(Some light explicit sexual content)

Chapter Three

Be My Armor?

When Charlie woke the next morning, it took her a few seconds to remember why she was naked rather than in her pajamas, but once the visuals of making love with Vaggie flooded back from a few hours ago, Charlie grinned.

In the normal dynamic of their relationship, Charlie had taken on the dominant role early on, due to Vaggie's insistence. She had boldly teased Charlie: "You don't often exert your power in Hell, which I love about you, but I don't want you getting lazy, my princess."

The tease had worked, and Charlie made Vaggie pay for her prodding in so many pleasurable and pleasurably painful ways over the course of their relationship. The dynamic between them worked so well, but last night, after some initial kissing, Vaggie fell back on the pillows, spread her legs, and told Charlie to get to work.

The tone and command had ignited Charlie's demon blood, causing her features to morph and her tongue to slither forth, longer and slimmer than usual, as she obeyed the command with voracious desire. Charlie's eagerness and endurance enabled her to coax four powerful orgasms from Vaggie without coming up for air—much.

After the fourth one, which was much less intense and accompanied by a barely audible moan from the torture of Charlie's ministrations, Vaggie felt her girlfriend slip from between her legs and stand over her. Vaggie looked up and hungrily licked her lips as Charlie dropped with her knees on both sides of Vaggie's head and reigned control back in.

Gripping Vaggie by the hair, Charlie reminded her who was master of the bed and face fucked her until Vaggie's talented tongue finished her off. It only took the one, though, before exhaustion came back with a vengeance of it's own, and Charlie fell off and slid into Vaggie's arms. They shared sticky kisses and a few words of affirmation of their love before they'd fallen asleep.

With the images of last night dancing in her head, Charlie flushed with a fresh stirring of desire and looked over at Vaggie, thinking of waking her up so they'd have time for a morning tryst before having to rise for the day. However, Vaggie wasn't there. She then remembered Vaggie telling her she'd be going to talk to Kevin in the morning, so she must have risen early. Instead of feeling disappointed about missing out on a morning orgasm, Charlie decided to dedicate some time to properly clean up, primp, and then head down for some much-needed breakfast. After all, she was going to need all the energy she could get for the night ahead.

With a giggle, Charlie slipped out of the bed and literally skipped to the bathroom.

An hour before Charlie woke up, down one floor from the master suite, Kevin was roused from a deep sleep by a soft knock at his door. Despite his military training, Kevin, like many others, disliked the mornings. Since there was no sense of danger, which always had him alert in seconds, sleep fog teased the edge of his senses as he lifted his head off the surprising soft pillow and blinked. Quickly, his eyes focused on the alarm clock on the stand beside the bed: 10 p.m.

10 in the morning, Hell time. I'm going to have to ask about the significance of the switch of a.m. and p.m down here. Shaking his head of the thought, he called out, "Yes? Who is it?"

"It's Vaggie." The gruff voice of the fallen angel floated—muffled—through the door.

Considering he'd slept in his military uniform and had no other clothes in Hell to change into, he was about as decent as he could be in the wrinkled outfit. Shifting to sit on the side of the bed, he called out, "The door's unlocked."

The large wooden door swung inward with a click, and Vaggie stepped through. Kevin blinked rapidly; He had not expected for her to still be in her nightgown. He saw a sheer silky white piece that hugged her breasts and draped down to below her hip lines but above her knees. It hadn't taken him more than a second for that image to burn itself into his brain before he averted his eyes out of respect.

Kevin dragged his eyes around the outskirts of the room to avoid looking directly at Vaggie and asked tentatively, "Uh, is everything okay?"

"I was right." Vaggie's voice was soft with humor: "You really are a gentleman."

Kevin sat still in the bed, eyes still gazing everywhere but Vaggie, and he shrugged, speaking lightly as if this were any normal occurrence. "Well, I didn't expect that for our first talk alone, you were going to walk boldly into my bedroom dressed so—"

He then turned, focused his full gaze on Vaggie's face, and lowered his voice, finishing with, "Sexy."

Vaggie stopped in her tracks, and she raised her eyebrows as her purple cheeks flushed lightly. "A gentleman, but you won't shy away from calling me out, huh?"

"No." Kevin smiled softly, "But you're not here to test me, either."

Vaggie stepped forward and sat next to Kevin, lifting her legs so her knees were on the bed, touching his thigh. "Never. I didn't come here dressed like this to tease you, I promise. Mostly it's to show you that I'm comfortable with you and that I wanted to tell you what Charlie and I talked about last night."

"You decided on how you want this to work?"

"Yes." Vaggie nodded. "First. I need to be honest. I heard everything you told Charlie last night. I wasn't asleep. I just didn't want to interfere."

"You were awake when I set you into bed?" Kevin gave her a look.

"Oh, most definitely." Vaggie grinned lightly. "I already told Charlie not to worry. I thought it was very sweet."

Silence was the strategic choice, and Kevin took it.

Vaggie shook her head softly, the smile still drawn on her lips. "I told Charlie, and I'm telling you now, you should have taken her to this bed, Kevin. You two had waited an eternity."

"Even so." Shrugging his shoulders, Kevin ran his finger along the bed sheet, "It wasn't appropriate."

"Even so." Vaggie parroted, "I wouldn't have been upset about it."

Kevin took a moment to look at Vaggie, who was looking at him squarely, and he saw nothing in her eye, her features, that said anything other than she meant every word she said. He didn't know her thoughts, but he trusted her words, and he chose to take her at face value.

Nodding, Kevin sighed again, but this time he smiled, "I believe you, and I'm guessing Charlie asked all the questions? Why did you offer this hinge relationship? How do you really feel about it? What are the sleeping arrangements going to be like? Opposite nights, I'm guessing? And since you're here, sitting next to me in almost nothing, that I'm not allowed to be shy about my own feelings in all of this? That I should not hesitate or question that I can be close to Charlie or you—in a less sexual nature—at any time we're together." He paused, observing her reaction, and added with a smirk. "Am I close?"

Vaggie stared at Kevin, her lower jaw slightly agape, and then it hit her. "This is your 4-D chess thinking, isn't it?"

"Vaggie." Instead of answering the obvious, Kevin took her hands in his and gazed into her eye. "When you first asked me to stay, my initial thought was 'no'. I had kissed Charlie without even considering anything or anyone else. When I saw the look on your face and realized you were with Charlie, I was deeply mortified. I knew I had to explain myself; maybe get the chance to say goodbye to Charlie in a proper way, but I had intended from that moment to leave once we'd shared our story with you." He pulled her right hand up and kissed the knuckles. "And I am so very sorry that I had hurt you."

"I know." Vaggie whispered, her body shivering slightly from the sensation, and that earlier thought—I don't think—revisited her mind. She mentally shook her head and nodded for him to continue.

He gently let go of both her hands, and she absentmindedly rubbed the spot of the kiss as he continued, "When you proposed this, I was torn. I was dead set on leaving; it had been permeating my thoughts for a month, but then you threw me—and Charlie—for a loop. But I took to heart everything you said and offered. When Charlie and I were in the elevator, we stole a moment—a reminder of our last night on Earth—and I freely admit it took a lot to control ourselves. But we both knew the right thing to do was to wait. Even if you say you'd have been okay with us going to bed together last night, we wouldn't have been. We'd have felt guilty."

"I told Charlie I'd have been fine if she stayed in your bed last night." Vaggie's strong voice quavered, "But she came back to me first, and it only reaffirmed to me how much she loves me." Vaggie let out a little sob. "And I needed to know that."

"Then we were right. You aren't ready for this."

"I'm sorry. I didn't lie, but…" She looked up at Kevin, her lips trembling. "I couldn't tell her, Kevin, that this decision scares me so much. I did this for her—for you, but I don't know if I'm doing this for me."

"You can still end this."

Kevin's voice caught on to 'this' and Vaggie heard it clearly: "I know." Suddenly, Vaggie jumped to her feet, took three steps, and turned around with a look of surprise and frustration. "How is it that I can be so open with you, and I couldn't even tell Charlie?"

"You're her armor."

Kevin's words hit Vaggie in the heart, and she put a hand on her chest. "How did you—?"

"Because, as you know from what we shared last night, Charlie promised to be mine. You're trying so hard to be strong for her, that you're forgetting to take care of yourself, too."

"I never had a chance to. I had to protect her and make her happy. She saved my life, Kevin, so I can't do any less than everything to see her dreams come true, all of them…" She gave Kevin a pointed look, then sniffed out a small sob, "but it's so exhausting."

"Do you want to end this?" Kevin asked again, more boldly.

Vaggie lowered her head and took a deep breath. When she looked up, her eye was wet with fresh tears. "No. If anything, I want it more, now. I told Charlie I grew fond of you listening to the tale you two shared, and I really could use my own armor, and whom better than to ask my girlfriend's boyfriend?" She gazed her eye at him, letting herself be vulnerable and whispered, "Please?"

"Then that's what I'll be." Kevin stood up and approached her, putting his hand on her warm, bare shoulder. "In whatever way you ask, whatever way you need, I will be here for you."

Vaggie nodded, leaning her cheek on his hand. "You already make me feel safe in a way no one but Charlie ever has. I want this to work, Kevin; It's just fucking scary."

"I don't have all the answers or even know the plot of our future, Vaggie, and no amount of strategy can prepare us for what's ahead." Kevin traced his fingers through her hair, brushing it aside. "But I swear to protect both of you were every fiber of my being, and if you truly allow it, I will love Charlie with all that I am, but this will only work if you're truly okay with the three of us in this relationship. Otherwise, I'll leave."

Vaggie turned her head away, and even though she had only one eye, it crinkled in thought. "I told Charlie that I had opened the door and that I would be a bitch to close it now. She's whole, and it fills my heart with joy. More joy than I've felt in a long, long time."

She paused, and a smile crossed her lips. Turning to face Kevin, she lifted her arm and rested her hand on his shoulder, mirroring his on hers. "And for this to really work, I will need you as my armor, to protect me from myself while I find my place in this new relationship. Let me stumble a bit, please? But don't hesitate, shy away, or second-guess your rights with Charlie. If you do, I will, too, and I don't want that."

Drawing in a breath, Kevin slightly nodded. "We're all going to stumble, Vaggie. As long as we're honest and blunt about how we feel at any moment, if something seems off or one feels left out, we discuss it, and I think we'll each find our place."

"This would be so much easier if I wasn't a lesbian." Vaggie chuckled as she moved her hand off Kevin's, and he shifted his arm to his side.

"I'm flattered," Kevin mused. "I don't know if it would make things easier, but it would make it much more exhausting for me."

Vaggie grinned and playfully poked his chest. "Then count yourself lucky, mister. Charlie and I are both insatiable when we have the time."

"I had a taste of that once." Kevin chuckled, "Only this time, as an angel, I have a bit more power to handle her appetite."

"As a fellow angel." Vaggie let out a soft laugh. "I can honestly say, you're going to need every bit of it."

Kevin shook his head with a smile and saw that Vaggie's body had shifted and appeared more at ease. "Feel better?"

Without hesitation, Vaggie answered with a warm tone, "I do, thank you." Her smile faded a bit. "I didn't realize I was not as sure about this as I'd promised Charlie, and I am usually so sure of myself about all my choices. But now I feel so much better and much more sure of what I want. But, while I do appreciate your honesty and loyalty, will you keep this a secret from Charlie? It took everything I had to convince her that I was okay with this, but I forgot to convince myself until now. I don't want her to think I'm changing my mind when I'm not."

"Unless she asks me directly, I won't volunteer any information." Kevin countered.

"Very fair." Vaggie nodded.

"And thank you, Vaggie. I'm sure you could tell how nervous I was that you would change your mind."

"I'm sorry, but you showed me you respected my feelings and would accept my decision regardless. That… that means a lot. You are truly a gentleman."

"I have my moments." Kevin quipped with a smirk.

Vaggie smiled softly, but her mind had drifted a bit as she considered an idea that was forming in her mind. It only took a moment's hesitation to fit together various thoughts and feelings. Her confession, his support, her limits, his warmth—and she lifted her face to him—her eye displaying a shyness she had only shared with Charlie when she'd found her injured and breathed in a whisper. "Such a gentleman." She repeated, then added nervously, "But just for a few minutes, maybe you don't have to be?"

"Vaggie?" Kevin blinked, unsure he had heard her correctly.

"Just for a moment, I want to feel what Charlie gets to feel, so I can understand this in my soul." She stepped into Kevin's arms, placing her face in his chest to absorb the warmth, and felt his arms wrap around her.

"Tell me what you want." Kevin whispered.

"Be my armor?" It was as much as she was able to ask. However, she needed a moment to relinquish her role as the strong one, and now Kevin stood before her—someone who shared her strength, compassion, and love for Charlie, and with whom she felt comfortable lowering her own guard. It was such a foreign feeling, but one she wanted to experience.

She felt his strength lift her up off her feet and carry her to the bed, sitting her down upon it. The soft mattress supported her butt, and she let go so he could step back. Brushing her hair from her face, Kevin bent down and kissed her forehead, much like he'd done the night before, and then pushed her onto her back and crawled above her. Vaggie shuddered, never having let a man invade her space like this before, not without her spear defending her. But something about him made her feel safe.

Kevin shifted his legs to her side, wrapped his arms around her body, and embraced her, pulling her over so they were laying side by side. Slowly, he eased in, his eyes watching her reaction, but all she did was close her eye and lift her chin. The soft invitation was enough, and he gently pressed his lips against hers and kissed her lightly.

Vaggie tensed at the first touch. Even though she'd kissed him the night before, this was different. It was intimate. She was being intimate with a man. She opened her senses and tasted his lips. They were warm, salty, a bit rough, and shockingly dry—nothing like the soft velvet touch of Charlie's delicious lips. His kiss wasn't as chaste as the one she'd given him the night before; he was showing real affection, but it wasn't invasive. It was more akin to a promise to protect her as much as she'd protect them.

Vaggie's eye moistened behind her lid, her phantom eye aching as well, and she pressed her lips back, wanting very much to express the same feelings to him. They kissed for a couple of minutes, exchanging pecks and long presses with mostly closed lips, only occasionally letting out soft moans as the kisses sent tiny sparks along their skin.

Vaggie felt his hands caress her back, and she reciprocated with her own. After a few minutes, they lay there gazing at each other, and Vaggie licked her lips, declaring, "This is the level I want with us. Cuddles. Kisses. No sex, but I want to feel comfortable in your arms. I know it will help Charlie truly believe in the three of us, and I don't think I want to lose this feeling now."

"You've made me believe in you, Vaggie, in all of this. I promise—no hesitation or fear. I'm all in."

"Well, with Charlie, you can be." Vaggie smiled teasingly, "I'm sticking with these." She kissed him again, having decided she really liked doing this with him, and watched as his eyes widened in response to her pun.

Point to me! Vaggie thought, deciding that she was going to make this a long term game with him.

When she pulled back, Kevin laughed with a shake of his head, seemingly understanding the challenge. "You're going to have a lot of fun at my expense, aren't you?"

"You know it, babe!" Vaggie's smile was broad and inviting, and her cheeks blushed slightly. "It'll be a substitute for not having sex with you."

"I can live with that." Kevin whimsied and sat up, pulling her along with him.

Vaggie laid her body against Kevin's and reaffirmed her feelings from earlier: "I've always been the warrior, Kevin, never letting my guard down or letting myself feel vulnerable for Charlie's sake. It's been so exhausting. I accept you as my armor, and at times, I'm going to need it," she softly sighed. "So I can pretend, just for a little bit, that I don't have to be anything else but Charlie's girlfriend."

"Just as Charlie was mine and helped me feel free again for the first time in years, I will be here for you, always." Kevin slipped an arm around Vaggie's waist to hold her close, and he kissed her head.

She liked this. It was the first time in her life that she felt safe in a man's arms. Despite the way Angel Dust had teased her, she didn't find men repulsive, but Adam's cruel misogyny didn't help. She simply lacked a sexual attraction towards men. However, she didn't require a physical attraction to Kevin to feel at ease in his presence. After all, she meant it when she told Charlie she'd kind of fallen for him as well, for his soul, and if it meant that occasionally they shared the same space with Charlie in a romantic setting, she knew she would be okay with it. She knew it was common for same-sex individuals to be in bed with the opposite and not all of them being intimate, and she let herself admit she was curious about how Kevin would make love to Charlie.

That thought caused a hot blush to wash over her, and Vaggie shifted her body, indicating she wanted to rise, and Kevin opened his arm so she could. She placed her feet on the floor, slid off the bed, straightened her wrinkled nightgown, and collected her wandering thoughts. Turning, she leaned in and chastely kissed Kevin one more time. "I am going to hold you to that promise, Kevin Angelus Collins."

"I won't disappoint you." Kevin touched his lips as she stood up, giving her a tender look.

"I know you won't." With that, Vaggie stepped back a couple of feet and appraised him for a moment, then grinned wickedly, "You do know that today is your first official day as head of security of the hotel, mister, and you're late for your shift?"

Sliding off the bed, Kevin stood at attention with a smile. "Yes, ma'am! Sorry, ma'am! It won't happen again."

"Oh, it will." Vaggie teased, "likely every other morning." She turned and walked briskly to the door.

Kevin looked on, amused. "Well, in that case, you will probably have to blame Charlie just as much as me."

Vaggie stopped at the door with her hand on the handle. Her thoughts were conflicted. Not in a bad way as much as wondering if she should tease him about something she knew she was not ready for, and likely never would be. But the earlier thoughts about sharing the bed to give Charlie the best of both of them continued to flash in her mind, and she could imagine Charlie's happiness, and that was all that mattered to her. Chewing on her lip for a split second, Vaggie took the plunge and made the bold choice, knowing full well she would explain her decision to Kevin in detail at a later date. But right now, she was going to have a little fun with him.

Looking back, she gave him a sly grin, "In that case, on occasion I might have to blame myself as well. We'll have to explore what it's like to share the suite some night, all three of us."

Seeing his stunned look, Vaggie mentally licked her finger and stroked the air. Point to me! Without another glance, she walked out and shut the door behind him, only catching part of Kevin's reply.

"Wha—?"