Author Note: After a long wait here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. YOU GUYS ARE FREAKING AMAZING!!!! I'm so glad everyone loves this story. I'm sorry for the weight, hopefully the next update won't take so long. As for Seattle Rain, it will be updated as well, but when I'm not sure. My focus is mainly on another story that I'm pursuing publication for. This story isn't posted. But that isn't important! What is important is the update! I hope you guys enjoy it!!! :)

Special Thanks: To Bloodfeeder for being so patient with me.

Disclaimer: All characters (c) Sheepie. You may not use them with out my permission.

Warning(s): Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Graphic Violence, Strong Language

Kingdom Come

Chapter 8

I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, assessing the damage for the umpteenth time. I was having trouble not zeroing on the deep bite marks on my shoulders. I hadn’t realized it all the time, but when Deangelo had bit me, he had drawn blood. And now, that bite mark was going to leave a scar! A SCAR! Was this guy for real? I glared at my reflection, blaming it for all the sudden woes that came over me.

To add insult to injury, I had a very prominent hickey on my neck, just above my newly forming bite scar. Luckily this I could cover with a bit of borrowed make-up from my mother. Still, I could feel the blotchy colored mark leering at me from beneath a blanket of foundation. Deangelo had fully succeeded in maiming and marking me. I ran a finger over the scar, stroking it gently. Tiny jolts of electricity shot through my stomach, causing shivers to run up my spine. I so did not like being marked. I didn’t. It did not turn me on. Riiight.

The school’s bathroom door opened and Rory waltzed in, looking at me briefly with concern. I quickly released my shirt and let it slide back into place, covering up the scar. I looked at him through the mirror, offering what I hoped was an innocent, I-didn’t-have-sex-yesterday smile. He seemed to buy it because he walked over to me and clamped his hand on my uninjured shoulder, asking, “So how was yesterday? I didn’t catch you this morning.”

“Um, it was alright.” I said, struggling to find words. I honestly didn’t know how I felt about last night, not that Rory understood or knew about my inner turmoil. Was I pissed? Happy? Giddy? Freaked out? Wanting more? All of the above seemed to describe perfectly what I felt. Problem was, I didn’t think I was suppose to feel all those emotions at once.

Rory studied my face before nodding his head and asking, “So do you want to get together again after school?” There was hope in his voice.

Guilt stabbed into me and I shook my head apologetically. “Sorry, I can’t. Fucking project.”

“You didn’t finish it yesterday?” Rory asked, flabbergasted.

I rubbed the back of my head and looked sheepishly to the side. Not exactly. Though, I did end up taking home my half of the project. In truth, we probably didn’t really need to work on it anymore. All I had to do was the half Deangelo had given me and show up on project day. But I needed to speak with Deangelo. This thing, this situation… whatever it was, I needed to sort it out. I mean, what do we do now? I still couldn’t wrap my mind around anything Deangelo had told me. If it weren’t for his wings, I’d say he was pulling my leg.

“No,” I admitted, “We got distracted…with a fight.”

Rory blinked before shaking his head, “Oli, you’re going to have to finish it soon. It’s almost due.”

“I know!” I snapped defensively.

Rory sighed and swung his arm around my shoulder, giving it a squeeze, “Whatever. Do you want to at least go hang now? We could skip free period…”

“Already ahead of you, but,” I said, being stabbed with another pang of guilt. Man, I was really shooting Rory down. “I’m actually heading over to Shop. I have to talk to—”

“Deangelo?” Rory cut in, brows increasing with annoyance. Was that jealousy I saw sparked in his eyes?

I grabbed Rory’s hand and gave it a squeeze, “Hey, come on. Don’t be like that. We’ll chillax after I finish with Deangelo today, alright?”

“Don’t say chillax,” Rory teased but nodded nonetheless.

I poked my tongue out at him and pulled away. “Alright, I’m out. Go chillax.”

I rushed out of the bathroom before Rory could do anything and made a beeline for the school garage. Deangelo had shop during my free period. It was the perfect time to isolate him and start talking to him. I had a list of questions and I was damn well going to get some answers. Like, could we have sex again? Wait, no… that’s not a question. Damn it, I didn’t know what I felt about that. The only thing I knew for sure was that it had been good—real good. And that was what scared me.

I pushed the door open to the garage, the sound of power tools and other manly paraphernalia assaulting my ears. I was not a handy person. I’m an actor. That means I don’t soil my hands with an electric drill. Deangelo on the other hand was a grease monkey, a very hot grease monkey. Ugh, damn my libido.

The garage was filled four cars, three to four students a piece working on the cars. Mr. Meyer was a frightening man, who often looked at ever boy who didn’t participate in a sport or work in shop as a poof. Well, I’ll have him know, I’m a poof to the max.

Mr. Meyer looked over at me with a glint of irritation. He stomped over from where he stood and snapped, “Franklin, what are you doing here?”

I blinked, searching my mind for a quick answer. I should have realized earlier that there would have been a teacher there. The boys working on the closest car to the door looked up briefly before directing their attention back to the inside of the car they were working on. I leaned back on the balls of my heels and stuffed my hands in my pockets, trying to look as non threatening as possible. “Er, um,”

“Er, um, what? Spit it out, Franklin, or get the hell out of my garage.” He was practically spitting in my face. Asshole.

“Ms. Paine wants you. She said she has a message for you.” I stammered out, calling on the first name that came to my mind. Ms. Paine was the school’s head secretary. Surely that would seem feasible.

Mr. Meyer seemed to mull over my information before letting out a grunt and walking past me. I let out a breath and walked down the row of cars, peering at them curiously. Cars did little to interest me. Sure, I liked a nice looking one. But I had little use for knowing how they worked. I stopped at the third car randomly and crouched down. There was somebody sticking out from under it, legs covered by a pair of gray coveralls.

“Deangelo?” I asked.

The pair of legs jerked as the person shot up in surprise, instantly letting out a loud, “Fuck!”

I winced and rose back to my feet. The other two students working on the car looked up at me. Deangelo slid out from beneath the car rubbing his forehead. He rubbed his forehead head, causing a streak of grease to run across it. His face was livid and he shot me a deadly look that made me take a step back. “What?”

“Erm,” I said, rethinking coming here. “Can we talk?”

His expression softened, but only by a little. He heaved a sigh and rose to his feet, nodding to the two other boys who glared at me. “I’ll be right back.”

They gave grunts of acknowledgement. Grunting, it was the common language between macho men. I followed behind Deangelo as he walked out in the hall, wiping his grease covered hands on a dirty rag he had hanging from his back pocket. I looked up at him and pointed at my forehead, unable to help the smile that cracked along my face. Deangelo blinked and rolled his eyes up in an attempt to see.

“What?” He asked.

“You got grease on your face, dip shit.” I scuffed, covering my mouth to hide the laughter.

He shot me another withering glare and wiped his face with the cloth. His hair was pulled back out of his face in a short ponytail, giving me a clear view of the high rise of his cheekbones and the sharp angles of his jaw. I nearly melted into a muddle at that moment. Why did he have to be so dreamy looking? Why did I have to be attracted to him? Obviously my body hadn’t gotten the memo about Deangelo being my sworn nemesis. Of course, obviously my brain hadn’t gotten the memo that Deangelo was my husband.

I wanted a diamond ring, damn it!

“So what do you want?” Deangelo asked, cocky attitude returning. A smug smile spread along his face and he was no doubt remembering what took place yesterday. I could see his eyes running over my shoulder and along my neck, appraising his handy work. To bad for him I had it all covered up! HA! That’ll teach him.

“I wanted to talk.”

“Obviously.”

“Shut up, smart ass! I’m being serious.” I snapped irritably. Why did he insist on being so frustrating?

“What? Did you want another round already?”

Oh my God! He was such a cocky bastard! I growled, my eye twitching. This was so a bad idea. I threw my hands up in the air with a shriek, “Damn it!”

“Come on, Oliver, spit it out, I have class.” Deangelo said, smirk never leaving his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him and snapped, “I wanted to know what happens now! I have questions for you, asshole, and I want answers!”

“Like?”

“Like, what now? What happens between us? I-I, um...” Now that I was standing there all my questions blurred together and I didn’t know what to ask. The problem was, I didn’t know what I felt.

I looked down and glared pathetically at my shoes. Damn it, why did he do this to me? Make me feel so confused. I was lost and I didn’t know how to find my way. My emotions were so jumbled, clashing together in a building storm that surged through me. I wanted to scream or stomp my feet or just hit something. I wanted something to make sense.

“Look,” Deangelo said, tone softening finally. He reached out and tipped my head back with a hooked finger. His eyes, which were so dark, seemed like warm pools I could drown in. My breath hitched and for a brief blimp I found a light that illuminated a pathway for me. My heart raced and my knees became weak, and all that mattered were the pair of eyes looking at me. Were the stars in them? They sparkled like the night. Were these the stars that wrote our future?

“Right now, we do nothing.” He said, letting his hand slide from my chin to cup my cheek. I felt my cheeks color.

“But,” I started but stopped.

“There’s still a chance of them finding you, and I can’t risk that. We just go about our lives like normal. Maybe in a few years we’ll figure something out, but right now… we just act like everything is normal.” He said.

Sometime during his explanation, he had walked me back towards the wall, knocking my back against it. I opened my mouth and closed it again, trying to work through everything. I was still having trouble processing what I was. I nodded my head, “Alright… but I still have other questions.”

“And I’ll answer them. But right now isn’t a good time.” He said.

I figured as much. That was why I shot Rory down. I nodded my head, “Okay… after school?”

Deangelo nodded as he leaned forward, lips hovering over mine. I felt my breath rush past my lips shakily. I wanted him to kiss me. My God, I wanted him to kiss me so badly. I was assaulted by the same feelings I felt yesterday. The unmistakable pull I had to him. Like something tethered us together, and whenever I tried to run away it jerked me right back. I needed him to the point that I couldn’t breathe when he wasn’t around. It scared me, I hated it, I loved it… God, just let him kiss me.

Our mouths connected and I gave into the stars. It was brief, too brief, but when he pulled away I felt almost rejuvenated.

“Now I have to go back to class,” He mumbled against my mouth.

I nodded mutely. He pulled away and walked back towards the door. Before he could enter, I called out, “Deangelo?”

He looked back at me with a silent brow lifted. I shifted my feet awkwardly. “Um, do you think… after school, I could see your wings again?”

I wanted to see them. I wanted to be enveloped in them. Before, I hadn’t gotten a chance to study them. I wanted to behold their beauty more clearly. My question caused a smile to slide softly along his lips. He nodded his head and then entered the room. I collapsed against the wall, a bundle of tightly knit nerves.

Why was I nervous? I hated being nervous. I didn’t do nervous. Nervous was just not me!

I stood at my locker waiting on Deangelo. My back was slung over my shoulder, running diagonally down my chest. I stuffed my hands into my jeans and stared at the floor blankly. Wisps of hair fell in my eyes and I pushed them away. Down the hall, Deangelo came, parting through a lingering crowd of students. I pushed off my locker and ran my hands down my white polo, smoothing the wrinkles out. Why did I feel the need to preen? Ugh, I was seriously loosing it.

“Are you ready?” He asked as he walked towards me. There was a smile on his face that made my heart melt and my blood run hot. It was a mixture of confidence and sweetness.

“Sure. To your death-mobile?” I asked, not looking forward to riding on the back of his damn motorcycle.

“No, come on.” He said with a jerk of his head, turning back around and heading in the direction he came from.

I followed behind him, calling out, “Hey! Where are we going?”

“Just come on.” He said allusively.

I sighed heavily and trailed behind him, glaring a hole into the back of his head. We made our way through the school, past the gym and out the back. Behind the school was a large empty field. To the left, you could make out the baseball fields, and from there came the football stadium and tennis courts. The field was empty, spare the passing cars in the distance. Deangelo walked out in to the field and looked around before turning to me. I stood by the doors, staring out at him quizzically.

Suddenly a blinding light erupted around him and his wings sprouted out, unfurling from his back and arching up into the sky. They caught the light of the sun and glowed brilliantly. I wanted to reach out and touch the tuffs of downy soft feathers along the top and caress the longer feathers that draped to the ground. The silver that ran along the feathers was like diamond dust.

He extended his hand out to me and lowered his wings, folding them in against his back. I bit my bottom lip and stared out at him, once again wondering if this was all real. Had I maybe slipped and bumped my head, and all this was just a coma-induced dream? Or was this man standing in front of me, with wings of an angel, truly my husband? So many things in life could be claimed as real, and so many could be labeled as fiction. Yet in this moment, the lines between reality and fiction were blurred.

I walked over to him, letting out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Part of me wanted to still fight him, but the larger part of me, the part that won over everything else, ignored my faltering hatred, and propelled my hand forward. I grabbed Deangelo’s hand and let him draw me into the embrace of his arms, throwing my own around his neck to anchor my body against his. His wings extended out once more and caught the wind, pushing down and shooting our bodies up. The shock of it all slammed into me with the force of the wind, laced with icy fingers that stole my breath straight out of my throat.

We went straight up, climbing higher and higher, past soaring birds, and breaking through low clouds. The wind rushed by, spiraling around us in a cyclone and whipping my hair and clothes. His wings exploded out to catch the wind and stop our bodies from propelling higher. I clung tighter, afraid that if I let go I’d fall back to earth. Deangelo held tightly to me, arms wrapped around my waist with a vice grip.

We floated in spot for a minute, just hovering above a small cloud that floated lazily beneath us. I expected it to be difficult to breathe up here, but it was just like standing on the ground. I wasn’t even cold.

I looked down and instantly regretted it. Deangelo chuckled as my arms tightened even more. He gave my hip a squeeze and said, “Don’t look down.”

“Now you tell me,” I grumbled, casting another glance downward. The world seemed so small. I could hold our entire town in the palms of my hands here. From here we could see the gas station that we were held up in. I could see my house, a small white dot in the horizon. Cars skittered by, moving through rivers of concrete. Everything was breathtaking from above. The trees that surrounded Hilliard seemed vast from here. I could make out the bordering cities and patchwork of fields.

I looked back to Deangelo and said, “I can breathe.”

“Congratulations.”

“You know what I mean.” I growled out.

He chuckled and slowly began to flap his wings, which seemed as natural as walking to him. We moved slowly forward, flying above a flock of geese. I wrapped my body around him and looked ahead, watching the horizon grow closer. Clouds streamed by, white and full. We skimmed the bottom of one and I reached out, running my fingers through it. It was cold, like water, and it felt like nothing between my fingers.

“Our bodies are made for flying. So we don’t have trouble breathing at high altitudes and our body’s temperatures don’t drop.” Deangelo explained as we sloped down. I felt my stomach hiccup, jumping into my throat and then settling back down.

“How high can you go?” I asked.

Deangelo propelled our bodies higher, breaking through a cloud and blurring our vision in white, before bursting through. We soared a few more feet up, until the world was almost invisible. I gasped in shock and looked down at the blanket of clouds that covered everything. They looked like fluffy mountains.

“If I go higher, we’ll start to have problems. We can go almost as high as an airplane.” Deangelo said, swooping downward. I let out a cry of surprise and buried my face into his neck. A low chuckle rumbled in his chest and I growled out furiously, pinching his arm.

“Ow!” He hissed, “Do that again and I’ll drop you.”

I scuffed. “Yeah right.”

I was suddenly weightless. For a minute I thought I was just still, but then I realized the wind was whipping up beneath me, and my hair was defying gravity. I was falling. That bastard dropped me!

I couldn’t even scream. I just stared wide-eyed, hands reaching up towards him with silent desperation.

As abruptly as I began to fall, I stopped. Deangelo shot down and scooped me up in his arms, muscles flexing beneath my body and straining to anchor me. I clasped onto him tightly, my entire body trembling. Whatever mirth was left in his eyes faded as he held on tightly to me, stroking my back soothingly. When I was sure I could breath again I whispered harshly, “Y-you dropped me!”

“I warned you.” He said, he tried laughing but I could sense the concern in his voice. It made my stomach do flip flops.

I just clung to him, trying to get my heart to relearn how to beat. He pressed his face into the crook of my neck and whispered, breath hot against my skin, “I’d never let anything happen to you, Oli. So don’t look so scared.”

Yeah. He didn’t just plummet towards earth from God knows how many million feet above. I just remained silent and held on tighter. For some reason all I wanted was to be enveloped in his arms. I let out a faint sigh and just held on, listening to the sound of his heart mixed with the wind.

Deangelo slowed, once more hovering above the clouds. I looked up at him, peering into his eyes, which stared down at me sharply. It never failed to surprise me how penetrating his gaze was. It stripped me and left me standing there, baring everything I had. In a low voice that was nothing more then a rumble in his throat, he said, “I’m serious, Oliver. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you.”

My throat constricted and all I could do was stare. His words were so sincere. It was strange to hear him say it. I just nodded, unable to think of anything else to do. He pulled me closer, if possible, and leaned forward. Anticipation curled my toes as I strained my neck to meet him half way. Our lips melded together and my body exploded in fireworks. It was as natural as breathing. Parting my lips and welcoming him in was just normal.

It was the greatest feeling, having him embrace me. The pleasure was indescribable. I melted against him, meeting his tongue with mind, and twisting them together. It was sweet and delicate, but laced with unbridled passion that swelled between us. The wind caressed our bodies as we hovered, locked together. He ran his mouth from my lips down my jaw, drawing me closer feverishly, and latching on to my neck. I gasped and moaned, squirming against him before arching my body. He was doing things to me no one else did. He was playing me like an instrument, knowing every note to hit.

He found his way back to my lips and the kiss was more desperate this time. I sighed into him. He growled in response, hands almost bruising in their grip as they held me close. When we parted, mouths swollen and glistening, I felt lightheaded. I looked at him, bleary eyed, and mumbled, “Um.”

Intelligent. Real intelligent.

He smirked and mumbled, “Come on. Let’s land, then we can talk.”

I nodded and just pressed close, focusing on breathing. He slowly descended to earth. When our feet touched the ground I noticed for the first time that it was getting late. The sun was slipping to the west, slowly making its descent to let the moon rise up. He had backtracked to the school; setting me down back at the field we had taken off from. My legs felt like jelly at first but they slowly regained their strength.

I sat down in the grass and watched as he threw his wings back and a light once more swelled around him, sucking in his wings and turning them from feathers to liquid light. They caught in the wind, whipped around, and faded, like nothing was there. My eyes must have been sparkling because he smiled at me and said, “Fascinating, isn’t it?”

I nodded, feeling a ping of jealousy. Wasn’t I supposed to have those? Would mine have done that? I looked down at the ground, curiosity swelling in me.

Deangelo sat beside me and we watched the cars stroll by, the stream of traffic lighter then what it had been when we took off. I didn’t know how long the silence had lapsed between us, but when Deangelo finally talked, the stars were beginning to twinkle in the sky. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

I blinked and looked over to him. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, I didn’t know which one was so important it needed to be first. Finally I shrugged and said, exasperated, “Yeah… I don’t know… I mean, I guess I just feel confused. It’s dreamlike. I don’t know what to ask first. I have so many questions… like, why? What now?”

Deangelo nodded his head and stared down at the grass, plucking a piece from the ground. It was a long green blade. He cupped it in his hands and brought it to his mouth, blowing and producing a sharp whistling sound. It was nature’s music. The song caught in the passing breeze and curled up in the sky, dancing in the stars. I closed my eyes and listened, trying to sort through my jumble of emotions.

Finally, he stopped and said, “We don’t do anything, like I said before. They’re out there, waiting for you to resurface, Oliver. I won’t let them take you. So we just go about our lives and try to live them as normally as possible, praying that no one ever finds us. Right now we can’t do anything, and if they don’t know about you, we don’t need to give them reason to come hunting.”

“What… what about my family? My wings… I mean, I don’t know,” I sighed, wanting to pull my hair out. “I feel lost. I can’t believe it, but I do. And…”

“I know. But the truth is… at the gas station, which was the first time I used my powers in a long time, might draw attention. I don’t think it will, but it might. Right now you can’t handle them. I’ve worked too hard protecting you to let them come and take you.” Deangelo shifted to look at me, eyes blazing. “Maybe in a few years we’ll see what to do again. But I don’t think you could take the Rosetta family now.”

I nodded my head and closed my eyes. Deangelo pressed his hand to my cheek and cupped it. My eyes snapped back open, locking on his.

“Dee…” I whispered in a single breath.

“Look, I can’t tell you why this all happened. It did. All I know is, we can’t change it, and so we have to make do with what we have. And right now all we have is each other.”

I nodded my head, closing my eyes and saying, “Alright.”

To Be Continued...

So was it good? I really liked the moment between Deangelo and Oli in the sky. Drop a review!! :)