The angel glanced at his erection and gave it a brief squeeze before offering Gabriel a small smile that somehow made him even more handsome. “No. This was for you.”
Gabriel bit his lip, considering this act of kindness. “Can I have one more request? I need a nap. Will you lie down with me?”
Abaddon’s gaze swayed toward the bright, colorful light coming in through the window, but as Gabriel started to fear that his own hallucination might reject him, the angel peeled back the blanket and rolled in alongside Gabriel.
“Even if you’re not really here, I loved every second of your presence. Maybe I’ll skip my pills more often.” Gabriel smiled and fell into Abaddon’s embrace, sliding his leg between the angel’s to be that bit closer.
Abaddon inhaled sharply when Gabriel’s thigh rubbed against his stiff cock, but instead of attempting to get more touch, he kissed the top of Gabriel’s head and huffed.
“I am entirely real.”
Gabriel couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, but he still pushed his face against the crook of Abaddon’s neck. He needed to remember this smell before it disappeared.
Because Abaddon wasn’t real. No man would be this selfless when it came to their dick.
4
GABRIEL
As expected, the sinfully handsome man was gone from Gabriel’s bed when he woke up, and all he had for company was a pillow wet from his hair. He didn’t remember opening the window, but he must have done that to let in fresh air. The weather has changed, and now gray clouds were dense in the sky. How long had he been asleep?
He yawned, groggily looking around his room until a rapid knocking made it clear he hadn’t woken up on his own.
“Gabriel, are you in there?” Father John raised his voice, sending him tumbling out of bed in an effort to free himself of the tangled covers.
“Y-yes! Just a second!”
He grabbed a damp towel off the floor and wrapped it around his hips before nudging the door open.
“I’m so sorry, I think I overslept,” he blurted out the moment Father John’s stern gaze landed on him from behind a large nose that always reminded Gabriel of a parrot beak.
The director of the orphanage was a middle-aged man of plain features. No taller than Gabriel himself, he had gray hair that had recently started to recede, pale skin, and eyes so watery they made him appear older than he was. The bruise on the cheekbone wasn’t helping him either, but Gabriel knew better than to ask about it. Father John was up or sleeping at odd hours, and Gabriel had even overheard the orphan caregivers talking about his odd behavior on some nights. Whatever medical issues he had, discussing them would be detrimental to anyone. Still, the priest’s presence was imposing when he spoke.
“That is unacceptable. The children count on you for their food. Have you forgotten how it felt to be one of them?” Father John asked, clasping his hands behind his back so tightly his chest pushed forward in the cassock.
A wave of guilt crashed into Gabriel through the slit between the door and its frame. The kids might get no dessert today just because he’d been busy… doing what? Showering, masturbating, and going back to sleep? While he remembered the morning in vivid detail, from the smell of blood and urine in the kitchen, to the illicit acts with an angel in the shower, none of those had really taken place, and his neglectful behavior had been caused by pure laziness.
“I know, I’m so sorry. Did Mr. Watson make something or should I go deal with it now? There’s still time until lunch.”
Father John’s lips became pale. “Robin picked up the slack for both of you.”
Gabriel stalled, and the contents of his stomach were overtaken by a sudden ice age. “So… Mr. Watson didn’t come into work?”
Father John sucked in air and held it in for the longest moment before hissing out, “Has he said something about wanting a vacation, or having to visit someone?”
Cold shivers crawled up Gabriel’s naked back. What if something had happened this morning? “Not that I can recall, Father.”
Father John voiced something that sounded like a curse and rubbed the white stubble on his chin. “He’s not in and isn’t picking up either of his phones. I might need to send someone to town to check on him.”
“Might be a good idea.” Gabriel drifted off when Father John’s gaze suggested what he thought of Gabriel’s opinions.
“Didn’t you have a doctor’s appointment right about now?”
“Y-yes! Right. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
His breath stopped when Father John’s surprisingly strong hand pushed through the narrow space in the doorway and tightened on his shoulder. Gabriel glanced at the dark crescents under the priest’s nails, hiding his urge to flinch.
“You know that your progress is monitored. If you want to ever start an independent life, you need to prove to us you can be counted on and won’t have any more episodes. It is crucial that you never miss a visit.”