I do think you deserve happiness. We both do. Whatever prophecy comes our way, whatever His plan is,” my eyes rose skyward for a moment, “we can handle it, as long as we’re together.”
“Good. ‘Cause I think I’d like to spend the next week in bed.” To illustrate his point, he scooped me up and deposited me on the bed, immediately covering my body with his.
“Wait, what about Nelo?” I pulled my lips from his, realizing the bedroom door stood wide open. I wasn’t sure if the little guy had disappeared for the night or if he might come wandering out at any moment.
“He’s fine.”
“Yeah, but… the door,” I nodded, refusing to let his hands get any further until he guaranteed at least a modicum of privacy.
“Fine.” Adam rolled off of me, not only shutting the door, but locking it before kicking off his shoes and rejoining me on the bed. “You know, in my dreams you’re wearing way less clothes by this point.” To rectify that, his fingers were already busy working on removing the outer layer of my clothes.
“I guess that’s the difference between dreams and reality. In my dreams you never left in the first place. If you stop and think about it, all we’ve had is dreams. We’ve never actually been together in the real world.” The Ether wasn’t the same, was it?
“Then we’ll have to make this count, this being our first time and all.” His eyes flashed playfully, sending a thrill of anticipation through me.
Had I said I felt tired? Any fatigue faded away as his mouth descended over mine, my body reacting instantly to his touch. Absently, I longed for the Ether, where I could will away his clothes with a single thought. But the slow revelation of his skin had its own delights, providing a languid exploration that let the tension build between us as our Grace started to glow faintly.
One memory persisted as he kissed me hungrily, forcing its way into the forefront of my thoughts. “What was that you said before about not falling for it this time, when I showed up in Midian? Are you talking about a dream you had, or did Raum send you a copy of me?”
“Do you really want to talk about that right now?” he murmured, hands busy.
“Well…a little.” Though it got harder and harder to remember the question when he touched me like that.
“There’s nothing to worry about. I saw right through it, but that’s why I was extra wary when you showed up. That’s all.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but decided jealousy had no place in a room where he devoted so much attention to my needs. I quickly learned that Adam wanting to “make this count” meant to drive me insane with pleasure. With knowing hands that kept a single coherent thought from forming until I was a ball of need, he literally made me a slave to his attentions, incapable of doing more than gasping for air, my body clamoring for more. Just when I thought I couldn’t stand it any longer, he repeated the same lazy exploration, that time with his mouth, and I came apart in his arms, his name on my lips in a hoarse cry of delight as he showed me what I’d been missing.
When I could open my eyes again, I found him watching me intently, inordinately pleased with himself. “My turn,” I smiled back, determined to wipe that smirk off his face and give him just as much pleasure as he’d given me. Pushing at his shoulders, I straddled him, hair spilling over my shoulders like a dark cloud. Adam’s hands immediately went to my hips, attempting to guide me where he wanted me the most, but I resisted. “Ah, ah, ah… none of that.” Pulling his hands away by the wrists, I pinned them over his head, fully aware that he was strong enough to resist me at any moment. “I told you, it’s my turn.”
“By all means,” he nodded earnestly, resting his hands behind his head to wait and see what I would do next.
I shifted a little lower, taking a moment to look my fill of his magnificent body. Mine… echoed through my mind. A little possessive growl left my throat as I laid worship to him with my hands and mouth, every moan of pleasure I wrung from him sending a thrill straight to my core. Everything about him was hard and velvety smooth, but softly yielding to the touch. Weeks of pent up longing lent an urgency to my movements, I wanted to touch him everywhere at once.
“You’re killing me,” he bit out through clenched teeth, fingers tangling in my hair.
“You can dish it out, but you can’t take it, huh?” I smiled against his skin, letting him catch his breath. In a heartbeat our positions were reversed, with Adam looming over me. “I’ll be the one doing the taking,” he growled as my legs parted to accept him, wrapping around him lithely. “Wait… wait, wait, wait…” He went rigid, and my eyes clouded with worry.
“You don’t want to…?”
“No, I do, it’s just… we’re in the real world now, we have to be careful.”
“Oh, right.” I don’t know what I was thinking, usually I’m a safety first kind of girl. I guess the answer was, I didn’t think in general when it came to Adam, and I was glad he had the presence of mind to slow things down, especially given his stance on unwanted pregnancy. “Top drawer, on the left.”
In the space of a few heartbeats, he was back, and it was like we’d never been apart. Gone was the playful teasing, his face intent as he covered my body with his. “Missed you,” he murmured into my hair, taking me in one swift movement that stole the breath from my body.
“Missed you so much,” I whispered back, nails digging little crescent moons into the strong planes of his back as he rocked us higher and higher. My body already ultra-sensitive, it didn’t take long before I hit that elusive peak, my cries of satisfaction mingling with his as the Grace flared in recognition, flooding my body with white hot pleasure as our souls touched.
Adam rolled over with a groan, and I tumbled after him, collapsing against his chest as I fought to regain my breath. For long moments we lay there, nothing but the beat of our hearts and the gentle fall of rain outside penetrating the sweet haze of contentment.
“This…” Adam pressed a kiss to my shoulder, “this is what I missed the most.”
“So, you just love me for my body then?” I teased, fingers tracing invisible patterns over his skin.
“No, I mean this, being with you, being home like this with you, knowing you’re mine, this feeling of… peace. Actually, I take that back. We’ve never done this in the world before, just in the Ether. I think on some level I knew that. This is much better.”
“I have to say I agree, having you in my actual bed definitely doesn’t suck,” I sighed happily, snuggling deeper into his side. “I started to think I’d never get you here.”
“That’s being dramatic, don’t you think? You knew my plan was for us to be together eventually.”
“A year apart is cause for a little bit of drama.”
“I forget sometimes you’ve only lived for like a quarter of a century. Live a little longer, it falls into perspective. Besides, I was already through what, three quarters of the sentence? You could have left well enough alone and I would have been back to you before you knew it.”
I knew time moved differently in Midian, but I couldn’t help but sit up at that. “You mean you were there for months and months already?”
“I told you it wasn’t that big of a deal, but you didn’t listen.”
“Then… Raziel made that arrangement for nothing… he’s there for another year and a day, isn’t he? Not just the rest of your sentence?” Not that I’d wanted Adam to be stuck down there at all, but… if we’d waited a couple more weeks he might have gotten out without Raziel’s sacrifice.
“Yeah well, I didn’t ask you to come and bust me out, did I? In fact, I seem to remember saying the complete opposite of that.”
“Poor Raziel…” Talk about a buzzkill…
Adam sat up against the headboard, watching me intently. “Tell me the truth, do you have a thing for Raziel?”
“What? No,” I scoffed. “I told you, he came
down to help me break you out. There’s absolutely nothing going on between us.”
“What about you and Parker?”
“Are you always like this?” I’d known he was a little possessive, but where was this coming from? I knew Parker had a harmless crush on me, but he couldn’t possibly know about that. Besides, it had nothing to do with my feelings for Adam.
“It’s okay. I told you I’d understand if you didn’t think you could wait for me, I just said I’d fight for you once I got back.”
“Those demons must have leached out part of your brains with their torture. Did they drop you on your head? I love you, genius. Why do you think I came to Midian in the first place, to get you out.”
“So… I don’t need to have a little man to man with your boss?”
Oh God, that was all I needed. “No, you really don’t. I’m not saying he’s not a little dazzled by the Grace, you know how that affects people, but Parker knows how much I love you. And besides, he’s into the witch who’s gonna help us get Azazael out of Ben and bound away where he won’t hurt anyone else ever again.”
“About that, are you sure you can trust those witches?”
“Of course,” I responded automatically, until I started to wonder what concerned him in the first place. “Why wouldn’t we be able to?”
“They’re helping you out of the kindness of their hearts?” His tone spoke volumes, and I couldn’t help but frown.
“Why not? Putting Azazael away is for the common good.”
“It’s just that witches tend to have their own agenda and it’s usually contrary to what the heavenly host has in mind. But, seeing as how our own agenda is a little skewed from the Big Guy’s plan, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, it’s probably fine,” he kissed the back of my hand before pulling me near again.
I let myself be tugged closer, laying my head against his chest, but instead of drifting off to sleep, I couldn’t help but wonder. Did they have their own agenda? We hadn’t discussed anything by way of payment. I suppose I’d thought the idea of binding a dangerous fallen angel was reason enough for them to help, but was I being naïve? Adam was right, not everyone else was altruistic. In fact, most people weren’t. I drifted off thinking about witches and demons, resolving to find Luz for a little heart to heart before work the next day.