Strange Love

Jos couldn't control the slight tremble of her hand as she stroked it over the thick foliage of feathers. She followed the ridge to where it protruded from the thick rippling muscles of his upper back. She drew closer as she lifted onto her tip-toes to get a closer look at the place where the wing merged into tight, slightly tanned skin. "Amazing..." She whispered.

Arei watched her from over his shoulder. His smile widened when her eyes moved from the wings to his muscled back, following their ridges lower. He forced himself not to react or move in the slightest, afraid he would frighten her.

Jos sucked in a harsh breath as her eyes landed on the hard, thick curve of his butt. She hadn't even realized that she had been trailing her fingers lightly along the path of her eyes until her fingers were gliding over one well-sculpted cheek. She quickly jerked her hand back and took several steps back. "Sorry..." She whispered as heat crept up her neck.

Seeing her pull away from him, Arei extended one wing in the hopes of regaining her attention. He kept his back to her. "You're perfectly alright. Here, maybe you'd like to see the rest of it?" He glanced back at her. The smile returned to his lips as the curiosity returned to her eyes, and she moved toward the wing. "This is another form I try to avoid ever being seen in."

Jos's surprised eyes shot up to meet his. "Why? It's breathtaking!"

He let out a heavy sign. "Last time someone saw it, they swore they'd seen Lucifer... others have mistaken me for a damned demon." He rolled his eyes. "You have white wings and humans try worshiping you, but you have black ones you're something evil." He shrugged. "I can only assume that's why your friend Raven keeps hers hidden."

Jos nodded, her attention still studying his fully extended wing. "Yeah, but she always went along with them." Jos shrugged. "Worked pretty well when she was a member of Isha's military. Seeing an armor-clad, weapon welding crazy woman with prismatic black wings is pretty daunting."

He chuckled, "I guess it would be."

Jos made it to the very tip of the back of his wing. Her questioning eyes met his. "Is it alright if I..." Her eyes moved away from his steady gaze. "Um... you're still... covered... right?"

A smile spread across his full lips. "Yes, Kitten. I'm still covered with the other wing. It's perfectly safe for you to come around to see the other side if you'd like."

Jos swallowed hard as she nodded. "If it's alright with you."

His smile widened. "Help yourself, Kitten." She searched his eyes for several minutes before finally stepping nervously around the wing, not breaking eye contact with him until she was all the way around causing his smile to fade slightly. "You never have to worry about me hurting you or trying to force you into something you're not willing to do."

Jos's cheeks heated as she looked away. "I'm practically feeling you up and ogling you. You have every right to want more... to expect more..."

He turned slightly as his hand moved out slowly toward her face. Her eyes met his as his hand brushed across her sharp jaw. "You're wrong there, Kitten. I have no right to expect more from you simply because you find my current form interesting. Attraction and fascination alone don't warrant action." He released her face. "Come on. Let's get into the cabin and give me a few minutes to find some clothes since you lost mine," He winked at her teasingly. "And if you're still interested, you can pick up where we left off out here." He lifted his arm and wrapped his wing back around his waist for her comfort before reaching out and taking her hand in his. He didn't release his grip until they made it onto the covered wrap-around porch. He reached overhead to the top of a beam directly over the door and retrieved a key.

Jos watched as he slid it into the lock and turned it. "Isn't that dangerous leaving it there?"

Arei smiled back at her as he pushed the door open. "I mean someone would have to be at least six foot four or taller to reach it." He watched as her assessing eyes moved from the deck up to the beams. "Ry and I built it so that we wouldn't have to worry about bumping our heads on the eves. He pointed to the low end of the porch. Back during the time, it was built, it wasn't uncommon for homes and businesses not to be able to accommodate our six-eight height.

Jos swallowed as her eyes instinctively moved to his body when he mentioned his height. She quickly turned away. "Sorry..."

He shook his head as he reached out to take her hand again. "You don't have to apologize. It's only natural to want to size up someone who just admitted to being over six-four. Come on inside so I can shut and lock the door behind us." When she did as he asked, he quickly latched the locks and nodded toward the small but cozy seating area. "Make yourself comfortable while I search the bedrooms." He watched as she made her way over to the oversized sectional. His eyes followed hers to the clock on the mantel. It had only taken them forty minutes even with him taking his time. They would have to kill at least an hour here in order to give the wolves time to mend their fractured relationship. He forced his attention away from Jos and turned toward the bedrooms.

There were two right off the living room. One had a king-sized bed while the other had two doubles. A deep frown spread across his handsome face as he opened the last drawer of the second bedroom. To his misfortune, the only clothes that had been left behind were a nightgown and an incredibly small pair of boxer briefs. He cringed as he removed the underwear from the drawer and held them up. He tried to pull them up over his thighs, but the material had no more give left. He let out a long sigh as his eyes moved around the room before falling on the bed. "Hum... guess it's better than just these." He said to himself as he walked toward the bed and pulled the sheet off and began tying it around himself toga style. He glanced over at the mirror and laughed at his own ridiculous reflection. "Has to be better than going out there n.a.k.e.d, I guess..." He mumbled before turning back toward the door.

Jos had pulled some of the old curtains back, letting in extra light. She was now fingering through dust-covered books lining one of the many shelves that lined the fireplace. "Find anything of interest?" He asked as came up behind her.

Jos nodded not turning her focus away from the books. "A few..." She pulled one off the shelf studying its aged cover. "If it's alright, I would love to take this one back with us when we leave."

"It's fine with me. I'm sure we can find you something around her to carry it in as well." His voice carried a teasing smile as he added. "So, you don't drip it as well."

She turned on him in irritations, saying as she turned. "I wouldn't have dropped your clothes had you not-" Her eyes widened as she took him in, and her words died off. "hadn't plunged... down... sooo f...as..t..." Her eyes roamed over the thin white fabric.

Arei chuckled, "Not my best look, I know. But I couldn't find anything that would fit, and I figured this was better than nothing, and it won't get in the way of what I was going to show you so..."

Her eyes moved back up to his. "Show? Oh! Yes... what was it you wanted to show me?"

Arei sent her a crooked smile. "Well, you said you wanted to get to know the real me. The me that no one ever sees so I thought this would be a good place to start."

She tilted her head curiously. "How so? I would have thought your father's palace would have been."

Arei shook his head as he took the book and placed it on the mantle before taking her hands and leading her to the narrow hallway separating the bedrooms. He pulled on a string hanging from the ceiling, and to Jos's surprise, a ladder lowered. He turned back to face her, "You see most of the deep, darker secrets I never wanted to share with anyone... other than maybe Ry every now and then... are here." He guided her hand to the ladder. "You may want to go up first. I'm sure my half-assed toga is not going to hide much from below."

Jos laughed, "I mean as old as you are, I would have figured you'd be better at it!"

He smiled up at her as she made her way up the ladder. He held it for added support as she neared the top. "Then you also should know how long ago it's been since the last time I had to tie one!" He watched as she moved over to one side making room for him. "There should be a wooden crate full of journals over on the left side. Do you see it?" He asked. When she nodded, he added. "If you could hand it down..." He stepped onto the ladder, taking the crate from her so she wouldn't have to maneuver the stairs with it. He stepped down and waited for her, pushing the ladder back into the ceiling once she was off. "Ry found a healthy release baking, I found mine in writing." He led her over to the sectional. "There isn't much left to know about me that isn't right here in this box. I don't expect you to read them all today or any other day really, but I thought I'd at least offer them."

Jos nodded quietly, her focus fully on the crate now. "I am interested in them... in you..." She leaned toward the box. "Is there any particular would you'd rather I start at?" She asked.

Arei shook his head. "Not really. It depends mostly on what you want to know. Whether there is any particular thing you are seeking or whether it's just an overall picture you're trying to create."

She lifted the one with the most warn cover. Her eyes met his before opening it. "Is this one ok?"

He nodded. "Start anywhere you'd like." He set back against the sofa as he watched her curious eyes traveled across the first several pages before finally coming to a stop about a quarter of the way through it.

"Wow, did you draw this?" She asked staring at a sketch of outstretched feathers.

He leaned closer to get a better look. "Um, huh." He leaned to the side, letting a wing extend. "It was one of my first. I used my own wing as a reference." He let the wing retract as he watched her features as she studied the image.

"It's amazing detail for a first attempt. How old were you." She asked still staring at it.

"Probably about your age now, give or take a century." He leaned over and searched through the pile of books before finally selecting one with a worn teal leather cover. "This one was always my favorite." He handed it to her.

Jos set the journal she'd been flipping through to the side, still open to the beautiful wings as she took the other. Her breath caught as she flipped it open to the first page. It was her own likeness. The page was tattered around the edges and had stains across it, the charcoal smudged in places from frequent traffic. He had drawn her in the exact outfit she'd been wearing the last day they'd seen each other all those years ago. Her gaze stared pensively down into her open hands where a heart rested, overfilling both small palms.

"You've held my heart in your hands from nearly the first time we met. Any question you may have about the authenticity of my feelings for you are there in that book... about how devastating our separation was for me... It's all there." He nodded toward the box. "I may not be great at expressing myself verbally, but I seem to have a knack for expressing them by pen. You'll even find letters written to you if you ever care to read them." He shrugged, "Though I have to admit, some would be a bit embarrassing for me to sit this close to you as you read them."

Her brows furrowed as she moved her gaze from his sketch to his gleaming eyes. "Why show them to me now?"

Arei studied her for several long minutes before finally answering, "Most of your memories have come back now. I want you to have the full picture... the full truth of the situation. I'll admit, I should have found a way sooner... but I believe if you read these, you'll understand why I held back and more importantly how much you mean to me... then and now."

Jos could feel tears begin to build in her eyes as she forced them away from the radiant hazel orbs burning into her very soul. She focused as best as she could on the book as she flipped through it finding page after page of sweet words and her own mirrored likeness. When her eyes had blurred past the point of seeing the pages any longer, she finally set the book on top of the other and flung herself at the statue of a man sitting beside her. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she buried her face against the bare skin of his neck and shoulder.

He slowly and gently wrapped his arms around her, stroking the length of her ponytail soothingly. "I'm sorry my cowardice caused us both so many years of undue suffering. I can't make of that lost time for either of us, but I can beg for it to be ended now. I can't rightfully ask you to be mine, but I can beg to be yours. No matter how the verdict goes at tomorrow's final hearing, let me stay by your side... let me be all the things you need, you deserve... and hopefully eventually grow to want."

Jos let out a muffled sob as she pushed away from his neck to look him in the eyes. "You are already what I want... I've just been too afraid of the pain that admittance would bring to myself and others around me... but I can't deny it any longer and I'm pretty sure you already realize as much... Arei... I think I'm still very much in love with you." She pressed her lips against his, the salty taste of her own tears merging with the sweet taste of his full lips.

Arei carefully pulled back meeting her gaze. "And I've waited a half a millennia to hear you say that." He slid his hand tenderly across the smooth skin of her neck, teasing the sensitive flesh at the base of her scalp with his index finger. "And to freely do this." He leaned forward as he applied gentle pressure to the back neck bringing the lips together again in a long kiss, deep kiss.