After all this time, he'd fallen prey to his baser desires and been banished. Now of all times. When the portal between good and evil was thinned by the solstice.
Raphian watched the object of his lust as she sent her young charges onto the large yellow busses lining the drive in front of the school where she taught. She smiled at the children, waving as fat snowflakes swirled around her. A gust of wind ruffled her hair into a golden halo and he swallowed hard as his desire knotted through him again. He couldn't escape it even for a moment--even though it had cost him everything he was.
She looked more angelic than he ever had. She shivered, reminding him it was cold as late December days were wont to be. He'd never experienced cold before today. Now the bitter air stabbed at his skin, reddening the exposed areas and making his bones ache. So this was cold ... His wings had always kept it from him before as he'd performed his duties on earth.
Now, he had no duties.
He had no wings...
He'd succumbed to human desires and dared to want her. Charged to protect her, he'd betrayed his position. He'd lain with her during a dream, felt the soft folds of her womanhood embracing his manhood as he plunged within her. Bliss. Hours of incomprehensible bliss. He'd stepped from her sweet embrace straight to judgment.
There was no denying his action. His punishment was etched in the stones marking the kingdom. He'd broken the law given to the angels. Fallen.
The cold biting through him amplified the mark of his failure as he shuddered. Each jarring quiver pulled at his back. Reminding him. He was an angel no more. Angels had wings. He had pain.
Would it ever cease? Or would he forever feel the agony where the fiery sword had shorn away his wings? Long red wounds ran from shoulder to waist, seared closed by the flame.
Because he'd dared to want her.
For years, he'd protected her. Now, he'd protect her one last night. Today might be his first and last as a mortal. Tonight as the portal thinned for the winter solstice, the demons would break free. Every demon in the vicinity would be after one man--the former angel they wanted to bring to their side. He could once again have power and immortality. They'd offer him kingdoms and wealth. They'd even offer him the woman.
He could have everything, but at what price? With them, he'd never again know peace or love. Only hatred so deep his bones would ache worse than they did in this wretched cold. His chances for survival were slim. It mattered little. He may have fallen, but he wasn't evil. Death and an eternity in limbo were preferable to joining their ranks.
Raphian's being stirred as the universe called him to protect. Even without wings, that hadn't changed. The demons would attempt to use her against him. They'd threaten her life. And her soul. From sunset to sunrise, they'd battle with every foul means at their disposal.
A wingless angel and a mortal woman against a horde? There was no way either of them would survive the siege unless they were together. And soon. The days were short and the sun already hung low in the sky. Every minute counted as the night drew close. The woman didn't know him, yet she had to trust him before the looming darkness blotted the tiny spark of hope from his spirit.
With a silent prayer to one who wouldn't listen, he stepped forward.
Lissa Chase knew she should be afraid of the man who'd stood across the street, watching her for the better part of the last half hour. She should have dashed for the building the second the busses were loaded. One call to 9-1-1 and her father would be here with his cruiser and the attitude which scared away threats and most of her boyfriends over the last ten years.
Instead, she stepped right off the curb and headed for him. She might be a natural blonde, but she wasn't stupid. She'd dreamed of this man. She'd seen him for years in the place between wake and deep sleep. Her gran had always cautioned her to heed those special dreams--the lucid ones where everything seemed all too real. They were important.
This wide-shouldered man, with hair black and long as the proudest Indian chief, was as significant as they came. Even from several feet away, she knew he'd smell of spring trees and new grass. His dark eyes weren't black though from half a street away, they appeared like coal. They were the darkest blue, a shade she'd never seen on another person. And his name was...
"Raphian," she said when she stood a yard from him, still in the street.
His eyes went wide with surprise. His mouth opened.
Suddenly, he dove for her, yanking her toward the sidewalk as a car blaring Deck the Halls passed so close it brushed the back of her skirt. Her vision swam. "Oh my God," she whispered. "I almost..."
Raphian caught her as she slumped into his chest. Her heart beat too fast. She couldn't breathe. She'd almost died. Wasn't her life supposed to flash before her eyes or something? All she'd seen was a glimpse of silver grill decorated with a garish wreath.
Gently, he brushed her hair from her face. "You're safe for now."
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