“I’m sorry I disappeared on you.” Anael flung himself into Zagan’s arms the moment the man’s human form asserted himself. “I was hurt and worried and far weaker than I should have been. I never dreamed Raziel would let me carry the sword and I’m not sure I would have ever used it on anybody.”
“How about you keep that last bit quiet? No one would have guessed with the show you put on today. With demons, often the perception of power works far more effectively than a demonstration. But why are you apologizing? If anyone should be sorry, it’s me.” Zagan didn’t seem to have a problem with holding him, something Anael desperately needed. One thing Raziel said that stuck with him was the fact he and his King had been mated for such a tiny speck of time and yet apart from their claiming, they’d barely touched. Anael’s craving for Zagan’s touch was as necessary as air.
“I left you. Those comments by your guard were the final straw and I left you to fight all your men by yourself.” In Anael’s mind, he took the coward’s way out and he was deeply ashamed of himself. Given a chance to prove he was worthy to Zagan and Head Office, instead he’d landed at Raziel’s because he knew they’d have beer in the fridge and a cuddle at the ready.
“I didn’t claim you as a mate because you’re a fighter,” Zagan said softly. “I claimed you because you filled a place in my heart I didn’t know was empty.”
Anael looked up, blinking away his tears of happiness this time. Zagan had such a strong face and yet the warmth in his eyes had nothing to do with the flames in them. Happy enough to wallow in the strength of Zagan’s arms, Anael would have done just that, if he hadn’t noticed the streaks of dirt and blood on Zagan’s brow.
“Did you get hurt? Oh my gods, I can’t believe I didn’t ask. You were doing all that fighting and then I demanded you parade me around like a circus pony. Let me look at you.” Anael pulled back and ran his eyes down Zagan’s form. He couldn’t see any major injuries, but they could be internal. “You need a shower…no, a bath with soothing oils to help any aching muscles.”
“Are you going to rub everything that aches?” Zagan’s mouth twitched in a leer and Anael’s hand was grabbed and placed above a growing mound in Zagan’s fitted leather pants.
“I can do that. Or maybe you prefer a full body massage – my full body massaging yours?” Holding Zagan’s gaze, Anael flicked the top button of his pants and slipped his hand inside. It was a tight fit; a very tight fit, but Anael was able to run the edges of his fingers along the heated lump, gratified to see Zagan’s eyes closing and his body shudder.
“Is a bath really necessary?”
“It’ll be fun.” Anael was determined on that point. His need for a sexual connection might not be as great as his mate’s, but he didn’t see why he couldn’t get his needs met, by taking care of Zagan too.
/~/~/~/~/
“There’s a word for this – I’m sure there is. Decadence. Definitely decadence, especially bathing before dinner.” Zagan leaned back, his head supported with a bath pillow, his body submerged in warm bubbles. He’d never let on, but his body had taken a hammering fighting his men and the warmth of the water was as soothing as Anael’s touch. Alone in his palatial bathroom with only Anael in attendance, he could finally relax. One of the few things he was certain of in life was his angel would never hurt him.
“I thought demons were known for their hedonistic lifestyles,” Anael teased and Zagan moaned a little as he felt soft hands running up the insides of his thighs. “All day parties, mass orgies, and food and drink available at all hours of the day or night.”
“Whereas angels do nothing but good works, soothing the sick, and spending their downtime reading highbrow books. Fortunately, neither one of us are stereotypes or you wouldn’t be sharing this bath with me.” Zagan arched into those sensuous hands. “Hmm, a little to the left, precious.”
“Anyone would think you were in a hurry.” Anael’s gentle laughter was a balm to a wounded soul even as his hands moved as directed. “Sex is more than cocks and balls; it’s a whole body event.”
Zagan managed to raise his head. “You mean I’ve been doing it wrong for centuries?” The ridiculous face he pulled was worth it to hear Anael laugh again. There was a lightness in his heart, something Zagan wasn’t used to, but it was a feeling he wanted to hold onto.
“You know,” Anael said, abandoning his playing for now and stretching out his lithe body across Zagan’s until they were chin to chin. “As the angel of passion and sexuality there were many who thought all I was ever interested in was seeing people get their rocks off. They never understood that the foundation of my power was love. I learned a long time ago that action without underlying emotions was a barren exercise.”
“Did someone hurt you, precious?” The animal side of his brain was keen to take advantage of the hot body pressed against him, but he was old enough to know his mate was sharing something important.
“Only as much as I let them,” Anael’s smile was soft. “When I first arrived on earth I felt it was important for me to experience human pleasure and I did. But, whether we admit it or not, we’re all beings of love and without it any meaningless clash of bodies was nothing more than physical release. Uriel took me aside after one disastrous encounter that left me drained emotionally and taught me how passion could be conveyed in so many other ways. Music, art, literature. Even a child’s laughter is a product of passion.”
“Uriel? That’s the guy who wanted to off Botis?” Zagan nudged his toe against the tap. The water was cooling and while they could have taken the conversation to bed, he didn’t want Anael to get up, even to dry himself.
“None of us realized how badly Uriel was hurt by his human lover Patrice’s actions. That was as much on me as it was on Gabriel and Raziel. We all knew after that event in Lucifer’s office how we’d failed him in some way.”
“But surely Uriel’s actions against Botis were his own? His choice as you angels would say?”
“You are right, my fierce demon.” The water splashed as Anael lurched up and kissed his chin. “Choice is something none of us can govern in another person. You demons can persuade and even trick others into doing things, while us angels can attempt to guide an individual to make positive choices. But the bottom line is any individual’s choice is ultimately their own and something they should take responsibility for. Speaking of choices, do you know what I choose to do now?”
Zagan was almost afraid to ask. His mate was so much more than a pretty face. “Tell me.” Please let it be sex.
“I’m going to clamber out of this massive bathtub, magic us up a couple of towels….” Anael sat up so his butt cheeks were kissing the head of Zagan’s cock. “I’m going to ensure every inch of your luscious body is dry and pampered, and then I’m going to lead you to your massive bed, bend over it and hope you’ll fill my ass with your dick. That’s what I choose to do, but of course, your choice might be something completely different.”
Swallowing hard as he pictured the scene, Zagan frantically tried to get some saliva in his mouth. “Your choice is good,” he managed to say although his voice was more a whimper than a rumble. “Very good.”
/~/~/~/~/
Anael remembered John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, once saying that the only regret she had in life was not saying “I love you” often enough. Through his time on earth, Anael had said it often because he, perhaps more than any angel, recognized love came in many forms. But it was his experience that also led him to believe that until Zagan understood the depth of love he had for his mate already, it wasn’t something he could say.
Their time together so far had been short, yet as Zagan’s hand caressed his back as he nudged his cock deep inside Anael’s most intimate place, Anael’s throat itched with the need to let the words tumble free. He understood the concept of mating, having witnessed it among paranormals hundreds of times. He knew nothing would ever tear them apart, and whether Zagan was aware of it or not, he would never be capable of hurting his heart or any other part of him. Anael believed that with his whole soul.
But right now, it was his body Zagan was focused on and that tiny part of Anael’s brain that was still lucid recognized he was masterful in every stroke of his cock. While Anael would love nothing more than to watch his mate’s face as he lost himself in his passion, his power could feel it, sense it, binding them closer together with every thrust. Maybe Zagan sensed it too as he bent over Anael’s back, grunting and moaning his pleasure in his ear between kisses across any piece of skin he could reach.
Anael wasn’t immune to physical pleasure. His body worked just like everyone else’s. His cock was rock hard, brushing against the silk of the bedding, and his skin relished every stroke from the weight on his back to the slide of Zagan’s hands up his sides. When Zagan’s hand crept around his front, palming his length, Anael knew his orgasm was seconds in the making.
“Come, precious.” Zagan’s growl and a flick of his wrist sent Anael’s senses tumbling. His power spiked, enveloping them both in a bright white light that registered behind Anael’s eyelids. Zagan roared, more bull than man and the arms that wrapped around him held him tight as though Zagan couldn’t bear for them to be apart. Turning his head to one side, Anael locked his knees and took the weight as his breathing quietly slowed. Love in its greatest form, he thought with a mental smile.