more aggressively," Haniel said, turning away to exit the room.
"Wait," I said. "If I didn't hurt them, what did you have to take care of?"
"Well, just put it this way. Their thoughts are a little muddled as to what happened."
"I didn't think Archangels did things like that?" I asked, still confused.
"I cannot directly intervene in matters that involve The Dark One, but in a circumstance like this, my gifts can be used to help smooth things out you might say. Mark, I will see you about your injury in an hour, after I take care of some pressing matters first," he said, closing the glass door silently behind him.
"Wow, that dude is one cool hombre," Shawn said, sinking back onto the couch. "I can't tell if he has a sense of humor or not, but man he's a badass."
"Are you okay?" Lynn asked me, perching on the arm of the other couch.
"I'm fine," I said, flashing her a watery smile. I was relieved I hadn't hurt them, but it still didn't change the fact that I had let evil rule me, no matter how brief the moment was. "You guys aren't mad at me?" I finally asked.
"Krista, are you kidding me? Do you know how many times I've wanted to put the Lush Trio in their place?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, but you didn't act on it like I did. It's one thing to think about doing something, but it's a whole other thing to actually do it. You guys don’t think I'm like, twisted now."
"Don't be a dork Sis. What did you think, that we believed you had crossed over to the dark side or something?" He teased, ruffling my hair. "You're not that cool," he added, making all of us laugh and breaking the last of the tension I felt.
"Come on," Mark said, tugging me into a standing position. "Let's go walk on our beach."
We left the others behind, joking easily, the night's drama firmly forgotten in their minds as we headed out the patio doors. The patio was empty, and once again I wondered where Haniel went when he wasn't babysitting us. Mark led me to the stairs and helped me remove my strappy sandals before we descended. The coolness felt like heaven as my feet sunk into nighttime sand.
"Are you really okay?" Mark asked after we had walked a couple hundred yards.
"I'm fine." I was lying, of course, since my heart still ached from what I had done. I had been blocking my thoughts since we left the party, so Mark was unaware of just how empty I felt.
"I know you're worried, but I trust Haniel that the snobs are okay," he said, wondering why I had been blocking my thoughts. He pulled me into his arms and stroked my back, giving me the comfort my body craved. "I still owe you another dance," he said, gently swaying us back and forth. I raised my arms, locking them firmly around his neck. This time, though, I looked into his eyes as we danced on the cool sand with only the moon looking down on us. He lowered his head and laid his lips on mine. All else was forgotten as I sighed and let him kiss my worries away. My void began to dissipate as his touch and kisses filled me as only they could. I laced my fingers through his hair linking us more firmly together as I deepened the kiss. He moaned against my tingling lips as we slowly lowered ourselves to the ground. Our formal clothing was forgotten as we lost ourselves in the kiss. I could feel his hand caressing my ribcage, lightly touching me as he settled more firmly against me. I could feel every lean muscle pressed against me as I threatened to erupt from the heat he ignited inside me. I wished that clothing didn't separate us, and for a brief moment I fought the urge to giggle when I remembered the Trio's words about my dress getting in the way.
Mark chuckled on top of me, reading my thoughts. "I guess that’s our sign to stop."
"Talk about Divine intervention," I quipped as he helped me to my feet brushing the sand off my backside, spending a few extra moments to brush my bottom off. Laughing, I swatted his hand away.
"What?" he
"Wait," I said. "If I didn't hurt them, what did you have to take care of?"
"Well, just put it this way. Their thoughts are a little muddled as to what happened."
"I didn't think Archangels did things like that?" I asked, still confused.
"I cannot directly intervene in matters that involve The Dark One, but in a circumstance like this, my gifts can be used to help smooth things out you might say. Mark, I will see you about your injury in an hour, after I take care of some pressing matters first," he said, closing the glass door silently behind him.
"Wow, that dude is one cool hombre," Shawn said, sinking back onto the couch. "I can't tell if he has a sense of humor or not, but man he's a badass."
"Are you okay?" Lynn asked me, perching on the arm of the other couch.
"I'm fine," I said, flashing her a watery smile. I was relieved I hadn't hurt them, but it still didn't change the fact that I had let evil rule me, no matter how brief the moment was. "You guys aren't mad at me?" I finally asked.
"Krista, are you kidding me? Do you know how many times I've wanted to put the Lush Trio in their place?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, but you didn't act on it like I did. It's one thing to think about doing something, but it's a whole other thing to actually do it. You guys don’t think I'm like, twisted now."
"Don't be a dork Sis. What did you think, that we believed you had crossed over to the dark side or something?" He teased, ruffling my hair. "You're not that cool," he added, making all of us laugh and breaking the last of the tension I felt.
"Come on," Mark said, tugging me into a standing position. "Let's go walk on our beach."
We left the others behind, joking easily, the night's drama firmly forgotten in their minds as we headed out the patio doors. The patio was empty, and once again I wondered where Haniel went when he wasn't babysitting us. Mark led me to the stairs and helped me remove my strappy sandals before we descended. The coolness felt like heaven as my feet sunk into nighttime sand.
"Are you really okay?" Mark asked after we had walked a couple hundred yards.
"I'm fine." I was lying, of course, since my heart still ached from what I had done. I had been blocking my thoughts since we left the party, so Mark was unaware of just how empty I felt.
"I know you're worried, but I trust Haniel that the snobs are okay," he said, wondering why I had been blocking my thoughts. He pulled me into his arms and stroked my back, giving me the comfort my body craved. "I still owe you another dance," he said, gently swaying us back and forth. I raised my arms, locking them firmly around his neck. This time, though, I looked into his eyes as we danced on the cool sand with only the moon looking down on us. He lowered his head and laid his lips on mine. All else was forgotten as I sighed and let him kiss my worries away. My void began to dissipate as his touch and kisses filled me as only they could. I laced my fingers through his hair linking us more firmly together as I deepened the kiss. He moaned against my tingling lips as we slowly lowered ourselves to the ground. Our formal clothing was forgotten as we lost ourselves in the kiss. I could feel his hand caressing my ribcage, lightly touching me as he settled more firmly against me. I could feel every lean muscle pressed against me as I threatened to erupt from the heat he ignited inside me. I wished that clothing didn't separate us, and for a brief moment I fought the urge to giggle when I remembered the Trio's words about my dress getting in the way.
Mark chuckled on top of me, reading my thoughts. "I guess that’s our sign to stop."
"Talk about Divine intervention," I quipped as he helped me to my feet brushing the sand off my backside, spending a few extra moments to brush my bottom off. Laughing, I swatted his hand away.
"What?" he
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