EJ smiled contently as he absently caressed circles on Abigail's back. Their first intense round of lovemaking had led to a second, equally pleasurable one, and finally for Abigail, a blissful fall into sleep.

EJ couldn't sleep. Holding her in his arms set his mind spinning faster than the wheels on his old race car. How could something that he knew to be wrong, feel so damn right? How had he ended up here, not just tonight, but each time and each place, with this angel?

And there was no doubt in his mind that Abigail was an angel. She had to have been sent by heaven. There was no other explanation for the soothing effect she had already had on his injured soul.

He had never been a real believer of the concept of soul mates. Sure, he'd played along when his father orchestrated the ruse of the souls of Santo DiMera and Colleen Brady having been passed to him and Samantha, making them destined to be soul mates. He'd carefully masked his skepticism about the subject, but only because it served his mission at the time. It wasn't until Abigail entered his life that he began to understand that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't all just make-believe.

For as long as he could remember, he'd always felt a little lost and out of place. How could he not? He'd been schooled in the best boarding schools in England and aside from the times he was allowed to spend the weekend with his mother and stepfather, he was routinely whisked away to the DiMera villa in Italy and occasionally Maison Blanche in New Orleans. He didn't regret the opportunities given by such an extravagant lifestyle, but without siblings or friends his age, and a father occupied with other interests, it had been an exceedingly lonely existence.

The minute he was old enough, he compensated for what had been absent by filling his life with fast cars and even faster women. And it was those fast women who made Abigail's effect on him that much more potent.

Unlike Sami, Nicole, Taylor and Kate, the women he'd been with since arriving in Salem years ago, Abigail was an innocent. He knew she'd been with his brother Chad a time or two, but he could tell by her reaction to his touch that she was experiencing most of it for the first time.

It turned him on more than he believed to be possible, to know that he was the tutor and she the willing pupil. And there was so much more that he wanted to teach her. If only…

He sighed. That was his daily lament now – that he wasn't free to be with his angel Abigail. If it was only Samantha's heart that he had to break, he could do it. He was realistic enough about the state of their relationship to know that if Johnny and Sydney didn't exist, neither would they. The passage of time since Brady and Kristen's failed wedding and Samantha's subsequent expulsion of him from their bedroom had proved that to him, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Simply put, without the sex to blind them, they had only the children to bind them. That was the problem. Given his own childhood experiences, he couldn't bear to throw his children's lives into turmoil. He knew it wasn't fair to him or to Abigail or even to Samantha, but it was the way it needed to be.

The thought remained on his mind as he finally drifted off to sleep, still tightly holding on to his angel.

Hours later, Abby woke with a start as she felt the touch of warm water between her legs. She looked down to where an intent EJ was gently cleaning the aftermath of their earlier lovemaking from her with a washcloth. She squirmed, blushing from head to toe. "EJ what are you doing?"

He chuckled at her sudden modesty. "I wanted to wake you up."

"Well it's working."

"Oh sweetheart, I haven't even begun." To drive home his point, his thumb replaced the washcloth, immediately zeroing in on her clit.

As he rubbed it in circles, Abby's hips buckled in response and she sucked in a breath. "Oh!"

EJ grinned proudly at her reaction. "You liked that?"

"Oh yeah." She breathed.

"Well hang on sweetheart, you haven't seen anything yet." He moved his thumb off her center, causing her to moan in protest. He chuckled again and reached up to grab her hips. Instinctively, she moved to help him, spreading her legs to straddle his broad shoulders. He pulled her down until her womanhood was right in front of his face.

Abby thought she was going to pass out at the touch of his tongue on her clit. As his expert mouth worked his magic, alternately sucking her engorged center and blowing little puffs of air, a writhing Abby strained to hang onto any semblance of control,

EJ was having none of that. He lifted his head momentarily. "Let it go Abigail. Give in to it."

She did just that and felt herself shattering into a million pieces.

As her spasms subsided, he climbed back up onto the bed and asked in a hoarse whisper. "Do you trust me Abigail?"

It was a loaded question of course, but in bed she trusted him explicitly. Still catching her breath, she could only nod.

That was the answer he was looking for. Within seconds his hands were back on her hips, this time rolling her over. She realized what he wanted and scrambled up onto her knees. Backing towards him, she let out a moan of anticipation as the tip of his erection brushed against her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He was tentative. "If it gets uncomfortable, it's okay, we can stop. Some women can't handle my length this way."

Abby resisted the urge to smack him for invoking thoughts of his previous lovers, but she knew why he was worried and her heart melted at his concern. She didn't have much experience, but she had read a lot. She knew he was big. And he was certainly bigger than Chad. But any trepidation she may have had about her body's ability to handle him, had disappeared the first time they made love.

She tilted her head back and reassured him. "It's okay. We fit together perfectly."

That was all the encouragement that EJ needed. On his knees, he grasped her hips and pulled her back onto him.

Abby sucked in her breath, and tensed up slightly at the sensation of fullness. He'd been deep before, but never quite like this. After a moment she felt her body relax. She nodded to him. "I'm good."

"You certainly are." He murmured into her ear as he started his rhythmic thrusting. At the same time his hand wrapped around her, his fingers swiftly finding her engorged nipples.

Abby's back arched in pleasure. She lifted her arm back and snaked her hand through his hair, pulling him closer.

The urgency of their earlier lovemaking gave way to a slower, more tempered, but equally pleasurable pace. They took their time until finally they could bear it no more. With a final groan EJ shot his seed deep inside her convulsing walls.

Completely spent and breathing heavily, neither had the strength to speak as they collapsed into a heap of sweaty, entangled limbs on the bed.