He begins to move slowly, sliding in and out of me, but I don’t want slow. Not anymore.
I grip his hair and tug harshly, angling his head up to stare into his beautiful, golden-flecked eyes.
“Show me you love me, Caius. Show me,” I whisper before claiming his lips with my own. He releases a strangled gasp before fucking me in earnest. I have an insatiable need for him. We could be making love for days, and I would never tire of his exquisite body.
His tongue prods the seam of my lips, demanding entrance, and I comply eagerly. As we exchange feverish kisses, his body continues to move over me. His hands are everywhere at once—my breasts, my ass, my face, until they finally find my clit.
I brace myself for the impending explosion.
“Caius!” I scream before I allow myself to fall over the edge. I’m falling, falling, falling, but I know without a doubt, he’ll be there to catch me.
I’m pulled out of the vision abruptly, the entire world coming into focus once more. I’m still standing on the bridge with Caius, the gray sky full of bloated storm clouds, the grounds ominously vacant. The man himself stands directly in front of me, eyes closed and hands cupping my cheeks.
“What…what was that?” I gasp. I’m confused, horrified, and slightly turned on. The throb between my legs is undeniable.
“Don’t you see?” he asks desperately, brushing my hair behind my ear. “Don’t you see how much I love you?”
“Who was that girl, Caius?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. Unable to help myself, I step out of his embrace and rest my back against the railing. The wind feels frigid against my cheeks, and I instinctively wrap my arms around my waist. I don’t know if the gesture is meant to quell the chill or to offer myself physical comfort.
“It was you,” he replies dogmatically. When I gape at him, unsure how to articulate a response, he continues, “It's always been you.”
“I don’t…I can’t…” My head is pounding, pounding, pounding. At the same time, there’s a chasm in my heart—a chasm I’m beginning to believe Caius created. It’s a similar feeling to when I first discovered I had cancer. I can’t explain it, nor can I understand it. An image of the beautiful white-haired Angel manifests itself in my mind. This time, he’s standing beside three other men, all similar in appearance. A black-haired Demon with a scowl marring his handsome face, a shy, smiling Reaper, and a Ghost flashing a sultry smirk.
“Cla-Hadley,” Caius begs, but I’m already running. I need to get away—from him and from my own thoughts.
“Leave me alone!” I scream.
My pulse skitters as I collapse onto a bench outside of the North Forest.
What is happening?
Chapter 12
Auston
Thank fuck that’s over. If I had to listen to Professor Whitehead drone on any longer about all the ways Guardians are different from ‘normal’ Angels, I was going to slam my head into a damn wall.
I have to get out of here.
My eyelids feel heavy, threatening to pull me into slumber even, as I fly back from my class in Heaven to the Academy. My brothers and I at least have a plan now—finish the school day as if nothing is wrong, then head back into that secret room we found and try to find clues as to its purpose.
Pres is determined that this room has significance. I’ve never seen him stand his ground about something like this, even before we died. If he feels that strongly about this place, then it deserves another look. It’s not like we know where Hadley is anyway. Maybe something in that room can help us.
Flying down from another boring class in Heaven is always interesting because I never know what part of the Academy I’ll wind up in. Spotting a portal in the clouds, I tuck my wings against my back and fly inside, allowing it to swallow me whole.
I pray that this time I won’t end up in the middle of some disgusting role-playing sex fest between Saggy Aggie and Professor Buttox again. Anywhere would be better than there.
My prayers are once again thwarted when my exit emerges in front of me. I land with a thud in the middle of another kinky sex game. Only this time, I’ve landed in a baby pool filled with baby oil. The slimy liquid clings to my body, saturating my shirt and dripping off my wings.
“Hey there, stallion.”
Aggie saunters around the room, swinging a set of fuzzy handcuffs. My eyes begin to burn when they land on the studded nipple clamps hanging from her saggy tits. I almost dig my eyes out when my gaze goes lower. The strap-on purple dildo surrounds her weathered hips and flops around repulsively. Noticing where I’m looking, she does a couple hip thrusts. “I still got it, stallion. Why don’t you come over here and let me tie you up while I rub you down? Show you how to do the truffle shuffle. Buttox won’t mind.”
Swallowing back my revulsion, I scramble from the baby pool but trip over one bound Professor Buttox. He’s hogtied on the ground with a red apple shoved in between his teeth. His chubby, sweaty, hairy body glistens with baby oil.
Fucking gross.
I mumble something incoherent and slip from the room.
Literally slip.
My feet might as well be on ice and my wings cut from my body for all the good they’re doing. Cursing baby oil and the fucker who made it, I run from Buttox’s apartment and storm outside.
“Thank fuck,” I groan as blasts of lightning blaze up the sky followed by deep rumbles of thunder. Holding my arms and wings out wide, I bask in the rain as it cleanses my body.
“Auston!” I turn my head and see my brothers stalking towards me, all looking like shit. We’ve had a rough few days. And I’m sure I look just as bad.
Preston swipes his fingers through his messy hair. “We’re all done with our classes and are going down to the tunnels again. You coming with?”
I frown at him. “No, I’m just gonna let you fucks look for Hadley without me.”
“But—”
“You’re so gullible, Pres,” I say, smacking the back of his head as I walk past him. “You already know I’m coming. We just talked about it this morning.”
“Well—”
“Well what?” I interrupt him, not bothering to look at him trailing behind me. “You thought I’d just let you three go off looking for the woman I lov—”
Shit!
“Uhh, the woman I love to hang out with,” I manage to say. Doubt anyone will believe my lies though. Well…maybe Preston.
Karston falls in step beside me and gives my shoulder a squeeze. “We all feel that way about her, Auston.”
I shrug off his hand and grunt a response and trudge through the North Woods, following the path to the Academy. The school looks ominous with its tall turrets stretching into the stormy sky and lightning blazing behind it.
Once inside, we scurry down the halls, wanting to get to the premonitions classroom as fast as possible. Karston beats us there, disappearing to float through the walls. Even I have to admit, that’s pretty fucking cool.
The rest of us hurry along the vacant corridors with muted lighting, shedding an eerie glow in the halls. When we finally get into the classroom, Karston is there, leaning against the hearth with his arms crossed over his chest.