Page 12 of Sleeping Redemption
I grabbed onto the banister at the bottom of the steps while balancing on one foot to put on the first heel followed by the other.
The slightest of drafts tickled across my skin, barely enough to shift a strand of hair.
“Your timing is impeccable,” I stated about the holy presence suddenly at my back. From the tone of my voice, I made it clear that this was hardly a compliment.
Sylas spoke up, his husky voice unapologetic, “Nice to see you, too, Kinley.”
Could he have had worse timing? There were more important things on my agenda this evening than arguing with an archangel prepared to lecture me on the error of my ways.
Spinning around, I placed a hand on my hip and rested my elbow against the banister. “I heard you were going to come around. Decided you wanted a taste of the dark side?” I smirked at him.
He stood tall, shoulders squared in his typical holier-than-thou stance. He was solidly built like Heaven’s finest warrior, with a body that made me question how many sins could be acted upon it. Sy kept his light brown hair short, except for the top which was left stylishly longer by an inch or two.
Piercing blue eyes greeted me but without so much as a polite smile accompanying them.
“I’m not here for banter. I’m here on business.” His expression remained unchanged from its uptight and usual grumpy demeanor.
Stepping forward, I ran my hands down over the front of his gray tee, feeling the hard set of muscles of his chest and stomach set just underneath. My pools of sapphire remained gazing up at him. “I could give you pleasure with your business.” The sultry lull of my voice added to the proposition.
There was hesitation at first, then his hands trailed over my shoulders, descending to my hips. Did he finally decide that things were more fun when you broke the rules?
“I’m serious,” he firmly stated. He set his mouth in a hard line, adding, “I’m not fucking around.”
When was henotserious? Also, did heeverfuck around?
I gave a playful pout. “You can always come fuck around with me. Maybe it will help loosen you up a little.”
Excitement pooled between my legs at the thought that maybe Sylas was considering straying from his morals. I leaned into him, inhaling deeply as the scent of paradise itself still clung to him. He must have made the trip home recently, transporting another deceased soul beyond the clouds for final judgment.
Heaven leaves its taste on you, and fuck if it wasn’t the most intoxicating thing to consume; the scent of sun, exotic flowers, and fruits at the peak of ripeness. It nearly made me crave to be back home, even after all this time.
My hand dipped further down his body, over the front of his black pants which led to quite a surprising handful. I grinned deviously as my palm rubbed over the bulge of his partial erection, which if it was anything to go by, would be quite the sizable treat in its full state.
“Ooh, it seems you do pack quite the weapon, Sylas. Maybe you should smite me with it,” I teased.
A partial growl escaped past his lips before he forced me back against a wall there in the foyer. My body slammed against the drywall roughly, knocking my hand away from him.
The strength of his body pushed up against mine, pinning me between him and the wall. It was a position that I was hardly sad about; I even tried to encourage him by letting out a faint moan of approval.
His hand came up to the side of my face, tracing a finger over my cheekbone. A softness overcame his eyes as he murmured, “You used to be so beautiful, Kinley. You should have never left home.”
Talk about ruining a good high. I scoffed and shoved his hand away from my face.
I left home because I hated feeling repressed and taking orders. It was boring as fuck. Lucifer offered a life away from that, a life which I didn’t regret in the least.
“I mean it, Kin. Look at what he’s done to you. Look at what you’ve become. The darkness is swallowing up your light.” His fingers found a lock of my black hair tucked behind my ear and examined it before letting it fall free.
Brushing off his observation, I didn’t see anything wrong with what I’d become. “Maybe you picked the wrong team; you should have joined me. Think of all the fun we could have been having together all this time.”
He sighed knowingly. “I’ve cleaned up your messes, they don’t look like fun to me.”
“Guess you had to be there.” I rolled my eyes.
Sy stepped back from me, prompting my lips to be drawn down into a frown of disappointment.
“The scales have been tipping, and you know exactly what happens when the balance is off between the light and the dark. Tell Lucifer’s lackeys to ease up.”
This was news to me, and raising both brows at him in surprise, I shook my head. “It’s not us. It’s been a relatively slow month on our end, numbers have been down.”
