Zach smiled, almost gently, and he cupped a hand around Drew’s neck and drew him close until their lips brushed, once,twice, almost like butterfly kisses. “I got what I needed tonight,” he said before leaning forward and kissing Drew again, deeper this time.
Drew got lost in the kisses and soon the guilt for not reciprocating faded. Zach seemed to genuinely not mind, and it soon seemed unimportant. The only thing that mattered was the next kiss, the next sweep of tongue and nip of teeth. It was better than Drew had imagined, and although he knew it was a little hypocritical, he prayed to God he hadn’t gotten drunk and passed out and was only dreaming of this encounter with his demon.
After what seemed to be an eternity but simultaneously not long at all, Zach pulled back, breaking the kiss. “Your friends will wonder where we are,” he murmured.
“Let them wonder,” Drew said and stole another kiss.
Zach chuckled, low and dirty, but he turned and unlocked the cubicle door and pulled Drew out. Looking up, Drew caught sight of himself in the mirror looking flushed and sated, and a second later he recognised the fair hair of the man at the urinal and flinched as Edward turned to look at them. Edward looked surprised but then he smirked, a mean tilt to his mouth as he crossed to the basin. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t little Drew Phillips, deflowered at last.”
Before Drew could retort, Zach pulled Drew up against his chest, an arm winding possessively around his waist. “You seem bitter that it isn’tyouwho’s in my place right now,” Zach commented, a dangerous edge to his voice. “Best get over that, boy. I don’t share.” Then he was moving, guiding Drew out of the washroom and into the dark, dimly lit bar.
Confession
Something was moving across Zach’s body, and he woke, but he didn’t move or open his eyes as he assessed the threat. It didn’t take long to determine what it was, especially as a hot, wet tongue licked up across his stomach, finding its way to one of his nipples where it twirled inexpertly around it. “Drew?” he murmured, keeping his eyes closed.
“Hmmm?” Drew responded, not ceasing his exploration.
“Whatcha doing, sweetness?”
“Just making sure we’re even,” he replied.
At that, Zach opened his eyes and raised his head so he could peer down at him. Drew was avoiding his gaze, concentrating on the bare skin of Zach’s chest and stomach, and he was blushing, his inexperience written plainly on his face. He reached down to palm the bulge at the front of the tight black boxer briefs Zach wore, but it wasn’t firm enough to do much more than lightly tease. Something twisted sharply in Zach’s stomach and he reached down and tugged Drew upwards until he was lying comfortably in Zach’s embrace. “What did I tell you, Drew? Hmmm?” he asked softly.
Drew’s reply was a confused quirk of his brows.
“I told you that you don’t owe me anything . . . that I’d never extort anything from you.”
“But this is different, isn’t it?” Drew mumbled.
“No, it’s not. Hey, look at me, sweetness.” He gently took hold of Drew’s chin and tilted his head until their eyes met. “What happened last night was just as good for me as it was for you.” He held a finger to Drew’s lips as he began to protest. “Sex isn’t about keeping score of orgasms, okay? It’s as much about finding enjoyment in the pleasure of your partner as it is about the physical pleasure you receive yourself. I enjoyed last night very much, there’s no doubt about that. Do I want to do more? Of course, I do, but I want us to take our time . . . to savour it. I want to be able to savouryou.Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Drew nodded slowly, but his pale blue eyes were still puzzled. “I do, but . . .”
“But what?”
“Well, it’s just that, to be completely honest . . .” He trailed off once more.
“You can talk to me, Drew. I want to do right by you.”
“That’s just it!” he exclaimed. “You’re ademon, Zach! Demons aren’t supposed to want todo rightby people! It’s weird and confusing!”
This was it. Time to come clean, to tell the truth.Fuck.He’d been running from the truth for so long now, it was going to be painful to relive it once more. “That’s nottechnicallytrue,” he admitted.
Drew cocked his head to one side as he regarded Zach. “What’s not technically true?”
Zach took a deep breath and ripped off the metaphorical bandaid. “The part about me being a demon. Technically, I’m not.”
Drew’s brow furrowed even further. “Oookay,” he said, drawing it out. “So whatareyou, then?”
“It’s a bit of a long story,” Zach said.
“I have time.” He shifted pointedly, getting more comfortable against Zach’s chest.Settling in.
Sighing, Zach prepared himself to tell the story of his betrayal and his consequential fall from grace. The feel of Drew in his arms brought him some measure of comfort, however, and as he began to speak, he found it easier to tell his story than he thought it would be. “Once upon a time—a very,verylong time ago—I was actually an angel.” Drew’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t interrupt. “I’m sure you figured out that if one side existed, then the other side would have to exist as well. It’s not quite like the major religions of the world would have you believe, but they got the names right, at least. There are angels and there is a God, though they aren’t a man, nor are they a woman. They are justThem, a being of immense power that oversees the creation and evolution of life on all of the planets.”
Drew sucked in a breath, probably to ask about that final statement, but then he let it go, and as if it was taking all of his willpower, he held his tongue.
“I didn’t ever meet Them myself, very few of us did. There were higher angels—I guess you could compare them to upper management—and they were the ones who did the day-to-day running of Heaven.” He smiled wryly. “It was all very corporate when I think about it. Anyway, one of those upper-management angels, Oberon, was like an uncle to me. He took me under his wing, quite literally, and taught me all he knew. I think he was training me to become like him, but I didn’t think much of it, being too caught up in the work I was doing. I got so involved in my projects that I became oblivious to all that was happening around me, and so I didn’t see what Oberon was doing until it was too late. He had a plan to seize power from Them, to become the supreme ruler of the universe, but he was discovered and he was judged. During his trial, he threw me under the metaphorical bus, telling the court I was also involved . . . that I was in partnership with him.”
