Chapter Five
“What were you two assholes thinking? Hey, it's our only chance at redemptions first night in our place, how about we get her naked and have a threesome, I'm sure her weak heart will be fine? Are you completely stupid?”
Lux had been walking back and forth in front of the couch for ten minutes chewing out Sam and Tolliver, only stopping every so often to unconsciously run a hand over my head, as if he needed to reassure himself again and again that I was okay. Then he'd start up again.
“I had to leave Ri alone at the club and it's probably turned into a massive orgy that'll get the place shut down or at least create a scene that could get us noticed. All because you guys couldn't keep your hands or your dicks to yourselves.”
“Don't be such a prick, Lux. I've seen how you look at her, you want her just as much as we do. It's like a physical ache that I can't get rid of,” Tolliver argued and I whipped my head towards him. They felt the pull too?
“Of course I want to make love to her, she's beautiful and sweet and brave and her soul calls to mine in a way that can only be preordained. But I have something called restraint, maybe you guys should try it sometime? It's not that damn hard!”
Oz laughed, “I bet something is damn hard.”
Lux gave him nasty look and he just smirked back. No fear of Wrath.
I studied Lux’s face, searching for the truth. He couldn't know that I was any of those things in the 24 hours we'd known each other, and I wasn't actually very sweet, or beautiful or even brave. But he'd sounded so sure.
“You guys really feel that way? I mean, I am hopelessly attracted to you as well, but I just thought it was my hormones and the fact I haven't gotten laid since I moved to New York. To be honest, I was feeling a little guilty that I was so ready to jump into bed earlier with Oz, and now with Sam and Tolliver. It's not like me. I don't do that kinda thing! This feeling has to be something else, something to do with your Sins.”
Lux swung a dark look at Oz, who put up his hands in a placating gesture. “It was just a little kiss. I didn't think it was a good idea to put moves on her the first day she was here.”
Sam groaned. “Thanks, man.”
Tolliver rolled his eyes at the guys in the room. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me tight against his body. “Never feel guilty for your desires. They let you know you're alive. Especially not your desire for us. We feel the same need you do, probably worse. Lux is right, we should have had better control. But I'm not sorry about what happened.” He leaned in close and whispered, “I can't wait to get you naked and under me. Or over me.” He pressed a small kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Soon, when the Doc gives his approval, though between you and me, he isn't all that unbiased either. Not that I think he'd risk your health or anything.”
I leaned back against the couch and looked at the men in the room. My gaze stopped on Valery, who'd been quiet since he got back.
“You too?”
He nodded slowly. “Very much so.” Hunger warred with the sadness in his eyes.
What a quandary. You have seven hot guys lusting after your body, who want to turn your life into the porn version of Snow White and the Seven Buff Dwarfs. My heart bleeds for you. Ace could bludgeon you to death with her sarcasm sometimes.
I let out a little frustrated huff. But what if they don't want me, it's just their response to me being the Redeemer or whatever? Some predestined attraction that would happen even if I looked like a swamp troll.
Ace let out a sigh so heavy, it was a wonder the guys couldn't hear it. Who the fuck cares? You like them, you think they are hot, they are all nice guys. They seem to like you, if the bulge in Tolliver's pants is anything to go by. So why the hell not, already? And if you die getting banged against the wall by some ancient fucking warrior, all the better. Geez, you can be such a damn over-thinker sometimes.
I hated it when Ace was right; it made her smug and completely unbearable for a week.
The door to Sam's apartment opened once more, and Ri walked in. He took one look at our faces and cocked his head to the side.
“Did I miss something good?”
“We walked in on Tolli and Sam getting it on with Cady, Lux chewed them out for their poor timing and bad manners. Then Cady found out we are all attracted to her,” Oz summarized, taking a seat on the couch.
“Hell yeah we're attracted to her. I've been walking with a hard on like a Steel bar since I touched her cheek on the subway. I've tried to make myself scarce so I don't overwhelm her too early though. I find it hard not to touch her.”
Lux pointed a hand at Ri and glared at Sam and Tolliver. “See, restraint.” He turned back to Ri. “How was the rest of your shift?”
“I don't envy the clean-up guys. Get a black light in there and the whole place would light up like a messed up Rorschach inkblot. But it was no worse than Saturday nights, so I think it'll be fine”
“Saturday nights are S&M night at the club,” Tolliver informed me.
Ri looked at me, his eyes hooded and a slow smile curling his face. “You should come one Saturday. I'll take you. It'll be lots of fun.”
He made fun sound like the dirtiest word in the world and my eyes got even wider.
Lux clapped his hands together so loudly, I jumped in my seat.
“That's enough. I'm escorting Arcadia to bed before you all give her a heart attack. Breakfast meeting in the morning with Eli so we can talk this out like adults instead of horny teenagers.”
Oz snapped a salute, and Sam gave him the finger.
Valery came over and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. “Bonne nuit, Cady. Sweet Dreams.”
I don't know how those simple words managed to sound like the promise of pleasure, but they did.
Lux gave a frustrated grunt, took my hand in his and pulled me towards the door, muttering obscenities under his breath.
We rode the lift up to my floor in silence, though Lux still held my hand in his. When the elevator groaned to a stop, he walked me to the door.
“Mini-Oz, unlock User: Arcadia’s door,” he said loudly.
“Access denied. You do not have permission to unlock this door.”
Lux grunted. “Good. Those horny bastards won't be able to sneak in in the middle of the night.”
“Are you really worried that would happen?” I asked, manually unlocking the door with my key. Old habits.
“No, but it makes me feel better anyway.”
I stood in my doorway and looked at Lux in the dim light of the hallway.
“Did you mean what you said or were you just making a point? About wanting me? Do you want Arcadia or the Redeemer?”
He reached out and grabbed my arms, pulling me gently against his chest. He stared down at me, his eyes molten silver with heat.
“It was the truth. I feel an attraction to you as the Redeemer, I'm sure, but you are irresistible to me as Arcadia. It's taking everything in me not to lift you against the wall and worship your body one inch at a time,” his voice was soft, but I could hear the gravelly need in it.
“What if I want that too?”
A groan tore from him and in one swoop, he had his hands under my ass and my back against the wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively and gasped at his hardness pressed against my core.
Then he kissed me, gently but with so much feverish passion that I was breathless. He sucked on my lower lip, biting it gently before flicking his tongue over the tiny hurt. I moaned, my body desperately trying to push closer to his.
He drew away, panting hard. He buried his face in the curve of my neck and I ran my head over the soft spikes of his hair.
“Soon.” He lowered me to the ground and left without another word.
The morning was beautiful, the warm sun biting into the skin that was exposed along my shoulders, my pretty blue sundress not hiding much of them from the sun. We sat at a large glass table on the deck near the pool. A plunger of some kind of fancy coffee sat in the center of the table, along with pastries from a local bakery and an array of fresh sliced fruit. I felt like I was living the life of a movie star.
Lux and Eli were swimming laps, and I was watching them like a hungry piranha. They were swimming while we waited for Oz to arrive.
Finally, Oz dragged himself up the stairs to the roof, wearing nothing but faded tartan pajama pants that were one stiff gust of wind from falling around his thighs. He scratched his beard and rubbed his eyes with his forearm. His chest had a dusting of strawberry blonde chest hair that glinted in the sun, trailing down over abs and thickening just above the waistband of his pajamas.
My brain melted. He walked over and kissed the top of my head.
“Mornin' Cady.” Then he reached for my coffee cup and emptied half of it in one swallow.
“Hey!” I punched his abs, which only resulted in me hurting my hand and him laughing.
“I'll make you a fresh one.” He leaned past me and grabbed the pot, and I was momentarily transfixed by the two dimples that sat on his lower back, just above his ass.
He stuck the mug back under my nose, smug satisfaction on every feature when he busted me perving.
“Get over it. You know I think you're hot.”
He laughed and sat down beside me. Lux pulled himself out of the pool, and Eli followed suit. Jesus.
I was gonna go blind.
They sat down at the table and grabbed a pastry.
“How are you settling in, Cady? Your first night sounded… eventful.” Eli sounded far more amused than Lux had. Though he hadn't walked on me about to get busy.
“I'm almost all unpacked. The apartment is beautiful. I can't thank you guys enough for letting me stay here. Are you sure I can't pay you guys rent, or help out in some way?”
Valery returned holding a small silver dish and handed it to me. I lifted it to my nose and breathed in the smell of dark, rich melted chocolate. He passed me a plate of fruit and pastries. “For dipping,” he said with a smile, sitting down the end beside Eli. If Valery kept feeding me this way, I'd be the size of a house by Christmas.
Sam laughed. “You are saving our immortal souls. Pretty sure that's payment enough.”
Lux grunted his agreement.
Eli nodded. “Quite. That brings up my next point. I'm not entirely sure how exactly you are meant to redeem us. Lucifer was a little vague on the details. I assume we have to make amends for the sins of our former lives, but how we are meant to do that and where you come into the equation I do not know.
“All we know for certain is that you are immune to our influence and mute their power over us completely when you are in our vicinity, which has been a blessed relief. I am fairly certain that you would nullify them completely if you are touching one of us when in a crowd of humans. I think that is the cause of this insatiable need to be with you, in the biblical sense. It is nature's way of telling us that we need to touch you.”
I screwed up my nose. “So you guys don't really like me, it's just your nature's telling you that I am what you need.” I wasn't sure I liked the idea. It made me feel used.
“No, don't look at it like that. All attraction is nature's way of showing us that, ‘hey, this person has what you need to make a good mate and reproductive partner’.” He looked at me, three little lines creasing his forehead. “Love is a different force altogether. That is something greater. But all love usually starts with attraction.”
I leaned back in my chair and thought about what he was saying. Did they have something I needed too?
I chewed my Danish, and let the silence settle.
“So what's the plan? Tolli and I fly off to London tomorrow and I'd like to have this settled before we leave.”
“We'll have to play it by ear. We have to assume that now that Cady is here, fate or divine intervention will lead us down the correct path.”
“And her health? I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going to just sit with my thumb up my ass waiting for her to die,” Tolliver said.
I just gaped. Of all of them, Tolliver struck me as the prim one, even when his hands were doing naughty things. Hearing him cuss just seemed weird.
He must have noticed my surprise. “This has been the first time since I died, maybe even before, that I've been entirely at ease. I mean, I wanted to share you with Sam. That's huge. I'm Greed. I don't share anything. And yeah, I want to have sex with you without wondering if I'm going to give you a heart attack. Even if it is just to prevent another lecture from Lux.”
Lux gave him a flat look, and Eli had his doctor face on.
“If it's acceptable to Cady, I'd like to get some of my associates to take a look at her and run some tests as a favor to me. Maybe see if we can't appeal the transplant board’s decision. But I don't think she should be exerting herself too vigorously until I run some tests to see the exact function levels of her heart.”
Tolliver nodded. “Spare no expense, I'll pay. Bribe them if you need to.”
Only an idiot or a rich person turned down free medical care. I was neither. “Sure, I'd appreciate some second opinions. As for the other thing, I'm pretty good at knowing my limits, so, uh, it should be fine.”
I was the focus of every set of eyes on the rooftop, and they all looked hungry. I was beginning to know how a gazelle felt.
“Be that as it may, you've only been here a day and known us for two. It may not be wise to rush anything.” Eli was gentle but firm.
Tolliver sighed and shared a look with Sam. “Fine, but we want Cady time before we leave. If we can't impress her with our bedroom performance, then we are going to have to woo her with the next best thing,” Sam said, and he looked at Tolliver who had a smirk on his face that I didn't quite trust.
“Oh yeah.”
“Makeover day,” they said in unison.
Everyone turned towards Oz. He had a milk moustache on his ginger beard and his man bun had shifted to the side in a serious case of bed hair. He looked up and brushed the pastry flakes off his beard self-consciously.
“What?”
Oh, this was going to be fun!