Nora

Patch held himself above me with a heaving chest and pirate eyes, keeping himself from crushing me under his weight. He kissed me so deeply and so urgently that I thought my heart might explode.

My body, almost on command by his touch, became warm and pliant to his touch. My leg, curling around his waist as I traded places with him, sliding on top of him and kissing him until I became numb to all of the disturbing images of Dante and Scott and the rest of the world and the war that had raged just hours before.

My fingers threaded with his dark curls and he steeled up my hair in his hands -kissing my neck with fervent urgency and passion.

His body made mine melt in places I didn't know existed. I fell against him and closed my eyes as he kissed my collar bone and slid my body under the silk sheets in his bed.

When he was done, I felt him fall against me and I tangled my fingers in his air and felt him pull me into his arms one last time before I gave way to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, I was met with the stare of Patch's dark eyes. He was watching me intensely and his fingers were in my hair, playing with locks of red hair. His fingers were intertwined with mine and he left kisses down my arm, softly sucking on my skin.

I leaned toward him and kissed his collar bone softly and slid my arms around him.

Angel, he said to my mind.

Patch.

He smiled and pulled me upward, to sit on his lap and he kissed me hard and needy. And I needed him just as much. We were tied together by an invisible force that we couldn't control and I didn't want too. I didn't want to have control. I wanted to be wild and awake and alive. I loved him and he loved me and that was all that mattered to me.

I don't know when we decided that it was okay for us to get out of bed that morning -it must have been hours later -but Patch stood up suddenly, pulling me up with him, wrapping us together in sheets as he held me against his chest and kissed my neck. "Do you want to take a shower?" With me... He said the last words almost as an afterthought.

I didn't need to look into his desire filled eyes to know what he meant. I also knew that I didn't need to think too hard about my answer.

Patch lifted me from where I stood and kissed my neck with a bruising pressure as he slid his hand across the wall, reaching for the shower faucet.

The sheets wrapped around the both of us fell and Patch backed me into the shower and his lips blocked out the rest of the world until there was nothing left but us. Until I didn't know where I began and he ended.

I tasted his skin and ran my fingers through his matted down curls and bathed with him in the water.

"What are you doing?" I asked, breathless, when he poured soap into his hands and ran his fingers through my hair.

He looked down at me with pure desire and I felt him smile when he said, "Washing you."

I moved against him like a sun flower moves toward the sun, my body, warm and pliant with his as I kissed his shoulder blades and left soft kisses down his arms.

He left kisses down the side of my throat and gently left kisses on my collar bone and I let him just hold me there -like that -until the water became cold and freezing and his body was all that was left to warm me. I let him keep me warm and safe in his arms.

"Vee," I said softly, almost unsure of what to say to my best friend. Vee was the girl who stood by me and never gave up on me and when she was afraid -she stood and took on her fear anyways. But in that moment, my heart broke in all of the places I didn't even know existed.

She stared at me with those bright blue eyes and I thought I just might shatter into a million pieces. "Where's Scott?"

I nearly choked on my tears.

"Where's Scott, Nora?" She demanded, louder this time. "Where is he?" Her voice was high with panic.

"He saved my life, Vee-" But Vee didn't care, she didn't want to hear it.

"No. Do not say it, Nora. Do not say it. He is not-" Her voice cracked. "He is not-"

"He's dead Vee. He's dead."

I felt Vee slump against me in defeat and I felt her body trembling against me, fighting off the tears. How did it happen? Vee whispered to my mind. Who killed him?

Dante.

That sick bastard, Vee seethed.

I shook my head and wiped tears from my eyes and looked at Patch who was sitting on the other side of me with his arms resting on my waist. I leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Why did Dante have to kill him?" Vee whispered. "He wasn't even in the duel, was he? He was fighting the fallen angels-"

"Because Dante almost killed me. He almost did, Vee. And then Scott came and he tried to kill Dante for me. Then he slipped and-" I looked away, I couldn't finish.

Patch's eyes widened and he looked truly bewildered. I hadn't told him all of the details of the fight. Mostly because I was still replaying the fight, over and over again in my head. I was looking for a way to change it. A way for things to be different. But I knew that if Scott hadn't come -if Scott wouldn't have died, I would be dead and I knew one thing for certain, I could never repay that debt.

Tears flooded my eyes and Patch tightened his grip on my hand.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

Vee looked at me. "I'm not okay that he's dead, Nora, but I'm just glad that you aren't. It's just...I can't believe he's really gone..." Vee whispered. I took her hand and gave it a good squeeze. "You think this get's us dismissed from a whole week of school?" Vee said, as if to lighten the mood and make us laugh, but the words came out as a whimper.

Patch took us home and I curled up with him on the couch. "Do you think Vee will be okay?" I asked him softly.

He nodded. "Vee's going to be okay, Nora. You know she will. My only question is, will you be okay?" He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my jaw with a gentle pressure. "I saw you today at Vee's and when you talked about Scott...I know I never showed much care for him but he was your friend, an I'm sorry. And if I could, I would thank him for saving my girl for me."

I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be fine, Patch."

"Angel-"

But he never finished what he was going to say because I was interrupted with the voice of Lisa Martin. "Nora Grey, I had such high hopes for you."

I stood, but Patch was already there, his arm hooked, protectively, around my waist. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"The angel. He's supposed to be dead. Have you been conspiring with this boy all along?" Lisa demanded.

Absent mindedly I reached for Patch's hand and I felt him tense under the eyes of the nephilim who was watching us. His fingers twined with mine and I felt his arm tighten around my waist. "What do you want with Nora?" Patch asked, warily.

"Don't talk to me, angel!" Lisa hissed at him. "You are the Blackhand's daughter, Nora Grey, yet you continue to degrade yourself with these...with this...thing. You are destroying his name with this...ridiculousness."

"What do you want with us," I demanded, my eyes cold.

Patch pulled me even closer to him and I felt him preparing for the fight. What ever you do, Patch whispered, don't get yourself killed. I just got you back. I won't lose you again.

I squeezed his hand. You won't lose me.

I better the hell not.

"I'm taking the angel with me. He's a danger to humans and nephilim and you're being selfish by keeping him here with you. We need to keep him away from the rest of the world," she hissed. "He's nothing but darkness."

"Then let me be selfish," I hissed. My eyes scanned the room for a weapon.

"Don't go down that road, Nora, I brought backup."

Then the door swung open.