The Virgin Priest Pt. 04

"How did that feel?" she asked, her voice heavy. She was sated and tired, but for some reason she didn't want him to feel alone after what they had just done.

He looked at her with scorn in his eyes, yet they were still soft around the edges, "Filthy demon," he muttered. His arm stretched across her stomach, keeping her body close to his.

"Now, now. There's no need for that, Priest." She drug her fingers across his arm, he shivered under her touch.

"You damned my soul to hell." He said, voice small.

"I damned your soul to an eternity with me," she said, still stroking his arm. Something about the contempt in his voice bothered her. What could she do that would convince him that she wouldn't let him suffer? "I'll make sure you have the best life. You'll have everything you could ever want."

"You can get me the favor of my God back, then?" he asked with indignation. She chortled.

"Well, anything but that. But I do promise that I will make you happy." She said. Her fingers were dangling above his elbow when she stopped. "Priest, can I see the mark on your back?"

"Haven't you already seen it?" he asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"I have, but when I touched it, there was something familiar about it. I just want to look at it up close." she heard him sigh.

With a groan he pulled himself away from her body and rolled onto his stomach. Lily sat up and stared down at him, at the muscles that adorned his back, the firmness of his ass. Her breath caught as she stared at the mark that covered his back. When she saw it at the church, it had been a simple mark of a demon. The mark that spanned her priest's back now was an intricate replica of the wings that she once possessed and lost. Sorrow flooded through her as she traced the pattern that was etched in silver and gold on him. Her wings were magnificent, and against the milk chocolate of his skin, the outline was exquisite. She placed the palm of her hand in the center of his back where the wings came together. Tears fell down her cheeks silently, landing squarely on his shoulder. As they hit him, he jumped in surprise.

Luke rose to his knees under her touch. She didn't notice as her hand fell from him, she was too stunned with what she saw. He turned to face her, his expression turned tender when he saw the tears falling down her cheeks. He reached up and wiped them away. She didn't react. Her arms lay loosely by her side, her eyes fixed on the wall behind him.

"Lily," he said softly. She didn't move her gaze from the wall. He cupped her face in his hands, running his thumbs across her cheeks. He was trying to keep her cheeks dry, but the tears were falling faster than he could wipe them. "Demon, what did you see?"

He felt a twinge of guilt as he watched her. She was completely unmoving. It even looked like she had stopped breathing. Did demons need to breathe? Luke dropped his hands to her shoulders and shook her slightly. Her eyes tracked over to him slowly, but there was no life in them. The chocolate brown was replaced by black holes. Demon eyes. Full demon eyes. It startled him, for a moment he had forgot she wasn't human. Her pale skin darkened slightly as her raw emotions ran through her. She was losing control of her human form in her grief.

"Lily!" Luke tried again, this time with a little more urgency. He watched as she tried to regain her faculties, but all he saw in her eyes was an empty pool. She wasn't the cool and collected demon he had come to know. "Lily come back, please come back."

He felt like he should be scared for his life, but he couldn't bring himself to be afraid of her. Even in this state he didn't truly believe that she would hurt him. She was the picture of terror, but it wasn't enough to deter him from her. He gave her another firm shake and saw some light spark in her eyes, a distant glimpse of the emotions she had pushed down. She locked eyes with him, still not saying anything, but she reached up and lifted his hands off her with ease. With little more than a thought, she turned him back around and stared at the patterns on his back. Her hand had resumed its position on the middle of his back as if it was meant to be there. Tenderly, she brushed her hand down the mark, remembering the feel of the wings she used to have.

"You took them," she said, her voice barely a whisper. Unbridled pain squeaked through her words, hearing herself speak them out loud tore a hole through her heart. "You took them and I can never get them back."

A low, pained moan reverberated through her chest, and poured out of her mouth by way of an ear splitting wail. It was all Luke could do not to turn around and bring her to his chest and hold her in his arms. That plan didn't seem quite right, though. Lily's hands stayed soft on his back, her cries echoing though the cottage.

"What did I take, Lily?" he asked.

"My wings," she whispered through her sobs. "They're on your back, Priest. You took my wings."

Luke inched away from Lily and turned to face her. He couldn't stand to see the pain on her face. Even with her pitch black demon eyes, all he could see in them was sorrow. Her hand was frozen in the air. Luke reached up and grasped her outstretched hand in his own. He wanted to give her some warmth, she looked so cold. Her hand was delicate in his, but he wasn't stupid enough to think she was weak. Even though he knew that, he could feel her shrink under his touch.

"What do you mean I took your wings?" He watched as the light started to return to her eyes. She yanked her hand from his grasp and shook her head. Her eyes had returned to normal.

"Huh?" She said in a daze.

"You said I took your wings, Lily. What did you mean by that?" Concern coated his features.

"Your back, Priest. The mark on your back is my wings. I haven't seen them in so long." She looked at him longingly. "They're gold and silver just as I remember them."

"How do I have them?" He was confused again.

"There's a legend in my world. But it doesn't make any sense. I've never heard about it applying to a human." Lily dropped her head into her hands. "If a demon marks you with the imprint of their wings, it means that they've bonded eternally to you. I've never seen this type of bond, and I've certainly never seen it with a mortal, human man. But I also lost my wings hundreds of years ago, I don't have them to mark you with."

"Eternally bonded?" Luke's voice shook. "As in for as long as you live?"

Lily sighed, "I don't know."

"How do you not know," he spat, "How am I supposed to believe that you don't know that you bonded to me for eternity? You tied me to Hell for the rest of my eternal life, demon."

The air around Lily warmed uncomfortably, "Do you think I would have knowingly condemned myself to death, human? I've been alive for a thousand years, I don't want to die at the hands of a human priest. Besides, I never could have left that mark on you if it wasn't meant to be there. The only thing I know for certain about that mark is that it will claim my life if anything were to happen to you."

"What does that mean?" His voice shook. He didn't know if it was from anger, fear, or a little of both.

"It means that you are mine, Priest." Determination glinted in her eyes. "No one will lay a hand on you if I have a say in it."

"I belong to no one, especially not a demon." His confidence was wavering. Truth was, no matter how angry he was at this development, he actually wanted to stay with her.

"You lie over and over again," Lily laughed, "But whether you want to or not, you're stuck with me now, Priest."

Pain flowed through Lily as she realized he would always have the piece of herself that she missed the most. It was the part of her that always gave her freedom, and not a day had gone by since she lost her wings that she hadn't thought about them. If her other peculiarities hadn't estranged her from her family, her lack of wings surely did. What she would give to be able to take to the skies again and be carefree. She would probably give up the priest sitting next to her.

"I don't have a say in this, do I?" Defeat marred his voice.

"Neither of us do, Luke," she said softly. "I know you have no reason to believe this, but I don't take any pleasure in holding you against your will. I can't get any pleasure out of it. There's nothing in it for me. I can't take what you don't freely give."

"I didn't freely give myself to you in the church," he said. He was running out of ways to argue with her.

"I didn't touch you in the church. But you were open to me," She sighed. "I don't want to argue about this. I'm as happy about it as you are."

"Get me out of this, demon, please." He had resorted to begging. He saw the hurt flash across her eyes, her pain came as a sharp blow to him. He could feel it deep within him. Her loss.

"I wish I could." She met his gaze. "But the wings look perfect on you, Priest."

Luke rolled his eyes and stood. What he needed was clothing. He had been sitting in front of the demon painfully nude. He saw his discarded pants over to the side. He picked them up and slid them on. Lily didn't move.

"Please don't cover them, Luke." she held her hand out, reaching for him. He hesitated before he took her hand and pulled her up from the floor. For the first time since he met her, Lily looked utterly defeated. Maybe this was as much a shock to her as it was to him. She looked at him with such tenderness now. None of his readings had prepared him for the painfully human emotions his demon had. All the literature said that demons were cruel and heartless.

"Does it scare you that I could end us both if I wanted to?" He asked her. Lily shook her head.

"No, because you would go to Hell either way now. Suicide is a cardinal sin, is it not?"

"Yes," Luke let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"Work with me, then." She wanted to make him see how much she meant it. "As much as I don't want to, I care about you. You wear my wings on your back now. You're as much a part of me as I am of you."

"I don't like it," he said truthfully, "But, do you think your family, or whoever assigned me to you, knew that this would happen? Do you think they would do this to intentionally weaken you?"

"I'm as weak as they come, Priest. I can't do anything a demon should do." Fire lit in her eyes, "They have no reason to try to weaken me more than I already am."

"Nothing about your power feels weak, Lily."

"Not to you. But you want me in your head. I can only seduce those who wish to be seduced. And I can't fly, either. I often go hungry because I can't feed on forced lust. That starvation cost me my wings."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" He was skeptical of her motives.

"Because of the bond, I assume. I can't lie to the one I'm bonded to. Apparently that isn't a two way street, though." Lily reached for him, anxious to lay eyes on the mark again. He stood firm, though. She didn't press him. "Promise me you won't do anything to get yourself killed, Priest."

Luke looked into her eyes. He wanted so badly to see proof that she was lying, but all that he could see was resignation. He felt the truth in him. She didn't mean him any harm, she didn't harbor any ill will. If he opened himself to it, he could feel her emotions radiating through his body, and he had been able to feel them since the first night they were together. He decided that he wouldn't fight against her.

"I won't." He reached out and pulled her close to him. Warmth radiated through him as she wrapped her arms around his back, her hands coming to a stop in the middle of the mark. It was as if they were meant to rest there. The feeling of her hands on him made him oddly complete.