The Gift She Gives Ch. 16

How had any of them ever bounced back? How could he?

"I don't know how to do this! How do I do this? How do I live without her?" Mr. Hughes frowned at the big dragon who slowly shook his head.

He stared blankly at where she had disappeared, his breathing finally evening out, his heart beating just a little bit slower than it had before. She was gone. Sighing, he let his wings slow down their frantic beating against the wind and felt himself start to lower slowly, his eyes finally closing as he thought about everything that had just happened. She had kissed him, she had pulled him to her, forced the touch. The regrowing of his wings had been painful as the bones stretched and formed, and then his feathers had come in, in colors and patterns that he had never seen before on an angel. But that had not been the only change. His tattoos were gone, they had burned off as if someone had held the flame to each and every one of them. The deep yearning inside of him to dominate had also disappeared, and the ache of knowing that he could finally give her something that she had desperately wanted filled him with despair.

He could tell that he was beginning to fall faster and faster towards the ground below, and didn't care. It didn't matter how hard he hit the ground, nothing would hurt more than how he felt inside. So many things had changed about him, both physically and mentally. He had a clarity about himself that he had never had before. Not when he was an angel in the service of his god, and not as this fallen creature trapped between heaven and hell. He was no longer Archimendes the angel of death, nor was he really Mr. Hughes, the owner of a sex spa for nonhumans. He could never be either one of these people ever again. They were gone. He was all that was left. And he didn't know what that was, not without her.

Opening his eyes, he realized that he'd stopped flapping his wings all together, and his body had turned so that he was facing up to the sky above as he fell. He could see Zheng closing in on him, intent to keep him from actually hitting the ground and he frowned, he didn't want the old creature interrupting this. He just wanted to feel something other than the sick empty feeling that was burning a hole in his gut.

Then, when he was almost to the tree line, he saw a spark of light some distance behind and to the left of the dragon that was quickly approaching him. Immediately, he jerked his wings into action and stopped falling mere inches above the trees beneath him. Zheng slowed, as well, and they both looked up to see what he had spotted. There, not far from the spot that he had lost her, was Vesper, at least he was pretty sure it was, she was a great distance above him. Her long, white hair was blowing in the wind around her, the long dress that she'd been wearing was fluttering, as well, giving her an ethereal look. Not to mention the fact that she had wings. Wings that looked to be back to normal, but with a little extra at the lower ends of the bottom two. He realized that the part of her that had been cut off had been healed somehow in what had happened to them.

He was moving towards her just as she was beginning to descend towards him. Mr. Hughes looked to see if the dragon was still there, but he figured Zheng knew that it was time to make himself scarce now, and he couldn't see the large beast anywhere. Licking his lower lip, he flew to her, knowing that he would never ever let himself fall away from her again.

"Vesper." He said in a somewhat broken voice, he didn't really know what else to say. What do you say when someone chooses to return from heaven?

"Arc." She smiled, her large eyes going wider as she floated towards him those last few feet.

"I thought I lost you." His chin definitely shook when he said that.

She shook her head slowly and moved her hands to place them on either side of his face.

"I found you." She said in a breathy whisper and moved her lips against his in the lightest of caresses.

Her lips were warm and soft and he felt the whole of her body settle against the front of his, and Mr. Hughes wrapped his arms around her to hold close as he continued the gentle, chaste caress. He would not grope her, he would not demand more than what she was presently giving. If ever there was a time to take things slow, now was it. But he felt his body heat up, regardless, and he knew that the effect she had had on him since she had arrived at the spa was true, she aroused him in ways he had never been aroused in before.

"Can we go back now? I want Natasha to know I'm okay. And I think that Elarinya saw what happened, I want to make sure she's not scared."

"What happened when you went there, Vesper?" He hesitated in saying yes, he wasn't quite ready to see anyone else yet.

She shook her head and smiled at him, "I saw my mother."

He was surprised, he hadn't expected that. "She was there?"

"Of course she was, Arc. She saved so many people in her life, where else would she have gone?" Vesper moved out of his grasp but kept her hands folded in his.

"What happened? What did she say?"

"She didn't say anything." Vesper bit her lower lip as he looked at her with a brow arched.

"No?"

"She hugged me, Arc. From my mother, that was all I needed. I needed her to hug me." Vesper told him, pulling on his hands a little so that he would start to slowly make his way towards her home, their home.

"Did you see anyone else?" He asked, knowing in his bones that her mother was not her only encounter.

Vesper had turned so that she was flying beside him, but she looked over at him when he questioned her and nodded, "Yes. I saw someone else, several someones."

He furrowed his brow when she turned her head and continued flying towards the house that he had built for her. He had done it to show her that he loved her. He had done it to prove that despite the fact that he was so incredibly wrong for her, that they were meant for each other. Deep in the dark recesses of his heart, there had been a little flame lit when he'd looked over the shoulder of the dragon and seen the sparkling light. Hope that the dream he'd had of being in love, of being with her was real, and that he could actually have what he wanted for the first time in his life.

"Vesper, we should talk about this before we go in." He urged as they landed on the landscaped walkway in front of the house.

Vesper turned to him again and put her arms around his shoulders, she had to get on her tiptoes and still she was not tall enough to quite reach her lips to his. He had to bend slightly to accommodate her as she pressed her lips to his again.

"We have a great deal to talk about, yes. But later. When we can be alone and I am not worried about my friends." She grinned before turning away and walking up to her front door.

Mr. Hughes followed behind her, his body heated and desperate for that time where he could be alone with her, for when he could finally touch her like he had wanted to for so long. He closed the door behind him and saw that she was already hugging Natasha tightly.

They didn't speak out loud, but he knew they were communicating. He had been shocked when the wood elf's voice had sounded in his head the first time. He hadn't realized that she had such a power, and he didn't think her brothers knew about it at all.

Neither woman looked from each other for a while, but they were both smiling. Finally, realizing that they were causing a lot of curiosity in the room among the others with them, they stepped back from each other.

"Is Elarinya all right?" Vesper asked aloud this time.

Natasha nodded, "Yes, she's fine. I checked on her and told her that you were okay. She's sleeping now. It's getting late. I was about to head to bed myself."

"Vesper, are you all right?" Samir asked gently, he was standing near the entryway to the dining room, his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he watched the women greet each other.

"Yes, I am fine, Samir. Better, I think, than before. Thank you." Vesper looked at her friend and smiled.

"Perhaps we should excuse ourselves for the night. Maybe, in the morning, if you feel up to it, you can tell us how your...visit went." Zheng spoke up from beside Samir and Vesper looked at the handsome Asian man and nodded, her face bright with emotion.

"Yes, I think that would be best." Vesper said and approached the two men, hugging them in turn before walking them towards the door of her home.

Natasha quietly slipped out of the room to disappear down the hall to sleep with her daughter, and Vesper walked slowly back towards Mr. Hughes. Her eyes sparkled with her happiness, she had a contended look to her that he hadn't seen before, not even when he'd shown her into the insides of her home that first time. There was a spark of something else, as well, something far more human, something carnal.

"Can I assume that you would like to not sleep on my couch tonight?" Vesper grinned with mischief in her voice as she put her hands on his chest.

"We need to talk." And he didn't need her to get him more worked up than he already was, he could already feel something new and foreign coiling in his groin area and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it yet.

"Yes. But not here. I want to change. I'm hot in this." Vesper indicated the heavy wool dress that she was wearing and he nodded and turned off the living room light.

They walked to the back of the house in the dark, him just a step behind her, still slightly afraid that if he wasn't close, then something would happen that would drive them apart again. Once they were inside her room, she walked over to her dresser and lit a candle and then a few more, creating a soft glow to the room instead of the stark brightness that it would have been covered with if she'd turned on the light switch. He sat down on the edge of the couch and bent to take off his shoes. He hadn't even noticed that he'd been outside without a shirt on, he'd been so incredibly hot. Now, though, he was very aware that he was bare chested.

Vesper went to her dresser and pulled out a thin, silk knee-length nightgown and set it on the edge of her bed and then began to unbutton the dress she was wearing.

"My mother hugged me and then she sort of faded from view, I don't know quite how to explain it." She began talking softly as she undressed.

"Underwear, too, please, Vesper." His voice was hoarse as he made the request, and she nodded.

"Then I saw Fezekial. He seemed a bit surprised to see me. They all did." Vesper slipped out of her panties.

"They?"

"Oh, yes. There were a great many of your brothers there. They didn't seem to be expecting me, I think they had expected to see you. But there I was." She picked up the nightgown and slipped her legs through the middle hole before pulling it up her body and settling the spaghetti straps over each shoulder.

"What did they say?" He wasn't just curious, he was slightly worried as to what the angels would have said to his ayperi.

"They love you very much, Arc. And when they realized who I was, what I was, well...they were quite jealous. You still have a friend in Fezekial, however. He was the first...though not the only one of them, to stand up for you and tell the others that I was not there for them, that I would not be shared."

His ears burned red at the thought of other angels touching her, and he couldn't control the way he tensed as he stood up. Jealousy was an ugly beast, and he didn't like having to feel it against his own kind.

"They didn't touch me, Arc. I promise." She walked towards him and put her hands on his naked abdomen.

Arc frowned down at her. He could see more of her skin now and was very thankful that the tattoos that had appeared on her earlier had only been temporary, for they were gone now. She was fully back to who she had been before they'd touched, and he was thankful for that. He, though, would never be the same.

"You must understand, angels were promised this. For a very long time, and you are the only ayperi in existence. I cannot trust that one of them will not attempt to have you." He explained to her, and she nodded. The way she was running her fingertips over the skin of his belly was making pinpoints of heat swirl inside of him.

"But I will only have you. And I can control angels, Arc. I will never be in any real danger from them. Ayperi might have been promised to angels, but we are the ones who have to allow it. And I don't, I don't allow it from anyone...but you." Vesper tilted her head up again and kissed his throat slowly.

"I want you, Vesper." He groaned and raised a hand to the back of her head.

"You do?" She grinned wickedly and moved her hands up and against his small masculine nipples.

"As my wife." He frowned, making her eyes widen.

"Your wife?"

"I would not have you as my concubine. I want you to belong to me, just as I already belong to you. I would have us married." He kissed her forehead as she moved in to hug him tightly.

"If that's a proposal, Arc, I wholeheartedly accept it."

"I just ask that the wedding happen very very soon." He whispered as he set his cheek against her scalp.

"Oh, dear. Don't you dare. Don't you dare tell me that you expect me to wait even one more day to give you something I have promised you for so long." Vesper gasped, her hands tightened around his shoulders as she looked up at him.

"What?" Mr. Hughes shook his head.

"My virginity. I want you to have it." She grinned wide at the man whose face immediately reddened and his lower lip trembled slightly.

"Vesper, we can wait. We should wait. I don't want to rush us through anything. You don't have to expect that I'll make you do this now." He spoke slowly, he hadn't expected her to offer her body to him so soon, granted, he had hope to at least caress her tonight, but he had had no intention of going so far as to take her innocence.

"Arc, we are not rushing into anything. Really, we've been slowly headed in this direction for months. I want you, and now I can have you." She lowered a hand and cupped the back of one of his and guided it in between her legs, "See, I am more than ready for you."

Her last words came out filled with her passion and Mr. Hughes bent the fingertips of the hand she had placed between her legs and rubbed the petals of her pussy. He felt the cloth of her gown dampen and knew she was aroused. His body responded quickly, and he was enveloped by the urge to grab her up and toss her on the bed right now, with no preamble, but he stayed where he was.

"You really want this now, you don't want to wait until we get married?" He prodded again, he wasn't too fond of the idea of her regretting tonight.

Vesper shook her head and smiled at him, backing away so that he had to let his fingers slide away from her womanhood. "I am absolutely sure that I don't want to wait, Arc. But I do need to go to the bathroom and take care of a few things first."

He bit his lower lip and nodded, was he ready for this? Was he ready for his first time with this woman? Could he please her? Could he make love to her and not fuck her like he had always done to women in the past? He wasn't sure, and that scared him, but if she wanted him to try, then he would. He would do anything that she asked.

He watched as she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door. Then he walked over to the bed and pulled the blankets and sheets down. He made sure the door to the room was closed and locked, and that the blinds and shades were closed at the two windows. Mr. Hughes had just stepped out of his socks when Vesper came back into the bedroom. She had removed the gown completely and brushed out her long, beautiful hair to hang around her body. She had used a bit of the salve that was made here at the spa, the goo that they used to help the women find more pleasure in both anal and vaginal sex. He could smell the distinct, erotic aroma as it wafted towards him.

Can I assume that somewhere in this room, you have hidden the items you will need to make this night pleasurable for both of us?" Her question made his body burn and he thought about what she was asking.

The wooden cocks that he had used on her before, the one that he had intended to use to break her hymen that first day that they had been together in a sexual way, that's what she was talking about. He wouldn't need anything with that long of a handle now, as he could get much much closer to her. He took a step towards her and put his right hand on the nape of her neck.

"I don't have anything in your home, Vesper." He said huskily before covering her mouth with his, tentatively pushing his tongue against her lips and pulling away just as she began to open for him.

"You don't?" Vesper breathed out, her eyes a bit dazed as she looked up at him.

"I don't."

"Well, things might be a little disappointing then." She frowned, and he couldn't help the way the left side of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"I don't need anything, Vesper." He told her, moving his mouth back over hers a second time, this time plunging his tongue inside, his lips molding harder against hers as he hinted at the passion he felt for her.

"You don't need-?" Vesper whimpered when he pulled away again.

"I don't need." He nodded and smiled wider at her.

"What are you saying, Arc?" Vesper grew very still except her hands, they were shaking rather fiercely.

"My wings weren't the only things that grew when you touched me, Vesper." He smiled at her, one eyebrow raised as her face showed her shock.

"What are you saying, Arc?" She demanded more forcefully this time.

"I haven't actually checked, Vesper, but I'm pretty sure I have a penis." Mr. Hughes spoke low in his throat and then chuckled when she gasped and immediately moved her hand to carefully cup the front of his pants, yes, he was pretty sure the thick, pulsating mass that she was inadvertently rubbing was, indeed, a cock.

"Oh, my God." Vesper gasped.

"Indeed."

"Let's see it."

*****

Author's note:

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm sure you know what to expect in the next one! I have had soooo many requests to proofread and I wanted to thank you all for your offers. It is really kind of you to want to take the time to proofread for me. However, the nature of how I write means that I need to edit, and then re edit, and then even after that sometimes I shift things up a bit. I've been a lot better about catching spelling mistakes, etc. If I should need a proofreader in the future, however, I have plenty of amazing readers to choose from!