Angel Be Good (14 page)

"With this ring, I thee wed."

Nat's heart swelled, feeling as if it would
explode from happiness. If he'd ever known love could be like this,
he'd never have been afraid to care. His lips joined with Daphne's
in a cocoon of passion and completeness.

Daphne melted under Nat's caresses. They
belonged together as surely as if they'd appeared before a church
official or a judge. No marriage license could make it more real
than it was at this moment. She hoped her decision wasn't the wrong
one.

Would the Angelic Council feel she was doing
wrong to accept his love, to agree to be Nat's wife? Even if they
did, could they do anything to make it less so? Weren't they
already bound in every way possible between a man and a woman?

The thought of Nat joining her in heaven
even made the damn feathered wings seem tolerable. She'd wanted to
know romantic love, but she'd never realized how powerful love like
that could be or how it could change her perspective.

But she wanted this moment to remember.

Nat shifted to dig through the pile of food
they'd brought. He piled the cheese and meat cubes on one plate, on
another he arranged salads and dips. On a third plate, he placed
chips, breads and crackers.

Daphne leaned forward and selected a cheese
cube, then offered it to him. "Open up."

Nat complied. She popped the cube in his
mouth, then used her thumb to wipe away an imagined crumb from his
lower lip.

Next, he fed her a chip overloaded with dip.
When the majority of the tangy dip landed on her face rather than
inside, Nat licked it away.

"You did that on purpose."

"You bet I did," he replied with a low
growl. "Want more?"

"Hm-hmm." He was the most wonderful man
she'd ever come across and, for this moment, he was all hers.

They took turns feeding each other nibbles
of food, each time prolonging their contact with the other. Each
bite turning Daphne's thoughts to something other than food.

When Nat traced an imaginary spill down her
neck, she didn't think she could take any more. Grabbing the dark
blue satin robe Nat had chosen for her, she whispered, "I'll be
right back."

"Don't take too long, otherwise I might be
tempted to eat all the chocolate pie."

"Keep your mitts off it! I'll only be a
second." She rushed to the ladies' room, quickly discarded her
clothes, then drew on the robe. The cold smooth satin sent shivers
down her spine. Barefooted, she ran back to join Nat.

Entering the office, she saw that he'd
changed, too. The boxers looked incredibly wonderful on his muscled
frame. Desire shook her limbs and she trembled as she stepped
forward to join him on the blanket.

He'd dimmed the lights, the only glow
lighting the room came from the two candles he'd lit. He'd even
produced a rose to place in a vase at the center of the blanket and
she thought she could detect the delicate aroma.

The candles flickered as she neared them.
The air, stirred by her movement, brushed against her skin as well.
"It's beautiful, Nat. You're beautiful."

He laughed. "I don't think anyone has ever
called me beautiful before. Handsome scoundrel, yes. But beautiful?
And let me tell you, Daph. You, in that robe, are the most
delectable sight I've ever seen. Come closer, little girl. I'm
going to gobble you right up."

"I thought you'd never ask." She sat down
and scooted over to sit directly beside him.

Heaven was his touch. Hell was never knowing
it again. Reaching her hand up to his chest, she needed to feel the
warmth of his skin. Would it ever be possible to be close enough to
him? An urge to get ever closer, to climb into his body, clawed at
her psyche. Other couples had time for their love to build. She and
Nat had less than two hours.

She needed their joining like a refugee
needed haven. She craved his love, his body, and to have him bury
himself in her, a physical reflection of their inner hearts. She
craved to be whole, complete and entire, as she could only be when
their bodies and souls met.

"I need the feel of your body on mine." Nat
untied the sash of her robe and slid it open. He sighed heavily as
his hand slipped beneath the robe to caress her waist.

He wrapped his arms around her back, running
his palms up and down the length of her spine. Daphne luxuriated in
the way their bodies conformed to each other, his shoulder
supporting her head, her breasts flattening against the hardness of
his chest, the way their legs entwined.

If only the moment could continue
indefinitely. If only they could awaken the next morning to repeat
this again and again for a lifetime. If only she could promise to
remain here forever, enfolded in the warmth of their passion.

She thrust the thought of tomorrows away
from her. She had now and that was more, far more, than many people
ever had. Nat was with her now. The memory of this moment was more
than enough to substitute for a lifetime of mediocrity. Now was
enough for eternity. Love couldn't die. It was immortal.

Tears slipped, unbidden from her eyes. "I
don't want to leave you."

"Don't cry."

The tears got worse. How could he be so
insensitive? "How dare you say that when I have to leave you?"

"Don't yell."

"I'm not yelling. I'm crying." Tears shook
her body. Leaving him was worse than anything she could think
of.

When he sang a stanza of a favorite
Christmas song, it dawned on her what he was up to and he was right
for trying to cheer her up. She wasn't going to spoil their
remaining time together by being maudlin. She wiped back her tears.
"If you tell me Santa's on his way, you're a dead man."

"That's better," Nat said with a smile, then
he pointed out the window. "Look."

She turned and saw a few enormous white
flakes of snow fluttering from the heavens. "It's a white
Christmas."

"I wish I could wrap it up in ribbons and
give it to you, Daph. You know what I'd like?"

"What?"

"To see the snow falling on your skin, just
this once? Come out on the balcony with me. I promise to keep you
warm."

Gazing into his eyes, she could only think
that his heated look was more than enough to char every crevice of
her body. Whew. She fanned herself, then gathered up a couple of
blankets.

Nat swung open the glass doors leading to
the balcony that lined one glass wall of his office. As soon as the
cold air hit her, gooseflesh broke out on her arms and legs. Great,
their last moments together and she looked like a plucked
chicken.

A snowflake landed on her breast.

Nat murmured a low growl. "Don't worry, I
promised to keep you warm." He lowered his head and licked away the
snow, his hot moist tongue shooting a flame through her body.

Lowering her onto the blanket, he whispered,
"You're so lovely."

The heat from his body contrasted sharply
with the air surrounding them, relaxing her as nothing else could.
Another flake fell, this time on her bottom lip. Nat quickly warmed
it.

She kissed him. As their tongues twined, so
did their spirits, wrapping around each other in a stream of
star-bright light.

Using the balls of his thumbs, Nat stroked
her sides, trailing paths like comets across her sensitive skin.
Her breath quickened. His fingers massaged her hips, then swooped
between their bodies to smooth the tenseness in her belly.

Nat's hands slowly climbed higher to cup her
breasts, then his thumbs brushed across her nipples, sending her
into orbit. Like an astronaut charting an unknown world, Daphne
quaked beneath the enormity of their lovemaking.

Reaching his fingers up to catch several
flakes of snow, Nat then looked back into her eyes and she could
almost imagine she could see directly into his soul.

He lowered the snow to the sensitive spot
between her legs, sending a shiver up her back. "I'm going to warm
you here, too."

His mouth lowered, and she thought she might
scream for more. Hot. She was so hot for him. He drove her to the
edge of distraction. And beyond.

She whimpered as the first nova of ecstasy
flashed through her body.

Nat pulled back to slide out of his boxers,
then he licked away flakes which had fallen between her breasts.
She was helpless to move, to do anything other than crave
completion. How she needed him. Then Nat lowered himself over her
and thrust quickly and completely inside.

He placed his hands between her and the
blanket, pulling her into him with every thrust. Her eyes fluttered
open and all she could see was the infinity of the heavens between
the banks of clouds lazily littering them with snow. It couldn't be
her imagination that each flake sizzled as it settled on their
skin.

The nova flared again, pulling them into its
hot glare, pushing them over the edge of desire and releasing their
spirits to soar in the heavens. Thousands of bells rang, sending
choruses of chimes dancing through the stars.

As they enjoyed the moments after their
lovemaking, the snow fall became heavier, carpeting the balcony in
white. Nat wrapped her, then himself, in blankets, then he swept
her up into his arms and carried her back inside.

Daphne nuzzled his neck. "You kept your
word, Nat. I've never been so warm in my life."

"I always keep my word."

Daphne hummed the tune to Jingle Bells.

"I can't believe you're singing Christmas
carols."

"You started it. Besides, bells rang for me.
Didn't they for you?"

He smiled warmly at her, then kissed her
forehead. "I adore you."

"I love you, Nat."

~~~~

Chapter Nine

Nat's quiet breathing soothed Daphne's
tattered nerves. After making love, he'd fallen into an exhausted
slumber on the sofa. She didn't have the heart to wake him.

She'd quietly dressed, visited the ladies'
room to clean up, then returned to sit bolt up-right beside him,
awaiting Leonard's return. Facing the windows, her heart pumped
frantically as dawn crept over the horizon.

Was this the way a condemned man felt just
before his hanging? Fatalism mixed with pain of loss? How could she
leave Nat just when she'd begun to know him? More than anything,
she didn't want to leave.

Her only consolation was that they'd be
reunited in heaven. When Leonard arrived, it shouldn't be difficult
to convince him to allow her to return to heaven. She'd do her best
to conform while waiting for Nat to join her. Judging by past
experience, it wouldn't be that long a wait, anyway. All she had to
do was get through this morning, get through leaving Nat.

At the full blaze of sunrise, Leonard
materialized. Daphne stood, her nerves stretched tight. "What took
you so long?"

"I've returned at the appointed hour. Shall
we be on our way?"

"Change in plans, Leonard. I've decided to
go back to heaven." She pointed upward, then realized something was
wrong. Where were her fingers?

Pulling back her arms to examine them
closely, all she could see were her wrists. Her hands had
evaporated. "What gives?"

"Just as I warned. You haven't taken your
new body and this one is fading. We don't have any time to waste
getting you into a new one. Come along."

Hadn't he heard what she'd said? "What about
Heaven? I think I can handle the feathers now."

"I'm sorry, Daphne." He laid his hand on her
shoulder and the dizzy sensation swept them in its tide once
more.

Oh, God. She couldn't leave. It hurt too
much. She grabbed one final look at Nat before he was no longer
visible, wanting to reach out for one last caress, needing to
memorize his face for eternity. Then she was gone, leaving her
heart behind.

Within seconds, Leonard and Daphne landed in
a busy hospital ward. Medical staff ran between rooms, visitors
walked down hallways. As with previous times, no one noticed their
presence.

Daphne clutched her stomach. The pain of
leaving Nat was almost unbearable, as if all her vital organs had
been ripped from her body. Forcing herself upright, she reminded
herself she had to go on—for Nat.

"This is as difficult for me as it is for
you, Daphne. I'd like to grant your request." Leonard's blue eyes
filled with remorse. "You can't return to Heaven. You made your
choice before returning to the earthly plane."

"It can't be as hard for you, Leonard. It
simply can't." Could the pain become any worse? She had to go back
to heaven. Nat would join her there.

Leonard pointed toward a door opening on a
hospital room. Inside, Daphne barely made out a bed with a number
of doctors and nurses in attendance. She took a step back.

"No. I want to go to heaven."

"Daphne, need I remind you about your hands?
You'll soon disappear, not unlike the fate of Jimmy Hoffa."

Maybe if she disappeared, so would the pain
of loss. Willing herself to be distracted, she asked, "Hoffa
disappeared?"

Leonard nodded. "Contemporary humans suspect
his mortal remains might be buried beneath Giants Stadium in
Secaucus, New Jersey."

New Jersey seemed like an apt place. "Is
he?"

"The truth is, his body lies beneath the new
FBI building in Virginia."

Daphne laughed despite herself, then she
grew serious. "I promised Nat I'd wait for him in heaven. I can't
go back on my word."

"Your mission was successful, Daphne. Have
no fear, you will meet each other again once you've completed your
lives."

"Yeah, but we won't know each other. At
least, Leonard, let me keep my memories. I don't want to go back to
the way I was before, only half of a whole."

"Please understand that the Council has your
best interests at heart. This is your destiny." Surprisingly, tears
streamed from Leonard's eyes, and he wiped them with the sleeve of
his robe. She hadn't known angels could cry. Was it possible he did
understand?