Angels

"You have ten seconds." the angel says. "10...9..."

I don't stay to hear any more. I don't have the time. How does one escape off of the fifteenth floor without flying? Good thing I have wings.

"Ready or not, here I come!" he sings. The door splinters as he kicks the other side. Time to make my exit. I take a deep breath and dive through the window. Shards of glass rip my fragile skin, but I ignore the blood for now. Escape from certain death now, heal later. I rise quickly through the clouds, wishing I had my coat. it may be ninety degrees on the ground, but it's closer to fifty up here. Plus wind chill. I've gotten icicles on my eyelashes before. The angel rockets after me, sword in hand. A sword. Seriously. How do I get myself into these situations?

"How dare you steal from me!" he screeches. I look down at the pouch containing a bejeweled egg that I found on my way in. Oh yeah. That's how. Hey, a girl's gotta eat. I swoop around a building and crash into another angel. Damn, this day keeps getting better and better. He grabs me by the throat and I break his wrist. He meets my eyes smiling and I pale. I know who he is. Izual is an archangel, and one of the coldest killers of the fallen. No one ever mentioned that he's gorgeous, though. Probably too busy cowering in fear, which is what I should be doing. I stare at him in open mouthed horror, too shocked to think of an apology.

"Thank you, my lord, for apprehending the thief." the other angel pants. Izual barely spares him a glance.

"Leave us."

"But-" Izual turns the full power of his cold blue eyes to the spluttering angel, and he quickly departs. Smart man. I wish I could leave. Izual gives me a slow once-over and smiles wider. He snaps his wrist back into place.

"How good of you to run into me. It saves me the trouble of hunting you down." he says. His voice is warm, rich, lightly accented. Oh, that can't be good. I'm close to the bottom of the food chain. There's no reason in hell (pardon the pun) for someone like him to hunt me down, unless I did something serious. Unless he found out that I was mixed. My eyes dart from side to side, calculating the chances of my escape. Things don't look good. I'm built for speed, not direct confrontation. He holds his hands out, palm up, in the universal symbol of unarmed and peaceful. Not that he would need any kind of weapon to kill me. I fold my wings in and drop like a stone straight past him. I don't take any chances with distance. I get far enough down that he won't be on top of me and fly off, sacrificing my usual pretty moves for more speed. On a side note, angels are not built like falcons. We're built like humans with wings. Aerodynamics pretty much missed us by. He tackles me in the air and I yelp. I take deep breaths and fold my wings back in, making my body heavier and less likely to catch the updrafts. He actually smiles and just hugs me to him. I growl and he tucks his head under mine, making sure I can't bite. Izual takes us to the ground and sets me down gently. I don't relax when he steps away from me. This is all a set up, somehow.

"We know what you are." Izual says. My heart sinks despite my previous suspicions. My life is basically over. If the council knows about me, that I won't be able to live long. They'll hunt me down. He steps forward and pins me to a nearby tree. I stare up at him hopelessly. Should I fight, or just give him my throat now? Maybe it will be less painful if I just give up. He growls softly and kisses my pulse. I flinch back, but there's kinda a tree in my way.

"Relax, child. I am not here to kill you." he whispers. Oh, good. I try to shove him away and he growls again. "I would not suggest that you test my patience."

"Get the fuck off of me." I answer flatly. Izual laughs, and suddenly I'm drowning in heat. My hands ache to touch him, and I want nothing more than to strip and offer myself to him. I shake my head, trying to clear it, and he laughs again.

"I am an incubus, and I can make you my slave with just a simple touch." he purrs. I open my mouth to argue and he brushes his hand over my cheek. My knees nearly buckle and I whimper.

"Please." I whisper, and the sensations stop. I jerk back away from him as far as the tree will let me.

"You are coming home with me." he orders. I laugh shakily.

"Fuck you." I snap. He smiles against my skin.

"I hoped you would say that." Izual murmurs, and he sinks his fangs into my skin. I hit my head against the tree, and everything goes black.

My lashes flutter as I regain consciousness. What on Earth happened? Did I fly into a tree again? Izual walks in and I jump back, pressing my back to the headboard so hard that it hurts. He glances down and I jerk the blanket back over my naked body. How did I get naked? I glare at him, forgetting my terror.

"You have been unconscious for days, child. Someone had to clean you." he steps toward me and I flinch. He growls and jumps up onto the bed, so that he's mere inches away from me. "You act like a frightened child."

Accurate, but I doubt that I should tell him that. "What day is it?" I ask instead.

"September third." he answers, settling in against my body. I force myself to stay perfectly still. More than a week past my eighteenth birthday. Still a child by angelic standards, but an adult to humans. He rolls over onto his back and offers me his throat. My mouth waters, but I don't move. I'm still afraid that this is all a trick. Letting me feed from his throat is a compliment, and damn near an honor. Why would he offer that to me?

"Drink." Izual orders. I still remain stationary. He growls and grabs me by the hair. I yelp as he jerks me down to him. The scent of his blood makes me moan. I lick his pulse, trying desperately to resist. "Drink."

I sink my fangs into his throat and feel his blood spurt into my mouth. He tastes amazing. I swing my leg over his waist and straddle him. He grabs my hips and I yelp.

"I offered you blood, not sex." he growls in my ear. I try to jerk away and he rolls over on top of me. He pins me to the bed, my mouth still fastened on his wound, and I groan.

"Don't." I beg. Izual raises up just a bit.

"What do you think I am doing?" he asks. I blush and he shakes his head. He bites my throat lightly and I cry out. "Breathe, child. I will not take advantage of such innocence."

Innocent. Ha. I resist the urge to argue with him, because I would like to keep his clothes on, if not my own.

"I don't suppose there's any chance that you have some clothes I could wear?" I ask.

"I can find something, surely." he mutters. He gets up and I dive back under the covers. He shakes his head at me and digs through his closet. I see mostly black, and not much else. You would think someone with centuries to live would try to get a bit of variety in their wardrobe. Hell, everyone's too terrified to make fun of him, even if he did look ridiculous. I stare at his wings and fight the urge to straighten his feathers. I still want to touch him. I hug myself tightly. Izual throws me a t-shirt and I blink at him. I can't run around in just a t-shirt all day. He walks out of the room, and I slip into it. Oh well. Guess I don't have a choice. Shit. I flop back on the bed for lack of anything better to do and Izual walks back in.

"You never did tell me what you wanted." I comment. He stares at me until I blush and look away. I study the room intently. The only exit is the door that he entered through. The closet looks well stocked and organized. No bathroom. The room is done in chocolate and muted blues, for a surprisingly nice effect. Maybe he let one of his prisoners decorate before he ate them.

"I am supposed to either kill you or breed with you to produce a trainable male angel." he says dryly. I consider this for a moment.

"Then kill me." He shakes his head and sits down on the edge of the bed.

"I have to keep my promise, and that means taking care of you." He reaches out to brush the hair from my eyes and I jerk away.

"I don't need anyone." I snarl. He studies me for a long moment before leaving the room. This time he doesn't come back, and I'm inexplicably miserable. He's deadly and temperamental. I should want him far, far away from my delicate body. I may be near immortal, but I can still feel pain. Instead I just want to curl up in his arms and feel his warm body pressed to mine. I shift uncomfortably, trying to get away from his scent, but the entire room is saturated by it. I fall into an uneasy sleep and dream of him for the first of many nights to come.