Cassiel

   Serafina sat on the edge of the mattress, brushing her shoulder length hair, the muscles in her naked back flexing with each stroke.
 Cassiel could not take his eyes off her beautiful frame.
 The artwork tattooed delicately on her skin entranced him and he tried to memorize every detail of her body as he studied her curves.
 “I can feel you staring at me,” she teased him, turning her head to glance at him over her shoulder. “If I wasn’t already naked, I would think you were undressing me with your eyes.”
 He answered her question with a crushing kiss to her parted lips and she giggled.
 “Have mercy on me,” she gasped. “I can barely walk, I’m so sensitive!”
 Cass didn’t care. His arousal didn’t understand the word stop with this woman, and for the third time in two hours, he felt a surge of heat to his cock. It wasn’t like any arousal he had experienced before, but he didn’t stop to overanalyze it as he leaned her back onto the bed, pinning her to the mattress as he straddled her with his own muscular body.
   She squealed lightly, her lips parting as she stared at him with green, intelligent eyes. He sensed the wisdom in them as well as the beauty.
 The realization that he was attracted to all parts of her only made him grow harder.
 “I’m serious,” she murmured, but her tongue jutted out to meet his before his face sank into her silken neck, hands scooping beneath her to spread her cheeks apart as he slid his growing member across her slit.
 “Hmm?”
 “I’m tired,” she muttered, but the argument lacked any conviction as her breath hitched and a small moan escaped her as his mouth travelled across her collarbone, tasting the lingering sweat on her body as he worked his way lower to meet her swelling breasts.
 Serafina’s hands twined into his hair and she groaned softly, bucking her chest upward as he nipped at her teasingly, but there were no more protests from her as she guided him across her belly toward the throbbing center between her legs. Cassiel in clothing was already too hot to handle, but naked Cass? Devastating.
 “Oh God,” she sighed, and Cass spread her thighs apart, breathing deeply at the sweetness of her core as his tongue lashed out to taste her in long, firm strokes.
 She quivered beneath him, his fingers sliding along the crack of her lush ass to toy with her openings while his tongue moved deeper.
 Instantly he was rewarded with her hot juice while Sera tensed beneath him, her own hands tightening in his hair.
 He barely noticed the grip, his laps grew more intense, relishing the jerks of her body as he brought her toward yet another orgasm.
 “Please, fuck me,” she gasped when he suctioned on her swollen clit, the pleasurable pain almost unbearable. But he did not immediately obey.
 He wanted to make her as desperate to take him as he always seemed to be to have her.
 Cass’ actions were rewarded as a keening cry escaped Sera’s lips and she abruptly bucked upward, his tongue thrusting against her too-sensitive clit, but she didn’t seem to object as he slipped two fingers inside her to drive her completely to the edge.
 “Please!” she whimpered but he wasn’t finished torturing her yet.
 Slowly, he dipped a finger inside her, raising his head as she gushed over him, his hand soaked in her nectar.
 His organ was raw and rigid, ready to plunge into her again and again.
 He raised his body to lick at her parted lips, savoring the sultry and slightly desperate expression on her face as she silently begged him for more.
 She gazed up at him with wide, awe-filled eyes as he slid his enormous shaft inside her and she choked as if it was the first time again, her core closing tightly around him to suck him in completely.
 Cass grunted slightly, feeling himself become larger as he filled her entirely.
 Her eyes were enormous, imploring with him, as his cock increased its punishing speed, the depths of his thrusts reaching that special place deep inside her. Sera’s cries grew louder in his ears.
 He didn’t want to stop, his pleasure mounting with each penetrating jab, but he knew his resolve would be short lived after so many rounds, especially as Serafina’s body locked him in completely.
 Her legs were circled around his waist like a vice, her center like a vacuum for his hardness.
 Sack slapping against the sensitive skin of her sculpted buttocks, Cass felt himself shudder as his own climax erupted into her.
 Serafina’s nails dug into his muscular shoulders as their cries escalated, her hips rising to meet him and together they clenched, their bodies quivering as they reached a peak higher than any other before. He exhaled as she continued to tremble beneath him, her whimpers subsiding but still ringing in his ears.

  How could it possibly get better each time? This wasn’t normal, they both thought to themselves. 
   “Jesus Christ,” she moaned as he reluctantly withdrew his shrinking shaft from her. Serafina’s body clenched hard once more, trying to keep him inside.
 A small smile toyed on his lips as he propped himself up to stare into her face pensively.
 “What are you grinning at?” she asked almost sullenly as her eyes met his.
 “Why are you not wed?”

 The question made her laugh.
 “Because I’m only twenty-six,” she replied. “And the prospects suck. Have you tried dating lately? The internet is the worst. People think they can get away with saying anything! And Tinder…don’t get me started on Tinder…”
 “But you would like to marry?” he asked. He could sense her growing tense.
 “Not really,” she replied tightly, her green eyes narrowing slightly. “You’re not going to go all ‘stage five clinger’ on me, are you?”
 Cassiel didn’t understand the inquiry but he suspected the correct answer was no and he said as much.
 “I’m not looking for anything serious,” she continued but there was a wistfulness in her voice which was undeniable.
 “Why not?”
 She fully turned, her dark red hair resting atop her folded hands and peered at him with curious eyes.
 “I don’t do relationships well,” she answered slowly. “I’ve never had anyone teach me how. My home life was pretty shitty and honestly, I’ve always been better on my own.”
 She seemed embarrassed by the confession and her cheeks stained pink. What the hell? Why was she telling him this stuff? She never talked about personal stuff with her hook-ups. And truly, it didn’t matter that he was off the charts gorgeous, and that he seemed to be able to read her with just a look. Well, at least it shouldn’t matter…dammit.
 Quickly she turned her head and looked back toward the wall.
 “That was TMI. Anyway…”
 Cassiel came over and cradled her face between his hands, connecting them with a solid gaze. 
 “I could show you,” he said softly, drawing her in and sliding his hand down the smooth skin of her cheek. The expression in his grey eyes was ernest, and she felt something deep inside her shift into place. The sense of rightness scared her more than anything though.
 To his surprise, she jerked away, scowling with annoyance.
 “Don’t get too attached,” she said brusquely, rising from the bed and moving out of his reach. “You’re only going to leave disappointed.”
 Cassiel felt a stab of concern by her words. Leave? He was not going to leave.
 “I find that difficult to believe,” he told her firmly. “And I don’t think you believe it either.”
 Serafina’s mouth became a firm line and she shook her head.
 “You have known me for all of three hours,” she scoffed. “You don’t know anything about me, except maybe that I like being taken from behind,” she said crudely.
 “Then why do I feel like I know everything about you?” he asked, ignoring the slight stirring in his groin at her reminder.
 But the inquiry was sincere.
 Even in life, he had never felt so drawn to another and he knew it had nothing to do with the wager he had made with the devil.
 From the second he had seen her in the hospital, it was as if Heaven and Earth had paused when they met.
 She is the one. I have never been more certain of anything.
 He could not understand why she was giving such resistance when the emotion between them was so raw, so primitive, and so right.
 A dinging noise filled his ears and he looked around in confusion.
 “Ah shit!” Serafina cursed as she picked up a device sitting on her vanity. “Shit!”
 “What’s the matter?” Cassiel asked, still trying to determine from where the strange sound had come. She shook her head, hurrying as she dressed.
 “I have to get back to the hospital,” she announced. “My boss is texting me. He’s been texting me.”
 “Why? Did I hurt you?”
 She snorted.
 “You’re good, loverboy, but it’s gonna take a few more rounds than that to break me,” she replied dryly. “No, I have work to do. I left before I did my job.”
 Cassiel eyed her.
 “You work?” he asked, and her eyebrows almost went through her hairline.
 “I meant no offense,” he assured her. “I am – well, your father does not provide for you?”
 Serafina gaped at him.
 “What the hell are you talking about?” she asked, confusion coloring her face. 
 Her voice cut like small knives to his chest.
 “I only assumed that if you are unmarried that your father would tend to your comfort,” he explained, not understanding her disbelief.
 “That would be lovely…if I had a father,” she snorted. She gazed at him as if she wanted to say more but she stopped herself. Again? Can’t you keep your secrets secret, smartie-pants?
 “Where are you staying? I’ll call an Uber for you,” she asked him instead.
 He stared at her as she dug through the pile of clothes on her floor, searching for an outfit.
 “I’m staying here,” he replied.
 Serafina’s head jerked up and she laughed.
 “Cute,” she replied, slipping into a pair of pants and he noted she wore no undergarments as she zipped up the front.
 He stared hard at that special place in her pants that he wanted to taste again and he realized he was aroused yet again. He dared not try to entice her into more love making. She kind of seemed ready for battle, another aspect which made his pants grow tight around the crotch.
 Christ, everything about her makes me hard.
 The jeans she wore accented her svelte frame in a way he had never noticed on another woman.
 Certainly, in the underworld, there were many females who were attractive, but Cassiel was sure no one had ever looked like her.
 “I have nowhere else to go,” he told her candidly, and she paused, a grimace forming on her face. 
 “You can’t stay here,” she growled. “This is not a hotel.”
 “Will you find me a hotel?”
 Her jaw dropped open.
 “Where the hell have you been staying?” she demanded. “You know what, never mind. I have to go. My boss is going to fire my ass unless I bring a client in today. I’ll deal with you later.”
 She finished dropping a sweater over her head and sighed deeply.
 “I’ll be back in a couple hours. There’s a few beers in the fridge and I think a few pieces of pizza.”
 She snatched her purse from the vanity and grabbed her coat.
 “There’s nothing worth stealing or selling in here,” she added. “I mean, if you can find anything worth more than ten bucks, I’d eat it. You’d be wasting your time to check.”
 “You seriously think I’d steal from you?” Cass demanded, anger rising quickly within him.
 She doesn’t know anything about you, asshole. Give her a break. As far as she’s concerned, you just appeared in her life a couple hours ago.
 Serafina sighed.
 “Yeah, of course you wouldn’t. They probably don’t have eBay on your planet anyways, right?” she commented brusquely. “I really gotta go. Just don’t…take advantage of me, okay?” she asked, immediately looking embarrassed at voicing the request. “And, just so you know - I really…enjoyed this…afternoon.”
 A second later, he heard the key turn in the lock of the front door.
 She had left him alone.
 He inhaled deeply and flopped back against the mattress, relishing the thickness of the material beneath his nude body.
 The future is wonderful, he thought, burying his nose in a flat pillow.
 He could smell Serafina’s sweet scent on the covers and it made him heady with pleasure.
 Their passion had known no limits and at first Cassiel had been shocked at how right it felt to be with her. Sure, the sex was amazing, but it was more than that. If asked three weeks ago about the possibility of love at first sight, he would have snorted his disbelief. Truly, it was getting harder and harder to even believe in love at all. When you were surrounded by hate and every negative emotion there was all the time, you didn’t let yourself dwell on the softer feelings. That way led to just more wistfulness and desolation at the lack of anything good in your life, he knew from experience. But with Sera, he immediately had felt complete, as if she was the other part of him. How could she complete him when really, he barely knew her?
 Is this what I’ve been searching for my whole existence? Even while living, I never had this feeling with anyone. Not even while in heaven.
 His memory started to float back to his last days in that safe haven. Then his reverie was replaced by the memory of the biggest betrayal of all and a sudden flash of anger grew within him.
 I’ll remember that moment till the end of time, he knew. And the look on the face of my beloved brother, the Judas who betrayed me to save himself.

  Cassiel closed his eyes, trying to block out the impending fury but it only served to make matters worse.
 In his mind’s eye, he saw the blood on his hands, Nath staring at him with panicked grey eyes.
 “You cannot tell anyone!” he begged, his voice cracking in shame and anguish. “It was an accident! She should not have been here!”
 “You should not have been here!” Cassiel raged, his usual gentle temperament forgotten as he stared at the demi-goddess drowning in her own plasma. “You’ve doomed yourself, you idiot!”
 “No!” Nathaniel moaned. “No one needs to know. We can hide her away and plead ignorance to her whereabouts. She is only half-angel. Everyone will believe she has simply returned to earth forever!”
 Cassiel stared at the man whose approval he had been desperate to win for so long, and realized he had made a terrible mistake by pledging his referral of Nath to Heaven.
 “You are just like Papa,” he whispered, tears of disappointment filling his granite eyes. “You have always been selfish and ignorant.”
 “Cassiel! If you tell, I will be cast out forever. Your probation period is not yet finished. You will also be tossed into the underworld.”
 “That’s not the point!” Cassiel growled. “It’s about responsibility and what’s right. And now it’s about Michele – and that you’ve killed her. And doomed both of us, all with one selfish and violent action.”
 “Please!” Nathaniel begged again. “You know I am good at heart! You know it, or you would not have vouched for me!”
 Cass stared at him for a long while and closed his eyes, trying to decide what could be done.
 Dear God, he is my brother, in everything but blood. I can’t be responsible for the damnation of his soul, no matter how much he might deserve it.
 “You must help me, Cass!” But Cass gave no response.
 Horror crossed over Nathaniel’s face.
 “You cannot – “
 “I will not speak of what I have seen here,” he muttered, turning to leave Nathaniel alone in the red-stained room of white. “But I will not lie for you, either.”
 “Help me hide her body!” Nathaniel bellowed. “For the love of God, I am your brother!”
 “You are my stepbrother,” he replied coldly, finally realizing that it meant nothing.
 It was the first time he had ever called Nathaniel his stepsibling, and the word seemed to stab him a thousand times over.
 But he could not protect Nathaniel – not anymore.
 True to his word, he retreated to his chambers and prayed for God’s forgiveness that night.
 It was not until the sentry dragged him from his bed, that he realized that something was wrong. They weren’t removing him from his place for questioning. No, he was being blamed for Michele’s murder. Nathaniel had betrayed him. Again, the burning anger flared hotly in Cass.
 That was hundreds of years ago, Cass reminded himself, turning over in Sera’s bed. Ancient history. That was when I still believed in the righteousness of Heaven. The days for anger have long since passed. Nathaniel has gotten away with murder and really, it was my fault that Michele died. Nath was only there because of me – and obviously, he should have been sent to hell upon his death. I was naïve to think Nathaniel had a core of goodness within him, however deeply I thought it was buried. But now, as for me, I have a second chance to live. And to love.
 Cassiel knew he would not lose it, no matter what it took.
 She doesn’t know it yet, but Serafina and I were fated to be together. I have one week to show her the truth.