When Dair pulled out of the human's mind, he stood for a few moments staring down in awe at the man the Creator had purposed for such a great task. He was not a rich person. He didn’t come from a family with a history of Ivy League school enrollment. He wasn’t the son of a famous person or political figure. He was a nobody in a poor part of a city, born into circumstances that should make him a statistic. As it always did, it amazed Dair who the Creator used for such seemingly impossible tasks: the unassuming, the underdogs, the ones society deemed unworthy. Yet their Creator made them worthy.
“Be strong, Wilson Turner,” Dair whispered, having taken the man’s name from his mind. “Do not let others dictate what your purpose will be. For your journey will be a difficult one, a selfless one, but one that only you can travel. Be strong.”
Dair left the future scientist to his dream, hoping that Turner would indeed follow the path he was destined for. There was no guarantee that the young man would follow the suggestions Dair had planted in his mind, but perhaps, it would make him think harder before deciding he couldn’t succeed.
Dair thought of Serenity and quickly found himself standing outside of her bedroom window. The light was still on and he could see her shadow moving around through the thin curtains. He was eager to see her, and hold her, and he gave no second thought to using his power to appear in her room. His eyes opened just as he felt the heat of the house and every part of him, except his betraying eyes, froze. Turn around, he yelled at himself and yet his body refused to move. It was as if the connection between his mind and his limbs had been completely cut off. When his eyes finally met Serenity's, Dair was surprised to see that she was calm, not freaking out like he clearly was.
"Perhaps, you might want to knock before you just appear?" she asked with a small quirk of her lips.
Dair nodded. He wanted to say something, anything, but it was useless. So instead he stood there looking like an idiot, a perverted idiot at that.
"Could you turn around for a sec?" He could tell she was trying really hard not to laugh, and that was the only reason he was finally able to move. Dair nodded and then willed his body to turn away from a very beautiful, but very dressed only in a towel, Serenity.
Chapter 8
“If you dream you are standing naked in the park, it probably means that you need to spend some time in nature away from the modern inconveniences of the world.”
Serenity bit her lip as she quickly slipped into her sleep clothes. She was trying very hard not to laugh at Dair, but it was difficult. He was usually so calm and collected. To see him at a complete loss, with shock and awe on his face, was something she really wished she could have gotten a picture of. She knew she should probably be embarrassed at having him see her only in a towel, but she figured it covered more than a bathing suit did, so really she had nothing to be embarrassed about. If she was honest with herself, she was actually flattered at the response on Dair's face and in his eyes. There was no mistaking the desire that flared in their black depths as he drank her in. A girl could get used to being looked at like that.
"Okay, I'm decent," she finally told him. She watched as he turned around slowly as if he expected her to suddenly yell, just kidding now I'm naked as the day I was born! When he was finally facing her again, the look in his eyes had her breath freezing in her lungs.
"I am so sorry for just barging in like that, Serenity," Dair said in a low, velvety smooth voice. Serenity wasn't sure if he was trying to ensnare her with his voice or not, but it was working.
"Uh, Dair, you're going to have to turn that stuff off."
His head tilted to the side and his brow furrowed. "What stuff?"
"The sexy as sin voice and the come hither bedroom eyes," she said and motioned with her hand, waving towards his face as if that explained it all. "That mess has got to go." Her words had the opposite effect. The room seemed to suddenly darken, like the lights had been dimmed somehow and the temperature dropped just enough to cause chill bumps to raise all over her skin. Serenity knew from the many times Uncle Wayne had told her about dealing with predators that she wasn't supposed to run. But with the way Dair was looking at her in that moment, everything inside of her was screaming run. The scary part was that she didn't know if it was telling her to run to him or away from him. Way to go hormones, you're totally making this easy on me…not, she told herself.
"We are in your bedroom," Dair told her unnecessarily as he took a measured step towards her.
"Your powers of observation are astounding; now could you please bring the hotness down a notch?"
"You said I have bedroom eyes, and I feel I should point out that it's appropriate since we are indeed in your bedroom." He sounded so logical, as if she should have come to the same conclusion as well.
Serenity looked around for something to get his attention―something to snap him out of Don Juan mode and back into the maybe it's not a good idea to use my powers on my girlfriend mode. She saw a glass of water on her night stand, and just as he was taking another step towards her, Serenity snatched it up and flung the water right in Dair's face. Serenity stood staring at a now dripping wet―which only made him hotter, dammit―Dair. Her mouth hung open like a landing pad for any flying insects that might happen by, and her hand was frozen in midair with the empty glass still tilted towards the immortal. Had she really just flung water in his face? She watched as he reached up with his hand and wiped his eyes, nose, and mouth dry. Yes, yes she had.
"Are you back?" Serenity asked hesitantly.
Dair continued to attempt to dry his face with the sleeve of his jacket as he answered. "It seems that I lack some control in my desire for you. I'm guessing that the water was the only thing you could think of?"
She felt her face flush. "Yah, about that. See you were stalking me in a totally I'm going to devour you way, and I honestly didn't know that I would stop you. So I had to do something before you were able to touch me. I thought about using the lamp, but I like that lamp sooo," she said as she drug out the last word.
"I apologize if I scared you."
Serenity could see that he was truly worried that she was scared of him, but what he wasn't understanding was that she was not afraid of what he would do to her. She was afraid of what she would let him do to her. "I'm not scared of you, Dair. I just think that our attraction for each other is intense, and perhaps distance is a good thing at the moment."
"You're a virgin?"
Serenity's eyes widened. Okay, that was not what she was expecting. "Yes, I'm most definitely a virgin. That isn't something that I'm willing to just give to anyone."
"It's for someone you love?" he asked.
"Yes, but not just love. It's for the one person that I will commit myself to for life."
"Your mate?" He paused and then corrected himself. "Your husband?"
She nodded.
"That is another thing that is different about you,” he responded.
"Well, to be honest, until now, it hasn't exactly been a hardship. But, with you, it's. . . I." She let out a deep breath. "Well, let's just say I understand why people don't wait. I'm not saying I agree or that I will change my plan, but I totally get it."
They sat staring at one another for several minutes. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence but Serenity didn’t enjoy the distance between them. Finally she let out a resigned sigh and scooted across the bed until their knees where touching. “Would you consider me needy if I said I want you to hold me?”
Dair grinned at her and the effect on his handsome face took her breath away. “I always want to hold you. Do you consider me needy because of that?”
She shook her head. Serenity wasn’t surprised when he scooped her up as though she weighed nothing and sat her on his lap. His strong arms encircled her waist, pulling her tightly against his chest. Despite how it sounded, a little cheesy she admitted, it felt right to be in his arms. It felt as though it was where she belonged―where she would always belong. Serenity felt his breath on her nec
k as he buried his face in her hair. He took several deep breaths before whispering, “You smell amazing.”
She didn’t know what to say to that so she just snuggled in deeper against him.
“How did things go with Emma tonight?” Dair asked, his voice muffled because he had yet to raise his face from her neck.
“Well, Darla was in heaven having someone to dote over. And I think Emma had a good time. It was really hard to take her back home.”
“Did you take her by yourself?”
Serenity could tell by the sharp tone that he did not approve of that idea. “No, we all took her back. Darla was trying to convince Emma to let her ask if she could stay the night at our house, but Emma was insistent that she not rock the boat. She was worried about how Mildred might behave I think. I honestly didn’t think Aunt Darla was going to let her out of the car. She kept telling her things like make sure you put something in front of your door while you’re sleeping and keep shoes on while you sleep in case you need to escape quickly. Emma had to remind her that she had a guardian angel, which seemed to appease Darla a little considering she doesn’t doubt for a minute that Raphael truly is an angel. I asked her about it and she said ‘there’s purity in him that isn’t in others’, so I’m just going with it.”
“I wish there was something more I could do to help her,” Dair told her. The sorrow in his voice broke her heart. And she understood how he felt because she wanted nothing more than to snatch Emma from her aunt and never let her return to the wretched woman. Serenity had found herself wondering how Mildred had ended up such a wretch while her sister had obviously fared much better. What choices had she made that had veered her so far in the opposite direction of her sister? Part of her felt sorry for the woman, but then the other part of her knew that life was full of choices, and it wasn’t always just the cards a person was dealt that determined their lot in life. Rather, it was what they did with the hand that mattered. There had to have been a point when Mildred Jones had the opportunity to choose something better for herself. For whatever reason, she let that opportunity pass her by.
“What are you thinking about?” Dair asked. She felt his hand begin to stroke her arm and she shivered under his gentle touch.
“Choices,” she answered softly.
“What about them?”
“Just how they never truly only affect the person making them. Our choices always affect those around us, those close to us, even if the effect is not immediately apparent; eventually the choices have consequences.”
“So do you ever think you should make a choice based solely on what you need or want? Or do you think you should always consider those who might be affected by that choice?” Dair had pulled back now and she could feel his eyes on her face.
“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?” Serenity turned to look up at him. “Is there a time when I should only think about myself? It sounds so bad when it’s put like that.”
“I think that as long as your choice isn’t going to harm someone, or put them in danger, then sometimes it has to be totally up to you regardless of the effect on someone else’s life. That’s not to say there aren’t times when you do need to consider others, but seasons of life change, circumstances change, and there are times when you have to take care of yourself without worrying about everyone around you.”
Serenity wanted to agree with Dair, but in the back of her mind, something nagged at her. She still wondered about whether she should leave her aunt and uncle after she graduated. Was it okay to think of herself at that point? Would it be heartless of her to leave them here after everything they’d done for her?
“I should let you sleep,” Dair told her as he reached up and brushed her hair from her face. His fingertips grazed her skin and Serenity found herself leaning into his touch. He chuckled at her response to him and that did nothing to cool her desire for him.
Climbing off of his lap took effort because she truly would rather sleep in his arms than in her bed alone. But she understood that it probably wasn’t totally appropriate for her to be sleeping with a guy in her room, even if they were just sleeping. Okay, so it was totally inappropriate, and her aunt Darla might faint if she saw it, but that didn’t make her want it any less. “Damn hormones,” she growled under her breath.
“They complicate things, don’t they?” Dair smiled down at her having heard her grumbling.
She felt the heat on her neck as it rose up her face clear to her hairline. As she laid back and look up at the boy, well really man, who held her heart, she decided that it was a whole lot more than hormones that complicated things between them.
“Sweet dreams, Princess,” Dair whispered as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It wasn’t nearly long enough, but then she figured she could never get enough of his kisses. He could kiss her a million times a day, and still she would crave more.
“See you tomorrow?”
He ran a finger down her cheek and nodded. “Definitely.”
“Dair,” she said quickly before he could do his disappearing thing.
“Yes, beautiful?” Her heart fluttered at the endearment. “What we talked about earlier, the whole mate or husband thing.” She paused, unsure of how to ask her question without being too embarrassed. “Have you ever thought about. . . I mean, would you consider. . . I was just.” Thank goodness he saved her.
“Have I thought about marrying you?” He knelt down beside her bed so that his face was level with hers. His deep black eyes bore into hers as he leaned closer. “The answer is yes. I will not deny that I have dreamed about the idea of making you mine in every way possible. To have you vow before the Creator and man that you are mine, and to give you the same vow, is my heart’s desire. To share in the intimacy of physical love―to be the man gifted with your body, your heart, your soul―would be nothing short of a miracle.”
Serenity couldn’t breathe. She hadn’t expected that answer. And as his words penetrated her mind and heart, she hoped that he did not ask her the same question because she feared she would yell out, Yes! Please take me now! Now, wouldn’t that be a tad embarrassing? He must have seen that very answer in her eyes because he shot her one of his sexy smirks and, with one last quick kiss, he was gone. She reached up and turned her lamp off, allowing the darkness to engulf her room. As her head hit the pillow, Dair’s words continued to wreak havoc on her mind, and images of a wedding, a wedding night, and a lifetime with him consumed her thoughts.
“You just had to go and end with the man gifted with your body, didn’t you, Sandman?” she grumbled into the empty room as she attempted to get comfortable. With thoughts of Dair and the possibilities of what it would be like to be his in every way dancing through her head, getting comfortable was a losing battle. She felt something then, the cool air that alerted her to his presence, but when she looked around her room he was nowhere to be seen.
“If you’re there, it’s your fault I can’t sleep; do something about it.” She pulled the covers up tight to her chin as she curled into a ball on her side, and as she felt the familiar effects of his power, she smiled to herself and thought, make it a good one, Sandman, make it a good one.
Dair stood at the foot of Serenity’s bed watching her sleep. A subtle smile was on her lips as she slipped into the dream he had made for her. He had a feeling he would get an ear full tomorrow, but to see her blush would be well worth it. He hated to leave her, but he knew that if he stayed any longer, especially knowing what her mind was getting to experience in its sleeping state, he would crawl into her bed to hold her. He was also pretty sure there would be kissing after he woke her up. Nope, he definitely couldn’t stay. With one last look at his love, he closed his eyes and traveled to Emma’s house.
“I was wondering if you would show tonight,” Raphael said as he stepped around the dark corner of the rundown home.
“Has everything been quiet?”
Raphael shrugged. “For the most part. A man came by earlier, but Mildred had
what he wanted, so there was no fighting. They did, however, get high together and Mildred kept calling for Emma to come make them something to eat. I wouldn’t let Emma leave her room, and finally I went out to Mildred and her guest and subtly suggested that he leave and she go to sleep.”
“By subtle you mean?” Dair’s eyes narrowed.
“I might have used a little influence on them, though I did not make myself known,” Raphael said with a sniff.
Dair chuckled. “You’re crossing over to the dark side.”
“No, I was protecting a child. I didn’t harm either human in any way, though the thought did cross my mind.” The angel glanced up at the night sky and then back at Dair. “How is your female?”
Dair could tell he wanted to ask more. “She is well.” He waited, knowing that Raphael wouldn’t be able to keep quiet.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to the Creator.”
Raphael’s eyes widened. “When?”
“Soon.”
“What are you going to ask?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. But I don’t want to keep a secret, especially when He already knows.”
“What if He tells you that she isn’t for you?”
Dair felt as though a fist had wrapped around his heart and began to squeeze. He didn’t want to even consider that the Creator would tell him to let Serenity go. “I don’t know what. I feel as though I belong to her. I’ve been walking this earth since the beginning of time; always something was missing, until her. How does a being live without air to breathe? She’s my air, Raphael.”
“Then I hope for your sake, brother, you get to keep her.”
Emma couldn’t believe how quickly the days flew by. But it was the nights that seemed to drag. She had woken up that morning and pulled out the small calendar her mama had given her and to her surprise saw that it was Christmas Eve. How had she not realized it was so soon? School had been out for a week, and she had spent every moment she could at the library or with Serenity. With all of the present wrapping Darla had her doing at the library, she would have thought that she’d have realized Christmas was literally right on top of her.