“Shit.”
Simeon
watched the tail lights disappearing into the distance with a sinking sensation
in the pit of his stomach. Carl was nice. He’d professed comfort with Simeon
being a little on the cool side. They had several fun dates where they met up
at the local ski-lodge, and then went cross-country skiing or snowmobiling. Simeon
did everything in his power to hide his…differences.
He
liked having a boyfriend. They’d only kissed a couple of times, and Carl
started to push for more after the third date. Simeon thought he could hold it
together, keep his power under wraps. He’d overestimated his control.
They
had dinner, and then moved to the living room. Simeon put one of his favorite
videos in. Will Ferrell was so funny in it. That was where things started to go
wrong.
“Elf?”
Carl’s
voice blew straight past disbelief to incredulity.
“Uh,
yeah. I love this movie…don’t you think Will Ferrell is funny in it?”
Carl
shook his head. It didn’t look like a negation so much as though he were trying
to clear it.
“You
actually want to watch Elf?”
Okay.
Simeon was starting to get nervous now. Carl said that like…there was something
wrong with liking the movie.
“Uh…we
can pick another movie if you’d like. I just thought this one would be fun…and
well, it’s my favorite so I wanted to share it with you.”
Carl
blinked at him.
“Just
how old are you Simeon?”
Crap.
Simeon couldn’t lie, and he was pretty sure that either way he answered Carl
wasn’t going to like.
“I-uh-I’m
19. Sort of. Or 319.”
Simeon
smiled weakly at Carl.
Carl
blinked again, and got up from the couch with his jacket in hand. Patting
Simeon on the shoulder he said, “Kid, you should probably call your counselor
or whoever helps you get your meds adjusted. Clearly, it’s time to get them
checked again.”
Then
he was out the door.
*****
Warm
lips kissed up each shoulder, one pair circling around to the front of his
throat and then moving up his jaw line toward his mouth. The second pair
settled in at the juncture of his neck and shoulder on the left side, nipping
and sucking and flat-out driving him insane. Simeon was burning up. He could
feel the steam rising from his skin. He’d never felt like this before. A hot
hand slid down his chest to tease along the crest of one hip. The further down it
moved, the hotter it felt against his cool skin. By the time the long fingers
and strong palm encircled the base of his diamond hard cock, Simeon was gasping
with need.
“Please.
Please.”
A
low, dirty chuckle sounded in his ear.
“Why
Ryan, I do believe our boy is trying to ask you for something.”
“You
know Josh, I think you might be right.”
As
the second voice spoke the hand around Simeon’s phallus began to move, stroking
him with firm, even, and purposeful strokes. The deliberate motion combined
with the steadily growing heat pushed Simeon higher and higher in a vortex of
desire until he was flung, shouting, from the highest precipice.
Simeon
jerked awake, his throat raw and his sheets sticky.
This
was the fifth time he’d dreamed about Josh and Ryan, their hot hands and hotter
mouths roaming his body. He sat up in bed and reached for his sketch pad. A
frisson of sorrow passed through him.
“If
only they were real.”
He
laughed at his own whimsical thoughts, and then turned back to his drawing.
He’d gotten Josh’s lips right in the last attempt, but he still wasn’t
satisfied with Ryan’s eyes. Sticking his tongue out to touch the corner of his
lips, Simeon lost himself in the soothing motions of the colored pencils
slipping over the page.
After
a while, Simeon gave a grunt, throwing the sketchpad down. Ryan’s eyes still
weren’t right. The shape was better this time…but something was missing from
the expression. They weren’t wild enough, or hot enough. Crap. He knew he could
get it right if he had an actual person to draw from.
“Even
a photo would help.”
The
ringing of his doorbell shattered the early morning stillness.
Who
could that be? Simeon racked his brain, but couldn’t think of anyone who had
reason to show up at his house this early. He hadn’t even ordered anything from
online. Maybe he should. The Ups guy was nice, and it gave him someone to talk
to.
The
buzzer sounded impatient this time.
Simeon
fell out of bed, dragging his robe off the back of the closet door and shoving
his sock clad feet into a fuzzy pair of snow white bunny slippers.
A
heavy knocking started.
Simeon
scampered down the hall, sliding to a breathless stop against the front door.
“J-just
a minute.”
A
rich, dark, smoky voice rolled through the door.
“I
don’t care Josh. He needs us now. My father owes me a boon for what I did last
Michaelmas, and I’m calling it in for this. We won’t get in trouble.”
A
lighter tone rang out like the belling notes of a tombone played by a master.
If he called out-
“Okay,
Rye. Tell him to open the door before he freezes right to the floor. Geez, who
ever heard of a frost elemental who couldn’t take the cold?”
A
sharp smacking sound thudded through the door. Simeon stared at the thick
wooden expanse with wide eyes. It couldn’t be. He. He’d dreamed them. His heart
beat faster and faster until he was gasping. Simeon flung the door open.
His
vision narrowed to a black tunnel. At the far end of that tunnel he saw them
framed in an oval of purest white, his Josh and Ryan. And now he knew exactly
what he’d gotten wrong in the picture.
“Too
cold—”
****
“Simeon!”
Josh
and Ryan moved as one to catch the collapsing man. Ryan, moving a hair faster,
scooped Simeon’s pale form into his arms. Once the unconscious elemental was
secure in his arms Ryan strode into the open door.
Josh
stood unmoving at the threshold. He clenched his jaw. His thick chest heaved as
he took several quick deep breaths.
“Dammit,
Rye, you have to ask me in. You know I have to be invited because of my Dad’s
little snit.
He
hit the wall just outside the doorframe with one balled up fist.
“Stupid
celestial rules were designed to irritate me as much as possible.”
Ryan
rolled his eyes before looking back over his shoulder to scope out Josh’s
expression. The big baby was actually sticking his bottom lip out. Sheesh, Josh
was such a drama demon. Ryan did forget the whole short end of the stick from
both parents thing sometimes, but really, this particular situation was
extraordinary.
“Yeah.
Sorry, Josh. I give you permission to enter.”
The
words rippled out, nearly visible as they crossed the threshold and fell
against Josh’s skin.
The
sandy haired demon shuddered.
“Shit.
That feels so weird.”
Josh
stepped forward as he spoke, wincing as he crossed into the house. Ryan cocked
one dark eyebrow upward. He waited until Josh met his eyes.
“What
feels weird?”
Josh
shrugged.
“Well,
it’s not your house, Rye. So even though you gave permission and I can enter,
when I cross the line it feels like fine grained sandpaper swiping at every
square inch of my skin.”
Ryan’s
eyes dropped to Josh’s denim covered crotch.
Josh
winced again before nodding.
“Yeah,
lover, there too.”
Ryan’s
eyes flashed upward.
“That
sucks, Josh.”
Josh
waved a hand toward Simeon’s limp form.
“Worry
about that latter. Let’s get him comfortable first.”
Ryan
grunted. Pulling Simeon closer to his chest he shivered. Speaking over his
shoulder, Ryan switched destinations in mid-stride.
“Josh,
he’s freaking icy. You’d better strip down to your skin and get under the
covers with him. You’re hotter than I am. I’ll make something hot to drink and
then join you.”
Ryan
walked unerringly to the bedroom door, nudged it open with his foot and quickly
deposited Simeon under the thick white comforter. He frowned as he took in the
room’s lack of color. No wonder the elemental was in such bad shape. Nothing
here fed the soul.
Josh’s
hand landed on his shoulder, hot, heavy, and familiar.
“Go
make some of that stellar tea of yours, babe. I’ll get our boy warm enough to
wake up.”
Ryan
nodded jerkily. He spun away from the bed, keeping his face averted.
Josh
gripped his shoulder more tightly. The heat from his hand increased.
“Whoa.
Don’t you go running out of here quite that fast, lover boy. Did you think this
is your fault, Rye? You fucking well know better. I wouldn’t let you come by
yourself.”
Josh
pulled Ryan close, heat rolling off him in waves, soaking through Ryan’s
clothes and warming the cold spot on his chest that Simeon had rested against.
Christ almighty knew how good Josh felt against him. The boss’s son had told
Ryan once that he could feel the love lighting up whatever corner of heaven Josh
and Ryan were in when they were together, and that he’d back Ryan if anyone
ever made a fuss about Ryan and Josh being together.
Jesus
was really an okay guy. Ryan had his own ideas about the Son, but he kept those
close to his chest. No need to get kicked out of Heaven. Not unless they tried
to forbid Josh entry again. Ryan lost coherent thought then, Josh’s fiery pull
on him melting any resistance he had.
Josh
licked his way into Ryan’s mouth, tasting strongly of cinnamon, like the
jaw-breakers some human children favored. Ryan moaned, pushing closer. Josh
suckled his tongue before pulling away with one last nip at Ryan’s bottom lip.
Ryan
whimpered.
Josh
chuckled.
A
firm smack against his ass had Ryan opening eyes he couldn’t remember closing.
“Get
the tea, Rye.”
Josh’s
topaz colored eyes sparkled at Ryan. The demon lifted his hand, running gentle
fingers along Ryan’s cheek, wiping away the tears straying over them.
“It’s
not your fault, Rye. He will be okay. We got here in time. Just—just make some
of your special brew and get your fine ass back in here as quickly as you can.
I can heal his body, but you have a more delicate touch for the soul stuff.”
Ryan
nodded.
He
could do that.
****
Simeon
blinked.
Joshua
reached into the pocket of his charcoal grey suit jacket. The play of light
across the back of his hand mesmerized Simeon. Josh’s lips curled up on one
side as he flicked open an antique pocket watch.
Simeon
craned his neck.
There
were words written inside the lid.
Damn.
It
figured they were in German, one of the few languages he didn’t speak.
Joshua
chuckled.
“Come
on Simeon, we have to get going. I don’t want to miss watching the launch.”
Launch?
What
was Josh talking about?
Josh
shook his head slowly, his smile kicking up a notch. He reached out with one
hand to tap a hot finger against Simeon’s nose.
“Come
on, luv, grab a parasol so you don’t burn your pretty nose.”
The
bigger man turned away, pausing to look over his shoulder and quirk a brow at
Simeon.
“You
do still want to see the Zepplin launch, don’t you? I had to give up an entire
week to my father to garner tickets to this luv, so let’s not miss it, shall
we?”
Simeon
nodded.
He
had no idea what the other man was blathering about, but he’d do almost
anything to stay close to the heat pouring off Josh’s skin. He never felt cold
when Josh was close.
Simeon
hurried to the door. He paused at the tall brass vase next to the portal,
plucking out a red umbrella. He didn’t own a parasol, but figured this would do
in a pinch.
Josh
held the door open; something wicked in the grin he bestowed on Simeon.
“Better
grab the binoculars too, my sweet. We wouldn’t want to miss catching sight of
Rye fluttering about.”
Simeon
nodded yet again, starting to feel a bit like a bobble-head. Yes, that was what
those silly dolls were called. He’d seen them on the film about the museum
where things came to life. He liked that one nearly as much as Elf.
Josh’s
voice broke through his musings.
“Stay
focused Simeon. I need you to stay with us, luv. We’ll get you warm in no
time.”
What?
The
umbrella’s handle grew soft in his hand. Simeon whimpered. Sunlight stabbed
down at him, bright but cold. That was wrong. Sunlight should be warm.
“Rye,
get in here. He’s going into shock. I think this is going to take both of us.”
Another
voice sounded behind Simeon, this one …well, it sounded like butterscotch
tasted, smooth and golden, sweet and slightly burnt. Not charred, but…heated.
“Josh,
the tea’s nearly ready. I need a few minutes more. Do what you have to, and
I’ll square it with JC, okay?”
Simeon
listened for the answer. He quailed away from the cold, surging forward into
Joshua’s fiery embrace. Long, lean arms closed around Simeon, and he was
flying.
Simeon
opened his eyes.
“I’m
sorry we missed the Zepplin launch, Josh. Will your father still make you pay?
It’s my fault, I know—if you want, I’ll pay in your stead.”
Josh
sucked in a sharp breath. He spoke quickly, words rushing out of his mouth so
fast they tumbled over the tops of each other.
“No.
No, Simeon, I can’t let you pay. Not ever. I don’t mind missing the launch.
We’ll see another one, luv. Later, when you’re well.”
Simeon
shook. A wave of cold swept over him, and he closed his eyes again.
“Promise?”
His
own voice sounded far away and weak to Simeon.
“Shh.
Yes, luv, I promise.”
****
Simeon
snuggled deeper into the warmth surrounding him.
“Jus’
‘nother minute.”
A
hard hand clamped down on his left hip, pulling him into full contact with the
heated form at his back.
Simeon
sighed.
“So
warm…”
The
deep, rich voice he recalled from earlier fell like liquid sunshine against
Simeon’s ears. He shivered, an electric prickle sweeping across his skin.
“You
see, Rye? I told you it needed the both of us.”
The
other voice spoke from in front of Simeon. A second, equally strong hand
gripped Simeon’s hip, just above the first. His leg was lifted, and a muscular,
hair roughened thigh pressed between his. Amusement laced the hypnotic tones of
the man’s lilting voice.
“Yes,
yes, Josh. You’re right again. Be a love and give me a sip of the tea so I can
feed it to him.”
Simeon
heard a muffled clink, followed by a slurping sound, then blazing hot lips were
pressed to his. He pressed forward, his mouth opening under the gentle pressure
exerted against it. The voice behind him sounded right against his ear.
“Get
ready to swallow Simeon. Rye is giving you a sip of his special tea. Nasty stuff,
but it’ll help you feel better.”
Laughter
echoed in the voice.
Warm
liquid poured into Simeon’s mouth.
Nasty?
Oh.
No.
This
was ambrosia.
It
tasted like the tea Simeon had once when—
He
opened his eyes, swallowing the delicious sweet and salty fluid in his mouth.
Simeon’s
mouth opened again.
“You’re
an angel.”
He
blinked at the being in front of him.
Feathery
softness brushed his cheek. Simeon turned his head, breaking eye contact with
the angel. Arching above him in a sheltering arc were two huge wings. One pure
white, the other so black hints of blue gleamed iridescently along the curve.
Simeon reached up, running wondering fingers over both.
“Angels?
What are angels doing in my bed?”
A
sharp crack of laughter boomed out behind Simeon. The callused hand at his hip
ran up his side, over his shoulder and around his neck. Long fingers curled
around his chin, pulling him further around. Simeon looked into the eyes he’d
yet to properly capture in a drawing.
“Oh,
Sweetness, I’m no angel.”
Simeon’s
heart hammered in his chest.
He
feasted his eyes on the most wickedly beautiful face he’d ever beheld.
No.
This was no angel.
A
hand reached over his shoulder to smack the speaker sharply on his shoulder,
just where a star shaped tattoo graced it. Simeon wanted to lick that tattoo.
His mouth watered.
“Ow!
Dammit, Rye, I’ll ask JC to revoke your angel status myself if you keep beating
me!”
Husky
laughter answered that outburst.
Simeon
leaned closer, wiggling around to fully face the black winged creature.
“W-what
are you? You look like…a dangerous angel.”
A
burning, knowing smile insinuated itself on the beings face.
“I’m
an incubus my pet. Part angel, part demon.”
Simeon
swallowed rapidly.
“That
explains the dreams then.”
Fingers
ran up Simeon’s spine. A soft kiss brushed the nape of his neck.
“Joshua,
stop trying to frighten Simeon out of falling in love with you. He won’t be able
to help doing so any more than I could, and speaking from experience, life is a
whole lot more pleasant when you don’t.”
Joshua’s
eyes flared, filling with flashes of yellow.
He
turned them back to Simeon, and the little ice elemental thought he might faint
again.
****
The
incredible heat in Josh’s eyes washed over Simeon. Plunged suddenly into the
molten river of need pouring from the incubus’s eyes, Simeon gasped for air.
His lungs immediately felt scorched. A frightened wail escaped him.
“Tone
it down, Joshua. You’re going to kill him if you bring the heat up that fast.”
Cool
tones slid across Simeon’s skin, easing the stinging sensation that had so
quickly overwhelmed him. A soft white wing brushed his side. Goosebumps broke
out over his whole body. The ferocious heat gentled to soothing warmth.
“Oh.”
Simeon
reached up across himself to pet the pure white wing draped over his side.
“Soft.”
A
dark chuckle drew his eyes forward.
Josh
smiled, the expression somehow sweet and wicked all at once. His long thick
lashes screened his eyes.
“Be
careful, Simeon. Nothing gets Rye going faster than stroking his wings.”
Simeon’s
breath caught in the back of his throat. He wanted to bury both hands to the
wrist in the brilliant white feathers that lay against his side lightly as
wisps of silk. His blood pounded in his ears. Simeon could feel each beat of
his heart pulsing through his body, pooling hot and heavy in his groin.
“Is…is
it allowed?”
Complete
silence greeted his query.
Simeon’s
blood rushed from his groin to his face. His burgeoning erection wilted while
his face flooded with color.
“Say
something to him Rye. I know most of your brain has melted down into your cock
right about now, but Simeon’s starting to look like he kicked someone’s puppy
by accident.”
Simeon’s
fingers touched the first feather, slipped along its length caressingly and
continued as far down the length of the wing as his current position would
allow.
A
shaky gasp sounded behind him.
“I-ah-by
the sweet Lord-yes, right there…I. Yes. Okay. T-touch me. Touch me more.
Please, Simeon.”
Wicked
dark eyes laughed into Simeon’s for a split second.
“Turn
over, luv. Give his wings a proper pet. You’ll see what I mean.”
Simeon
nodded.
Turning
over, he gasped at his first glimpse of Ryan. The angel’s face, transformed by
the mask of pleasure encasing it, glowed with a cool white light. Josh’s voice
rasped in his ear, the warm moisture of the incubus’s breath ticking Simeon’s
ear.
“All
that from one little pet. Imagine what he’ll look like with your cock in him,
Simeon. He’ll cry out, begging you to fuck him harder every time you touch his
wings. He’ll let you do anything, and thank you afterward.”
Simeon’s
cock sprang to full hardness.
He
sucked in a lungful of air.
“Yes.”
A
stinging bite nipped at his neck, and then Josh’s voice was whispering to him
again.
“Do
it. Take him.”
Josh’s
hand reached over Simeon, grasped Ryan’s upper leg and drew it forward over
both Simeon’s hip and his own.
“Look
Simeon.”
Simeon
looked. Josh’s fingers glistened suddenly, lube appearing from out of the air
to coat them.
“Holy—”
Josh
laughed roughly.
“You
mean Unholy, don’t you little elemental?”
Simeon
tipped his head back. Josh’s eyes swam with some old hurt. Simeon turned his
head further, kissing the underside of Josh’s jaw.
“No.
I meant Holy. All things of beauty and love are holy to the Lady I worship.”
Josh
shuddered.
Ryan’s
eyes snapped open.
“If
you two don’t stop philosophizing and start fucking, I’m going to lose my
mind.”
Josh
quirked an eyebrow upwards.
“Well.
We can’t have that happening, Rye.”
Ryan
cried out. Simeon glanced down to find that Josh had two long fingers buried in
the angel’s back passage. Josh held them still for a moment, and then began to
stroke them in and out with slow deliberate motions. Ryan moaned, long and low,
and needy. Simeon shook. His cock was bursting with blood, droplets of pre-come
leaking from the tip. His balls were snugged up
hard and tight against his body. Simeon blew out a shaking breath,
concentrating on not coming.
“Josh,
now, I need Simeon now. I’m stretched enough. I need him in me.”
Josh
pulled his fingers out.
Simeon
fit the head of his cock to Ryan’s loosened hole. This was the best dream he’d
ever had.
A
velvety black wing spread over his side as he pressed inch by inch into Ryan’s
tight passage.
“You’re
not dreaming this time, Simeon.”
****
Joshua
reached for Simeon. The ice elemental’s skin felt pleasingly cool to his hot
hands, drawing him back again and again to touch. He wanted to let the smaller
man concentrate on fucking Ryan.
Really.
Just.
The
soothing feeling of the other man’s silky skin wicking away the infernal heat
that burned within him night and day—
Yeah.
The
feeling was addictive.
A
buzzing noise startled Joshua out of his contemplation of how very sexy he
found Simeon, and how badly he craved the small man.
Shit.
Only
two people had his private number, and the only one he really wanted to
communicate with was currently being fingered thoroughly in preparation for
Simeon’s first time fucking him.
The
other being who had the number was Josh’s dad.
There
was no way this could be good. Josh rolled to his other side, snagging his cell
from the nightstand. He shook his head in bemusement. Rye must have put it
there when he brought the tea in. Just in case. And of course, the devil
himself was taking advantage of that.
The
phone chirped again as his hand touched it.
Double
shit.
His
dad hated texting.
Said
it was soulless.
As
if.
Josh
braced himself, and pulled up the text.
“Well,
son, if you can’t be bothered to answer your phone, you can find these items
for me. I heard your boy offer to pay in your stead. You have 24hrs to complete
my scavenger hunt, or I’ll take him up on his offer. I think a brief stay in
Hell might warm your little iceman right up. –Dad”
Josh
scrolled down and found the list.
1.throwing
knife
2. a genie
3. boatman
4.relic or treasure hunter
5. Earthquake
What
the fuck? How did the old man expect him to bring an earthquake back? Charon
would be easy. Dad didn’t know the boatman had a soft spot for Rye. Um. Genie’s
didn’t exist. Rye might know a way around that one though. Throwing knives were
easy. Relic? What was dad up to? The relic was the key to this whole list, Josh
could feel that in his gut.
A
moan behind him had Josh snapping his head around to see exactly what he was missing.
Oh.
Fuck.
That
was hot.
Simeon
had rolled to his back, spread Rye out over top of himself, and was stroking
the pretty angel’s soft white wings as he fucked up into Rye’s tight depths.
Josh groaned. Dammit, he’d missed the beginning due to dear old dad’s lousy
timing. He was so going to add that to the ginormus list of shit Dad owed him
for.
Ryan
moaned, fluttering his wings over his back before stretching them out. The tip
of one wing brushed against Joshua’s face. The cool brush of Rye’s feathers
against his face radiated through Josh until it reached his center.
Dear
God, he loved his angel. And now they had their perfect third. Josh scooted
close again, pressing himself against Simeon’s side.
“Turn
on your side, Simeon. That way I can have you while you have Rye.”
****
Simeon
shivered as the low rough tone of Joshua’s voice slid into his ears. The
vibrations rolled against the elemental’s skin in a warm rush of sound. Another
layer of comforting warmth wrapped around Simeon. He gasped, unaccustomed to
the deluge of sensation, hips jerking upward as his level of pleasure ramped up
another notch. Ryan fluttered his wings against Simeon’s hands.
“Just
like that. Oh. Yes.”
Ryan’s
voice broke off into another wordless murmur. Then, apparently in response to
Joshua’s statement about wanting Simeon on his side, Ryan folded the wing
furthest from Joshua against his back, insinuated one strong arm under Simeon’s
back with fingers splayed between the elemental’s shoulder blades, and grasped
Simeon’s jaw with the other hand.
Ryan
kissed Simeon. And while he sweetly poured what felt like an eon’s worth of
feeling into the press of lips, he rolled to his side. Joshua’s hands grasped
Simeon’s hip, lifting and pushing at the same moment. The whole movement,
slick, sure and so very synchronized, gave birth to a niggling doubt in Simeon’s
head.
Had
they done this before?
Found
some other lonely fool, whispered charming lies until they got the man naked,
and plundered his flesh thoroughly before leaving him behind like a discarded
toy?
A
frisson of cold slid up Simeon’s spine. His gut clenched, the muscles at his
center winding tighter and tighter as they attempted to draw away from the
bleak, frozen despair of that thought. Joshua’s grip on his hip tightened.
“Simeon?
What’s going on in that head of yours? I sweartagod—”
Ryan
pulled back abruptly.
“Josh!
You have got to stop using JC and his dad’s names in vain. How many times do I
have to tell you?”
The
air around Simeon crackled with tension. He felt hot waves of feeling beating
at his back.
“Rye,
we are not getting into that right now. Got it? The more important issue here
is the way every muscle in Simeon’s back just tightened down so far it’s a
wonder you can’t hear his bones creaking in protest.”
Ryan’s
tiny frown and pursed lips softened as he turned his eyes from looking over Simeon’s
shoulder to stare straight at the smaller man.
“Simeon?
Are you okay? Do you need some more tea? A blanket?”
The
angel’s hands moved as he spoke, one pressing even more firmly against Simeon’s
back, fingers caressing the cool, pale skin beneath them. The other hand roamed
up and down Simeon’s side. Simeon looked into Ryan’s eyes. Their silvery hazel
depths beckoned him. Searching diligently, Simeon found no hint of malice in
the warmth they offered him.
“I-I
just. You were so smooth. When you moved me. Like you’d done it before. It—”
A
harsh noise sounded behind Simeon. Like gravel on glass, the noise scraped
across Simeon’s nerves, abrading them.
“He
thinks we’re using him.”
The
hand on his hip clutched him hard enough to bruise. With a snapping sound, a
huge velvety wing curved up over Simeon. He was instantly enclosed in a magical
cavern. The wing covered Ryan as well. Simeon turned his head up, reached up to
touch the enticing surface of Joshua’s wing.
“So
different…”
The
texture, color and size of Josh’s wing was very different from the sleek, feathered
appendages of purest white that Ryan sported. Joshua’s was more like something
a bat would sport, softest leather covered in a thick layer of velvet. Simeon
rubbed his fingertips over the rich texture, marveling at the color. The brown
was dark enough to be mistaken for black at a quick glance.
“Never,
little frost man, never. Rye and I just—things are easy with you. You fit us.”
****
A
bitter taste filled Ryan’s mouth. Jagged disappointment unfurled in his chest. Without
Simeon he and Joshua would soon fall apart. The prospect of eternity with
neither man at his side was—unfathomable.
Ryan
closed his eyes.
He
couldn’t allow such a terrible thing to come to pass.
Pulling
his arm out from underneath Simeon, Ryan brought both hands to frame the
smaller man’s face. Simeon’s eyes turned to him, wide and wary, the pupils
blown open so far they nearly swallowed all trace of color. Ryan drew upon
every angelic power he possessed to infuse his words with an unquestionable
stamp of believability.
“Simeon.
We—Josh and I? We’ve been waiting for you. You’re the glue that holds us
together. I know you may not see time the same way that we do. Elementals are
sort of outside time, aren’t you? We haven’t had anyone else, not ever.”
Here
his voice broke. Ryan pulled in a sharp breath before continuing. The sound of
his words was lower now, tattered and rough.
“Please
Simeon. Give us a chance.”
Over
Simeon’s shoulder Ryan could see Joshua’s face go slack for an instant before
his brows drew together in a fierce frown.
“Stop
it Rye. Don’t you ever beg. Not me, not even Simeon. You’re too good to beg
anyone for anything. He-you. I. Damn it—”
A
buzzing noise interrupted.
Ryan
knew that ringtone.
He
shuddered, then extended his upper wing again, enfolding Simeon in it.
“Go
on Josh. Answer it. He’ll get angry if you ignore him.”
Simeon’s
forehead crinkled up, and his eyes squinted slightly. Josh folded the soft
velvet of his wing against his back, and Simeon made a barely perceptible noise
of distress. Josh exhaled shakily.
“Yeah.
About that. Dad heard Simeon volunteer to take my place earlier. And he says if
I don’t find the stuff on this crazy list he sent earlier he’s gonna call his
marker in. I can’t stop him Rye.”
Joshua’s
gold and amber eyes pleaded for understanding. There was no other word for it.
Ryan gasped.
“No,
Josh. He’d never survive.”
Ryan
folded his wing more tightly around Simeon.
“No,
Josh. We have to find the things for his list. Show us.”
Josh
held his phone out to Ryan. The incubus’s hand trembled just before Ryan
grasped the phone. Ryan set the device down and the latched onto Joshua’s hand.
He caressed the silky skin at the base of Joshua’s wrist, and then pressed the other
eternal’s hand back against Simeon’s hip, placing his own over the top.
“Together,
Josh. We’ll keep him safe whatever it takes, and he’ll hold us together. The
three of us were destined by the Fates. Nothing can change that. It’ll be okay.
I promise.”
Simeon
reached up, placing his hand over both of theirs.
“I
haven’t got a single clue what either of you is talking about. Could someone
kindly let me in on what in the world is going on?”
****
Shock
punched Ryan square in the chest. Josh made a choked noise. Ryan looked at
Simeon, took in his faintly annoyed expression, then raised his eyes to lock
gazes with Joshua. There was a beat of silence.
Then
laughter boomed through the room. Ryan tried to speak, choked on his own spit,
and then gave up and lay shaking, tears streaming down his face, holding an
equally incoherent Simeon in one arm and Josh in the other. After several
minutes they all wound down sufficiennty to be able to draw breath without
immediately bursting back into raucous laughter. Ryan wiped his eyes.
“Simeon,
Josh’s dad did hear you. And he wants us…no, he wants Josh, to come to Hell for
a while. He’s told Josh that the only way he can get out of you having to go
there in his stead is to gather the things he’s put onto an impossible
scavenger hunt list, or…and he didn’t say this part, but he told Josh once that
he’ll always accept his son’s unconditional return to Hell. Forever.”
Josh
wiped his head back and forth, not so much in negation, but more in a shamed
display of anguish. Simeon’s jaw dropped. What kind of father?
Oh.
“You
mean—Lucifer is Josh’s father?”
Ryan
braced himself for Simeon’s rejection. He was the only one who’d ever dealt
well with Josh being Satan’s son. Ryan wasn’t sure that a virginal, extremely
sheltered frost elemental would be able to deal with the implications without
painting Josh with the same tarnished reputation his father struggled with. In
Ryan’s opinion, Lucifer actually wasn’t that bad a guy. He’d had a big disagreement
with the big guy, and then everyone started treating him like shit. No one had
ever listened to his side of things.
It
was understandable that he was a might short tempered after all this time. Even
J.C. lost his cool on occasion, but the big guy never got pissed about that.
And really, where was the fairness in that?
Simeon’s
eyes were huge, and his face had gone just as pale as in the seconds before he
fainted. Ryan shook him, lightly, and spoke sharply.
“Simeon.
Simeon, Josh is still the same guy. He’s good. He’s honorable. And I love him.”
Josh
made a soft, pained sound. He turned into Ryan, burying his face in the crook
of the angel’s neck, with his clean shaven face turned into the broad curve of
Ryan’s white feathered wings. Simeon made an inarticulate squeeking sound
somewhere between a scared mouse fleeing an owl’s outstretched talons and an
angry babe demanding a mother’s attention.
Simeon
cleared his throat and tried again.
“I
never said he changed Ryan. Who have you two been spending time with that you’d
assume I was going to think so badly of him?”
Simeon
shook his head, bewilderment clear on his face. Ryan reached forward, his hand
settling as lightly as the kiss of an angel’s wing on the upturned face of the
mortal they guarded. He marveled at the sight. He’d never seen anyone touch
Josh so reverently except him. Josh quivered against him. Simeon’s fingers
trembled discernibly as he smoothed them down over Josh’s shoulder.
Ryan’s
skin prickled. He glanced up quickly, amazement turning his insides to liquid
gold. The sunshine of the presence before him soothed him. He drew in a shaking
breath. Everything would be fine now. He knew his friend couldn’t take sides,
but to have his support this way?
Oh.
Oh,
wow.
“Josh,
Simeon. I’d like you to meet my friend, J.C.”
*****
Simeon
looked up, and his heart melted. The most beautiful being he’d ever seen stood
at the foot of their bed, his arms outstretched in what could only be a
benediction.
“Give
him to me.”
Ryan’s
mouth dropped open.
Simeon’s
brow crinkled.
Did
he…could he mean Josh? If this being was who Simeon thought he was, then surely
this went against some sort of protocol.
“Ah,
and who might you be, sir? I mean, I think I know who you are, but…you aren’t
going to punish him are you? Take me instead, please. I think maybe Josh has
been hurt enough already.”
The
being turned burning eyes, every color of the sky on Simeon, and suddenly the
little frost elemental who had never been warm enough was burning alive. A voice
whispered in his mind, and the whisper was as the roaring of canons and lions.
The thunder of Heaven itself rolled in the small confine of Simeon’s mind and
he froze, suspended above the vastness of eternity.
“You
would take his pain, Simeon of the Elementals, daughter of my mother?”
Simeon
shuddered.
“Yes,
sir, I would.”
The
eyes bore into Simeon a moment, an eternity longer, and then in a flash of
laughter softer than springs first shoot unfurling to the warming sun a laugh
wrapped round the three on the bed, tying then inexorably together with visible
strands of gold.
“So
be it, Simeon of the Elementals. You shall be bound to these two troublemakers,
and they shall bear your pain and joy as you bear theirs.”
Something
warm, unbearably sweet and full and endless opened in Simeon’s chest. The
painful stretch as his soul filled to overflowing with beauty and love brought
tears to Simeon’s eyes. Josh gasped, his eyes wild and filled with fear.
“Oh,
J.C., what have you done? Now both our fathers have claim on him.”
J.C.
smiled, an enigmatic curl of his plush lips over his wide mouth.
“Yes,
Josh. I know. And he is too pure, too beautiful for us to allow either one of
them to sully his hearth, isn’t he?”
He
shimmered then, before fading slowing into the ether. Simeon was sure then just
whom he’d been talking to.
“Er,
guys, I’m pretty sure I know who that was…but what did he just do to us?”
Ryan
answered in a shaking, awestruck voice.
“Yeah,
Simeon, that was the son of God. And he just bound the three of us tighter than
Josh and I ever could have, and in doing so bound you forever to both Heaven
and Hell.”
****
Simeon’s
body hummed with more power than he’d ever felt before. JC had poured sunshine
and—something warm, sweeter than a whole package of Little Debbie’s Swiss
Rolls, and as energizing as a triple shot cappuccino—through the three of them.
The little frost elemental licked his lips nervously.
“Just
what exactly what does being tied to both Heaven and Hell entail?”
Josh
sat up. Stretching out a well-muscled arm to reach around Simeon, he scooped
the smaller man towards the cozy knot he and Ryan had tangled their limbs up
in.
“Come
here baby. I want you touching both of us while we tell you what we know, and we
can all try to figure out a decent answer to that question.”
Simeon
allowed Josh to manhandle him into the central position. Plastered against
Ryan, with Josh pressed firmly against his backside Simeon sighed in
contentment. He felt like the sugar-high-happy-filling of a celestial
two-toned-shortbread cookie. Devil’s food flavor on one side, Angel cake on the
other with a very happy little cream filled peppermint cool center. Hmm. Now
there was a thought. He could try to make some of those when they got this
whole linked to Heaven and Hell/Scavenger hunt for Satan thing figured out.
Josh
cleared his throat.
“First
of all I think we’d better make a list of all the things we need to get for the
scavenger hunt and make sure we all have copies in case we need to separate.”
A
wimpy little whining noise escaped Simeon.
“We—ah,
we should probably stick together. I know I’d feel a lot better if we did.”
Ryan
placed a soft kiss on Simeon’s forehead. As he began to speak, the deep rumble
of his voice sent vibrations through Simeon.
“Josh,
I’m with Simeon on this one. I think we need to stick together no matter what.”
Josh’s
arms tightened around Simeon until the smaller man squeaked in distress. Ryan
spoke over Simeon’s shoulder.
“Josh,
please don’t break Simeon’s ribs. Aside from just being a very bad idea on
general principle, it would seriously slow down our progress toward the goal of
becoming the celestial triad with the highest number of joint orgasms.”
Simeon
gasped.
He
tilted his head back to stare in shock at Ryan. The big angel gave him a
conspiratorial wink. Simeon’s fledgling kernel of anger subsided at the sweetly
inclusive gesture. A snicker escaped him.
“Oh,
for sure. I don’t think I could—’
Simeon
blushed, the tips of his pointed ears growing hot. His face was surely cherry
red. He ducked forward and buried his face in Ryan’s chest.
Josh
eased his grip.
“Okay,
okay. Point taken.”
Simeon
continued to hide his face. How did they just talk about such things with the
same ease he would exhibit when talking about his latest baking project?
Sheesh. He could only hope discussing their sex life was either something he
got used to or that he got over this crippling shyness fairly soon. There was
no way the two gorgeous men currently in bed with him would stay interested in
someone who had no practical in “doing it”. Just thinking those words increased
the heat in his face by several degrees. He didn’t want them to get bored with
him.
“I
like doing it.”
*****
Posts
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Okay, I dunno... oh, wait. I'm feeling inspired. I will play the lead in Kitchen Things... um, after a six month stint of intensive training with an uber hot personal trainer, I shall take the lead opposite Hugh Jackman. *stares dreamily at his picture* 
