Page 9 of Deviled Eggs (One Handed Holidays: Crossed Swords Edition #4)

Micah

“In pursuit of a suspect on foot heading northbound on Magnolia Lane!” The human police officer wheezes into his radio as his feet smack against the ground. He doesn’t look like he was built for a foot chase. Sweat pours down his forehead and his round apple cheeks are splotchy and red. He grips his belt, yanking his pants higher over his portly stomach.

“ Copy that,” a tinny voice crackles through the speaker. “ Can you provide a physical description? ”

“Fucker’s huge… six-foot-eight, if I had to guess. Ripped as fuck, probably pushing three hundred pounds.” His breath saws from his lungs as he grabs his belt again. “He’s… he’s wearing a bodysuit… a leather one, BDSM-style… and a rabbit mask.”

There’s a momentary shocked silence that’s only filled with the thudding of feet on the ground, and the insistent squeak, squeak, squeak of Xalreth’s outfit as he sprints. Overhead, I hover with my fist shoved against my mouth as I watch in pure joy.

“ Can you repeat that? ”

The officer’s voice is broken and breathy as he tries and fails to keep up with the giant demon. “There is… a giant fucking man… wearing a skin-tight leather bodysuit… and a goddamned rabbit mask. He was approached after… we received a call about someone… aggressively egging houses.”

“ Okay, wow, copy that… has suspect been engaged?”

More leathery squeaks fill the air as Xalreth curses under his breath, the muscles of his ass positively popping as he sprints. His Armageddon-level fury feels like it might scorch the entire earth, but it seems premature to jump in and save him after our fight.

I might’ve been being an asshole, but he was being one, too. Reluctant as I am to admit it, he’s hurt me more than once. If you take a swipe at a predator, don’t be surprised when it extends its claws. Sure, we had a moment at the park, but it doesn’t detract from the years I’ve sat in silence and listened as they mocked me.

Maybe it’s petty to watch him suffer, but he needs to swallow some of his pride and ask for help. Until he does, I’m just enjoying the show.

The armpits of the officer’s uniform are darkening as he huffs like a steam train. “Tried to… talk to him… but he kept screaming… ‘ I am The Easter Bunny.’ ”

“I am the motherfucking Easter Bunny!” Xalreth bellows back. “Micah! Micah, I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“Suspect delusional… possible second personality or schizophrenic episode… threatening bodily harm…”

Xalreth shouts in his native tongue as he runs faster, and there’s a loud riiiiip as his suit splits right up the back seam. His smoky gray, muscle-bound ass is exposed for the world to see, and I can’t help my bark of laughter. More curses slip free as he reaches behind him, trying to stretch the defeated material to cover himself while not losing momentum.

A kinder man might choose this as the time to interfere and pull him from the chase.

I am not a kinder man.

“ Micah !” Sirens wail around us as he bellows, blue and red lights bouncing off the brick homes lining the street. They shine off his patent, skin-tight suit, reflecting every bulge on his body.

And his teeth.

His razored mouthful of teeth that are bared like a hunted beast that's ready to strike at its hunter.

He gives up on holding the failing suit as he pumps his arms to run faster. The seams unzipper themselves in a domino effect, more and more of his gray skin becoming exposed as the material separates down the insides of his legs.

“ MICAH ! So help me God, I will rip you apart limb by limb and throw you into the pits of Hell, and then I will torture you every single day. I’m going to fucking destroy you! ” His voice turns into a demonic rasp, guttural and harsh like rocks grinding together, and it shakes me down to my bones.

I choke on another laugh as I dive in front of him, slamming into the ground. His eyes are wide, moonlight and emergency lights gleaming off the onyx depths as I swoop him into my arms and return us to the meeting room where we started tonight.

Heavy breaths puff from his nostrils, the profound silence deafening. Before I can react, he roars and puts every ounce of his bulk into shoving me.

The suddenness of it all takes me completely off guard, and I’m thrown off balance, sending chairs sprawling as I fall. My arms pinwheel, but there’s nothing solid to catch. I crash onto my back with a grunt, my wings splayed beneath me.

Xalreth’s footsteps seem to shake the entire earth as he stomps over, his eyes glowing a deep shade of crimson. I’ve only seen hints of his fury before now, but he’s done hiding it as he flings another chair aside. Drywall gives way and leaves a giant, gaping hole as the metal leg punches through.

The catlike gracefulness of his pounce surprises me. He tackles me, straddling me and pressing me into the ground. My hands are pinned above my head as he hovers over me, teeth bared as he leans closer. “What the fuck was that, Micah?”

“That!? That was your stubbornness, Xalreth. What was I supposed to do? You kept insisting that ‘ You had it handled, ’ even after I told you I didn’t think that was the right kind of egging! You never fucking listen!”

“It was on Wikipedia!” The corded tendons in his neck draw tight as his face flushes a deep red.

“Why the fuck were you throwing them so hard? You broke three fucking windows! Three! ”

“Fuck you!” My eyes get wide as he grabs my shoulders and shakes the shit out of me, my head thumping against the ground. “This is all your fault! Why the hell did I ever agree to work with such an idiot? ”

“Don’t blame me because you’re too stubborn to admit that you have no idea how to perform human research!”

“I’m stubborn?” he roars. “ I’m stubborn!? You are too proud to own up to what you want, Micah! The one who needs all that control!” He gestures at his destroyed bodysuit before he shakes me again. “ You’re the moron who dressed me in a sex outfit! What the fuck ?! Did the zippers on the ass and crotch not give you any fucking idea that this was maybe the wrong move?!”

“Don’t pin this all on me! You still put it on, you goddamned halfwit!” His shoulders flex as he reaches forward, undoubtedly about to choke me when there’s another loud rip. The seams along the arms of his suit rupture, the black patent leather peeling off his skin like a demented, rotten banana.

He freezes, hands only millimeters from my neck, and both of us stare as the outfit slowly slides down his body, until his chest is exposed and the material is pooled around his waist.

A belly laugh erupts from deep inside me, one like I haven’t experienced in years, and Xalreth’s gaze moves to my face with an unreadable expression. I can’t stop, though, laughing until my eyes crinkle and tears well in the corners.

Then Xalreth starts laughing, too.

“Did… did you see him trying to catch you?” I manage to ask, gasping for breath and swiping under my eyes to wipe away the falling teardrops. “He almost fell and I swear he would’ve rolled all the way down that hill.”

“I heard you laughing, you dick,” he chuckles, resting his palms on my chest. “As soon as that cold air hit my ass, you howled like a fucking werewolf.”

My cheeks ache with the stretch of my smile as my torso bounces with a few final rogue laughs. “I think we can both agree that tonight was an epic failure.”

“Hmm… I don’t know if I’d call it a complete failure…” He’s still smiling as he plants a palm on the ground beside my ear and leans forward, dragging a thick finger over my bottom lip. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you actually smile before, and I’m positive I’ve never heard you laugh.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.” I try to force a scowl back on my face, but there’s no genuine heat behind it.

“Why not?” he whispers, and he pushes harder on my lower lip, dragging it until I’m forced to open for him. His thumb slides between my lips, and his bottomless eyes never blink as he sinks it deeper into my mouth. I open wider, feeling his attention on every surface of my body as he presses on my tongue, then pulls his hand away. “Would it be so awful to relax every once in a while? When you put aside all that arrogance, you’re not half bad.”

“Xal,” I warn, and his gaze leisurely peruses my mouth before his eyes move to meet mine. My heart slams against my ribs as I fight these complicated feelings that have taken such deep root in my stomach. My fingers betray me as I reach forward, dragging my fingertips over the striking, severe lines of his face.

They hold me completely transfixed.

It’s unheard of—blasphemous, almost—for an angel and a demon to be together.

Forbidden.

“You know I like hearing you say my name,” he murmurs, still moving closer and closer, hovering so near that his breath blows across my face. “I might like it even more when you shorten it.”

“Why’s that?” He nuzzles against my fingers as he lifts his shoulder in a lazy shrug.

“Easier to get out when I’m otherwise blowing your mind.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I say, but it comes out as a breathy whisper. I glance away, another laugh slipping loose and betraying my nerves. When I meet his eyes again, there’s conflict brewing on his face.

“Why do you do that? Push me away?”

I open my mouth to answer, then close it again as I shake my head and choose my words carefully. “If I’m not fighting with you, it’s so simple to fall into… this. Whatever this is. It’s too easy to want what I can’t have. I am an Archangel. One with endless expectations that I cannot just cast aside for something as frivolous as a crush.”

“You saying you have a crush on me, Micah?”

Heat rises in my face as I peek up at his grin, usually sharp and teasing, but now softer, almost tender. “Even if I have… feelings for you, it doesn’t matter.”

“What if I want it to matter?”

“You hate me,” I murmur as I try to look away, but he grips my chin and stops me.

“I think we both know that isn’t true, angel.” He holds onto me, his black eyes roaming my face as his brows scrunch.

“What is it?” I ask, and his mouth opens and closes a few times before he clamps it shut again with a small shake of his head. My levity fades as I catch the conflict in his face. The way he looks at me is almost pained. “Xal, what—”

“Fuck it,” he whispers, and drops his entire body, his substantial weight pressing into my chest as he slams his lips onto mine.

At my considerable age, I’ve been kissed by dozens… hundreds of people, and never once has the world stopped. Never before has my body jolted like it has been hit with an electric shock, so intense that my spine lifts from the ground.

Never have I felt I might die from the need that courses through me.

Every bit of tension melts away as I whimper, kissing him back with just as much enthusiasm. It’s unrefined, a far cry from the practiced, polite kisses I’m accustomed to—this one is rough, urgent, and a little painful. Licking and sucking over my lips, he takes control of my mouth, and the last thread of my restraint snaps.

My hips drive up into him as I claw at the back of his neck, fingernails digging into his skin as I try to tug him closer. He fights me, even as I chase his lips. My nails dig in and rake over his flesh, uncaring if he bleeds if it’ll just keep him close. I realize my eyes have closed, and I open them as he reaches to pry my hands from his neck.

The world stops in a confusing mad rush as I watch him pull away from my touch.

I won’t survive another rejection—I already know it. “Xal?” I whisper, dread and confusion making my voice weak.

“Micah?” His head tilts as he takes in my panic. Comprehension dawns on his face, and he pins my wrists to the ground and inches closer. “Oh, angel,” he whispers, pressing a barely-there kiss to my lips before he sits tall. “Micah, you know better than to take over. That’s why I stopped. Your job is to sit back and listen, because I'm in charge now.” My lip pushes out in a pout at the distance he’s created, but he only chuckles and drags a hand down my face to swipe at it. “What’s off the table?”

“What?” I ask, forcing myself to concentrate.

“Well, I already know you like being used, and you get off on being called names… cock slut… good boy .” My body moves without my permission, grinding up into him as he pushes his weight down to hold me against the ground.

“What about choking?” he asks, and my eyes close as my face flushes, embarrassment burning under my skin as I nod. “Restraining?” Another nod, and he chuckles softly as I crack my eyes open by a sliver and peek at his massive form on top of me.

Xalreth might not be as tall as me, but he likely outweighs me with the bulging expanse of strength beneath his smokey gray skin. His shoulders are broad and his chest is a solid wall of muscle that dwarfs mine, despite my size. His weight pressing down on my abdomen, stealing the edge of my breath, should make me tense, but instead, I find myself relaxing.

Trapped underneath this hulking, giant demon, I feel like it’s okay to not be ‘on’ all the time.

Like maybe I can let go, if just for a few minutes.

“So what don’t you like?” he asks, and his palms drop to my chest in a move that sends sparks across my skin. I force my breath to steady as I prepare for the conversation. Archangels are some of the oldest beings in existence, and our ties to the Heavens mean that, historically, we have always been expected to be pure and in control.

Never falling victim to the whims of sexual desires.

Never chasing pleasure.

Certainly never submitting.

“I… well, I…” Xalreth is patient as he sits there, fingertips spinning tiny circles on my pecs as he waits. “There’s not much that I wouldn’t let you do to me,” I finally admit, but there’s no judgment on his face as I push out a sigh. “But I… I don’t want to make any decisions… I don’t want any control.”

“You want me to make them for you, then? Take your choice away?” I nod, relieved that he understands what I need. “And if you fight me, that’s part of the game?”

More of that shame tries to build in my gut, but I shove it aside. “Yes.”

He gives me a stern glare and waits until he’s sure my attention is on him. “You will use the safe word if you ever don’t like something? Anything at all?”

“Yes, I swear,” I agree without hesitation. A flip is switched inside him as the hint of softness on his face vanishes. It’s replaced by hard edges as he leans in again, every inch the predator as he presses his weight into me.

“Alright then, angel. Let’s play.”