Page 36 of Raphael
“Fucking hell, that was amazing...” Helena sighs then, nuzzling closer atop my chest, clearly unwilling to separate further, either.
We lay peacefully, simply basking for a while after such a glorious union. Until an impish impulse seizes Helena and she props herself up, grinning slyly. One hand drifts naughtily down my stomach and I gasp realizing her intent, rekindling simmering desire so soon.
Laughing delighted, she presses a biting kiss below my jaw. “Ready for round two already, my ardent angel? Such stamina...”
Before I can form a witty retort, Helena’s clever hand wraps firmly around my swiftly responding length. The exquisite friction steals any coherent thought under her confident strokes. I manage fragmented curses, my own fingers digging bruises into her generous hips, urging a more vigorous pace.
Helena reads my desperation perfectly, expert twist on the upstroke fraying my tenuous control. Fiery tension coils taut in my core, so close to erupting down her working fist...
Abruptly, Helena releases me, ignoring my frustrated protests to brace herself up on all fours instead. Tossing her loose raven hair back, she peers at me through the dark waterfall with eyes gone liquid midnight. Raw want burns through every breathed word. “I want you like this now...”
The vision presented shatters my composure utterly—her sleek back dipped enticingly, slick sex poised and glistening. With a primal snarl, I grasp her hips, dragging Helena back forcibly onto my renewed erection, spearing deep. Her answering cry seems approval, so I begin stroking firmly, undone by liquid heat enveloping my rigid flesh.
We move together recklessly now, carnal compulsion washing away tender previous explorations. I twist one hand into her inky waves, yanking Helena’s neck sideways. She whimpers raggedly until I seal my mouth over hers, kissing wildly as our tempo builds. Closer, so close now to blissful madness...
“Mine...” The broken claim erupts, torn from my chest in the same instant climax erupts between us. “You’re mine.” Helena wails wordless agreement, our bodies locked tight together against reality threatening beyond these walls.
Gradually, we drift down from euphoria back into our bodies, loose-limbed and sated. I gather Helena close, overcome still by the intensity binding us now soul-deep. Heart full nearly to bursting, I brush the damp hair off her forehead, pressing a kiss there.
“Helena, I love you...” Speaking the terrifying words aloud should shatter this glowing peace, perhaps. But instead, they feel truer than my own breath, the solid shape of destiny revealed.
Joy chases away my fleeting fear then, as Helena smiles softly up at me. “And I love you, my rakish guardian archangel.” Her palm lays over my pounding heart, eyes misting with shared wonder at discovering such sheltering affection blooming wholly returned.
Nothing else seems to exist or matter beyond this tender cocoon we created. Reality fades away as we hold each other, blissfully drifting towards sleep still entwined...
A sudden violent flurry erupts the delicate dreamscape. Helena bolts upright, frantic eyes raking across the tangled sheets and discarded clothes. “No, no, no—where is it??” Her panicked movements increase, until I risk grabbing her slim shoulders, concern rising sharply.
“Darling, what’s wrong?” I keep my tone gentle, despite her manic energy disturbing our afterglow.
Her wild eyes fix on mine, hands tugging my grip free to resume tearing through the linens. “My necklace, the pendant—it’s gone!” Desperation shreds the cry. “I never take it off, but now...”
Understanding hits me like a blow and I join her, searching through the rumpled bedding urgently. That talisman remains constantly around her neck, even during intimate moments between us. To misplace something commanding such obsessive devotion seems inconceivable.
My vain efforts reveal no glint of silver, no plant unoverturned in these throes. Helena scrubs harshly at her defeated tears gathering. Her despair twists my heart, threatening my narrowly kept composure.
“Think now love, perhaps it slipped free in your clothes earlier?” I keep my tone gentle despite the sinking dread if that treasured pendant escaped our haven without notice... “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll get you another one.”
“Thereisno other one,” she stammers anxiously. “That pendant is Lucifer’s safe key. It’s theonlykey. If I’ve lost it, he’ll skin me alive.”
Pain spears my chest as Helena leaps up, grabbing her clothes with trembling hands. I knew any happiness seemed too perfect.
Soon, she’s dressed, raking fingers through tousled hair. “Rafa darling, I’m so sorry, but I have to run... Please, forgive me.”
Her pleading look shreds me. I lace my fingers into hers, trying to memorize their shape, her touch. “At least let me drive you back?”
“If Lucifer sees us—no. Too risky, it would only make things worse.” Helena’s delicate hands frames my worried face, regret churning those lush depths. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise. A whole weekend that’ll put Sodoma and Gomorrah to shame, just you and me.”
A bittersweet kiss sears between us. Then she’s out the door.
I stare after her shadow, clenching useless fists. Our stolen hours shattered so easily once more. But I cannot change her reality. Or the iron chains binding Helena’s choices still. I should take comfort having tasted perfection for a moment, cherish each moment given while possible…
So why does joy feel now like a ghost limb, leaving only throbs of deeper pain with every fading step?
CHAPTER23
Helena
Footsteps echo frantically downthe empty hallway as I flee from Raphael’s apartment, my heart pounding with fear at the loss of my pendant. It couldn’t have just fallen off, could it? As I burst out into the chilly night air, realization hits me like a ton of bricks. Wicked forces are at work. I never take off that pendant, which means someone must have stolen it with cunning and malice.
