Crushed Seraphim (20 page)

Jack took the cigarette from her and held it in his fingers. He took a drag and blew the smoke in his well-practiced way. It formed a heart-shaped ring. He grabbed a handful of her hair and kissed her solidly, his hands no longer shaking. He held tightly and moved her head to one side, then the other, as he tasted her mouth. She moaned and gave up caring where she was, who she was pledged to.

This man, his touch, his sex — Emma wanted it all.

The Devil was, of course, an expert at knowing when a woman would submit to him. The way Emma was breathing, the intense look in her eyes — he could have her, and God, he wanted her. He looked away for a moment to give his conscience time to catch up, but it didn’t move as fast as his lust.

“Pretty child, brace yourself.” He had to warn her, give her a chance to come to her senses. She didn’t. Her eyes met his and smoldered.

He pivoted and pushed her against the cold, white wall. He heard a little growl of pleasure in the back of her throat and tossed his cigarette into the corner of the room. She could easily fight him off now. She was so strong.

But she just waited with her new green eyes anticipating his next move.

His hands went everywhere. Just when he was feeling one delicious part of her yet another called to him. She bit his neck, just a little, but he had to stop himself and hold still. Her naughtiness made everything in him fire up. If he didn’t hear her sigh with the satisfaction of his cock buried in her, he might choose Hell after all.

He reined himself in and slowed down, holding her face in his hands. She smiled.
Fuck! She’s smiling at me
. He kissed her slowly now, nibbling her bottom lip.

The wall that had propped up their passion gave way, and Jack had a dizzying bout of instability. He pulled Emma close and rolled so when they hit the floor she’d have a softer landing.

He did hit the ground and knew, when her vampire body was warm and soft and very human, that they were in a pause. An amazing angel’s pause. Jack figured Claudette was behind their extended time and silently gave her more credit for being thoughtful and a little mischievous.

Emma took a surprised breath and clutched his chest as she came to the same conclusion. She was human again for a little while.

Jack knew the drill. He’d stolen quite a few pause buttons back when he’d been an angel. He quickly used his imagination to fill the space around them with the setting of his liking.

“Pretty child, I’m perfectly all right with you using me as your bed, but do you mind if I grab some rum first?” She was so close he had to kiss her, and she still tasted like angel cake. Human Emma was his favorite. He loved her soft skin and gray eyes.

“We’re in a pause? Crap. I’m going to mess with the time-space continuum if I keep this up.” She rolled off of him onto the floor and looked puzzled at the smoky bar he’d conjured up around them. “You picked a place filled with bottles and smoke? Seriously, you’re a glutton for punishment.”

Jack got to his feet and held out his hand, but she ignored him and got up on her own. His outfit was predictable as well: leather jacket and jeans with a skull and crossbones belt. He closed one eye and thought for a moment. Soon enough he had “Emma” written across his chest in a very real-looking temporary tattoo.

When she started laughing, he wanted to find the pause button, smash it into a million bits, and just keep her forever. That would be his choice, if he truly had one to make. Not Heaven, not Hell, just a small place to be with her, to spend eternity making her gasp and laugh.

Emma eyed him, waiting to see what he’d do here in a pause. She loved that there was no urgency between them. She wanted to hang her guilt and morality at the door and just have a date like a real girl.

Her human life had been short and full of Everett’s tinkering. Her seraph lifetime was absolutely paramount in its importance. And her brief vampire life had been focused on making those around her happy and safe. Even with Jason, sweet Jason, she had to be cautious. Responsible. To live just for a few moments in complete hedonism appealed to her — but it was wrong, of course.

Jack began pouring his rum into a glass, then shrugged and drank his fill straight from the bottle.

“Yes!” He exclaimed after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Can I get you a glass?”

No. No drinking here. It’s hard enough to walk the straight and narrow with him around.

“I’ll take wine.” She shook her head at her own disobedience.

“Light and sweet or spicy and deep?” He motioned to the shiny wood bar like a magician.

“I like sweet. I’m not even sure what kind of wine that would be.” She shrugged and waited.

“I’ve got the perfect thing.” He snapped and pointed. A bottle and glass appeared, and he poured the liquid like it was gold. The rose-colored drink swirled, and he stared intently at the motion. Then he sniffed the contents and nodded before taking a small, hissing sip.

“That’s my drink! Quit sucking on it.” Emma stomped her foot and finally noticed her outfit.

Jack had chosen a colorful sundress with skinny straps and a pair of cute sandals for her attire. He watched as she discovered her clothes.

“This is actually pretty. Thanks.” She held out a hand for her glass, and he pressed his chest against hers as he handed it to her.

He watched her drink as if watching a porno, and Emma blushed when she finished.

“Did you like it?” He was smiling again. She could tell he knew she loved it.

“It was all right,” she said coyly. “I’ve had better out of a box.” She’d never had boxed wine.

“Liar. You would drink a vat of it.” He ran the tip of his tongue over his teeth, delighted that she was so playful.

“Can I have more then?” She pouted at her empty glass.

He laughed and snapped his fingers, and the wine bottle hopped back into his hand. He poured more and stood so close she had to turn her head to raise her glass.

When she moved the glass away from her face, he was waiting. “Goddamn it. Angel cake dipped in wine. Girl, you will kill me.”

He leaned in for a kiss.

“You’re rum painted with sin. Goddamn it. Boy, you will kill me.” She mimicked his sentiments in the hopes of a thorough sexing within the next manufactured heartbeat.

But he nodded and stepped away. “Do you know how to play pool, angel?”

There was a well-used pool table set up in the empty bar. The balls were already racked up. The overhead light illuminated Jack eerily as he walked over and chalked his stick.

“No, Jack, I don’t know how to play.” Emma dropped her glass on a table as she passed.

She walked by him, trailing her hand over his shoulders and plucked a pink stick from the wall. After she chalked and lined up on the cue ball, she broke with such force that he laughed and slowly began to applaud. Two stripes went in.

“I only know how to win,” she trashed-talked.

“Oh, is that right? Well now that sounds like a challenge. Are you willing to bet?” He put his stick behind her back and used it to pull her against him.

She wanted to be snarky and funny, but he was close again, and there was such heat radiating from his chest. She nodded instead.

“Okay, if you win, I’ll let you imagine the scene.” He motioned grandly to the surrounding dingy bar. “If I win?” He nuzzled her neck for a moment. “I get to see the panties I put on you.”

He whispered the word panties in her ear, and it tickled her brain.

“That’s impossible,” she said.

She looked in his eyes and found them crestfallen. She’d wanted to be fun, and he’d taken her words as a rejection. His deep, brown eyes reflected a knowing. The knowledge that an angel would never choose the Devil. It just wasn’t done. She touched his chest and outlined her name.

“It’s impossible because I already imagined they weren’t there anymore.”

Emma watched the victory and hope bloom on his face as a huge smile. She couldn’t lie to herself anymore. It felt amazing to make him happy.

“Game on, pretty child. Now get out of my way so I can concentrate.” He did a wonderful job of disrobing her with his eyes while he sunk one solid ball after another.

“You know, you should at least give me a shot.” Emma twirled her pink stick.

“Absolutely not. You stole the break. Take your spanking like a big girl.” He winked at her as he sunk the eight ball last.

She stuck her tongue out. He set down his stick and sauntered over. A sexy song suddenly blared through the speakers. She held her stick out in front of her to keep him at bay. He pulled it from her hands and snapped it in half over his knee, tossing it aside.

“Are you ready for me, Emma?” He stood close, but he wouldn’t touch her. Yet.

She looked from his beat-up boots to his sexy eyes. God, he was here in front of her, and with all this playfulness she felt right. Human. Like a lady who could do whatever she wanted.

Emma wrinkled her nose and started to lift the hem of her dress. He shook his head.

Confused, she arched an eyebrow. “I don’t welsh on bets.”

“I don’t deserve you. If you belong to another man — I mean
you do
belong to another man. You’re sweet to humor me, to try to make me feel like more. But after a while? A man can’t stop thinking about you, and I have to ask you to have mercy on me.”

He stepped back a bit and bent at the waist, almost a bow. “Do you think I didn’t want to bed you the minute I knew we were in a pause? I care too much to compromise you. And I know he’s better for you. I’m a regret. I’m always a regret.”

He held his own hands with this declaration. He was revealing all his weaknesses and begging Emma to protect his heart. From her.

She could only be honest. Soon the beeping would start and reality would collapse this bubble that was just theirs. She wanted more time that she knew she didn’t have.

Stepping closer, she held his hands. He looked at them like they were poison. A poison he desperately wanted to take.

“I should choose him. Jason. The right thing to do should be obvious. He said he would wait forever for me. Who can turn her back on that kind of devotion? But you have already been a regret for me. Always I feel you tugging on me. I can’t stop berating myself for what happened. I mourn you every day. I should have done more.
That’s
my regret when it comes to you.” She squeezed his hands more tightly, trying to figure out how to put into words what she was feeling.

He searched her eyes and spoke. “Stop. Let’s just go. What you say now will play on a loop in my head always, and his name is already among your words.” He tried to let go of her hands.

A faint beeping began to sound.

She tried to ignore it and dropped his hands to hold his face. He looked at her lips and wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Damn it. Hear me. Look at me. Now.” The beeping was getting louder, and her eyes filled with tears.

He did, but he looked like a condemned man waiting for the execution.

“I’m not humoring you. I just want to breathe you, all the time. When you look at me, I feel like my skin has words written all over it just for you.” She put her lips on his and spoke right into his mouth, louder to compete with the noise that now overpowered their music.

“You’re in my heart. I want you between my legs. I want you to just be with me. Laughing with me. And it’s all wrong, but I can’t stop wanting you.” Her tears fell, and she kissed him knowing they’d open their eyes back in Purgatory again.

As if her words had released something in him, he grabbed her roughly. He lifted her to straddle him. She could tell they were moving, but she needed to get closer to his skin.

When he set her down and pushed her away, she felt a jolt of surprise. He seemed frantic, and they were right next to the source of the loud alarm. Emma was completely confused as he began kicking the wall. Then he picked up the pool stick and slammed it with all his might into the spot where he’d been kicking. One final punch and the sound was silenced. He turned, smiling.

“Where were we?” He grabbed her waist and put her on the pool table, scattering the leftover balls as he climbed on top of her, leaving her no choice but to lie back.