Chapter 16

When social constructs of what was appropriate were no longer in his way, Mark dreamt of Sarah. In his dream, Sarah ended up with her head on his chest making soft moaning noises as if that act alone gave her pleasure. She woke him by gently moving his hand down to her shirt to undo the buttons. Mark gently kissed her neckline, and her rhythmic sighs of pleasure urged him to go lower. She smelled wonderful, it wasn't her shampoo or perfume, it was her. The smell of her body was intoxicating, he had never smelled anything so provocative. Sarah ran her hands through his hair and sighed louder as Mark reached her stomach. The muscles of her abdomen twitched as he kissed them. Sarah pushed Mark's head lower, and when he had almost reached her center, he woke up.

It was early morning, and the sun glared through the windows of the large open hotel room. At first, he couldn't figure out where he was. The dream had been so real, what he really wanted. Then it all came rushing back to him.

He felt a warm, soft arm across his bare chest. It was Sarah. She really was lying with her head on his chest, and her arm stretched across him. It was like she was making sure he wasn't going anywhere. She smelled so wonderful, that part of the dream was very real. How could anyone smell this good? The scent of Sarah's body in the dream wasn't even close to how she smelled in reality.

With his free arm, he pushed the hair from Sarah's face to check if she was awake. She looked so peaceful and absolutely beautiful. With the other hand, he caressed the gentle curve in the small of her back. Slowly he moved his hand lower. Sarah's shirt had inched its way up to her shoulder blades, and when Mark's hand reached her waist, he realized she wasn't wearing any underwear. Sarah let out a sigh of pleasure and nuzzled her head into his chest. She clung tighter to him, and Mark realized that this felt right. It felt so good that it was very wrong. His wife had died only three days ago, and this was Sarah. He was not going to have grief sex with Sarah. If something went wrong, if he lost Sarah, he would be devastated. Sarah meant way too much to him for a one night stand.

Mark gently twisted and turned to free himself from Sarah's grasp. He was trying to get out of bed without waking her, but Sarah wasn't a heavy sleeper.

"Where are you going?" Sarah asked, still half asleep. "Oh shit! Oh shit! I'm so sorry! I'm a snuggler! I'm so sorry!" Sarah grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to her waist. "Shit, Mark, I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Sarah. It's no big deal," Mark bent over to find his shoes, but he couldn't remember where he'd left them. He needed to move so Sarah couldn't see how aroused he was. She would think he was some kind of freak for being attracted to her so soon after his wife's death.

Sarah got out of bed and pulled her shirt down as she got up. Mark turned and watched her, not seeing the disappointed face she made. Sarah walked over to her dresser while he struggled with his uncontrollable urges for his best friend.

"So, when do we go get Katie?" Mark asked. He had assumed that Katie was going with them. He needed to quit thinking about how good it felt to have Sarah lying on top of him.

"Shit, I knew there was something else we were supposed to talk about. I had too much wine, things kinda slipped my mind," Sarah said as she searched through the drawers, looking for something practical to wear.

Mark glanced over to her again and immediately felt guilty as he watched her slip off the satin shirt and pull on some sheer, black panties.

"This is going to be hard to take," Sarah said as she turned around.

Mark quickly turned away and pretended he wasn't looking. Sarah noticed, and a smirk grew on her face.

"What's going to be hard to take?" Mark asked nervously. He needed to quit doing this to himself, he couldn't have Sarah.

"Why don't you turn on the TV. There has to be some news of it by now. And keep in mind that Katie is safe," Sarah said sheepishly. She didn't know how to tell this to Mark. It might be cowardly, but the news was going to tell him for her.

Mark flipped through a few channels until he found a channel with his picture in the lower left corner. It was the mug shot he had taken when he was in jail. He was amused at first because the picture must have been taken while he was passed out. He looked stupefied and stoned.

The stuffy looking newsman spoke. "Mark Albet is wanted in connection with the death of his wife Jennifer and his daughter Kathrine. If anyone has any information on his whereabouts, please call-" Mark couldn't listen anymore; he shut off the TV and threw the remote across the room. When it collided with the wall, it exploded.

"What the hell did you do, Sarah?!" Mark yelled as he stood up.

Sarah wasn't quite dressed yet, she had gotten her blue jeans on but quickly covered her chest with the shirt she had picked out. Now was not the time to tease Mark.

"Calm down, I said this was going to be hard to take," Sarah pleaded.

Mark took a step toward Sarah in anger, then realized, this was Sarah. He could never hurt her, so he just looked up at the ceiling and yelled, then let himself fall, face first, on to the bed.

"Katie is perfectly fine," Sarah said as she put her shirt on. "My brother will stop at nothing to kill everyone who stands in his way. If he thinks she's dead, he'll quit looking for her. He will use whatever he has to in order to make you join him."

"Why? Where is she? What does he want with me?" Mark was beyond confused, beyond angry. His life was now totally gone, and Katie with it.

"First things first. Katie is staying with some friends of mine that owe me a lot, so she will be well taken care of. Second, the best way for you to protect her is if she thinks you killed Jen, so she won't look for you. Third, Sariel thinks that you are the key to winning the war. So he is willing to do anything to control you." Sarah sat on the bed next to Mark, wishing she could do something to help him with this.

"What do I have to do with this war? And I'm guessing that Sariel has sided with The Beast?" Mark asked, exasperated.

"Yes, he is helping The Beast, and you are important because you're special," Sarah explained.

Mark sat up and stared into Sarah's eyes. She could see the anger and desperation, and she didn't know how much more Mark could take before he totally lost it.

"Why am I so special?" Mark pleaded.

"It has to do with how you were conceived. You see, you were the child of a Nephilim and an angel," Sarah said quietly. She seemed like she was reluctant to even say it out loud.

"So?" Mark asked crossly.

"So the union of an angel and a Nephilim is certain death for the Nephilim mother. This is why your mother died in childbirth, and your father just disappeared," Sarah explained.

"So what does that make me?" Mark asked, a little calmer now.

"It makes you special," Sarah smiled. "If you don't believe me, why don't you go take a shower and look in the mirror? You probably haven't had a shower in days, and we want to fit in as we try to sneak our way through the city. You look kinda like a homeless person."

"Maybe that would help me fit in better," Mark laughed. He was still angry, but Sarah was intoxicating. Hearing her make jokes was impossible for him to resist.

"You want to be invisible, just dress like you do for work and no one will even look twice at you. There are some clothes in the bathroom that I had someone pick up from your house. I hope they still fit," Sarah said with a snicker.

Still fit? What did she mean? When Mark entered the bathroom, he looked in the mirror, and he knew exactly what she meant. His arms and chest, even his legs had gotten sturdier. He looked like he worked out every day for a year. A week ago he was concerned about the fact that he was starting to get a beer belly, but his abs were clearly visible now. What was happening to him? Although putting on some muscle was probably the best thing that had happened that week, it was still strange.

"I'm gonna have to stop calling you cutie," Sarah said through the bathroom door. "I bought you another shirt, two sizes bigger. After I saw you at work, I realized how special you were."

Mark heard Sarah walk away from the door, so he started up the shower and got in.