Page 17 of Wicked (Fallen Messengers)

Theophile Serrano studied his reflection nervously as he adjusted the knot in his tie.

The man staring at him in the mirror with his curly, chestnut hair slicked back and his green eyes sparkling above a navy check suit with a rust-colored waistcoat looked like a stranger.

A wry grimace tugged at Theo’s lips.

It’s amazing what a thousand dollar suit does to your appearance.

His cell phone chimed on the dresser, reminding him of his appointment. Not that he needed reminding.

He’d been counting down the days to his date with Victor Sloan.

Theo headed out of the master bedroom and walked down a hallway to an open plan living space. The setting sun painted riotous colors across the sky filling the outlook of the glass wall to the right, the fading light turning the River Thames and the London skyline a flaming red. Theo stopped and stared, as mesmerized by the sight as when he’d first seen it.

His new apartment was in the same converted granary in Bermondsey where Cassius Black, his blood brother and fellow Guardian of the Nether, owned a place. Theo had moved into it three weeks ago, following the events that had seen Inner London trapped in the Seventh Hell and his identity as a newly awakened demigod revealed to the world.

There were days when Theo still had to pinch himself to check if all of it had been a dream. He only had to sense the soul of the demigod who’d reincarnated inside him and feel the sacred connection that bound them to Victor Sloan to know this was very much his new reality.

He took his car keys from the tray by the front door and headed out of the apartment. A private lift took him down to the underground garage.

The lights of his new Maserati flashed when he neared it.

Theo climbed nervously into the luxury car. Though his recently appointed position in the Order of Rosen came with an eye-watering salary and perks that were usually reserved for diplomats and royalty, he still wasn’t used to his newfound fame and glory or the lavish lifestyle that accompanied it. His body may house the soul shard of the previous South Star, but his human origins were a humble one.

Theo pursed his lips as he settled in the leather seat and scanned the opulent interior of his ride. The car had been a gift from Victor.

The demigod head of Cabalista had showered him with plenty of expensive presents since they’d started going out, but even Theo had protested when he’d given him the keys to the custom-made Maserati on their third date.

“I can’t accept this, Victor,” Theo had objected where they’d sat eating in an expensive hotel in the West End.

“You need a new car,” Victor had replied with a dismissive shrug before taking a sip of his wine.

“Who the hell buys his boyfriend a Maserati?” Theo had groaned.

“I do,” Victor had said arrogantly. His expression had softened at Theo’s scowl. He’d reached across the table and taken Theo’s hand, his thumb caressing Theo’s knuckles. “Besides, it’s to make up for missing our last date.”

The apology in his blue eyes had had Theo falling silent.

With the capital still recovering from the disaster that had befallen it, the local bureaus of the agencies governing the otherworldly had seen an unprecedented rise in requests for assistance. Victor’s workload had more than doubled and he often spent late hours at the Cabalista headquarters in Finsbury. He’d ended up not just missing their second date, but their fourth and fifth ones too.

Tonight was different though. Victor had promised he would make their rendezvous come hell or high water. Theo had been able to tell from the frustration lacing his voice when they’d last spoken that he loathed not being able to see him. Not least because it meant Victor couldn’t touch Theo.

Heat warmed Theo’s cheeks as he drove out of the garage and headed west into London. Though he and Victor had kissed and indulged in some heavy petting after their dates, they hadn’t progressed beyond that. Victor had always taken Theo home and bade him goodnight like a perfect gentleman before leaving.

It was a state of affairs Theo found increasingly difficult to fathom. He and Rohengar were Victor’s soulmates. That much had become inherently clear when they’d battled the dark God Elios and rescued London from the Seventh Hell. Yet Victor didn’t appear as eager to consummate their relationship as Theo was.

Which had led Theo to finally decide to take the bull by the horns.

Tonight. I’ll make him make love to us tonight. Even if I have to ambush him!

Though Rohengar harbored some misgivings about his plan to seduce Victor, he’d not protested too strongly. If anything, he seemed fascinated by Theo’s determination to get his man.

Don’t worry Rohengar, Theo had promised. Y ou’re finally going to get your wish. I’ll make sure Coraos eats you tonight.

Rohengar had sighed heavily at this.

Theo’s pulse quickened when he crossed Westminster Bridge.

Victor had booked a table for them at a swanky restaurant in Soho.

He navigated the narrow streets of the West End and pulled up outside an elegant building with a dark and gold frontage moments later. A parking attendant came out and took his keys when he stepped out of the Maserati.

Theo became aware of the curious stares of passersby as he crossed the curb and headed for the entrance. Excited murmurs sounded when several people recognized him. A camera flashed.

Theo flushed and ducked his head.

Even the doorman couldn’t completely hide his awe as he welcomed him inside the building and guided him to a private lift. Theo emerged in a small, resplendent foyer on the third floor a moment later. A ma?tre d’h?tel stood behind a mahogany reception desk. He brightened at the sight of Theo.

“Ah, the guest of honor is here.”

Theo gave him a puzzled half-smile. “Hi. My partner made a reservation. His name is Victor Sloan.”

“Of course,” the man said effusively. “Follow me, Mr. Serrano.”

Crystal chandeliers shed an artfully subdued lighting around Theo as he headed through an arched doorway into the restaurant. The place was the definition of opulence, the oak paneling and gold-quartz speckled terrazzo floors complementing the black leather chairs and marble tables, and the rich colors of the Victorian furnishings.

It took Theo all of three seconds to clock that the place was deserted. He glanced at his watch.

It was past seven o’clock on a Friday night. He’d expected the place to be packed.

The ma?tre d’h?tel spied his confused expression.

“Oh. Did Mr. Sloan not tell you? He reserved the entire restaurant.”

Theo’s stomach dropped. “He did what?!”

The man smiled. “We don’t usually accept requests to secure the whole place, especially on a Friday night, but we couldn’t refuse a deity who helped save the city.”

Theo became aware of the not so subtle stares of the handful of waiters and waitresses around him. Even the bartender was trying his best not to ogle him as he pretended to clean a glass.

To his surprise, the ma?tre d’h?tel led him to a private dining room at the back of the restaurant. Theo’s eyes widened when he saw the vases of flowers and glittering candelabras crowding the sideboards. The scent of roses filled the space, adding to the intimate mood.

His mouth dried.

The place looked like the perfect setting for a grand, romantic gesture.

Excitement buzzed through Theo’s veins as he accepted the glass of champagne the ma?tre d’h?tel poured him. Tonight was going to be special. He could feel it in his bones.

I’m glad it’s my birthday.

He’d deliberately not told Victor about the special date. Knowing the demigod, he would probably give him an island. Theo would rather just spend time with him.

That’s the best gift he could ever grant me.

The thrill Theo was feeling slowly died as an hour ticked by and Victor failed to turn up. He checked his messages and voicemail and even tried calling the demigod, to no avail. The ma?tre d’h?tel gave him an awkward glance when he served him a second bread basket.

By ten o’clock, Theo was certain Victor wasn’t coming. He apologized to the ma?tre d’h?tel and the staff and left a large tip for everyone before walking out of the restaurant with his ears flaming.

I can’t believe he bailed on us!

Victor had always contacted Theo beforehand when he’d been unable to make their date.

Is he—is he bored with us?! Tears blurred Theo’s vision as he got behind the wheel of his car. Or is it that we are of so little importance to him that he couldn’t even be bothered to grant us an excuse for standing us up this time?

The warm scent of summer flooded his senses as Rohengar’s presence rose inside him, the demigod doing his best to soothe him.

Don’t make excuses for him, Rohengar! Theo clenched his jaw and wiped his eyes. His disappointment was turning to fury. The only way he’s coming anywhere near us is if he gets down on his hands and knees and begs us for our forgiveness! His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. No, make that crawl on his belly like the mangy dog he is!

Theo gunned the engine and drove out of Soho. Instead of heading across the river, he skirted the northern embankment and turned east.

He didn’t want to go back to his empty apartment right now.

Theo drove through Whitechapel and soon entered Spitalfields. He pulled up outside an old, brown brick building ringed on three sides by a park, turned off the engine, and looked up at a dark window on the second floor.

He still had the keys to his old studio.

Theo quietly let himself inside the building. Silence greeted him when he entered the place he’d rented when he’d first come to the city. He flicked on a floor lamp next to a couch.

The soft light revealed a practically bare room, the only furniture beside the couch a metal bed and a small dining table with two chairs. A door to the right opened onto a tiny bathroom overlooking the street.

Theo’s shoulders drooped. The anger he’d felt on the drive over had drained away, leaving him weary. Concern gnawed at his insides.

Did something happen to Victor?

He suspected he and Rohengar would have felt it in their soul core had the demigod been in a danger. And his newborn instincts as the South Star would have warned him had Elios’s dark forces invaded the city. Still, he’d checked the radio channels for live news updates while he’d been driving and had been relieved to find out nothing untoward had happened in London that night.

Which only served to highlight the fact that Victor had thoroughly dumped him and Rohengar.

Theo kicked off his shoes, climbed on the bed, and closed his eyes, his throat tight and his chest hot.

Relief made Victor Sloan weak when he spotted the Maserati parked in the shadows of some trees on the road below.

The ma?tre d’h?tel had been about to lock up when he’d arrived at the restaurant in Soho. The man told him Theo had left an hour ago. Victor had immediately flown to Theo’s new apartment in Bermondsey, only to find the place dark and empty.

He’d been racking his brain trying to figure out where the demigod could have gone when he’d remembered his old studio in Spitalfields.

Victor was conscious he’d abused his authority as the head of Cabalista by using his wings in a non-combat situation, but he honestly couldn’t care less about that right now.

He pulled up sharply above the building housing Theo’s old apartment and levitated to a window overlooking the park.

The soft light of a lamp washed over Theo where he lay sleeping on a metal bed.

Victor closed his eyes and shuddered.

Thank Heaven he’s here!

He knew Theo was likely furious with him for standing him up. Though Victor had a decent excuse for his absence, he suspected the demigod would not forgive him easily this time around. He hesitated before knocking on the window.

Theo stirred. He rose on an elbow and rubbed his eyes blearily with the back of a hand. He froze when he spotted Victor through the glass.

Fury darkened his face. He jumped off the bed, stormed over to the window, and yanked the curtains closed in Victor’s face.

Victor sagged, wings dipping. He knocked on the window again.

“Let me in, Theo. We need to talk.”

“Go talk to yourself, asshole!” Theo yelled.

Lights were coming on in the rest of the building. A window opened below Victor. He snapped his wings and rose.

There was an access door on the rooftop.

He broke the lock, walked down a narrow flight of stairs, and reached the front door of Theo’s studio seconds later.

“I’m not going away until you let me in, Theo,” Victor said through the heavy wood.

His answer was a muffled curse.

A door opened farther along the passage. A woman peered out, a frying pan in her hand.

“What—what’s going on?!”

Theo’s door opened abruptly. The scowling demigod grabbed Victor’s wrist and tugged him across the threshold.

The woman gasped. “Oh! Aren’t you that Victor?—?!”

Theo’s door slammed closed, shutting the world out.

Victor’s breath got knocked out of him when the furious demigod grabbed him by the throat and slammed him up against a wall.

“At least do me the fucking decency of leaving me alone when I ask you to!” Theo hissed, his pupils flaring gold. “You seemed to ignore me just fine these last couple of weeks so I don’t get why—!” He froze in the next instant. The color drained from his face. “Why is there blood on your clothes?” he mumbled numbly.

Victor winced at the itching on his left shoulder and arm. His injuries had almost finished healing.

“A maintenance team found a monster’s den in an abandoned section of the underground,” he explained as Theo let him go, the demigod’s green gaze locked on the crimson-stained claw marks on his suit. “It looks like they’d been there since London was in the Seventh Hell. I got the call when I was on my way over to the restaurant.” Victor grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, I should have called you before I headed into the underground. I was confident it wouldn’t take me and the Cabalista agents who were there long to get rid of the creatures, but they were fire monsters. I was the only one who could fight them. One of them crushed my phone when it hit me.”

Theo shuddered.

Victor’s chest tightened at his ashen face.

“It looks worse than it feels, honestly,” he reassured. “The wounds are nearly gone.” He faltered. “I’m truly sorry, Theo. I— Argh! ”

Theo’s fist had smashed into Victor’s gut. He wheezed, shocked.

“You should have asked me to help you,” Theo grated out, hands clenched tightly at his sides and chin trembling as he glared at Victor. “Isn’t that what partners are for?! Isn’t that what,” the demigod stopped and swallowed, “what soulmates are for?!”

A tear overspilled Theo’s eye and trickled down his cheek.

Victor tugged him in his arms, guilt twisting his insides. “Don’t. Don’t cry, please.” He burrowed his face in the crook of Theo’s neck. “It breaks my heart to see your tears.”

Theo’s hands found his back, his fingers clenching tightly on Victor’s suit. His voice came out in a quivering whisper.

“Does that mean you still love us?”

A heavy feeling pooled in the pit of Victor’s stomach. He straightened and took hold of Theo’s shoulders as he stared into his glistening eyes, his pulse pounding heavily in his veins. “Why would you even say that?” He clenched his jaw. “Does Rohengar feel the same way?”

Theo sniffed and shook his head. “He told me to be patient but I—I thought you might be getting be bored with us.”

Victor took Theo’s hand and led him to the couch. He sat him down, their knees touching as they faced one another.

“I love you, Theophile,” Victor said quietly. “And Coraos loves Rohengar. Those two facts will never change for as long as we have breath left in us.”

The way Theo searched his face made Victor feel like an utter bastard.

“Do you—do you really mean that?”

“Yes.” Victor kissed Theo’s eyelids tenderly and pulled him into his arms. “I swear it in the name of Heaven.”

“Then, why haven’t we had sex yet?” Theo mumbled against his chest.

Victor flinched. He met Theo’s faintly accusing expression guiltily as the demigod looked up at him.

“Are Rohengar and I not to your liking?”

Victor groaned. He is killing me.

Having Theo this close after so many days apart was sheer torture. From the heaviness pooling in his dick, his body felt the same.

“I want to take things slow,” he confessed stiffly.

Theo’s eyes widened when Victor straightened, clasped his hand, and pressed a hot kiss to his knuckles.

“I want to woo you.”

Theo blinked. “Woo be damned. I want sex.”

Victor choked on a bark of laughter.

Theo chewed his lip and cocked his head. “Is this because you took Cassius to bed two weeks after your first date?”

Victor drew a sharp breath. “He told you that?”

Theo shrugged. “I was curious, so I asked him.”

Regret knotted Victor’s belly. “I should have treated him better.” Determination hardened his voice. “I won’t make the same mistake with you and Rohengar.”

Theo frowned. “Look, I get that you want to court us, but Rohengar and I are about at the end of our patience. Me more than Rohengar. I’m honestly surprised that guy didn’t jump you before the Fall.” He paused and narrowed his eyes as he listened to whatever it was Rohengar was telling him. “Oh, please,” Theo scoffed. “You and I both know exactly what you wanted Coraos to do to you.”

Victor’s lips twitched.

“What?” Theo said suspiciously.

“You guys are cute when you argue with one another.”

Theo bristled at his grin. “Look here, asshole. No one wants to hear they’re cute. And I’m telling you we want you to— hmph, hmph! ”

Victor swallowed Theo’s recalcitrant words with his mouth.

The demigod stiffened before melting in his hold. A moan left him when Victor probed his lips with his tongue and slipped inside. The fire that had been smoldering in Victor’s gut for the past few weeks ignited at the way Theo responded to him.

It took all his willpower to end their torrid kiss.

“Are you sure?” Victor whispered. “Because once we start this, I won’t be able to stop, however much you or Rohengar beg me to.”

Theo nodded tremulously. “Yes. It’s not midnight yet, so it’s still my birthday. I want this as my gift.”

Victor froze. “What?”

Theo lowered his gaze sheepishly. “I knew you’d buy me something ridiculous if I told you, so I kept quiet about it,” he mumbled.

Victor inhaled raggedly. “That…makes me a little upset.”

Theo peeked at him hopefully from beneath his lashes. “Upset enough to punish me?”

Victor groaned. Theo’s sparkling eyes made it clear the demigod wouldn’t mind if Victor disciplined him in bed.

“Has anyone ever told you you have a one-track mind?”

“Most virgins do,” Theo confessed, not in the least bit abashed.

He yelped as Victor slung him over his shoulder in a lightning fast move and carried him across the room.

A gasp whooshed out of him when Victor dropped him on the bed.

Victor climbed on the sheets and knelt above Theo. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for your first time.” He glanced around the spartan room.

Theo swallowed. “I don’t mind where we do it.”