The descent from heaven was always slow. A sacrament in reverse. Each step downward heavy with the weight of spilled grace. Guilt curled through the hollows of her ribs like smoke, nesting in the secret places where she once kept her prayers. It festered there. Not unnamed, no, she knew its face. But to speak it would be to taste it again on her tongue, and some hungers are too divine to confess.
Salvation, her kind of salvation, was a throbbing, honeyed thing. It dripped from the altar where Luther had knelt, not in supplication, but surrender. His body, a living psalm, his soul a burnt offering smeared across her skin. She had taken him like communion, the wine of his mouth bitter with the aftertaste of devotion. For a moment, just a moment, the fall didn’t feel like falling. It felt like flight.
But heaven is cruel that way. It lets you touch the light before it reminds you how far you have to fall.
The demons that had been plaguing Luther’s mind had been quiet in Celeste’s embrace. It was everything he could have hoped for and more, which left him crashing down once it was over instead of gently falling. A taste of freedom from his curse. One brief glimpse of a life without the future looming over his shoulder. Luther found the weight on his chest to be lighter in the afterglow and for that he was grateful to Celeste, more than he would let her realize.
Cool, blue eyes opened up and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. It had been truly wonderful from start to finish, but it was time to wake-up to reality. Bitter-sweet as it all was, Luther still held a smile as he sat up from the sweat-coated cushions of the couch.
The cheap red robe clung to her damp skin as Celeste slipped it back over her shoulders, the silk catching on the curve of her hip. She lifted her hair, sticky with sweat, over one shoulder and let out a soft, satisfied sigh as she sank onto the edge of the couch.
His eyes watched with intent as she wrapped herself back up. A disheveled state did not diminish her beauty in the least, he thought. Luther let out a brief sigh of rare contentment as he stood without a shred of cloth to conceal his muscles or scars. Piece by piece he collected his discharged outfit, slipping on a pair of boxers before gathering the rest.
A little tiny grin played at her lips.
She crossed one leg over the other, slowly, lazily, a woman taking her time to study the man before her. Her chin dropped into the heel of her palm, eyes dragging over the curve of his spine to admire the claw-like marks she’d adorned his back with.
“Are you feeling better, cariño ?”
He walked back to the couch, laying his jacket over the top before taking a seat once more, stretching his arms wide along the ridge. His pants were back on yet his dress shirt had yet to be buttoned at all. ”I can’t begin to explain how much I needed that, Luna. You were perfect. Exactly what I needed tonight. Thank you.” He flashed her a smile that expressed his canines before a thoughtful expression overtook it. ”Say, got any plans after you are done your shift?”
”Of course, carino, that is what I am here for.”
Celeste flashed her own canines when she heard his praises, a little tiny flutter of happiness rising from her stomach to her chest. Her smile grew wider when he asked his question.
Planning wasn’t much of her thing, but she may have been thinking of watching 27 Dresses for the fifty-first time this year while she sipped the last of her sweet blood. Which, Celeste remembered, had to text Debra and ask her if they were still going to hang out this week. ”Not at all.” She leaned back and settled herself nicely against his arm and chest. ” What do you have in mind?”
Luther didn’t move a muscle, just letting himself enjoy the heat and pressure of her body against his.
I was thinking we would take a walk down the Row to Eclipse and get to know each other over some drinks..” His voice spoke softly in her ear, his arms finally wrapping around her like a blanket ”Don’t worry, I’ll still pay you for your time.” He let out a single laugh at his own joke, simply prepared to foot the bill for her company.
A slow, feline grin curled her lips as she tilted her head back to look at him, the snow of her eyes gleaming with amusement. Pay for my company? Oh, hell yes. A free night out—one hundred times better than spending it in The Pink Room with the scent of cheap liquor.
”Careful, Luther. That almost sounds like a date.” She traced a finger along the line of his collarbone, her voice a purr. ”But who am I to turn down a gentleman offering to foot the bill?” She shifted, pressing a playful kiss to his jaw before sliding off the couch with effortless grace. The robe slipped just enough to tease as she bent to retrieve her discarded heels, flashing him a smirk over her shoulder. ”Though, if you wanted more of my time, all you had to do was ask.”
Straightening, she flicked her hair back, the gold hoops in her ears catching the dim light. ”But yes. Let’s go. I could use a real drink.” And maybe, just maybe, she was looking forward to it more than she’d admit
A cold shiver bounced along the nerves where her finger danced along his skin, sliding a hand onto her hip in return. Each touch eased his mind. Every spoken word calmed his spirit. The sight of her body moving with a dancer’s grace distracted him from his troubles. The word date snapped him out of his admiration and her statement sobered him up from his daze. He couldn’t ask that of her. The cash was an needed excuse, a necessary barrier between them.
Celeste caught the change in him the moment the word date left her lips. It was small—barely there—but she saw it. Felt it, too, in the slight stiffening of his posture, the way the sparkle in his eye dimmed just a fraction. She didn’t let it show on her face, but a quiet part of her sighed in relief. Clients were best kept at arm’s length. One hand on their thigh, the other on their wallet.
Still, there was no rule against enjoying the perks of that distance. And he had been a very good perk. Her hips still ached in the best way.
”Is that all I had to do? Well, I’ll just have to keep that in mind for the future.” His eyes, the brief glimpses of skin her move had revealed. Luther stood and collected each discarded piece of his clothing before putting it back on. His movements were smooth and methodical, letting the unconsciousness imprint of his training overtake his body. Angel was the only reason he was even here to meet Celeste. He’d have to get her something nice to thank her. Luther didn’t realize his absent-mindedness but his hand smoothed out his suit in a rehearsed manner. An action drilled into his head from his earliest memory.
”Perfect. Just don’t expect me to source it directly. I’m told I taste a bit sour.” He smirked a bit as he stepped to the door to hold it open for her. Luther was being selfish. Angel knew some of what plagued him, but Celeste wasn’t aware. He was dragging her into something that could end horribly for her if the right mistakes were made. He knew that, but he couldn’t let her slip through his fingers. Celeste had given him shelter from the curse and after living through those terrible visions time and time again…he just hoped she would forgive him in time.
Celeste smiled as she walked past him, hips swaying slowly and smoothly. Her voice followed a second later, playful over the music spilling in. Her fingers brushed the edge of the doorway as she paused.
”I won’t bite you,” She turned to face him and reached up with her free hand. With a soft smile, she smoothed the collar of his shirt, careful and gentle. ”Unless you’d like to.” It wasn’t surprising when clients came in with that particular request.
”You make it feel tempting, but that’s not my thing.” He laughed briefly appreciating the quick once over she was doing of his suit.
”Don’t forget, I get off in two.”
”I definitely won’t and if you decide to leave me standing there…well I’m told I have very sad puppy eyes.” He grinned though he chided himself in his head. Luther was really spending too much time with Angel.
”I’ll see you later, pup.” With that, Luna left him in the mercy of Andrea.
Luther moved through the doors they had come through, the exhilaration twisting into trepidation as his eyes searched for the Fae from earlier. He wanted to get a better look at her face before they left. The hairs that raised along the back of his neck weren’t enough to ward him away. However, he had made a commitment to Celeste for a night out. One he needed more at the moment than whatever vague answers he might get.
Out of the right side of him, and seemingly out of the shadows, a short and stocky woman came into view in front of Luther. She wore a black studded vest with a band t-shirt underneath, whose band name was more akin to chicken scratch than words.
“Hi, hi!” The woman greeted with one of the best and most obvious customer smiles someone would ever see. “I’m Andrea, manager slash owner of The Pink Club!” Her tone oozed with a practiced monotone enthusiasm and fake friendliness. She pulled out a white card reader with a brightly lit screen. The screen read $859.76 in a calming shade of blue hue. “Card? Apple Pay? PayPal? Cash?”
Luther chuckled a little at the price and the faux-energy from the woman. "Card. A pleasure to meet you, Andrea. Oh, and I'll be paying a bit extra as a tip for excellent service.'
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