Chapter 19
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
The park was small but empty, and there didn’t seem to be any immediate sign of trouble.
It was well lit from multiple tall streetlamps that lined the walkways and the playground, and Seymour was thrilled to see exactly three trees.
One was quite large and thick, probably a few centuries old, and the other two seemed to be its offspring, as they were all the same species, though much smaller.
Oak, maybe.
Whatever the big ass trees with acorns were.
As far as parks went, Seymour thought it was pretty dismal.
Having such a small patch of nature surrounded by the buzz of the city only reinforced the heavy contrast of green grass and gray steel.
It made him homesick, longing for open fields and shaded woods, and he realized this was the first time he’d thought about home in a while.
Then again, he’d been distracted by a certain angel with a smile brighter than any sun, a kindness that melted his heart, whose very touch made his heart race…
And a crazy ass monster dick that certainly defied the laws of physics.
Yup, plenty distracted.
With Day on his shoulder and Sariel by his side, Seymour strolled around the perimeter of the park and then through it twice. They stopped beside the playground, and Seymour scanned the swingsets and slide, certain some kind of goblin or other monster was going to pop out at any second.
But there was nothing.
Huh.
“Well. Fuck.” Seymour sighed. “Do we wait s’more? Start diggin’ a hole?”
“Why would we dig a hole?” Sariel asked, frowning.
“To look for clues,” Day whispered. “Duh.”
“Ah.”
“I was so sure somethin’ would be here.” Seymour kicked at the rubbery turf that encompassed the playground. “Maybe we should wait? See if anything happens?”
“I suppose it would not hurt to observe the area for a while.” Sariel’s eyes glowed briefly as he stared out at the trees. “I am not aware of any imminent threats. I am also not aware of anything that would be helpful.”
“Fuck it. I’ll take it.”
Day meowed suddenly. “What is that?”
“Eh?” Seymour turned to see what she was looking at. “Oh, that’s a slide, baby girl.”
“A slide?”
“Yeah!” Seymour laughed. “You never been on a slide?”
“No.” Day’s pupils dilated until her eyes were almost completely black. “What do you do?”
“C’mon!” Seymour eagerly jogged over to it, laughing. “Look, there’s all kinds of slides. What we got here is just your standard straight slide. But there’s ones with twists and turns, even tunnels—”
“Tunnels?” Day gasped.
“Yeah! Now, here we go. Just hang on tight and let me show ya’ how this is done.” Seymour climbed up the slide and sat at the top. He urged Day down into his lap. “Are you ready?”
“Yes!” Day clung to him and wiggled. “Let us slide!”
Seymour pushed forward, letting gravity take over so they whooshed right down the slide.
Day yowled frantically and clung to Seymour.
Seymour chuckled, cradling her close as they came to a stop at the bottom. “Aw, you okay? Too fast?”
Day stared up at him, her pupils blown up again like saucers. “I wish to slide again!”
“Okay, we can—”
She was already gone.
Seymour got out of the way and took a few steps back, grinning as he watched Day frantically climb the ladder.
Day slid down, squealing when she came off the end of the slide and hit the ground face-first. She shook it off, got up, and raced back to the ladder once more. At the very top, she cackled and declared, “I love to slide!”
Sariel smiled—the most genuine one he’d shown in hours.
Day’s delight was infectious, and Seymour couldn’t stop grinning either. He gave Sariel a nudge and laughed. “Look at her. Her new favorite thing.”
Sariel beamed. “Yes, she is very happy.”
“She’s gonna hate us when we gotta leave.”
“We can always return. We will reassure her of that.” Sariel’s smile had a sad curve to it now. “At least… You will.”
“What are you talkin’ ’bout?” Seymour knew it was stupid to ask, especially when he was already confident of the answer. “Is this ’cause of that shit Mr. Heiss said?”
“Please. Let us not discuss it now.” Sariel took Seymour’s hand. “I am all right.”
“You’re a shit liar is what you are, Daddy. Come on. You ain’t been right since we saw that asshole.”
“There is nothing to say except that I wish to enjoy the time we have together,” Sariel said earnestly. “Please?”
“But—” Seymour cut himself off. He wasn’t able to keep quiet for long, griping, “Look, fuck him. Okay? Not literally, but fuckin’ seriously. This is bullshit.”
“This bullshit is my life and has been for a long time. It was foolish of me to hope that I could keep this,” Sariel said, his voice a low, pained whisper. “Mr. Heiss will not allow it. Once you complete the task for the twins and Mr. Heiss gets what he wants, you will have to leave.”
“What about what you want?”
“That does not matter.”
“Well.” Seymour huffed. “Pretty sure me and kitty girl over there say it does.”
“I will eat him!” Day called out, panting as she raced around to take another spin on the slide.
“Eavesdropping is rude!”
“It’s not my fault you both whisper so loudly!”
Sariel smiled, but it was still dim compared to his usual sunshine ones. “I believe she is a Leo. Feisty, proud, and generous with those they care deeply for.”
“Yeah? Am I still a solid Aries?” Seymour bumped their shoulders together.
“Yes. Because you are hopelessly stubborn.” Sariel looked up at the sky.
Seymour snorted, tilting his head upward too. “I dunno why the hell I’m lookin’. Can’t see shit in the city.”
“We would have to go very high to see the stars.”
“Yeah, like a jet.”
“Or…” Sariel fidgeted. “An angel.”
“Wait, you mean fly up there?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“Yes.”
“Right now?” Seymour checked in on Day, finding she was still repeating her loop of endless sliding. He turned to Sariel and took a deep breath. “Okay, the first and only time we’ve been flying, I was pretty sure I was gonna puke. Not sure how much I wanna go rushin’ back into spewville.”
“I can be very careful.”
“If I puke, it’s on you. Maybe literally.” Seymour reached for Sariel. “Okay, so we doin’ this bridal style or fireman carry or—”
Sariel picked Seymour up, urging his legs around his waist and his arms over his shoulders.
Seymour’s heart fluttered, and he grinned. “Yeah, this works.”
Day stopped short before reaching the ladder of the slide, staring at them. “What are you two doing?”
“Goin’ on a lil’ flight to look at the stars. Wanna come?”
Day arched a brow, but then she shook her head. “No, thank you. I am going to slide.” She zoomed up the ladder.
“All righty.” Seymour smiled up at Sariel. “I’m all yours, Daddy.”
“I will not let you fall.”
“You don’t have to keep bringin’ it up.”
“Even if you do, I am very fast. I would catch you.”
Seymour sighed. “Can we just—” He squealed as Sariel took off into the sky, and his heart jumped right up to cling to his tonsils. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckin’ fuck—”
Between curses, the park shrank to a tiny square. Seymour gasped, and then the city was nothing more than a sea of little lights. Higher still until his skin was damp, and he realized they were passing through a cloud. It was chilly now, and he clung to Sariel for dear life as he slowly looked up.
Stars.
It was an entire sea of them glittering like twinkling silver beacons in endless darkness.
It was vast, infinite, and Seymour suddenly felt so very small.
The clouds helped block the glow from Somerstown below, and Seymour could have believed they’d flown right off into space.
It was truly like stepping into another world, and he would know, since he had already done that this week.
“Wow.” Seymour breathed out the word in absolute awe. “This is incredible.”
“I am glad you like it.” Sariel smiled warmly. “You are not afraid?”
Seymour barked out a laugh. “Oh, pants shitting terrified.”
“I will keep you safe,” Sariel murmured. “Always.”
“Always, huh?” Seymour gazed into Sariel’s eyes, his heart thudding hard and fast.
“Yes.”
“Pretty big promise, Daddy.”
“It is one I will keep. No matter what.”
While the night sky was an incredible sight, there were barely words to describe how beautiful Sariel was.
The stars had made Seymour feel small, but the weight of the emotions in Sariel’s gaze made him feel positively microscopic.
Sariel’s eyes were adoring pools of liquid gold, shimmering and swirling, and suddenly the stars weren’t that magical.
Sariel was.
He was an angel, a magnificent and powerful creature, and the soft kiss of moonlight upon his cheeks and lips gave the illusion of his human facade being a marble statue. Gorgeous, yes, but Seymour wanted the monster beneath.
It was the monster who had made him tremble in bliss and touched him in ways he’d never thought possible, and yes…
Had completely captured his heart.
Seymour kissed him, hard and eager, sliding his tongue into Sariel’s mouth. He rolled his hips forward in search of friction, and he groaned when Sariel palmed his ass. “Can we…?”
“What?” Sariel uttered a low sound. “Do you want me right now?”
“Is that safe? What if, uh, we do it like this?” Seymour rocked forward again.
“That may be possible.” Sariel glanced down. “But we may need to hurry.”
“Day just discovered slides. She’ll be busy for at least twenty minutes.”
“You sound very certain.”
“I’m very horny. And there is totally more lube in my pocket.”
Sariel laughed, sounding like his usual self again. “I suppose, if you are confident.”
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely.” Seymour kissed Sariel passionately, daring to reach down into his jeans to fish out one of the lube sachets he’d swiped from the club. “So, how are we—fuck!”
Sariel grabbed him by his arms and held him out, looking very calm for someone who had another person dangling a thousand million feet in the air. “Remove your pants please.”