Falling Hard Ch. 12

Athan was leaning over the sink, splashing water on his face. He looked up into the mirror as he dried off with a towel.

He didn't feel entirely right about doing this with Virta tonight. She needed more time to adjust, to orient herself.

And he was just tired and on edge from everything. The fighting, the work; it never ended, but today had been especially bad.

First thing that morning, he'd had word that Rose was seen in the area, and that disturbing news had grated at the back of his mind the whole day.

It had been a very hard day in the field, with lots of casualties. He'd watched one of his oldest and closest friends nearly die on the battlefield: Bel had taken a hit that was meant for him.

Then, he was at Bel's side when word came that Virta and Mandi were at that club with Heath. He'd had to rush to get to them. And it looked like he was just in time.

Some things continued to bother him. Why didn't Virta have backup? No weapons, either.

One of his men had done a cursory search of her place earlier, and nothing turned up. It made no sense. Heaven had an arsenal at their disposal. She had no protocol... unless she just hadn't followed it. Well, there were a lot of things tonight that didn't add up.

He wished it was just as simple as they'd brainwashed her into obedience and sent her down here on a mission to protect the human. But he knew better, and he didn't like this feeling of mistrust between them.

What he should do if he had any sense, was just crawl onto the couch, away from her tempting body, and let the both of them sleep. They could start fresh tomorrow, after a long, leisurely breakfast that he'd make for her.

But he wanted her. Now. He'd wanted her since he first saw the photos of her in Heaven. And even more so when he'd met her in person. Now, with her human body and all its lush curves, his desire was damn near overwhelming.

The image came into his mind of her wild, dark hair falling around her shoulders; her vibrant, sea green eyes; and, those new curves that made him forget all the sense in his head.

And she wanted him just as much. She'd practically begged him to take her. She'd thrown herself at him. How good it would feel after a day like this to find release inside her body. It was oh so tempting.

But he wanted it to be different, at least for her sake. He would take all night, and make slow, achingly sweet love to her.

Based on her profile and what he knew of her so far, she was the type who would want her first time to be special, not something to just be over and done with.

God, as much as his body ached to be inside her right now, it was going to be a true test of his patience and self-control to go as slow and easy as she would need the whole night long.

Suddenly, his eye was drawn to the edge of the sink. Something shiny winked at him from inside Virta's handbag.

Athan's muscles, his heart, seized up involuntarily at the mere site of it. He took a breath, and reached for it.

It fit neatly in the palm of his hand. Such a tiny device. Seemingly, just a stunning work of art. But he knew what it could do... what it HAD done to him before. Never again.

* * *

Ten years ago. Barely a blink of an eye in time to him.

Rose had shown up on his radar as a possible recruit, someone who wasn't going to settle for the status quo. She'd actually got word down to him through secret channels.

Her background check had been fine. And, he recognized that she was someone special. Someone with untapped strength and abilities. He knew how to bring them out for use in this war.

He'd made multiple covert trips to Heaven to spend time with her. He'd fallen in love. He even Partnered with her in a secret ceremony to show her his commitment, his love for her.

But it wasn't going to last as long as she remained up there. It was getting more and more dangerous for him to visit her each time. He tried to convince her to Fall. Rose said she wanted to Fall.

But when he'd come to help her escape Heaven, she was paralyzed with fear, unable to go any further. Agents were coming. It was a narrow escape for himself.

Then, the very next day, she was on Earth. It was a surprise for him, she said, and safer for her that way, rather than trying to escape Heaven illegally. She had an assignment, and again, it checked out on his side.

Rose confided that her real reason for being down there was to get out of Heaven and spend the rest of her life with him. He was so happy to be with her on Earth.

Athan hadn't said anything, but he didn't like the fact that Rose looked nothing like herself in Heaven. Still, it was her in spirit and he knew he'd come to get used to her face and her tiny body. He was just thrilled to have her by his side.

They were planning their existence together. Things were perfect.

One night during sex, Rose pulled a relic from beneath the pillow and his horror had begun.

When the device made contact with the skin over his heart, delicate curved spikes materialized from it, puncturing deeply into his flesh. Immediately, Athan collapsed on the bed, on top of Rose. She made an angry noise and worked to roll him off of her.

He went in and out of consciousness at first, but quickly became all too aware again. His body was filled with pain. He felt dizzy, confused, nauseous and filled with a crushing weight of fear and despair. Instantly, he wished for death, anything to relieve the agony.

She laughed at him. It was like she was a different person. She told him the truth - for the first time. She never loved him, never wanted to do more than turn him over to Banner, who was the one she really wanted: Banner could give her the power she desperately craved.

Rose said that Athan was her ticket to the highest position Banner could bestow. All she had to do was bring him in. But first, she was going to have fun and slake her thirst for his blood and tears.

He'd only been able to say a few things after the relic pierced into his body and soul.

"Why?" he gasped. "I love you, Rose."

That just brought a smirk onto her face, and she laughed.

She reminded him that he'd stood in the way of Banner before, tried to bring him down. He'd been a thorn in Banner's side for millenia. Now, she would be Banner's instrument of revenge for him on Earth. Then, she would deliver him straight to the General himself. Whatever happened to him back in Heaven, he more than deserved it.

She'd tortured him, and even invited other angels into the pocket to witness the abuse and humiliation. Some took part. Others just watched. It was not everyday they got to see one of the Most Wanted, helpless and available for them to vent their own frustrations and feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness. Some were jealous that Rose was the one to bring him in.

He was abused in every way possible. And the whole time, he was like a rag doll in their hands. He could barely moan to relieve his physical pain. The damned thing had taken everything from him by then, including his voice.

Finally, the other angels left and it was just Athan and Rose again. She finally seemed bored with him. But there was no healing balm for his wounds now.

Rose knelt down beside him and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling his face roughly toward her.

"God, I still can't believe how easy it was to get to you," she spat at him. "And you're supposed to be this big, bad nightmare from hell? Ha. Look at you now. A little love and you're like puddy in my hands."

She dropped his head back to the floor and stood up. Rose walked around his battered body.

"Banner is gonna have even more fun with you up there. I can't wait to watch. Thanks to you, I've got it made for eternity."

She turned and kicked him. "How did you stay alive and out of Heaven's clutches all this time? I guess nobody played you as well as I did, getting you to put down your natural defenses."

She giggled. "Well, just know that you were brought down low by little ol' me"

She kneeled down beside him again and pulled out a lighter. Rose flicked it a few times in his face, and then she lowered it to his chest and burned him. Like the rest of the torture, he was unable to respond, let alone protect himself.

Finally, she tossed the lighter away. "Have you had enough?" she asked. He couldn't answer.

"I guess not. Just one more thing I want to do. I think I'll completely neuter you before I hand you over."

She laughed.

"It's kind of a shame though. I mean, that's the only useful thing about you. You're fantastic in bed. But baby, you weren't my first. If there's one thing I found out about Earth guys the moment I touched down, it's that they want to fuck me." She laughed again.

She reached into her bag for a knife, one of many weapons Banner had given her. She pulled out the gleaming weapon and held it in front of his face. Then she trailed the tip of the blade down his naked, bloody, damaged body. Going lower still...

There was a terribly loud noise as if the pocket exploded around them...

* * *

Athan shook his head, turning back to the door of the bathroom. He gripped the door frame with one hand, steadying himself. His other hand squeezed the tiny device. He, who was always in control, was breaking out in a cold sweat, shaking.

So, Virta had lied. She said she lost the relic in the alley. But there it was in her bag. It was for him. Or, maybe she had another one back in the bedroom with her, waiting for him to come in, waiting for a time when he would be vulnerable.

Anger flared through him. No - intense rage. The memories of the past when he'd been betrayed by people he cared about continued to flood in. He'd vowed he would never feel that helpless again.

Virta wasn't as innocent as she put on. They'd made her into a lethal soldier after all, just of another sort... one who'd sacrifice her virginal body to get the job done. To Virta, it was all in the line of duty. Like Rose, she probably volunteered. A part of him couldn't help but admire that. He'd always been ruthlessly efficient himself.

So, he was her mission, her job. Virta thought she was tough enough to come here and fuck him and turn him over to Banner? She was just going to use her body and the relic. She was that confident in herself. He smiled faintly. He'd almost bought her innocent act. Almost.

He'd nearly done it again. What was the matter with him lately? These last ten years, he'd become soft, lonely... wanting a companion, a Partner. Seemingly risking everything he and so many others had worked for, for what? Love? He wanted to believe it was real, but it wasn't... not for him.

He had too many responsibilities, too much work. Was he just getting tired? Was he secretly wanting it all to be over? Giving in? Maybe he was tired of the fighting in what seemed like an eternal, costly war.

Bel had told him before that he needed a break. Just take some time to rest, to fight the burn out. So, when Virta got here, that was what he was intending to do. There were others who could step in, at least for a while.

Virta. Some of his associates had warned him against having anything to do with her. It wasn't that they knew her personally, just that they remembered what had happened before, when he'd let someone into his heart, as well as his bed. It was in times like those that their commander might let his guard down... with deadly consequences for him, for them, for the cause.

Now Virta was in his bed, waiting.

She was begging him to do her, well, he'd do her alright.

He'd teach her not to fuck with him. Who did she think she was? He didn't battle his way down the ages and survive this long just to get fucked over by this little bitch. Letting his guard down once, with Rose, was the first and last time.

It was remarkable how much anger he felt. It literally flowed through him. She didn't know who she was messing with. She was about to find out.

He weighed the ancient object in his hand, smoothing the delicate surface with large fingertips. It looked oh, so innocent, just like Virta. But he knew just what it could do to him. What it had done to him.

She wanted to slap it on him, well she should know what it felt like first.

He tore through the bedroom door, not bothering to close it, let alone lock it.

She would never make it to the door anyway.

* * *

Virta had been lying on top of the bed, soothing herself with the scent of Athan everywhere around her. She anticipated his gentle touches, couldn't wait to look into his eyes as he made love to her for the first time.

She heard quick footsteps, and looked up.

She sat up immediately when Athan barged into the doorway, filling it with his large, hulking form. His fists were clenched, and when she looked up into his dark eyes, she had to jerk her own away out of reflex.

He was seething. He actually looked like an evil demon. Rage was written all over his features. And it was all turned on her.

His rage was because of her? How had he changed so quickly?

"W-what's wrong?" she managed to get out. All her alarm bells were going off. Danger! they screamed.

She moved off the bed and backed into the corner, never taking her eyes off him. He seemed in no hurry. As angry as he looked, his movements were slow, controlled. He was coming toward her.

She saw an opening and dashed toward the door. One large hand shot out and snatched her arm, jerking her back in front of him.

"Going somewhere?" he asked. The tone in his voice was frightening. "You haven't changed your mind about fucking me, have you?"

His hands wrapped around her upper arms, tightly this time, hurting her. He pushed her up against the wall, sliding her body straight up so she was at eye level with him. Her bare feet dangled below. Virta looked from them, back up to him. He was holding her in place with one hand.

The other hand held the relic up in her face.

"Brought me a little present from the General?" he hissed. "I think it would look better on you."

Her mind didn't register what he was doing. He'd found that? In her bag? Oh... right. Oh, shit!

"Do you even know what this does?" He began to inch it toward her chest.

She felt crackling and stinging zaps of electricity as it neared the flesh over her heart. Even the proximity of it to her body was causing her to lose control. Or was that her sudden terror of this new, demonic Athan? Some small part of her feared this was the real Athan after all...

"You lose your whole self while you're wearing it." Her eyes flashed back to his blackened, violent ones.

"It nearly takes your soul," he continued. "It makes you a slave, unable to do what you want. Takes away your power. Which is what you want to do to me, isn't it?"

"No, I DON'T want to do that!"

He dropped the hand that was holding her up against the wall, simply took it off of her.

She fell down and backwards against the wall, catching herself before she could pitch forward onto the floor.

His back was already to her. He didn't seem worried she would escape. Instead, he was pacing around a bit, casually tossing the relic up and down, catching it in his hand as he spoke.

"Virta, I'm impressed." His tone was one of wistful appreciation. "Such quality... you brought only the best for me. This is an older, top of the line, heavy-duty binding device."

Suddenly, he turned and caught her frightened eyes in a black glare such as she'd never seen before.

"It's not the cheap trash that they mass-produce today."

If she lived through this, she never wanted to see that look in his eyes again; never hear that tone in his voice. But she was assuming much that she would even make it through the next five minutes. Her only thought was to stay alive, moment by moment.

He set it down on the nightstand. "It's not like I need it anyway. You're nothing to subdue, do you understand that, Virta? You're nothing."

She just looked up at him, wide-eyed, the color draining from her face despite the touch of sun earlier.

He was just standing there by the bed, looking at her.

"What's the matter, lover? Cat got your tongue?"

He had to have seen her body shaking from fear. She tried to say something, but her mouth wouldn't form the words she wanted to say.

He walked back over to her, hands on each side of her, caging her to the wall. His head bent down and he looked up into her eyes, as if trying to decipher her hysterical mutterings.

"What was that, Virta?" he asked, cocking an ear toward her. "You said, 'You're just a job to me', right?"

Her lips trembling, she did manage to whisper, "It's more complicated than that."

He ignored her and began planting kisses on her cheek, then down the side of her neck. She felt his hot breath on her skin. He was gentle. She started to feel hopeful. But then he began to speak between his kisses:

"Virta, I want you to imagine a situation where you're completely helpless... powerless..."

He pulled back and when she looked up into his eyes, they didn't seem to be seeing her anymore. His voice was also devoid of emotion as he went on:

"Imagine that you're at the mercy of someone sadistic; someone else who has all the power..."

He picked her up and tossed her onto the bed.

She scrambled to the other side, trying to make it to the floor. Athan leaned over and grabbed her legs. He flipped her onto her back and slid her body underneath his. She found herself looking up into his angry face.

"...then, you'll get some idea of what it is to have that fucking thing inside you!"

She soon became suffocated by his lips on hers. His lips, his hands, seemed to be everywhere at once. She was overwhelmed from being man-handled.

Suddenly, he grabbed her top and wrenched it from her body. She was now naked except for her dainty, white underwear.

His big hand was reaching for those next.

She found her voice, her strength, and began to protest with all she was worth. The shock had worn off. Or maybe it had just set in.

She'd known this could happen on her assignment. It had been drilled into her that as a soldier in the war between "good and evil", contact with a demon could have ugly, nasty consequences, including torture... of all kinds. She was able to look at it that way on one hand, but on the other hand, this wasn't just an enemy in bed with her. She loved this demon.

She fought all the harder for that reason. Although she knew it was useless - he had the physical strength of a god - she struggled and fought as hard as she could. He had no trouble holding her down, as if she wasn't fighting him at all.

"Stop it, Athan! What are you doing?"

But he'd stopped talking to her. It was eerily silent in the room apart from her panting, gasping, protesting.

His heavy breathing caressed her ear. With the flick of a wrist, the panties that were the last barrier between her soft, delicate parts and his hard, punishing one, were gone.

"Why are you doing this?"

God, why wasn't he talking to her? He was completely ignoring her, with his head turned away. It was like he was just doing a job with cold-blooded expertise: he was methodically, wordlessly, efficiently taking her.

He raised up and pulled his t-shirt off. She saw the hard, rippling muscles. His chest was smooth, but for the scars. She wanted to reach up and stroke them with her fingers, but it was impossible. Her whole body was pinned between his powerful thighs.

Then he was undoing his pants. Soon, they were on the floor with the rest of their clothes.

His entire glorious, golden body was rising over her like the sun. She could only stare at the tan, sculptured muscles. There wasn't an ounce of him that wasn't hard. His was a body deserving of worship, she thought somewhere in the back of her mind. How she wished she could take her time and touch every part of him.