Falling for Grace (Four Winds) (19 page)

He pulled away with her, but the demon held on, hurting Grace.  She was reminded of the underwater battle, and suddenly it all became clear.  This was a battle between good and evil. 

Grace squirmed and kicked at the demon, while Rafe held her with one hand, holding his other hand up to the sky, uttering nonsense words that Grace didn't understand.  In a flash of brilliant white light, a staff appeared in his hand, and she heard him roar more words in a language she didn't understand.

Then the staff swung at the demon, and Grace flinched away from it.  The demon loosened his grip in a dodge, away from the incoming blow, and Grace fell.

A strange calm overcame Grace as the wind whipped across her body.  She looked back up at the night sky as she fell, and saw the angel fighting the demon.  A silhouette shining against the backdrop of a flash of lightning, and Grace could see Rafe swing his staff again.  She slowly spun around in her fall, and saw the Gulf waters coming towards her. 

It was as if she were falling in slow motion, and she continued her spin, once again seeing Rafe and Damien, locked in a supreme battle of wills, Rafe's arm thrown back, ready to strike again, as she continued to turn.  The waters rushing up, Grace could see an outcropping of some underwater debris that she idly wondered about, before realizing that she would probably never see Rafe again.  It was ironic that she was preparing to die in the water, from a thousand foot free-fall, when she abhorred heights, and loved the water. 

She would miss Rafe.  She would miss what could have happened with him.  She would miss the frenetic love he could have shown her.  The island's lights were nowhere to be seen.  The demon had carried her out farther than she'd realized.  She could see the schools of fish swimming under the water, and she closed her eyes, bracing for impact.

Goodbye, Rafe.

She screamed again as a strong grip caught her around the waist and halted her descent, carrying her parallel to the top of the water.  Still in her surreal dream, she reached out her hand, and lazily trailed her fingers through the waves lapping under her.

"Grace."  Rafe's voice was in her ear, and it jolted her back to reality.  He slowed, still holding her, and hovered above the water, allowing her to turn her body towards him.  She clutched him with all her strength, burying her face in his hard chest.  His massive feathered wings beat in a rhythm that thudded with her pounding heart, and he whispered shushing noises into her ear.

"Shh...It's okay, Grace.  I've got you." 

She kept her eyes squeezed shut, listening for sounds of battle from the demon, but all she could hear was the wind rustling through the feathers of Rafe's wings.  She risked a look around.

Nothing but the stars above and the gulf below.

"Is he gone?"  She whispered against his chest.

"Yes."

"Thank God."  She mumbled.

"Yes.  You can."  His voice was low, and Grace caught the irony in it.  He began his flight again, turning them back toward the island. 

She pressed herself closer to him, unable to look around for fear of losing her senses.  Everything was spinning wildly inside her head, but foremost in her mind was the fact that she was flying, something that usually terrified her.  Grace tried to concentrate on his arms around her, the safe cocoon he enveloped her in, and not the fact that her feet dangled.

Rafe's grip on her tightened, and she felt herself being lowered.  She struggled frantically, clawing at his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his, to stay in his grip and not be dropped, but in her ear he said softly, "It's okay, Grace.  We're home."

She opened her eyes to see her hotel in front of her, and Rafe looked like, well, he looked like Rafe again.

All green-eyed and gorgeous.

"Come up to the room?"  She asked him shyly. 

He looked at her, his intense eyes asking her questions his mouth didn't voice, and she was afraid to ask what he wondered.

"Sure."

She led the way, feeling out of sorts.  She wasn't uncomfortable in his presence, but the evening's events had her mind reeling.  In the elevator, she faced him.

She could think of nothing to say, but the adrenaline was pumping through her veins now, and her senses were hyper-alert.  She could see the pulse pound in the vein on his neck, as his eyes softened on hers.  The elevator ride was silent, as Grace continued to study Rafe, and Rafe let her.

In the hallway, he stopped her outside the room.

"Are you okay?  Did he hurt you?"

Words continued to fail her, so she shook her head simply, before taking the steps to fold herself in his willing arms.  There, huddled in Rafe's hug, she felt a sense of peace and comfort that she had never known with a man.  Ever.

"
Rafe, I want to thank you.  And apologize.  I never should have gone to his house."

He kissed the top of her head, tucking a stray tendril of hair behind her ear.

"Not necessary.  I would have done it, even if you didn't want me to."

"But…"

"Shh.  We'll talk about it tomorrow.  After the girls have gone to work."

She didn't bother asking him how he knew the girls were in the room.  She just guessed that omniscience went with the archangelness.

They let themselves into the room, and ignored the shocked gasps from Bree and Nicole, who were sitting on one of the beds watching TV.

"Well, hello again.  You back in the picture?"  Nicole couldn't keep her curiosity at bay.

"Hope so."  Clinging to Grace’s hand, Rafe shrugged, and didn't offer any extra explanations, so Grace didn't either.  She hadn't told the girls about his claims to being an archangel, nor did she intend to.  She didn't need her friends locking her in a padded cell.

They turned off the TV, as Grace fell onto the other bed.  Rafe casually pulled off his shirt and jeans, and Bree gasped, but nobody said anything as he slipped under the covers next to Grace.  

Nicole broke the silence.

"You guys aren't going to be fucking over there, are you?"

Rafe let out a convenient snore, eliciting a giggle from Bree.  "Um, I'm pretty sure that's not on the agenda."  Grace assured her friends. 

Nicole snorted in response, and Grace snuggled down into Rafe's side.  He continued his snoring, but his arm came around her as he turned toward her, pulling her in.  She smiled to herself, wondering if he was faking sleep or not.  She didn't wonder long, as his hand slowly began to stroke her stomach, his fingertips drawing lazy lines on her skin.

Grace sighed softly, then fell into a dreamless slumber.

Chapter Twenty-one

When Grace woke up the next morning, it was to an almost empty room.  She couldn't believe that Bree and Nicole had snuck out without waking her or Rafe.  She rolled over, and saw Rafe sleeping next to her, and suddenly forgot to breathe.

He was so damned beautiful.

His hair was spread out on the pillow around him, his eyes closed so that his extended eyelashes were resting on his high cheekbones.  His wide mouth was open slightly, and his breathing was soft.  Then it caught.  She imagined her fingertips in his hair, tracing his jawline, then running down his chest, below the sheet.  She wondered how big he was, if his size compared to Brad's.  Grace started breathing heavier, as she pictured herself on top of Rafe, riding him into oblivion.

"Are you looking at me?"  His voice was husky with sleep, and it sent a tremble coursing through Grace's body.

"Yeah."  Her voice didn't sound like her own.  She attributed it to watching him sleep, thinking lurid thoughts about having her way with his body.

"You can, you know."

"What?"

"Have your way with my body.  Looks like fun."  His eyes cracked open, green irises gazing at her, as she blushed clear to her toes.

"So you are inside my head."

"Sorry about that.  Not easy to control when I'm sleeping."  He sat up, leaning back on the headboard with his fingers laced behind his head.  "Those thoughts of yours, though.  Tsk, tsk."

She blushed again, swinging her legs around off the bed.  She had slept in her dress from the night before.  Her fuck-me-hard dress that she'd worn for Damien.

Remembering Damien, and last night, she lost all traces of amorousness toward Rafe.  "What in the hell happened last night?  What was all that?"

"Let's get dressed and go get some breakfast somewhere.  I think I'm starved.  We can talk while we eat."

"You think you're starved?"

"Hunger's new to me.  I'll tell you everything over breakfast.  I promise.  All of your questions will be answered."  Grace swallowed the saliva that pooled in her mouth when she saw his back as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.  She had no idea back muscles could be so damn sexy.

"Okay." 

They took turns in the shower, before getting dressed and walking to a breakfast place next door to the hotel.  Grace's brain was swimming with questions to ask him, but as they sat down, he waved over the waitress and said, "I would like two of the biggest breakfasts you have, please."  He looked to Grace and said, "For you?"

She gulped, "Two eggs, over-medium, crispy bacon, and wheat toast." 

Nodding to himself, he handed the waitress the menus and leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms over his chest.  "Let me talk for a little while, tell my story.  I need to get it out before you start asking questions, okay?  I promise I'll answer anything, but I've been keeping this all to myself for so long, I just need to say it all."

Grace nodded and reached for the sugar and creamer for her coffee to keep herself busy.

"I am the archangel Raphael," he began.  Grace nodded, she got this part already.  "I am the one who heals.  Since the beginning of time, I've been answering prayers to heal the sick.  I've done it a variety of ways, but usually I get inside their head, and I put ideas there, or I use their body.  Sometimes I visit dreams and give healing answers.  I heal all kinds of things: physical, mental, and spiritual maladies."  He paused, as he took a small sip of coffee, then grimaced and took a larger sip.

"I have guided surgeons' hands, come to midwives in divine dreams, and…" His voice dropped, as his gaze softened, "visited lifeguards with words of encouragement."  The waitress arrived with their food, and Rafe watched eagerly as she set everything down on the table.  He shoveled some eggs into his mouth before continuing, talking around a mouthful of food.

"I'm sorry.  I've never been hungry before."  He swallowed and took another large bite.  "As angels, we don't get hungry.  I'm rarely in human form as it is…"  Another bite.  "But with all of this 'falling' business, I'm turning human, and now I get hungry, tired, sick, and…other things."  He took another bite of eggs and a bite of toast chewing them together.  "Uri told me what signs to look for."

Grace took a break from watching him wolf down his food and started eating her own breakfast, cutting her eggs up and scooping the yolky mixture on top of her toast.  She hoped everything would make sense soon.

"So, for millennia, I've been listening to people offer up anything, sacrifice everything for the ones that they love to get well, be healed.  I began to wonder what was this powerful emotion that the humans felt that would make them want to sacrifice their own lives for someone else, just because they loved them?  So, I asked the Boss to let me feel it."

"The Boss?"

"God.  You know.  But He said no.  That was for the humans, only them.  Nothing else could experience that particular emotion.  He asked if I would like to try joy instead."  Rafe rolled his eyes at the thought.  "Humans are so greedy, it was hard to imagine a feeling that could trump the greed and menace inherent in their world.  I've been petitioning God for centuries now to let me feel it."

He ate another few bites, and Grace continued watching him, eating her own breakfast in silence. 

"I gave up on Him granting my request and started trying to find it other ways.  I knew that sex was somehow connected, so I started having sex with various women, hoping that could make me fall in love."

Grace choked on her bacon, coughing loudly before a hunk of the breakfast meat came flying out at Rafe's chest.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled.

He grinned at her, as he wiped his shirt.  "It's okay.  The sex thing didn't work.  It was fun, but I never fell in love with any of the women."

"What did God think of that?  Isn't that fornication?"

Rafe waved his hand, dismissively.  "He found it amusing.  Most of what you humans do is amusing to Him."  He drank more coffee.  "Anyway, when you lost Alex, I heard your cries."

Grace stared at him, unable to eat anything.

"I saw your nightmares.  I started to spend more time with you, watching you, being with you, helping you."

"Are you the green?"

He nodded.  "That's my color."  He stopped eating for a minute and reached across the table to hold Grace's hand.  "I've been with you since Alex."

Grace remembered her cries to Heaven after losing Alex.  She'd been so angry.  Angry that he'd lost his life, that she hadn't found him, that he was gone.  The futility of all of it had killed her, and she'd railed at God for not helping her.  For not helping Alex.

"So, why did you come down to move in with us?  What was that all about?"

"He told me I could try it.  He gave me the go-ahead to fall in love with you, Grace.  I'd been with you, and He chose you for me."

She was stunned.  What did that mean?

"It means that I'm becoming human, Grace.  I used to never know hunger, now look at me."  He had finished three plates of food: eggs, bacon, toast, biscuits, pancakes, and fruit.  "I used to not get tired.  I've never had to go to the bathroom before.  I used to never feel pain, get hurt."  She remembered the shard of metal impaled in his leg during the storm.

"The storm?  You loved me then?  You'd only just met me."

"Ah, but remember.  I've known you for three years, Grace.  I've watched you risk your life for total strangers, in the name of duty.  I've seen the nightmares that you have about the one you couldn't save.  I've been inside your head.  I know what makes you tick.  I've been falling for you for awhile."

"So, who's Damien?"

"He's the Deceiver."

"I've heard you call him that, but I don't know what it means."

"He's the one most everybody knows as Satan.  Long ago, he was one of us.  The Boss sent him down to test humans, to deceive them into going against His will, to test their faith.  But he got carried away, derived too much pleasure out of it.  So the Boss cast him down, to be in charge of the damned.  He's jealous of the other brothers because he thinks we've always gotten preferential treatment.  He wants what we've been promised."

"I see."  And she did.  She had always felt that Damien was bad, somehow.  "But, his job was to deceive.  Why did he get punished for it?"

"He didn't just deceive people to see who was unworthy.  He played upon the human weaknesses, created evil where it wasn't initially.  He wreaked a lot of havoc.  You're familiar with the garden of Eden, yes?"

"Yes, but wasn't he already cast down then?"

"In the retelling of the story, yes, but when it actually happened?  Not the case."

Grace digested this information, a new paradigm for her to think about.  Her belief system was changing, in a major way.  She'd always believed in God, in a "something had to have created everything" sort of way.  She called herself Christian, but only because it was too scary not to, if she thought about it hard enough.  The alternative was horrifying.  To make it through this short life, and then not have anything, not be anything, unaware of anything around you?  That scared her more than Hell.

"So, I'm it?  I'm what makes you human?"

"God chose you for me to fall for.  To fall in love with.  To fall from my angelic perch.  I've been watching you, helping you, wanting to take care of you.  It makes perfect sense to me."

"Not to me.  Why me?  Surely there are people out there with more faith than me to choose for you."

"You're the one, Grace.  You're perfect for me.  There's nobody else."

Grace struggled to transform her jumbled thoughts into coherent words.  “But to fall in love with me, you have to give up…everything.  Your celestial powers?  You won’t be able to heal anymore?  How is love worth that?

He shrugged.  “I know, I can’t really explain it.”  When his eyes met hers, the intense green seeped into her spirit, boosting it.  “I know that the Boss has a plan, and if it includes me losing my ability to heal in exchange for your love, then I’m all in.”  He must have seen the doubt in his eyes.  “It wasn’t an easy conclusion to come to, which was part of my visit to Uri, but in the end, I realized that He really does know best.”

It was all so overwhelming.  Even the peace she felt around Rafe couldn’t calm her insides.  She was a roiling mess.  "I don't want to lose myself, Rafe."
"You've said that before, but it still doesn't make sense to me.  We're good together.  I can wait for you to decide, but just know, that I only have this life to live.  It's a done deal for me."  His gaze locked with hers, stealing her breath.  "I love you.  Let me be your fairy tale."

Rafe paid the bill, and they walked back to the hotel in silence.  His hand grasped hers gently, filling her with a sense of serenity, and calm.  She treasured the sensation of his warm hand wrapped around hers, and he squeezed gently.  She squeezed back, contented with right now.  With Rafe, the future was an unknown entity.

When they entered the hotel lobby, Grace noticed a couple sitting on a couch, apparently waiting.  The woman had porcelain skin and dark hair that fell in a silky cascade past her shoulders.  She was reading a book, while the man watched the door. He was tanned, with a shock of blond hair that fell over his forehead.

They stood when Rafe and Grace walked in, and they walked over to them with excited purpose.

"Hey, Uri!  I'm surprised to see you here."  Rafe hugged the man, and they clapped each other's backs in the universal man hug.  Then he stooped and kissed the woman's cheek.  "Heather.  You look lovely as always."

"You just left so fast, we wanted to make sure everything was okay.  See if you guys needed help with anything," the man responded, his gaze traveling to Grace.

Rafe turned to Grace.  "Grace, this is one of my brothers, Uriel.  I've told you about him, I think.  And his wife, Heather."

She held out her hand, sure she looked confused.  "A little, it's a pleasure to meet you."  He had said he had brothers, other archangels, but married?

"The hotel room's a little small for company, but we can go up there if you'd like."

Uri spoke first, "It's been ages since I've seen a beach.  Can we go there?"