PROLOGUE

Monica leaned on the refrigerator door, trying to make up her mind about what to attempt for breakfast.  Andrew was still sleeping peacefully upstairs and as today marked their third week of marriage she wanted to surprise him with breakfast in bed.  She giggled softly to herself, thinking that her husband had not married the most conventional of angels, but then again, marriage between angels was not all that conventional either.  She sadly lacked in culinary ability, but she had been watching him closely for the last two weeks and had been making mental notes and breakfast seemed the easiest of the three daily meals.  She would even force herself to refrain from using coffee in the French toast if it killed her.

“Good morning, baby.”

The little angel spun around, startled, at the voice of her supervisor and her heart immediately caught in her throat, as she pondered the reason for this visit.  Generally, she was extremely pleased to see Tess, but she had a feeling that this was more than a social call and the thought caused her stomach to twist into knots.  She nearly had to force her feet to move over to the older angel to hug her, “It’s good to see you, Tess.”

Tess hugged her charge tightly and sighed, “Not exactly the enthusiastic greeting I was hoping for, but I suppose under the circumstances, I can’t blame you.”

She was immediately fighting tears, but she blinked them back and asked the one question she had been dreading to hear the answer to, “When?”

“Tonight, Angel Girl,” Tess’ voice held great regret and she felt a small tremor flow through her charge.  The older angel had been dreading this moment as well, knowing that this would be more or less the first time Monica would be separated from Andrew since she had been raped.  God’s love and Andrew’s love had hopefully made the little angel stronger, but still Tess knew that this transition would be difficult for both younger angels.

Monica gave a little nod as she pulled away and somehow managed to keep her voice from trembling, “Are you staying?”

“No, baby.  I’m on assignment, but the Father just wanted me to let you know.  I trust you’ll tell Andrew.”

“Of course,” the words were quiet and filled with more sadness than Tess had heard from her in a long time.

“You’ll be fine, Angel Girl, and this won’t be forever.  You know that,” Reaching out, she laid a gentle hand against Monica’s cheek, “I’ll be back tonight.”

Once Tess had departed, Monica stood in the middle of the kitchen, breakfast forgotten, only the ache in her heart remaining.  Slowly she climbed the stairs to the bedroom and slipped inside quietly, her eyes on her husband, who continued to sleep, blissfully ignorant of the news she had just gotten. 

She stood beside him, watching him for a moment, her heart filling with great love.  He was going to feel just as she did once he knew that their time together for now was over and she was loathe to tell him just yet, despite that she knew he would want her to share the pain that was in her heart.  Watching him sleep, she wondered how she would ever be able to wake up tomorrow without his arms around her and the very thought caused her vision to blur.

Reaching out, she touched a lock of his hair.  He made her feel so safe and so loved and though she had known this day would come, it was still difficult to fathom that it had arrived, but she was an angel of God first, and so was Andrew and what they had together came in second, but the loss of it was still unbearable.

Quietly, she removed her robe and crawled back into bed beside of him and inched her way down his body, being careful not to wake him.  Her eyes roamed over his body, loving the strength of him.  The same strength that would always protect her could hold her in a way so tenderly it made her heart hurt each time just from the emotions that would wash over her in those first few moments of his arms being around her. 

Reaching down, she took him in hand, feeling him harden against her, loving the way his body could respond to her touch even in sleep.  She had wanted to surprise him this morning, and regardless of Tess’ announcement, that was still her plan.  Looking up, she saw that he was still asleep but as soon as her tongue slid across him, she watched as his eyes opened, passion already present in them and she was unable to help but smile.

“Angel…” His voice was husky with the feelings she was inspiring within him and he longed to kiss her, but she apparently had other plans.  He’d had a taste of her mouth in the shower the first morning of their honeymoon and he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to control himself.

“Good morning,” Her voice was sultry with her desire for him and a second later, she had taken the length of him into her mouth, causing a rather loud groan to escape his lips.  Monica worked him slowly, alternating between slow strokes that left him nearly insane to quicker ones where she could feel his passion building. Her tongue lapped at him in between strokes, running lightly along his brim, before taking him into her mouth once more, sucking and working him with her tongue.  Her hand clutched him tightly, moving up and down in rhythm with her mouth.

“Monica…” He gasped, wanting her to stop and to continue all at the same time as he struggled to hold back the inevitable.  Her mouth was hot and wet and she was showing no signs of backing off and when she took his full length into herself, he cried out her name with the release he could no longer hold back.  He could feel her swallowing against him as she slowed, taking her time to complete him.  He was breathless.

Recovering, he pulled her back up the bed gently, smiling at the smug expression her beautiful face, “Turn about is fair play, angel,” He whispered wickedly into her ear before he kissed her, long and hard, stealing her breath, before moving to between her legs.  There was no teasing as his tongue plunged into her core, causing a cry to escape her.  His own passion mounted once more at how wet she was just from pleasuring him and he lapped at her hungrily, her sweetness filling his senses.  He knew he could easily spend the rest of eternity with her and never tire of tasting her, touching her, loving her.  He took her nub into his mouth and sucked it gently, and then a bit harder, plunging her into orgasm with a cry on her lips as he continued to lap at her, drinking in her completion.

Trailing kisses up her body, he positioned himself at her entrance, and filled her completely, feeling her silky walls enfold him as her hips moved to the rhythm he set.  She was crying out constantly, murmuring words of love and passion that spurred him on.  Feeling his own intensity building once more, he captured her mouth in a bruising kiss just as she tightened around him, her back arching into her climax and with one last powerful thrust, he emptied himself into her.

 They were both breathless, but as he started to slip from her depths, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, “Don’t…not yet…”

 Andrew felt his heart clench as a minute later, he felt a tear splash onto his shoulder and he already knew before she even had to tell him.  He closed his eyes as he slipped from her in order to pull her tightly up against his chest, “When?” He whispered, his hands working into her hair desperately.

 “Tonight.”

*****

They spent the day trying to distract themselves from the fact that come nightfall Monica would be gone, and Andrew would be left to await his own assignment. They went swimming for hours in the morning, with playful splashing turning into passionate kissing, and Monica lost count of how many times she ran down the dock and cannonballed into the water.

Somehow they got through lunch without talking about their impending separation, and then spent the afternoon wandering the woods and lying in an open field talking and looking up at the clouds. The sun began its downward path and Andrew reluctantly got to his feet and extended his hand to Monica.

“I’m not ready,” she said softly.

“I know, sweetheart. Neither am I. It won’t be for long.”

“We don’t know that.”

“God didn’t put us together just to tear us apart. I know I’ll be with you again before you know it.”

The sky had turned orange and purple and red by the time they reached the house, and Monica wandered into the bedroom and stared at the quilt on the bed. She heard Andrew follow her and was grateful to feel his arms wrap around her from behind. His warm mouth placed a trail of kisses down her neck and she let her head fall to the side, exposing more of it to his questing mouth.

“Tess could be here any minute.”

“She can wait. I’m not letting her take you away without making love to you one more time. I want you to leave here remembering just how treasured and loved you are.”

Turning her head she looked up into his eyes, tears welling although she was smiling. “I’ll never forget that, Andrew.”

“Well let’s just make sure, okay?” he bent down and kissed her deeply, one hand at the back of her head and the other around her waist, supporting her as her knees grew weak. He took his time, memorizing the feel of her in his arms and the taste of her on his lips. Then, in a swift motion, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

Her initial protests about the time were all but forgotten as she pulled his dark tshirt over his head and ran her slender fingers over the muscles of his chest and shoulders. He loved the way she touched him, her hands so sure as if she had been doing it forever. He guessed that in many ways she had. With hands or words or heart, she had always known exactly how to touch him.

Wanting this to last, for both of them, Andrew allowed her to continue her explorations as they kissed, but soon the need to touch her as well became unbearable. He gently slid one hand up under the edge of her shirt, pausing first to rub warm circles around her belly before moving upwards to cup her breast. She let out a moan against his lips and he couldn’t help chuckling.

“I love that sound,” he murmured. “I love knowing that I can make you feel that good.”

“Better than good… wonderful,” she replied as she pulled back a hair and looked deeply into his eyes.

“I love you, Monica,” the words were only a whisper as he captured her mouth again and his other hand moved to unbutton her shirt.

Despite their best efforts, things moved much faster after that point and soon their clothing lay in disarray on the floor as they continued to kiss and tease each other. They both wanted to be the one to make the other beg. Andrew had worked his way down to her breasts and seemed to be winning the battle of wills. Monica’s hands were twined in his hair, urging him on as he suckled at one breast while his nimble fingers worked the other. Her body was surging up against his and he felt her dampness against his stomach and almost lost his concentration. At that instant he wanted nothing more than to be ensconced in her warmth; to feel that precious joining that symbolized their unending love. In that instant he knew that she was the one who had really won because he suddenly couldn’t wait any longer.

He licked around her nipple gently, one more time and then looked into her face as he brought his other hand up to continue where his mouth had left off. He didn’t have to say a word as he could see his own expression mirrored on her face. She nodded her head almost frantically.

“Please,” she whispered, and he leaned forward as he entered her and whispered back, “I need you so much, angel… and I love you even more than that.”

“Oh, I love you, Andrew. I love you,” she repeated again and again as she moved her hips against him, treasuring the feeling of him inside, touching places that only he could; touching her heart and soul. She felt herself rushing to the edge much faster than she wanted to but he seemed to sense that and slowed the pace just before she fell. Her hands moved to his face and she met his gaze for a long moment before pulling him down for another kiss. He started moving faster again, pushing them both towards the edge, and this time she welcomed it. With his hands still gently stroking her breasts and tweaking at her nipples he thrust into her deeply and when he felt her clench around him he let out a groan that ended in her name and joined her as they reached completion together.

They continued moving against each other for long minutes afterwards, wringing every last sensation from their bodies before finally parting to lie, sated, in one another’s arms. Andrew was still placing feather light kisses against Monica’s forehead and she was still tracing lazy circles on his chest.

“That was so wonderful,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

He chuckled deep in his chest. “You don’t ever have to thank me for that!”

“Now I really don’t want to leave,” she continued, a trace of guilt in her voice.

“And I don’t want to let you go.”

“But we have to.”

He pulled her close and nodded against the top of her head. “Yes we do. But think of it this way. Now we have one more memory to add to the ones we already have in our hearts.”