It took three weeks for Sera to fully recover, and by the end of that time, no one could doubt Matt’s love and devotion. He was always tender and caring; it was easy to be that way with her. It was impossible to be rough, because she was just too precious. She meant too much to him.

Though Vivyka still didn’t feel ready to visit, everyone else was getting along reasonably well. Tess was quick to be friends Matt again. Ayden lightened up a bit, and was even friendly, though it was usually forced. Cael remained the most wary of Matt—he watched him as if expecting him to slip up at any moment, but otherwise his attitude toward him was civil.

Luckily, tension didn’t bother Matt; he was used to people feeling negatively toward him. What was strange was having family around. A good, kind family was a new experience—especially when it came to Lotus, who seemed to think she was suddenly his mother, fussing over him even more than she did Sera. Hungry? Can I make you something? As if the huge dinner just an hour ago wasn’t enough. It's a bit chilly tonight, would you like me to get some extra blankets for you? It was August and the weather was quite warm.

Sera told him that her mother was trying a little too hard right now because she wanted to make him feel at home. He thought a tavern, or a temple with a blood-stained altar would feel more like home to him than this place, which was filled with her mother’s stupid flowers as if it was some fairy house. Everything here felt as far from normal as it could possibly be. But he just went along as best as he could, and he managed to be nice and not comment on the horrific decor—even the pictures were floral. He also tried to ignore feeling out of place, and he stopped trying to understand any of them. They were all strange. He couldn’t get away from feeling claustrophobic, though; there seemed to always be people around. When it got too much for him, he would go to the backyard to smoke a cigarette and get some quiet. Sera never followed him when he did this. She understood, as she always did, that sometimes he needed be alone. He was used to being alone.

Sera’s bedroom was also strange to him. Her white walls were decorated with more paintings of flowers and cheery landscapes. Her bed—which was thankfully big—was covered with white blankets, and her curtains and armchair were both a soft pink. It was the furthest thing from his style; an example of their extreme differences. But he didn’t care. He just had to be with her: it wasn’t just a desire, it was a need. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, live without her.

One night, when they walked into her room, Sera turned to him as soon as he closed the door. Her hands glided up his chest and to his face, bringing his lips down to hers. She kissed him sweetly for a moment, then murmured, “You know, I’m all better now.”

“Yes,” he agreed. He ran his fingers through her silky copper hair and gazed lovingly down at her.

“You know what that means?” she asked, her blue eyes smoldering and a corner of her mouth lifting in a suggestive half-smile.

He grinned. “What could it possibly mean?” he asked, his voice full of mock curiosity.

She pushed at his shirt until he took it off and tossed it onto the armchair. “I can finally have what I want.”

“And what do you want?”

She moved her hands over his stomach, around his waist, and kissed his chest. “I want you.”

“I’m still worried about hurting you,” he said seriously. “I’ve never even tried to be gentle with anyone before.”

She laughed softly. “You’d never hurt me,” she said confidently. “Besides, I’m a lot tougher then you think. You won’t break me.” He started to say something, but she put a finger to his lips. “Matt, make love to me,” she whispered, and kissed him.

He didn’t argue; he didn’t have the will to. Though his kiss was still restrained, it was also hungry and fervent now. The past few weeks had been torment—it had been the first time in his life he had ever denied himself anything, and it was the longest he had ever gone without sex. Spending every day and night with a woman he desired more than anyone and not being able to have her had been an extremely difficult thing.

His mouth left hers to trail soft kisses down her throat as his hands caressed up her arms and found the straps of her pale yellow sundress. He slid them off her shoulders, making the material fall away and pool at her feet. He looked down and smiled when he saw that she was wearing nothing underneath—she had been planning tonight. He shook his head at her, and she gave him a guilty smile.

He stepped back for a moment and let his gaze travel over her curvaceous body. She was beyond beautiful, with her plump breasts and perfectly rounded hips. A wave of intense desire swept through him at the sight of her, and he knew she felt it because her smile got wider.

He picked her up and laid her gently on the bed, then bent to kiss the soft flesh of her stomach, to trail his lips across her flawless skin, kissing his way up her ear. “You’re perfect,” he whispered.

“So are you,” she said, a bit breathlessly.

He got up for a moment to finish undressing, then returned to her. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down, kissing him passionately and holding him to her. He moved over her and cherished the feeling of her soft, delicate body beneath him, her full breasts pressing against his chest and her warm thighs cradling his hips.

He hesitated.

She was so vulnerable, so open to him in every way. Their lips parted and he raised his head enough to look into her eyes. As always, he found them filled with love and trust. She gave herself to him completely, holding nothing back. In that moment he really knew, without a doubt, that she was his—only his. She had never belonged to anyone before, but now she belonged to him, and would for the rest of his life. His heart swelled at the thought.

Finally, he held her gaze as he entered her. Her breath caught, and he paused. But then she smiled up at him, and he smiled back. He kissed her tenderly. “My angel,” he breathed against her lips, though it was more of a sigh. Her only answer was a soft moan as he started moving inside her, and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.

She moved one of her hands to his face, gently cupping his cheek. She said so much more with her touch and her eyes than words ever could. He leaned down to kiss her again and thought, I’m yours.

__________

When he woke up the next morning, he smiled at the feeling of her warm, naked body pressed against his side, her bent leg resting on his, her hand on his chest and her face nestled in the crook of his neck. He sighed, content with her in his arms. Knowing that he would wake up each morning like this made him happier than he had ever known he could be.

He hugged her closer, and she stirred.

“Mmm,” she murmured and kissed his throat. “Can we stay like this forever? Never leave this bed?”

“There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be,” he told her.

She smiled. “Me either,” she said as she moved to stretch.

“How do you feel?”

She rolled her eyes at the worry in his voice. “Honestly, I’m a little sore, but that’s normal since it was my first time.”

He glanced down and was relieved to find there weren’t any marks on her body.

She sighed at him. “I’m good—unbelievably good, actually.”

“Good.”

She grinned as she put a hand on his shoulder and tried to pull him toward her. “Come here and make me even better.”

He grinned too as he moved over her.

“I love you so much,” she told him, but didn’t let him respond. She kept his mouth—among other things—occupied for quite some time.

__________

Tess and Ayden entered the flowery backyard a couple of weeks later to find Matt sitting against the cherry tree with Sera leaning against him, reading a book. His hand played with the bottom of her long hair, twirling a copper curl around his finger absentmindedly.

“Look Ayd, they actually come up for air,” Tess teased as they walked closer.

Sera smiled, but didn’t look up from her book. “You should talk.”

Tess chuckled while Ayden blushed. “You know, you should really make him stop smoking those,” Tess said, referring to the cigarette between Matt’s lips. “They’re bad.”

“No,” Sera replied lightly, looking up now and smirking at her cousin. “Unlike some people, I don’t order my boyfriend around.”

“I would never!” Tess said, pretending to be indignant. “Tell her, Ayd.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, chuckling as he sat down in the grass. He pulled her with him, and she smiled as she settled into his arms. “So, what are you reading?”

“Book of Aryst,” Sera answered, setting it down in her lap.

“Trying to find a way back into the temple?” Ayden asked.

She nodded. “And a way to get my power back.”

“Any luck?”

“Yes. There’s a passage about 'the Temple of the Gods.' If you pass the trials there, then you’re supposed to be able to travel to the Immortal Plane. I could see Aryst herself.” Sera's eyes were wide with excitement at the idea. “If I could do that, then maybe I could ask her to be a dream healer again. And that would be enough for the high priestess to let me reenter service.”

Tess grinned. “Am I hearing a quest in the making?”

Sera smiled. “Would you guys go with me?”

“Will it be dangerous?” Tess asked.

“Most likely.”

“Challenging?”

“Undoubtedly.”

“Epic?”

Ayden laughed and hugged his girlfriend close. “Of course we’ll go.”

“I’m not going unless it’s epic,” Tess told him.

He smirked. “You’d go if it was completely pathetic, as long as you got some action.”

She grinned and twitched a brow. “I like action.”

He blushed a bit and tickled her side, making her giggle.

Sera smiled at them. “Thanks.”

“So, what about you?” Tess asked Matt. “Will you be okay to go?”

He let out a smoky huff. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed mockingly. “Don’t know how well you can fight anymore, now that you’ve gone all soft.”

“I am not soft.”

“Uh-huh.”

He smirked. “Maybe I’ll have to kick your ass to prove it.”

“Oh, I’m just shaking with fear,” she taunted.

“Okay, you and me, right now.” He put his cigarette out and kissed Sera’s cheek before moving out from behind her. She pouted at him, but he just smiled back.

Tess jumped up, eager for the fight. “Don’t worry, Sera, I won’t hurt him… much.”

Sera shook her head. “Both of you be nice.”

“Can’t promise that, Angel,” Matt told her.

“Fine, but if I have to watch this, then at least take off your shirt,” she said, grinning impishly.

Matt walked back to her, pulling his shirt off on the way, and set it down beside her. While he was bent over, he kissed her. “Happy?” he asked sweetly.

She looked at his body and bit her lip. “Mmm, delighted.”

Ayden snickered. “Who’s the puppy now?”

Matt smirked again and walked back to Tess, slapping Ayden lightly on the back of the head as he passed. Ayden just chuckled.

Tess pulled her daggers from her boots while Matt drew his sword. He had purchased a new one shortly after getting to Brunya City; it was a plain sword with no enchantments, but it worked.

“What?” Matt asked when Tess frowned at him.

“That scar,” she said, pointing to the inch-long line on the left side of his stomach.

He glanced down. “What about it?”

“Did you get it when you saved me?”

“Yeah.”

“Weird.”

“Why?”

“Remember in the Spirit Cave?” she asked. “When I pushed you out of the way of that skeleton’s sword?”

“Yeah.”

She lifted the bottom of her shirt to show him an identical scar in the same place. They stood staring at each other for a moment, pondering the meaning of the matching scars, the physical proof of them risking their lives for each other.

Finally, Tess shook her head and let go of her shirt. “Anyway…”

“Yeah,” he agreed and took a swing at her, starting the fight.

When Matt finally called it a tie, he settled behind Sera again and pulled her into his sweaty embrace. She shifted so she was angled toward him and could offer him her lips. He lowered his head and kissed her, then felt the tingling of her healing magic enter him through his mouth and spread its warmth through him. He hadn’t known it could be done that way, but with Sera, he discovered something new all the time.

As he felt the thin cut on his lip heal, he mused that even without her divine magic, her kisses had healed him in other ways. She had healed his heart with the unbelievable power of her enduring love. She was truly the angel who had saved him.