Bad Blessed Boys Read online

  “What time is it?” Lux said. “What are all you guys doing up so early?”

  “It’s six-thirty,” Lucas said. “And we’re up early because we have a lot of work to do.”

  Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Lux walked into the kitchen, grabbed a fanciful coffee mug with a golden angel on one side, and poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “Tough night?” Asher said coming up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

  Taking a big sip of coffee, Lux nodded. “It took over an hour before I could fall asleep. Then after about fifteen minutes, I was wide awake again.”

  Sully walked in just as Asher let go of Lux’s waist to pour himself a cup of coffee. “Hey, beautiful.” He squeezed between Lux and Asher, poured more coffee into his mug, planted a sweet kiss on Lux’s temple and left.

  After Sully left, Asher took Lux by the hand. “I guess it was pretty hard hearing everything Ida had to say.”

  Lux shrugged. “Yeah.” She looked into Asher’s eyes. “You know, I think a part of me has always known. Like, I knew I was different from my parents. Then when we found John in Italy.” She took a sip of coffee then stared blindly into her mug. “I knew. I suspected. I assumed… something. But, I guess to actually hear it, to have it confirmed from the woman who gave birth to me. It’s weird.”

  “I’ll say,” Asher said. “But that explains all the amazing abilities you have, doesn’t it?”

  “You guys want to join us?” Lucas said as he filled up on coffee, too.

  “What’s up?” Lux said.

  “Planning our next move.”

  Lux nodded and she and Asher followed Lucas into the living room. With a clipboard in hand, Ida sat in the middle of the large sofa.

  “Sleep well, dear?” Ida said.

  “Not really,” Lux said, immediately regretting the sour tone of her voice. She sat on the end of the sofa beside Sully.

  Ida smiled, nonetheless. “We have a lot of work to do. First, we’ll need a primary headquarters, a place where we can all meet, discuss what has been done and what needs to be done. We’ll also need a secondary headquarter. This will be where all slayers will go for information, direction and training if needed.”

  “You can use my house,” Brax offered.

  “Good,” Ida said. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “You can have my house as well,” Moore said. “It’s not very far from here.”

  “Thank you,” Ida said. “I’m sure that will be very helpful. With Dr. Kingsley’s portals in San Francisco, having access to homes in the area is important.”

  “Especially if it was the portal you claim Obsidian came through,” Sully said.

  “What do you need?” Brax said. “Where do we begin?”

  “We’ll need office supplies,” Ida said. “I want to keep track of everyone, and I want to have easy communication between us all. I want to have a map indicating all the portals in the area. It needs to be a very detailed map.”

  “Topographical?” Sully said.

  “That would be helpful,” Ida said. “Especially if there are any portals that are outside the city limits. But I also want city maps; streets, avenues, and even important city buildings.”

  “What about my house?” Moore said. “What do we do there?”

  “How many rooms do you have?” Ida said.

  “Bedrooms?”

  Ida nodded.

  Moore gazed up at the ceiling as his lips moved, silently counting. “Twelve,” he said. “No, fourteen.”

  “How many bunkbeds do you think would fit in those rooms?”

  “Oh,” Moore said. “These are some pretty large rooms. The smaller ones would easily fit two sets of bunkbeds, but the larger ones could fit eight, maybe even ten sets of bunkbeds.”

  “Great. What about other rooms that can be transformed into bunkers?”

  “Sure. There are probably a half dozen rooms that could be transformed, each fitting another eight to ten bunks.”

  “Perfect.” Ida smiled. “And I assume you have a kitchen large enough to accommodate a team of cooks who’ll feed all these slayers.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Moore said with pride. “And I can have the formal ballroom transformed into a huge mess tent.”

  “Another thing to consider is weapons,” Ida said. “Many slayers have their own preferences and they carry their own swords, etcetera. But I want an arsenal of additional weapons ready for the less experienced slayers. Also, I want a wide variety of weapons. Not all slayers are comfortable with swords.”

  “I know all of you probably have cell phones, smart phones, mobile phones and the like. But I want a landline.”

  Moore and Brax looked at her, then at each other.

  “A landline?” Moore said. He chuckled and scratched his head. “I’ll look into that.”

  “Me, too,” Brax said with a smile.

  Ida stood. “Let’s get to work.”

  While everyone went on with fixing their breakfasts and getting ready for the day, Lux went up to Brax.

  “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?” she said.

  “I’d love to.” He followed her out into the garden. “What’s up?”

  “It’s been so long,” Lux said, suddenly feeling shy and unsure. “And it feels as if it’s been longer.”

  Brax nodded.

  “It feels so strange seeing you, being with you. The last time I saw that face,” she said, pointing to him, “it wasn’t really you.”

  Nodding again, Brax took her by the hand. “Yeah. Asher told me about the imposters.”

  She snorted. “Did he also tell you that I was almost taken in by them?”

  “I’ve heard that they can be very convincing.”

  “They sure can. But I want you to know, I did try to get to you. A couple of times at least, but I couldn’t find you. There were so many demons who imitated you, trying to fool me. I didn’t want you to think I’d given up on you.”

  “No, I never thought that, Lux,” Brax said.

  They strolled through the garden in silence for a while. Lux felt the tension grow between her shoulder blades. Her palms grew sweaty and she felt the heat of a blush reach her cheeks.

  “You’ve been through so much yourself,” Lux said. “You seem… different.”

  “I guess you can say that the past months brought an edge to me. I’m more determined than ever.”

  Her hand brushed against his, and she longed to reach for it and hold on tight. When he didn’t take advantage of the situation and take a hold of hers, she stopped walking and turned to face him.

  “Brax,” she blurted out.

  “Yes?”

  “Brax… do you…? Are you…? I mean, after all this time… do you…?”

  He took both her hands in his and kissed each one. Smiling, he looked lovingly into her eyes. “Yes.”

  Lux looked up into his beautiful clear eyes, so warm, she wanted to lose herself forever in them. She hadn’t really realized just how much she’d missed him; just how much she’d feared for him.

  “Yes, what?” she said.

  “I still love you,” he said softly. “More than ever.”

  Smiling, she reached up to hug him, kissing his cheek and raking her fingers through his hair. “I love you, too,” she whispered hoarsely. “Oh, Brax. I’ve thought of you every day. I was so scared.”

  She pulled back to look at him. “And now, being back here, in your house. There are so many memories here; all those times we spent together.”

  Brax chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Why is it that it all feels like ages ago? Those nights tutoring. I was so lost. I was losing it…and so desperate. Thank God for you or I would have lost my sanity, too. I still remembered the day I saw you at St. James Academy. I lost my heart to you then.”

  “What we now call Shadowlight Academy,” Lux added. Looking at him, she thought of those nights, those days. She thought of how he became her lover and how she longed for him, long
ed to get closer.

  Until he began to change.

  And then, everything changed.

  “I love you,” Brax said. “You are the most pure-hearted person I know. You are a loving human being, and I think that anyone who comes around you can sense it. You care more for others than you do for yourself.”

  Lux blushed.

  “And I don’t just mean how you are with me, with us… all the guys, or with your family. I mean how you are with mankind in general. How you care.”

  “Brax, I’m only human. Of course, I care.”

  “No,” he insisted. “It’s more than that. I know what you did at the Kingsley portal. You could have just walked away. You could have saved yourself and left us there. But you didn’t. You willingly sacrificed yourself to save us, Lux. I can tell you now; not many people would do that.”

  “I only did what I thought was right.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Hell, you even put yourself in danger in order to save the students of Shadowlight Academy. You probably saved a lot of kids that you don’t even know.”

  Blushing, she looked down at the ground.

  “I also know of all the attempts you made to get me and Moore out of there. It takes quite a bit of dedication to go to hell to save a friend. It takes a lot of conviction to risk being overtaken.”

  “You’re more than just a friend, Brax.”

  He smiled and squeezed her hands. “And, just for the record; Romeo was right.”

  She cocked her head curiously to the side. “About what?”

  “You weren’t ready to come find us. He was right to force you to wait.”

  “I’m glad I have you back,” she whispered hoarsely, her emotions threatening to take over. “I’m just glad that it’s all over with and you’re back.”

  As she leaned up to kiss him, he released her hands and grasps her shoulders, holding her steady… almost holding her back.

  Confused, Lux felt her heart race. Did he no longer want her?

  But the answer came quickly. After another warm kiss on his lips, Brax relaxed and let go all the tension that had been building up. He kissed her, hard and passionately, his lips pressing into hers, devouring her.

  “Come on,” he said when he back away. “It’s getting chilly out here.”

  Though she felt the intense heat of emotions taking over her, she followed Brax inside and up the stairs. He led her to his bedroom suite.

  Why do I suddenly feel like a teen virgin? Lux wondered. There was something so thrilling and exciting about being alone with him. Maybe it was the time spent apart that made her want him so bad. Maybe it was the time spent in hell.

  She didn’t know. All she knew was that she wanted him like she had never wanted anyone before.

  Brax kissed her as he slowly undressed her, taking his time with every article of clothing. When he opened her shirt and peeled it back off her shoulders, his gaze fell to her breasts, the two swells of feminine flesh framed in delicate black lace.

  “I’d almost forgotten just how beautiful you are, Lux,” he said. He licked his lips and his eyes took on a look of hunger that almost had her climaxing right there. “All those days and nights, thinking of you, yet being surrounded by such ugliness.”

  He unfastened her jeans and pulled them down. “Such beauty,” he said as he looked at the sexy lace of her French cut panties. He gazed up into her eyes. “There were women down there that could make a man forget what a real woman was like. Women with teeth of coal, skin like bark and eyes like death.”

  He stood and caressed her cheeks with soft, warm fingertips. “And now, look at you. All the beauty in the world all right here at my fingertips. I still can’t believe you’re here with me. I’m still in awe of your beauty, Lux. Now just a beauty that is seen, but one that emanates from within.”

  “You make me feel beautiful,” Lux said, her heart warmed by his loving words.

  Brax took a step back and removed his clothing while Lux watched with keen interest. He’d lost a bit of weight since she’d last seen him, but he was still in great shape; still so muscular and strong.

  Nude and glorious like a Greek statue with his hard-on pointed straight at her, he came to her. With gentle, patient motions, he ran his fingers over the swell of her breasts, then pushed his fingers under the black lace to find her nipples.

  She gasped, surprised by the intensity of sensation his fingers brought. Wanting more, she pulled down the delicate lace, exposing her nipples. She arched her back, offering her breasts to him. Her nipples, now perked and erect, sought his lips and his tongue.

  Growling like an animal that hasn’t eaten for days, Brax lowered his head and latched onto one nipple, bringing it exquisite pleasure. Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, he switched over to the other nipple.

  “Make love to me, Brax,” Lux said. “Make love to me now.”

  He reached around to unclasp her bra, then pulled her French panties down. Skin to skin, their bodies as one, they fell to the bed and he made tender love to her.

  Taking his time, he made Lux feel like nothing else in the world mattered. She was all, his everything. And when they finally climaxed, a sweet, all-consuming orgasm that simultaneously swept over both of them, there was something explosive and empowering.

  “Did you feel that?” Lux said.

  “Hmmm,” he said deliciously as he kissed his way up her neck, over her cheek and to her temple. “I sure did.”

  Lux chuckled softly. “I mean, beside the mind-blowing sex.”

  Hoisting himself up on his elbows, he looked down at her. “The energy?”

  She nodded. “The incredible energy.”

  “Yeah,” he said solemnly. “It’s to be expected.” He cocked his brow. “All that angel blood. It’s sure to have a positive effect on both of us.”

  Her eyes wide open, she looked around, amazed at the change she already felt. She was invigorated and ready to take on the world, but there was more than that.

  Just looking around Brax’s bedroom; colors suddenly seemed more vibrant and alive. She could see the details in the intricate wallpaper, detect minor designs that should have been impossible to see from a distance.

  And yet she saw it all.

  But most of all, as she brought her gaze back to Brax, she could now see his inner light like never before.

  “Brax,” she whispered in awe of what she saw. “You’re…”

  He smiled. “By the look in your eyes, I’m guessing that you can now see the light.”

  She nodded, gaping at him.

  “It can be a surprising and off putting power at times. Just when you least expect it, you can be looking at someone, you see a human, then… wham… you see that they are really a demon. It does take a bit of getting used to.”

  “So, I can now see whether someone is an angel or a demon.”

  Brax nodded. “And you can confirm that someone is a human or a hybrid.”

  Chapter 4

  Moore’s house, as large as it was, was overtaken with dozens and dozens of slayers who flew in or drove in as the call for slayers went out. Student and staff slayers from Shadowlight Hunters Academy drove in, as did slayers from abroad and international headquarters. Moore’s mansion soon became a bustling hub of energy and activity.

  The huge kitchen had been stripped of anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary and was filled with four commercial size refrigerators, one huge, walk-in freezer and three additional gas stoves.

  Three cooks plus four assistants worked around the clock to keep everyone fed and happy.

  “Sure smells good,” Lux said as she snuck a peek.

  “Spaghetti with spicy meatballs,” Moore said. “They’re also having a salad, garlic bread and carrot cake for dessert.”

  “Lucky bunch of slayers,” Lux said with a grin.

  “I once heard that there are two important things to remember when it comes to treating your army right. Make sure they have dry, warm footwear, and
make sure they are well fed. A soldier, a warrior, a slayer who goes out to battle in damp boot and soggy socks, isn’t going to go far. And on an empty stomach? He won’t go anywhere at all,” Moore said.

  Lux looked at the row of commercial style blenders. “Looks like you have a few fans of smoothies as well.”

  “Yeah,” Moore admitted. “Some of them like to drink their food instead of eating it. Go figure.”

  Lux laughed. “Hey, don’t know it til you’ve tried it. When made right, those things are great, especially on the go.”

  “Funny,” Moore said. “That’s exactly what one of the young slayers said as he ran off with his container of chewed up food.”

  Lux reached for an apple from a huge fruit basket in the middle of the large island.

  “That’s for those who actually like to chew on their food,” Moore commented.

  Looking up at him, Lux took a big bite of the crispy sweet apple.

  “How do you like living in all this?”

  “It’s certainly a change of pace,” Moore said. “After spending too much time in hell with the worst of the worst, it’s nice to be so well surrounded.”

  “You must feel pretty safe,” Lux said with a smile.

  “Safe, and never lonely.”

  “Excuse me, sir,” a young slayer said as he reluctantly came up to them. “There is a huge shipment of ice cream coming in. The truck needs more space to back up to the garage door.”

  “Ice cream?” Lux said.

  “Hey,” Moore said. “It gets hot out there. Slayers like to cool down.” He turned to the young slayer. “I’ll go move my car.”

  “Thank you, sir.” The young slayer walked away.

  “Sir?” Lux said. “Looks like you’re a big man around here.”

  “All a matter of respect,” he said with a silly grin. He put his hand to her shoulder. “I’ll go take care of that ice cream.”

  “And I’ll keep looking around.”

  Following the sound of dozens of voices, Lux headed down the long and wide corridor. She noticed that all the pretty paintings that had once adorned the walls had been taken down. In their place were maps of various regions, and on one particular section of the wall was a list of all the slayers staying at Moore’s house.