He slid in, slowly. One arm came over her and his fingers reached her clit. The other had, underneath her, cupped a breast. He was everywhere. “But mostly, I just want to be with you. Earth, Overland, even the Ether. I don’t care as long as we’re together.” His voice was a rough whisper.
“Rahmiel?” she pulled away and turned to face him. “Do you care for me? It’s not just the bond?”
“I feel the bond, but it does not make me love you.” He brushed her hair back from her face and looked deep into her eyes. “The bond can be an uncomfortable thing between couples if they do not care for each other.”
“I care for you. I love you, even though we haven’t known each other long.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, so she could see his eyes.
He smiled. “Then it is a good thing we have the bond. It enhances our love.”
He kissed her while his fingers found her nipples, which he gently rolled and tugged. “I think I need to fly.”
“Won’t people see?” she asked, breathless at the caresses to her breasts.
“Not where we’re going.”
He phased, and then they were over the ocean, in the starlight.
* * * *
“I will see justice served.”
Kari awoke at the sound of the harsh voice, but the words didn’t register. She looked through heavy eyelids in the starlit room. A Guardian stood over them, with some type of glowing restraint wrapped around Rahmiel and herself, since she had fallen asleep sprawled across Rahmiel’s chest. Rahmiel was also bleary-eyed. They had only been asleep for a short while, because they stayed on the beach for a long time, and above it, loving, talking.
Lemuel. She could see his face clearly now. Her heart pounded. They were in danger. He had some type of gag over Rahmiel’s mouth. Then he slapped something over hers so she couldn’t scream. In fact, she couldn’t move at all. The restraint covered their whole bodies.
Two other Angels with Lemuel pulled her and Rahmiel off the bed.
There was a dizzying blur and then there was cold.
Deep penetrating cold.
Deadly cold.
She tried to open her eyes and for a moment saw Rahmiel, so close, but the cold stung and hurt her eyes. She couldn’t breathe. It was as if her lungs were frozen and unmoving. Her bones ached. Panic flooded her, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t feel Rahmiel’s arm that had held her beneath the restraints. She knew she would not survive long. Even now, her fingers and toes were freezing, dying, she knew…
There was the tinkling sound of shattering ice.
Then there was the Ether, soft and springy, and water surrounded her with warmth. Her body screamed in pain. She couldn’t open her eyes however much she struggled. She tried to tell Rahmiel she loved him, but she couldn’t move her lips.
Perhaps she was still frozen. Perhaps she was dying.
Rahmiel’s hand was on her forehead. “Sleep, love. I’m taking you to Kaliel.” All went black.
Kari awoke and looked around, not recognizing the room. She tried to turn her head to see more, to place herself, but couldn’t really move. Her head felt as if it weighed a million pounds.
A face swam into her vision. Kaliel. She smiled at Kari. “Good morning. It is about time you woke up. Someone wants to see you.”
She disappeared, and a moment later Rahmiel was there. Kari could feel his kisses on her lips, her cheeks, and her nose.
“Finally you are awake. They said the pain of the healing was severe, and your body wouldn’t wake until it healed enough. I thought you would never wake up.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Four days.”
“Oh.” She tried to process that. Amber healed in a few days. “Was I almost dead?”
“Yes, very close. Your lungs. Kaliel and the healers worked over you for hours before they knew you would make it.”
“Am I…disfigured?”
“No, not at all. You are as beautiful as ever. Kaliel said the skin was the easy thing to repair. It was the heart and lungs she was worried about.”
“Mom knows?”
“Yes. She has been very worried.”
“Are we safe? From Lemuel?” The words were coming slower, and it felt good to rest her eyelids.
“Very safe. There is nothing to worry about now.“ He planted feather light kisses on her eyes and lips. “Sleep now.”
A week later, Kari pushed the platter of Angeli food away. “I need a scale. I need to see how much weight I’ve gained eating all this stuff.” She scowled at the plate of food.
Rahmiel laughed. “Kaliel, don’t you think it is time Kari went home?”
“Yes, but only if you bring her here for a check up every day. And she can’t do anything except rest until I say she’s ready. And I mean anything.” She looked Rahmiel right in the eyes. “No winging over the ocean or phasing here and there. Nothing vigorous.”
Rahmiel’s cheeks turned slightly pink and Kari giggled. Mom acted like she didn’t know what they were talking about.
Epilogue
One year later
The house was perfect. It had a large living room, and the bedroom was up in a loft, with a high ceiling, so Rahmiel could stretch out his wings once in a while. Most of the furniture was Angeli, but the computers, flat screen TV and Tivo were all Earth made.
Plus, the bedroom had a large balcony with a hot tub, which gave them the freedom of taking flight whenever they wanted.
It had taken awhile to get Angeli items turned into the type of cash needed to fund the Liaisons on Earth. Samuel had been instrumental there, involved in antiques trading. Now he was playing the stock market.
Kari frowned for a moment, thinking about Samuel. He seemed to be spending a lot of time with her mom, planning a trip through Greece to sell antiquities. Surely they weren’t—no way. Her mind refused to go there.
Auriel and Amber were together, of course. Auriel was living with Amber while undergoing a type of modified Guardian Training. He had learned to read and write quickly with Amber’s tutoring, plus he was learning Earth mathematics. Amber also taught him to use a computer, which he found fascinating. He was on his way to becoming the Overland’s leading technogeek, taking online courses about computers with Amber’s help.
Most large cities now had Angeli liaisons, and Angels were hard at work learning Earth languages. The population of Earth was still unaware of the presence of Angels, but the Angeli figured in another generation it would be common knowledge. Plus, wherever they sent Angeli liaisons, human and Angeli bonded pairs began to pop up. It would only be a matter of time before the hybrid children began to make an appearance.
There were still some Angeli who felt Lemuel’s actions were justified. Many of them had recently lost their places in the Assembly, and there was still some rancor about Rahmiel being in charge of the Liaison Division of the Guardians. But since Tehmuel was in charge of the entire Guardian Force, things within the Guardians were going smoothly.
So far, there had been no detectable increase in demon activity on the Earth, but part of the Liaison’s job was to learn the history of demon activity on Earth, which Samuel taught with gusto. Kari often overheard Rahmiel and Auriel talking about the gruesome demons that had once roamed Earth, and she was glad Rahmiel and the Guardians were there to protect humans from the demons that might show up.
“So, how do you like it?” Rahmiel was wearing khaki shorts instead of the loin cloth, but his wings were present since they were alone.
“I love it. I think we’ll be very comfortable here.”
“Yes. It will be nice not to have to travel between your Mom’s and Kaliel’s all the time.”
He pulled her into his arms. “So, do you want to make this permanent?”
“Permanent? What do you mean?”
“Get married.”
“You’re asking me here? In the kitchen?”
He grinned, and they phased. Cool water lapped against their ankles. White sand stretched
before them until it met the lush green of the forest. “Is this better?”
Kari grinned. “Oh yes. Now you just need to figure out how to phase everybody here for the wedding.”
He laughed, and twirled her in a fast circle, rising above the water. “We can work that out.”
The End
You can find information about Melisse Aires’ books at http://melisseaires.com
Her Accidental Angel Page 14