The Darkest Joy

g{x WtÜ~xáà ]Éç Copyright © October 2008, Dahlia Rose Cover art by Anastasia Rabiyah © October 2008 Amira Press Baltimore, MD 21216 www.amirapress.com ISBN: 978-1-935348-00-9 No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.

Chapter One So beautiful. He watched her smile while she strapped a piece of rubber around a patient’s bicep. The smile was brilliant, kindly, and full of encouragement as she slipped a hollow needle into the vein. She murmured reassuring words to ease her patient’s fears, and the lifeblood of the man began to fill the tube. Even from far away, he could hear her every word. She talked about the weather and asked about children, a conversation to take a person’s mind from what was happening into a happy place. Finally, she was done, and then she flashed that glorious smile once more. Perfection. No one could see him as he walked down the corridor behind her. He had done for weeks now. He watched her work, and at night, he sat outside her window and watched her sleep. Her beauty took his immortal breath away. The normality of her life gave him hope for himself. After thousands of years, one mistake had made him who he was now. Only redemption could free him from him immortal torment, his dungeon, his curse. Invisible, he sat next to her while she wrote up charts at her small desk in her space, her sanctuary, where she worked. He inhaled the scent of her hair like it was a fine wine. The dark tresses smelled of honeysuckle and vanilla spice. He wanted to run his finger down the creamy chocolate shoulder that was exposed when she took off her lab coat. When she turned, her nose was just a breath away from his, yet she did not know it. Her breath caressed his lips. It had the scent of the strawberry soft chews that she liked to snack on at her desk. He stared into eyes that were like liquid chocolate. Her lips were full, and she wore gloss that had a slight color of gold. Pictures of family and friends were all around her, trinkets of her human life that she treasured. One picture she favored the most, and she looked at it every day. She caressed the silver frame that said grandmother in raised letters. He heard her speak of the woman frequently, even saw them go out to lunch, and saw how she hugged her with affection and love. He longed for that emotional connection, that bond with another person that could not be broken. He craved. . . . The call jarred him from his place next to her. It was like a sledgehammer to his head. He hated when this time came around. He hated being away from her. But if he did not go to his duties, the repercussion would be great, and by the time his punishment was over, a hundred years would have passed and she would be long gone. A frown darkened his face as he moved away from her, and he promised to return to no one but himself. The next time, he would reveal himself to her slowly and let her know the man before she knew the secret. Next time. Her name was Bliss. Bliss . . . Bliss . . . Bliss. He repeated the name over and over in his head. She would be his bliss and his salvation. He felt it in the fiber of his being. He closed his eyes and phased out of this world owned by humanity and into a world no one wanted to see. The walls of rock were dark with soot, and the ground scorched the soles of shoes. As he walked, the heat caused the rubber to hiss like water dropped into a hot frying pan. He hardened his heart to the screams of torment around him, the pleas for mercy, or even a drink of water to quench eternal thirst. Had he shown any compassion, the consequences would be dire for him and for the person whose plea he answered. No, it was better to

pretend he did not see the bodies chained to the rock walls or hear the lashes from Qemuel’s whip against the flesh of his captives as he passed. “What took you so long, Caim?” The snarl came from the demonic lips of Belial. His face was almost flawless in its beauty, but it belied the pure evil that hid underneath. There was no one more malevolent, more filled with hate and destruction than Belial. Caim had long stopped fearing him. He looked at him now with total disinterest. He leaned his shoulder against the steaming rock wall. It burned a hole through the fabric of his black shirt, down to his skin. It burned his flesh, but Caim did not even wince, such was the life of a fallen angel in hell. “So no answer?” Belial asked. “Why should I give you excuses, Belial? You are not my master. You only dispense assignments. You are basically a secretary. And as soon as I was summoned, I came,” Caim replied mildly. It gave him great pleasure to see the flaming anger turn red in the demon’s eyes. “Your insolence will not be forgotten. One of these days, my revenge will be swift.” “Said the demon to the fallen angel who lives in hell with him.” Caim scoffed, unconcerned. “Why was I summoned? Give me my assignment, secretary, and go back to making coffee.” With a loud growl that was reminiscent of a lion’s roar, Belial was on his feet. His tail lashed the desk in front of him and split it into two. Black ooze flowed from the wood, and talons sprouted from Belial’s hands. Gone was the perfect man. Now, the face of a demon was pure and visible in its hate. Caim took battle stance. From his black back wings ripped their way through the fabric of his shirt. In his hands appeared a black sword. If Belial wanted a fight, he would give him one, feathers against scales. “Enough!” A booming voice cut through the room and shook loose rocks from the ceiling. Both looked around to the hulking figure that stood in the doorway of an executive office. Samael, the lord of this part of the underworld who only answered to Lucifer himself, looked back and forth between the two. Caim stood and let his wings fall to his side. He knew better than to piss off Samael. Belial, still in demon in demon form, ready to fight with razor fangs descended, stood obstinate. “Belial, do I have to speak again?” Samael asked coldly. “No, sire.” Belial went back to his flawless beauty, and with a wave of his hand, his desk was back to its original position, and not even a splinter of wood was missing. “Come, Caim. We shall speak in here,” Samael said. He spoke like any businessman would speak, but Caim knew the demon under the business suit was the cause of some of man’s greatest downfalls. “Why do you aggravate him so? You know Belial has a short fuse.”

“I have to find my enjoyment in this place somehow,” Caim murmured. “The way you say it would make a demon think you were not happy here.” Samael fixed him with a dark stare. “Are you happy here?” Caim asked pointedly. The question caused Samael to laugh. “Fuck no, that’s why I go topside as much as I can.” “So why am I here?” “Your performance has been lacking, Caim. You left two souls’ debts uncollected from yesterday. You know the Devil always gets his dues, and you know how he gets when he doesn’t.” “What souls? I received no calls.” Caim knew who was responsible, but said nothing. “Belial sent the call out himself,” Samael replied, tapping a long, taloned finger on his mahogany desk. “Oh, a demon who doesn’t lie,” Caim said sarcastically. “Belial plays childish games. He’s being an asshole.” “Remember to whom you speak, Caim. I could have you chained to Qemuel’s wall with a snap of my finger.” “I apologize, sire. If you say a call came, then I must have been mistaken. I shall take my duties more diligently.” Caim made his tone as apologetic as possible, even though apologizing was the farthest thing from his mind. “See that you do.” Samael paused. “You are my favorites, you and Belial both. I wish my boys would get along.” Caim bit his tongue against the remark that rose to his lips. His boys. Caim had not let the demonic part of a fallen angel take hold. He did not plan to let the evil corrupt his soul more than it had. “Sire, I shall do my best to make peace with Belial. Now I shall go to my duties.” At Samael’s nod, he knew he had permission to leave. He left the office and passed his nemesis, whose dark look did nothing to falter his steps. He would go collect the debts owed to the Devil, and then he would find his happiness, his Bliss. **** Never make a deal with the Devil. Caim had seen it so many times generation after generation. Men’s greed, women’s lust for endless beauty, love of money and power. For as little as getting the girl, humans put themselves in debt to Lucifer. When it was time for the debt to be collected, then was when the magnitude of what they had done seeped in. This

was one of Belial’s contracts. Caim could almost see the sweet smile on his face as he got her to sign. Two sides of the same coin, Belial was the proprietor of contracts. He was a soul collector, a fallen angel who collected the Devil’s pay, and it was time to work. In his open hand, two contracts appeared. The bottom of each was signed in blood. Caim lifted the parchment to his nose and inhaled the life essence of each new soul. He closed his eyes and phased out of the demon realm of hell and into the office of his first collection, Daniela Delight of Delights Cosmetics. She had been a teenage blonde with a new baby living in a trailer park. Now she was the president of a multimillion-dollar conglomerate known across the world. She had signed the contract in a stifling hot trailer with a crying baby on her hip and tears in her eyes. Everything had changed for her. She had given up the child and had forgotten where she came from. She became hard and cruel, only searching for more fame and fortune. But when Caim phased into her luxurious office, Daniela had known it was time to leave, and she was making preparations. Not a glimmer of surprise crossed her face when Caim appeared, but there was sadness in her eyes. She looked down at a stack of files on her desk. She began talking while Caim stood there silently regarding her. “You know I’d give all this up to see my daughter again.” She was signing paper after paper as she spoke. “I gave her to my mother, and I only sent money every month to take care of her. The last time I saw them, she was six months old. That was eighteen years ago.” Caim still stood silent. This was sometimes part of the job, listening to the lost before they descended to hell. “You’re the one he sent for me?” she asked simply. She continued to scribble furiously on the papers. One after the other, she signed with haste. “I am Caim, and I am the collector of his debts.” “I am signing everything I won over to my daughter Lorelei. I hope she makes a better life for herself with this than I ever did. I should have stayed in that trailer park and earned my way out.” She closed the last file and set the pen down on top gently. She stood and crossed the room from behind her desk. “I’m ready.” Caim nodded. He moved from his position and stood before her. She tried to straighten her back to make her five-feet-two inches seem like more against his six feet. Caim liked her strength, her bravery. He always felt remorse for the ones who knew their dealings with Belial was a mistake, but faced it with honor. He would make it as painless as possible for her because he knew what she would face when her soul went to hell. Caim placed a gentle hand on her back. He heard her gasp when his wings, black as the feathers of a raven, unfurled from his back. He placed his other hand on her chest and tried to pull her soul slowly from her body. Her low cry was the only sound she made as her body crumpled to the floor. Her soul stood next to him now. They both looked down at the shell of her body. “How will they think I died?” Daniela asked.

“Heart attack. It’s time to go.” “I’ll be in pain for eternity, won’t I?” she asked softly. Caim could not lie to her. The truth would be hard enough as is. It was better she expected it beforehand. As they phased out of her office, back to hell, his words echoed. “Yes, you will be.” The second soul he went after was an old man, which meant he was not going to go easily. He had hired guards to protect him at all times. Conrad Pendleton of PenCon Foods felt he could outsmart the Devil’s collector. When he had signed the contract, he lived in one room over a Laundromat in Chicago. Now, his mansion was bigger than most apartment complexes, and he still longed for more. Caim could smell the greed rolling off him as he stood in the middle of the mansion and the armed guards lay strewn around his feet. “Did you really think you could get out of your deal?” Caim asked mildly. “I . . . I can give you money, power, whatever you wish!” Conrad stammered hysterically. “There is nothing you can offer me that I want, old man, except your fate.” “I was a child. I didn’t know what I was doing!” Conrad shouted. He opened a drawer quickly and pulled out a gun. He fired rapidly, and each bullet hit Caim in his chest. Caim stood under the barrage of bullets, and when silence reigned once more, his patience was at an end. Each piece of lead fell out of his body as his wings ripped from his back. He strode toward the desk. Conrad Pendleton stared at the towering presence coming toward him. Caim ripped the soul from his body amid his screams. He felt no pity for this man. What lined his pockets and what he held in the bank were more important to him than anything else. The man begged and pleaded for a reprieve, but there was none to give. Even if he could offer him solace, Caim knew he did not deserve it. When the soul was taken from him at the gates of hell by the reaper, the hounds of hell bit at Conrad Pendleton’s feet. They could smell the fear, and his shrieks of fright and pain only excited the beasts more. Caim turned away from the grotesque scene playing out in front of him. The reaper dragged the bleeding man away. It was a scene he had been part of for too long. He wanted peace, but it would be a long road before he could call it his own. He had to be very careful as well. If anyone caught on to his plan, he would be more damned than Mr. Pendleton, screaming in the darkest pits.

Chapter Two Bliss stood beside her car, and the cool evening air caressed her creamy skin. It was fall in her small town. Only about two thousand people called Merry, North Carolina, home. With the leaves floating to the grass beneath the outstretched branches of the trees, they blanketed the green with the vibrant colors of fall. She could see why the founders had named this town Merry. You couldn’t help the bubble of happiness that this kind of evening brought. She was working the night shift, and it started at six. She pulled her bag from the car and headed through the swishing door of the hospital. With the usual greeting to fellow workers, she got on the elevator that took her to her little office on the third floor. Outside she grabbed the door handle and hesitated just for just a moment. For the past few weeks, whenever she was in the office alone, she felt as if someone was watching her. She did not feel threatened, just watched, as if the person had a fascination with her or with what she did. A ghostly phantom who loved phlebotomists. Bliss smiled and shrugged off the thought. She turned the cool metal and flipped the light switch that was on the wall. The room flooded with light, and her little slice of heaven was open for business. A little knock on her door made her look up from stowing her bag in the drawers of her desk. Bliss smiled warmly in greeting to the woman who stood in her doorway. “How’s it going tonight, Amber?” Bliss asked. Amber was a nurse in the ER and one of her close friends. She was a redhead with gorgeous blue eyes, and next to her pixielike body, Bliss felt like a giant. “You know Merry in a full moon. The freaks come out at night,” Amber singsonged. Bliss laughed. “Anything for me to do?” “That’s why I’m here. Four charts all need blood drawn and tests run.” Amber said. “Hey, are you taller today?” “I’m wearing heels. I went shopping before work and picked these up at Clara’s, so I’m trying them out.” Bliss stuck her foot out for her friend to see the new red heels. “Ooh la-la, flashy! Do you have a date or something?” “No, I decided to splurge for once.” Bliss stood at an Amazonian height of five-feet-eleven inches. With too many curves and a skin color that seemed flat, Bliss didn’t think of herself as a beauty. She just thought of herself as plain, ol’ oatmeal in a small-town bowl. “You’d better change out of those before the rush comes in.” Amber flashed a smile as she handed Bliss the charts with a flourish. “I am sure we’ll be running around before the night is over.” Amber’s premonition was soon proved correct. The emergency room filled with people who came up with the weirdest things to do in a small town. One man, who was trying to shoot an apple off his friend’s head, missed and got the shoulder instead. They forgot to mention

they were stone-cold drunk when they tried this little exercise. Another case that came through the door was four kids who thought it was really great to go tip over a cow while it was sleeping. Unfortunately, they picked on a bull, and one of them got a horn in the rear for it. Of all the stupidity! Bliss fumed as she drew their blood for testing. Some cases softened her heart and made tears come to her eyes. One woman came in with her son. The baby was two, and his fever was raging. He cried from being sick and from Bliss trying to get a needle into his arm. She was one of the best at what she did, and soon she had what she needed to find out why the poor boy was sick. But damn, every time he cried or sobbed, Bliss felt her own tears begin to form. “Are you okay?” The deep timbre of a man’s voice reached her ears. She turned as one of her tears fell onto her cheek. She gazed from black leather shoes to dark slacks. A silk shirt covered a wide chest, and when she stared into eyes the color of jade, Bliss felt herself stop breathing. He was one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen. The man was cleanshaven with a face that had a rugged jaw. He did not smile, but his lips were so kissable Bliss wanted to taste them immediately. Dark hair flowed over the collar of his shirt, but it was his eyes that beckoned her back into their green depths. They were mesmerizing, but still she saw something there, swirling like dark waters in a troubled storm. “Are you okay?” he asked again. He raised his hand and wiped the stray tear away with the pad of his thumb. Bliss knew she was staring with her mouth hanging open, but she couldn’t help it. Say something, you fool! she hissed to herself. “Um, I’m fine . . . fine . . . Can I help you with something? Do you need to be seen by a doctor?” “No, I saw your face. You looked upset. I thought I might help. Shall I take you to dinner?” That question caused her mouth to drop open again. “Dinner? Uh, no, thank you. I don’t know you for you to take me to dinner, and I’m working.” Hell, I’m tempted to say yes because he is so fine. “Then let me introduce myself. I am Caim.” He bowed slightly. “And you are?” “I’m . . . I’m Bliss Tadeo,” she offered, then laughed, flustered. “Why am I telling you my name? You could be a mass murderer!” Bliss caught sight of Amber and a few other nurses standing behind the guy who had introduced himself as Caim. The curiosity was on their faces, and they were obviously ogling. Plus, Amber was shaking her fingers as if she were burned while mouthing the word hot! “Perfect joy and praise,” Caim said. His comment diverted her attention from the onlookers behind him. “Um, what’s that now?” Bliss felt like fiddling with her hair or something to distract her from his eyes. She couldn’t do anything. Her hands held the fragile basket with tubes of labeled blood. “Bliss Tadeo, your name, it means perfect joy and praise.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Bliss couldn’t think of anything else to say to that beautiful statement. “You aren’t from around here, but I feel as if I’ve met you before. Do you have family in Merry?” He shook his head. “No, I am alone.” Four words never sounded so desolate in her opinion. “You have no one, I’m sorry.” Bliss saw the frown of the head ER doctor. “Hey, it was nice meeting you, Caim. I have to get back to work. I’ll see you around, okay?” “Good-bye for now, Bliss.” He made her name sound like a caress, and she could almost sigh as he passed by her and headed for the doors. As she moved down the hallway, Amber fell into step next to her. “Okay, who was that mysterious hottie with the killer body? Spill it, woman!” Bliss laughed lightly, but the flutter in her stomach told her she was excited just as much as her friend was. “I have no clue who he is. His name is Caim, and he asked me out to dinner.” “And you said yes, right?” “No! I don’t even know him!” Bliss said, shocked. “Then why did he want to take you out to dinner?” Amber threw her a glance as if her best friend was hiding a secret. “Because he saw I was upset over the boy who came into the emergency room. He wiped away my tears with his thumb.” “Oh! That is so sweet. Can we keep him?” Amber gushed. “Down, little pixie chick. I’m sure I will never see him again,” Bliss said with laughter in her voice. “Well, shoot, that was the best excitement we had all night.” Amber pouted. “Did you not see the two guys with the arrow?” “Yeah, but they were assholes, drunk, and so not cute.” Bliss grinned as they walked into the lab to drop off the blood. “You got that right.” She walked down the corridor, back to the ER. She stopped in surprise when a black feather floated down to her feet. She picked it up, twirled the quill of it in her hand, and watched how the shiny black of it caught the light. Probably some fool going after geese in the middle of the

night. Yet, instead of throwing it away, she tucked it into her pocket, and it ended up in a little glass vase she kept on her desk. **** Caim was standing outside when Bliss got out of work. He stood still as can be under the streetlight, while the cool night wind buffeted the long dark coat he wore. He felt her presence as soon as the doors of the hospital slid open and she stepped outside. She was like a cooling balm on his soul, or on what little of it he tried to retain. “Caim?” Her soft voice reached out to him, caressing him. He didn’t expect her to touch him, but when her hand lay softly on his shoulder, he closed his eyes in pleasure. “What are you still doing out here? It’s after midnight.” “I was waiting for you,” Caim replied. He looked at her, and when the lamplight touched her mocha skin, he remembered everything about her features from times past. “Do I have to get my mace?” Caim felt anxiety at her words. “You never had to fear me.” “I was just teasing, Caim,” Bliss said with a small laugh. “I’m going to my car. Will you walk with me?” He nodded and took her small hand in his. It felt as if a buzz of electricity went along his arm as they touched. The slight hitch in her breath when their fingers twined let him know that she felt the connection too. Bliss laughed nervously. “I seem to be at a loss for words.” “You do not have to say a thing. I enjoy your presence.” “You don’t even know me.” “I would like to know you, if that is possible.” Caim let his thumb glide along the smooth skin of her hand as they walked. “Um, I am letting a strange man walk me to my car in the middle of the night. My mom would call me stupid right now. But I think I would like if you got to know me.” “I am very glad to hear that.” Caim felt elation at her words. It was a small step to happiness, a small step toward humanity. “What shall we do? It is your choice. Wherever you want to go, I will take you there.” “How about Rome?” Bliss looked up at him with a smile on her face.

If she kept looking up at him with those big, beautiful eyes, he would bring the stars to her. He lost his thoughts for a minute, all the careful planning he had put into revealing himself to her. He pulled her into his arms, and her small hands rested on his chest. “Then Rome it is. Hold on.” “Caim, Caim!” she said breathlessly, a laugh in her voice. “I was just teasing. Coffee is fine. We can go for coffee!” “Coffee . . . You want to go for coffee?” “Yes, coffee is fine. The way you held on to me, for a moment there, I thought you were going to whisk me off magically,” Bliss said. She stepped out of his arms and looked up at him with her hand on her hips and a big smile on her face. To Caim, she was a sight to behold. “Coffee it is then,” he said as they resumed their walk. Soon, they stood next to the little blue sports car. “I’ll meet you out at the diner on East D Street. Do you know where it is?” Bliss asked. She slid into the seat and started the car. “Do not worry, Bliss. I will find it,” Caim replied. “May I ask you a question?” “Since we are going to get to know each other, yes, you may.” “Would magic be something so hard to believe?” “In a perfect world, I’d believe in magic in a heartbeat,” Bliss answered. “I’ll see you at the diner in a half an hour.” She pulled out of the parking space, and Caim watched the headlights of her car fade over the hill on the pitch-black highway. There was honesty in her voice when she answered the question. He closed his eyes and phased out of the parking lot. He was tuned in to Bliss like a radio to a station’s frequency. Caim did not have to know where the diner was to find her. She was like his soul’s addiction from the time he met her. If she had asked for espresso in the lava pit of hell, he would have met her there and set up the table. **** Merry Go Round Diner was a local piece of history in the small town. The landmark had stood for over eighty years, from the town’s conception, and still was a hub for people to meet. The neon sign that looked like a child’s play toy blinked, a beacon in the night sky directing Bliss into its parking lot. She pulled past the doorway, and her eyes widened when she saw Caim sitting by the window in one of the booths. How did he get here so quickly? She locked her car after she stepped out and then headed to the warmth of the diner. The bell over the door jingled in

welcome as she stepped across the threshold. The smells of grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken fingers, and the soup of the day made her stomach rumble. She had only had a quick sandwich for dinner in between the mayhem of the ER and decided that the smells were too good to pass up. Caim sat unmoving in the booth, his dark clothing and coat standing in stark contrast against the red imitation leather that covered where he sat. His eyes met and kept on her face from the time she came into the diner, but his lips never cracked a smile. His eyes were so deep she could drown in them. There was so much turmoil behind them, she could tell. What could have happened to him that he didn’t smile? “Hi. I can’t believe you got here before me.” Bliss smiled warmly as she slid into the seat across from him. “I move quickly,” Caim replied. “You must have a pretty fast car.” “Something like that.” The one waitress working came over when she saw the two of them seated. She spoke to Bliss, but her eyes were on Caim. “Hey, Bliss, had the late shift tonight, huh?” Bliss smiled. “Hi, Sandy, yeah, you know how it is.” “Who’s your friend?” Sandy asked. Of course, buxom Sandy would be interested in Caim and his good looks. She probably would like him to be another notch in her bedpost, Bliss thought sourly. “This is my friend Caim.” That was all the information Bliss was willing to give her. When the waitress realized no more information would be forthcoming, she sighed and asked, “What can I get for you tonight?” “I’ll have the soup and a chicken fingers plate and sweet iced tea,” Bliss answered politely. “How about you, handsome?” Sandy asked. Bliss wanted to slap the sappy smile off her face. “I’m fine, thank you,” he replied. His eyes never left Bliss’s face. “Okay then.” Sandy flounced away with a pout on her face. Serves her right! Bliss thought with triumph. Caim never took his eyes off her face. Bliss felt like he was searching for something in her or about her from looking at her features. She had the urge to fidget under his scrutinizing gaze. “Is something wrong?” she finally asked.

“Nothing, why do you ask?” The deep timbre of his voice sent a thrill along her spine. “You keep staring at me, that’s why I am asking.” “You are completely beautiful. I cannot keep my eyes off of you.” “Oh.” Bliss felt breathless. His simple compliment made her tingle all over. Sandy picked just then to come back with the soup. This time her smile was stiff, and she put the bowl down in front of Bliss. “Your chicken fingers will be done shortly,” she said crisply and walked away. “She’s not too happy,” Bliss mumbled before she took a sip of her soup. “Do you care if she is happy or not?” Caim asked. Bliss laughed before she took a sip of her soup. “Nope, not really. She is a total bitch sometimes. She is just pissed you wouldn’t give her a second glance.” “Ah, it’s a female thing,” Caim said knowingly. “Something like that.” “What does it taste like?” he asked after a few seconds of silence. “What, my soup?” She glanced up in surprise. At his nod, she extended a spoonful for him to sample. “Here, try it. It’s creamy chicken noodle.” “No, I can’t.” Bliss could have sworn she saw apprehension cross his face. “Oh, you’re a vegetarian.” “Something like that,” Caim responded before he asked softly, “Explain it to me . . . please?” There was something in his voice so endearing that she couldn’t help but do as he requested. “It’s rich, creamy, and smooth. When it touches your tongue, you taste the flavor of the spices—oregano, paprika, and maybe a hint of sage—and the chicken. It warms my insides, and I really did not eat today, so pardon me if I slurp,” she said, teasing him, and was rewarded with a smile. Sandy came back with her chicken fingers and set them down without a word. Bliss knew that when she told Amber tomorrow, her friend would die laughing. As she ate, Caim asked her to explain the taste of the honey mustard and her food. For some reason, instead of thinking him weird, she found herself complying and loving how he closed his eyes when she spoke. He asked her a lot of questions about her life and answered few about himself. By the time the meal was over, she felt as if he knew her life story, but she knew little about him. He walked her out to the car and stood by the door while she fished her keys out of her

purse. She looked up at his tall figure and his deep, soulful eyes. Bliss became breathless, and the night was suddenly not as cool as she thought. “Uh, good night, Caim. Thank you for watching me eat,” she said, teasing him. “Good night, Bliss. Does this count as a first date?” Bliss laughed. “Do you always say the first thing that comes to your mind?” “Yes, I do,” he replied. “I don’t know. I guess as far as first dates go, this was not a bad one.” Bliss smiled up at him. “Do I get to kiss you then?” His voice was soft and smooth, like molasses on biscuits. “I think I want you to.” Bliss couldn’t deny it. From the time she had seen him in the hallway of the ER, she had thought about his mouth on hers. As she worked, his green eyes had haunted her thoughts. He moved in closer, his presence filling the space around her. He smelled like something she couldn’t quite distinguish, but it was sexy as hell. She closed her eyes and inhaled when his arms went around her. Bliss held her breath as his lips descended to hers. When they touched, she was lost. A tiny moan escaped when he rubbed his lips gently across hers. The friction made her want more. She needed to feel more of him. As if he sensed her thoughts, Caim complied, and soon the kiss had taken on a life of its own. She opened her mouth under his, and his tongue slipped inside. This time, it was he who moaned as he sampled her taste. Bliss could only hold on to the material of his shirt as they kissed. She felt like if she let go, she would crumple to the asphalt, boneless and weak. He finally raised his head, and she slowly opened her eyes to his jade stare. “Thank you,” he whispered. His fingers trailed down her cheeks and across her lips. “I’ll see you again soon.” Bliss watched as he walked away, the hem of his coat ruffled slightly by the breeze. Wow, she thought, getting into her car. That was all her mind could muster.

Chapter Three The bell over the door of the diner gave a cheerful jingle to announce someone had entered. Sandy looked up from her magazine, and her jaw dropped in astonishment. There stood a man as gorgeous as a McHottie from her favorite television show or a model from those sexy men’s magazines. His blond hair seemed to catch the dull fluorescent light of the diner, and his teeth, when he smiled, made her want to lick them. Damn, this is the night for hot guys. Bliss thinks she caught a hot one. She should see this big boy, Sandy thought as she fluffed her bleached blonde hair. “Well how are you tonight?” The sugary sweet tone of Sandy’s Southern drawl would put most people’s teeth on edge. The man instead smiled even brighter. “I am absolutely fabulous now I found this place.” “You had a long trip?” Sandy asked as he slid into the seat by the counter. “Coffee?” “You could say that I had a long trip.” He grinned and winked. “Oh, coffee would be perfect.” Jesus H. Malloy, he rolls his rs, Sandy thought as she poured him a cup. If he knew how wet his voice was making me . . . She blushed at where her mind was going. “So what brings you to little ol’ Merry?” Sandy cooed. “Oh, I came here with a friend. You might have seen him, dark hair, green eyes, and a long black coat.” The man gave her a cocky grin. “It’s kind of his trademark, that coat.” “Oh yeah, I saw him. He was in here a little while ago with Bliss.” “Hmm, Bliss you say. Who is this?” The man took a sip of his coffee casually. “Oh, she’s a little thing that works over at the hospital, thinks she is high-and-mighty because she works there,” Sandy said airily. She leaned on the counter and whispered conspiratorially, “But if you ask me, she ain’t that much.” “I see. Do they come in here often?” He smiled and winked. “Bliss is in here all the time, but this is the first time I ever saw her in here or with him. I don’t think she’s ever had a man,” Sandy announced. “The girl wouldn’t know what to do with one.” “But you do?” the man asked smoothly. Sandy felt a curl of desire inside her. “You should stick around and find out.” “Maybe I will do just that.” The man looked at her. His startling blue eyes seemed to see deep inside her soul. “Has anyone ever told you that you should be a model?”

“Really?” Sandy giggled prettily. “Well, you know, I used to be in those kiddie pageants, and I was Miss Teen Queen eighty-three.” “And no more? I would think you had some nationals under your belt. Like Miss Universe or something along those lines.” Finally someone who sees my potential! Sandy licked her lips and put her hands on her hips. His questions about Bliss and her new beau were all but forgotten. “Why the questions about my modeling career? I don’t even know your name.” He took a silver briefcase off the floor and rested it on the counter. Man, did he have that when he came in? Sandy wondered, but she figured that his good looks just kept her from noticing what he had in his hands. “You can just call me B. Everyone does.” The case opened with a soft click, and he pulled out some papers. “I’d like to offer you a deal, a contract of sorts that will make your wildest dreams come true.” “You mean you can still get me my modeling career?” Sandy asked in breathless excitement. No more working in a deadbeat diner! No more cleaning grease traps! “I can get you anything you want. All you have to do is sign this. But let’s talk about it a little, okay?” B handed her the contract, and on the top, in very formal embossed letters, she read Belial Agency written in gold. “By the way, do you know what shift Bliss works at the hospital? B asked mildly. “Just in case Caim needs to know.” “It depends, but one of the desk nurses will know if he goes by and asks,” Sandy replied as she trained her focus on the contract. “Hey, this contract says I have to sign in my blood. That is kind of gross.” “It’s just a formality, my dear,” B supplied. “Let’s talk about how famous I am going to make you first.” While he talked, Sandy giggled, her focus on her new career and not the smell of sulfur that was coming off the papers she held in her hands. **** Caim had phased out of the diner parking lot and directly to New York. Manhattan had its usual crowd on the street, but he walked through the lonely night aimlessly. Nothing he passed or even the glitz of Times Square called his interest like it used to. The only thing that was in his mind and that encompassed his every thought was Bliss. He felt a tremor run through him as he remembered the kiss they had shared. Her taste, her lips were more desirable than he had possibly dreamt. If he were still an angel in heaven, he would have

gladly given up eternity to touch her and have her love. Now that he lived in a realm that no one ever wanted to see, the choice was much easier. The eye-catching glamour of Times Square passed into silent streets. He walked by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where columns stood silently guarding the structure. I wonder if Bliss has ever seen New York. It was one thought that passed though his head. He didn’t know how long he wandered, but the bells of St. Patrick’s Cathedral finally brought him out of his musing. He looked down at his feet, where his shoes had begun to sizzle. Even the sidewalk in front of the church was consecrated, but he didn’t step away, preferring the pain of holy ground to being without it. He looked up at the church that rose majestically into the sky. It reached up to heaven where he couldn’t, and its bells encouraged people to enter where he could not tread. Instead he could only stand and stare up at its glorious artistry and feel such an ache and loss over what he had become, it was almost unbearable. “Missing your past?” The snide remark caused Caim to grit his teeth. “He doesn’t want you back you now, and I’m enjoying watching you sizzle like bacon.” “What do you want, Belial? Did you have to go on a food run or something, secretary?” Caim asked nonchalantly. Belial snarled in his face as he turned and stepped off the curb. “One of these days, I am going to kill you for that remark.” “Yes, and one of these days, you will work yourself up to middle management. Again, what do you want, gopher?” “I followed your trail, and I decided to stop in and say hello.” Belial’s face changed from anger to the pristine beauty. “Oh, how sweet, now you’re stalking me. What did I do to deserve that?” Caim said, mocking him. “Stalking is one of our favorite evils that humans perform. But no, I was wondering why you were in a little rinky-dink town called Merry? As far as I know, we have no contracts there.” Caim felt his heart drop when Belial mentioned Merry. Not from worry for himself, but for Bliss. “I was looking for new prospects. You know small towns like that always have a few people who would sell their souls for a break.” “Why, Caim, I didn’t know you were trying to move up in the demon ranks. Could it be you have given up the notion of getting back in the so-called Almighty’s good graces?” Belial had a shocked expression on his face. It was a fake, of course, which made Caim want to smash it off his face. “I’m a demon now. I have come to terms with that.” Caim almost growled. “Oh goody, goody!” Belial clapped his hands. “Samael will be thrilled to hear it!”

“Can you be any more gay?” Belial laughed and then turned serious. “That, dear boy, is called sarcasm. I know you are up to something, and I will find out what.” “It’s your time to waste, Belial,” Caim replied. “Now go away. Your stench is gagging the cockroaches.” “Fuck off!” Belial gave him the finger before he faded out of sight. “Right back at you,” Caim muttered as he continued his walk. He would have to be more careful now that Belial was sniffing around. The best thing would be to never see Bliss again. But that would leave an ache in his chest that would not go away, even in an eternity. He couldn’t wait another thousand years to feel like he did now. That little clause had been the only thing that kept him going on for all those endless years. It was the one thing that would save him from an endless eternity in hell. The church bells chimed again and filled his heart with hope and the clear, clean sound. It was like the ones he had left were telling him not to give up. He wouldn’t. **** “Oh my god!” Amber’s eyes were wide as saucers when Bliss related the night’s events. “Okay, tell me about the kiss again. On a scale of one to ten, how was it?” “Off the freaking scale!” Bliss leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “I mean, if kisses were addictive, I’d be hooked right now. What am I saying? I am hooked!” It was true after that one kiss. Bliss drove home in her little blue car in a state of euphoria. With her lips still tingling and his scent in her nose, she got dressed for bed in a haze and practically floated into bed. Her body tingled with unspent excitement and sexual need after only one kiss. The next day she had gotten up and cleaned her entire house while singing “You Are My Candy Girl.” Oh yeah, I’m hooked. Amber laughed out loud. “You are such a slut!” “Hey, it was technically our first date.” Bliss grinned. “Oh, I retract the slut thing then. When are you going to see him again?” Amber posed the question, and the intercom interrupted their conversation. It called for Bliss to come down to the ER. She picked up her tools of the trade and left her office with Amber hot on her trail. “So?” Amber asked again. “So what?” Bliss pretended to be clueless.

“Oh, don’t make me park outside your house with binoculars. You know what I mean. When will you see him again?” “I guess when I see him. It’s not like we exchanged phone numbers or anything. Oh my God, I feel like a kid.” Bliss slapped her fingers against her head. “Ah, young love,” Amber said, teasing her. The two friends separated where the corridor to the ER and another section of the hospital met. Amber smacked Bliss on the bottom, and she let out a tiny squeal. “Bye, babe. Don’t work too hard.” “Later, gator,” Bliss called. She reached out and hit the automatic buzzer that would open the door to the emergency room. The hustle and controlled chaos of the emergency room hit her in a rush. The noise was a low hum of murmured voices with the occasional child’s crying or irate patient’s loud voice thrown in. She walked to the main desk to get the information on where she should go. “Hey, Leslie, where do you guys need me?” Bliss asked the older nurse sitting behind the desk. The older lady looked up with a smile on her face, but her eyes darted from Bliss’s and stared off behind her. Bliss turned around to see what caught the woman’s attention, and her heart began to pound in her chest. Caim, with the gorgeous green stare that had haunted her dreams last night, was now walking toward her. She watched a smile cross Caim’s face when he saw her. It lit his face up with brilliance. Bliss heard Leslie mutter, “Whoa,” behind her. Caim’s steps now had a purpose behind them as he made a beeline directly toward her. “Hello.” His simple greeting did nothing to mask the desire and happiness she saw in his eyes. “Hi,” Bliss answered shyly. “What are you doing here?” He frowned slightly. “Last night I told you I would see you today. Am I not allowed to anymore?” His bright face was turning to sadness before her eyes. Bliss felt her heart melt. He thinks I don’t want to see him. “No, not like that, I mean at the hospital. I’m working,” Bliss said in a rush. “I won’t be done until after midnight.” “I can wait. Any time in your presence for me is a joyous one.” Caim smiled, and his fingers trailed along the curve of her face.

Oh, Bliss thought, and she heard the collective gasps from behind her. When she turned, now three nurses were watching them. Leslie’s voice broke in. “Bliss, you have a blood draw in curtain seven.” She was in the middle of the trio and handed Bliss a chart. “Thanks, I’ll get right on it.” Bliss smiled at the nurses. “Caim, do you want to wait in my office?” “Can I watch you work?” he asked hopefully. “Girl, you better let that hot toddy watch you work. You don’t want him roaming the halls,” Leslie said behind her. “If only I was a few years younger.” “Your husband would kill you, Leslie,” Bliss teased her as she walked away. “Yeah, but it would be a good way to go!” Leslie called back. “Hot toddy?” Caim asked curiously, following along behind her. Bliss laughed. “A hot toddy is a drink.” “So she thinks I am a drink?” Bliss laughed even harder. “No, sweetie, she thinks you are hot, sexy and/or good-looking.” He bent low and murmured into her ear, “Do you think I am good-looking, hot, and sexy?” With his breath against her skin and his close contact, he made her want to melt. “Y-Y-Yes, I do.” “Then, that is all that matters.” Bliss couldn’t even think of an answer to his statement. Caim was so assured and already so intense with his feelings that she felt a bit overwhelmed. She had never had someone form this kind of bond with her. It scared her, but excited her, how quickly it was happening. She pulled back the curtain to reveal a woman sitting on the hospital bed. In her arms, she held a tiny baby girl dressed in pink whose face was crumpled with tears ready to erupt. Oh no! Bliss thought as she instantly felt tears prick the back of her eyes. She loved children, and this was her curse every time one came into the ER. She couldn’t bear the thought of children suffering or being in pain. The doctor looked up at Bliss and Caim standing there. Bliss abhorred having to work with Dr. Maynard. He was cocky and treated the staff like his own personal slave bank. He had asked her out once, and she said no. From then on, he really took an interest in picking on her every chance he got. His eyes met hers, and his lips curled into a nasty sneer. He wanted

to say something about Caim, she just knew it, but because the patient was there, he wouldn’t. “I need a full panel on the baby. I need the results as soon as possible,” Dr. Maynard ordered. Bliss nodded as he walked past. He stopped for one moment and said under his breath, just enough for her to hear, “Oh, Ms. Tadeo, stop bringing your boy toys to work. We don’t need to see who’s sharing your bed.” Bliss rolled her eyes and said nothing. She put her case down on the edge of the gurney and smiled brightly at the worried mother. “Excuse me for one moment.” Caim’s polite request made her look at him. His eyes were centered on Dr. Maynard as he walked away. “Caim, it’s okay, please,” Bliss pleaded softly. The mother was already scared to death, and she didn’t need to see a scene between Caim and Dr. Jerk. He nodded his assent, and Bliss breathed a small sigh of relief. Bliss focused on the job at hand. “Hi, I’m Bliss Tadeo. I’ll be taking her blood today.” The woman gave a jerky nod before asking, “Will it hurt her?” “I’ll be as gentle as possible,” Bliss assured the mother. She let her fingers roam over the chubby little hand as she spoke. “What’s her name?” “Her name is Katie.” Tears were in her voice. Fear for her daughter’s health marred the young mother’s face. “I just want her to be better.” “We’ll make sure she is,” Bliss promised. “Please hold her as still as possible for me, okay?” The young woman tried, but as all children do when they are sick and hurting, Katie cried and twisted, and Bliss could not keep her hand still enough to get the needle into the soft skin safely. From the corner of her eye, she saw Caim move close, and his hand touched the baby’s cheek. “Be still, little one,” he murmured. Bliss watched in amazement as the baby quieted down almost instantly and her big brown doe eyes stared up at Caim. She was able to get the twenty-one gauge butterfly needle into Katie’s small vein easily. All present watched as the baby’s blood flowed along the tiny blue tube and into the sample vials. Bliss had to collect four samples for testing, and each had a different colored top so the lab technician would know exactly what to look for. They would look at the white blood cell count and hemoglobin checks to ensure no internal bleeding. Tests for infection to any vital organs would be run as well. They would pay special attention to the liver and screen for blood clots. It was a very slim chance that the baby would have these things, but they still had to be ruled out. They finally had all they needed, and by that time, under Caim’s touch, the baby had fallen asleep as if she had not a care in the world.

“All done,” Bliss whispered, not wanting to wake the now-sleeping infant. “I’ll check back later.” “Thank you,” the mother whispered. Her eyes settled gratefully on Caim’s face and then Bliss. “Thank you.” As they passed the nurses’ station, Bliss asked one of the nurses to get the woman something to eat. It would take a few hours for the tests to come back, and the tired young mother already looked dead to her feet. A hot sandwich and maybe some coffee or soda would give her a little more staying power for the long night ahead. She turned her thoughts back to Caim. Just one touch from him had calmed the baby in mere seconds. There was more to him than he let on. Bliss could tell, and she was excited to find out more about her charming new suitor. Suitor. Bliss laughed at herself as they walked silently down the corridor to her office. I sound like an old historical romance novel. But yet, as they moved together down the lighted hallway, his hand took hers with a simple grace that made her breath catch. This was unlike anything she had ever experienced, and Bliss knew that even though she feared it, she could not deny herself the chance to see where it could go.

Chapter Four The office door closed with a small click, and suddenly the room felt too small for Bliss. But there was also a familiarity to having Caim in her office, as if she had felt his presence before sharing the same small space. She dismissed the thought as ridiculous since she had only met him the day before. He turned to her and cupped her cheeks. Bliss could not help the sigh that escaped her lips. “Your hands, your touch, why does it make me feel this way?” she whispered, rubbing her cheek against his palm. “It’s like a cat. I want to lay my head against your chest and purr.” “I’m glad I make you feel like that.” Caim’s voice was a low rumble in his chest. “It’s not just me. Look at how you calmed the baby with just one touch. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were magic,” Bliss murmured. Her eyes were closed while she luxuriated in the feel of his touch. “Do you believe in magic or the unknown?” Bliss gave a husky laugh. “If I have to believe in something, why not magic?” “Why not. Can I kiss you again?” “Are you going to always ask to kiss me?” “Isn’t that what I am supposed to do?” Bliss let her hands smooth up his chest to around his shoulders. “I was hoping that one day you might feel comfortable enough to kiss me whenever you want.” “You say one day as if you plan to keep me around for a long time.” Caim’s lips were so close to hers she could feel his breath when he spoke. “I want to,” Bliss said fervently. “I want it very much.” The kiss was even better than the first. It buckled her knees, but Caim compensated by pulling her roughly against his chest. She moaned, a sound filled with pleasure and need. His lips tasted and tempted. He drank from her like a thirsty man who craved a drink of water. Bliss gave willingly and let the kiss slide her deeper into the sensual oblivion he was creating. His hands roamed her shoulders and cupped her neck before moving down to pull her hips closer to him. She could feel his hardness against her, and she rubbed against the cause of her aching. His reaction was a low moan in the back his throat. Caim’s hands journeyed up her body to cup her breasts through the material of her green scrubs. Bliss felt the heat of his hands through the cotton material. It was almost more than she could bear. She wanted him then, right there, to be underneath him, to feel his cock sink into her and take away the ache he was causing.

“More, I need more of you,” Caim whispered harshly against her lips. Between kisses, he bit and licked at her neck and molded her breasts in his palms. “I need you too!” Bliss was lost in the intensity of the moment. His scent, his touch and taste had her surrounded, and she did not want to break free. He lifted her against him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist before her back was pressed against the wall of her office. Caim lifted his head as if he heard a sound from a distance. She turned his face back to her and captured his lips, letting her tongue dart into his mouth. He moaned in response, and Bliss gave a sexy chuckle knowing she affected him just as much. He pulled away once more and let her slide to her feet, backing away as if he suddenly regained his senses. There was a look on his face, like dark storms rolling in off the sea, harsh and angry. The warmth of their passion cooled as she looked at the turmoil on his face. “Caim, what’s wrong?” Bliss reached out to touch him, but he stepped back and shook his head. She let her hand drop in alarm. “I have to go,” he whispered brokenly. “Why?” Bliss asked, fearing the answer. He raised his eyes to hers, and she saw unshed tears glistening in his gaze. “There is so much I have to tell, so much . . .” His shoulders dropped as if he carried the weight of the world. He tried to move past her, and on instinct, she threw her arms around his waist and held on tight. For a moment, it stopped his steps, and he pressed kisses into her hair. “Your hair always smells like honeysuckle, no matter how many times I am close to you . . .” With those words he stepped through the door and closed it behind him. Your hair always smells like honeysuckle. His words echoed in her mind. He said it as if he spent every day close to her. She opened the door in a rush to race down the hall, to ask him what he meant. She looked up and down the long corridor, looking for his back going down the hall, but he was already gone. Bliss stepped back into her office and closed the door with trembling fingers. She moved to her desk, sat heavily onto the soft chair, and laid her head on the desk. They were so many questions swirling through her mind. He is in trouble. She could feel it. She laid on the cool surface of her desk with thought after thought bombarding her mind. Bliss reached out, took the black feather from its crystal vase holder, and began to rub it against her chin. **** Caim phased to the down world, which he abhorred. After being with Bliss, the smell of the sulfur felt like it was choking him. He was not in the mood to be there, he never was, but being pulled away from Bliss made it all the more unbearable. He passed Qemuel, who was pulling one of his newest torments toward his wall. The demon gave him a toothy grin

showing the jagged teeth as he passed. The man he was dragging was begging for mercy. Caim shoved the black marble doors that lead to Samael’s lair, which caused them to make a harsh grating sound against the stone floor. Belial was at his desk, and his evil sneer grew twice the size when he saw Caim stride through the doors. “Did I pull you away from something, dear boy?” “Fuck you.” Caim scowled at his nemesis. Belial pretended to be shocked. “Such harsh words coming from your lips, it has to be something good. Care to share the pussy that obviously has you in such a bad mood?” Caim moved across the room in a flash. When he slammed his hands down on the table, it shook. “Demon, one of these days, I am going to rip your tail off and beat you with it.” “Be careful, Caim. Your horns are showing,” Belial said softly, but there was an evil light in his eyes. Caim reached up, and sure enough, two sharp tips were trying to break though the skin on his forehead. No! he thought wildly. He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing, feeling the heat of his breath against his nostrils. It was demon fire trying to claim him. He couldn’t let that happen. He kept repeating the words in his head. Anger is the enemy. If I give in, it will claim my soul. His anger was the thing that got him banished from heaven, and now he was caught here in hell. If he gave in, he would become something dark, something that was worse than death in his mind, a demon. Then his love for Bliss would mean nothing. He would be nothing. He opened his eyes, stood, and stepped away from Belial’s desk. “Do you have a pickup for me?” Caim asked slowly while he controlled his emotions. “Hmm, such a pity.” Belial smiled, and for an instant, his true face could be seen before he put back on his human mask. “I was hoping to be the one who finally ruined the one small part of your soul you kept. Can’t you feel it, Caim? It’s eating away inside you, bit by bit, taking the one pure spot you hold on to like a cancer eating human tissue. Soon, you will be just like us.” “I will never be like you, Belial. I do my job, and that is all he will never have of me,” Caim said vehemently. “Now where do I go?” “The dark master asked for you to pick this one up personally. He wanted his best on the job.” Belial’s smile told him one thing. He was going to hate having to do this contract. He snatched it from the demon’s claws and walked out the door without another word. As he phased out of the demon realm to go collect the Devil’s due, he opened the contract and sniffed the blood signature. It brought tears to his eyes. He couldn’t do this much longer. To Caim it was torture being a fallen angel who retained his soul. ****

The man had sold his soul for his family. It was one of the worst. He knew Belial sent him out to take this soul on purpose. There was no one to complain to. It was hell, after all. If you didn’t do your job, your punishment was unlike anything imaginable. He stood outside the house, and he could feel the alternative protection they tried to put in place to keep him out. Spells and charms, even a salt ring around the entire house. But they didn’t understand these methods were to keep full demons and the Devil’s dogs out. He still retained the good inside him, so these charms did nothing to keep him out. He shook his head sadly and phased into the house where the man sat clutching his wife’s hand. Their eyes widened in terror when they saw him standing there in silence. “You can’t have him!” His wife jumped up from next to her husband, clutching a Bible and then throwing it at him, hoping the sanctified words would hurt him and cause him to leave. “He has children! We need him!” “I cannot do anything for your plea. He made his choice,” Caim said softly. He picked up the Bible off the floor, and even as it burned his hands, he handed it back to her. “You should let me take him. You do not want someone else to come in my place, someone who will hurt you or your children, or for the Devil to send his dogs.” The man stood tiredly. “I am ready to go.” “No!” his wife screamed. She fell to her knees and crawled to Caim. She grabbed his pants and looked up at him with tears streaming down her face and a plea in her eyes. Her words came out in between sobs that broke Caim’s heart. “Please, please don’t take him. I love him so much!” “Darling, darling, there is nothing he can do. He is just a messenger.” He pulled his wife to her feet and held her in his arms, kissing away her tears. “I love you, and even in hell, I will continue to love you.” He turned to Caim and said softly, “I am ready to go.” Caim nodded silently and watched as the woman collapsed on the sofa in tears, her broken screams of despair muffled in the pillow. What could he say? He was the fallen angel that came to take her husband’s soul. The only thing that came to mind was, “I’m sorry.” With that, he took the soul from the man’s body and left his empty shell crumpled on the floor. He phased out from their home with sobs echoing in his head and took the new soul to its anguish. Qemuel met him with such glee that it made Caim want to snatch the soul away and run with it topside, to take the poor man back to his home, his wife and children, and safety. But it could not be done. The punishment for a person who sold their soul for love was ten times worse than anything that could be dispensed in certain parts of the underworld. It was hell. Here, evil deeds and sin in humans were rewarded. The psychopaths, the sadists, the world’s degenerates lived like kings while people who didn’t know better or tried to save their families were used as fodder, and their suffering was great.

“Something wrong, fallen one?” Qemuel sneered. “Is the job too much for you? Belial said you were having a hard time of it. Maybe a few thousand years chained to my walls would help harden you up.” “I’m fine. Take your new charge, demon, and stay out of my way.” Caim’s tone was neutral as ever. He could never let them see how this place affected him. Qemuel’s big hands gripped the head of his new soul. His talons dug into the tender flesh of his scalp, which caused the man to scream in pain and blood to drip from the wounds as he was dragged across the floor. Caim watched this new soul be taken for processing and then an eternity of damnation. He knew eventually the man would become as sick and dark as the place he dwelled. The filth and the degrading acts of the Devil’s home would seep into him. Whatever love he claimed he would hold on to for his wife would be lost. Caim had watched it all happen before, and it never got easier. It was happening to him as well. He fought a never-ending internal battle to retain the spark of good left in him and to not let it be corroded by the vileness of hell. He left the underworld, the smell of sulfur, rot, and death, and went back topside to gulp in the fresh, clean air. While he was gone, the rain had begun to fall in Merry. He sank to the wet earth, and his fingers dug through the grass, into the soil. He looked up to the heavens with tears streaming down his face. “Why! Please, why can’t you see that I am sorry? I ask for your forgiveness!” But he knew that there would be no answer. In a thousand years, there never was. Caim slapped his hands down into the soft earth over and over while sobbing for all the souls he had taken to hell, sobbing for the tears he had seen people shed. In the darkness, he heard a voice say one thing that helped him regain part of his composure. The tears you shed help you keep your soul alive. Find your joy in the darkness, Caim. It is your only hope. His joy in the darkness, his Bliss. Caim got up from the sodden earth and began to walk to the one place that could bring him comfort in the turmoil. He didn’t need directions. She was like a homing beacon, a light that always drew him to her. He knocked on her door a minute later. She opened the door with the chain still attached. “Caim!” Her eyes widened when she saw him standing there in the rain. “I need . . . I need you, Bliss.” His voice was broken with emotion. “Please.” She closed the door, and he heard the chain slide from the latch. The door opened quickly, and she pulled him inside and into her arms even though he was dripping wet from the rain. “Oh, Caim, you’re shivering, baby. Come on.” She pulled him along into her bedroom, and Caim looked down to see that he was leaving a wet trail on her hardwood floor. She said nothing as she undressed him, and he let her. She dried his skin and seated him down on her bed before she climbed behind him to dry his hair. His nakedness was not a concern at that point. He could feel her wanting to soothe what hurt inside him. “I’m so tired, my love, so very tired,” Caim said softly under her ministrations. Bliss murmured words of comfort as she let her fingers and the towel do the work. Caim felt his shoulders relax, and Bliss gently pushed him back onto the bed. He didn’t protest. She pulled

the blankets out from under him and covered him up to his neck before she climbed in beside him and brought him into the cradle of her arms once more. He let his hands wrap around the curves of her body, her warmth seeping into him, taking away the cold of the rain and in his heart. “I can’t do it anymore, Bliss. I need to escape the darkness. Please help me. I can’t do it without you.” “Shh, darling, just sleep now. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” Bliss kissed his cheek gently. “Say I have you, Bliss. Say you’ll be mine. I can’t leave the dark without you lighting my path,” he groaned. For the first time in years, Caim felt the calm of sleep begin to overtake him and cloud his mind. No matter how tired he was, he could never find rest, until now in the arms of his love. “You have me, Caim. Now sleep, sweetheart,” Her tone soothed him. She kept whispering and talking to him, speaking of nothing important, just letting her voice take him away. He fell asleep listening to her heartbeat, and even though it rained and thundered outside, he found peace in the middle of the storm.

Chapter Five Caim woke to her caress. He felt the featherlight touches of her fingers run across the muscles of his arms and down his shoulders. Her touch trailed down the expanse of his chest and down to the muscles of his abdomen. Under her gentle caress, he felt his desire began to simmer. Caim kept his eyes closed and enjoyed the feel of her fingers running across his body. His breath caught, and his cock hardened when her hands traveled lower than they should. He stifled the urge to moan and beg her to stroke the place that ached. “You’re awake, aren’t you?” He could hear the laugh in her throaty voice. “Yes, I am.” Caim still had his eyes closed, but he felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. “Do you want me to stop?” Bliss’s tongue flicked at his earlobe. “That is not even a question. Of course I don’t want you to stop.” The events of last night plagued him. “Bliss, about last night, I need to talk to you about it.” She stopped his words with a kiss. “Not right now, Caim. Let’s keep the world outside just a little bit longer.” Caim draped his hands around the smooth skin of her neck and pulled her into his kiss. Their lips met in fierce intensity that wiped everything but her from his thoughts. He pulled her across his body so that he could feel her entire body on top of him. He stroked and caressed her curves. He murmured against her lips. “Are you sure about this? You can still change your mind.” In response, she reached up and kissed him softly on the lips. His eyes drifted closed when she took over the kiss. Caim fanned the flames of desire as he slowly memorized each inch of her naked skin. Bliss’s fingers shook a little when she held on to his muscled shoulders. Her skin felt hot, and he loved the way she shivered while he trailed his fingers up her rib cage to cup her breasts. A gasp of pleasure escaped her as he plucked the sensitive tips. Caim moaned when her leg lifted slowly over his thighs. He could feel her press more intimately against his cock. He rolled, suddenly pressing her into the soft bed, his long, lean body on top of hers, settling between her smooth thighs. Bliss arched in pleasure when he kissed and licked her neck. The combination of her body under his and her tongue licking his shoulder was sending delicious frissons of pleasure along the nerves in his body. Caim reached and captured her hands. Twining his long fingers with hers, he held them above her head. This is how it felt to be loved by a woman, to feel a connection that nothing could break. His senses were filled with her. Every sound she made drove him to the brink of madness. He lowered his head to suck her nipples into his mouth. “Heaven, you taste like heaven.” “Caim,” she moaned his name softly. “Please, more.”

She raised her hips and pressed against his hard cock, which was rigid between her thighs. Caim’s breath hissed though his teeth when he felt the wetness of her pussy against the tip of his shaft. He rolled her suddenly, pulled her on top him, and buried his hands in her hair. The kiss turned wild and untamed. Their tongues mated sensually. It was the edge of desperation Bliss couldn’t wait any longer to feel him. She took his hard length in her hands and slowly took him inch by inch until he was buried deeply inside her. “Oh God, baby, you don’t know how good this feels,” Bliss panted. He looked at her arched above him like a statuesque goddess with the sunlight bathing her back. “I have never felt this before.” Caim closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as pleasure infused him. “Move on me, my love. Let me feel you.” She gladly obliged, teasing him with the slow movements. He could feel her pussy, wet, warm, and wrapped around him. Each time she let her velvet sex slide onto his hard manhood, he throbbed inside her. She rocked against him, torturing him, making him ache for more until he couldn’t stand it. “My turn,” Caim said suddenly and flipped her under him once more. He pushed into her velvet sex, pounding into her deeply with every thrust. Her body shuddered under his onslaught. Caim could hear the tiny sounds of pleasure that came from her merging with the manly moans and harsh breaths that escaped his lips. He never knew he could feel this amount of rapture, the pure heat and joy of being with a mate. He slipped his hands under her hips and pulled her more firmly under him. Bliss wrapped her legs around him, and he felt her hips lift into each of his thrusts. “More, Caim, I need more of you!” She gasped out in pleasure. Her fingers gripped his hair as they traveled to dizzying heights. “I’m going to come. Please don’t let me fall alone!” “Oh my, Bliss, I’m here with you, all the way. Let us fall together. Let go with me!” Caim encouraged. He felt his body reaching for new heights, and for an instant, it felt as if he were soaring with the angels once more. Her soft, low cry of release and the shudders of her body signaled her orgasm. His body was taut above her as he spilled himself inside her with a guttural moan. Caim couldn’t stop touching her. His hands roamed and touched every expanse of skin he could find. His heartbeat tried to slow to a normal rhythm. Caim lifted his head and looked at her. Then, he rolled to his side and pulled her next to him without even breaking contact. “I have never felt anything like that in my entire existence.” Bliss giggled. “You make yourself sound so old, Caim.” “I am older than you think,” Caim said softly. “It feels as if I have waited forever to feel this way.” “Caim, I have waited all my life for this one perfect moment.”

“I think I am crazy in love with you,” he murmured and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t know how or why. It has just been a few days.” Bliss laughed as if she was amazed. “But I have fallen completely and madly in love with you too.” “There are some things I have to tell you, Bliss, about me and my life. Things you need to know,” Caim explained. He felt a terrible trepidation in his heart that she might turn away from him when she knew. But it had to be done for him to be human. “Not right now, Caim, please. Let’s just have a little more time.” Bliss poked him in his ribs and giggled. She pressed soft kisses to his chest. Caim let himself be swayed. It was only for a little while longer. He wrapped his arms around her and tickled her in return. Her squeals of delight caused him to smile, and for the first time in a long time, he could feel his own laughter rumble in his chest. I’ll talk to her later. I will tell her all, he promised as he filled his senses with the scent of honeysuckle in her hair. **** Bliss walked the halls of Merry’s hospital with a spring in her step. She had spent the entire day with Caim and left a note on her pillow next to him. With a soft kiss, she left him sleeping while she went off to work. The mayhem of the ER did nothing to dampen her mood. She took blood samples with her usual finesse while Amber and the other nurses on call teased her unmercifully about Caim. She took their jokes good-naturedly, because when her shift was over, he would be at her house waiting for her. She replayed how he had stood on her doorstep, shivering in the rain with a look of pure agony on his face. What could he be going through? As he fell asleep, Caim had said he needed her to save him from the dark. She didn’t know exactly what he meant, but it felt so ominous that hearing what he had to say scared her. But she couldn’t not hear him out, because if she could, she would take his burden and make it her own. I love him. I have to help him. On her way back to her office, Amber passed her by with an armload of files. She stopped Bliss in the hallway with a big grin on her face. “What are you doing, collecting the men of GQ magazine or something?” Bliss gave her a blank expression. “Huh? What are you talking about, crazy woman?” “I mean the other hottie that you have sitting in your office waiting for you,” Amber said. “If you want to share this one with me, give him my number.” Apprehension made butterflies do a dance in her tummy. She didn’t know who could possibly be waiting for her, but her instinct told her that it had something to with Caim. Bliss pasted a bright smile on her face. She couldn’t let Amber know that something was very wrong. How could she ask for help anyway when she didn’t even know what was going on herself?

“I’ll make sure to send all available hotties your way,” Bliss said, teasing her with humor she didn’t feel. “I gotta go, sweetie. I’ll call you later.” Bliss hurried down the hallway. She raised her hand to wave when Amber called out her good-byes. Outside her door, she hesitated with her hands on the handle. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room. The man who turned to her was nothing if not magnificent. He turned when Bliss entered the room. The blond hair he had just seemed to capture every piece of light in the room and left it dim. Looking into his eyes was like falling into a pool of blue, and when he smiled, she could almost hear a tinkle as he showed off rows of white teeth. No one man should be this beautiful, Bliss thought. But even as she stared at the hunk in her office, she could feel something about him that made her cringe. “Can I help you?” Bliss asked hesitantly. “Bliss, isn’t it?” “Yes, do I know you?” “No, but we have a mutual friend in Caim. I’m Belial.” “That is an unusual name. How do you know Caim?” Bliss walked over to her desk, trying to give Belial a wide berth. He made her uncomfortable, and just being behind her desk where something was between the two of them made her feel safer. “Let’s just say we work the same place,” Belial replied mildly. He sat in the chair opposite her desk and leaned back casually as if he were meant to be there. “So if you guys work together, why are you here?” “I wanted to see the woman who was taking his focus away from his job.” Belial’s eyes met her directly and made her feel like squirming in her seat. “He’s in a lot of trouble, you know.” “H-he is?” Bliss stammered. She took a deep breath. “Listen, whatever you guys do, I don’t want to know, but I want him out. I have some money saved. You can have it. Just leave him be.” “You are willing to give up all your money just to save him?” Bliss could hear the curiosity in Belial’s voice, along with something else. His smile reminded her of a shark when it smelled blood in the water. “I’d give up a whole lot more for him if I had it,” she said firmly. “Would you give up your soul for him?” Belial asked softly. The question sent fear through every fiber of her being, and she whispered, “What are you?”

“Hmm.” Belial closed his eyes and turned his head as if he caught a whiff of a pleasurable scent. When he did, Bliss caught a glimpse of his true face, and she knew terror unlike anything she had ever known. “Caim and I are the same. But if you want to save him, all you have to do is sign on the dotted line. Give me your soul, Bliss, and set his free.” “No-No!” Bliss shook her head vehemently, trying to wake herself from the nightmare that was all too real. “He’s good and kind, and I can see it in him! I can’t see it in you. You are nothing like him!” “You can’t save him, little girl!” Belial smiled and tried to use a charming smile on her. “But if you sign, my sweet, you can ask for anything in the world, and I will add his soul as a bonus. What do you wish, fame, fortune?” “I want nothing from you except for you to get out of my office!” Bliss stood up and pointed to her door. “Leave now!” “A hospital is a free zone. I can enter and go as I please,” Belial sneered. “You can’t banish me.” “But my office is my sanctuary, and in the name of the almighty God, I send you away!” Bliss said with conviction in her voice. Belial hissed, and Bliss watched him be pulled toward the door as if by an invisible cord to her door. “You can’t save him, bitch. He belongs to us, and when he comes home, I will make him suffer, and our dark master will make him suffer! Torment for ten thousand years will make your love seem like a drop in the bucket to him!” When his backward steps took him to the boundary of her doorway, the door opened on its own. At the threshold, he faded from her view with one last cold stare, and the door was closed once more by some sort of invisible hand. Bliss sank to her chair. Her legs couldn’t seem to stop trembling. Her body couldn’t seem to stop shaking. Oh my God, oh my God! What was he? What was Caim? She couldn’t believe, could she? Demons? Bliss knew she couldn’t work after this. She couldn’t even function after what happened. There was only one thing she could do. She had to go home and see Caim, to hear the truth of what he was from his lips. Bliss picked up the phone and dialed one of the other floors of the hospital. Claiming she was sick, she asked another phlebotomist to cover the ER for her. On the way out, Bliss stifled her irritation at everyone stopping her to ask her why she was leaving early. Stomach flu, she said and tried to stay still to hear them give her all kinds of remedies. Finally, she was at her car and heading home. She wanted to put her foot to the pedal and speed through all

of the red lights, but then apprehension filled her core, and she wanted to delay the inevitable as long as possible. Her driveway seemed to come up way too soon. The lights of her small patio beckoned and welcomed her home as she pulled in and turned off her car. She sat there for a few minutes, trying to compose herself, but then fear caused her to move quickly. What if Belial was still out there stalking her from the dark? That thought sent her racing to the front door and unlocking it with trembling fingers. Caim stood at the far window looking out into her side yard. He seemed focused on watching the leaves fall from the tree to coat the ground in a blanket of color. He turned when he heard her close the door. The smile of greeting that was on his lips faded when he saw her face. “What are you, Caim?” Bliss asked softly. She put her bag on the table next to he door and walked to the center of the room. “What are you!” “Bliss, I-I . . .” Caim sighed and stood in front of her. He let his forehead touch hers, and his gaze met her tear-filled eyes. “I can’t just tell you, my love. I have to show you, okay?” Bliss nodded and closed her eyes. Instantly, she felt the sun on her face. Slowly, she lifted her lids, and instead of her living room, she was standing on top of a mountain. Around her, she could hear the call of birds, and when she looked down, the tops of trees were like a carpet in the sky. She was on a mountain in the middle of a rain forest. The breeze carried the smell of vegetation and exotic flowers. Bliss’s eyes widened with incredulity as she looked around at the beauty around her. “The natives call this Deus Janela, the window of God,” Caim said quietly. Bliss turned from the exquisiteness around her to stare at him silently. He continued talking as he walked closer to the edge. “I feel closer to home here, as if I could reach out and touch heaven. It’s like it is so high that I can feel it and talk to them even though they don’t hear me anymore.” “What do you mean, Caim?” Bliss asked. She hesitated coming closer to him. “Long ago, I was one of them.” Caim’s voice was subdued. “One of who, Caim?” Bliss shouted in exasperation. “I was an angel in the high courts of heaven before I was cast out over a thousand years ago,” Caim explained. “I sinned, and for that, I was sent to hell. I became a fallen one.” “A demon.” Bliss gasped and stepped away from him. Her mind tried to grasp but was unable to believe what she was hearing. “Belial said you were the same!” “When did you see him?” Caim asked urgently. “What did he say?” “He tried to get me to sign away my soul to save you. He said it was the only way. He said you worked together!” Bliss cried out and turned away.

“Bliss, we are nothing alike! Caim took her by the shoulder and forced her to face him. “He was created in hell, a demon spawn. I retain my soul, except there I have to fight so hard not to be corrupted. I am nothing like him, and I never will be!” Bliss could see the sincerity of his words on his face. She needed to know it all. “How did you fall from grace?” “Long ago, when the world was still young, I saw an injustice that I thought should have been punished, a woman stoned for her convictions and her faith in the Almighty. I begged the Father not to let it happen, but he said it must be done for the world to understand.” Caim turned his face away from Bliss in shame. She reached up her hands and cupped his cheek, bringing his face back to hers. “My heart filled with vengeance, and day after day, it got worse until I could no longer stand it. I took my vengeance against those who stoned her. I took their lives, and for that, I was cast out.” “But why? Everyone should be allowed forgiveness.” “I was granted my forgiveness, but I could no longer live in heaven. You see, I was a pure creation, a being made by God’s hands. For my sin, I was punished to a thousand years in service to Lucifer. This is the last year, tomorrow is the last day, and you are my salvation.” Bliss shook her head. This was so much to take in all at once. “How can I be your salvation, Caim?” “I fell from heaven, and after a thousand years, I can fall once more, leave the realm of angels and demons and become human. You have to be there to catch me when I fall, Bliss, to save me from eternal death.” “Catch you how? Do I stand under a tree and hold out my hands?” Caim smiled gently. “No, my love, when I fall, I will be leaving my immortality behind. I will be human, hurt, and on the precipice of death. Your love, your heart, and your voice, as long as you are there with me, will bring me back.” “And what if I can’t?” Bliss wanted to know. She could feel the dread surrounding the question. “I believe you can.” “But what if I can’t?” “Then, my darling Bliss, I will be lost. I will die just like any other human would. And even that is better than being in hell with the likes of Belial.” Caim stepped away from her and let his true self show. Wings burst from his back in glorious beauty spread against the wind that caressed and ruffled each feather. Bliss gasped as she remembered the feather she found in the hallway of the hospital. It was his! she thought, watching how the light reflected off the pure black wings of her fallen angel.

“This is who I am. Can you accept me?” he asked. His eyes pleaded with her earnestly. “Oh God, Caim, this is so much to take in, such a big burden to put on my shoulders.” Bliss moaned and covered her face with her hands. Caim took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. She could feel herself falling into the jade green stare. “I collect souls for the Devil, Bliss. Demons like Belial get innocents to sign their most valuable possession away to Lucifer. They gave me this duty because they knew it would eat away at my own soul, watching humans go to eternal damnation for nothing more than trinkets. The few who sign it away for the love of family, well, those are the ones that destroy me. I saw you for the first time at Merry’s summer fair, wearing those yellow shorts and the white shirt that had flower-shaped cutouts. You were laughing with your friend, and I was there to collect a soul.” Caim smiled as he replayed the memory, and Bliss gasped because she knew exactly when he was talking about. He continued to speak almost wistfully. “I kept coming back to this town each time I could because of you. I watched you in the hospital and in your office when you cried over the children you worked on. I knew you were the one, Bliss. My heart fell for you even when you were outside twirling around as the leaves fell. I never saw anything so beautiful in a thousand years. Even if I was still an angel and I saw you in my journeys, I would have fallen just for you.” No words could convey what Bliss felt at that moment. On top of a mountain, in the middle of a rain forest, listening to a fallen angel with a soul express his love for her. Belial was wrong. Caim was nothing like him. She would save him or give her last breath trying. “I’ll catch you, Caim. When you fall, I’ll be there.” Bliss held on to him tight and spoke in earnest, “You better fight, you hear me! You better fight because I will not lose you, not now.” “I’ll fight, my love, for you. I will battle every demon in hell just to be with you.” “Won’t they try to stop you, Belial and the other demons?” Bliss questioned. “I have no doubt they will, but I plan to be human and in your arms before they ever know.” Caim smiled and tweaked her nose. “Good, because I don’t want to have to come to hell to find them and kick their asses for my boo,” Bliss said firmly. “You won’t have to, sweetness.” Caim took her lips in a soft kiss that shook her to her core. This was love in its pure form. “When do we do this?” Bliss asked when the kiss ended. “Tomorrow, my love, on the final day of my one thousand years is when I fall.”

“Well, tomorrow, I will be there to love you for the rest of your human life. Until then, let’s go home and make love as if there are no tomorrows,” Bliss let her lips trail down his neck. Caim wrapped her in the security of his arms, and she rested her head against his chest. He took them off the mountain and back to Merry with both their hearts filled with thoughts of the future.

Chapter Six They phased back into the warmth of her home, directly back to the living room where their journey had started. His lips were on hers as soon as their feet touched the carpet. Bliss kissed him in return, and she closed her eyes at the first contact of their lips. She didn’t care if they were on top of a mountain or if they would tread on clouds, all that she could feel was Caim. His arms wrapped around her, and he took the kiss even deeper. Bliss felt his tongue graze her teeth before he slipped it into her mouth to taste her. She could drown in his kisses. She loved how he sipped at and teased her mouth. She pressed herself more intimately against him and felt the bulge of his arousal. A groan rumbled deep in his chest as she felt herself pressed against him, which let her know it affected him the same way. “Bliss, let us go to the bed before I lose whatever thoughts I have left, which are quite few right now.” “No.” She nibbled his lips as she spoke. “Right here, right now.” Caim groaned and devoured her mouth while his hand caressed her through the cotton material of her scrubs. It was a barrier to keep him from her full breasts. Yet, he filled his hands with the soft mounds and massaged them with a strong, firm motion. Her nipples beaded to hardness under his touch. “Yes, Caim, just like that, I love how your hands feel on me.” Bliss whispered the words and pushed herself more firmly into his palm. His touch was something she craved. She pulled the shirt off in one smooth tug and flung it aside. Caim sank his hands into her hair. He pulled her back so he could bury his face into her chest and took her nipple into his mouth. He sucked and played with one before moving to the other to give it the same attention. Bliss held his head to her, and her head fell back in pleasure. “You taste so good, Bliss. I can never get enough of you,” Caim said against her skin. He took her lips again in a hot, hard kiss, which melted Bliss to the core. How can his lips make me this hot? she wondered vaguely in the back of her mind. She could feel her body react to him by the wetness that pooled between her thighs. Pressing herself against him, she tried to ease the ache he created. His groan of pleasure told her how much he approved of what she was doing. His hands traveled up the back of her neck, and he sank his fingers into her hair once again, holding her head while he feasted on her lips, swollen from his kisses. She took the lead from Caim and caressed his muscled chest. She pressed her body against him, letting her nipples touch the thatch of hair on his chest, and she gasped against his mouth as pleasure flowed through her. She rubbed against him like a sleek cat asking to be petted, enjoying the sensations of flesh touching flesh. She tore her lips way from his and trailed kisses and tiny licks down his body until she reached the waistband of his pants. With deft fingers, she unsnapped the clasp and undid each button with a torturous, slow movement while letting her fingers graze his hard cock through the material. Caim jerked in response to her touch, and a sexy smile crossed her lips.

“I want to taste you. Can I, please?” Bliss asked with a sexy purr. She watched as he swallowed and only nodded. With his help, they got his pants and boots off the rest of the way, and he sat with his length hard and rigid. On her knees between his legs, Bliss leaned over, flicked out her tongue and licked the tip of his cock as if she was testing the flavor of him. She licked and kissed her way down and then back up his manhood while watching the pleasure cross his face and his hands clench and unclench against the cushions on the sofa. She took his hard cock in her mouth and slid her soft lips down and up with a gentle sucking motion. “Oh my God, never have I been loved like this!” His words came out on a breath that hissed out between his teeth. Bliss took her time pleasing him until he could no longer bear the sweet sensations running through his body and causing his skin to feel as if it were on fire. He pulled away from her when he could not stand it any longer, and she stood in front of him while he sank into the soft cushions of her sofa. She let her sheer red panties fall to the floor. She loved how his hot gaze followed the line of her body, took in every curve and dip of her womanly figure. She slid her hands up his chest, to his shoulders, and she climbed over him to straddle his lap, her smooth chocolate thighs trapping his between them. Bliss grasped his cock in her small hands and guided him to the entrance of her pussy. As she took him in, inch by torturous inch, a low moan escaped them both. It was as if their bodies were made for each other. “You feel like hot velvet wrapped around me,” Caim said softly. His jade gaze captured hers. Bliss began to move slowly and watched his eyes darken in pleasure and his fingers tighten their grip on the smooth skin of her hips. She lifted his hands to her breast in a silent plea with him to play. He obliged, caressing the pert, voluptuous globes and licking her nipples as she set the pace of their lovemaking. Her head fell back in pleasure of both sensations assaulting her senses at once. She bucked against him and took him deeper inside herself. “Oh, Caim, I want more. Let me take more.” “Ride me hard, Bliss. Take it all,” he said between clenched teeth. He grabbed her hips and pulled her against him hard, and Bliss cried out in pleasure. Their pace picked up, and soon, their moans and cries of ecstasy filled the air. Her body’s juice flowed down his cock, and they moved. “Oh, oh I can’t stop! I’m going to come!” “That’s what I want, my love. Fall with me.” He took her nipples in his mouth again and sucked deeply. The sensations drove Bliss to her orgasm on a shaky cry of pleasure. With her release, Caim let himself go, pounding inside her until he groaned against her breasts and fell over the edge. Bliss didn’t know how long they sat there in a sensual haze. She occasionally shook when

mini aftershocks flowed through her body. Every time her body spasmed, Caim moaned as if in agony. “I have never felt like this before, never like this,” he whispered as he nuzzled her breasts. “If you were an angel and then a fallen angel, does that mean you never . . . ?” Bliss let the question hang in the air. “You are the first I have ever lain with, Bliss, and my last because there will be no others after you. You have my love always.” Caim confirmed her suspicions. His words caused her to flush with pleasure. “Only you have ever made me feel like this, Caim.” “I like that I can do that to you,” he said, kissing her shoulder. “You think you can move to the bedroom?” Bliss said, teasing him. In response, he got up as if she weighed nothing at all and followed the path to her bedroom. “I think I can manage.” Bliss laughed softly and kissed the curve of his neck as they walked. For now, they would pretend the hard road they had to a face together was not there. **** Belial strode though the lower corridors of torment looking for his master to relay everything he found out. Did Caim think that it would be that easy to escape hell even though his thousand years was up? Samael was in the bowels of the torture chambers watching Qemuel work. It was like a hobby to him, seeing the misery and anguish they faced. Samael took one look at Belial and instantly knew something was going on. “What brings you slumming, Belial? You don’t usually show your pretty face this far down in the chambers,” Samael said calmly. Behind him, the screams of one of Qemuel’s victims echoed from the wall. “Sir, I bring you news of Caim. I think he has found what he needs to end his sentence in hell.” Those words got Samael’s attention. “What do you mean he found what he needs?” “There is a woman, Bliss, that he has been seeing. They have formed a bond, and now he is planning to use the clause to become human instead of full demon.” Samael caught Belial around the neck. His big hands squeezed as he lifted him off his feet. His voice was deadly when he spoke. “You were supposed to raise his anger, Belial, get him to lose control and embrace his dark side.”

“Sire, you know I have been diligently using the mutual dislike we have for each other to destroy Caim’s soul. But even after a thousand years, he retains that spark which now burns brighter because of this love he has formed.” “His sentence is up tomorrow. Until then he is ours. Summon him,” Samael ordered. “Do you have a plan, sir?” Belial asked. “If he is here, he cannot leave. It is just that simple. Qemuel’s wall will break him, and when he is at his weakest, I’ll show him you killing this woman called Bliss. If that doesn’t destroy that final spark of goodness in him, then nothing will.” Samael smiled, showing the gleaming, razor-sharp rows of his teeth. “He retains that love that angels have for their Father in the place we dare not speak of. What kind of father lets the love of his son die, hmm? Summon him now.” Belial’s smile matched the one on Samael’s face, and he nodded. He would get his final laugh after all. He walked away quickly to do his master’s bidding. **** Caim and Bliss loved each other throughout the night, and every time he touched her, he felt as if it was the first time. His heart was ready to explode with the knowledge that he had her love and soon he would be able to be with her for the rest of his human life. Human. The word made him smile, and hope filled him. During the thousand years, he had begun to love the feeling of hope that he would ever find the one who could save him from his damnation. He had fully intended to fall and die as a mortal, even if he had not found love at the end of his retribution. It was better than becoming one of the things that roamed, held without remorse or culpability for the destruction they caused. They lived for the evil that besmirched the world, and he would rather die than become that being. Instead, now he had something to live for. He had the joy that brought him from the darkness. He had his Bliss. It was his last thought before he fell asleep with a smile on his face. He woke later that night hard and wanting her once more. He looked over at her sleeping on her stomach. His eyes traveled along every curve of her body under the blanket, and soon his hands traced the path his eyes had taken. He traced his hand along the curve of her bottom and between her legs that were slightly parted in sleep. She wiggled and murmured something before letting out a soft snore. Caim grinned at the simple human quality. He wondered if he would snore when he became human. But soon his focus was back on what he was doing. He slipped his finger inside her. She was tight and hot. She pushed back against his finger with a soft moan, and his digit went deeper. He used his thumb to press against her clit. Bliss moaned and stirred. Caim kissed her ear and whispered, “No, stay there, my love. Just feel.” He was rock hard to the point of aching, and every time he dipped his fingers inside her, she moaned. He wanted to bury himself in her until they could not tell where she stopped and he began. Soon she was shaking, and he could feel her come as she released all over his hand.

It was all he could take. Caim spread her legs a little farther apart and was deep inside her in an instant. His chest was against her back, and he wrapped his arms around her and cupped her breasts even though she was pressed against the bed. Bliss writhed beneath him and cried, “Oh God, yes!” Caim bit her neck while he moved inside her. His hands squeezed and massaged her smooth breasts. Her taste, her skin, her smell, the scent of her sex was all around them, driving him crazy, making him wild for her. He felt like a starving man gorging himself. He loved her, and that seemed to heighten his senses. Each time his cock rubbed against the smooth, wet velvety walls of her pussy, he felt as if he was sliding into a piece of heaven. She quaked and shuddered as she cried out over and over. He felt her come once and then twice before he let out a moan of pleasure and followed her with his own orgasm. He collapsed against her back but moved quickly so as not to smother her for too long. Bliss moved into the curve of his arms and pressed kisses against his chest. The insistent ringing in his head told him he was being summoned. Dread filled his heart as it became more and more persistent. He could feel it in his heart that they knew, but he could not ignore the call and not go. They would pull him back the hard way, and Bliss might get hurt in the mêlée. “I have to go, my love. I am being summoned,” he said against her hair. He felt her instantly stiffen in his arms. “No, baby! You know Belial must have told them about me. They must know what you are trying to do!” Bliss sat up in the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear. “They’ll hurt you. He said so, for an eternity!” “I have to go. They will come for me if I do not, and I do not want you harmed. I’ll find a way to be free, and I will be back!” Caim pulled her in his arms roughly and inhaled her scent. “I promise, nothing can keep me from you now, not even all the demons in hell.” “Take me with you,” she begged close to his chest. Tears choked her voice. “I’ll protect you.” Caim chuckled softly. “I have no doubt you would fight by my side, my love. Nothing alive can dwell in hell or descend into it. It would kill you instantly.” Bliss sat up again. Tears began to trail down her cheeks. “When will you come back?” “Meet me under the Merry clock tower, where the mayor spoke from for the summer fair. That is the highest point in Merry, and I will fall from there. Until then, go to the chapel in the hospital and stay there. They cannot cross onto that hallowed ground.” He kissed her then. He took in her taste and made sure that everything she was, was imprinted on to his soul. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes that were filled with love and fear. He stood, and with only a thought, his clothes were back in place. “Don’t forget, midnight tonight, the clock tower. I love you, Bliss. You saved me with your love.”

“I love you too,” she promised. Caim caressed her cheek once more before he phased out from her bedroom and back to the realm where demons ruled. The last thing he heard was her voice echoing through the fold in time. She yelled at his disappearing figure, “I’ll catch you, Caim! I promise I’ll catch you!” Even if he didn’t make it out, his last thought would be that he found a love that wanted to give him redemption.

Chapter Seven Belial’s face held all the evil merriment that one demon could muster into its features. Caim knew that this was all because of what he told Samael. The demon that stood next to his protégé had fire in his eyes and the flames of hell breathing from his nose. “I see you ran home and snitched like the bitch you are,” Caim said with nonchalance that belied the turmoil inside him. “There is no loyalty in hell, Caim, only stepping on each other’s skulls to get higher on the ladder.” Belial smiled as he spoke. “Does this get you out of the secretarial pool, Belial?” Caim asked. “It gets me higher on the food chain than you, even when you turn demon.” “Know this, Belial. If that happens, I will spend my time making your life a living hell. My vengeance will not be quenched,” Caim countered. He felt pleased when he saw the flicker of doubt that filtered though Belial’s face. “Stop this fucking chitchat!” Samael snarled. He set his eyes on Caim’s face. “Did you think it would be so easy to escape this realm?” “I thought I was going to just walk out, Samael. My time is up,” Caim responded placidly. “Impudent whelp! A thousand years is a mere flash in the span of my immortality. You think I would just let you walk away? I don’t give up demons to become humans,” Samael roared. “That was the nature of my sentence, a chance of redemption. The clause was there.” “Do you think we follow the contracts of that world? Your maker knew that there would be no chance of you ever leaving here. That is why he sent you.” Samael smiled an evil smile. “He knew that we would never keep our side of the deal. Come on now, he is the allknowing.” “Like you said, he is my maker. He also knows of my strength. He knew I would find my path to deliverance,” Caim said softly. “The human girl, the one called Bliss. I should send Belial now to break her scrawny neck,” Samael replied. Those words sent fear and anger shooting through Caim’s heart. The thought of Bliss being touched and harmed by Belial was almost too much to bear. He had to quench the anger in his heart before it gave a foothold to the demonic essence around him and allowed it to take hold. “If Belial can stand walking on hallowed ground, so be it. She is safe where even I cannot go.” Caim smiled coldly at the two demons in front of him.

Samael nodded. “Very wise to send her to sanctified ground. Take him.” Caim didn’t have a chance to turn to see who Samael was talking to. He felt the agony of the whip against his back that tore though his flesh and sent him to his knees. Qemuel! Another lash sent him to the floor, and the cry of anguish was torn from his lips. Again and again, the lash from the whip dipped in sulfur and hellfire ripped at his flesh and sent its unworldly venom into his veins. He lay weak against the hot rocks that made up the floor. He felt the shackles, forged from hellfire, unbreakable even by demons, being put on his hands and legs. He was caught. Qemuel dragged him to his feet. He could hear the sickening laughter coming from Belial’s lips at his capture. Samael took his hair in his grasp, tugged Caim’s head up to face him, and said softly, “You countered my plan of making you watch as Belial killed her. But I have come up with a new, better plan for you. Qemuel’s whip will change you to your new form. No more of the fallen one, but pure demon. What will be your first taste of deviance of your new life? It will be the blood of your Bliss when you kill her yourself.” “No!” Caim heard the pure anguish and heart-wrenching pain that came from his screams echoing down the hall as he was dragged away, the very same way that the souls he took to hell were. **** “Bliss, why are you in here?” Amber’s soft voice came from the doors of the chapel. Bliss turned to see the tiny figure of her friend. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to give a smile. “I’m fine, sweetie. What are you doing working today?” “Oh, I had to cover a shift. You know someone always gets sick around here.” Amber gave a tinkling laugh, but made no move to enter the room. “Come on out. We’ll walk to the cafeteria, and I’ll buy you a hot cup of coffee.” Amber knows I don’t drink coffee. Doubt and suspicion began to form in Bliss’s mind. “Thanks for the offer, but I just want to sit here for a while. I have a lot on my mind, and I’m looking for some divine clarity. How about you come and sit with me for a while? I can sure use my best friend.” Amber cleared her throat uncomfortably. “No, I-I don’t think so.” “Why not? You love this place. You said you can always think here.” Bliss stood and walked a few steps away from the threshold of the chapel to the hall. “Not today, I feel fine today.” She held out her hand to Bliss in invitation. “Come on, sweetie, let me comfort you. I know Caim’s leaving must be hard.” “How did you know Caim left? I didn’t tell you. Unless you aren’t Amber at all. Do you think I am that naïve, Belial?” Bliss asked contemptuously.

The body and looks of Amber never changed, but a smile of pure, unadulterated evil formed on the face of the demon posing as her friend. “You are not naïve at all, Bliss. But Caim was. He thought he could leave hell, and now he’s there, chained to Qemuel’s wall, being tortured because of you.” Bliss couldn’t stifle the gasp of horror that escaped from her mouth. “You can’t! He said you can’t change the rules!” “Oh, we didn’t change the rules. We are just holding him for a while until his time passes by. Then he will be like me in every way. Maybe he might be willing to share you.” “Never!” Bliss said emphatically. A shudder of revulsion ran through her body. “I give you one more chance to save him. Sign my contract. I’ll even throw in an added bonus and extension of years. Your soul won’t be collected until you are old and gray.” Bliss shook her head vigorously. “I won’t ever do it! Caim has my love, and he will find a way. I know he will. I will be there to catch him when he falls, and by God, if you try to stop him or me, I’ll kill you myself!” Belial’s nasty laugh made her want to cover her ears. “He will be a demon, Bliss, and he will kill you. I want to be there to watch as he rips your head from your body.” With that, Belial, still in the image of Amber, gave a jaunty wave and disappeared from her sight. On shaky feet, Bliss turned and went back to sit on the pews in the small hospital chapel. She looked at the small stained glass window and sent a plea to heaven. “He is still yours, you know. Even in that pit you sentenced him to, he was still yours. He kept that spark of his soul alive, even though he spent a thousand years in that place. Please help him. Give him a chance to be human. They are not playing by the rules. Do we have to?” Bliss posed the question even though she expected no answer. She just hoped someone up there was listening to her because right now, they were all Caim had. Her love would be there to catch him when he fell, but she couldn’t save him from hell. **** The walls were like scalding water against the skin on Caim’s back. In only a few hours, he had been tortured like no other in the bowels of the unearthly realms of hell. Beaten with Qemuel’s whip until the skin on his back was shredded. Forced to watch all the debauchery and deviant behavior one could do. They had tried to make him eat the flesh of innocent humans and drink their blood to quench his thirst, a thirst that came to anyone tortured by Qemuel. He liked to watch them beg for a drink to ease the ache from swollen tongues and cracked lips. But Caim refused, and for that, the demon known for his ways in a torture chamber made him suffer. In a place where the only rule was to play in the den of iniquity,

there were things that men dared not think of that were performed here, all in the name of the dark prince who ruled it with an iron fist. Lucifer had already heard of Caim’s plan to leave hell and how he had been stopped. He had heard the words directly from Belial’s own mouth. Caim knew that Belial, being in the presence of the dark lord and telling him of how a fallen one had tried to escape his lair, must have almost wetted himself in glee. Lucifer did not feel it necessary to visit the scene on his own. It was minimal on his list of important things to do. Instead, he gave Belial new standing in hell, a sector to rule on his own with new demons under his command as a collector of souls. Lucifer had also given him a message to take back to Qemuel about Caim’s punishment. He was to be given no reprieve, ultimate punishment until he became a demon. If he did not, he was to be cast into the fiery sea of perpetual agony for eternity. Belial had had no problem delivering the message. He teased Caim with it and boasted of his new position. I hope he chokes on his own filth, Caim thought miserably. He cried out in agony when felt a new lash across his belly. This time Qemuel’s whip had barbs, thorns attached to the leather. At his feet, smaller carrion demons scratched at the skin. Their tiny tongues felt like scorpion stings against his torn flesh as they licked at his blood. “Ready to submit now?” Qemuel hissed. “Look at you. Pathetic. I don’t know why they would want something weak like you as a demon. You and your kind lived up there for a reason, because you are weaklings!” “I am stronger than you because I will not ever become one of the demons that dwell here. You could as well throw me into the sea of fire.” Caim gasped in his pain. Another lash made him grit his teeth. This time the end of the whip caught his face and left a trail of blood running down his cheek. Qemuel’s laughter echoed off the wall. “I fully intend to throw you there, Caim, after a little fun for me. The dark one did not tell me how long I had to try to break you. A few thousand years of you chained to my wall will entertain me for a while,” Qemuel replied with sadistic pleasure. “I’ll heal you every time you become a bit too broken, and then we’ll start all over again. How’s that, hmm?” Caim did not reply because, even though the pain of his body was unbearable, the grief of not seeing Bliss again was agony in his soul. It was the end of him. He could feel it in his entire being. Knowing that he had nothing left to lose, Caim lifted his voice and cried out in hope that someone would hear him. “I have served my sentence, and I have been punished for my transgression! Should I have to die in this place?” He did not have to voice who he was speaking to. The hiss of the shackles was enough to let everyone know. Even thinking the name of the Almighty in hell caused everything to hiss and sizzle as if doused by holy water. “Don’t say it! Don’t say his name!” Qemuel screamed while he covered his ears with his hands. “My Father, my God! I found my love, the one who can free me. Give me the chance to have my soul’s rest! Give me peace!” Caim begged.

The carrion demons that were licking at the blood on his feet retched and vomited before their bodies curled and bubbled into putrid puddles. Qemuel was on his knees. His body contorted and burn blisters burst through the skin, as the name of the Almighty caused him insufferable pain. The walls of hell began to shake and tremble. Fissures and cracks formed along the rocky floor, breaking open and exposing the lava tubes underneath that pulsed under the rocks. From above, stalactites fell and crashed into the floor and crumbled to dust. Caim looked at the mayhem surrounding him with amazement, and a new sense of hope rose within him. Maybe his cries had been heard after all! As if to prove his words true, while the underworld shook and crumbled, the shackles forged in hellfire fell from his feet and his wrists and he fell to the floor. He turned just in time to see Qemuel fall into a crack that erupted under his body. He held on with talon claws in hope of keeping himself from falling, but as the earth shook ever harder, he fell into the lava beneath him and was destroyed before a scream could ever leave his lips. Caim was free, but weak. He took gasping breaths while he concentrated and tried to heal what he could in his condition. He pulled strength from deep inside him to phase out of this world and into his freedom. His maker had spoken, and now even the oldest of demons cowered under the invisible voice of the Almighty. Before he could leave, he felt two powerful hands wrap around his neck, and he was flung against the farthest wall of the cavern. Caim fell to the floor with a loud thud and looked up at his attacker. It was Samael, turned to complete demon with teeth like razors and ready to tear Caim limb from limb. “You will leave here in pieces!” he snarled before rushing at Caim. Bliss. With that one thought, Caim was on his feet in an instant and met the demon head on. He had been given a chance to be free, and he would fight to the death for it. The two met like two tanks hitting each other. Caim felt his ribs crack under the crushing blows of Samael. When the demon swung again, he dodged the fist and rolled away. He looked around quickly to the fallen implements of torture that once lined Qemuel’s wall of pain. He moved lithely away from another attack from Samael, and his hands rested on a scythe. Caim knew to keep moving. Agility was the key against the bulky demon frame of his attacker and former boss. With each move, Samael’s anger increased. His roar echoed along the still-crumbling walls. Caim saw his chance to strike as the demon charged forward. He rolled between the massive legs of Samael and came up behind him. With one swipe of the scythe, he took the demon’s head completely off. Samael’s heavy body dropped like granite to the floor, and his head rolled into the lava pits. Caim didn’t wait to see who else was coming. He phased out of the underworld that was now in complete chaos. He went topside to find his Bliss and to leave immortality behind.

Chapter Eight Bliss stared at the monolith that rose up to the sky. It was the only thing that showed ornate craftsmanship in the middle of small-town Merry, North Carolina. The clock tower. It had been designed to look like Big Ben in London, except on a smaller scale. Now it stood white against the darkness of the sky, with its lighted clock and Roman numerals peering across the town square. And right now, it scared the hell out of Bliss because she knew it would be here either she would find her love and her forever with Caim, or she would be left alone and filled with grief at losing him. After Belial’s impromptu visit, Bliss did not come unprepared. A golden cross now hung around her neck, and she held a plastic drinking bottle held water blessed by the chaplain of the church chapel. His eyes had held questions when she asked him to bless her drinking water, but she firmly kept her mouth shut. If she had opened up, she would have told him everything, and even though priests are supposed to keep confidence, she had no doubt he would have called someone to take her up to the psychiatric ward. “No use putting this off any longer,” she muttered as she crossed the street. A drizzle had begun while she pushed against the wooden door that led to the stairs of the tower. She had no doubt that she would not be caught going into the building. In Merry, by nine at night, the shop owners pulled in their sidewalk wares and went home for the night. The door creaked eerily as she slipped inside. It was warm inside the lower part of the tower. The smell of wood and furniture polish was a familiar comfort, yet it did nothing to abate the nervousness in the stomach. She had no doubt that Caim was what she wanted. The fear was that he would not be there and that she would be left with the knowledge that he was in hell being hurt and in pain forever. Her footsteps echoed hollowly on the varnished wooden staircase as she climbed to the top of the tower. When Bliss looked out to the horizon, she could see the boundary of where Merry ended and the lights of every home and business in the town. The rain was coming down now in a steady stream, and the clouds looked ominous and angry when a flash of lightning crossed the sky. Bliss stared out into the darkness and wrapped her hands around her body, hoping to keep some of the warmth inside her. She missed Caim so much. She wished she were wrapped in his arms in bed as they had been only a few hours ago. A crashing noise behind her caused her to whirl around with frightened eyes. On the far side of the room, Caim lay on the floor. He had hit one of the low beams when he appeared, and Bliss could see instantly he was hurt. “Caim!” She rushed toward his unmoving body. She placed her hand on his back, and he flinched and groaned. When she moved her hand away, it was covered in blood. “Oh my God! Caim, what happened? Are you human already? Is that why you’re bleeding?” “Bliss?” The one word was groaned, even though his face was buried in his hands. “Yes, darling, it’s me!” Bliss could feel the tears falling down her face. “Please tell me the blood is because you are human.” He rolled over and reached up to caress her face. She could see the bloody, torn flesh at his wrists and knuckles. He was not human, just beaten, beaten badly. “Oh, baby, what did they do to you?”

He tried to smile, but it came across as a grimace. “I told you nothing would keep me away, not even shackles made in hellfire.” He brushed the tears away from her cheeks. “Don’t cry, my love. Everything will be fine from here on out. What time is it?” “Five minutes until midnight.” Bliss moaned softly as she looked at his wounds. “Oh Caim, oh honey.” “It will be better, Bliss. These wounds mean nothing as long as I have you. My pain was the thought of never seeing you again.” Bliss bent down and kissed his swollen lips over and over. “Mine, too. I couldn’t stand the waiting.” “Well, isn’t this sweet, a reunion between the lovers.” The snide remark and the hollow laugh that followed made Bliss’s blood run cold. “Well, I couldn’t let you go, Caim, without a proper farewell. You left hell in such an uproar that I just had to come find you.” Belial’s sweet smile did nothing to mask the evil intent in his eyes. Bliss stood suddenly with her legs bent and ready to defend Caim if she had to. “Belial, leave him alone, you bastard. He is not yours anymore. I will kill you if I have to. You will not touch him!” “Bliss, no!” Caim pulled himself up to his knees. “Get out of the way. This is my fight!” Belial looked at Bliss with mild interest and put a finger to his lips. “Shh, patience, dear Bliss. I will deal with you later in very interesting ways. Right now I have to tell a friend good-bye.” As Belial, his deadly intent clear, walked toward her, Bliss felt the terror in her heart escalate. Only a few minutes left before midnight. Caim’s chances seemed slimmer with every tick of the clock. **** Will it ever end! Caim thought tiredly. He didn’t want to fight anymore. He just wanted to live and love and be happy. He tried to move Bliss behind him so Belial could not soil her by touching her with his foul hands. She fumbled with the top of her water bottle before she threw it in Belial’s face. His scream of pain was horrendous, and Caim could tell why when some of the water splattered on him. It was holy water, and while the droplets burned a small patch of skin on his arm, it was nothing compared to what it did to Belial’s face. The skin melted off to show the true monster beneath. His once-handsome features were being eaten away by the blessed water. The lips that could have kissed any woman and make her sign away her soul hung loose and limp to one side. The water continued to melt the demon’s flesh, down to the bone, amid his screeching. He looked at Bliss and Caim with one eye hanging from the socket and the other red, rimmed with anger. With an angry howl, he

grabbed Bliss before Caim could stop him and sent her sliding across the floor with inhuman strength. The force of it sent her crashing into the wall, and she lay there, moaning softly. Seeing her lying on the ground like a rag doll sent rage unlike anything he had ever experienced flowing through Caim. With a renewed force, he went after Belial while the seconds that would seal his fate ticked down. He caught Belial around the waist and propelled him into the far wall. Belial turned to complete demon in his arms, and the point of his tail had a sharp barb that was like a spear. He whipped it around to swipe at Caim, who barely dodged it coming at his head. No longer was the sweet talker who wore a business suit in front of him. Belial had turned into a savage beast whose jaws were filled with canines trying to bite out Caim’s jugular. Caim grabbed him in the throat before he could bite at his shoulder and slammed his head against the wall, and the plaster cracked with the force before Belial’s tail took him off his feet. He hit the floor on his back, and the pain from his wounds shot through his body. He had to move quickly because Belial’s tail was coming at him with the intent of going through his heart. “Caim, there is only one minute left!” Bliss screamed. She diverted his attention from the fight, and for that, the barbed tail of his demon nemesis cut a swath out of his shoulder. Bliss cried out when she saw the gush of blood from his wound. “Enough is enough!” Caim shouted. He caught Belial’s tail in his hand and sent him crashing to the ground. “I am done with this. Go back to hell. No, better yet, how about you cease to exist!” He took the tail that he held on to and, turning it into his own weapon, sent it straight through the torso of Belial. That wouldn’t kill him. Caim knew that as he looked around to find something to finish the job. The clock struck the first chime of midnight as Bliss called out to him. “Caim, use this!” Chime number two. Bliss ripped something from around her neck and threw it in his direction. Caim reached up and snatched it out of the sky. The instant it hit his palm, it burned his skin. He looked into his hand, and there sat a thick golden cross. Chime number three. Caim grabbed Belial’s mouth and shoved the cross down his throat. He let out a gurgling squeal as the religious ornament burned its way down his esophagus. Bliss scrambled over to his side, and together they watched as Belial’s head sank in on itself and his body shuddered in the throes of death. Chime number four.

The sickening smell of sulfur and rotted flesh filled the air while Belial’s body decomposed in front of them. Bliss shook Caim urgently as the clock chimed for the fifth time. “You got to do it now, baby. There is no more time!” Caim stood on shaky legs and caressed her face. “Thank you.” “Don’t thank me. Just love me for the rest of my life. Now go, my love. I will be there when you fall.” The clocked chimed the sixth and seventh time while he bent to kiss her. If it didn’t work, he wanted the last thing he ever remembered to be the taste of her lips. Her fingers were still twined with his when he pulled away and began to run for the edge of the clock tower. The chimes were at eight and nine when his wings broke free of his back and he looked over to see her standing with her hands over her mouth and tears streaming down her eyes. His feet hit the rail at the tenth chime, and he was soaring outward into the dark sky at the eleventh chime. The clock struck twelve when he was airborne. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms out at the rain beating down on his wings. The final chime seemed to echo through his soul before he felt the intense pain of a first heartbeat in his chest. A searing heat cut its way across his back as his wings were burned away by an invisible force. The fire seared through feathers to cartilage then to bone, and then he fell from the sky like a rock. He could no longer soar like the birds, and now, each heartbeat that beat in his chest brought the human fear of what was about to happen. His body hit the asphalt, and he, for the first time in his existence, he heard the sound of bones breaking and realized that they were his. The ground was wet under his cheek, and the pain in his body was excruciating. “Caim!” Bliss’s voice reached him, and he felt her hands touch his back. He felt her move and heard her speaking. “I need an ambulance in Merry Square. A man fell from the clock tower! I think he has multiple fractures, and he is still breathing. Hurry!” “Bliss, my love,” Caim murmured. He wanted to reach up to touch her, but the pain was too great. “Help is coming, baby. Hold on!” she said, and he felt her hand comb though his hair. She kept talking to him, but her voice seemed to be getting carried away in the fog. It kept getting farther away until he sank so far into the mist he could not hear her anymore. **** His eyes fluttered as bright lights seemed to whoosh past him while he was moving. For humans, they would be unconscious with this amount of trauma to their body. But not Caim, he had fallen from heaven and then from hell. He could feel and hear it all through the murky and gray of his subconscious.

We need an IV in this arm now! Start a morphine-saline drip and get x-ray down here! Bliss, get out of the way. Your hands are shaking, and you can’t help! A voice was shouting orders, and Caim could hardly understand what they were talking about. But they were shouting at his love, and he wanted to get up to defend her. His body would not even move. It felt heavy, and now the pain that was clouding his mind was becoming dull from something entering his veins. They slipped something into his throat, and soon he felt air pumping into his body. This was what it was like to be human and to have such a fragile body. His heart was beating, but then as suddenly as it had started when he fell from immortality, his injuries caused it to stop. “Paddles!” the voice yelled. The shock that entered his body caused him to arch off where he was lying. Bliss was crying softly in the background. “Caim, baby, I’m here. Fight. I love you. Just fight, damn it!” He would fight for her. He would try hard, but the mist seemed to be getting thicker. Another shock entered his body as they worked feverishly to try to start his heart up once more. A loud droning beep signaled his heart was still not beating. During their zealous work on his broken body, he felt himself being pulled somewhere else. This was a place he knew from long ago. The sense of serenity that filled him brought tears to his eyes. Home. The peace of the ever after surrounded him, but he could also tell he was outside the gates of heaven. Caim looked around and saw a figure walking out of the mist, tall and magnificent with wings unfurled and a golden armor across his chest. Caim dropped to his knee and bowed his head low to the new presence that stood before him. “Why are you on your knees, Caim? You know you should never bow to me,” the deep voice said gently. “Raphael, it seems only proper. I have not been in your presence or so close to the gates in a thousand years. I am not worthy to face you for all I have done.” Caim spoke while he was still on his knees. “No one faults you for what you have done. You carried out your sentence with honor.” Raphael touched him on the shoulder. “Rise, brother. I cannot talk to the top of your head.” Caim stood and raised his face to the angel. With one hand on each shoulder, they greeted each other, and he smiled. “It has been too long. I never thought I would set eyes on your face again.” “Even though you were in the pits, Caim, we always kept watch over you, and he always saw you.” Raphael smiled with affection as he spoke. “We saw how your heart bled for the souls of the innocents. We saw you find love with Bliss and how you fought valiantly to climb from the bowels of hell.” “It didn’t work, because here I stand outside the gates of heaven, and my love cries for me back on Earth.” Caim heard the grief in his own voice. “Am I to exist in purgatory now?”

“No, you are here for a gift, Caim, nothing more,” Raphael explained. “You are free, human now, and the Almighty has given you his blessing. Your crime has been forgiven a thousand times over for each year you spent in hell.” Raphael pressed his hand over Caim’s chest, and a jolt hit him like the shock from the paddles when the doctors were trying to restart his heart. Raphael stared at him intently. “One more gift for you, heal yourself and heal others as you walk on Earth. You are needed more than you think. Belial may be gone, but another will rise in his place. Where they steal souls, you will take them back and even the scales on Earth once more. Do you accept this gift?” “I do, with every fiber of my being,” Caim replied solemnly. A smile broke across his face. “I get to be with my love and still serve as I did in heaven. I cannot ask for anything more than that.” Raphael smiled. “Then go with our blessing. Go to your Bliss and live!” With those words, Caim felt himself being pulled back to his own body that lay in a hospital bed. His body began to heal itself. Bones knitted slowly while skin bonded itself back together. He heard Bliss speaking to him softly next to his bed. “I need you, Caim, and you said you needed me. I’m always going to love you, so why don’t you open your eyes and let me know you are okay?” She took a shaky breath, and he felt a tear hit his hand that she held. “I wish you could see that my heart belongs to you, that it would stop beating to save you if it could. I miss your touch and your smile. I set you free. Now you do the same for me. Come back and take the pain away from my heart. Don’t leave me lonely, without your love.” He could have never imagined that someone would love him this much. Caim opened his eyes and whispered her name. When her soft, tear-filled eyes met the his, she gasped and began crying all the more. “Don’t cry. I’m here, my love,” Caim said quietly. “I’m not going anywhere ever again.” “I thought I lost you. I thought my love wasn’t enough to save you!” “Bliss.” Caim caressed her face. “Your love is what kept me from going over into the darkness. Even in the pits, you were and always will be my joy.” Bliss climbed onto the hospital bed with him, and he pulled her into his arms. She lay against his chest, and he pressed kisses into the top of her head and inhaled deeply of her scent. “Even after all this, you still smell like honeysuckle,” Caim said against her hair. Bliss giggled and raised her head to look at him. “So what is the first thing you want to do now you are human?” He raised his eyebrows at her teasingly, and she laughed at his unsaid innuendo. “Other than that, I mean.”

“I want to try chicken fingers with honey mustard,” he said with a grin. “They looked good when you were eating them, and after a thousand years, I am starved.” “Chicken fingers it is,” Bliss said with a smile that left him breathless at her beauty. Their lips met in a kiss that held promises of the future to come. He had fought his way out of the darkest corners of hell to find her, and now the sun would shine on his future with his Bliss. The End

TuÉâà à{x Tâà{ÉÜ Dahlia Rose—author, mother, lover, friend, she is a rainbow of openness never to be defined. Defining her would be like trying to block a bullet. But, if you tried and happen to stumble upon her in wikipedia, you would find that she has lived nine lives and has warmed a million hearts. She has done more than most and navigated everywhere, loving freely and forever changing her hair. A light to this world who uses her being to unfold secrets and keys that lay beneath destinies and blessing. She worships the moon and tattoos her dreams in books. A lioness brought here to conquer the sun with a pen…no war…with love as a weapon to win and love as her sweater constantly warming you and I with words.