Relic (The Brethren Series) (18 page)

“What is it, Raphael? What’s going on?”

“Come to me, Serena,” he coaxed provocatively, as he reached out an arm to her. And as he spoke, a frisson of energy leapt from his fingers, across the expanse between them, and gently wrapped itself around her to lasso her in.

Vague thoughts entered her mind. She should be frightened out of her wits by what she witnessed. She should be fighting against the strange force surrounding her. And she should be running like hell away from all of this. But she didn’t feel or do any of those things. She simply complied with his beckoning, mesmerized and tantalized by not only the sensual energy seeping into her very being, but by Raphael’s new, imposing presence. Drawn to him like no other, she couldn’t look away from his eyes of shimmering sapphire. Step by trembling step, closer and closer, she was shepherded toward the man she knew, yet knew not at all.

“I have news.” He closed the remaining distance between them. “Very good news, in fact.” He didn’t touch her. He didn’t have to. His eyes alone touched her as they danced over her face, her body. She closed her own, for his gaze evoked such a blissful response, her heart actually ached.

Finally, he made contact, ever so gently on her cheeks with his hands, and her eyes flew open at the sudden awareness of Raphael within her. His essence, his energy, had found its way in and sought to heal the painful pieces of her that hid so well from everyone.

“I’ve been healed. And now, my powers have returned. Your support saved me, Serena. I’m me again. I’m truly Raphael, Brethren Savior.” He combed his hands through her golden tresses. She sucked in a breath as his power surged through her, expunging the darkness from her heart and mind once and for all. Then he kissed her. A kiss like no other she had ever received. A kiss that fortified the threaded connection growing between them. A kiss of promise, of faith, a kiss eternal.

Serena shuddered from the magnitude, and moaning, went weak in the knees. On reflex, she reached out to grab a hold of something and found his bare, sculpted arms were there for the taking. He lifted her victoriously to him. She looked down, jubilant.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Raphael, Brethren Savior.” She gasped as his energy slowly ebbed and faded away.

At that moment, his other power took hold of her, that of a virile man. Serena’s arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they sojourned over his biceps and shoulders to his back and down toward his waist. She could feel his breath hitch, and his exultant expression turned to one of desire as he lowered her, inch by inch, skimming her body delectably over his.

She blinked as the first raindrop hit her cheek. He bent forward and kissed it away. Another fell on her nose, and that too, he sipped up. A huge drop punished her lips, and he devoured it—and her in the process.

Raindrops began falling in earnest as the first streaks of lightening flashed and thunder rolled overhead. Oblivious to the wild weather around them, she found herself consumed by an unquenchable thirst for him. She returned his fervent kisses with more of her own, and the two became as one out in the elements. She considered briefly how she should have been a shivering mass as the temperature plummeted with the storm’s arrival, but instead, steam lifted from both of their hot, passion-laden bodies.

A sensation like freefalling fluttered in her belly, and she attributed it to Raphael’s rapacious kisses. However, upon opening her eyes and tearing her lips away from his, she found herself suddenly standing under the Ramada near the meditation pond. Had he flown them there? She didn’t have time to ponder as he started a trail of fervent kisses from her temple, all the way down to her throat. Her sopping wet T-shirt stopped any further action until he hastily ripped the thing clear off of her just as lightning bolted across the sky. She gasped from the sheer thrill of being exposed to him and the raw elements.

He stopped for a mere moment and, as he gazed upon her, thunder boomed overhead. “You are so beautiful, my sweet Serena, so beautiful even the heavens are clapping in appreciation.”

Raphael’s kisses chased rivulets of rain coursing over her shoulders, making their unhurried pilgrimage down her breasts. She arched back as his lips lingered there.

The Savior seemed drunk with need. Raking through his drenched black hair, she grabbed hold of him, encouraging him to drink his fill, for by satiating his need, he sated hers as well.

“Dear God, Raphael! What you do to me, I…I can’t put into words,” she moaned.

He stood tall once more, rain coursing down the broad expanse of his chest. His hair, soaked by the powerful storm, undulated around his head, lashing at his face and spraying droplets all about. He spoke, and as he did, he visibly shook. “I must have you. Right here, right now while the earth is raw, and the heavens are unleashing its limitless power. Serena, give yourself to me, I beg you.”

She couldn’t speak, not a word. She simply unzipped her shorts and stepped out of them, never taking her eyes off of his. She stood naked before him and the heavens, arms outstretched in invitation. His eyes burned like fiery coals and seared her flesh. He extended a trembling hand as if ready to touch her, but unexpectedly it dropped.

“Don’t be afraid to touch me, Raphael,” she coaxed. “I won’t melt away with the raindrops.”

She reached out to unzip his pants and found herself fighting with his rain-soaked jeans. Raphael clutched her hands to stay them. “Let me,” he croaked, and divested himself of his remaining clothes. They stood facing each other, bodies naked, souls cleansed and open to new possibilities, open to each other.

“I’m yours,” Serena whispered through the rain. “Make love to me.”

She took a tiny step toward him as though they were young, timid lovers, for in her eyes, she would consider this the first time they would really make love. They came together in a rain-slicked embrace that blended the two into one. Raphael hoisted her up against the rounded pillar of the Ramada, her legs wrapped around his waist, and as he kissed her, the world faded away into nothingness. All that remained, the two of them and the exquisite sensations he created for her with strategically placed kisses and touches.

Serena dared to caress his wings as she had once envisioned knowing that it would bring him unbridled ecstasy. He groaned and shivered. Her hands found their way easily along the sumptuous hills and valleys of his body, for they had been memorized over many nights of rapturous dreams. She languished in her own delirium as Raphael, in turn, marked his territory and staked his claim on every inch of her body with nips and soothing laps of his tongue.

Heedless of the raging storm, their turbulent passion took them higher and higher. Their bodies and souls crashed together like cymbals in chorus with the thunder. They had dared to challenge the tempest to reach the intensity of their climax. But it could not meet that challenge, nor did it quench their burning hot desire for each other.

Triumphant and delirious, they walked lazily back to the house, arm in arm, not willing to let go of the physical connection they had created. By the time they had reached the back door, the air had chilled their naked, rain-soaked bodies. So they ran the rest of the way to his bathroom’s hot tub, giddy with love.

The next few hours were spent tussling in the sheets, learning more about each other’s lives, giggling at times like new lovers, and making love as if they would never get their fill.

“What do you do while I sleep?” Serena asked drowsily, planting little kisses on his chest and entwining her legs with his.

“I watch you.” He combed through her hair with those deft fingers of his, sending mini orgasmic waves across her scalp. She purred.

“Oh, come now, that can’t be all you do for so many hours.”

“It’s true. You’re very interesting to watch. Better than TV, I would say.”

She poked him in the side and he rolled away, giving a throaty laugh. She wanted him all over again.
How crazy is this
?
I can’t get enough of him. It’s lunacy
!
It’s love. Damn it. Now that is crazy
!
He’s immortal, and I’m just a woman. This relationship is doomed from the start. When all the craziness dies down and he realizes how limited our time is together, he’ll think better of continuing this relationship. But until such time, I must have him. I have no choice. I’m inextricably bound to this man, this angel, this
….

“You’re thinking too hard, Serena.” Raphael stretched and gathered her up against his body once more. “Stop it. There’s no thinking allowed tonight. Only feeling, okay?”

“You’re right. Thinking hurts the brain. Better to just feel.” And feel, she did. She felt his arms, his chest, his stomach, his…oh yes, his. She touched him, and stirred him into a frenzy.

“My turn, you little minx,” he said heatedly, “and then, you sleep.”

She had no problem with that.

***

Midnight had come and gone. It seemed like ages ago, and Raphael lay on his side, watching Serena. Her chest rose and fell with every breath she took. He noted her heartbeat pulsing evenly at her throat, a spot he longed to kiss, but refrained. She needed her rest desperately. They’d worn each other out with their marathon of lovemaking. Suddenly, he saw the change come over her.

Her eyes changed first. They began flitting back and forth under their lids. Her breathing turned erratic and shallow, intimating severe pain. She cried out, “Raphael, save me, my love! I’m dying. Where are you? Raphael….”

“I’m right here, Sirona. I’m right here,” he answered, damning himself for not being strong enough to hold his tongue. He should have ignored her words, but he couldn’t. Logically, he knew Serena replayed past comments and conversations like a recorder, but it ripped him apart to hear the pain and suffering, as well as the puzzlement Sirona had endured. And it killed him knowing he betrayed Serena to acknowledge Sirona’s soul’s existence.

Serena bolted upright, eyes open. “Raphael, I’m dying. Why am I dying? I am a goddess. I am immortal. I am yours forever.” She crumbled back onto her pillow, returning to a peaceful state. Moments later, she moaned, rolling over onto her side, hand seeking out Raphael’s body. He helped by collecting her in his arms. The feel of her body pressed deliciously against his gave him shivers of delight, and he closed his eyes to block out everything else from his senses.

And when he closed his eyes, he surprised himself with the realization that Sirona didn’t swamp his visions. Serena did, with her own unique essence, her own unique laugh, and her doe-like way of tiptoeing around what had happened to the both of them. He stroked her silky hair, sending pulses of comfort across their threaded connection. She nuzzled against him, murmured his name, and returned to a deep, undisturbed sleep. And he watched.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Man, if we don’t find her soon, we’re as good as dead,” Wheezer whined as he and Steve walked out of the hospital. “What’s wrong with these hospital people anyway? What do they think we’re gonna do, take her address, break-in and do something to her? Well, we would. But, that doesn’t matter. They don’t know that! Hell!”

“I think that’s the point. You saw the news about the attack here. If that sketch isn’t Bull, then I’m a monkey’s uncle. The shit must’ve hit the fan after that breach. Now we’re suffering for it. Damn it! We’ll have to stake out her store again. God, I hate fuckin’ stakeouts!”

The two unremarkable men got in their unremarkable car and drove out of the hospital parking lot.

“Jesus, I gotta get this wig off, man!” Wheezer complained. “It’s making me itch like crazy! And if this fucking mustache ever comes off, it’s probably gonna take skin along with it.”

“Stop your pissing and moaning, will ya? You sound like a fucking girl! And keep the fucking wig on! Are you stupid? We got cops after us. You can take it off when we get back to the motel. Hey, Chappo expects us to call in five minutes. What are we gonna tell him?”

“Tell him we’re on it, and as soon as we have her, she’s all his. Jesus, I’ll be glad when this is over. I need a vacation from all this stress.”

“All right, that’s enough!” Steve pulled off the road into the small parking lot of a grocery store and put the car in park. He turned to face his partner with a glare. “Either you stop this shit right now, or I’m tossing your ass out right here. Chappo’s giving us great money for this job, not to mention he’s got his hands wrapped around our balls and ready to tear them off if we don’t deliver. I don’t care if you’re stressed. I don’t care if the wig itches. I don’t give a shit about you. So shut the fuck up, or get the hell out!”

“Whoa! Easy there, man. It’s all good. I’m just letting off a little steam, you know. I know Chappo’s got us by the balls. My wife curses me every day cause of it. I’ll do my job, man, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I’m not worried, Wheeze, ’cause if you don’t,” Steve whipped out a gun from his shoulder holster, “I’ll have to kill you. You see? Are we clear?” He shoved the barrel of the gun right up against Wheezer’s cheek.

“Whoa! Whoa, Steve!” Wheezer put his hands up in surrender. “We’re clear, man, we’re clear. Jesus, man. Put that damn thing away before you hurt somebody. I’ll shut up, all right? Put the gun away.”

Steve slowly drew back his gun and re-holstered it. He turned back to the wheel, violently put the car in Drive, and headed back toward their motel.
Whiny asswipe
, he thought.
Maybe I will kill him when this job is done. Payment for being a pain in the ass. I’d be doing his wife a favor
.

***

Dr. Chappo sat in his electric wheelchair inspecting the suite for the millionth time. Everything had to be perfect for his goddess. The linens were made of Egyptian cotton, the wall hangings, silk tapestries with ancient Celtic designs, and the furnishings were all custom-made by an artisan who specialized in Celtic furniture. He felt it important to give Sirona as much of a flavor of her past as he could. He had spent a fortune on everything, but really, who cared about money when eternal life would be his to enjoy instead of impending death? This room would eventually become Sirona’s shrine, a temple for him to worship her ultimate sacrifice every day for eternity.