Ch. 94 – People Rarely Look Straight Up

Rhys turned around the instant they crossed the threshold into the kitchen, his jaw set, ready to shut down her delusional, selfish desires once and for all.

He was completely caught off guard when Seraphina merely smiled—a light, airy expression—and glided right past him with the effortless waft of a feather. She reached out, her fingers lacing gently through his, and whispered that she was so happy to see him again. She pulled him toward the glass kitchen doors, leading him past a marble island where a lavish spread of gourmet desserts was already meticulously arranged.

So much for preparing dessert, Rhys thought dryly, his mind numb.

Near the counter, the dark, towering figure of Omen stood silently over the trays of sweets, crossing its arms as if contemplating the absurdity of the scene.

The moment they stepped out onto the secluded patio, Rhys yanked his hand out of Seraphina's grip. "I'm not playing into your and Shula's insane little game, Seraphina," he said, his voice hard, putting his foot down firmly. "This is a complete betrayal to Ging. And to Lira. I'm not going to be a part of it."

Seraphina stopped in her tracks, looking genuinely taken aback. Her gaze dropped, her shoulders slumping as if he had struck her. Rhys felt a faint glimmer of hope in his chest—maybe, without Shula around to push her, he could actually appeal to her senses.

Then, Seraphina slowly lifted her gaze, a small, innocent smile playing on her lips. She gathered the fabric of her scandalous, backless blue dress, smoothing it down her hips. "Do you... do you at least like how I dressed just for you tonight, Rhys?" she asked softly.

Rhys tried to keep his eyes locked on hers, but he couldn't deny the sudden, involuntary spike of heat that traveled down his spine as he took in her breathtaking appearance. Through the glass kitchen door behind her, he saw the dark figure watching them, leaning against the frame with a mocking smirk.

Seraphina caught his hesitation, instantly sensing his moment of weakness. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms lovingly around his neck. "I've been waiting for this all day, Rhys," she murmured softly against his skin.

Before he could pull back, she stood on her tiptoes and captured his lips in a passionate, desperate kiss.

Rhys tried to resist, but his body betrayed him, melting straight into the warmth of her mouth. Before he could regain his footing, he felt a sudden weightlessness. The rush of wind whipped past his ears as Seraphina unfurled her massive, feathered wings and lifted them both straight up into the cool night air.

Rhys opened his eyes to see the starry night sky spinning around them. Seraphina didn't break the kiss for a second, deepening it into a fierce, breathless French kiss as they ascended. Rhys closed his eyes again, completely overwhelmed, until he felt a hard, cold surface settle against his back.

They landed smoothly. Seraphina pulled back, her cheeks flushed, a dazed, euphoric trance in her eyes.

Rhys blinked, realizing where they were: they were standing right on the reinforced glass skylight of the mansion's roof, looking straight down into the brightly lit living room below.

Directly beneath their feet, through the transparent ceiling, the party was still in full swing. Shula had somehow initiated a lively board game, using it as a deliberate distraction for everyone while Rhys and Seraphina were gone. Ging, Marcus, and Darius were huddled over the table, genuinely engrossed in the match. Lira, however, sat stiffly on the sofa, looking deeply, awkwardly tense, her mind clearly wandering toward the kitchen. Shula flashed a knowing, subtle smile toward the ceiling, seamlessly keeping the game moving.

Rhys looked back at Seraphina, his heart hammering against his ribs. "Seraphina, this is insane," he rasped out.

Seraphina was already sliding her hands down his chest, kissing his jawline and neck with feverish affection. She smiled devilishly against his skin. "Nobody can see us up here at this time of night, Rhys... people rarely ever look straight up."

Without giving him a chance to protest, she unbuckled his pants and dropped smoothly to her knees on the cold glass. She looked up at him with glowing, hungry eyes, then took him greedily into her mouth.

A heavy, involuntary shudder wracked Rhys's entire body. His mind screamed at him to stop this madness, but his physical shell surrendered instantly to the intoxicating sensation. Seraphina worked softly and deeply, pulling back just enough to look up at him, her lips glistening in the moonlight. "See? Your body approves of me, Rhys... you know you want this too."

She took him back in, going all the way, her eyes locked onto his with an intense, unwavering devotion while her large wings twitched rhythmically behind her.

Rhys had to forcibly turn his head away before he completely lost his mind in those glowing eyes. He looked down through the glass floor beneath his feet, watching his wife and friends play a party game while his old crush devoured him on the roof above them. Fortunately, no one down below had looked up; Marcus appeared to be winning the game, much to Darius's frustration.

Seraphina bobbed her head faster, her tongue working frantically as if begging for his full, undivided attention. Rhys looked back down at her, letting out a breathy, strained chastisement, but she only smiled around him, completely focused on driving him over the edge.

The bizarre, terrifying adrenaline rush of being exposed directly above everyone sent a dark, primal surge through Rhys's blood. He averted his eyes from Seraphina again, reluctantly checking on Lira. She was sitting still, trying her best to hide her growing discomfort behind a polite smile.

Seraphina’s rhythm picked up, her throat muscles tightening around him so intensely that Rhys’s knees buckled. Seraphina caught his thighs effortlessly, keeping him upright while continuing her relentless pace. Rhys’s mind fractured in total confusion—he remembered how much Seraphina used to despise physical touch, making her current unhinged, insatiable behavior completely surreal.

Trying to anchor his sanity, Rhys looked through the glass one more time. To his absolute terror, his eyes briefly locked with Shula’s. From her seat at the game table, Shula looked directly up through the skylight and offered Rhys a subtle, wicked smirk—completely unobserved by anyone else in the room.

Suddenly, Ging stood up from the table down below, gesturing toward the kitchen and saying something to the group. Shula’s smirk vanished, replaced by the annoyed expression of a viewer whose favorite TV show had just been interrupted. It was obvious Ging was pointing out how long Rhys and Seraphina had been gone for simple desserts.

Shula smiled sweetly at Ging and snapped her fingers behind her back.

In a flash of golden light, a magic clone of Shula materialized right beside the table downstairs, brightly announcing that she would go check on the kitchen.

At the exact same microsecond, a second clone of Shula materialized directly on the roof, standing right next to Rhys on the cold glass.

"I couldn't resist joining in on the fun," the clone purred into Rhys's horror-struck ear.

Seraphina didn't even flinch; she smiled as if she had been expecting this all along, accelerating her movements. Rhys reached out, placing his trembling hands on Seraphina's head just to keep his balance as his feet completely lifted off the roof.

The clone of Shula leaned in close, whispering sweet, toxic nothings into his ear. "Look at you... so helpless. I love seeing you like this, Rhys. My one and only father to my future child."

Rhys's conscious mind went completely blank. His moral defenses crumbled under the sheer weight of the sensory overload.

The clone of Shula knelt smoothly beside Seraphina on the glass ceiling, joining in with practiced, synchronized expertise, whispering pointers to Seraphina as they shared him. Rhys dissolved into pure, unadulterated pleasure, his head falling back against the night sky.

In his lingering, hazy moments of awareness, he looked back down through the glass floor one last time. Despite the terrifying chaos unfolding on the roof, he felt a strange, twisted sense of relief seeing that the original Shula was still downstairs, smoothly keeping Lira, Marcus, and Ging completely occupied while his world burned above them.