The Blood of Angels: Divine Vampires Page 2

  Steve’s alarm is due to go off at four-thirty, and I could just turn it off. It would be that simple, except Gloria McCormick has an internal clock that wakes her up at five, and she’s bound to notice her husband isn’t up and about. That still wouldn’t kill enough time. I check on Steve. He’s snoring loudly, his arm thrown over his head. He’s a good looking guy, dark hair cut military-style, his chest broad, belly ridged. The sheet he’s got pulled over him is tented in the groin area and I settle myself gently down on the tip of his cock, chin in hand, thinking. It’s a little wet on the sheet where I’m sitting and I wiggle myself there, hearing him groan. Can he feel me in his sleep? I wonder. The thought makes me shiver.

  I’m still sitting there, just thinking, when Steve shifts in his sleep, snorts, and reaches for his cock. He nearly catches me, too, when he wraps his hand around the shaft, and I yelp, flying toward the ceiling just in time! He starts moving his hand up and down under the sheet, his breath coming faster in the dark. Fascinated, I float downward, giving him a little push to pull the sheet off so I can see.

  “Oh God, Gloria,” he whispers. “Suck it, yeah!”

  That decides me. It isn’t gonna be easy, but I’m determined. It’s actually a little easier because Gloria is still sleeping, curled up and clutching her pillow. I concentrate hard, closing my eyes tight, my whole body vibrating with my effort to give her a “push.” I can hear Steve pumping faster, groaning softly. For a while, I’m sure I won’t be successful, and then I hear the toilet flush across the hall.

  The door snicks open, and there’s Gloria in a white nightgown like a ghost in the doorway. She’s a beautiful woman, in her forties, long dark hair, a curvy figure under that nightgown. She’s hearing what I’m hearing, the sound of Steve masturbating and calling her name. I perch myself on the headboard, watching her creep silently across the carpet in bare feet, stopping next to the bed.

  “Oh yeah, suck it, Gloria!” Steve is thrusting up into his own hand, and his eyes fly open in the dark when he feels his wife’s mouth sliding down over the head of his cock. “Oh my God! Gloria!”

  “Shhhhh…” She takes him all the way into her throat and he groans. It isn’t long before he’s grabbing her hair and thrusting up hard with gasping little grunts.

  “Fuck!” His hand squeezes her breast, shoving her down onto his cock. “I’m gonna come!”

  I lean forward on my perch, wanting to watch, but to my surprise, Gloria is swallowing and swallowing, and I don’t get to see a thing until she’s licking her lips and looking up at him. Damn! That didn’t kill nearly enough time.

  I’m about to give her another little push, when she says, “I think it’s my turn, big guy.” And Steve is on her like a shot, rolling her over on the bed and lifting her nightgown, sinking his face between her legs, forcing his tongue between that fuzzy, fleshy cleft.

  I guess I didn’t have to worry about time. The sun is coming up, and Steve is coming again, this time buried up inside that pink hole as Gloria rocks on top of him, before either of them even think about the time. I watch it all from my perch, and find I have my hand pressed over the sexless mound between my legs when Gloria gasps out, “It’s after six!”

  “Shit, I’m late!” Steve reaches for the phone, still panting, and dials work. There’s no answer, of course.

  “I’ll get your lunch ready.” It’s something Gloria hasn’t done in years. She’s doing a lot of things today she hasn’t done in years, and the thought makes her smile. Wrapping herself in a robe, she sets off to the kitchen, turning on the little countertop TV and humming as she takes out the bread and lunchmeat.

  “Steve!” Gloria’s scream brings him out of the shower, still wrapped in a towel. I’m perched on top of the TV, but neither of them sees me, their stunned faces staring at the screen.

  “I would have been at work—” Steve states the obvious as they watch the factory, whose gates had opened for him every morning at six for the past ten years, blazing in the early morning light, thick black smoke wafting through the air above what’s left of the building after the explosion.

  I give a satisfied sigh, thinking I might go back and check on Anna and Beau, when The Maker sends another call. No rest for the fey… off I go!

  Chapter Three

  I sit perched on the edge of the tub, watching the woman bathe. We don’t do that, either, we fairies. We can swim, if we have to, but we’re like cats in the water for the most part. It’s because our wings take forever to dry and while they still work while wet, it takes a lot more effort. Still, she makes it look pleasurable. Look at the steam rising from the water’s surface, where little bubbles pop over her pale skin as she shifts and sighs in the water! Almost makes me want to wade in...

  “Maya?” A knock on the door makes me jump and fly high enough to nearly hit the shower curtain rod. “I’m home.”

  “I’ll be out in a minute!” The woman smiles, eyes still closed.

  Her fingers trail over her breasts and then she cups them, feeling their weight. I’m curious about the human body so I can’t help but watch. I notice she has several scars on her flesh, some small and round with raised edges, others long and thick, faded silver. An accident, I think, maybe car or a bad fall. Humans are so fragile.

  I perch on the edge of the tub again, careful to find a dry spot, watching one of her hands move down between her legs, parting the flesh there. That feeling in my belly begins again as she sighs and lets her knees fall open, giving me a full view of her sex. The hair there is dark and curly and opens to reveal a deep pink blush inside.

  “Mmmmm yes...” Maya’s fingers move in fast circles at the top of her cleft, rubbing there. I want a closer look and fly in, hovering over her mound. I’ve never seen one so close up, and although the water obscures my view somewhat, I can see the fleshy pink folds opening up to reveal the dark space at the bottom of her slit. That’s where he puts it. It’s a startling discovery.

  “Oh yes, yes!” Maya whimpers, her fingers confirming my suspicions as she slips them deep inside. Her other hand is rubbing the little bud at the top. The clitoris. What must it feel like? I wonder, hovering ever closer, thankful she’s lifting her hips, giving me a fuller view. She’s rocking and panting, as if this is all some great effort, rubbing herself like this.

  “Oh now!”

  The woman’s hips shoot straight up as she arches, her whole body quivering, knocking me back into the tile wall. Dizzy and unable to catch myself, I slide down the slippery surface like it’s a slide, straight into the water below! I’m drowning!

  “Maya?” There’s another knock. Panicked, I come up sputtering, dragging myself over the side, clawing my way across the bath mat on the floor.

  “I’m coming!” The woman gasps.

  Ha. I guess so!

  Damn, she’s getting out, and my wings are soaked! I crawl out of her way, reaching behind me to wring my wings out as best I can. Great. Just great! It’s going to take all day for these to completely dry! Good thing we can still fly with wet wings. We can’t fly well, but we can still fly.

  “Rick?” Maya is pulling on a robe. “Is Zeph here?”

  I follow as best I can, rubbing myself against her discarded towel like some wet dog as she gets dressed.

  “Maya, Zeph is here!” It’s her husband, Rick, calling up the stairs.

  That’s my cue. How in the heck am I going to manage all of this without full use of my wings, I’d like to know? I flop down the stairs after her, catching one of my wet and drooping wings underfoot and toppling down to the bottom with a thud.

  Ow!

  “Zeph!”

  “Hey, you ready?” a male voice asks. Must be Zeph.

  I yelp as a shoe comes down on my right wing, pressing me to the floor. I don’t have any feeling in them, really—they’re kind of like hair or fingernails for you humans—but I’m now trapped under someone’s foot and am pretty sure I’m going to get trampled any minute now!

  “This is the best Christmas
present ever! Let’s go!”

  Ahh, there we go, I’m free! I move my wings, spreading them, attempting take-off. Ha! Not only are my wings still too wet, now I’m tangled in the laces of this enormous shoe!

  “Oh hang on, Zeph. Your shoe’s untied.”

  Huge hands come down toward me, fingers rolling me from side to side as I struggle in the laces. Finally, I topple backwards, free again. I brush myself off with a sigh, looking up, and find myself staring into the face of the most beautiful human I’ve ever seen in my life.

  He can see me!

  The panic is a hot, bright streak through me as I struggle to stand. He’s looking right at me, eyes a little wide, mouth curled into a small, curious smile. I’m sure of it. He can see me! I try to fly, but my wings won’t work well enough. Still too wet.

  “You ready?” Maya opens the front door.

  “You guys have fun!” her husband calls from somewhere in the house.

  I can’t take my eyes off the man who can see me. His has big, dark eyes that pin me to the floor.

  “Yeah, sure,” Zeph says, standing. He’s still looking right at me! “Let’s go.”

  Maya goes out the door and before I know it, there’s a huge hand lifting me into the air and sliding me into the soft, silky lining of a pocket!

  “So is this guy as good as you?” Maya starts the car.

  I’m afraid of being crushed, but the man seems very careful, even avoiding me when he fastens his seatbelt.

  “No one is as good as me.” Oh, his voice! It’s so deep and bright at the same time. A finger slips into the pocket, searching, finding my head. He pets me...

  He’s petting me! What am I, now, a dog?

  Is he going to take me home and put me in a mayonnaise jar with holes in the lid?

  Furious, I sink my teeth into his finger and taste blood, coppery and thick.

  “Damnit!”

  “Everything all right?”

  “Fine!” The injured finger withdraws. “Just caught myself on something in my pocket. Staple or tack or... something.”

  “I’m scared, Zeph.” The woman’s voice trembles slightly, and I remember suddenly why I’m here. I have a job to do! And wet wings or not, I need to get it done. “Do you think he can really tell me where she is?”

  “Don’t be scared.” He reassures her and I’m peeking out of his pocket, trying to see how close we are. “And I don’t know... I hope so.”

  “I’ve never been to a psychic... I mean, besides you...”

  “I don’t count.” His laugh! Startled, I glance up, straining to see his face. That smile! “I’m like family.”

  “True.” Maya smiles and reaches over to squeeze his hand.

  “Turn left up here.” He squeezes her hand back.

  Almost there. I give her a little “push,” and the car turns right, heading down a side street.

  “Uh, Maya?”

  “I know, I just... need to stop to pick up a prescription.”

  That was me.

  “Now!?”

  “I’ll be right back.” The car door closes behind her.

  “Well, little one...we’re alone at last...” The fingers dig into the pocket again, pinching my wings gently and pulling me out into the light.

  No doubt about it, now. If he’s talking to me, he can obviously see me.

  “You need to let me go.” I cross my arms and glare at him in what I hope is a sufficiently menacing way.

  “I won’t keep you.” He holds me up in his palm and I shake my wings, making another attempt to fly. Still too wet! “What are you doing here?”

  “Maya.” I nod toward where she’d disappeared into the drug store. “She’s about to find her birth mother.”

  His eyes widen, and then he smiles.

  That smile!

  It sends a wave of heat rushing through me. I’ve never reacted this way in the presence of a human before. But, then again, I’ve never had a human see me before.

  I need to get out of here.

  I wave my wings, willing them to dry faster.

  “Thank you, little one...” he says softly. He has such a strange, knowing look in his eyes. It’s unsettling.

  “My name is Sam.” I shake the water off my wings and am satisfied to see it spray his face. He laughs, wiping it off. “And it’s just my job.”

  “I know.” He cocks his head back and forth, like he’s studying me with those dark, captivating eyes. “I know what you do.”

  “Most humans don’t know... can’t see us.” Frowning, I stand up on his palm, pulling the edges of my wings up high.

  “I’m a little different than most… humans.” Zeph nods, his eyes smiling at me.

  Now I’m the one cocking my head, studying him. Who is this strange man? Maya said something about him being psychic—maybe that’s why he’s so perceptive? The way he looks at me, it’s like he knows me. And not just who I am and what I do, but like he knows what I’m thinking.

  And considering what I’m thinking, which isn’t at all G-Rated, that’s not good.

  “Who are you?” I demand.

  “My name is Zeph.” He looks amused at my posturing. I suppose it is a little ridiculous, considering how tiny I am compared to him.

  “I know that,” I snap.

  “You know a lot, Sam.” He smiles. “But you don’t know everything.”

  “What does that mean?” I huff.

  “Nothing.” He’s laughing at me. It makes me even madder.

  “Why did you put me in your pocket?”

  “I wanted you,” he said simply. Oh that look in his eyes. It’s dark and hungry and it makes me feel like he’s going to just swallow me up.

  And part of me wants him to.

  “Who are you really?” I gulp.

  “You shouldn’t ask questions if you don’t really want to know the answers.” His finger brushes my wings and they quiver at the sensation. I’ve never had a human touch me before. It’s disconcerting. And kind of exciting.

  “But I do want to know,” I tell him. Alex always says I’m too curious, and it’s true. I’m always asking questions, even if I can’t know the answers. “I want to know who you are. How you know who… what… I am…? Is it because you’re psychic? Are you reading my mind?”

  “I’m psychic because I’m who I am,” he says cryptically.

  “Talking to you makes me dizzy.”

  “I bet you were like that before we started talking.” He laughed. “And no, I can’t read your mind. Only humans are so… transparent.”

  “Can you see all of the fey?”

  “No, actually.”

  “Just me?” I blink at him, incredulous.

  “So far.” He nods.

  “Then how do you know who… what… I am?”

  “You’re fey. You just told me.” He nods out the window. “Your next assignment is coming back.”

  “I need to go.” My wings buzz slightly, and I can feel them, almost ready. A few more minutes and I’ll be able to fly away.

  “Will I see you again, Sam?” The tip of his finger brushes my wings and I shiver. There’s a longing in his voice that makes me want to stay.

  “If fate allows,” I tell him.

  “I don’t have a fate.” Zeph rolls down the window. Maya is practically running toward the car.

  “Everyone has a fate.”

  “Even the fey?”

  I open my mouth and realize I don’t have an answer.

  “Oh my God, Zeph!” Maya skids into the side of the car and hangs onto the lip of the open window, waving a piece of paper in his face. “You’re not going to believe this!”

  She goes on, telling him about the woman she met inside, the conversation about birth mothers, the unbelievable coincidence... but he’s looking at me, still standing in his palm, that same bemused smile on his face.

  “I believe you.” He laughs at her enthusiasm. “Get in the car before you freeze!”

  “What are you doing?” she asks suddenly, notic
ing his palm out, and of course, she can’t see me standing in it.

  I strain hard, getting my wings to work, and hover above Zeph’s hand. He drops it to his lap, looking at me with those interested eyes.

  “So who is she?” he asks as his friend slides into the driver’s side.

  “Her name is Gloria McCormick,” Maya’s voice is hoarse and coming in gasps. “She lives in town, Zeph! Right here in town!”

  The startled look on my face must be obvious. The Maker has instructed me to bring her here, but I had no idea her birth mother was the same woman whose husband I’d saved from the factory fire the day before. Zeph cocks his head at me, and we look at each other for a moment longer. I feel like I could drown in those eyes.

  “Roll up that window, it’s freezing!” Maya shivers.

  “Thank you,” he mouths, giving me an imperceptible nod.

  “You’re welcome.” I flit out the window and into the night.

  Chapter Four

  “Alex, have you ever had a human see you?”

  “I sure hope this one can’t!” This time it’s the woman, Karen, the one who’d been discovered with her lover in the men’s room. She’s loading up the counter at Neiman Marcus. We can watch her from our perch up on the candy cane.

  “Have you?” I press. It’s been a slow day. The Maker has been oddly quiet for me since the other night when I was ‘discovered’ by the man. Zeph. Okay, I admit it. I can’t stop thinking about him. I think it’s just that I’ve never really been seen by a human before, like that. Kids, sure, dogs, cats sometimes… but never like that.

  “There are people who can see us.” Alex shrugs. “I haven’t run into any myself, but I know they exist. They’re just really rare. Most of them are either what the humans call crazy or… just plain weird. Why do you ask?”

  The woman at the counter is handing over her credit card to pay for the boatload of stuff she’s buying. How’s she going to get all of that back to her car?