Chapter 49 – Oliver
WHO’S DESERVING OF HELL?
OLIVER
Iworried for her safety when he held her.
But I was more worried that he’d take her from me.
When I got her back, I had to make her mine in the only way I could.
I had to prove to her that I could pleasure her better than the demon who’d held her in his arms. She was mine, and I needed to mark her so Asmodeus knew who she belonged to.
I didn’t like the beast I became, and it was the first taste of jealousy that did it to me.
I hadn’t been prepared for it, not in the least. I needed to mark my territory like an animal.
And that’s exactly what I did. I’d devolved into a beast for my love because no one’s allowed to touch her.
No one would pleasure her. No one would get a taste of her sweet cunt, only me.
I owned her. I would make her scream so he heard what I offered her, what only I could give her.
When we enter the kitchen and sit at the island, my grandfather smirks at me, knowing exactly what I did, and I’m glad of it. My beast forces a low growl from my chest in warning, but Grandad just laughs.
“She’s mine,” I hiss at him, and he shrugs his shoulders.
“Of course she is, son. Don’t ever doubt that,” he says with a happy grin I haven’t seen in ages.
“I can feel the testosterone in here. Chill out,” Vale pipes up.
There’s a plate sitting in front of each of us. Vale’s is piled high with steak and eggs, chunks of fresh fruit, and toast. She looks at it with longing, her stomach rumbling, then a cup of coffee appears before her.
“That’s what she really wanted.”
“You know me so well for a man I only met half an hour ago,” she says with a giggle as she brings the coffee up to her lips. She takes the drink and moans against the rim of the cup. “So good.”
Then we hear my grandad’s whispered words.
They’re not of this world, nothing I could translate.
His hands are clasped in front of him in prayer.
The only time you’ll see him with his eyes closed is when he prays, although that’s a rare sight for me these days.
I wait till he’s done, and Vale sits her cup down out of respect.
She’s blushing. I can tell she feels bad for drinking her coffee before he prayed.
When he finishes, he says. “Dig in everyone.”
“I didn’t know demons prayed, Oz. I’m sorry,” she says. “I shouldn’t have started without you.”
Vale thinks she offended him, but I know that’s not likely. Who can offend him when he’s the one who enjoys offending others so much.
He shakes his head. “I’m grateful for this bounty, so I thank my maker for it,” he explains with a wink. “No worries. I thanked them for you as well.”
She smiles brightly. “So, when I pray, is someone listening?” she asks, and his face changes.
“Someone is always listening,” he says, suddenly serious. “Now that you’ve met an angel who’s also a demon who rules Hell, you must believe there’s someone above. You believe, don’t you?” I’m surprised by the hopeful look in his eyes.
My grandfather is an angel. I grew up knowing that truth, so I never doubted the heavens.
How could I? Not that I grew up with any religion specifically, only that you can’t deny the Light when you’ve seen it in an angel.
But Vale, she’s unsure about her beliefs.
It must be hard to be faced with the divine all of a sudden.
“Do I belong in Hell?” Vale suddenly asks quietly and with a sad look in her eyes. Her words shock me. “My father—” She starts to explain, but Asmodeus holds his hand up silencing her.
“He’s wrong. You’re innocent. You’ve done nothing that would send you to Hell, not that I can see,” he says, and I’m grateful for his words.
“Hell is for true evil. Your soul shines too bright to have done anything like that. True sin is like a stain on your soul that can’t be washed away.
It spreads like a virus until it takes your Light over entirely.
True sin grows for those who don’t feel remorse or regret, those who feel justified in those actions that harm others. ”
The words make tears gather in her eyes. It breaks my heart to see her pain. All her life, she’s thought she was evil. My mate was taught that she was bad, but she’s not. She’s so sweet. She is good. I know that without a doubt.
I look at Asmodeus. Thank you for telling her that. Her father . . . he hurt her, I whisper the words into his mind.
I grab Vale’s hand and kiss it. When she starts eating, I look back at my grandfather.
I know some of what he did. He’s the one who’ll end up in Hell, Ash. Mark my words, I would take him there right now if it were his time, but you know I can’t. He’s damaged her greatly, son. More than she’s admitted, even to you, he says into my mind, and I nod in understanding.
They’re both quiet while we eat, and it’s a strange thing, especially for my grandfather.
Maybe he’s trying to be respectful in my home, but I doubt that very much because he isn’t a respectful person in general.
He rarely minces words and if he does, he’s hiding something.
Angels can’t lie, so they’ve gotten very good at circumventing the truth.
“Oz, my father tried to exorcise you from me, are you a part of all women?” Vale asks, and I’m truly shocked by what she says. What the fuck is wrong with her father?
Grandad shakes his head. “I’m no god, and I can’t possess people. I do inspire lust, it’s part of my job. Your father is very misinformed.”
“His beliefs are entirely based on his hatred of women,” she explains.
“That’s one of the reasons he’s so wrong, I love women.
One day I’ll tell you a story of how I became female for a little while.
” He turns to me, smiling. “It caused your mom to go into labor with you. We were being chased through Corinth, too hot to trot, caused a riot. Good times! I got a grandson and a vagina on the same day!”
Vale starts laughing hysterically, tears streaming from her eyes. “I wish I could’ve seen that.”
After we finish our meal, I ask him, “Why are you here?”
“I was checking in on your mother. She was going to tell me about Gabby and the baby. Where is she? What’s she been up to? I haven’t heard from her in days. That’s not like her,” he says, but I’m sure he could find her easily enough.
“She’s with my Gramps. They went out dancing last night. From what I understand, they’re best friends now, day drinking and everything,” Vale explains, trying to not laugh.
“My Lais has a new best friend? That doesn’t sound like her at all, does it, Ash. Should I be jealous? I thought I was her best friend,” he says, his eyes meeting mine.
“I asked her to take Nick out,” I tell him, and Vale looks at me, studying my face.
“You did?”
I turn to her and cup her cheek. “I wanted to be alone with you.”
She smiles up at me. “Okay, that makes more sense now. Still, why aren’t they back, it’s nearly noon?”
“They stayed the night in a hotel,” I say. I feel guilty; I should have told her why they went out. “I told her not to come back till tonight.”
“Well, well, well, Ash. I’m surprised. My apologies for interrupting your union. I didn’t know the lengths you’d go to be alone with your lady love. Tell your mother I stopped by.” He stands up and walks around me.
When he steps up to Vale, my hackles rise. I don’t like how close he is to her. “It was lovely meeting you, Vale. I hope we meet again soon.” He takes her hand in his and kisses her knuckles as a growl rises in my throat.
They both look at me like I’m the crazy one. Vale pulls her hand away. “It was nice meeting you, Oz. Please come visit again soon. I want you to meet my Gramps. He’s gonna freak out if he meets an angel,” she says, excitedly.
Asmodeus’s smile turns down a bit. “I’m not supposed to interfere with mortals, Vale. I don’t often meet them in this plane unless it’s in the line of duty.”
“He told me”—she points at me—“that immortals don’t tell humans about themselves, but I’m mortal. How is it okay you can meet me, but not him?”
“I must go now. Perhaps I’ll explain another time,” he says, hiding something. He won’t explain till he’s ready. He waves at me, then shimmers a bit before he disappears. I feel his lips on my forehead.
Love you, I whisper in my head before his energy dissipates.
Love you, son. And just like that, his energy winks out.
“Did he really tell you to call him Oz?” I ask Vale.
“The great and powerful, but I think I’ll stick with Oz. Anyway, Asmodeus sounds too close to Ashmodai.”
“It’s the same name actually, his is Greek, while mine is Hebrew.
He’s been called a lot of things through the ages.
Lust is a constant in this world. Truthfully, I don’t know if he even has a true name.
But if he did, it’d be in the language of angels, and I can’t speak it.
Although we do call on him with a name, but I have no memory of it after I say it. ”
Vale’s eyebrows come up curiously. She doesn’t ask any more questions about him, even though I can see her wheels turning. She’s seen something today few people ever do. I wonder if she’s okay with all this. I can’t imagine how it feels to suddenly be thrust into a world like mine.
“Did you really ask your mother to take Gramps out so we could be alone?” Vale asks with a smirk.
“Was I wrong to do that? All I wanted was a night alone with you. I didn’t want anyone to hear you scream, baby,” I explain as her breathing kicks up and her desire scents the air. “We have a few hours left. What do you want to do?”
“Hmm,” she says as she hops down from the barstool. She steps toward me, and I spread my legs so she can slide between my thighs. With a look of lust so great it makes my breath hitch, she places her hands on my bare chest and says, “I think I want to do you.”
My cock lengthens as she looks down at my tented pants. “You’re not tired or sore?”
“I wouldn’t care if I was, but no, I feel great. I’m ready for you,” she says, and I don’t know how I’ll ever get the strength to stop fucking her.
“You know they'll be back soon. How are we supposed to hide this, Vale? I can’t stop touching you. I’ll never get enough, and they’ll know. I don’t know if I’m capable of hiding this anymore,” I tell her. “I don’t want to hide it.”
“Let me take care of Gramps. Actually, would you go on a date with me?” she asks out of the blue.
My eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Yes, of course, anytime. Why?”
“Yesterday, before you came to pick me up, Gramps said to have fun on our date. I denied it, but Gramps didn’t believe me. Then I asked him if he’d let me date you. He said I had to ask you first, and if you said yes, then come ask him.” She’s smiling so brightly.
“He’s setting us up,” I blurt out. “He told me you had a crush on me and I needed to let you down easy because he didn’t know how to mend a teenager’s broken heart.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Tell him I said yes. I’ll ask him myself next time I see him.”
She smiles up at me. “What a brave man. Now stop thinking about him and start doing wicked things to me.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I answer and grab her up into my arms to take her back to my bedroom.