She screamed and screamed.

The room was a blur. The light from her lamp suddenly reminded her so fiercely of Satan's fireplace that, for a moment, she thought she was back in his big black bed, cuffed and spellbound.

She screamed again.

'Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn!'

He knew her name. She'd told him her name.

A warm, strong hand gripped her shoulder and she jerked back, slapping it away.

'Kaitlyn! Stop.' A pair of bright green eyes gazed at her and behind them were more pairs of colourful eyes, big masculine bodies, beautiful faces, worried looks ...

It almost broke her heart to see them all.

'I almost told him,' she cried, gripping Jacob's forearm. 'I almost told him!'

Jacob knelt on the mattress as she cringed against the wall. 'Almost told him what, Kaitlyn?'

Kaitlyn winced. 'Don't say my name. I hate my name. What a stupid name. Pure. I'm anything but pure!'

'Kaitlyn, look at me,' he said in a firm but gentle voice. Though every bone in her body told her to look away, to hide the extent of her secrets, his gaze seemed to draw hers to his like a magnet. 'Did you tell him anything?'

She sucked in a choking sob. 'My name. I told him my name.'

'Just your name? Anything else?'

'We need to get out of here, Jacob,' Samuel warned. 'They'll be upon us.'

'Quiet,' Jacob said. 'Kaitlyn, answer me.'

His emerald eyes—why did they have to be so beautiful? Why did Satan's have to be so Goddamn beautiful? It wasn't fair! How was she supposed to resist? She was a human—and full of faults. The maker of Original Sin.

'I told him we were in the country and that we drove for a long time.'

Samuel shook his head. 'We must go, Jacob. We can't trust that she'll tell the truth.'

Jacob ignored him. 'Was there anything else?'

She thought hard for several moments, then shook her head.

Silence filled the room. Kaitlyn could sense the tension. She could sense the doubt. Jacob reached over to take her chin. 'Look at me. Look into my eyes.'

Again, she couldn't refuse, something in his voice compelling her to obey. For several long moments he gazed at her as she gazed back. Her breathing slowed. She stopped crying.

He released her. 'There is no lie in her eyes.'

'How can you be sure?' Samuel said.

'I am sure.'

'Jacob.' Kaitlyn grabbed his wrist. 'I almost told him. It was right there on the tip of my tongue.' She closed her eyes. The compulsion to say it was so utterly overwhelming. It nagged at he back of her head. It tickled her throat. It itched behind her eyes. Say it. Say it. Say it! 'Magnolia, Magnolia, Magnolia!'

Opening her eyes again, she gazed back at Jacob, breathless and hot.

'Leave,' he told his companions. 'Let us be.'

They did. Jacob didn't move until they could no longer hear their footsteps.

'I'm sorry.'

'Kaitlyn, it's all right.'

'No! It's not all right. I almost gave us away.'

'Tell me about your dream.'

She winced and shook her head. 'I can't.' She took a breath. 'I won't-I won't tell you the details, only that I remember it. I couldn't remember them before but I can now. Why? Why are they so real now?'

'Your connection must be getting stronger.' He paused. 'You saw him? You remember him?'

'Twice now. Last night and tonight. He's ...' Dropping her eyes, she bit her lip.

'Irresistible.'

Kaitlyn jerked her eyes back to his.

Jacob gave a faint smile. 'We knew each other once, Lucifer and I. I know how powerful he can be.'

'You-you knew him?'

He nodded again. 'Remember, he was God's closest angel once. His most beloved. His betrayal shook God. It shook the world. His defection changed things. It changed us all.'

Kaitlyn touched her face. 'I can still feel him touching me.' She touched her lips. 'I can still feel him kissing me.'

The lamplight glowed against Jacob's face, brightening his eyes and making his skin gleam. A sudden, overwhelming urge to rake her fingers through his short, dark hair possessed her. For the first time, Kaitlyn allowed herself to really take him in, to absorb him, to consume him: his broad shoulders, his muscular abdomen, his slim hips. The muscles in his shoulders were so big and smooth and the thought of taking them in her hands made her ache.

Then there was his face—so beautiful, so gentle, so wondrous. He seemed to beam goodness. She could almost feel his love. Not the love for her, or for any woman—but for all living things.

And he was right there with her in her bed. Non-judgemental, not revolted by what she'd done. Simply accepting. He was one in a million. One in a billion.

A real angel, literally and metaphorically.

Reaching out, she touched his face. He didn't pull away, watching her with his soft emerald eyes as she felt his stubble. It prickled beneath her fingertips. She lowered her eyes to his lips.

'Kaitlyn,' he said, and she could hear the warning in his voice.

She ignored it as she brushed her thumb over his lower lip, just like Satan had done to her. Leaning in, she tried to kiss him

He pulled back. 'Kaitlyn.'

'No.' Shuffling in closer, she took his face in her hands and pulled him to her. Their lips met, and they were so soft! She kissed him gently, then harder as she shuffled in closer to him. She swept her tongue in his mouth, tasting him, knowing him, imbibing him. His smell was all around her and it was thick and sensual and masculine. Her heart thundered. Her mouth watered. Down deep in her groin she was throbbing.

She was aching.

He tried to pull away again but she held onto his lips with hers. Releasing his head, Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around his shoulders until their chests were pressed up against each other and she could really feel the warmth of him. It radiated through his skin, bathing her, enveloping her. She pushed her tongue deeper in his mouth.

He yanked his head back. 'Kaitlyn. We cannot.'

He tried to untangle her arms.

'No,' she panted. 'Don't.' He managed to pull her away. She tried to take his face again but he pushed back her hands. His resistance merely made her want him all the harder. With a cry, she threw herself at him, knocking him onto his backside. Crawling into his lap, she mashed her mouth against his.

Again, that taste. Again, that touch.

He grabbed her face and yanked her back. 'Kaitlyn, stop it. We cannot!'

She tried to kiss him again but he held her back. She grabbed at his shoulders, at the hard muscle, at his masculine strength.

She dug her nails in. 'Let me ... let me have you.' She needed to hold him. She needed to kiss him. She needed to ...

She dropped her hands to his pants.

'ENOUGH!' And it was like a clap of thunder in the little room. Kaitlyn leapt back, banging the back of her head against the wall. She closed her eyes at a sudden flash of blazing light. When she opened them again she saw Jacob in a way she never had before.

He was standing, his arms raised at his sides, his dazzling white wings outstretched. They filled the room. He filled the room. Towering over her as his skin glowed with a light so bright she could hardly see him. His eyes seemed to catch fire, blazing a fiery green.

He was so awesome. So magnificent.

So utterly terrifying.

It wasn't Jacob anymore. This was something else, something otherworldly, something she could not understand. He was so bright she could no longer keep her eyes open. And even then, it wasn't enough to block out the light. He blazed straight through her eyelids, making her eyes burn and her head ache.

With a cry, she curled up into a ball, hiding her head. 'Stop!'

Slowly, the light began to fade. She opened her eyes. His wings were still visible but they were disappearing quickly, vanishing into the darkness of the night. The glow was gentle now. His blazing eyes dimmed.

With a sob, Kaitlyn lurched to her feet and raced passed him, fleeing the room. She brushed past Catherine and Samuel in the hall as they hurried over to see what was going on. Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she raced down the aisle towards the front door.