Kat woke to Nex holding her tighter than he ever had before, so much so she was actually a little uncomfortable. She opened her eyes and found him facing her, asleep. His lips were tugged down in a frown that had her heart aching. Somehow, even asleep he seemed exhausted.

She didn't want to wake him but she also could barely breathe. She tried to stretch out a bit to get his arms to loosen but that only made him hold her tighter, making it even more impossible to move.

"Nex," she said softly, reaching her hand up to his forehead, pushing back his hair.

The moment her fingers touched his skin, his eyes snapped open wide, his arms tightening around her even more. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I can't breathe," Kat gasped at the added pressure.

"Fuck," he sighed, loosening his hold on her. "I'm sorry," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "How'd you sleep?"

When he returned home, his fellow demons let him know she'd been quite restless with him gone, though that seemed to change when he climbed into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. She was still restless but less so once he held her and he was so shaken from what happened, he'd inadvertently held her tighter and tighter all night.

"Fine," Kat said, frowning as she gazed at him. "Did you sleep?"

"Some," he answered, nuzzling her nose and resting his forehead on hers. "Don't worry about me. Are you hungry? You never ate last night."

"I have other things on my mind," Kat said, sitting up and looking down at him, biting her lip. "When are you going to talk to Gabriel?"

"I already did," Nex answered, moving over and laying his head in her lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Last night?" Kat frowned, earning a nod from Nex. "I didn't know you left."

"I didn't want to, my angel," he said, looking up at her. "But I had to deal with it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kat asked, her brows furrowing together.

"You almost died," Nex pointed out. "I didn't want to put anything else on you."

"I'm tougher than you think," Kat said, setting her hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair. "What happened with Gabriel?"

"Gabriel... Gabriel wasn't the one. It was Uriel and he's a fucking cunt," Nex growled. "I still don't trust Gabriel. Melchizedek is the one that will hopefully help us, if he can even be trusted."

"Melchizedek?" Kat asked, raising an eyebrow. "Uriel?"

"Uriel is the one that sent someone after you. Melchizedek was the weird customer," Nex explained. "They are here together."

"Oh," Kat nodded slowly. "I don't understand," she admitted. "I mean... I've... I've read about all these angels but why would they all need to be here?"

"Because of me," Nex sighed, holding her tighter. "Because I'm a bigger problem since I'm a higher rank."

"Oh," Kat sighed. "So a higher rank means what?"

"That my actions are judged more harshly," Nex said, remembering Death's words. "Because I'm a role model."

"Oh," Kat said.

"Let's get you something to eat," Nex said, sitting up and placing a long kiss against her lips, a kiss that had her chasing after him when he pulled away. He rested his hand against her cheek and stared at her, her scream still very prominent in his mind. "Fuck, Katherine, can you ever forgive me?" He said, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Forgive you for what?" Kat said, draping her arms over his shoulders.

"For letting that happen, for not being more careful," he said, closing his eyes because he couldn't look at her when he felt so ashamed.

"That wasn't your fault," Kat said, setting her hands on his face and tilting his head up. He reluctantly opened his eyes and she could see how much guilt he carried. "It wasn't your fault," she repeated.

"It was," he said quietly, darting his eyes away. "I knew it could become a problem and I didn't watch over you. I should've watched over you. I never should've let you out of my sight. I don't know how you can stand to even look at me right now," he said, getting out of the bed and heading for the door.

"Because you didn't do anything," Kat said, climbing off the bed and following him to the kitchen. "I don't blame you for it. I only wish you would've told me something was going on but I should've told you about Gabriel," she said, frowning. "I don't blame you for any of it."

"You should," he said, shaking his head and reaching for the kettle.

Kat wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her cheek against his back. "I love you," she said quietly. "Don't hate yourself, please," she said, holding him tighter. "Just let me love you. Let me love you enough it takes the place of everything negative."

Nex's arms dropped to his sides and he stared down at her arms wrapped around him. He could've lost her. He could've possibly never seen her ever again. He could still her scream as she fell and he couldn't take it. He needed to be close to her.

He turned in her arms and pulled her against him, into a hard kiss that had her let out a surprised sound. He loved that sound. He wanted to hear that sound, not her terrified scream.

He couldn't say enough how sorry he was that he wasn't more careful with her when she meant so much to him so he poured it into that kiss, chasing after her tongue, holding her tight, kissing her so hard he knew her lips would be swollen. He loved seeing them like that. Kat moaned into the kiss, sliding her hands up into his hair. Nex groaned and slid his hands down and up, under his shirt she had on that went down almost to her knees.

"Fuck, I need you," he murmured in the kiss, hooking his fingers in her leggings. "I need you," he repeated, tugging her leggings and underwear down all at once. He lifted her up and placed her on the counter, spreading her legs and diving under her shirt, chasing after her taste. Kat gasped when his tongue swept over the ache he created. Her fingers curled around his hair, tightening in it as she threw her head back and moaned.

He kept her going until she came, shuddering around his face. He moved up and kissed her as she came off the orgasm. "I need to have you," he said, cupping her face and staring in her eyes.

"Then have me," she breathed, setting her hands on his chest. "I'm yours."

Nex groaned and tugged his pants down just enough to let himself out. He moved between her legs and slid himself up to her hot, waiting core. They both released a moan as he slid into her and stayed deep inside as Kat brought her hands to his face and pulled him into another kiss.

"Well, I'll give you points for passion. I wasn't expecting the show but I'll gladly take it."

Nex and Kat froze. He slowly looked over, finding Lilith standing near the back door. He quickly pulled out of Kat, bringing his pants up as Kat tugged the shirt she was wearing further down her legs, letting scared take over the embarrassment.

"Don't stop on my account," Lilith said, tilting her head to the side. "You might as well fuck her, you might not get another opportunity to after I'm done with you," she said, her eyes sliding to Kat.

Nex pulled Kat off the counter and behind him. "The angels called you, I suppose," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I thought you didn't answer to them."

"I'm not here because the angels asked me to be," Lilith asked. "Uriel may have come to me but he didn't have to. I knew what happened. You know I don't fucking answer to them. No. I'm here because of you," she growled, stalking towards them.

Nex reached out for the demons that had been here since the bridge incident but he was blocked. Lilith was blocking him.

"Don't even bother," Lilith said, shaking her head. "They're on their knees. They made me force them to stand down. I was already pissed, Nex," she said, narrowing her eyes. "But now I'm really fucking pissed I had to use my powers to make my own soldiers submit."

"If you're not here because of the angels then why are you here?" Nex asked, backing he and Katherine away from Lilith.

"Why am I here?" Lilith seethed. "Because one of my high-ranked soldiers had a fucking angel killed," she spat. "An angel. What the fuck were you thinking? You know how bad that makes me look," she growled, balling her fists. "It makes it look like I have no control over my damn demons. You were on the brink of causing inflation in this stupid fucking human realm but now you've made an even bigger mess that makes me look like a shitty leader. It makes the angels think we need better regulation, need more of their involvement. I'm done giving you a chance," she said, her eyes turning solid black. "Now you pay for it."

The moment she said the words, shadows grabbed Kat, pulling her away from Nex roughly and dragging her over to Lilith. Nex lunged for her but Lilith shoved him back, sending him into the wall.

"Don't hurt her," Nex growled, jumping up from the ground. "Don't you dare hurt her."

"What exactly are you going to do about it?" Lilith asked, tilting her head to the side and flicking her wrist and jerking Kat over to her. "Long time no see, sweetness. Nex has certainly been fucking you good, hasn't he?"

Nex charged at Lilith and Lilith sighed, shaking her head and stepping towards him. The second he reached her, his eyes widened as time seemed to slow and Lilith grabbed him by his hair. A force he couldn't see drove him to his knees and Lilith jerked back on his hair to make him look up at her.

"Don't be so naïve," she said dismissively. "You think I'm going to just come in here and kill you both and leave it at that? No," she laughed. "No, you no longer get the luxury of a quick death. I'm going to make you suffer. I'm going to shatter your soul and break your spirit. I'm going to separate you in a way that crushes you both so you don't ever even think about putting me in this kind of position again."

"Nex!" Kat screamed as Lilith released his hair and his head dropped to the ground.

"Since you've abused your powers you no longer get to have them unless it's for the purpose you came here to serve," Lilith said, grabbing the base of his neck, tendrils of black wrapping around his throat and making him gasp. "Your powers are gone, your demon guards are gone, I am forcing them all back to the underworld until this shit is over. You are as vulnerable as a mortal and just as easy to kill. The only time your powers will return is if your beloved human gives you a target and you will only be able to use your powers on your target. Then, when you return to the underworld," Lilith said, grabbing his hair and jerking him back to look up at her. "Mark my words, Nex, you will never leave that realm again and you will never see your precious human again. Good luck protecting her when you have nothing to protect her with."