Damned and Desperate (2 page)

I moaned as I dug my fingers into his ass, pressing him against me and trying to coax him to slip inside. He chuckled into my mouth as his tongue sparred with mine. The bastard was having an awful fun time tormenting me. If I had any willpower at all, I would have gladly tormented him back, but I couldn’t think past getting my next orgasm.

I froze at the sound of the loud gong coming from outside the bedroom.

I broke the kiss, panting against his neck. “Shit. Someone’s at the door.”

“Don’t answer it,” he growled. “Maybe they’ll go away.” And then that glorious head of his slid inside me. Just the tip. Just enough to drive me mad with need.

The gong sounded again, and I could practically hear my poor girly garden weeping as he slid back out. I reached for him, but he was already slipping into his jeans.

Holy fuck! I didn’t think torture was allowed in Heaven.

His bright blue eyes turned a dark shade of cobalt, and he groaned while running a hand through his thick waves of brown hair. “It’s probably your family.”

I sat up, hugging a sheet to my bare breasts. “What’s the matter? I thought you liked my family.” Damn. That void between my thighs was a hollow, empty drum, needing to be filled so badly. Honestly, at the moment, I was too hot and bothered to care if he liked them.

I tried to push my desire aside as I slid across the bed and shrugged into a robe.

“I liked them better when they weren’t interrupting.” He leaned over, cupping my cheek in his hand before placing a tender kiss on my lips. “I’ve missed you.”

I about melted in a pool of goo when he looked at me with those heartfelt eyes.

He was so damn sexy, and I still couldn’t believe he was my flesh and blood boyfriend, not a valet or a dream, but my real, hot and virile stud. Whatever my family wanted, I hoped they made it quick.

“Ashley Marie, you had me worried sick to death.”

Before I could respond to my grandma, she was choking me in a death grip. “Hi, Grandma,” I wheezed. I guess word had gotten out where I’d been. “Help me,” I mouthed over her shoulder to my uncle, but he wasn’t paying attention to me. He was too busy gaping at my valet curled up on the sofa with my black Lab.

“She’s just a valet, Uncle,” I said when my grandma finally released me. I’d chosen my mom’s image for my valet because, well, I didn’t know who else to pick. I certainly didn’t need a sexy stud since I already had the real thing taking a shower in my bathroom. Just the thought of him lathering up all those muscles made me kind of wish my family would order their cheesecake to go so I could get back to him.

My uncle didn’t respond to me. His dark eyes glossed over, and he continued staring slack-jawed at my valet. He walked over to the sofa like a zombie in a trance, sitting beside my valet and watching her play with my dog. Jack had been snuggling with her ever since we’d checked into my penthouse apartment last night. One thing for sure, my valet made a great dog-sitter so Aedan and I could enjoy a little alone time.

“She’s been keeping Jack busy while we, uh….” I slapped my hand over my mouth. “While we slept,” I hastily added. Heat crept into my cheeks at the devious grin my grandma slanted at me. When was I going to learn to keep my big mouth shut? “We’ve had an exhausting few days,” I added with an exaggerated yawn, but I could tell Grandma wasn’t buying it. Oh, well. Considering her husband wore a leather thong and had an addiction to edible body butter, I shouldn’t have been embarrassed.

“Did they hurt you down there?” Grandma grimaced as she smoothed down the folds on her pink pleated dress. Since she’d taken on the form of her twenty-something self, she reminded me of a pinup model, from her shiny red lipstick to her ’40s and ’50s style dresses that flared at the hips and showed off her tiny waist and torpedo tits.

“I’m okay, really.” I casually flipped my luxurious, frizz-free hair over my shoulder, pretending the last few days of mental and physical torture hadn’t been all that bad. “My experience has made me stronger,” I said without batting an eye.

Truthfully, my imprisonment in Hell had not only made me much more self-assured, but for the first time in my life, I had a sense of self-worth. I was no longer a law school dropout with a lousy boyfriend streak. I was a demon-ass-kicking fallen angel, revered by giants and my dog, and loved by my gorgeous, brave boyfriend who’d risked his soul to save me. I had the afterlife by the balls. Now all I had to do was survive Hell one more time without getting banished forever. Easy peasy. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself as I tried to ignore the feeling a noose was tightening around my neck.

When Grandma flashed a skeptical gaze, I decided my best course of action would be to change the subject. I really didn’t feel like explaining to her we were planning on going back.

“Would you like a latte?” I asked as I walked around the island bar to my industrial-sized espresso machine. My valet had already brewed three lattes and sprinkled them with cinnamon, cream, and chocolate shavings. She must have known I’d have company. She’d also poured a cup of coffee, light creamer and no sugar, for Aedan. Ewww. What was the point of drinking steamy caffeine without hazelnut or vanilla and loads of foamy cream? There were also several selections of cheesecake spread out across the bar in addition to eggs, pancakes, bacon, and fresh fruit.

Mmm. I couldn’t wait to dig in. I had the feeling my food selection would be limited to dead rats and petrified spiders once we returned to Hell. I’d have to remind my valet to pack me some protein bars for the journey. I handed my grandma a drink and inhaled the cream off the top, not caring that my slurping sounds were less than ladylike. The warm coffee, cream, and chocolate swirled in my mouth in a symphony of flavor. I was sure going to miss my latte machine in Hell.

Grandma smiled and patted my cheek. “Well, the important thing is, now that you’ve been allowed back in Heaven, we never have to worry about you again.”

When she looked into my eyes with that heartfelt expression, a pang of guilt sliced right through me.

Yesterday my friends and I helped the Nephilim army defeat Scorpius, the evil gatekeeper of Hell’s first dimension, preventing the apocalypse. I ended Scorpius’s reign after blasting him with my thunderbolt, sending him all the way down to the bottom level of Hell. But our war didn’t come without major sacrifices. Aedan’s brother, Callum, and my friend Sergeant Sanchez, were both knocked down to the fourth dimension of Hell. Also, the Nephilim discovered two of their kin had been cast down to the fourth dimension over a hundred years ago. We couldn’t leave our friends down there for the rest of eternity.

Since we were returning to Hell after breakfast, I figured I should come clean. “About that….” I set down my latte and averted my gaze. “Our friends are still stuck down there, and we need to go get them out.”

“What?!” Grandma dropped her cup, causing it to shatter on the tiles in a million pieces. She stomped a foot and then snapped her fingers. Her valet, looking exactly like an old picture of my grandpa in a 1940s Navy uniform, materialized before us and got to work cleaning up the mess.

Aedan decided to make his appearance at that moment, toweling his hair as he walked into the kitchen, looking sexier than should have been legal in nothing but a faded pair of jeans and a tight T-shirt. He frowned at the valet. “Everything okay in here?”

Grandma stormed up to him and jabbed his chest with a shaky finger. “You’d let her go back down there? Are you out of your mind?”

Aedan didn’t seem fazed by Grandma’s hysterics as he leaned against the counter, helping himself to a piece of bacon. “I hope not,” he said as he took a casual drink of coffee. “We’re going to appeal to God first. Maybe he can help us out.”

My grandma threw up her hands. “You can’t just waltz into His office. You need to make an appointment, and it takes decades to get in.”

Aedan dug into his pocket. “Actually, a little over a century.” He handed a little slip of paper to her.

“Unbelievable,” she breathed as she gaped down at the slip.

I hovered over her shoulder, looking down at the hand written note indicating his early afternoon appointment. I scrunched my brow as I tried to work out the day in my head. I seemed to have lost track of time in Hell.

Aedan took the paper from my grandma, flicking it with his fingers. “I scheduled this in 1900, and it just so happens my appointment is today.”

I smiled up at him. “How cool.” Talk about perfect timing.

Grandma planted both hands on her hips, scowling. “No, not cool, young lady. Not cool at all.” Then she wagged a finger in my face. “You are not going to Hell. I forbid it!”

Uncle Mikey got up from the couch and crossed over to us. “You can’t let my niece do this,” he said in a commanding voice.

Aedan didn’t seem to be swayed as he matched my uncle’s glare with one of his own. Oh, so not good. The last thing I wanted was my family and Aedan fighting over me.

I stepped between them, folding my arms across my chest as I fixed my grandma and uncle with a determined expression. “He doesn’t have a choice. I’m going with or without him. My friends are down there, and I’m not abandoning them.”

“Dear Heavens.” In a display of exaggerated theatrics, Grandma swooned into her valet’s arms. If the Academy Awards had had a guilt trip category, she would have won it for sure.

Her valet carried her to the sofa, fanning her face as the color returned to her cheeks. Finally, she sat up, glaring first at Aedan and then at me. “I need cheesecake.”

Ash MacLeod

I wasn’t quite sure how we ended up at God’s place. One minute we were in my penthouse, and the next Aedan grabbed my hand and called out “Heavenly Palace.” I didn’t see him click red heels together and chant “there’s no place like home,” but sure enough, we materialized in a waiting room with tiles so slick and shiny, I nearly fell on my ass as we skidded toward a woman sitting behind a huge marble desk. I hoped God paid his heavenly custodian well, because the place was immaculate, everything so white it was nearly blinding.

“We’re here to see His Holiness.”

His Holiness? That’s what we are supposed to call Him?

I looked at Aedan as he spoke to God’s receptionist, a pretty toga-clad woman with big brown eyes and flawless, tanned skin. She would have looked like she’d just stepped out of an ancient Egyptian palace if it hadn’t been for the Bluetooth receiver in her ear.

“Your names?” she asked, batting her eyes at us.

Aedan cleared his throat, and for the first time I noticed how his hands shook. “Aedan O’Connor and Ashley MacLeod.”

She flipped open a massive, weathered book with pages that reminded me of ancient parchment and pointed to scribble that looked like hieroglyphics. “I only see your name on here, Mr. O’Connor.”

Aedan cast me a surreptitious look. “She’s with me.”

The woman spared me a momentary, disinterested glance. “I’m sorry, but if she wishes to see His Holiness, she’ll need to make an appointment.”

My heart sank. I had so wanted to go inside with Aedan. Not that I didn’t trust him to properly plead for our friends, but well…okay, maybe some small part of me didn’t trust him. Aedan and his brother hadn’t exactly been on good terms before Callum was knocked down to the fourth dimension, and I knew Aedan saw Sarge as his rival. I wasn’t certain he wanted to get them back as badly as I did.

The woman tapped her Bluetooth. “Yes, Sir.” She motioned to me as she stood. “She can come in. Right this way.”

Whoa. Had that been God on the receiver, and did he want to see me? I felt more special than the time Mrs. Pinkleschmidt picked me for the part of the lead singing flower in our elementary school play.

The receptionist pulled two water bottles out of a shiny silver cooler, handing them to us as she flashed a broad smile. “Miracle water, compliments of His Holiness.”

I looked at the label, impressed. “Heavian. This stuff must be French.” I popped the top and took a sip. “Mmmm.” It was cool and refreshing, and yet oddly familiar. I took another sip to be sure. Something about the subtle sweet tang reminded me of Hell’s hormone water, but we were in Heaven now, so I knew if the water had any hormonal effects, they had to be good.