“Serena, sweetheart. I’m here. You’re safe.” He could see her squinting and blinking, her eyes trying to find something to focus on and coming up empty. Being an angel, he had no trouble seeing in darkness. Right now, he didn’t see his goddess. He saw a broken woman holding onto a tenuous thread of sanity.“Raphael?” Serena gasped and reached out, groping the air for him. It’s one thing to show bravado in the daylight, but now he knew her to be a fraud. And in the darkness he could see how terribly vulnerable she really felt.“Raphael, help me, please,” she whispered franticly, swiping fruitlessly at her tears. “I’m so frightened! He’s coming for me, I know it. They’re all coming for me, and I’m going to die. Oh God, Raphael, I don’t want to die!”Promises be damned, Raphael went to her quickly and enveloped her in his arms of pure angelic power and strength. She clung to him with a viselike grip, her cheeks soaked with tears, her body trembling furiously. He kissed her hair, sending

Raphael quickly escorted her to the couch. He feels so good, so solid with his arms strong around my waist. The mere touch of his hand gave her the confidence she needed to maintain her composure, as though it was normal to have angels and immortals as friends.But how did one carry on a regular conversation? What did one say exactly? So, how long have you been immortal? Who’ve been your picks for the Super Bowl since…its inception? Lord, but she didn’t have a clue. Things were different with Raphael; they already had a connection, but the others…. She looked at him and squeezed his hand. He gave her a smile that numbed her fears and warmed her heart.“Relax, sweetheart. I know what you’re thinking. But we’re people, too, with normal lives, as you can see. Forget about what we are for now and concentrate on who we are. We’re people with family and friends and jobs, and we’re here to help you.”“

There were men after her, bad men, men who wanted her and a man who wanted her dead. But now there was also Raphael, a good man, staring anxiously at her, with those eyes of the most curious blue. And he spoke from those lips that had set fire to her own. Did he just say something about being alive? Alive. She didn’t feel alive. She felt numb, empty.“Alive,” she whispered. “I’m alive.”“Yes, that’s right,” he encouraged. “You’re alive.”“Jared’s dead, and I’m alive,” she droned. “Why am I still alive? I should be dead, too. I should be dead….” She cocked her head, perplexed.“Serena, you’re alive because that’s the way it should be. Come on. Let’s get you off the ground and inside. I’ll get you some tea and we’ll talk.” He lifted her off the tiny stones surrounding the bench.“Yes, tea s

Serena soaked in the Jacuzzi tub resplendent with oils and fragrances. The heat from the water and the pulse from the jets served to batter away at the threads of anxiety and grief. She knew it wouldn’t take them away forever, and tears threatened to expose themselves. When she decided that to hold them back would be worse than having a good cry, she let them flow.My brother is dead.She would never have the chance to hug, laugh, scold, or tease him ever again. With every tear that mixed with the bath water, she said a prayer that he would rest in peace and be in a happier place.She ducked under the water as if to cleanse herself spiritually. As her head broke the surface, she took a breath, like the first a newborn baby takes in. It was a new world for her. A solitary one. And she decided to make the best of it.Resting against the back of the tub, she looked around at the bathroom for the first time and thought it a shame it had no windows. But

Clothes were peeled and strewn about the hallway in passionate haste and desperation. Raphael slammed their bodies against one wall, and she slammed them into another as her hands frantically explored uncharted territory, and her lips sealed them together. They crashed down upon a settee at the end of the hall. Quite clearly, this first time would not be slow, or gentle, or any of those clichéd descriptions of lovers’ first times together.As one, they spun out of control, taking turns having the upper hand in their passion play. Dominating and submitting in turn.Serena pinned Raphael’s shoulders to the back of the settee as she straddled his lap, and raised herself above him in triumph. This act, while something she’d yearned for, shouted a big “fuck you” to her attackers. She had something to prove. They may have taken away her future, but she still had the goods. I am desirable, and I still have physical needs that can no longer