ForsakingEternity (2 page)

Fascinating.

Ren scrambled to remember what he was to do next. Ah, yes.
The other one had asked him a question.

“Do you work nearby, Adam?”

“Fairly. I’m a professor at the university. I’m farther away
than most of the lunch crowd but still close enough to walk. And you?”

“I do not work nearby.” That line of questioning used up his
conversational repertoire. Ren picked up his coffee mug and took a nervous sip.

The hot brew hit his mouth and Ren’s eyes watered. Merciful
Heavens, it was vile. The heat of it singed his mouth and the bitter taste made
him recoil. Even the packets of sugar he had used did nothing to improve the
flavor. His eyes watered and he forced himself to swallow. How could Maggie
drink this? From her blissful reaction to a simple cup of coffee, he’d expected
it to taste, well…good.

“What’s wrong? Too hot?”

Ren gasped and cleared his throat before speaking. “The
taste was not what I was expecting.”

“Are you one of the connoisseurs who likes their coffee to
be just so? I have to admit to being underwhelmed by all the special blends. To
me, coffee is just coffee.”

“No, it’s not that. I don’t believe I like coffee at all,
actually.” Could this trip have possibly been a bigger failure? No doubt he
looked like a fool.

“Ah, ordered the wrong thing then. What did you want? Hot
chocolate maybe?” He turned to flag down a waiter.

“Please, do not be concerned. I do not need anything.” He
reached across the table and placed his hand on Adam’s arm to stop him. His
fingers tingled where they touched the tweed of the jacket. The power flowing
through their bodies shifted, aligned once more. Never before, in all the eons
of his existence, had he ever experienced anything of the like.

Adam’s hand eased back down and he stared at Ren’s fingers
on his sleeve. His lips parted, his breath caught for one brief moment before
he drew a shuddering gasp.

Adam felt it, too.

The knowledge went to Ren’s head in a giddy rush. Flustered,
he pulled away. Clutching his coffee for dear life, he stared into the faint
wisp of steam escaping it and tried to make sense of what just happened.

Was this attraction? Something more? The beginnings of
…
what, exactly?

“Adam?” Another man stopped by the table, claiming the
human’s attention. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to go or we’ll be late.”

Adam checked his watch and grimaced. “Head back without me.
I’ll be right behind you.”

“He is a friend?” Ren asked as the man walked away.

“Tom is a longtime friend and colleague. And I’m afraid he’s
right. I have a lecture and need to get back to campus.”

Adam gave Ren a thoughtful look before standing. “Do you
have anywhere you need to be? If you have time I’d like it if you would walk to
my office with me.”

Ren examined the small brown bubbles floating in his coffee
cup, flustered. His face felt unaccountably hot and he didn’t know where to
look. “I am available and would like to accompany you.”

Ren braved a glance at Adam’s face and was struck by the
pleasure the human radiated. Had he done that, made Adam so incredibly happy
just by agreeing to walk with him? The other man’s happiness seemed to spark an
answering joy deep in Ren, a joy he hadn’t felt in seven thousand years.

He stood, leaving his coffee on the table, and shoved his
hands in the pockets of his jacket. Adam gestured in the general direction of
the campus and the two of them started down the sidewalk.

“You are an educator. Do you have many students?” he asked
Adam as they walked.

“Not really. The college is a small one, and ancient
language studies aren’t very popular. Students take my classes because they
need them, not because the subject interests them. I enjoy teaching, but
translation work is more interesting to me.”

“Translation?”

“We’re sometimes sent old texts. Oftentimes it’s something
that’s been translated before and we’ve been asked to confirm the interpretation.
Other times it’s a new find. We’ve had a few partial texts to handle and
identify but those usually go to larger universities.”

“That sounds like interesting work.”

“It is. What about you?”

“I am not from here.”

Adam chuckled, and the sound sparked a warm glow of what
might have been happiness in Ren.

“Yeah, I did notice that.”

Ren stopped, confused. “How did you know?”

“The vaguely European accent, formal speech patterns, some
of your word choices.” Adam smiled indulgently. “Your American accent is good
but not perfect.”

“I’ll have to work on that.”

“No. Don’t. I like it. Come on, we’re almost there.” They
began walking again, but this time there was a companionable silence, the
simple satisfaction of being close to each other. How odd to have such comfortable
familiarity when they’d only just met. He didn’t feel this at ease with beings
he’d known since before time.

They reached the college and Adam took him on a slow tour of
the grounds, pointing out various buildings and bits of architecture. At almost
two hundred years, the campus was old by American standards. Well-maintained
lawns were framed by cobbled walkways and neat shrubberies graced beds laid to
rest in anticipation of the coming winter. Trees, thick with the vibrant shades
of autumn, overlooked red brick buildings which displayed a level of
craftsmanship long dead.

They reached the language studies building and Adam led Ren
inside. Adam’s office held the same quaint charm and timeless appeal as the
grounds. Dark wood floors squeaked under their feet as they entered. Two large
windows dominated the wall opposite the door, stretching from knee-high to a
handsbreadth of the high ceiling. Wooden shelves, their stain nearly black with
age, lined the walls on either side of the room and matching wainscoting graced
the bare walls. The plaster was a plain white which gleamed in the midday light
streaming through the glass.

“Is it too bright for you? I can close the blinds if you’d
like.” Adam took a stack of books from a battered chair and set them on his
overfilled desk. He began shuffling papers, straightening the desk. “I like the
light so I keep the blinds up most of the time. Natural light is much better
for working, at least it is for me, but if you don’t like it…”

Adam stood still as a statue for a hesitant second. “I’m
rambling, aren’t I?”

“Perhaps a little.” Ren ducked his head and smiled.

“Please, make yourself comfortable. I don’t have much time,
unfortunately.”

Ren didn’t move. He couldn’t. His feet were firmly planted
on those aging boards, held captive by this man, this simple human. After an
eternity of living among wonders beyond this or any man’s comprehension, how
was it that Adam, in all his base humanity, could fascinate him so?

“I don’t really wish to sit.” He peeked up at Adam and his
gaze caught on the expression on the human’s face.

Adam slowly circled the desk once more until he stood close
in front of Ren, closer than socially acceptable, closer than comfortable.
Something deep in Ren’s chest responded. It pulled at him, tugged him toward
Adam until he swayed.

“Why did you come, Renatus?” The words were a whisper, their
speaker so close Ren could feel them ghosting over his own lips.

“I wanted to be with you, if only for a few more moments.”

Ren couldn’t say which one of them moved, or if maybe they
both had. He just knew that in the next moment his jacket brushed against the
tweed of Adam’s, the near-contact of their bodies so overwhelming that he could
feel every fiber as they caught and clung. Adam’s breath fell hot and fast against
his face. Ren’s lids grew heavy, his head tilted and he began to lean in.

A loud knock rattled the office door and they sprang apart.
Adam’s eyes held the heat of desire as he stared at Ren, his breath came in
shallow pants and Ren was surprised to realize his did as well.

“Professor Liebmann, you’re late for class. Is there a
problem?” The words were muffled by the door.

“I was just collecting my notes, Miss Sutherland.”

“Don’t keep the students waiting, professor.” The
secretary’s dull footsteps echoed as she returned to her desk. The room was
once more silent except for the pounding of Ren’s heart and their heavy
breathing.

“I’m sorry,” Adam finally said. “I shouldn’t have brought
you here. I knew we didn’t have any time but I wanted a little longer with you,
too. Can we meet again? Dinner maybe?”

Relief washed through Renatus and his spirit soared. “Dinner
sounds perfect.”

“Can you meet me back at the café tonight at about seven? I
know it’s short notice.”

“I can be there.”

“Great. That’s great.” Adam stood staring at him for a
moment, a strange smile on his face. Then he jerked into action, scrambling to
his desk and picking up a stack of papers. “I have to get to class. I’ll see
you tonight, right? You’ll be there?”

“Yes. I’ll be there.” If he was brave enough. But then, Ren
had been brave enough to make it this far, hadn’t he?

Adam smiled again and opened the door, holding it for Ren
then locking it behind them.

“Until this evening then.”Adam took a step away then
stopped.

Ren stared at Adam, unable to move. It was as if his feet
were mired in clay, fixing him to the spot. The two of them stayed just like
that, watching each other for a long moment. Did the human feel the same
reluctance as he at the thought of parting?

Somewhere an unknown person coughed. The sound echoed
through the hallway, breaking their mutual fixation. Adam raised his stack of
class notes, the movement half wave and half-reluctant shrug, then turned to
walk down the corridor to the classroom of students awaiting him.

Once alone, Ren removed himself with a thought, using his
power to transport himself to the campus commons in the flickering of an eye.
Once there he kept his power pulled tight around him, masking his presence and
keeping him hidden from the humans populating the grounds. Finding a quiet spot
under a vermilion maple, he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Attraction. Yes, he was very attracted to Adam. This was
different from what he’d felt before, different than the curiosity and
reluctant arousal that had set him on this path. No, this attraction was very
strong and not at all coerced.

But what did that mean for him, for his plan?

Nothing. It could mean nothing.

Adam was a human and he was an angel. The fact there was
powerful chemistry between them simply meant that his curiosity might be
satisfied. He’d scoured the known Law, and though there was no distinct
prohibition, it was clear that an angel was not to take a human to mate. This
experimentation of his was working on a loophole, something which made Ren, as
a Keeper of the Law, distinctly uncomfortable.

No, this time with Adam could mean nothing. When it was time
to go, he would leave and not look back, as he always had before.

Decision made, he left the campus. There were things he must
accomplish before he met Adam once more.

* * * * *

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Tom asked,
uncharacteristically solemn. Their footsteps echoed in the nearly empty halls,
the dull tromping sound magnified by the nearly empty silence. Most of the
students had left the building for the day, and those diligent enough for
evening courses were in class.

The two of them had been fast friends since the day Adam had
first come to the college. He’d been inexperienced, cornered into masking his
sexuality by a conservative faculty who did not approve of homosexuals in the
classroom. As a man who had just learned to accept himself with pride, it had
been a terrible blow to Adam’s self-confidence.

As the only other out-of-the-closet gay man on staff, Tom
had been quick to befriend Adam and help him negotiate the tricky politics of
campus hierarchy and policy. There was no one he trusted more than Tom, and yet
he found himself reluctant to talk about Ren with his friend.

“Talk about what?” Adam shoved his hands in his pockets and
fiddled with his keys. Staring straight ahead as they walked, he pretended not
to know what Tom was talking about. Not that he’d have much luck with that.
Damned thing about best friends. They tended to know you too well.

“I thought you’d sworn off unknowns after Darius.”

“That was a long time ago, Tom. I’ve moved on.” Adam pushed
the door open and headed for the parking lot, anxious to get home. Anxious to
get to Renatus.

“Five years. It was bad enough for you to completely change
your dating habits. You’ve barely dated since him.”

“I didn’t meet anyone interesting,” Adam lied. He’d avoided
interesting. That was what attracted him to Darius, a man who’d promised him
forever, complete with kids and a white-picket fence. What he’d gotten was a
two-year relationship with an emotionally abusive cheater.

Adam could live without interesting.

At least that’s what he thought until he’d seen Renatus.

“Stop jingling your keys and talk to me. What the hell are
you thinking?”

“He’s not Darius.” Just thinking about his ex had Adam’s
stomach tightening into knots. Nothing like that would happen again. Ren wasn’t
forever. Ren was safe.

“That’s it?” Tom wrapped his fingers around Adam’s elbow and
pulled him to a stop. “Five years of watching you shy away from anything
resembling a relationship. You are so cut off that the sweet young things
coming through your classes don’t even bother flirting anymore. When cute boys
don’t flirt with their professors, there is something wrong, Adam. Now you meet
this guy and it’s all just peachy, just like that?”

“I don’t know.” Adam took a breath and started walking
again, fast this time, forcing Tom to keep up. “I don’t know what to say.
There’s something about him, something worth exploring.”