I looked at Auric and I knew how his story in paradise ended. “They found you guilty,” I stated.
“Unanimously so. They took my wings and almost all my powers and cast me down to earth.
However, they did decide that as I hadn"t yet treaded the path of evil, I should be given a chance to redeem myself. If I performed an act of great good, rid the world of a huge evil, I"d be welcomed back into Heaven.”
“So you came up with the plan to kill the Devil"s daughter.”
“Not at first. At first, I was pissed and relieved. I now had the freedom to help whomever I wanted, and I did. But again, no matter how much I tried, people still chose the easier path.”
“Maybe because Heaven"s path is too complicated,” I said out loud. Oops. I wanted to slap my hand over my mouth, but Auric smiled ruefully.
“You"re right. It is too complicated.”
“Why did you want to go back?”
“I didn"t, really. It just occurred to me that maybe if I did rid the world of an evil figure, perhaps the world would be a little better.”
“Oh, and I am so evil,” I said rolling my eyes.
Auric"s arms wrapped around me tightly and he laughed. “Then I met you, Satana, princess of Hell, and suddenly the perceptions I"d been taught in Heaven didn"t hold true, and I found myself guilty of the same prejudices I had fought against. I judged you without proof. As soon as I met you and talked to you, I realized you were no more evil than I was. You"re just a regular person, trying to live life to the best of her abilities.”
I took offense at regular–I thought I was pretty super myself. “I am not ordinary!” I stated.
“No, you"re not; I think you"re pretty extraordinary myself, but the point I was making was that you weren"t some evil, cackling hag spreading evil through the world. And on that same note, your father isn"t as evil as I took him to be.”
“Oh, my dad is plenty evil,” I corrected.
“But he cares,” said Auric. “It never occurred to me the Devil could love, and yet he loves you, his daughter.”
“Don"t let my dad hear you say that; he doesn"t like to admit to those kinds of things.”
Auric laughed. “I"ll bet he doesn"t. It would ruin his reputation, and make more of us question Heaven"s true purpose and doctrine.”
“Does anyone ever make it to Heaven?” From what he"d told me, it seemed almost impossible.
“Some do, but the numbers are small, which is why I never understood the standoff approach.”
“Let me ask you one last question,” I said, this frank discussion having opened my eyes wider than I thought possible. “Do you still want to go back to Heaven?”
“Honestly?” he said, squeezing me tight while my heart paused its beating to hear his answer.
“No. I"m not saying I want to walk a path of evil and join your father"s hordes, but neither do I want to return to Heaven and the boredom of my life there. If I could be anywhere, I would stay on this earth with you by my side, trying to make a difference when I can.”
“Are you sure, Auric? We"ve only spent one night together. There might still be a chance for you to walk away and go back. If you stay with me, you will lose that chance forever.”
“I"ve found a Heaven I love more, here with you,” he whispered, then turned my face to kiss me.
I kissed him back. He"d assuaged my guilt about loving him, and I forgot about my plan to push him away. Hurting him would be wrong. He"d been betrayed enough and with my love, I wanted to right those wrongs. Perhaps together we could make a difference.
I lost my train of thought as his lips parted mine, and his tongue delved into the recesses of my mouth. Energized by our talk, I kissed him back fiercely. I"d given myself to him before, but to me it"d had a bittersweet edge as I"d expected to have to push him away. Now that I knew he was here to stay, that he would be mine forever, I gave it my all. I opened my heart and let him fully in.
We wrestled for dominance on the bed. I tried to push him on his back to explore him again.
“My turn this time,” he said, with promise; and using his superior male strength–which I loved–
he held my hands above my head, making my breasts stick out proudly, the nipples already pointy nubs waiting for his mouth. Auric liked to tease, I"d noticed, and he did so again, hovering his mouth over my breast, blowing warmly on it, then grazing his rough stubble on the soft skin. My breathing sped up and I twisted in his grip, arching my back, thrusting myself at him. He just chuckled and continued to feather my skin until my whole body, just like a live wire, thrummed with passion and energy.