http://www.booksie.

com/fantasy/short_story/laura_j_curran/good-girls-go-toheaven-bad-girls-go-everywhere/chapter/3/nohead/pdf/ver/8

Eu acordei para me encontrar deitado em uma praia de areia, completamente vestida. Ok, um biquni eu entenderia, mas no completamente vestida. Estranho. Sentei-me para fazer um balano e percebi que eu no tinha idia de onde estava ou o que eu estava fazendo l. A praia era bonita, se estendia sobre a distncia em ambos os sentidos e as ondas suaves de lapidao na areia eram to relaxar eu queria ficar l para sempre. Havia uma floresta ligeiramente ameaador olhar atrs de mim, grosso e escuro com uma gama enorme montanha longe na distncia, e to alto que os picos foram cercados nas nuvens - Eu no sou nem perto de ser um explorador da natureza, embora, por isso eu continuei procurando sinais de civilizao. Eu no tenho certeza se os dois homens que eu podia ver lutando adiante na praia contado como civilizao, especialmente no que ambos pareciam ter asas. Hmm. Esfreguei os olhos e verificou novamente - No, eles definitivamente tinha asas. Grande os macios, mas eles tinham muito cuidadosamente removido suas camisas e estavam descalos. Eu sombreado meus olhos do sol para obter um melhor olhar para a viso deliciosa, um dos homens tinha o cabelo escuro bagunado loira na extrema necessidade de um corte, e sua rasgada e jeans desbotado foram Sb apenas um pouco demasiado baixo em seus quadris para minha sanidade. Sua tinta preta asas vibrou com a brisa como ele tropeou e levou uma pancada no rosto - ai, ouvi dizer que todo o caminho at o praia. Ele tem um olho roxo depois. Eu me pergunto se ele precisa de qualquer ajuda de enfermagem melhor .... Eu arrastei minha mente longe de fantasias imundas envolvendo semi estranhos nus para estudar o homem que ele era combates, ele foi construdo mais magro do que a loira, com cabelos na altura dos ombros escuro e com neve asas brancas. Eu no podia ter escolhido entre os dois, ento eu muito feliz assisti a luta surreal. Os dois homens estavam dando socos que pareciam ter causar srios danos, e eu quis saber por um momento se eu deveria intervir. Eu dei um passo hesitante em direo a eles, mas depois parou, decidindo que provavelmente no era o melhor idia para entrar no meio de dois homens lutando. Mesmo que eles eram em sua maioria nu, e teve o mais lindo asas que me doa ao toque. "Oh merda," eu murmurei enquanto os homens me viu e parou em bater o crap fora de si para comear correndo pela praia em direo a mim. Virei-me e correu at a praia antes de perceber duas coisas. Um, correndo na areia mais difcil do que parece. E dois, eu estou realmente imprprios. Decidir que eu poderia ser capaz de perder os homens na floresta, eu fui para a linha de rvore.

Sim, eu tinha sido drible sobre eles antes, mas eu no sabia nem o homem e que tinha sido envolvido em um muito a srio olhando luta, ento eu no estava muito interessada em fazer ou de seu conhecimento agora. Olhei por cima do ombro enquanto eu fechada nas rvores, eles estavam empurrando e empurrando um para o outro, em um esforo para chegar a mim primeiro - se no tivesse sido to surreal, observando-os agir como crianas brigando por mim teria me fez rir. Oh Deus, eles estavam brigando por mim. Eu empurrei o pensamento de lado, como eu chegar floresta, tropeando atravs da folhagens, ramos empurrando para fora do meu caminho e pulando rvores cadas e razes. Eu odeio a natureza. Fiz uma pausa para respirar, esfregando com um ponto no meu lado enquanto eu olhei em volta para qualquer homem. Eu no podia ver ou ouvir qualquer coisa, que no seja o meu pesado ofegante, ento continuou em um movimento lento, at que ouvi sons de lutar novamente. Srio, o que foi com estes homens? Eles lutaram at que viram uma menina bonita, ento eles perseguiram, e quando perdeu sua voltou a lutar novamente. Escondido atrs de uma rvore, eu dei uma espiada na compensao e cobiado do homens do meu ponto de vista muito melhor, a poucos metros de distncia da luta. Quer dizer, eu inspecionado suas asas, As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 3 Pgina 4 tentando descobrir se eram reais ou no. Se no fosse pelo fato de que claramente no gostava de homem do outro, isso pode ser pervertido maldito, que no se parecia com nenhum dos eles tinha raspado em pelo menos uma semana, e depois de sua luta de praia e de voo seguiu pela floresta, tanto de eles foram agredidas e suor, sangue e sujeira rolando seus torsos nus. Como eles circularam um ao outro, eu podia ver que eles estavam ambos ostentando um grande nmero de cortes e contuses. Desde quando tinha suado, metade homens nus e espancada sido uma volta sobre para mim? Quebrei meu crebro, mas no conseguiu lembra de nada antes de acordar na praia, e muito menos se eu gostava dos meus homens de terno ou ataduras. Embora eu definitivamente estava inclinado para curativos agora. Especialmente quando a loira circulou em torno de modo que ele estava de frente para mim, e eu achei que no poderia arrastar meus olhos a partir da linha de suor umedecido cabelo arrastando para baixo sua barriga nua em seu jeans, uma contuso escurecendo um quadril e beira de uma tatuagem espreitar sobre a borda da cala jeans no quadril oposto. Embora ele foi muito muscular, ele tinha a menor onda de pudge em sua parte inferior do estmago, e eu tive que morder o lbio e me dar um mentais agitar a limpar a minha cabea a partir da imagem de disperso mordidas suaves todo o caminho at sua barriga.

Se eu ficasse aqui mais tempo assistindo a cena quase pornograficamente lindo jogar na frente de mim, Eu nunca iria embora, ento eu relutantemente ordenou meus ps para ir embora, espero voltar para a praia. Vrias horas depois, eu quase desisti e gritou a chamada explorador deserto, apenas para ver se algum me veio resgatar. Eu realmente deveria ter prestado mais ateno quando eu estava fugindo pela selva antes eu sorriu para mim mesmo. Balanando a cabea com o pensamento, eu olhei para cima atravs das rvores para o cu azul e tentou trabalhar fora quanto tempo eu estava vagando sem rumo. Eu no tenho nenhuma idia de como as pessoas podem dizer o tempo de olhar para o sol, tudo que eu podia dizer era que era dia. Eu encolheu os ombros e deu-se, continuando caminhando pela floresta at um estalo no mato me fez congelar. Algum Droga, estava l depois de tudo. Virei-me em crculos, nervoso, o medo enrolando na boca do meu estmago - eu no conseguia entender por que eu de repente me sinto to preocupado quando eu no sentia em perigo mais cedo, mesmo quando eu estava a poucos metros de distncia de dois homens envolvidos em uma luta bagunado. Ento, novamente, pelo menos eu tivesse sido capaz de v-los, no momento eu no podia ver ningum, e perdido na floresta densa, com algum ou alguma coisa prximo era inquietante. Tomando uma respirao profunda e lentamente se transformando em um crculo de novo, eu localizaram aproximadamente onde os sons foram chegando de e correu na direo oposta. A poucos passos, eu estava ofegante de novo e no conseguia ouvir nada sobre o som da minha prpria respirao e do tapa de folhagem na minha pele como eu encontrei meu caminho atravs dela. Olhando por cima do meu ombro, tudo que eu podia ver era um caminho de galhos quebrados e grama achatada - tudo o que precisava era de um sinal de non proclamando "donzela em perigo, este caminho. " Virando a ateno de volta para correr, eu quase correu em uma rvore. Soltei uma gargalhada histrica, claro, rvores. Eu podia ver uma rvore climbable olhando frente, e dirigiu-se para ele, subindo o tronco e para o ramos mais baixos, ento mais altas at eu me senti tonta olhando para baixo. Sim, isso seria alto o suficiente para agora eu decidiu, pressionando as costas para o tronco e agarrando ramos grossos ou outro lado de mim. Eu podia ouvir sons no cho agora, mas no podia ver nada atravs de todas as folhas. Quem quer que fosse, parecia que algum estava andando, e eu estava ficando frustrado tentando espreitar atravs da deixa para descobrir quem era meu perseguidor. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 4 Pgina 5

O que eu deveria ter feito era ficou onde estava, mas a curiosidade levou a melhor sobre mim e me arrastei at um ramo inferior at que eu pudesse ver a morena da estimulao de praia abaixo de mim. Ele ainda estava sem camisa e sujo; olhando muito pior para o desgaste aps sua luta na praia, apesar de suas asas ainda estavam um branco puro nevado, e eu podia v-los flutuando na brisa. Inclinei-me para a frente para ver melhor e do ramo eu estava encostado em deu caminho com um estalo alto, enviando-me atravs de quebrar os galhos, desesperadamente procurando um apoio como eu ca at que pousou em um par de braos fortes. A morena Eu estava to ansioso por mais um vislumbre de me pegou, e eu estava pressionado contra seu peito, s a seda frgil de meu colete entre ns. Olhei em seus olhos castanhos escuros, e piscou surpresa como ele sorriu para mim. "Eu sabia que voc estava aqui em algum lugar." "E onde exatamente isso?" Eu exigi, temem receber o melhor de minhas boas maneiras. Ele ps-me de p, sem deixar de mim e olhou ao redor, "Hmm, tecnicamente, estamos no purgatrio. Mas, realmente, tudo isso criado a partir de sua cabea. Voc tem uma boa imaginao. " Uh-huh. Direito. "Isso no faz sentido. Quem voc, afinal?" "Gabriel. Voc pode me chamar de Gabe." "Gabe. Voc espera que eu acredite que eu estou no purgatrio?" Eu perguntei com ceticismo. "Por que voc no acredita em mim?" "Talvez porque uma idia ridcula." Ele se inclinou para mim, conspirador, "Voc ainda no ouviu a melhor parte ainda", ele sussurrou, "eu sou um anjo. Seu anjo ". "Voc um anjo?" Eu ri, um pouco histrica. "Sim. Veja, eu ainda tenho as asas para provar isso." Ele virou-se para mostrar-lhes a mim. De perto, eles eram to bonita quanto eu imaginava que seria. "Ok, voc tem asas, mas um anjo - realmente?" Ele sorriu, "Realmente. Que mais eu poderia ser?" Eu deixo meu olhar vagar para baixo de sua cabea desgrenhada para seus (nua) dedos, tendo em todo o sujo, sangrento e suor penteado pele de seu peito no meio. "Voc pode estar na necessidade de um banho." Gabe olhou para si mesmo e riu, "Ok, eu preciso de um banho. Mas at mesmo os anjos podem ficar sujo." Ele piscou-me um sorrir sob seus longos clios, fazendo-me corar e castigar-me por flertar com um estranho. A estranho potencialmente instvel se voc no acreditar que ele realmente era um anjo. Mesmo se ele era o homem mais bonito que eu vi desde .... Bem, desde que eu tinha visto ele lutar o cara maltratada loira na praia.

Procurei por uma mudana de assunto: "Voc disse que este era o purgatrio? Por que diabos estou aqui? Voc no tem que ser mortos para .....? "eu parei, no querendo terminar o pensamento. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 5 Pgina 6 Gabe fez uma careta, "Sim, voc tem que morrer para chegar aqui." Olhei para ele bruscamente: "Eu estou realmente morto?" "Sim". "Ah. Como?" "Eu no sei." Gabe produziu uma camisa branca, aparentemente do nada, e puxou-a sobre suas asas enquanto ele continuou falando: "Voc est preso entre o Cu eo Inferno. Este um teste, se voc quiser, para ver onde voc deve ir em seguida. " O qu? "Mas .... Eu no entendo - por que estou aqui?" Gabe olhou apologtico como ele explicou, "A maioria das pessoas so boas ou ruins, e eles vo direto para o cu ou Inferno -. povo raro poucas so perfeitamente equilibrados entre os dois, e quando eles morrem, eles vm aqui " Esse tipo de fez sentido, mas como que se aplica a mim? "Mas eu era bom, deve haver alguma mistura-se O que eu fiz. isso era to ruim que acabei aqui? " "No foi uma mistura." Gabe sorriu com simpatia. Eu poderia lgrimas, e virou-se para escond-los. Gabe roou a palma da minha mo, e eu olhei para baixo para v-lo tomar minha mo na sua. "Venha comigo", disse ele, puxando a minha mo com um leve sorriso. Bem, no como se eu tinha um monte de outras opes, ento eu o segui por entre as rvores e alguns minutos mais tarde estvamos de volta na praia. " s eu que no foram emitidas com um mapa deste lugar?" Eu murmurei, lembrando-se das longas horas que eu gastei vagando sem rumo. Gabe inclinou a cabea para trs para aproveitar o sol, escovar o cabelo longo de seus olhos, "Eu apenas segui o som da gua. " Uma boa idia, se eu tivesse pensado nisso antes. Sentei-me na areia, de frente para as ondas e puxou Gabe mo. Ele olhou para mim, ento seguiu o exemplo e se sentou ao meu lado, cavando seus ps descalos na areia quente, mas nunca abrir mo de minha mo. "Menos de me distrair com praias exticas e sol, mais a explicar." Eu pedi. Gabe riu suavemente, e cumpridas; "Ok, de alguma forma, a sua alma est perfeitamente equilibrada entre o Cu eo Inferno no me pergunte como, eu no sei. Devido a isso, agora voc est preso no purgatrio, que um tipo de prova

terreno - um teste final, voc poderia dizer. Voc v aquela montanha ali? "Ele apontou para a maior das serra ao longe. " difcil de perder." Eu murmurei sarcasticamente. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 6 Pgina 7 Gabe ignorou meu sarcasmo, rapaz sensvel, "Do outro lado da montanha a nica maneira de sair daqui - um porta para o outro lado. " "Voc quer dizer que as portas para o cu est em uma montanha, em uma ilha no meio do nada?" Eu ri, incrdulo. "No exatamente", ele franziu a testa, tateando em busca de uma explicao melhor. "Eu no estou fazendo isso muito bem." Eu levantei uma sobrancelha, em acordo silencioso. "Ok, todo mundo j definir idias do que o cu eo inferno parecem, de acordo?" ele perguntou finalmente. "Sim, o Cu totalmente de sol e nuvens macias e administrado por ursos de cuidados, enquanto o inferno escuro e sinistro, decorado em vermelho e preto, com todos os tipos de deboche acontecendo. "Fiz uma pausa na minha explicao," Na verdade, isso no parece to ruim. " Gabe riu, "Eu prefiro a verso do Inferno para a realidade", ele admitiu: "Mas o que voc imaginar purgatrio para se parece? " "Bege provavelmente. Que eu no tenho idia. Por que eu?" "Exatamente Tudo isso -.", Ele acenou com um brao para abranger a praia e floresta ", formado a partir de sua mente, para fazer voc se sentir mais confortvel. " "E o meu conforto importante aqui?" Eu perguntei, com apenas um toque de sarcasmo. "Bem, um pouco importante", ele disse, "Esta a sua ltima chance de provar que voc bom o suficiente para entrar em Cu. Seria cruel para fazer voc faz-lo em um ambiente que voc odiava. " Eu pensei sobre isso por um minuto, "Como muito atencioso." Gabe suspirou, "Eu entendo, voc no quer estar aqui, mas s h uma maneira de sair, e como chegar l mentalmente, como fisicamente - determina onde voc vai depois ". Eu impaciente peneirada de areia por entre os dedos, "Voc sabe que isso tudo soa como um jogo de computador muito ruim," eu disse eventualmente. "Eu sei." Gabe concordou: "Quando voc chegar ao outro lado, voc pode sugerir melhorias para o sistema." "Agora voc est sendo sarcstico." "O que, voc pensou que tinha o monoplio do sarcasmo?" perguntou ele com um sorriso torto. "No, mas voc um anjo." Ele deu de ombros: "Ento?"

"Eu pensei que eram todos anjos puro e virtuoso." Gabe se aproximou, com um sorriso perverso "Ns no somos tudo pura e virtuosa, eu posso fazer muitas coisas que voc provavelmente acho que os anjos no deve fazer. " As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 7 Pgina 8 Levou uma tremenda quantidade de auto-controle para parar de me perguntar coisas exatamente o que, "O que as portas do Cu parece? "Eu perguntei vez. "Deixe-me adivinhar, voc est imaginando altos, portes dourados brilhantes com pilhas de nuvens em ambos os lados e um pano de fundo O cu azul? "Gabe perguntou. "Previsvel, no?" Eu ri, "Ok, no me diga, eu vou descobrir por mim mesmo quando eu chegar l." Um comentrio que ele fez anteriormente voltou a assombrar-me, "Voc me disse anteriormente que voc fosse meu anjo?" "Sim". "E o que isso significa exatamente?" "Isso significa que voc no est sozinho aqui. Sim, voc tem que obter-se para o outro lado, mas o suficiente duro obter a sua cabea em torno do conceito de que voc est morto e prestes a ter o teste mais duro de sua vida - o que, eu tenho que dizer que voc est segurando muito bem - a maioria das pessoas pirar completamente. Mas voc no tem que fazer tudo isso sozinho. " Eu fiz uma careta, inquieta, "O que o teste como?" "A ilha o teste." Gabe disse. Eu me virei para olhar para a ilha, boca aberta soltando "O qu?" Gabe foi rpido para me tranquilizar, "Voc tem que chegar ao outro lado da montanha - a idia que voc encontrar todos os tipos de obstculos e testes no caminho. Como voc lida com eles determina onde voc vai seguinte. " Eu olhei para ele, "Srio, isso to fodido." Gabe riu: "Voc prefere ter dobradia tudo em um grande teste, ento? Sabendo que se voc falhar, voc passar a eternidade no inferno? " "Eu no acho. Mas quem veio com essa idia?" "Eu acredito que foi um conceito comum, entre os dois lados." Eu olhei de volta para a ilha novamente, "Sim, e eu aposto que sei quem concebeu os testes." "Ambos os lados defini-las." Devo ter ficado surpreso porque Gabe riu: "No se esquea, voc no estaria aqui se Cu e Inferno no quero voc. Nem vai ser fcil de voc ir embora, eles querem ter certeza de que voc digno de eles. " "Digno deles?" Eu perguntei com um sorriso.

Ele parecia um pouco tmido com isso, "Bem, verdade." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 8 Pgina 9 Suspirei e olhei de novo, "Ok, ento, vamos levar este show na estrada. Eu no suponho que voc sabe que o forma mais rpida atravs da floresta? " Gabe apertou os olhos contra o sol ", v direto para a montanha?" ele perguntou, apontando para o nosso destino final. "Muito til". Eu balancei a cabea. "O qu? Eu j expliquei a localizao tudo para baixo para o seu crebro deformado." Na verdade, eu estava colocando-a a assistir a muitos episdios de Lost. "Ento, voc realmente no tem idia de onde vamos, ento? " "No, no tem idia de todo," ele disse alegremente. Eu olhei de volta para as rvores, depois para a praia como uma idia me ocorreu. "Ns poderamos simplesmente caminhar pela praia e ao redor da ilha, e, em seguida, subir a montanha, em vez de se perder l dentro. " "Isso trapaa", Gabe sorriu. Eu lhe dei o meu melhor com os olhos arregalados, olhar inocente, "No, no . Ele est considerando todas as suas opes." Gabe mostrou seu sorriso maroto de novo, "No, no engano." "Como voc sabe?" Eu desafiei. "Acabei de fazer." Multa. Revirei os olhos para ele, "Como gosto de um homem. Ok, vamos passar pela ilha, mas se tivermos perdido, eu estou dizendo que eu avisei. "Eu pensei que voc pode." "Ento, ns apenas comear a andar, e espero que estamos indo na direo certa, ento?" "Sim, muito bonito. Uma coisa antes de comearmos embora ..." Gabe sumiu quando ele comeou a movimentar-se para a praia. "Voc est indo pelo caminho errado!" Eu gritei depois dele, rindo. Ele virou-me sobre seu ombro, me fazendo rir de novo antes de pegar algo da areia e voltando para onde eu esperava no muito pacientemente por ele. "Eu no acredito que voc fez isso!" Exclamei quando ele voltou. "Voc espera que eu atravessar a ilha de ps descalos?" ele perguntou inocentemente, mantendo-se os treinadores brancos que ele tinha apenas recuperado. "Voc sabe que no o que eu quis dizer." Ele ajoelhou-se para amarrar os cadaros, e dando-me um olhar inocente sob escuro longos clios, "Eu te disse, ns somos nem todos puro e virtuoso como voc acha que ns somos. " As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 9 Pgina 10 De p, ele pegou minha mo e fez um gesto em direo linha de rvore, "Vamos?" , perguntou ele.

Eu tomei uma respirao profunda, "Lay em Macduff," eu murmurei, comeando em direo floresta, segurando a mo de Gabe firmemente. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 1 10 Pgina 11 Captulo 2 "Ser que isso nunca floresta acabar?" Resmunguei horas depois, subindo mais de um tronco de rvore cado. "Eu deveria estar a pedir-lhe que," murmurou Gabe atrs de mim. Olhei para ele, "Certo. Ento, quanto tempo que estes tipos de coisas costumam levar?" Gabe se sentou na rvore cada a pensar: "Depende, mas geralmente alguns dias." "Tudo isso?" Eu perguntei, desanimado. "O que, voc est ansioso para se livrar de mim j?" ele brincou. Eu sorri para ele: "No, a empresa praticamente o nico fator redentor neste desastre todo". Gabe me puxou para baixo sobre o tronco da rvore ao lado dele. " muito quente para caminhar mais longe, devemos esperar aqui at que esfrie. " Uma excelente ideia, embora, na verdade, no era to quente. "Agora voc est apenas a ser preguioso." "Bem, talvez um pouco", admitiu. Encostei-me ele, "Ok, voc pode descansar aqui at que esfrie. Mas no preguia um dos sete pecados capitais?" Ele riu, "No o pior deles." "E o que pior, ento? Ou devo perguntar, qual o seu favorito?" Eu perguntei, no tenho certeza se eu queria saber a responder. "Eu sou um f de todos os sete, na verdade." "Eu pensei que era suposto ser um anjo!" Exclamei, tentando manter minha mente de vagar para lugares isso no deveria estar acontecendo. No com um anjo, de qualquer maneira. "Eu sou. Maior parte do tempo." "E o que voc o resto do tempo?" Ele passou um brao em volta dos meus ombros ", muito desobediente", ele sussurrou. Oh menino. Eu ri um pouco nervosa, e tirou de seus braos para olhar para Gabe, "Voc est flertando com mim? " "Talvez, s um pouco." "Ser que permitido?" "Faria alguma diferena se no fosse?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 2 11 Pgina 12 Eu ponderei que por um momento, "No verdade." "Bom". Ele mudou de assunto, eu acho que s para rir de mim: "Voc sabe o que seu nome significa?" "No."

"Isso significa ovelha." "Eu?" Ele riu, e soletrou: "No, ovelha." "Oh, timo, eu sou uma ovelha?" Sua tcnica flertando poderia fazer com algum trabalho. "Poderia ser pior, eu sou chamado depois do meu pai." Gabe confidenciou. "Uau, o anjo Gabriel? A uma na Bblia?" "Sim, esse mesmo." "Ento, os anjos podem .... reproduzir?" "Claro, os humanos mesma maneira que, mas os anjos so muito melhor para ele." Um sorriso travesso se espalhou pelo rosto de Gabe, como eu tentei no corar. E falhou miseravelmente, fazendo com que Gabe a rir e me envolver em um abrao, "Voc to bonito quando voc est envergonhado ", ele sussurrou em meu ouvido. Na verdade, a sua tcnica era realmente flertando bom, eu percebi. Eu devolveu o abrao, sorrindo para ele, "E voc est tentando me envergonhar de propsito." "Bem, talvez ...." Eu pulei fora da rvore, arrastando uma mo pelo brao de Gabe, antes de tomar sua mo, "Vamos l, essa parada enquanto seu quente no est funcionando muito bem ? Devemos continuar. " "Ok, desde que podemos encontrar algo para comer." Olhei para Gabe, surpreso: "Voc est com fome?" "Starving. Favor, me diga sua mente distorcida colocou um McDonalds por aqui em algum lugar." "Sim, eu gostaria". Parei como seu estmago roncou alto, e foi a vez de Gabe olhar envergonhado. Ele deslizou um distrado mo sob a camisa e esfregou seu estmago, meus olhos depois de sua mo. "Comporte-se", Gabe sorriu, puxando a camisa para baixo quando ele percebeu que eu estava olhando. Dei-lhe o olhar mais inocente que eu poderia reunir, "Eu no fiz nada." "Mas voc estava pensando sobre isso." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 2 12 Pgina 13 Eu dei-lhe um sorriso maligno e imitou sua resposta anterior, "Talvez um pouco." Ele sorriu, "Ok, novo tpico." "O que, eu pensei que estvamos falando encontrar algo para comer?" "Voc no estava pensando em comida." "Eu poderia ter sido." Gabe levantou uma sobrancelha, "Srio?" "Bem, pode ter havido alimento envolvido ...." Eu parei, sem vontade de terminar o pensamento em voz alta. "Qualquer alimento em particular?" Gabe interrompeu minha fantasia. "Derretida calda de caramelo salgado," eu admiti. "Comido direto da banheira com os dedos?" ele brincou. "Uh, no bem assim."

Gabe levantou uma sobrancelha, mas no disse mais nada, deixando-me a minha fantasia. "Gabe, enquanto eu estou tendo um monte de diverso se perder com voc, voc tem certeza de que no estamos perdidos?" Eu resmunguei. "No fao ideia. Todas estas rvores parecem o mesmo para mim." Ele sorriu alegremente. "Ento, voc nunca foi um explorador da natureza, ento?" "Um o qu?" "Um explorador deserto Voc sabe -. Deserto deve ser explorado, caw caw, rugido!" Gabe riu, desnorteado, "Eu no tenho idia do que voc est falando." "No importa quanto tempo voc acha que estive neste -. Voc acha que estamos perto da montanha ainda?" "Horas e, provavelmente, no." "Sim, isso o que eu pensava. Isso tudo parece meio sem sentido, porm, a menos que eu estou sendo testado por quanto tempo eu pode vagar sem rumo antes de eu ir nozes. "eu murmurei, entediado e exausto. "Pode ser um dos testes", Gabe pensou: "Eles tendem a tomar todos os tipos de formas." "Voc est brincando, certo?" Eu perguntei, "Como que traipsing atravs de uma floresta por horas determinar onde eu passar a minha vida aps a morte? " "Voc prefere estar lutando demnios ou tentando descobrir enigmas elaborados em vez disso?" , perguntou ele. "Na verdade no, mas pelo menos ele se sentiria como se eu estivesse fazendo alguma coisa." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 2 13 Pgina 14 "Tenha cuidado com o que deseja", Gabe sorriu, "Voc vai estar ausente estes chatas horas vagando sem rumo em breve. " "Eu no estou entediado." Eu menti, "Just nervoso." Gabe assentiu, compreendendo. "Voc quer fazer alguma coisa - qualquer coisa - para que voc saiba o que voc est deixando -se em para? " "Sim, algo assim. O suspense est me deixando louco." Gabe fez uma pausa, olhando para uma poa de areia obscurecer o caminho, enquanto eu espiava por cima do ombro, "O que o poro -se ", eu perguntei, cutucando-o levemente na parte de trs e tendo a oportunidade de acariciar as penas de suas asas e ver se eram to suave quanto eu esperava que fosse. "No esta areia olhar desconfiado para voc?" , perguntou ele. "No. s areia." Ele sorriu para mim por cima do ombro, "Bem, nesse caso, senhoras primeiro. E se isto areia movedia, eu no estou mergulhando em para salv-lo. " "A areia movedia uma inveno de Hollywood," Eu sorri, sem saber como eu sabia que, " uma mistura de areia e gua, mas o ponto de saturao nunca alta o suficiente para causar-lhe a afundar-lo. "

"Quer experimentar essa teoria ao vadear na?" , perguntou ele. "Nope. Estou andando ao redor dele." "Menina esperta." ele sorriu: "Mas ns vamos ter a trilha de volta um pouco, a vegetao rasteira muito densa aqui." Revirei os olhos, "Voc no tem senso de aventura." "Por que, o que voc tem em mente?" ele perguntou com cautela. Eu sorriu e apontou para cima ", Greystroke". "O que?" "Tarzan. As rvores esto to perto aqui que podemos subir um e atravessar os ramos". Gabe riu: "Voc est fora de sua mente." Dei de ombros, no ofendido por sua risada, "Ok, ento voc volta completa enquanto eu subir na rvore, e eu estarei esperando para voc quando voc conseguiu encontrar um caminho de volta. " Ele suspirou, "Voc realmente srio." "Sim". "Ok". Ele admitiu, "Tente no cair desta rvore embora." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 2 14 Pgina 15 Homens. Enfiei a lngua para ele antes de subir na rvore mais prxima, Gabe bem atrs de mim. Desta vez eu testei o ramo para ter certeza de que seria necessrio meu peso e no tirar como, bem, um galho. Parecia robusto o suficiente, ento eu rastejou cautelosamente atravs dele at chegar a prxima rvore. Eu passei os braos em volta do tronco e sorriu triunfante para Gabe, "Sua vez." Resmungando baixinho, Gabe me seguiu por todo o primeiro ramo. "No fique muito arrogante, no estamos l ainda. " Eu mostrei-lhe um sorriso, "Voc ainda pode voltar e andar por a." Gabe levantou uma sobrancelha, "Just continuar a subir." Vrias rvores depois, Gabe tinha, obviamente, tinha o suficiente. "Rae, para fora da rvore. Agora". Eu no sou bom em receber ordens, o melhor dos tempos, e franziu a testa por cima do meu ombro para ele, "No, eu acho que h uma quebrar nas rvores frente. Se ficarmos aqui, vamos ter uma viso melhor de onde estamos. " "Eu gosto da vista aqui." Oh meu deus. Eu olhei em volta: "Voc est olhando para o meu fundo?" "Sim, mas se voc no estivesse rastejando atravs de ramos, eu no seria capaz de fazer." Eu ri, "Voc no vai me deixar para baixo assim." "Valeu a pena tentar", ele sorriu. Eu balancei minha cabea e arrastou algumas rvores mais casais, antes diludo o suficiente para revelar um enorme labirinto de pedra que se estende at onde os olhos podiam ver em todas as direes. Porcaria. Eu odiava labirintos, eu sempre parecia acabam se perdendo em si. "Bloody Hell, Gabe vir e olhar para isso", liguei de volta.

Ele arrastou-se os ramos ltimos a ficar em cima do que eu estava, de costas para o tronco e puxou meu camisa at que me mudei de volta para sentar-se entre suas coxas. Inclinei-me para a frente para ter uma melhor viso do labirinto, e ele passou os braos em volta da minha cintura para me segurar em lugar, seu pastoreio dedos levemente em toda a minha barriga debaixo da camisa. "Tenha cuidado, ou voc vai cair desta rvore tambm." Ele murmurou contra a minha orelha. Eu ignorei o aviso de flerte, "Isso labirinto vai para sempre No podemos ir ao seu redor;. Vamos ter que ir atravs dele. " Gabe examinou o labirinto, pensativo, enquanto eu estudava, corando novamente quando notou. Felizmente, ele no disse nada, concentrando-se no labirinto em vez, "As paredes so muito altos para subir - uma vez que estamos l, ns no ser capaz de verificar a nossa localizao. Ns estaremos totalmente cego. " "Pelo menos sabemos que estamos indo na direo certa embora." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 2 15 Pgina 16 Eu apontei para as montanhas ao longe, tentando encontrar o forro de prata. "Eles no ficaram mais perto embora. " "No, mas o sol", Gabe protegeu os olhos para olhar para o sol, que j estava baixo no cu. "Crud". Eu me inclinei para trs contra Gabe, e ele apoiou o queixo no meu ombro. "O que devemos fazer?" Perguntei-lhe: "Parece que temos que conseguir atravs desse labirinto, mas vamos faz-lo agora ou na parte da manh." Gabe olhou para o labirinto, pensativo, "Vai ser muito escuro l de qualquer maneira. Que eu no acho que ele vai fazer um monte de diferena se fizermos isso agora ou amanh. " "Sim, isso o que eu pensava." Um pensamento de repente me ocorreu, "Voc acha que h alguma coisa no labirinto?" Gabe apertou os braos em volta da minha cintura e beijou as costas do meu pescoo, me fazendo tremer, "Eu no sei. Ns podemos tentar encontrar outro caminho se voc quer? " Cheguei a uma mo para esfregar levemente contra a bochecha de barba por fazer de Gabe, "Pare com isso, ou eu vou ficar nessa rvore." Ele beijou meu pescoo mais uma vez antes de se inclinar para trs contra a rvore, fora do caminho de tentaes. Vergonha. "Ento, atravs do labirinto ou procurar outro caminho ", ele meditou. No meu suspiro, ele acrescentou: "Ou ficar na rvore." Eu sorri e lhe deu uma cotovelada de leve nas costelas, "Ns vamos percorrer o labirinto," eu decidi. "Voc quer encontrar um lugar para dormir em primeiro lugar, ou acabar com isso?" Gabe perguntou. "Acabe logo com isso - espero que se h alguma coisa l dentro, no escuro vai ajudar a esconder-nos."

"Bom ponto. Uma tocha iria ajudar tambm." "Ns poderamos quebrar um galho e us-lo como uma tocha. Ou de defesa". Eu sugeri. "Uma idia ainda melhor Venha,. Vamos descer antes que voc mude sua mente." Gabe recebeu um no to suave cotovelo nas costelas para este comentrio. "Ei, ser agradvel, eu j estou machucado por toda parte." A meno de suas contuses me lembrou de suas lutas anteriores. "Quem foi o cara que estavam lutando antes?" "Zacharael. Outro anjo", ele respondeu logo. Ah, agora que no era um ponto sensvel. "Por que voc estava lutando com outro anjo?" Eu perguntei, curioso. "No foi grave, foi apenas uma luta jogo." "Certo. Ento por que vocs dois to batido at o final dela?" Gabe deu de ombros: "No h nenhuma luta ponto, at mesmo jogar a lutar, se voc no vai levar a srio." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 2 16 Pgina 17 "Hardcore. Que aconteceu com Zacharael?" "Ele perdeu." "E ....?" I solicitado. "E o que?" "Onde ele est agora?" Gabe olhou para mim com desconfiana, "Por que voc quer saber?" Uma imagem de Zacharael, suado e sujo de luta, seus jeans baixos em seus quadris, asas pretas espalhar atrs dele passou pela minha mente. Eu balancei a cabea para limp-la, "Eu s queria saber. Voc disse que no houve outra maneira de sair daqui. " Gabe relaxado, "Ele provavelmente ainda est deitado na praia recuperando Agora, pare de tentar mudar de assunto -. Fazer voc quer ir para o labirinto esta noite ou no? " "No realmente, mas a espera vai me totalmente insano", eu murmurei. "Sem chance de isso, j aconteceu." Gabe brincou. Eu dei-lhe um olhar falso sujo como eu relutantemente subiu de seu colo e comeou a descer da rvore, "Eu estava so antes Eu acabei aqui. Eu acho. " Gabe me seguiu para baixo da rvore, quebrando alguns galhos e jogando-os ao cho como ele foi. Peguei os ramos em que atingiu o cho, abaixando um pouco de lances inoportunas de Gabe. "Ns precisamos de luz um para usar como uma tocha. "Eu disse Gabe quando ele finalmente chegou ao cho. "Todas as idias sobre como acend-lo?" , perguntou ele. "No, eu pensei que voc fez." Eu suspirei. "Podemos ser a pior equipe?" Gabe riu suavemente, "Deixa apenas a cabea para a entrada, e reflectir sobre o at l. " "Bom pensamento Batman." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte

Captulo 2 17 Pgina 18 Captulo 3 Ns seguimos a parede exterior do labirinto procura da entrada por quase uma hora at que finalmente o encontrei. "Ele no parecia to longe da rvore." Fiquei preocupado, olhando no escuro quase completo agora, "E ns ainda no sei acender esta tocha ". "Voc no pode simplesmente esfregar duas pedras juntas e iniciar um incndio dessa forma?" Gabe perguntou. Eu sufocou uma risada, "Uh, eu acho que no assim to fcil." "No ria de mim - eu nunca tive que fazer isso antes!" Gabe protestou. "Nem eu, mas eu sei que voc precisa de ao e pedra para que voc tinha em mente." "Como sobre a utilizao do sol? Isso sempre funciona nos filmes", ele sugeriu esperanosamente. "Voc geralmente precisa do sol para estar fora para que funcione." Eu escondi um sorriso em sua sugesto. Gabe soltou um suspiro de frustrao: "Se voc sabe de tudo isso, por que no a tocha acesa ainda?" Eu olhei para ele, "Morda-me". Um pensamento pateticamente bvio ocorreu-me que eu andava entre a parede labirinto e mais prximo das rvores, Gabe encostada na parede, olhando pacientemente. "Wood. Ns esfregar madeira em conjunto para criar uma fasca." Exclamei. "Isso realmente funciona?" Gabe perguntou em dvida. "Em teoria, sim." Fui para a floresta escura para recolher um par de ramos menores para tentar a minha teoria para fora. "Como muitos incndios que voc estava planejando fazer?" Gabe perguntou, divertido, como eu despejei uma braada de paus e galhos em seus braos quando voltei. "Eu no tenho nenhuma idia real de como isso funciona. Imaginei que provavelmente vai acabar jogando fora metade destes em frustrao. "Eu dei de ombros. "Ento, qual a idia bsica, ento?" ele perguntou, inspecionando um dos galhos. "Erm, voc esfregar dois juntos, criando atrito e calor, e espero que uma fasca." Eu imaginei. "No melhor comear com uma fasca, e passar para o calor ea frico mais tarde?" , perguntou ele com um sorriso. "Isso simplesmente desprezvel," eu ri. "Sim, sinto muito por isso." Gabe sorriu. Eu peguei duas varas para fora da pilha e esfregou-los juntos, sem resultados. Gabe no estava tendo muita sorte ou, ento, que jogou os galhos para um lado, tentando um novo par em seu lugar. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 18 Pgina 19 "Basta continuar tentando?" , perguntou ele. "Sim, algo assim."

Poucos minutos depois, Gabriel soltou uma exclamao - de alguma forma, os seus ramos conseguiu criar algumas fascas, que haviam desembarcado na pilha de galhos em seus ps e agora estava em chamas. Arrastei-me mais com o designado ramo tocha e acendeu cuidadosamente um fim de tudo, no em todos cimes que ele tinha conseguido, onde eu tinha falhado. Gabe pegou a minha mo e me ajudou a meus ps, voltando-se para a entrada do labirinto. "No deve haver um rolo de barbante por aqui ....?" Eu murmurei enquanto entramos no labirinto, o escurido apenas interrompida pela tocha bruxuleante. "Teseu?" Gabe perguntou. "Sim, e pelo menos pudssemos voltar aqui se ficou realmente perdido." Olhei por um tnel escuro como breu levando para a esquerda, e rapidamente realizadas no passado. "Boa idia. Estou culpando voc se deparar com algum Minotaurs embora", ele murmurou distraidamente. Oh grande, que realmente estava ajudando meus nervos. Parei em uma encruzilhada, "Qualquer idia de que direo devemos entrar? " "Nenhuma. Vamos tentar manter a frente, em direo s montanhas." Gabe fundamentado. "Parece como um bom plano como qualquer outro." Ns andamos pelos corredores de pedra escuras para que pareceram horas, indo em direo montanha onde possvel e dobrando para trs em becos sem sada, quando ouviu o barulho da primeira mais profunda dentro do labirinto. Eu poderia ter gritou como uma menina e se agarrou a Gabe, "O que foi isso?" Ele balanou a cabea: "Eu no sei. Mas vamos ir por esse caminho agora." Ele apontou na direo oposta de onde o barulho tinha vindo. Eu no deixei de ir a minha aperto da morte em seu brao, "Boa idia". Gabe me levar pelos corredores estreitos em uma corrida, os rugidos atrs de ns soando cada vez mais perto, e levou demasiadas voltas erradas - correndo por becos sem sada e duplicando volta freneticamente. medida que corria um tnel mais toro que se transformou em um beco sem sada, Gabe sugeriu que ficar l e se esconder. "Voc quer se esconder aqui?" Eu perguntei, surpreso, "Ns estamos em um beco sem sada - se que, que .... o que quer que seja, vem para baixo aqui, quem sabe o que pode acontecer. " Gabe tentou explicar sua lgica para mim, "O que quer que a coisa l fora , est ficando mais perto. Se dobrar para trs agora, ns vamos estar correndo em direo a ela. Se ficarmos aqui, podemos pelo menos ser capaz de esconder isso. " "Ok, isso o tipo de sentido", admitiu eu ", mas ela ainda pode encontrar-nos." "E pode encontrar-nos se ns voltar - pelo menos assim ns s precisamos manter o relgio em uma direo." Ele apontou. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte

Captulo 3 19 Pgina 20 "Bom ponto." Eu suspirei. "Mas preciso colocar a tocha para fora." Eu pisquei estupidamente baixo na tocha, que reconhecidamente no tem a vida muito deixou nele, "O que? Por que ns quer fazer isso? " "Assim que se alguma coisa caminhando por este beco sem sada, eles no vo ver um ramo de fogo anunciando nossa presena." "Ento voc quer se esconder de um monstro desconhecido, em um arremesso final preto morto em um labirinto?" Eu esclarecida, apenas para fazer certeza de que eu tinha o plano louco direto na minha cabea. "Bem, ele no parece to s quando voc coloca isso dessa forma", Gabe admitiu. Bem, um plano maluco melhor do que nenhum plano, eu acho. "A sanidade superestimado." Eu disse a ele, apagando a tocha para fora na cho. A negra escurido se infiltrou nos rodear, e eu pulei um p no ar quando Gabe agarrou a minha mo. "Pare com isso, voc assustou o inferno fora de mim." Eu assobiei, minha voz soando muito alto no preto campo. "Voc quer estar de p bem no meio do corredor, quando o que essa coisa vem por a da esquina? "Gabe murmurou. Ok, ele tinha um ponto. Eu deixei Gabe me puxar at o final do du cul saco, onde ele apertou-me para o canto e lotado perto da minha frente. "Gabe", eu sussurrei suavemente na escurido, "Voc no tem que me proteger, o que suposto ser o meu teste, lembra-se? " "Eu me lembro". Mas ele no recuou, o que eu estava grato. Eu podia sentir meu corao batendo forma muito rpida, e percebi que eu estava segurando firmemente Gabe. Isso no me fez soltar o meu aperto em tudo embora. "Relaxe", ele sussurrou em meu ouvido. "Fcil para voc dizer, no , provavelmente, depois de voc." Sussurrei de volta. Ele sorriu contra minha bochecha, "Ele ainda vai chegar a mim em primeiro lugar." Bom ponto. "Eu no tinha pensado nisso. Quer trocar de lugar?" "No." Ento, o cavalheirismo no est morto depois de tudo. "Obrigado." Gabe passou a mo pelo meu cabelo suavemente, "Relaxe", ele murmurou de novo. Relaxe. Ok, eu poderia fazer isso. Eu pedi meus dedos para relaxar-se de onde estavam fisted em Gabe camisa, flexionando-los contra seu peito. Fiquei muito orgulhoso de mim mesmo, at outro estrondo ecoou pela labirinto, esta mais perto do que nunca. Eu vou admitir que eu agia como uma menina completa nesse ponto, envolvendo ambos os braos com fora em torno do pescoo de Gabe e enterrando meu rosto em seu peito. Para ser justo, eu no acho que Gabe estava to imperturbvel como ele era As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3

20 Pgina 21 fingindo ser, pressionando-se mais perto, seus braos apertados em torno de mim. Gabe puxou levemente no meu cabelo, que chegou a fazer-me a relaxar contra ele e me distraiu suficientemente para que, quando ele deu um beijo leve na minha garganta e esfregou os dedos levemente em toda a volta do meu pescoo tudo o que eu podia fazer era choradeira, esquecendo completamente sobre o monstro invisvel nos perseguindo. "Gabe ...." Sussurrei baixinho, minha respirao rpida e irregular. "Sssh", ele sussurrou, "Ele vai nos ouvir." "Isso no minha culpa!" Eu sussurrei de volta ferozmente, "Voc comeou." "Eu estava tentando distra-lo." Ele beijou seu caminho lentamente para o meu pescoo, pastagem e palha ccegas contra minha pele, me fazendo morder o lbio e cavar meus dedos em seus ombros, em um esforo para manter a calma. A temporizao e localizao pode chupar, mas, tanto quanto distraes ir, era um muito bom. Eu podia sentir o corao de Gabe batendo a mil por hora contra o meu peito, como ele roou os lbios levemente em toda minha. Eu inclinou-se para beij-lo de volta, assim como um estrondo muito perto nos interrompeu, fazendo-me jurar. Eu olhava para a escurido, mas no podia ver nada. De repente, apagando a tocha no parecia bem como uma boa idia. Os sons de baralhar baixo cortou a noite, fazendo-me saltar. "O que foi isso?" "Eu no sei. Parecia perto embora." "O que no dizer que -?! Voc deveria tranquilizar-me." Eu sussurrei, quase freneticamente. Os sons foram arrastados ficando mais alto, mais perto e eu poderia fazer uma luz fraca vinda de todo o dobrar-se no corredor de pedra vinte metros de distncia. "Merda, algo est vindo," Gabe sussurrou. Eu balancei a cabea, nervosa, "Eu sei, mas pelo menos eles tm uma luz." Gabe olhou para mim, incrdulo. "Pelo menos eles tm uma luz?" ele repetiu. "Bem, se isso se resume a uma luta, voc quer lutar no escuro?" Eu me defendi. "Bom ponto," ele disse, "Agora s precisamos de um plano." "Eu preciso de um plano." Eu o corrigi. Ele se inclinou ligeiramente para trs para olhar para mim: "No, precisamos de um plano. Trabalho em equipe." Eu balancei a cabea: "No. Meus testes, o meu plano." Eu afastei Gabe e pegou um dos pesados ramos que haviam descartado no terreno em favor de fazer no canto escuro, e se virou para o estranho que se aproxima. Por um momento, eu me perguntei se era uma boa idia de ir para a ofensiva, mas o que estava por vir em torno de que canto estava fazendo muito barulho, e parecia grande. Realmente grande. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 21

Pgina 22 A luz derramando em torno do canto foi ficando mais brilhante agora, ele deve ser apenas a alguns passos de distncia de ns. Eu levantou o ramo sobre a minha cabea e achatado-me contra a parede, esperando. E tremendo ligeiramente. No que eu admitir que a Gabe. Gabe passou por trs de mim, perto o suficiente para ajudar, mas deixando espao suficiente para que eu no iria bater nele acidentalmente com o ramo em minhas mos. Bem, eu esperava que eu no iria bater nele, de qualquer maneira - ele j tinha hematomas suficientes. Eu tomei uma respirao profunda, e fugazmente se perguntou se isso era apenas um grande mal entendido que poderia resolver mais de uma xcara de ch. Ento eu passo frente e na esquina, trazendo o galho para baixo com um baque de carne sobre a cabea de um Minotauro sete porta de altura. O Minotauro jogou a cabea para trs e rugiu, a tocha flamejante que realizou em um piscar punho enorme e lanando sombras danantes contra as paredes. Que provavelmente seria um no a discusses sobre ch com bolinhos de ento. Eu olhei para ele, boquiaberta como ele balanou a cabea, as gotas de sangue de vo. Ento eu estava no ar, uma vez que backhanded-me atravs do corredor estreito e felizmente eu bati na parede oposta, com fora. Sem flego, eu rastejei para os meus ps, levando o ramo novamente. O Minotauro soltou outro rugido e comeou para mim. Descobrir que eu nunca ia ganhar esta bruta usando fora, eu decidi fazer batota e bateu com a filial em seus joelhos, esperando que eu poderia ser capaz de incapacitar por muito tempo o suficiente para mim e Gabe fazer uma sada precipitada. quase funcionou, o Minotauro cair sua lanterna e caindo de joelhos, colocando-nos na mesma altura. Eu era to surpreso que eu tinha tido qualquer impacto em tudo, eu perdi completamente o Minotauro tomar outro furto em mim, quente dor irradiada atravs das minhas costelas e me fazendo cambalear de volta contra a parede. Eu era, no entanto, bastante orgulhoso do fato de que nunca deixei o ramo agarrou firmemente na mo. Com o canto do meu olho, eu podia ver Gabe cautelosamente se aproximando, mas acenou de volta, determinado a concluir isso mesmo. O Minotauro comeou a escalar lentamente a seus ps e aproveitei a oportunidade para balanar a filial em seu meio, msculos queimando com o peso do ramo e do esforo de brandindo-lo assim descontroladamente. Como ele rugiu de dor, eu balanava uma ltima vez, conseguindo pegar o Minotauro sob seu queixo, batendo sua cabea para trs com um estalo antes do desabamento para trs no cho, com fora suficiente para fazer a pedras ps agitar um pouco, antes que ficou imvel. Ofegante, eu deixo a queda de filial para o cho e examinou o Minotauro imvel. Gabe pegou a minha mo, "Venha em diante, ele est morto, que devemos ir. "

"Ele est morto?" Eu perguntei em surpresa. "Sim, voc fez um bom trabalho." Eu fiz uma careta, olhando para trs para baixo, para o Minotauro, "Bem, isso parecia muito fcil." Eu murmurei. "Voc no pode estar dizendo que, quando a adrenalina acabar." Gabe puxou minha mo quando ele comeou o corredor de pedra, agarrando a tocha caiu em seu caminho. Olhei por cima do ombro para o Minotauro como eu foi levar longe, sentindo-se culpado, mas aliviado. O resto do labirinto passou em um borro, mas finalmente chegamos a sada de madrugada, onde foram recebidos com a viso do sol nascente sobre rolamento campos verdes Cortado por um crrego estreito e sinuoso e mais floresta na As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 22 Pgina 23 distncia, as montanhas sempre presentes olhar um pouco mais perto. Ainda segurando firmemente a minha mo, levou Gabe me do labirinto, atravs da grama verde e macia. "Gabe ..... O Minotauro - que teria nos matado, se eu no tivesse matado ele primeiro, certo?" Eu finalmente perguntou. Ele parou e olhou para mim, srio, pela primeira vez desde que se conheceram. "Sim, seria." Whoa. Deixei escapar um longo suspiro, sentindo meu corpo inteiro e afundamento, se no fosse para o brao de Gabe em torno de mim, eu tenho certeza Eu teria desabou sobre a grama. "Isso faz voc se sentir melhor?" , perguntou ele. "No, no realmente." Gabe me envolveu em um abrao de cuidado, "timo. Ele no deveria." "Voc no realmente muito bom nessa coisa de reconfortante, voc sabe?" Eu murmurei, no se sentindo muito tranquila. "Sim, minha nica falha." Huh. Eu levantei uma sobrancelha para que, "Seu nico defeito?" "Sim". Ele era bom na coisa distrao, porm, como ele finalmente fez um pequeno sorriso de mim, e Gabe deu um beijo na minha testa: "Venha, ns precisamos chegar limpo." Eu olhei para baixo para ver listras de sangue em toda a minha clavcula, e sujeira por toda parte. Eu esfreguei no sangue seco, procurando cortes; " este o meu?" "No." "Oh". Eu no preciso perguntar a quem pertencia. Quando nos aproximamos do pequeno crrego raso, eu realmente ri, "Essa a sua idia de se limpar?" Gabe deu de ombros exagerados, "Voc v algo vagamente parecido com gua encanada por aqui?" ele perguntou. "Bem, no. Mas a gua vai estar congelando." Eu protestei. "Mas limpo. Ao contrrio de voc."

"Certo ..... Eu me lembro como imundo que voc era quando nos conhecemos, e voc no tem furtivamente fora para limpar uma vez que, de modo voc est em tanta necessidade de um banho de como eu sou. "eu apontei. Gabe balanou a cabea em exasperao: "Tudo bem, eu vou limpar primeiro", disse ele, desabotoando sua camisa e jog-lo atravs de uma rocha, tirando os sapatos antes de vadear na corrente descalo. Subi em uma pedra ao lado, fazendo-me confortvel no sol enquanto assistia a um semi nua Gabe limpar no fluxo de congelamento. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 23 Pgina 24 " muito frio?" Eu perguntei inocentemente, vendo-o tremer como ele jorrava gua fria no peito lavar a sujeira e areia. To divertido quanto estava assistindo a luta, assistindo Gabe limpar depois foi ainda melhor. Toda essa gua deslizando pelo seu peito, a frente da cala jeans j encharcado e agarrado a sua pele .... Eu envolveu os braos ao redor dos meus joelhos para me impedir de escalar fora da rocha e reboco-me contra Gabe, ou lambendo as gotas de gua agarrados linha de cabelo escuro que descia de seu umbigo. Eu podia sentir o calor correndo para meu rosto enquanto eu o observava, e estremeceu, contente com a interrupo do meu imundo pensamentos por a gua fria que Gabe espirrou para mim em resposta. gua muito fria na verdade. Eu passei os braos em volta de mim, como eu tremia, a presso causando minhas costelas para protestar como o ltimo da adrenalina desgastou fora e cada hematoma e dor de finalmente se deu a conhecer. Gabe fez o seu caminho de volta para a gua de rocha, ainda gotejando no peito e fora de seu cabelo molhado. Eu levei um momento de fazer caretas de dor para apreciar a vista antes da dor arrastou minha ateno novamente. "Tudo comeando a doer agora?" Gabe perguntou. "Eu sofro em lugares que eu nem sabia que existia", eu gemi. "Deixe-me lev-lo limpo, ento podemos comparar contuses", sugeriu, "Tire a camisa." Nunca vai acontecer. "No." "Por que no?" Eu afundou por uma razo: "Bem .... Porque .... eu mal te conheo." Entre outras razes. Gabe sorriu lentamente, "E ...?" Oh senhor. Engoli em seco, "Por que eu preciso para tirar minha camisa, afinal?" Gabe recuou, e passou um dedo na minha clavcula sangrenta, "Porque voc tem todos os tipos de sujeira e crud em voc, para um comeo. Voc no quer ser limpo? ", Acrescentou com um sorriso ridiculamente inocente. "Isso no uma razo boa o suficiente." Afirmei categoricamente.

"Ok, ento, que tal isso?" ele apertou levemente a mo contra o meu lado e eu ofegante de dor. "Eu quero ver onde os hematomas so e certifique-se que no h danos graves. " "Sim, essa uma razo melhor." Eu disse com raiva, empurrando a mo dele, "Mas da prxima vez, uma demonstrao no ser necessrio. " "Desculpe, mas voc teria insistido em ser duro de outra forma. Ser que voc no?" Ele solicitado. Hmm. Eu resmungou baixinho como eu relutantemente arrastado meu colete sobre a minha cabea e entregou a Gabe. Em pelo menos o sangue seco no iria mostrar contra o tecido vermelho escuro, eu percebi, como ele jogou para um lado de alcanar. Gabe voltou para o fluxo e pegou punhados de gua, deixando-a um pouco quente em suas mos antes delicadamente limpar o sangue seco e sujeira dos meus braos e estmago, um leve rubor se espalhando por todo seu rosto enquanto limpava a pele sangrenta em meu peito. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 24 Pgina 25 Ns evitar contato com os olhos enquanto ele gentilmente passou as mos em cada contuso e ferida, antes de decidir que outros de ser espancada e ferida, eu estaria bem. "Eu poderia ter dito isso", disse ele com um sorriso, saltando para fora da rocha, e estremecendo com a chocante impacto em minha volta. Caramba, no leso outro. "Onde est doendo agora?" Gabe perguntou com uma mistura de preocupao e de diverses. Dei de ombros, esfregando a base da minha espinha e tentando no parecer muito pattico "; seu bem - nada que um quente banho e uma massagem no iria consertar. " "Eu no posso fazer nada sobre o banho, mas a massagem ...." Gabe parou, seu significado claro. Na verdade, doeu muito, e uma massagem provavelmente ajudaria. Ignorando minhas preocupaes anteriores sobre descascando em frente de um estranho perto, eu aceitei. "Ok, contanto que eu no tenho que levar roupa mais nenhum fora." Gabe colocou uma mo sobre o seu corao e me deu seu sorriso mais angelical, "Eu prometo, sem roupas mais vir off. Bem, no se voc pedir muito bem. " Eu ri, "Eu deveria estar lamentando isso j?" Ele sorriu calorosamente, "No Vire-se". Virei-me e inclinou os cotovelos sobre a rocha como Gabe fechou a distncia entre ns e comearam a esfregue suavemente minhas costas, "Diga-me, quando eu encontrar o ponto certo." Ah. Isso pode ser um problema. "Um pouco mais baixo." Ele moveu suas mos para baixo at que encontraram a borda da cala: "Aqui?" , perguntou ele.

Eu no tinha certeza de como responder a isso, na verdade. Eu dei-lhe um sorriso tmido sobre o meu ombro, "Uh, na verdade, um pouco inferior " Gabe olhou para minhas costas quase nua, "Eu no posso ir mais baixo do que isso." Sim, eu notei isso tambm. Gabe parou para pensar por um momento e depois deslizou as mos em torno de meus quadris, "Lean de volta. " Um pouco desconfiado, inclinei-me meus quadris para trs at que eu fiz contato com jeans molhado de Gabe e ele passou as mos em toda a minha barriga nua, antes de desabotoar meu jeans. Voltei a olhar para Gabe, "O que voc est fazendo?" "Conseguir um melhor acesso", disse ele com outro sorriso inocente. "O melhor acesso para onde?" Eu murmurei para mim mesmo, mas no det-lo. Gabe puxou minha cala para baixo o suficiente para que ele pudesse ver minha cueca e eu tive que dar uma olhada rpida para baixo para verificar se eram aceitveis. Sim, eles correspondiam meu suti e foram ridiculamente pouco prtico, mas muito As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 25 Pgina 26 bonito - renda rosa em toda parte. Ele distraiu-me do meu inspeo de cueca, comeando a lentamente, esfregue suavemente a base da minha espinha, com apenas os polegares, as duas mos espalmadas nas minhas costas. Eu relaxei no sensao e estendeu para descansar em frente a rocha aquecida pelo sol, enquanto Gabe continuou lentamente a esfregar crculos ao longo da minha espinha. Olhei por cima do ombro para ele: "Voc muito bom nisso." Ele sorriu, "Graas - est ajudando?" "Mmm, muito." Gabe gradualmente trabalhou seu caminho at minha espinha, at que ele encontrou o meu suti impraticavelmente bonita. Ele se inclinou frente para pressionar-se contra as minhas costas, sua pele ainda mida pressionado contra o meu e cobrindo meu estendida mos com a sua, beijando o resto do caminho at a volta do meu pescoo, restolhos spero arranhando levemente. Eu arqueei minhas costas contra Gabe, ansioso para contato, antes de se esquivar para enfrent-lo. Mos ainda entrelaadas acima da minha cabea, Gabe sorriu e me beijou suavemente, uma escova de luz de seus lbios em toda minha. Eu arqueou-se para devolver o beijo e libertou uma mo para executar atravs de seu cabelo ainda molhado. Minha conscincia elevou sua cabea por um segundo, para protestar contra o que eu estava fazendo, mas beijo de Gabes golpeado ele em sua apresentao. Eu quebrei o beijo com um sorriso, "Isto no , na verdade, a posio mais confortvel, deitado sobre uma rocha", disse Gabe. Ele sorriu e se levantou, me puxando com ele, ento eu estava sentado sobre a pedra com ele, pararam

entre minhas coxas. " este o mais confortvel?" ele murmurou contra meus lbios. Ah, sim, muito. "Deixe-me ver:" Eu inclinou-se para beij-lo. "Hmm, talvez." Gabe esfregou as mos quentes levemente para cima e para baixo minhas costas, "S talvez? Talvez eu devesse tentar mais." Bem, eu no poderia falha seu entusiasmo, enquanto ele acariciava suas mos nas minhas costas e me beijou novamente. Eu relutantemente se afastou do beijo, e olhou para Gabe, "Deveramos estar fazendo isso?" "Provavelmente no. Quer parar?" "Mmm, no. Verdade, no." "Eu tambm no." Recostou-se para outro beijo, e eu parei-o com um dedo sobre os lbios. "D-me a minha camisa de volta." Eu pedi baixinho. "No." Bem que eu tentei. Tempo para outra ttica. Eu beijei Gabe novamente - borboleta beijos de luz ao longo do lbio inferior, seguido por picadas de minsculos como ele pressionou mais perto. "Isso no vai ficar sua camisa de volta, voc sabe." Ele murmurou entre beijos. "Sim, eu decidi que no precisa de qualquer maneira." No que eu seja inconstante em tudo. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 26 Pgina 27 Gabe me deu um ltimo beijo antes de tomar um passo para trs, "Voc esteve a noite toda, e tem as contuses para mostrar por isso. Voc precisa dormir. " Eu fiz uma careta para ele, mas arruinado por bocejos e Gabe riu. Ele me entregou a camisa antes de puxar o seu prprio e ajudando-me no cho da rocha. "Hora de dormir", disse ele, levando-me para o lado sombra da rocha e puxando-me para sentar ao lado dele. Ainda bocejando, eu enrolado ao lado dele, minha cabea em seu ombro e braos de Gabe em volta de mim, como eu adormeceu. Eu me senti pior do que nunca quando acordei algumas horas mais tarde. Estiquei e estremeceu, perguntando como diabos um cochilo poderia me fazer sentir to agredidas. Gabe ainda estava dormindo, ento eu rastejei para os meus ps com a ajuda da rocha e comeou a vagar sem rumo na luz do sol da tarde. No havia, na verdade, muito a ver; apenas lotes de material circulante campos verdes, rvores e as montanhas sempre presentes distncia. Tentei ignorar as montanhas eo que eles representavam, mas era difcil. Dentro de poucos minutos, eu tinha perdido de vista Gabe e na pedra que ele estava cochilando contra no exatamente me preocupa, porm, eu estava vagando em torno de um campo aberto e mesmo que eu no poderia ficar perdido em um campo. E eu poderia seguir sempre que pattico fio de gua que passou por um riacho e encontrar o meu caminho de volta. Bem, na teoria eu poderia. Descobrir que, mesmo que eu me perdi, Gabe provavelmente poderia me encontrar, eu encontrei uma confortvel procurando

pedao de grama debaixo de uma rvore e chutou minhas sandlias, inclinando meu rosto para o sol, enquanto peneirar a baguna confusa de pensamentos e memrias das ltimas 24 horas. Houve demasiadas emoes girando em torno; confuso ao ser enviado para o purgatrio, em primeiro lugar; felicidade na minha nova amizade com Gabe; nojo de mim mesmo por matar o Minotauro, tudo misturado com um orgulho um pouco vergonhoso em ser corajoso o suficiente para lutar e matar o Minotauro. Suspirei e passou as mos pelo meu cabelo, mentalmente mudando de assunto e tentar lembrar o meu vida antes de morrer. Fragmentos voltou para mim, lampejos e arrebata como cenas de um filme, mas nada beto. Eu tinha uma vaga impresso de ajudar as pessoas, ento eu no poderia ser to ruim, no ? timo, agora eu estava mais confusa do que nunca. Foi um alvio ouvir Gabe chamando meu nome logo em seguida. Sombreamento meus olhos do sol, olhei em volta e vi no horizonte, de costas para mim. Eu gritei o nome dele, e acenou quando ele se virou, sem se mover meu corpo dolorido de seu lugar no cho. Gabe correu mais, ainda descalo, parecendo preocupado. "Eu me perguntava onde tinha ido", disse ele, o alvio em seu rosto quando ele se sentou ao meu lado. "Eu s fui para uma caminhada." Eu expliquei: "Enfim, o que poderia me acontecer aqui?" Gabe deu de ombros, "Qualquer coisa pode acontecer, nenhum de ns sabe o que est acontecendo com este lugar." "Porque, vamos ser honestos, um campo. Olha ...." Ao olhar confuso de Gabe, eu ri, " uma citao. Partir de um filme?" Eu no estou muito certo como eu sabia que embora. Ele riu, "Eu sei que os filmes so. Eu s no sei a citao." "O Google ", sugeri. Ele revirou os olhos, "Ok, agora que eu te encontrei, vamos continuar?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 27 Pgina 28 O sbito lampejo de memria de beijar Gabe anteriormente dispersos meus pensamentos, "Continuar com o qu?" Ele gesticulou para a montanha atrs de ns: "O que voc estava pensando fora?" Claro. Calor inundou meu rosto, "Uh, nada." Ele sorriu, provavelmente sabendo exatamente onde minha mente estava indo, "Comporte-se. Vou pegar meus sapatos. Estarei Volto em um minuto. " Gabe dirigiu-se na direo que tinha acabado de vir, e eu me atiou a observ-lo. Se todos os anjos foram assim, eu no podia esperar para chegar ao cu. Eu largado para baixo contra a rvore, de olhos fechados, e tentou fazer com que meus pensamentos sob controle novamente, a certeza de que

sua direo atual era uma rota do certo-fogo para o inferno. Sentindo-se um pincel suave contra meus dedos, eu sorri e Abri os olhos esperando ver Gabe esperando impacientemente. Intrigado com a falta de anjo que estava na minha frente, eu olhei para minha mo para ver uma videira tinha envolveu-se em torno de meu pulso. Sorri para a videira e puxou suavemente para ele, meu sorriso se voltando para uma carranca como a videira apertados. Ok, que era estranho. Eu cavei minhas unhas na videira como fere o seu caminho ainda mais o meu brao. Finalmente convencido de que no era um planta amigvel, eu gritei para Gabe. Ele veio correndo pelo prado, assim como eu viu mais videiras serpenteando o seu caminho para baixo da rvore e caminhando para mim. Rolei de joelhos, ignorando os protestos de meus membros doloridos e recuou da rvore to rpido quanto eu podia. Gabe puxou a videira enrolada no meu brao, mas teve um controlo apertado e no parece que foi deixar ir em breve. Estvamos ambos muito envolvida com essa videira especial para notar outra foi serpenteando sua caminho at a minha perna e um terceiro estava enganando-se em torno da minha cintura. Em pnico, eu tentei me jogar para trs e para longe da rvore, mas s conseguiu colidir com Gabe e inadvertidamente deixar o vinha se agrupam em torno dele tambm. "Que diabos isso?" murmurou Gabe, rasgando inutilmente para as vinhas. "Devils armadilha? Mas suposto a odiar o sol." Eu no sabia que eu tinha falado em voz alta at Gabe me lanou um brilho. "O que, voc nunca leu Harry Potter?" Eu me defendi. "Voc no est levando isso a srio." Eu fiz uma careta como as videiras apertada novamente, pressionando dolorosamente contra contuses, "Sim, eu realmente sou." Continuando a rasgar as vinhas que foram aperto to rpido quanto conseguimos soltlos, eu agarrado a Gabe, "Voc no tem nenhum tipo de superpotncias anjo para nos tirar isso?" "No", ele murmurou, "Mas se eu fiz, eu us-los para amorda-lo." Git. "O que?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 28 Pgina 29 Gabe parou para puxar uma extenso de vinha na minha cabea, enquanto eu puxava mais que foram envolvendo-se em torno de meus pulsos. "Porque voc est sendo muito irreverente sobre isso", ele finalmente respondeu. "O sarcasmo o meu mecanismo de defesa." "Sim, bem uma faca poderia funcionar melhor agora", ele murmurou. "Ou uma granada", eu concordei. Gabe fez uma pausa para olhar para mim, "Uma granada?"

Dei de ombros, "Eu no estou me sentindo um monte de boa vontade para com esta rvore, agora, ele precisa de um confronto nuclear." Ele sorriu para que, "Sim, eu vou junto com a idia de granadas." Lutei com as vinhas que foram embrulhados quase inteiramente em torno de ns dois ", Isso est comeando a ficar doloroso agora. " "Sim". Gabe conseguiu obter uma mo livre, e pegou sem sucesso nas vinhas envolvendo-se em torno de minha garganta. Eu estava bastante calma, at que ponto, mas como as vinhas apertaram minha garganta e pontos negros danavam na frente dos meus olhos, eu entrei em pnico, chegando cegamente para Gabe e asfixia, lutando para respirar. "Rae!" No grito abafado Gabes, arrastei mais uma respirao dolorosa atravs do meu quase totalmente fechada garganta antes de escurido desceu. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 3 29 Pgina 30 Captulo 4 Eu acordei para me encontrar deitado esparramado na grama, olhando para um cu escuro e tingido de rosa nuvens. Pr do Sol j. Porra, parecia que eu tinha passado o dia inteiro dormindo ou inconsciente. Eu rolei para o meu estmago para dar uma olhada melhor no meu ambiente, e gemeu com a dor que eu senti em toda parte. Se eu pensei que eu ferido antes, no era nada comparado com o que eu sentia agora. Um par de pernas longas atravessou meu campo de viso e eu fiz uma careta para eles. "D j vu?" Eu perguntei. O anjo loiro da praia se agachou diante de mim, "Voc acorda em campos com homens estranhos um muito? ", ele perguntou, dando uma tragada em seu cigarro. Ah porcaria. Estremecendo, eu lentamente sentou-se e olhou para ele. "Quem voc, e onde est o Gabe?" Ele deu de ombros e sentou-se na grama em frente de mim, virando a cabea para soprar fumaa sobre um ombro e passando a mo pelo seu cabelo loiro escuro j confuso, "eu sou Zac - mas voc deve ter sabido que de qualquer maneira. Eu salvei voc da rvore que estava tentando com-lo. Gabe ..... Bem, ele poderia estar em qualquer lugar agora. " "Espere - voc deixou?" Exclamei. Zac no parecia particularmente incomodado, "As vinhas vai levar um tempo para se reagruparem. Ele vai ficar bem." "Eu tenho que encontrar Gabe e ter certeza que ele est bem", eu disse, tentando ficar de p. Zac ajudou-me: "No, voc no." Eu atirei-lhe um olhar, "Sim, eu fao." Zac deu outra longa tragada em seu cigarro, e enquanto ele no estava olhando, eu aproveitei a oportunidade para olh-lo

mais - apenas para verificar que ele no estava muito ferido de sua luta com Gabe. Os jeans desbotado e desgastado ainda sab baixo em seus quadris, sem cinto para ajudar a segur-los e meu olhar permanecia por um momento muito tempo no desgastado bordas da mosca boto, no tenho certeza se eu estava esperando que o material iria realizar em conjunto ou desmoronar completamente. Ou talvez um pouco de ambos. Os jeans foram agora se uniu com um par de antigos biker boots pretas e uma camiseta preta beira de suas asas negras eram visveis sobre os ombros, apesar de terem sido dobrado firmemente contra seu volta. Um olho estava inchado e hematomas colorida, e seu lbio inferior foi dividida em vrios lugares. Contuses e arranhes decorado suas bochechas e desapareceu na v de sua t-shirt. "Como que voc v?" , perguntou ele com um sorriso torto. Pego no ato, eu corou e desviou o olhar. Zac sorriu e soprou uma golfada de fumaa para mim. Olhei para ele e acenou-la, "Isso no muito educado." "Nem era o que voc estava fazendo. Se eu tivesse feito isto para voc, eu teria conseguido um tapa para ele." "Not necessarily." But very probably. Zac raised his eyebrows, and called my bluff; his gaze slowing working its way up my body, pausing at the low neckline of my flimsy vest as he bit his bottom lip, that crooked grin giving way to a filthy smirk. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 30 Pgina 31 "Ok, that would get you a slap." I crossed my arms over my chest, and Zac crushed the cigarette under his heel, the smirk still on his face. "Yeah, I thought it might. But you offered." "I did not offer." I stated flatly. "You implied I could." Annoyed, I changed the subject, pacing in circles. "Where are we?" "Gabe didn't tell you?" "Yes, he told me all about this," I waved him off impatiently, "I want to know where we are now, and where Gabe is." "I told you, he'll be fine." "And I told you, I need to make sure he's ok." "You're not going to find Gabe" Zac stated matter of factly. "And how would you know that?" Eu perguntei com ceticismo. "Because he was unconscious when I last saw him, and the minute he came round and realised you were gone, he'd know you were with me and that he'd need to regroup." I suddenly felt very tired. "This is not a war," I told Zac. He walked over and tilted my chin up to look at him, "Yes, it is," he said softly, "And I'm going to show you that he is long gone from where you last saw him."

I wrenched my chin from his grasp, "Gabe would not leave me." "Fine, if I take you back to where I found you and prove that Gabe isn't there, can we carry on with getting you to Heaven?" Zac asked. "We're finding Gabe, but then I'm not going anywhere with you." Zac twisted his box of cigarettes thoughtfully, "I was going to give up," he said, "But thinking about it, I'm going to need these." He stowed the carton in his back pocket and gestured back towards the trees that I was getting damn sick of seeing, "Shall we?" The nerve of some men. I turned around and stalked off in the direction he indicated, Zac following. We walked in silence through the mercifully brief copse of trees until we reached the place where I'd sat down to rest and encountered the vines. It hadn't changed much in the few hours since I'd last been there, although it felt like it should have changed more. There were scorch marks on the tree truck, and burned chunks of vine scattered across the grass, but no Gabe. Confused, I walked all around the tree, and then scanned the fields. "See, I told you he wouldn't be here," said Zac from behind me, "Can we go now?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 31 Pgina 32 "No. Where is he?" Zac shrugged, "I left him over there. He's probably long gone by now." "Por qu?" I asked absently. "Why? I didn't want the vines to get him. Angels aren't allowed to kill other angels much as I would have liked to." He was really wearing on my nerves. "No, why did he leave?" I asked, exasperated. "He's not a nice guy. He was most likely saving his own skin." "I don't believe you." "Yeah," he sighed, "They never do. Come on, there's nothing else here worth seeing, so we might as well leave." I ignored him, and picked up one of the chunks of burned vine from the ground, "You burned me out?" "Sim". "With what?" Zac dug in one pocket and tossed a lighter at me. I caught it clumsily, and looked at him in surprise, "That's a lot of vine to burn through." "Eu sei." "I would have burned every finger if I'd done that," I almost smiled as I handed the lighter back. "Yeah, I know." "I was trying to be friendly." I scowled at him. He raked both hands through his hair, "I wasn't..... I didn't mean it like that."

"And what did you mean?" Zac held out both handed, palms up, to show the burns across his palms and fingers, "I meant, anyone would have gotten burned," he explained. Oh. Now I felt guilty. I ran my fingers lightly over the burns until Zac pulled his hands away, embarrassed. "I left Gabe over there," he said, pointing at a patch of flattened grass not far from the tree, "And now he's gone, exactly as I told you he would be. Can we go now?" "You sound like a spoiled brat," I told him, "Stop whining. And no, I'm not going anywhere with you." "Why the Hell not?" Now it was his turn to be demanding. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 32 Pgina 33 "Because I don't like you." He laughed, "Now whose being childish?" I glared at him, "Are you even a proper angel?" He was insulted at that. Bom. "What the Hell do you mean, a proper angel?" "You swear, you smoke and you look like you got thrown out of Hell for fighting. I bet you have tattoos everywhere and ride a motorbike as well." Zac rolled his eyes, "Don't be so judgemental." "I'm not. But everyone knows angels look like.... well, not you." An evil smirk spread across his lips, "But would I look like a proper angel if I got cleaned up, and dressed in flowing white robes?" he asked. I eyed his black wings, bruised cheek and cut lip, "Probably not," I admitted. "So now we've established there's no such thing as a stereotypical angel, can we be going? Please?" "We established nothing, except that you make Hells Angels look like saints. And I'm still not going anywhere with you." Zac cursed under his breath; "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you," he warned, before picking me up and slinging me over his shoulder, spreading his massive black wings to make room for me. I was stunned into silence for a second, before I came to my senses and started kicking and shouting. Zac wrapped one arm around my thighs and planted the other hand on my backside, which I swear he did purely to annoy me. "Shout all you want, there's no one around to hear you," he said calmly walking back towards the mountain. "Put me down - now!" I demanded. "No". He carried on walking. "Well at least move your hand." "No, I like where it is." "What??" I screeched, outraged.

Zac chuckled evilly, and removed his hand. "Thank you, now please put me down?" "No." "I'm getting all dizzy from the blood rushing to my head." I lied. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 33 Pgina 34 "No, you're not." Hmm. I racked my brains for another excuse, "Your shoulder is digging into my bruises, it hurts." I whined in my most pathetic tone. "If it hurt that much, you would have said so earlier." "Crap." I muttered under my breath, slumping against his back and those ultra soft wings - giving me a whole new upside down view. A very nice upside down view. I smiled and settled in for the ride, watching the way the worn denim pulled taunt over Zac's backside as he walked. A few minutes later, Zac stopped walking and put me down, much to my disappointment. "Hey, why'd you stop?" "You were getting too quiet. I was getting worried." He said, not looking at me. "You thought I'd passed out from all the blood rushing to my head?" I asked, surprised and pleased at his preocupao. "No, I was worried about what you might be plotting." Bloody man. I scowled, "Are you concerned about me at all?" Zac paused, "Of course I am." "Well this is just fantastic - I'm dead, Gabe abandoned me, and you couldn't give a crap about me," I railed at him, the lag between my brain and mouth all but disappearing. "Of course I give a crap about you, otherwise I wouldn't have been carrying you around, or going out of my way to take you back to those damn killer vines that I saved you from in the first place." Zac said flatly. I rubbed at my eyes, "But you don't like me." With a sigh, Zac reached into his back pocket and pulled out a cigarette, "I told you I'd be needing these," he said, lighting it, "I don't know you well enough to like or dislike you. But you're damn annoying." I leant over and took the cigarette out of his hand, taking a long drag before handing it back, "Yeah, you too." "Truce?" , perguntou ele. "Maybe." "Women," he muttered, "Well there's no point in staying here, so you might as well carry on with what you're here for, right?" "Yeah, I guess." "So let's go then." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte

Captulo 4 34 Pgina 35 Zac lead the way back across the fields while I trailed behind him watching the sunset. It was pretty scenery, but dull; after the past couple of days of easy conversation with Gabe, the silence was driving my insane since declaring our maybe truce, Zac hadn't said a word to me. Speaking of Gabe, I was still confused over the whole abandonment issue. Zac seemed convinced that Gabe had run away, but it didn't fit with the man I'd gotten to know over the past couple of days. I trudged along behind Zac, confused. He annoyed the hell out of me even if I thought he was annoyingly good looking. And that in itself was a whole new issue - I'd been half naked and groping Gabe on a rock this manh. Now I was dribbling over Zac. That was probably why I was here; I was a complete and utter tart. Glaring at Zac, because of course it had to be his fault, I decided I the easiest way to clear up this mess was to talk to him. If our conversations earlier were any indication, he'd frustrate me in no time at all and I'd be desperate for Gabe to take me away from ele. Jogging to catch up to Zac, I attempted to strike up a conversation. "So, is this how you spend all of your time - helping people get into Heaven?" "No." I waited, "That's it, just no?" "That's it." He wasn't going to get away that easily. "Ok, so what do you do when you're not helping bumbling idiots get into Heaven?" "I watch." "Watch what?" I'm fairly sure he didn't mean Sky Sports. "Humanity." "Really? What about them do you watch?" Eu perguntei, curioso. "You talk too much." Zac reached for another cigarette. "You should quit, those things will kill you." I said absently. I don't talk too much, he just didn't talk enough. That finally drew a smile from Zac, "I'm an angel. Cigarettes can't kill me." "Oh. Well what can?" "Not much." I rolled my eyes, "Ok, don't tell me. How long have you been watching people for?" "You make me sound like a voyeur." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 35 Pgina 36 I tried not to laugh, "Yeah, it does sound pretty kinky when you put it that way." "It's not kinky." Zac scowled, "And I've been doing it a long time."

"Quanto tempo?" "Don't you ever quit?" I gritted my teeth, "I'm just trying to hold a conversation, otherwise it'll get very boring very quickly." Zac sighed, "I spend all my time watching, and trying not to interact with people. Smalltalk is not exactly my forte." He wasn't wrong. "I'll help you practice." I offered. He raised his eyebrows and glanced over at me. "Practice the small talk." I clarified, hiding a smile. Bloody hell, the things I could help him practice... "Thanks," he muttered dryly. "Tell me more about your voyeurism," I teased. "It's not voyeurism. I watch humanity to see how they evolve and change over time." "And how do they change?" I asked, genuinely curious. "They don't. They're all still making the same stupid mistakes century after century." "Century?" "There's no point only watching for a short space of time, this kind of thing has to be done long term." Zac clarificada. "Well yeah, but centuries?" "Lots of centuries." "So how old are you, exactly?" Zac looked uncomfortable, "I don't remember." Eu tambm no. I didn't share that with Zac though, "You can't remember how old you are?" "After a few centuries, all the years start to merge into one." "So you've been watching people for centuries?" "Yes, we already established that." Zac agreed, exasperated. "What was your favourite time frame?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 36 Pgina 37 Now it was Zac's turn to look surprised, "Favourite time frame?" "Yeah" I scuffed my feet across the ground; "I always wanted to live in the regency era, all those dashing gentlemen and proper ladies..." I trailed off, not sure where the thought had come from. "No indoor plumbing or proper medicine." I glared at Zac, "Stop destroying my fantasies." He gave me another of those crooked smiles, "That's not a proper fantasy." Heat flooded my cheeks, "Yes it is." I retorted in a pathetic attempt to pretend I'd misunderstood. Zac leant closer, "Want me to tell you my fantasies?" , perguntou ele. Ah, sim. "No," I answered far too quickly, ending the conversation and stalking off, leaving Zac alone in his comfortable silence again. As the sun finally set and it started to get dark, Zac caught up to me; "We should find somewhere to camp for the night."

"Camp?" I asked, looking around at the endless rolling meadows. "Yeah, camp." "With what? Unless you have a magic wand hidden somewhere, and can Accio up a tent." I replied sarcastically. Zac looked up at the sky, "It's a clear night and we can light a fire - you'll be warm and dry." "And I thought my comfort was important here." I muttered to myself. "It could be worse; it could be raining and cold." "You don't have a great bedside manner, you know that?" Eu perguntei. Zac pointedly ignored me and started picking up loose twigs from the surrounding ground, "Collect any wood you can find and I'll make a fire," he said. "I could've used your help last night, damn boy scout." I muttered, wandering around aimlessly looking for madeira. Half an hour later, we had a pile of twigs - mainly collected by the boy scout - and Zac lit the fire with his isqueiro. "I think you'll find that's cheating." I pointed out. Zac stretched out on his back next to the fire, both hands behind his head. "It's not cheating, it's using common sense." Yeah, that too. I sat down on the other side of the fire, "A bag of marshmallows would be good right now." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 37 Pgina 38 To my surprise, Zac agreed, "I always end up burning mine - I leave them over the fire for too long because I like them really squishy in the middle." Crunchy on the outside and squishy on the inside - yep, Zac was a marshmallow alright. "You've been camping before?" I asked. That crooked grin of his was back, "Yeah, as much as I can." I looked around at the rapidly darkening meadow, "Sorry, but I just don't get the appeal - no soft bed, no piles of squishy pillows and warm blankets. And no hot showers." Zac laughed softly, "But how peaceful is this - no people, no routine, no distractions." "No soft bed." I repeated, stretching out on my stomach and wriggling around to find a comfortable position, "Nature is lumpy" I complained good-naturedly, ignoring Zac's soft laugh. "Tell me more about what you do." I asked, once I was reasonably comfortable. "I already told you." "No, you didn't. Not really." Zac rolled onto his side to look at me, "Do you ever shut up?" "No". He sighed heavily, "Fine, what do you want to know?" "Qualquer coisa." An idea occurred to me; "Tell me about the rain of frogs."

"The what?!" "In ancient Egypt, there was a rain of frogs." "No, there wasn't." "Yes there was, I remember it from school." "You remembered wrong, there were the 10 plagues of Egypt and frogs was one of the plagues." "Right, a rain of frogs." "No, there was no rain of frogs." "Are you sure? Maybe you were watching another channel at the time." "It's not like TV; I was physically there in the time frame." "Oh. Well maybe you were late for the frogs then." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 38 Page 39 "For the last time, there was no rain of frogs!" Zac rolled onto his back, one arm across his eyes, conversation mais. I grinned; pleased I'd finally succeeded in annoying him as much as he'd annoyed me in the past few hours. Ele was a small victory, but an entertaining one. Plus it had the added bonus of allowing me to see Zac lit by a flickering campfire, all grumpy and pissed off with his wings casting ominous dancing shadows across the dim meadow. It was either the stuff dreams were made of, or really, really good nightmares. With that thought, I took one last glance at Zac before closing my eyes and hoping for sweet dreams. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 4 39 Pgina 40 Captulo 5 Zac woke me up the following morning, nudging me with the toe of his boot. I smacked his foot away without opening my eyes, "Five more minutes." He nudged me again, a little less gently this time. I opened my eyes, "Did you just kick me to wake me up?" Eu asked grumpily. "It wasn't exactly a kick." I closed my eyes again, "You kicked me. That's not how you wake a woman up." I heard the faint rustle of clothing as he knelt down on the grass, "How would you prefer me to wake you up?" he whispered against my ear. "With almond croissants and hot chocolate," I smiled. I know a trick question when I hear one. "Sorry, I'm all out of almond croissants. But I do know a river where you can take a bath." I opened one eye, "A cold river?"

"Sim". Zac admitted, "But it has a waterfall as well, so you can have a cold shower if you prefer." Grande. I made a face, "What an option - cold bath or cold shower." "Ok, stay here and sleep, I'm going to take a bath. But we're going as soon as I'm done." "Ok, ok.... I'll take the cold water." I slowly crawled to my knees, my battered body protesting at sleeping on the hard ground, and Zac had to help me the rest of the way to my feet. "Thanks. Which way to the outdoor, unheated bath?" I asked, trying to stand upright and failing miserably. "I'll show you." "Right.... I know you're an angel, but you're not watching." "Don't worry, I wasn't going to." Git. I rubbed my eyes, "You really are Hell on a girl's ego" I told him, "You could at least pretend you want to watch." Zac didn't answer, continuing to walk across the meadow and down a slope until he reached a ravine with a wide, deep river. At one end, a waterfall splashed over a low rocky overhang and trees surrounded the entire area - not that I was worried about being watched. Zac found himself a comfortable spot where he could sit with his back to the river, "Go ahead and get naked," he suggested. "Ha fucking ha." I muttered, walking over to the river and dropping my clothes in a pile on the grass. Naked, I dipped one foot in the river, "its bloody freezing." I said, aiming a glare in Zac's direction, even if he couldn't As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 40 Page 41 see it. "I know," Zac called over his shoulder, "Just jump straight in, it won't be so bad." Direito. Somehow, I didn't quite believe him. I stared at the water for a long moment, before taking a deep breath and throwing myself in headfirst. Ele estava errado. So very wrong. The water felt like liquid ice and I yelped as I broke the surface. Zac peeked over his shoulder, a naughty grin on his face as I flicked water at him with one hand, the other covering my chest. Well, mostly covering it. "This water is fucking freezing." I told him. Zac laughed and ducked the water droplets, turning his back to me again; "Well what do you expect when it comes from a melted glacier? It's going to be pretty cold." "You didn't tell me it was from a glacier." Although actually, I probably could have worked that out myself. "Would you have gotten in otherwise?" I said nothing, sulking and shivering in the cold water. "You see those spiky looking plants behind you?" Zac asked, "That's aloe vera, it'll work as soap if you snap

one of the spikes off." "Obrigado." I snapped off the spike and squeezed the resulting goo into my palm, every movement causing the icy water to lap at my hips and make me shiver again; if it wasn't for the residual blood and dirt encrusted on my skin, I'd be out of the river already. Luckily, Gabe had done a pretty good job at cleaning me up, so it didn't take too long to get clean and I lingered just long enough to almost give myself hyperthermia, ducking under the water quickly to wash and rinse my hair. "Zac, I don't suppose you have a towel on you?" I asked, climbing out of the river, my teeth chattering. "No, you'll have to drip dry." "And you wonder why I don't like camping" I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to stop shivering. "Go back to the fire and dry off," Zac said, "Otherwise your clothes will get wet when you put them on, and then you'll complain again." Muttering under my breath, I clutched my clothes to my chest and walked back up the slope to where the fire was smouldering, hoping it would still hold enough heat to warm me up. I glanced over my shoulder as I reached the crest of the hill; Zac was watching me with a wide grin on his face. I'm not sure who blushed harder - him for getting caught ogling my bare bottom, or me for catching him. I hurried to the fire where I rubbed at my skin to dry and warm it, dragging my underwear and shirt on when I heard a loud splash from the river. Zac must have taken his own advice and jumped in. That gave me an idea. A really naughty one. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 41 Pgina 42 I crept through the trees and down the hill, still only half dressed, reassuring myself that it was ok to watch Zac, as he'd sneaked a peek at me naked. Oh my. Zac had quite thoughtfully surfaced facing me, cold water running in rivulets down his naked chest while he squeezed gel out of the aloe spike and rubbed it to a lather between his hands looks like I hadn't missed any of the show yet. I watched him wince as he rubbed the aloe across his chest, the still raw bruises must burn even under the lightest pressure of his hands. Then he massaged the lather into his stomach, suds dripping down the slight swell of his belly and into the water. I was actually relieved that the river was deep enough to cover

everything below Zac's hips and I was far enough away that I couldn't make out any detail under the surface of the water. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea, I'd gone from freezing cold to overheating in the few minutes that I'd been watching Zac. And fanning myself wasn't cooling me down at all. Watching him lather up his hands again and rub them through his tangled hair, tugging lightly at the stands to get them clean, I had to close my eyes and back away slowly until he was out of sight. I will admit to feeling rather proud of myself for not looking back as I retreated to the fire to finish dressing. Although that might have been because I was far too busy mentally replaying the image of Zac rubbing the suds into his wet, naked skin, and imagining what I might have seen if I'd stayed longer. Like Zac's hands creeping below the water to continue washing himself, stroking the suds up.... I was so caught up in my fantasy that I didn't notice I had company. Next to the smouldering fire was a polar bear. Well, ok, it might have been some other kind of bear, but it was white and absolutely enormous, with a mouthful of the biggest teeth I've ever seen. So I did what any sane and rational person would do, and backed away slowly before it saw me. Yeah, I wish. What I actually did was scream like a girl, and ran down the hill back towards the river and Zac, the bear following me, roaring loudly enough to drown out my screams, each heavy footfall making the ground shake beneath my feet. This time, I wasn't even vaguely bothered about the temperature of the water, and didn't hesitate for a second plunging straight into the water and Zac's arms. I'm not entirely sure what happened after that, I'm pretty sure I just clung to Zac for a while, whimpering pathetically while the bear paused on the river bank, sniffing at the water. When it finally decided to wade in, that's when I found I couldn't move, panic immobilising me as Zac tried to drag me away. Eventually he picked me up and flung me over his shoulder again - I didn't have the mental capacity to even register he was carrying me, let alone complain. When he splashed straight through the waterfall, that's when I started to wake up - the icy water drenching me brought me to my senses. Quase. He put me down and I looked around at the tiny dark cavern hidden behind the curtain of water, wondering how Zac had known it was here. Zac's icy cold hands on my hips as he propelled me towards the back of the cavern made me shiver, and he helped me climb the rock towards a shallow ledge set high in the back wall. When I say helped, he practically

pushed me up the wall - my hands and feet not cooperating at all. I have no idea how I actually made it up the rock and onto the ledge, I'm fairly sure it was due to Zac though, not me. Once I was on the ledge, Zac scrambled up behind me - he seemed to do it in a fraction of the time it took me though, still urging me further back on the claustrophobic ledge that was barely wide enough to accommodate Zac's shoulders. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 42 Pgina 43 "Rae, you need to move further back - right back against the wall." He coaxed. Oh crap. The polar bear had just emerged through the waterfall. That really did snap me out if my shock, huddling back against the rock and Zac following, not quite fast enough. The bear roared again, the sound echoing around the cavern deafeningly loud, and swiped at Zac with one massive paw, clawing straight through his wings and deep into his back - he screamed as he dragged himself the last few inches to press himself flush against me, just out of the bears reach. I instinctively wrapped both arms around Zac's shoulders and my legs around his, pulling him further away from the bears sharp claws and closer to me - I could just see the bear over Zac's shoulder; it couldn't quite reach us, but wasn't giving up - the ledge was too shallow for it to climb onto, but it was stubbornly trying to de qualquer maneira. Eventually, with another angry roar, he conceded defeat and retreated through the waterfall, leaving us clinging to each other, both soaking wet, and Zac completely naked. I shivered in my wet clothes, as Zac buried his face against my throat. "You ok?" Eu perguntei. "Not really," he mumbled against my skin, breathing heavily, "That hurt." I ran my hands up his back, unable to see a damn thing in the dimness, pushing Zac's damp wings aside until I reached the jagged cuts across his back, blood matting the feathers of his wings. He winced as I ran my fingers as lightly as possible over the cuts, my hand coated in blood. "Zac, you're bleeding a lot, we need to get out of here and patch you up." I worried. "With what?" he asked, "All we have outside is my clothes, and they're not going to be much help. Anyway, that bear might be waiting outside to finish us off and I don't plan on being his dinner." Clothes. Excellent idea. I wriggled around in the confined space and started pulling my vest up. "I like the idea, but getting undressed isn't going to help." Zac said. "Yes it will. I need to stop the bleeding, and apply pressure to the cut." I explained. Zac let go of me long enough to pull the vest all the way off, "Nice bra," he commented. Heat flooded my cheeks, visible even in the low light, as I glanced down to see if the lace was as see through as I recalled. Ele

foi. And yes, I was still cold. "I take it back; it can't be that bad if you're appreciating the view." "I'm just trying to take my mind off the pain," he smirked. I rolled my eyes at him. "Can you turn onto your stomach?" "Probably. Why?" "So I can see how bad your back is." Wincing, Zac rolled onto his stomach and rested his head on his folded arms while I brushed feathers away from the wound. The cuts were narrow but deep and bleeding a lot. I pressed my folded shirt against his back, As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 43 Pgina 44 and pressed down. "How long do we have to stay here?" Eu perguntei. "A while." Zac answered vaguely. "Great." I propped myself up on one elbow, the other hand holding my now bloody shirt in place under Zac's asa. "This isn't very comfortable." Zac grimaced. "We're laying on rock. It's not supposed to be comfy." "Yeah, but you're not naked and lying on... uh, delicate areas." Delicate areas? Oh dear. My imagination picked up where it had left off earlier as my gaze involuntarily swept down the length of his naked body, still wet from his dash through the waterfall. My mouth was suddenly dry as I imagined licking at the water droplets scattered down his back, how warm my mouth would feel against his cool skin, and running my tongue over the dimples just visible at the base of his spine... Zac interrupted my fantasy, just as it was getting good, "No consideration for my delicate areas then?" I shook my head to clear the thoughts of exactly what I'd like to do to his delicate areas, "Well we could go outside and lie down on the nice soft grass - I'm sure your delicate areas would like that." "No, we bloody can't." I shrugged, "Better make yourself comfy then." Zac wriggled around so he was on his side again facing me and wrapped an arm around my waist. Uh, ok, I didn't mean that comfy. I caught a glimpse of the scrapes and bruises scattered across his torso from the fight on the beach with Gabe, and the tattoo just below his left hip - and was suddenly thankful for the lack of light that prevented me from seeing anything else. I pressed down harder to stem the bleeding, and Zac grunted in pain, "You're doing that on purpose, aren't voc? " I smiled sweetly at him, "I'm just trying to help."

Zac gave me a suspicious look and curled himself around me, his face pressed against my neck, warm breath ticking my skin and making me shiver. He didn't seem aware of the fact that his naked skin was pressed wetly against my almost naked skin, but I was painfully aware of every inch of him pressed against me. He shivered and cuddled closer to me for warmth, wrapping one leg around me and I realised there were suddenly a lot of extra inches pressed against mim. "Zac?" I whispered, trying to extract myself from his octopus-like embrace. "Mmm. What?" he asked sleepily, nuzzling at my neck. "Uh..." Embarrassed and lost for words, I couldn't quite formulate an answer. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 44 Pgina 45 He kissed my neck lightly, the cuts on his lips scratching against my skin as he pressed himself even closer. Sandwiched between the hard rock wall and Zac, there was nowhere for me to go - not that I wanted to go anywhere as he sleepily stroked his hand down from my waist to the edge of my lacy underwear before sliding his hand inside, skimming the tips of his fingers over the sensitive skin underneath, his mouth never losing contact with my throat. Panting, I laced my fingers through Zac's. As much as I was enjoying this, we needed to stop before he reached any further into my underwear. "Mmm, what did you stop me for?" he murmured, still half asleep, his other hand busy undoing the clasp on my bra. I briefly considered letting Zac carry on, and joining in, as he stroked one hand up my now bare back from my neck down to the very base of my spine and back up again, making me shiver against him. Ok, we needed to stop. Agora. I opened my mouth to tell Zac, and moaned as he sucked lightly on my throat. He took that as assent, nibbling his way further up my neck and I bit at my lip to keep from moaning again. Zac brushed his thumb across my lip, "I want to bite, right here," he whispered, before biting down gently at my lower lip, his tongue laving lightly at the bite marks. I wanted him to bite there too, again and again. I pressed both hands against his bare chest, "Zac, we should stop," I panted softly. "Por qu?" he smiled, "I know you're enjoying it." Oops, busted. I blushed and squirmed against him, embarrassed. "I wasn't sure you knew what you were doing."

He raised an eyebrow, "You didn't think I knew what I was doing? I obviously need to try harder." "No no no, that's not what I meant," I backtracked frantically, "You were half asleep, I didn't know if you knew I was me." That didn't make any sense at all. "Does that make sense?" "Yeah, it does. But I knew exactly who you were, and what I was doing." Oh menino. He sighed, the mood shattered. "Ok, that polar bear's probably gone now, lets go get you dressed." I wasn't sure whether to be frustrated or relieved. I retrieved my still soaking bra, but the material refused to cooperate and I couldn't get it done up in the confined space. "How the Hell did you manage to get this off?" Eu asked Zac. He grinned, enjoying the show as I twisted about trying to get dressed, "I'm pretty sure you helped me." "No way - I know I didn't." He took the offending article out of my hands, "I'll help you into it when we get back to dry land." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 45 Pgina 46 No way was I running around half naked with Zac. God knows what I'd do to him. I snatched at the bra with one hand, trying to cover my chest with the other. Zac wriggled backwards, holding it out of reach and climbed down into the water. "Come on in, the waters lovely," he called up. I crawled to the edge of the shelf and peeked over, "That water is not lovely." But I had to admit, the view really was. The water was shallower here, only reaching mid thigh, so I had an unobstructed view of wet, naked Zac. And he wasn't cold anymore. "Easily distracted tart." He muttered, shaking his head with a smile. I grinned back and swung my legs over the ledge to start climbing down, hoping I wouldn't fall and make a complete arse of myself. Balancing precariously, leaning my weight on my elbows while I looked over my shoulder for a foothold, I felt Zac's hands around my waist. "Let go." Crossing my fingers, I let go of the ledge and he easily lifted me down, setting me on my feet in the cold water and making me gasp. Zac pressed a kiss to the back of my neck, holding out my bra and shirt, "Need any help getting dressed?" ele asked hopefully. "Nope, I'm good," I lied, heading towards the waterfall - Zac caught my hand and pulled me behind him. "Me first." "So chivalry isn't dead," I murmured.

Zac ignored my comment and stepped through the waterfall. I cautiously followed him and we checked around for the polar bear. "Looks like it's gone." Zac said, and I nodded nervously. "Can we get dressed and go somewhere else now?" I whispered, clutching his arm. "Yeah, good idea." We waded through the water to where Zac had left his clothes. Seeing the pile of clothes, I glanced down at my own blood soaked shirt and soaking wet bra. As Zac climbed out of the river, I turned my back - feigning interest in rinsing out my shirt until Zac had dragged his jeans on over his wet skin. "Want to wait here while I go get your clothes, or stay together?" he asked from behind me. "I'll come with you," I answered quickly. He held out a hand, "I thought you might," he said, helping me up the bank and leading me back to where the fire had died down to embers, clutching my wet shirt to my bare chest the whole time. "Turn around." I told Zac as I picked up my jeans. "What? You're only getting dressed." Ele revirou os olhos. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 46 Pgina 47 "My underwear is soaking; I need to take it off." "Oh". Zac turned around, that naughty smirk spreading across his face again. Bloody hell, I didn't think I could be any more embarrassed until I tried to untangle the wet mess of bra and camisa. "Put this on." Zac held out his own shirt, still facing away from me. I tucked my wet underwear in my pocket and took the shirt gratefully, before holding it up, confused. "Por que are there holes and ribbons in the back?" I asked, "It looks far too girly for you" Zac laughed and unlaced the ribbons, leaving two vertical slits from the collar to hem; "For my wings," he explained, "Then you just lace up the bottom." "That makes perfect sense, but it's damn kinky," I told him. Zac pulled the shirt over my head with a naughty smile; "It's only kinky if you have someone helping you into the shirt. Or out of it." Ok, I was overheating again. "Turn around, and I'll lace you up." Zac offered. I turned; dragging my wet hair over one shoulder, almost immediately regretted it as he started to lace up the ribbons of the too big shirt, his fingers lightly grazing my back as he pulled the laces tight. My traitorous mind was already planning ahead to when I could ask him to unlace the shirt, and the uses I could put those ribbons too... "You're suddenly very quiet, what are you thinking about?" Zac asked.

"Nothing exciting." I lied, dragging my mind away from four poster beds and tying Zac to it. "Really? Nothing exciting?" he asked doubtfully, taking my hand and leading me away from the remains of the fire. "I was wondering what your tattoo meant." I had actually been wondering that earlier. "It means 'breath of God'." That was just too funny. I laughed, "An angel with a tattoo about God? Really?" "What's funny about that?" asked Zac, unoffended. Tudo. I groped for words, "It's just funny. Actually, it's also the name of my favourite perfume." "A perfume called breath of God? That's even funnier than a tattoo." "Yeah, I know." I glanced around, "Do you actually know where we're going - or are you just walking aimlessly?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 47 Pgina 48 "A bit of both." , Ele respondeu. At my quizzical look he shrugged, "I'm just heading for the mountain. No particular path in mind though." I looked up at the mountain, "Where about is our final destination?" "On the other side of the mountain." "But where? If we have to go around the mountain, which way should we go?" I persevered. "Good question. I don't know, but would assume it's going to be directly in the middle." "Logical," I conceded, "But nothing on this damn island has been logical so far. Whichever way we go around the mountain will be the long way." "Good point." We lapsed into silence as we continued walking across unbroken green fields, but it wasn't the uncomfortable, tense silence of the previous day which I was thankful for. I eventually broke the silence, "Zac?" "I knew you couldn't stay quiet for long." I nudged him playfully, "I'm just curious about you" "That sounds ominous." Yep. I laughed, "I'm just being friendly. I want to know about you." "I'm an angel who is several thousand years old, and I watch people. All the time - that's my job." "All the time? You don't get time off for good behaviour?" He smirked, "I'm an angel, I'm always well behaved." "Except for when you tried to seduce me in the waterfall." "I didn't see you complaining at the time." I wisely ignored that statement - anyway, I hadn't exactly been complaining. "So who did you piss off to make them give you this job?" He looked surprised at the question, "No one, I requested it." "Why? It sounds like a lonely job, and you don't seem like a loner kind of person."

"I had my reasons." I sighed as Zac clammed up again. Great, just as I'd been getting somewhere. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 48 Pgina 49 "Fine, will you talk to me if I don't ask about you?" Eu perguntei. Zac pulled a cigarette out of the ever-present packet in his back pocket and lit it. "Sim". he answered eventualmente. Excelente. "What are we doing here?" He paused, "Doing here, literally?" "Yes. Gabe explained a bit to me, but was pretty vague on other stuff." "No doubt." Zac blew smoke away from me, "Although to be fair to him, every journey is different. He explained to you about the location and tests coming from your subconscious mind?" "Kinda." I frowned, "Gabe said the tests were set by Heaven and Hell." "They are, kind of. But they use your mind, your fears to create them." "So you don't know anything useful either?" "Not really." "Great, this just sucks. No one knows anything." A sudden thought occurred to me, "Gabe told me he was my angel, to help me through this mess. If he was, why did he leave me, and where do you figure in all this?" Zac frowned, "I can't believe it took you this long to ask that." "Sorry I didn't ask earlier, I'd just found out I was dead, and that my soul was up for grabs when I was abandonado. Next time I'm on an emotional roller coaster, I'll remember to take a time out to worry about you and your ego." He looked slightly sheepish at my outburst; "I just thought you would have asked about me sooner." "Any time I try to ask anything about you, you clam up and won't tell me anything." He held up both hands defensively, "Ok, ask away." "Why two of you?" Eu perguntei. "That's not easy to answer." "Now there's a surprise," I muttered dryly. He scuffed the toe of his boots on the grass, "No, it's not easy because I don't exactly know. I'm not supposed to be here." Oh, that didn't sound good. I looked at him suspiciously, "You're not supposed to be here? Why not?" He looked uneasy, and didn't reply. Really not good. I let go of his hand and took a tentative step back, mind whirling with possibilities - yeah, I joked about him looking like he got thrown out of Hell for fighting but after his admission that he wasn't supposed to be here.... As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 49

Pgina 50 "Zac, why aren't you supposed to be here?" I tentatively asked again, bracing myself for the answer. "I told you, my job is to watch humanity. Didn't you wonder why I was here, and not watching?" , perguntou ele. I frowned, "Good point. Why are you here and not watching random people?" "I don't watch random people. And I'm here because.... Well, because of an administrative cock up." I laughed out loud, more from relief than anything else, and Zac looked pissed off. "That's it? That's the big secret? Some one mixed up some paperwork and dragged you away from your self imposed isolation for a few days and you get all grouchy?" I laughed again. "I was doing something important when I was dragged away." Zac grouched. "So important that you couldn't give up a few days to help me?" I asked lightly. "Sim". "Wow, you really don't know how to flatter a woman, don't you?" "It was a matter of life and death," he muttered. "I'm sure it was," I soothed him, patting his arm. Zac jerked his arm away angrily, "And because I was dragged up here for a crash course in purgatory and wasn't there, it resulted in death." "Srio?" "Sim". "Oh". I stopped walking, shocked. He must have realised what he'd just said, because Zac backtracked and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It's not your fault. Don't think about it." I blinked back tears, "Someone died because you were learning how to get me to Heaven?" "Everybody dies," he said, enfolding me in his arms, "It's not your fault that I wasn't there for this one." The guilt must have been evident on my face though, and he consoled me clumsily, hugging me tighter and letting me cry against his chest. When I was finally all cried out, Zac wiped the tears from my cheeks and dropped a light kiss on my forehead. "We should probably keep going," I said, gesturing to the mountain tiredly, desperate for a change of subject. "Or take a nap?" Zac suggested. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 50 Pgina 51 No way did I want to be left alone with my own thoughts right now. I gave him a watery smile; "You have more important things to do than waste time with me. We should just get this over with." "You're important," he told me seriously, sitting down on the grass and tugging me down next to him. Eu

obediently, if somewhat reluctantly, sat down, and wrapped my arms around my knees. Lying on his back, Zac twisted his hand in the back of my t-shirt and pulled gently. Off balance, I fell against him and he took the opportunity to entwine his legs with mine. "Zac...." I protested weakly. "We have plenty of time, and I bet you haven't slept properly since you got here, have you?" "I slept last night," I protested. "I didn't. And you've been through a lot since last night, so sleep." "Why didn't you sleep last night?" I asked, curious. "I was keeping watch for Gabe." Zac admitted. "Why? I get that you don't like each other, but keeping watch - isn't that a bit extreme?" "No. You don't know what he is, what he's capable of." Homens. I rolled my eyes, "He's just another angel, how much damage can he do?" Zac let out a long breath, "Yeah, how much damage can an angel do?" I ignored the rhetorical question, curling up against Zac, my head resting on his bare chest listening to the soft sounds of his breathing. It was a welcome distraction from polar bears, lost angels and worrying about getting to heaven, and I fell into a dreamless sleep almost straight away. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 5 51 Pgina 52 Captulo 6 I woke up sprawled across Zac; he was already awake and stroking my hair. I blinked sleepily up at him. "Bom dia." Ele sorriu. I managed a soft half-awake smile, before dropping my head back onto his chest. He carried on stroking my hair, and I tried not to fall asleep again under the gentle pressure of his hands. I yawned, stretching against him, and realised that probably hadn't been such a good idea. Lifting my head a fraction, I stroked my fingertips over the colourful bruise around his eye, "Does this hurt?" He shrugged, "Not really." I chuckled and buried my face against his neck again, "Tough guy." Zac trailed his fingers up the back of my neck, smiling as I shivered against him. "Time to get up," he said. Eu gemi. "Still no almond croissants and hot chocolate?" "Nope, but at least I didn't kick you to wake you up." "So you admit you kicked me?" Zac grinned, caught out, as I crawled off him, and knelt on the grass, squinting in the bright sunshine. "What time is it?" "Late afternoon?" Zac guessed, stretching and rubbing one hand absently over his bare belly. Honestly, I didn't mean to stare. And I blushed at Zac's dirty smile as he caught me watching him. "You do

know you're dribbling?" Merda. I rubbed the back of my hand over my mouth, "No, I'm not." I protested against Zac's laughter. "No, but you might as well have been," he grinned, sitting up. "You have an evil sense of humour." "Yeah, I'd forgotten about that." "You'd forgotten you had a sense of humour?" I asked in disbelief. Zac stood up, and held out a hand to help me to my feet, still creaking from my fight with the Minotaur. "Eu work in isolation; it's hard to keep your sense of humour when there's no one else to laugh with." "So why do you do it?" "Someone has to." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 52 Pgina 53 Sim, certo. I rolled my eyes, "Whatever." "You don't believe me?" "Not for a second." Eu sorri. "Por que no?" "You might be an angel, but you're not a greater good kind of guy. You're more of a grumpy, sulking, brooding kind of guy." "I am not grumpy." Zac frowned. "Right, because you've been Little Miss Sunshine up to now." I teased. "Just because I don't have a constant smile on my face, it does not mean I'm grumpy." "No, the fact that you're grumpy makes you grumpy." "What? That doesn't even make sense. "Yeah, it does." Zac glared, and reached for his seemingly endless packet of cigarettes. "See, grumpy." I smiled sweetly. "If I'm grumpy, it's because you made me grumpy," he muttered. I didn't answer, trailing behind Zac as he stalked off towards the mountain. I have to admit, the rear view of the angry angel was a sight worth appreciating - black wings folded tightly against his tanned bare back, leading down into jeans sitting tantalisingly low on his hips and endlessly long legs. Cigarette smoke trailed over one shoulder as he stomped off, and I indulged myself in a momentary fantasy of wondering what his wings would feel like against my bare skin, and if Zac would let me find out. Distracted, I tripped and stumbled against Zac. He put an arm around my shoulders, and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. "I'm not grumpy," he whispered against my ear, "I'm just not used to people." I smiled at him and wrapped an arm around his waist, mentally ordering my fingers to stay put, and not wander down to stroke Zac's tattoo that was just peeking over the edge of his jeans. However tempting it

might be. A thought occurred as we walked, "When I first saw you and Gabe on the beach, you were fighting. Gabe told me it was just a friendly fight, but you both looked far too battered for it to be friendly." "He told you it was a friendly fight?" "Sim". As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 53 Pgina 54 "And you believed him?" I shot Zac a dirty look, "Not entirely, but that was all he'd say on the subject." "It wasn't even close to being friendly." Zac told me. "Yes, I figured that much out for myself. What were you fighting over?" "What makes you think we were fighting over anything?" "Good point. Why the Hell were you fighting then?" He chuckled, "We were fighting over something actually." "You're right, you're really not used to people are you?" I teased, "Can I get a straight answer, please?" He paused, thinking hard and sifting through potential answers, before picking the simplest one. "We were fighting over who got you." "Eu?" "Sim". Huh. I thought this over for a minute, "Why?" "You believe me?" Zac asked, surprised. "Yeah. There's nothing else worth fighting over here, and you two aren't exactly best friends. It makes sense. Sort of." "Good. I'm glad it makes sense to someone." Ele sorriu. "So has Gabe done this a lot before?" Eu perguntei. "Eu no sei." "Oh. I just assumed that this being your first time, he was a kind of mentor to you." Zac laughed, "There is nothing he could teach me. But no, Gabe is not my mentor." "Right... I'm still confused though, was the mix up sending two of you?" "No, the cock up was taking me away from what I was meant to be doing." "So where does Gabe fit into this?" "You're never going to believe this." Zac sighed. "Good, sounds like an interesting story, I could do with one of those." He looked up at the sun, gauging how much more daylight was left. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 54 Pgina 55 "We've got hours until sunset, start talking." I solicitado. Zac agreed reluctantly, "As long as you don't interrupt, and let me explain this time." "I'll try not to." Eu murmurei sarcasticamente. "Ok, long story short - it's not very common that people end up here. When they do, an angel is assigned to guide them to the gates of Heaven. With me so far?"

"Nope. Gabe told me that the gates we're heading for could lead to Heaven or Hell." "Well, technically, they do. But as far as I know, pretty much everyone goes to Heaven. You're a special case." "I am? Why?" "I don't know. No one else ever got two angels fighting over them before." Well that's not confusing, "But if you're both angels and aiming to get me to Heaven, why fight over me? This isn't about who gets the special case to Heaven, is it?" Zac bit his lip, "Gabe isn't actually an angel." "Really? Because he has the fluffy angel wings and halo." Zac laughed, "He has the wings, but not the halo. Trust me" "Explain." I demanded. "Gabe used to be angel, but he left Heaven." "And went over to the dark side?" I grinned. "Yeah, something like that." A wry smile twisted Zac's lips. "Did he get a light sabre as well?" "You're not taking this seriously. No, he didn't get a light sabre, but he is a fallen angel, I guess you could say." "Wait. Did he leave Heaven, or was he kicked out?" I asked, trying to clarify everything in my head. "Does it make a difference?" "Maybe." "He left." I thought about that for a minute. "Ok, so I still don't understand why Gabe's here" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 55 Pgina 56 "He's here to lead you astray." Zac answered, "Hell wants you just as much as Heaven. Gabe turned up while I was waiting for you on the beach, and there was no way I was going to let him drag you to Hell. Por isso, o fight." "Srio?" I laughed, "Gabe is here to lead me astray? He was the perfect gentleman, there is no way he could lead me astray." I looked up at Zac thoughtfully, "Unlike someone else who tried to get me naked and seduce me behind the waterfall." "That was different." Zac protested. "How?!" He thought hard, "You can't seduce the willing," he said finally. "You can't seduce the willing." I repeated, "Is that the best you can come up with?" He shrugged, "You were willing." I grinned and shook my head, unable to argue his point. "Ok, skipping over the willing seduction, basically you're here to save me, and Gabe is here to tempt me to Hell?" "Pretty much, yes."

"Ok. Now explain to me again how Gabe is the bad guy in all this." "I knew you wouldn't believe me." I absently tickled my fingers across his hip while I thought, "Its not that I don't believe you, but he has done nothing to make me think that he's not an angel." "Como o qu?" Zac asked. "Like catching me when I fell out of a tree, like patching me up when I was all battered, letting me cry on his shoulder when I found out I was dead. And talking to me." I added, pointedly. "Yeah, he's always been good like that." Zac sighed, "Let me guess, he was charming and funny, and made you feel like the two of you had a real connection?" What, angels are psychic now? "Well, yeah..." I admitted. "Sorry, but that's part of his game. He does it all to gain your trust. It's not about you it's about him and Hell wanting your soul." I pulled away from Zac angrily, wrapping both arms around my chest defensively, "How do you know? You weren't there." "I know him; I know what he's like." Zac held a hand out and I stepped back, out of his reach. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 56 Page 57 "You know what, he wasn't a grumpy bastard either, who ignored me half the time, and argued with me the rest of the time." I threw at him. Zac started to lose his patience, "Just because someone is an angel doesn't mean they have to be nice. Being charming and having a cute smile doesn't automatically make him one of the good guys." "Yeah, so you keep saying. But doesn't it seem odd to you that the nice angel is supposedly out to drag me to Hell, and the angel who looked like he got thrown out of Hell for breaking all the rules is one of the good guys?" I accused him. Zac swore under his breath, and I blinked back tears. Bloody hell, more tears - I thought I was all cried out. Damn, this was so confusing, I had no idea which angel I should be trusting - at least one of them wanted to lead me astray according to Zac, and I really liked the idea of being lead astray by the surly, chain-smoking angel in black - even if I wasn't convinced he was the good guy. "Ok, assume I believe all of this - which I don't." I said, "How are you such an expert on Gabe?" "Gabe didn't tell you?" Zac asked. "No, he barely mentioned you." "Well what did you too talk about then?"

I concentrated on looking at my hands. "We talked about the island, about how to get across it. And we talked about nothing much." "And flirted lots?" Zac guessed. "Yeah, a little bit." I wanted to think that the look on Zac's face was jealousy, wondering how far mine and Gabe's flirting had foi. "I used to be friends with Gabe, good friends. This was back before he left Heaven. After he left, I kept tabs on him, hoping he'd come back..." Zac trailed off. "He can't come back now?" I asked softly. "No. He's spent too long away from Heaven. He can't come back anymore." "I thought anyone could come back, as long as they were repentant." He smiled, "You paid attention in Sunday school. Mostly, that's true, but he's done too much bad to ever come volta. And I don't think he's sorry at all." "When did Gabe leave?" Eu perguntei. "He left with Lucifer, when he and his followers were cast out. Some other angels followed them of their own accord - Gabe was one of those." Whoa. I tried to do the maths, "Wait, if you knew Gabe before Lucifer was cast out, that makes you..." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 57 Pgina 58 "Yeah, really old." Zac finished for me. Ok, that made sense. A few more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. "Your best friend left you, and Heaven, so you requested the loneliest job you could, to be left alone and mope," I asked, not unkindly. Zac looked up sharply, "I was not moping." "But he was your best friend?" I guessed. "Sim". he sighed. He looked so sad at that; I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around Zac. After a second's hesitation, he returned the hug. When we eventually parted, I took Zac's hand and looked up at the mountain, which finally seemed to have gotten closer. "Onwards?" Zac nodded, and we carried on walking in silence. For once, I was glad of the silence, my brain still struggling to put everything together. The Gabe I'd gotten to know seemed at odds with the Gabe that Zac described. And as for Zac himself... Well, I had to admit that for all the bickering and arguing, I did like him. Muito. Looking up at the mountain looming in front of us, I wondered if I'd be able to complete this on my own.

Sure, a guide would be useful, but I wasn't sure who to believe anymore. I was almost sure Zac was telling the truth about the situation between him and Gabe. But not completely. I stole a glance at Zac - I wasn't even sure who I wanted to be telling the truth. I smiled to myself as I realised I was fantasising about two angels, one of which was evil and probably just wanted to add my soul to the notches on his bedpost. And I'm not even convinced I know which angel that foi. I rubbed at my head, which was starting to ache with all the confusing thoughts going around and around in it. "Headache?" asked Zac. "Yeah, lots of things to absorb and think about." "Want me to help?" he offered. I laughed weakly, "I'm not sure anything else will fit in my brain." "Isso no o que eu quis dizer." Zac stopped and sat down, and I looked down at him, confused. Zac crooked a finger, and patted the grass between his spread thighs, "Sit." Dear lord. Did he really just do that? Would it be unethical to deliberately misunderstand his meaning and sit on his lap, legs wrapped around his hips, nibbling lightly at the pulse in his throat and both hands buried in his too long hair...? Apparently I'd been daydreaming about it for too long, as Zac grabbed my hand and pulled me down so I was sat between his legs, my back against his bare chest as he slid both hands into my hair and started to rub slow gentle circles. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 58 Pgina 59 All thoughts dissipated from my brain, as his hands worked their magic and I relaxed back against him. Ele had really good hands. So good that I couldn't even begin to think of what else he could do with them. "Rae?" "Mmm...?" "Tell me what you were thinking about just now." "O que?" I asked, slightly fuzzily. "When I told you to sit, your eyes got all glazed over, and I could have sworn you started dribbling." Images of straddling Zac's thighs and pushing him down on the grass flashed through my mind, closely followed by a sudden desire to kiss and bite my way down his chest, tracing my tongue over his tattoo before moving lower. I shivered at the idea, and Zac kissed the back of my neck. "Tell me what you're thinking," he ordered softly. "I wasn't thinking about anything." I lied.

"Srio?" Zac intensified his massage, and I let out a soft moan. "You have magic hands," I told him. "You should see what else I can do with them." A blush stole over my cheeks, "I can imagine," I murmured softly. "I bet you can." Embarrassed, I attempted to pull away from Zac, but he wrapped his legs around mine, keeping me in place. "Want to know what I imagine?" he asked, fingers now rubbing at the base of my neck. "Is there a PG version?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "Nope, only the X rated version." "I don't think I need to know." I hastily declined. I was barely restraining myself from crawling onto Zac's lap and doing unspeakably naughty things to him as it was. I didn't need any more of his sordid, depraved fantasies urging me on. "But you want to know," he teased. I didn't deny it, and he took my silence as acquiescence. "Remember in the cave this morning, when you stopped me from taking off your underwear?" he murmured in my ear. "What I really wanted to do was peel them off with my teeth and slowly kiss my way back up your legs, biting at that pulse on the inside of your thigh - your pulse would be racing, wouldn't it?" Not waiting for an answer, he continued, "And you'd be begging me for more, but it's so much more fun to tease you. And I really want to tease you - I want to run my tongue over that little hollow just below your hip bone and make As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 59 Pgina 60 you moan." Oh hell. I whimpered softly and pressed myself back against him, fingers digging into his thighs, my head falling back against one shoulder allowing Zac to bite lightly at my throat, then run his tongue over the marks he'd made. "Mais". I begged. "More of what?" Zac teased, "This?" He bit down on my throat again and I moaned. "Or this?" he ran the tip of his tongue lightly over the imprint his teeth had left. O qu? I had to choose? "Both." Zac chuckled against my throat and wrapped both arms around my waist, one warm hand snaking under my shirt and rubbing lightly over my belly. "Where was I?" he murmured, "Oh yeah, I was just about to lick my way up your stomach, maybe taking a few bites when I reach your breasts. You'd definitely be begging me now, but I'd be having far too much fun

para parar. I might even turn you over and kiss my way down your back, running my fingertips lightly across that sensitive little seam where your legs meet your bottom. That's going to tickle, and you have no idea how good it feels when you're wriggling underneath me." "Zac..." I couldn't help my breathy moan, interrupting his filthy fantasy. His hand that had been rubbing my stomach moved lower, sliding lightly under my jeans, ticking lightly and making me writhe against him. He paused as a low rumble echoed around the field, "Did you hear that?" Nope, not a damn thing. "Hear what?" I panted. The rumble sounded again, louder. "Yeah, that one I heard," I said, looking around for the source. Zac stood up, and pulled me to me feet, "This sounds like another test." I said nervously. The ground started to shake and Zac reached for my hand, pulling me closer to him. The ground shook harder and I lost my balance, falling to my knees. Zac crouched next to me, both arms wrapped around me while we looked around frantically for the source of the disturbance. "Zac, what the Hell is that?" I asked, pointing in the distance where the ground seemed to have disappeared. Before he could answer, another chunk of ground, closer this time, dropped away. He swore, checking around to see the same phenomenon occurring all around us. "Hold on tight, I think we're in for a rough landing" Zac predicted, as the shaking grew more intense and then the ground underneath us desaparecido. We didn't fall far, but landed with a thud on a hard surface. Winded and a little more battered than we had been, we both lay there for a couple of minutes until Zac crawled on hands and knees over to where I was laying. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 60 Pgina 61 "If you ask me if I felt the earth move, I may have to kill you," I told him, rubbing the back of my head. Zac grinned, "Trust me; I'd know all about it if you felt the earth move." Yeah, I was sure he would. I bit back a smile, and sat up to survey our surroundings we were on the deck of a ship floating on a huge underground lake. There seemed to be no one else on board the ship, the only sounds were creaking of the boards and splashing of the surrounding water. I looked up at the ceiling of the cavern, which was made of sparkly black rock that looked familiar. "That mountain that we're heading for - it is a mountain, right?" I asked thoughtfully. "Yeah, of course. What else could it be?" Zac answered, leaning over to rub the back of my head, "How hard

did you hit your head?" I swatted his hand away, "I meant, could it be a volcano?" Zac's eyes widened, "A volcano? Maybe." He glanced around the cavern slightly nervously before recovering his sense of humour, "What makes you think this is a volcano? All the water?!" I pointed up at the ceiling, "That looks like obsidian. Volcanic rock." "Crap. That's not good." I laced my fingers through his, "It's only bad if it's an active volcano. And as we've not seen it smoking or spewing lava, I think we're safe." I reassured him. "Sure?" I smiled at him, "Yeah." Zac let out the breath he'd been holding, "Good." "You don't like volcanoes?" He wouldn't meet my eyes, and I leaned over to cup his face in my hands. Kissing him lightly on the tip of his nose, I smiled, "Everyone's scared of something." "What are you scared of?" , perguntou ele. "Lots of things; Wild animals. Commitment. Anything that slithers. Drowning." "Commitment?" he asked, amused. "Yep. That and losing the key to my handcuffs. That terrifies me." I'm not sure if Zac believed me, but it made him laugh. "That's why you should always keep a spare key nearby." "I'll have to remember that." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 61 Page 62 I smiled and stood up, looking around the cavern, which was mostly dark, lit only by the late evening sunshine spilling in from the torn earth above. "How far up do you think the ground is?" Eu perguntei. Zac stood and looked up at the ground, "At least twenty feet. Too far to jump, and I can't see any walls to climb." "Maybe we could fly. That is, if your wings actually work?" Eu perguntei, esperanosa. He raised an eyebrow, "Every part of me works." I grinned and ignored his flirting, "I meant, can you fly with your wings? I thought they were just for decoration - they don't look big enough or strong enough to fly with - they're far too fluffy." "Size isn't everything," he said with an evil smirk, unfurling his wings to their full width, before wincing at the pain of the shredded wing and the still mending cuts in his back. I walked around behind him to look at the cuts, "Whoa, you heal really fast," I said, running my fingers over the lacerations, "These are almost fully healed." "Only on the surface." Zac said, "The muscle takes longer to regrow."

I skimmed my fingers lightly across his wings, "What about these, how long will they take to mend?" "A while. We're not going to be flying out of here today." I shrugged, "We need to find an alternative way out then. Unless you can drive this thing?" "Drive?" Zac asked with a lopsided smile. "Drive, steer, whatever. Can you do it?" "I don't know. Maybe." He looked around at the ship, "We need to explore and find out if there's anyone else on board, and if they know how to get out of here - or if we just sail around in circles forever." "This place can't go on forever; it must end at some point." "We're existing outside of space and time. Normal laws of physics don't apply." I stared up at the obsidian ceiling and sunshine spilling in, disheartened. "That would explain how the rest of the field isn't falling down with no support." "On the plus side, at least we didn't land in the water," said Zac in an attempt to cheer me up. I'm pretty sure I can swim, so landing in the water wouldn't have been a huge problem. I smiled half-heartedly at Zac, "Ok, assuming we can get this thing moving, we should head that way." I pointed in the direction that we'd been heading in earlier. Zac immediately disagreed, "If this is a volcano, we don't want to be heading towards the centre." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 62 Page 63 "It's dormant, Zac. You have nothing to worry about." "I'm not worried." he replied, far too quickly. "Good. Shall we go explore?" "There's not really a whole lot to explore," he said as we headed in to the sparsely furnished stateroom "I almost expected Chester Copperpot to be waiting for us in here." I said, disappointed. "Another film reference?" asked Zac. "Yep, The Goonies." "A classic, no doubt." I nudged him, "It's a great film." "Yeah, right. There's no one up here, let's look below deck," he said, heading back onto the top deck, towards a trapdoor. "Did you ever read Journey to the Centre of the Earth?" I asked, changing the subject. "Not recently, why?" "Don't you remember how they ended up at the centre of the earth?" Zac groaned, "We had better not run into dinosaurs down here." , disse. I laughed, "I've already run into polar bears and Minotaurs, dinosaurs won't be a problem." "You might regret saying that." He raised the trapdoor and crouched down, looking into the darkness. "Ladies

first?" he asked. "Not a chance." He grinned, and started down the ladder, "I thought you'd say that." I knelt down next to the trapdoor so I could watch Zac climb down, "It's pitch black down there - I can't see a thing." I said, squinting into the darkness. Zac patted his pockets until he found his lighter, and used it to illuminate the hold, "Stay up there, I'll try to find a light." His tiny flame disappeared while Zac wandered around, occasionally cursing as the flame burned his fingers. Poor guy, his fingers were going to end up really burned by the time we got out of here. Forcing myself not to think about Zac's hands, I took the opportunity to wander around the strangely empty deck; save for the grass and dirt that had fallen through with us, there was nothing else at all. The ship seemed to be almost brand new, and placed perfectly below where we'd fallen through the field. Convenient but suspicious. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 63 Pgina 64 Peering over the rear of the ship, I could see a small rowboat mounted a few feet above the water. Curiouser and curiouser. I assumed it was a lifeboat, but it seemed strange that there was just the one. It didn't make sentido. "I found a light, come on down" Zac called up from the trapdoor, disrupting my train of thought. I retreated across the deck and climbed down into the huge empty hold, lit by the lamp Zac had found. "Is it just me, or is it a bit suspicious that this ship happened to be in the right place to break our fall, and that it's conveniently empty and easier to sail?" I asked as I followed him deeper into the ship. "If we'd landed in the water, we could have climbed on board." Zac shrugged off my qualms. We headed down a narrow set of stairs, the motion of the waves making me stumble against Zac. Well, mostly the motion of the waves anyway. He smiled and took my hand as we entered another room, this one much smaller, with a hammock slung in one corner under a wide window. Zac glanced from the hammock to me, "It's getting dark out, and I don't want to try sailing a ship this size on my own in the pitch black. Bed?" "We slept most of the day," I pointed out, trying to calm my rampaging hormones. "Yeah, but not in a hammock with the waves rocking us." Thanks Zac, I'm never going to be able to look at a boat or hammock the same way again. "A nice idea, but I

don't think there's room for both of us in that hammock." There, that should end the discussion. "You have no sense of adventure." Zac challenged. "Really? Then why don't you show me how you plan for us both to fit?" I muttered sarcastically, not expecting him to actually take me up on it. His eyes lit up, "With pleasure," he said, leading me across the room after him towards the hammock. Hanging the lantern from the low ceiling and kicking his boots off, Zac stretched out barefoot and shirtless on his back in the hammock and made himself comfy, "Your turn," he said, holding out a hand. What have I let myself in for? The hammock wasn't that big to begin with, and Zac was taking up most of the quarto. I kicked my sandals off and paused next to Zac, "Ok, where the Hell am I supposed to lie?" Perguntei suspiciously. Leaning forwards so he could wrap both hands around my waist, Zac dragged me onto his lap, straddling him. I let out an inelegant squeak and clutched at his shoulders for support as the hammock rocked under us, and Zac pulled me down so I was sprawled on top of him. "Comfy?" , perguntou ele. I wriggled against him, "Yeah, I think so." "Good. Because I just remembered we were in the middle of something before the earth dropped out from under us," he murmured, burying a hand in my hair and tugging me down to kiss him. Oh yes, so we were. I smiled against his lips; "I think I was face down in your fantasy when we were interrompida. How are you going to make that work in a hammock without us falling out?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 64 Pgina 65 Zac kissed me again, "I have lots of fantasies, and quite a few of them would work in a hammock." "Actually, I have one particular fantasy that would work nicely in a hammock as well." I teased. "Srio?" Zac asked, interested, "Tell me more." "I'm better at showing, than telling," I told him, trailing a line of kisses along his jaw to his ear, slowly continuing to bite and suck my way down his throat, revelling in the way his hands tightened their grip on my waist as I flickered the tip of my tongue across his collarbone, before moving further down his chest. My nails scraped lightly across his skin as I bit at his nipple and Zac groaned. I peeked up at him, smiling naughtily, before running my tongue over the bite mark and blowing ever so softly over the wet skin. Zac ground himself against my hips, panting.

"Again?" I asked innocently, kissing my way across his chest and repeating my torture on his other nipple. One hand still fisted in my hair, Zac splayed the other across my lower back and arched his hips up against mine, making me whimper softly at the contact. What I really wanted to do right now was strip both of us naked and take advantage of the soft rocking of the boat, exactly as Zac had suggested earlier. Reluctantly I slid further down his body, out of temptations way, my lips never leaving his skin. Reaching his belly button, I dipped my tongue into the hollow before biting at the soft skin below it. Zac's sharp intake of breath and his moan encouraged me to keep going - biting harder and leaving a pattern of teeth marks scattered across his belly, gently kissing every mark that I'd made. I had the first two buttons of his jeans undone, and was licking slowly at the sweat dampened skin when Zac pulled at my hair, "Stop. Please - stop," he panted. I paused in my torture and Zac took the opportunity to pull me back up and kiss me roughly; his stubble rasping against my skin, teeth biting at my lips, his tongue teasing mine. He ground his hips against mine again, and we both groaned at the sensation. Zac slid a hand under my shirt, tickling lightly over my stomach, "My turn now," he whispered. I flashed him a naughty smile and pinned his hands above his head. "I'm not finished yet," I said, kissing him novamente. Letting go of one wrist, I slid my hand between us and undid the remaining buttons on his jeans. Zac closed his eyes and groaned as I wrapped my hand around him, slowly sliding it up and down his thick length. "More?" I teased him until Zac begged for mercy. I nipped at his bottom lip as he wrapped his free hand around mine, and together we stroked him until he came moaning roughly against my lips. Still breathing heavily, Zac wrapped his arms around me as I cuddled against him and he pressed a kiss to my testa. "I like your fantasy," he whispered, "But next time, we get to try mine where we're both naked." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 6 65 Pgina 66 Captulo 7 This time, I woke up first and was still sprawled across Zac when he opened his eyes. A lazily sleepy smile spread over his face, "Didn't you feel like getting up and exploring?" , perguntou ele. "I considered it, but thought I might wake you up." He rubbed a hand up my back, "Very thoughtful of you." "I was being serious."

"Me too," he yawned. "Then why did you sound so sarcastic?" He closed his eyes and smiled again, "Because you look like you're enjoying yourself far too much where you are." "How can I look like I'm enjoying myself when I'm just laying here?" I asked in mock outrage. "Because you're far too relaxed to be anything else." "Hmmmm." He might have been right. He chuckled and stretched, making the hammock rock and I grabbed at his shoulders for balance, "You did that on purpose" Zac gave me his best innocent look, "Would I do that?" "Yes!" He grinned, watching me crawl off him and land in an ungainly pile on the floor. "Need a hand?" , perguntou ele. "Nope, I'm fine," I said, hurriedly straightening up, "But I'd like to see you do better." Zac swung both legs out of the hammock and stood up, reaching for his boots. "Show off." I muttered. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "Let's go back up top and see if our situations improved since last night." And how was that going to happen? I looked at him sceptically, "Is that likely?" "Nope, but its no reason to be pessimistic." "Bloody Hell, one good nights sleep and you do turn into Little Miss Sunshine." Zac kissed my cheek with a naughty smile, "It wasn't the sleep that did that." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 66 Pgina 67 I rolled my eyes, and led the way up to the main deck, where predictably, nothing had changed except for the early morning sunshine illuminating more of the cavern. "Water, water all around...." Zac quoted with a sigh, "This place could just go on and on forever." "Huh, your happy wore off quickly." Zac slanted a look in my direction, "I'd suggest a way to bring the happy back, but I suspect you'd throw me overboard." "You're probably right." I confirmed dryly. Although then again.... "Anyway, I was thinking about something you said yesterday." I changed the subject. "I lied. Size matters," he said. "What? I wasn't thinking about that." "I bet you were." "Ok, I might have been." I admitted, "But that's not what I wanted to ask you about. You said all of these tests were based on my fears?" "Yes, more or less."

"Ok, I get the Minotaur one - I've always been scared of the dark and something creeping up on me. I get the vines because I thought I was going to be buried alive. Even the polar bear makes sense because I have a thing about wild animals," I looked around the deck of the ship, "Boats don't bother me. All that endless water bothers me a lot though. And drowning - that terrifies me." Zac looked over the rail at the water below, "Any specific kind of drowning?" , perguntou ele. "Specific kind of drowning?" I repeated, bewildered. "You know - dragged down to the depths by an octopus, flung overboard while fighting a sea monster, or..." he stopped at my glare. "You're not helping. Any kind of drowning scares me." "Ok, well at least we know what to expect." Zac said, unhelpfully. "Yeah. Great." He leaned in to hug me; "We just need to keep you out of the water. No problem." The words had barely left his mouth before waves started to rock the ship. "You were saying?" I muttered, pulling out of Zac's grasp and looking over the rail at the churning water abaixo. Zac leaned over behind me, "The waves have to come from somewhere. Maybe if we raise the anchor, we'll drift towards an exit." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 67 Pgina 68 "Or the edge of the world." "Bloody Hell, what kinds of films have you been watching?" Zac asked, alarmed as he struggled to turn the crank to raise the anchor. I joined him, and between the two of us it started to rise slowly. "Books. Discworld and Narnia. You can sail of the edge of the world in both." I clarified. "I don't remember that in Narnia." "Yep, in the Dawn Treader. You've read them?" I asked dubiously. "Don't look so surprised," Zac frowned, "I do occasionally read and watch films." "But kids' books? That's cute." He concentrated on locking the crank in place as the ship started to move with the current, away from the patches of light spilling in from above and further into the darkness. "You want to steer?" , perguntou ele. "Probably not a good idea. I could get lost in a paper bag." I declined. "That takes some real talent," he teased, heading up the steps to the helm. I followed, looking over the rear of the ship at the dark water. "You ok?" Zac asked. "Yeah - the never-ending water freaks me out a bit though." I admitted. "Can you swim?"

"Of course. I swim like a fish." I answered, indignant. "Then why the fear of drowning if you can swim so well?" , perguntou ele. I shrugged, "There's a reason they're called inexplicable fears. Can you swim?" "No." "Srio?" That made me laugh, "You're thousands of years old, but you never learned to swim?" "I never found the time to learn." "And I thought I procrastinated a lot." I mused. "You do," he smiled. "You've only known me two days - and you're not seeing me at my best." I defended myself. Zac grinned, "Yeah, but seeing you at your worst is the best entertainment I've had in a long time." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 68 Pgina 69 "Glad I could be of service." I muttered dryly. I jumped as a particularly high wave washed over the deck, spraying me with water. Zac held out a hand, and I stumbled towards him. He positioned me standing in front of him, hands on the roda. "Hold onto this, you won't fall overboard and drown." Doubtful, but I clutched at the wheel anyway as the water got rougher, "Can you see anything down here?" Eu asked, squinting into the distance. "No, I'm just hoping we're not heading for any icebergs." I glared over my shoulder at him, "Not funny." "Sorry. It kind of was though," he apologised. I ignored him, preoccupied with the endless dark water all around. There could be anything down there, hidden by the dark waves. "Ignore the water, think about something else - we'll find land soon and this will all be over." Zac advised as another wave drenched us. "You don't know what's in the water." "Neither do you. Stop imagining the worst." "You know what the problem with giving advice is?" I asked, leaning my head on the wheel, "No one listens to the good advice. Only the bad stuff." "In that case, I have a very bad idea. Want to hear it?" "No!" I couldn't believe he was suggesting that at a time like this. Although based on his last suggestion before we fell onto the ship, it might be fun. I glanced back at Zac, "Ok, I'll admit it - that did help distract me." "Good. When we find dry land, I want to know all the specifics." "I'm not telling you that." Exclamei. "That means it was good, and I don't want you to explain, I want to re-enact it." "How can you be thinking of sex at a time like this?" I asked, as the rough waters tossed the ship around like a

toy, and I clung to the wheel for support. "You want to think about the kraken instead?" "There's a kraken down there?!" I swiped wet hair out of my eyes as I turned and glared at him. "No, there's not. Maybe. I just meant it was better than dwelling on scary things lurking in the water." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 69 Pgina 70 A huge wave suddenly knocked the ship sideways and I lost my grip on the wheel as we skidded across the deck. I was flung against the stair rail, and I grabbed in tightly, looking around just in time to see Zac get thrown overboard. "Ah fuck," I muttered, scrambling to my feet and stumbling towards the rail, searching frantically for Zac in a gua escura. I could barely see a thing, but spotting a splash of light amongst the crashing waves, I crossed my fingers that it was him and dived in. Once I was in the water I lost all sense of direction, diving and re-diving but coming up empty handed each tempo. I swiped at the wet hair plastered across my face, looking for the ship in an attempt to reorient myself. Finding it, I swam back towards it and looked around for Zac again. I finally got lucky, finding him floating unconscious in the water, just as a huge wave crashed over me, dragging us both down under the water and tossing us about like driftwood. I struggled to work out which way was up in the churning water, while still keeping a grip on the unconscious anjo. My lungs were burning with the need for air and I started to panic. Another wave forced us deeper underwater, and my nerves escalated into full blown panic. I caught sight of a dark shadow, and relief flooded through me - it had to be the ship. I refused to think about any other huge dark objects in the water with me. Kicking hard, I broke the surface gasping for air and checked on Zac. Crap, he wasn't breathing. I dragged him slowly back to the ship, all of that muscle and wet feathers were damn heavy, and the stormy water wasn't helping. "Fuck." I swore again, looking from Zac to the ladder and back again when I reached the ship. No houve way I could carry him up the ladder, and he couldn't even keep himself afloat right now. Inspiration struck, and I started to swim slowly to the rear of the ship, weighed down by Zac. "Great, how am I going to get you up there?" I muttered to him, looking up at the rowboat hanging several

feet above our heads. A wave crashed into us from behind, flinging us against the ship, and I hugged Zac to my chest to stop him getting smashed against the hull, nearly smacking my head on the bottom of the rowboat no processo. I must have swallowed too much sea water. Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I retreated a few feet from the ship and waited for the next big wave, hoping my idea would work. Even treading water with Zac in my arms was exhausting me, and I had no idea what I'd do if this didn't work. A huge wave bore down on us, and I kicked hard when it arrived, riding it until we collided with the tiny row boat and I shoved Zac over the side of the boat, while I clung panting to the edge. Breathing hard, I hauled myself into the boat, landing heavily on Zac. Oops. Scrambling off him, I tried to remember anything about mouth to mouth. I was much better versed at a different kind of mouth to mouth than the life saving kind, but I surprised myself by remembering the basics, and prayed that angels couldn't drown while I breathed air into his lungs. Zac suddenly coughed his way back to life, spluttering water everywhere. "Nice". I muttered, wiping at my face. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 70 Pgina 71 Zac gave me a weak grin, "Sorry." Relieved, I sat back against the side of the small boat, my breathing slowly returning to normal as I watched Zac. "How're you feeling?" "Like I nearly drowned." "Can you drown? I know you said it took a lot to kill an angel, but I was worried that might be one way." Eu asked anxiously. "Yeah, it's one way." "And you still never learned to swim?" I asked, surprised. He sat up leaning on the opposite side of the boat, "I bet there's plenty of things you never got around to learning." "Such as?" Zac braced himself against the back of the boat as another wave rocked us against the ship. "Do you know how to waltz?" "No. Does anyone know how to do that anymore?" "I do. I'll teach you." I laughed, "Good luck with that - I can't dance." I crawled across the boat to sit next to Zac and look out at the water. "It's not getting any calmer out there." "I know. Want to try to climb back up to the ship and hide somewhere dry?"

"How do you plan on getting back up?" I asked, craning my neck back to look up at the ship. Zac rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I hadn't thought that far ahead, I just wanted to be dry." "There are rope ladders around the other side, but we'd need to get back into the water and swim around." Zac grimaced, looking between the crashing waves and the ship. "Looks like we're swimming for it." "You sure?" For someone who couldn't swim, he seemed eager to get back into the water. "Sim". "Ok. Follow me." I lowered myself over the side of the boat into the water and Zac followed nervously, clutching at me to keep himself afloat. "I've got you, now let go so I can turn you around." Eu pedi. "Let go? No way." "Yes way. Let go of me - I'm not going to let go of you." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 71 Pgina 72 Reluctantly, Zac let go and I turned him in my arms so I could swim back to the ladder, towing Zac along behind me. "Ladder," I told him when we arrived and watched as he clung to it like a lifeline. "Start climbing." He shook his head, "Ladies first." "You are kidding me? Start climbing now Zac, don't be stupid." Obviously decided arguing would be useless, Zac started up the ladder with me following close behind. "Back to the hammock?" he asked once we were back on deck. "Why? It's not going to help us dry off." I pointed out. "It won't dry us off, but I'm freezing and sharing body heat will warm us both up." "Maybe. You didn't happen to notice any dry blankets anywhere though did you?" "No, but there might be some in the stateroom," he shivered. "Good idea." I headed towards it, and after rummaging around in the cupboards, came up with one blanket. "It's better than nothing," Zac said from the doorway. "Yeah, but now we get to fight over who gets it." Zac took the blanket out of my hands, "You need to learn how to share." He led the way back down to the tiny room with the hammock and started to unbutton his jeans. "Uh, Zac..." He looked up, "Yeah, what?" "O que voc est fazendo?" "Taking off these wet clothes. You should do the same." I blushed, "Fine, but turn around." Zac rolled his eyes, "I've seen you almost naked before." "Yeah, but not entirely naked."

"Women." He muttered, before turning around and taking his jeans off, hanging them over the ropes suspending the hammock. "Can I get in the hammock if I keep my eyes closed?" he asked sarcastically. "Nope, ladies first." "Oh, bloody Hell." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 72 Pgina 73 I grinned at his swearing, shedding my own clothes and hanging them up next to Zac's. I tumbled into the creaking hammock ungracefully; glad Zac hadn't seen it and pulled the blanket up to my chin. Zac opened his eyes and smiled at me curled up under the covers, "Can I join you now?" After a few awkward moments of rearranging limbs, I came to the conclusion that the hammock had shrunk since the previous night. Zac and I were now intimately entwined - pressed together from chest to thigh, legs entangled. "Now this is more like the fantasy I was imagining last night," said Zac, sliding one hand down to cup my bare bottom, wriggling closer to me. "Not that I didn't like your version, but naked is better." I moved his hand up so it was on my back. Not that it helped; he was stroking his fingers lightly up and down my spine now. "I thought we were just keeping warm?" "Not just keeping warm." Zac kissed me lightly, "You taste of salt," he smiled. "So do you." Sussurrei. "Yeah, but you taste of it because you dived in the water after me. Are you still scared of drowning?" I thought for a second, "Yep." "But you still dived in after me." "It was instinct, I didn't think about it. If I'd stopped to think, I might not have done it." "I'm glad you did." I shivered, "It was terrifying. Can we not talk about it?" "Ok. I had other plans for when I got you naked in this hammock anyway," he smiled, brushing my hair away from my face. "Do I want to hear these plans?" I asked, sure I knew exactly what he had planned, "I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," he murmured, kissing me again then licking a line down my throat, "Did I mention how much I like the taste of salt?" he asked, "And it tastes even better on you." "Well I'm covered in it, so there's plenty..." I completely lost my train of thought as Zac sucked lightly on my pescoo. "Plenty of what?" he asked softly. "Plenty of me to lick the salt off." I finished breathlessly.

"And no clothes to get in the way" Zac added, happily biting at my throat again. "Plus, I owe you for last night." "No, you don't." I started to say as Zac continued to slowly lick and bite his way down my neck, and I groaned. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7 73 Pgina 74 He sucked at the salty skin on the inside of my breasts, and I squirmed against him. "More?" Zac asked, rubbing his unshaven cheek lightly against my skin. I arched against him, one hand buried in his hair and whimpered softly. "Isso um sim?" he ran his tongue over the area where his rough stubble had scratched at my skin, and I moaned his name. " 'Zac more', or 'Zac stop'?" ele brincou. "More, lots more." I begged. "My three favourite words," he trailed open mouthed kisses along the underside of my breasts making me writhe against him, hitching both legs tighter around his waist and pressing my hips against his. He bit gently at the sensitive skin, then harder as I moaned and begged him for more. Teasingly, he sucked at my skin, groaning as I tugged roughly at his hair. Zac slid one hand up the outside of my leg, his fingers tracing intricate patterns over my hip then trailing back down the inside of my thigh. He licked his way back up my throat and nibbled lightly on my bottom lip. "Please Zac." I whimpered against his lips. He kissed me, and I moaned into his mouth as he slid one finger deep inside me. "More?" he asked against my lips. "Yes," I gasped, unable to form any other words. Zac added a second and third finger; sliding them out and back in with excruciating slowness while rubbing his thumb against the sensitive spot that made me writhe against him, fingers digging into his shoulders as I buried my face in his neck and moaned my orgasm against his skin. "Wasn't that more fun than just cuddling to keep warm?" Zac teased softly. Breathing heavily, I lifted my head to smile at Zac and he kissed me again. He stroked my hair as I closed my eyes and cuddled against him. "You know you passed another test when you dived in to save me?" Zac asked. I opened my eyes, "Really?" "Mmm, really." "Oh". I closed my eyes again, and tucked my head under his chin, "I would have done it anyway." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 7

74 Page 75 Captulo 8 I was jolted from my doze by a thud as the ship hit something, hard. "O que foi isso?" "I have no idea, but it would be really great if it didn't do it again." "I recognise that quote." I chuckled softly. "Eu pensei que voc pode." Zac sat up to look out of the window. "Please tell me it wasn't an iceberg," I said sleepily, only half joking. Zac climbed out of the hammock to lean on the windowsill, peering out at the water, "I can't really see nada. But I can see." "You can see?" I asked, bewildered. "Yeah, it's light out." I sat up, clutching the blanket to my chest and looked out of the window as well. "Does that mean we're back where we started?" I asked. "I don't think so. It doesn't look like sunshine kind of light." Zac replied, distracted. He wasn't the only one of us that was distracted. Zac's clothes were still hanging up, so I had the most mouth watering view. Well, until he grabbed his jeans and t-shirt and I surreptitiously watched him get dressed. "I can see you watching, you know," he said, turning around. Caught in the act, I just shrugged and grinned. He handed me my still damp clothes, and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. "I'll be outside, not watching while you get dressed." Digging in his back pocket for the ever-present pack of cigarettes as he went, Zac made a face as he pulled out the damn and flattened pack. "These had better dry out," he muttered. I muffled my giggles in the blanket, "I heard that," he grumped. Dressed and wrapped in the blanket, I made my way up onto the top deck where I found Zac frowning over the side of the ship. Hugging him from behind, I looked over his shoulder to see we'd come to a stop against a natural looking dock, light spilling from a opening high up in the sparkly dark rock. "Is that a way out?" I asked, pointing at the opening. "Maybe" Zac answered cautiously. "You don't want to find out?" "Not really." I kissed the back of his neck, "Why not?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 75 Pgina 76 "Remember what you said earlier about the mountain being a volcano?" "Yes. I was joking though." "Well that light looks a lot like lava."

I sighed and leant my head against his back, "I'm keeping my mouth shut from now on. I'm sure this place is listening to me." "Yeah, it probably is." We both looked up at the opening again, "The water's calmed now; I think we're supposed to get off." Eu disse finalmente. "Eu sei." I squeezed his hand, "Come on, it'll be fun." Zac scowled, "I doubt that." I pulled him in the direction of the ladder, "Your happy wears off really quickly, doesn't it?" He didn't answer as we climbed off the ship, and started up the slope leading to the opening. "Is it me, or is it getting warmer?" I asked as we climbed, my blanket now discarded on a handy rock. "It's getting warmer." "Let me guess, you don't like the heat?" "No." I sighed, "I'd been missing Little Miss Sunshine, good to see her back again." When Zac didn't respond, I nudged him. "O que h de errado?" "Nothing." I didn't believe him for a second, but let the subject drop as we got closer to the opening, heat spilling out along with the light. Zac stopped me when we reached the top of the slope, "Let me go first." "Did you ever hear of equality? The sexual revolution?" Eu perguntei. "Yeah. You ever hear of chivalry?" he countered. "Fine, you first." Zac led the way down a short twisting passageway with me clutching his hand, a scant step behind. O calor and light increased with every step, reflecting off the obsidian walls until we rounded the final corner and found ourselves on a narrow ledge overlooking a deep chasm full of burning lava. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 76 Pgina 77 "Huh, volcano." I muttered, leaning forward to look over the edge. Zac pulled me back sharply, "Don't do that." "Do what? I was only looking." "Stay back from the edge." I looked around the dark walled chasm; it was huge and the churning sea of red lava reflected off the glittering walls, making dark shadows dance in the dim light. All in all, it looked scary as hell - in fact, it looked like what I'd imagined hell to look like, regardless of my joking with Gabe that Hell was dark and sinister, decorated in red and black with all kinds of debauchery going on.

Thinking about it, I'd got the decorations right, I just couldn't see any debauchery going on. Or maybe that had been me and Zac in the hammock. Pushing that thought aside, I continued to scan the chamber - there was a narrow fissure in the black rock on the opposite side but it looked like the only way to reach it was a very narrow ledge, barely two feet wide, stretching all the way around. "If we're leaving that way, we're going to be very close to the edge." , Eu disse. Zac shook his head, "We'll find another way out." "Don't be ridiculous. We're going this way." I argued. Not that I particularly wanted to, but it beat going back to the ship. "No, we're not." I took an experimental step in the direction on the ledge, only for Zac to grab me around the waist and drag me back into the passageway. "Let go," I demanded, struggling against him. "No, we're not going anywhere near that lava." Zac stated flatly. "Why not? We're almost out." "You don't know that. We might be heading deeper into the volcano." "Or it might be the way out. Don't be so pessimistic." "Eu no sou." Zac finally let go of me, and I turned to look at him. "Then what are you scared of?" He gestured weakly at the lava, "Who wouldn't be scared of falling in there?" "There's a difference between scared, and running screaming in the opposite direction, which is what you're doing." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 77 Pgina 78 "I'm not," he protested, somewhat pathetically. "Yet." Zac glared at me, "We are not doing this. No arguments." I shrugged, "Fine, I won't argue with you." "Srio?" "Really. But I'm not turning around and looking for another way out. I'm leaving, that way." I pointed at the fissure. Zac let out a long sigh, "Please, can we not argue about this." "Ok. If you explain why you're being such a girl." "I am not being a girl." I arched an eyebrow, and waited. "Fine, I have a phobia of volcanoes." "Yes.... I guessed that." He glared at me again, "You're not making this easy, you know." "Explain then. Make it easy." He hesitated, "I was at Herculaneum, two thousand years ago." I had to interrupt, "What's Herculaneum?"

"It's a city near Pompeii. When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD it killed twenty-five thousand people in the two cities." "And you were there?" Ele acenou com a cabea. "Lava spewing everywhere?" I knew the answer already. "Yes" he whispered. "This one's your test then." He shook his head, "I can't do this one." "Sure you can." I held out my hand, "Don't let go of me and you'll be fine." He tentatively took my hand, gripping it tightly, "Promise?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 78 Pgina 79 "Yeah, I promise." I led him to the edge of the chasm, "Ready?" "Hell no." Eu tambm no. "Ok, let's go then." I took a step out onto the ledge and felt the heat intensify significantly now we were away from the shelter of the passageway. Zac gripped my hand tightly as he followed me out onto the ledge. "One step at a time." I reassured him as we slowly shuffled along the ledge. After a few feet, I looked back at Zac, who had flattened himself against the wall and closed his eyes. "Zac, open your eyes." I ordered softly. "No." "But you can't see where you're going." "That's the idea." "Zac." He opened his eyes and looked back the way we'd come. "We haven't come very far." "Because we're moving so slowly." I explained gently. "Walk faster. Please." Zac begged. "No, we'll fall if we go any faster. Just keep going steadily and don't look down." I told him, promptly ignoring my own advice and looking down at the lava bubbling fiercely a hundred feet below, the smooth straight obsidian walls offering no hand holds if either of us slipped. Closing my eyes and stopping where we were, I took a deep breath. "Rae?" "Just give me a second." Sussurrei. Taking a deep breath and opening my eyes, I looked over at Zac who was still plastered against the wall and watching worriedly. I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile, "I'm ok. You ready to carry on?" He nodded, and we took one tentative step, then another. Concentrating on keeping my back to the wall, feet moving and eyes away from the bubbling chasm below us, I almost missed the fact that we were halfway across. I relaxed slightly, gaze still fixed firmly on our

destino. A step behind me, Zac stumbled and let go of my hand. I turned to him too quickly, losing my own balance in the process - one foot balanced precariously half on the ledge and the other searching for purchase, I could As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 79 Pgina 80 feel myself teetering on the very edge - the heat intensifying as I slipped further away from the wall. Morbid fascination made me look over one shoulder at the white hot lava waiting a hundred feet below, heart thudding in my chest as adrenaline flooded through me. Suddenly the lava disappeared out of sight as I was pulled into Zac's arms, and he pressed us both back tightly against the wall. We stood like that for a full minute, letting my breathing calm before I could bring myself to met Zac's eyes. "Thanks seems a bit inadequate," I said, manoeuvring slowly out of his arms. He let go carefully as I took a step to one side and pressed my back to the wall, "Even slower this time?" Eu perguntou. Zac gave me a ghost of a smile, looking even more shocked than I was. "Sim". Making very slow progress along the ledge, we eventually came to the end and the fissure in the rock wall. Still gripping each other's hands tightly, I led Zac through the narrow, twisting passage; the air cooling with each step until we finally turned a corner and stepped out into bright sunshine. I blinked at the sudden brightness, and turned to Zac who was looking equally owlish. He had a relieved smile on his face as I looked back up at the mountain, "Now we just have to get around to the other side." He shrugged, "As long as we're going around and not through it, I don't care." "It's a long way around though," I pointed out. Zac glanced over at me, "Do I look like I care?" I had to smile, "No, not really." Still holding hands, we started down the side of the mountain. "Anyway, it's taken four days to get this far, what's another day?" Zac added. "Four days? Really?" I thought back over the past few days, trying to work out how the time past so quickly. "Think about it," Zac said, "You've traversed a maze and encountered Minotaurs, gotten entangled in vines -" "I think you mean devils snare," I interrupted. "Whatever it was, you ended up unconscious for half a day after that, then you've spent the past two days with mim. " No one here seems to have any appreciation for Harry Potter. "Yeah, good point. And you forgot to mention how I killed the Minotaur all by myself." I added proudly.

Zac turned to look at me, shock on his face, "You killed the Minotaur?" "Well yes, it was chasing us, how else were we meant to escape?" I asked, confused. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 80 Pgina 81 "Just walk quietly past the sleeping Minotaur - they sleep during the day, but they're feisty bastards at night," he explained patiently. "But we went into the maze as the sun was setting." He swore, "Whose idea was it to enter the maze at sunset?" I frowned and cast my mind back, "It was mine, I think. I wanted to get it over with and Gabe agreed it was a good idea to do it then" "Crap - you're supposed to wait until day, that way you don't do any damage." "Well, we didn't know that," I said, annoyed. "Gabe knew, that's why he took you in at night, so you'd be presented with a better opportunity to kill the Minotaur." Zac muttered, looking away from me. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, trying not to show how shaken I was. He winced, "Well, it's not good." "Wait, are you telling me that I'm going to Hell now? For one mistake, when I was trying to not get killed?" Zac sighed heavily, "You do realise that you're already dead, don't you? You can't die again. The Minotaur couldn't have killed you." "Oh. Well then, what would the Minotaur have done?" "Probably just beaten you until you wished you were dead. The test was about making the right decision - the decision to wait and get through the maze when you wouldn't do any harm." "This place makes no sense." I grouched. Zac smiled, "It's ok - you'll get other chances to restore the balance." "But what if I make the wrong decisions? I don't want to go to Hell," I asked anxiously. "Don't worry, you won't. You saved me from drowning remember, that has to count for something." I remember. But it didn't mean it would weigh in my favour enough. The conversation was brought to a halt as we come across a band of brightly coloured poppies growing in a ragged line down the mountain like a waterfall and continuing into the thick, dense forest that ringed the base of the mountain. Zac perked up when he saw them, "Look, poppies. They're my favourite flower - they always look so cheerful." That dragged me out of my depression, and I smiled at him, "That's cute." "What is?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 81 Pgina 82

"That you have a favourite flower" Zac looked surprised, "Don't you have a favourite flower?" "Well yeah, but I'm a girl." "Don't be so sexist, guys can like flowers as well." I chuckled, "Guys can like flowers, but you look like you'd prefer beer and a good bar fight to flowers." Zac grinned, "I would prefer a beer, but I like flowers as well. Poppies always make me happy." I leaned over to pick a poppy and reached up to tuck it behind Zac's ear. He caught my hand as I drew back, and placed a chaste kiss on the inside of my wrist. It shouldn't have made me blush as I attempted to pull my hand back; Zac refusing to let go, entwining his fingers with mine. "Have you ever seen the gates of Heaven?" Eu perguntei. He smiled at that, "I'm an angel, of course I have." "Well, you know, I didn't know if the gates were only for new arrivals. Maybe there's a less fancy gate for the residents." That made Zac laugh. "No, there's only one set of gates, and they're never closed. Stop trying to change the subject." Busted. Zac looked at the flowers growing up the mountain, the only splash of colour against the gray rock, "Ok, we can probably save time by heading up the mountain, then around it." I looked up at the steep mountain sceptically, "You want me to climb that? In these shoes?" Eu perguntei. Zac looked down at my sandals and shook his head, "Well it'll be quicker than walking around the mountain. Why, do you have a better idea?" "Yeah, we stay away from the sleepy poppies." Zac looked confused, "The what? Poppies don't make people sleepy." I sighed theatrically, "Didn't you ever see The Wizard of Oz?" At his blank look I sighed again, "I guess not. Ok, I'm thinking that if this is all created from my mind, some inspiration will come from my favourite film and those poppies will send us to sleep." Zac nodded thoughtfully, "Looks like you're getting the hang of this place. Ok, so how do we beat the poppies?" I smiled sheepishly, "We wait for Glinda, the good witch of the north, to make it snow." Zac looked up at the clear blue sky. "Right. And what's plan B?" "Going through the mountain?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 82 Pgina 83 Zac ignored that suggestion and looked at the flowers, then at the mountain stretching forever in both direes. "Can we at least try walking through the flowers?"

I considered that for a minute, "I don't think so. The last time I charged in, it didn't end so well. We need an alternative route." "What about flying over them?" , perguntou ele. I shook my head, "Same result as walking through them - you'd fall asleep halfway across and crash land, probably killing us both. Again." "We could always turn around and walk back around the mountain in the oppose direction" Zac suggested. "Yeah, I'd really rather not." Thinking hard, I paced along the edge of the flowery boarder. "You're over thinking this." Zac said from where he'd made himself comfortable against a tree behind me. "Well you don't want to go through, and I don't want to go to Hell." I said despondently. "Pretty flowers are not the route to Hell." He kicked off his boots, before sitting down and leaning back against the tree, "But while you figure out what we're doing, I'm going to take a nap." I continued to pace for a few more minutes, looking back and forth between the flowers and the dozing figure of Zac, barefoot and slumped against a tree with a flower tucked behind one ear. Eventually, I wandered back to Zac and sat down next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep as well. When I woke up much later, the sun was setting behind the mountain, and I was comfortably curled up on the grass with one hand under my head, which was now resting on Zac's lap, and he was stroking meu cabelo. I wondered if he'd mind if we stayed there for a lot longer... "I know you're awake." Zac said. "No, I'm not." He gave a dirty chuckle, "Yeah you are, you just like it where you are." Well what woman in her right mind wouldn't? I stretched, then resumed my previous position, hand rubbing against his thigh as I got comfy, "Would you prefer it if I slept somewhere else?" Eu perguntei. "No, where you are is perfect." he murmured. I peeked up at him sleepily. "I thought you'd be far too practical to admit you liked it here, and move us to a place where polar bears couldn't maul us in our sleep." He frowned, "That's not a bad idea actually, we should move." "No, we shouldn't." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 83 Pgina 84 Zac wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me up into a sitting position, leaning against him. Ele pushed my hair over one shoulder and kissed the opposite shoulder, "We need to move," he murmured, "And not just because I'm worried about polar bears." I relaxed back against his chest, "Why then?"

"Because if we don't, I'm likely to seduce you right here." Sounds good to me. "Remind me, why is that a bad thing?" He traced a line of soft kisses from my shoulder up my throat, until he reached the sensitive spot just below my ear and bit down gently. I whispered his name softly. "Mmm, yes?" , perguntou ele. "Oh yes," I breathed. Zac laved his tongue over the bite mark he'd just made, and slid one hand from my waist under the edge of my shirt, his fingertips tracing light patterns across my ribs. I shivered, and entwined my fingers with his to halt his exploration, "Wait..." He continued kissing my neck, "Why?" "Are you sure we're alone here?" Zac paused briefly to glance around, "No," he answered before returning to his task, stubble rasping roughly against my skin. With a great deal of effort, I pulled myself away from Zac and knelt in front of him, just out of arms reach. "Maybe we really should find somewhere else to sleep," I said. Zac raised an eyebrow and looked around, "What's wrong with right here? There's a full moon and beautiful scenery, if you care to look at it." I glanced around, and while I was distracted Zac crawled towards me, "I don't want to look at the scenery though, I want you naked." That caught my attention and I glanced back at him in surprise, as he slid one hand around the back of my pescoo. "Do you want me to stop?" ele sussurrou. I hesitated and he pulled back, looking away, "Ok, maybe this wasn't such a good idea." He stood up and paced back towards the tree line, running his hands roughly through his hair. "Zac..." I whispered from where I was still kneeling on the ground. He didn't turn around. "No, you're right, we shouldn't do this." He cut me off before I could finish. "Isso no o que eu quis dizer." He glanced over his shoulder, as I climbed to my feet, "Then what did you mean?" , perguntou ele. I walked around to stand in front of him, "I just meant.... There are polar bears and allegedly evil angels wandering around out here. Maybe sex out in the open isn't such a good idea." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 84 Pgina 85 His eyes met mine, "But the sex is a good idea?" , perguntou ele. I smiled hesitantly, "Yeah, but not where we're going to get attacked by wild animals." "Are you sure? Because I've been fantasising about this for a long time and I'm not planning on stopping - not even for wild animal attacks." I leaned up to kiss Zac lightly on the lips. "Sim". He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the flowers, "Come with me."

"Onde?" "Where wild animals can't maul us." I laughed as he tugged me through the trees towards a particularly wide tree, and pointed up at where the trunk bisected and there was a natural hollow, just big enough to fit the two of us - very snugly. I looked from the tree to Zac, "No way - I don't do trees. The last tree experiences I had didn't end too well - I fell out of one, Gabe tried to seduce me in one, and the last one tried to eat me." "Well we need to make you some better tree memories then." I blushed, my mind full of the possibilities that conjured, as Zac spun me around so my back was pressed to the tree, "There's no one around and no polar bears can get through these trees - can I kiss you now?" ele perguntou. I thought he'd never ask. In response, I buried one hand in his hair and pulled him down to meet my lbios. Zac slid both hands under the hem of my shirt, just the tips of his fingers lightly caressing my bare skin and making me whimper, before sliding his hands slowly upwards, dragging my shirt up at the same time. Ele broke the kiss just long enough to pull my shirt and bra off, dropping both on the ground, before returning to his teasing, fingertips dancing up my bare back, his mouth busy biting gently at my lips as I moaned his name. "Does that hurt?" ele sussurrou. "Yes, do it again," I begged. He smiled, and kissed a trail slowly along my jaw. "Not just yet, I have other plans." I fisted one hand in his t-shirt, "Can it involve getting rid of clothes?" He laughed softly, "Oh yes - want to help me undo those kinky laces you were admiring yesterday?" Hell yes. "Where do I start?" Eu perguntei. "At the bottom, and work your way up." Fingers shaking, I started unlacing one side of Zac's shirt as he returned to slowly feathering butterfly kisses down my neck until he reached my rapidly beating pulse breathing ragged, I begged him for mercy, then for more as his mouth closed over my pulse and he bit down rgido. I moaned his name, and Zac groaned roughly. He reached around to finish untying his shirt and it joined mine on the ground; "Remember where I threw that," he murmured against my lips, "I'll be needing those laces later." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 85 Pgina 86 I ignored the shirt, pulling Zac closer - the rough hair of his now bare chest teasing my bare breasts as I kissed him, my tongue softly teasing his lips and fingers caressing up and down the sensitive seam where his wings

met his back. Zac shivered at the sensation, and pushed me back a step, so that my bare back met the rough bark of the tree, while never breaking the kiss. I slid my fingers up to tug gently at the feathers of Zac's wings and he groaned as he picked me up, wrapping my thighs around his hips. Now it was my turn to groan as he ground his hips roughly against mine. Impatiently, Zac slid his hands between us, unbuttoning my jeans then tugging them down over my hips before encountering a problem. "Your legs are in the way. I can't get your jeans off while you're wrapped around me like this," he said between kisses. "But it feels good like this." I panted. "It'll feel so much better when you're clothes are out of the way," he cajoled. I reluctantly let go of him and Zac slowly dragged my jeans and flimsy lace underwear down my legs, his fingers tickling lightly down the back of my thighs. He stepped back, and I whimpered at the loss of contact, before he knelt down to tug my remaining clothes off and throw them over his shoulder. Kneeling in front of me, now completely naked, Zac flashed a wicked grin that made my pulse race. Ele leaned forwards, and pressed a kiss to my hip before slowing working his way up, flickering his tongue across my belly button and scraping his teeth lightly over my ribs in between pressing feather light kisses and bites to my skin, while I begged him to stop teasing. Zac strung a series of tiny bites and openmouthed kisses from one breast to the other before I fisted both hands in his hair and pulled him to his feet. Breathing hard, I slid my hands down his chest to his stomach, before trailing my fingers down the line of hair leading from his belly button into his jeans and tugging gently. "I need to get rid of these jeans and underwear," I whispered breathlessly. Zac raised an eyebrow, "What underwear?" , perguntou ele com um sorriso. Oh dear lord. A naughty smile spread across my face and I undid the first button. Zac returned the naughty smile before he kissed me again. "Voc need to undo all the buttons," he whispered and I blushed before moving on to the next button and the next one before sliding both hands inside to wrap around his length. He moaned against my lips as I tightened my grip, hands teasingly stroking him until he dug his fingers into my hips and begged me to stop. I dragged my hands out of Zac's jeans, just long enough to push the material down around his thighs and out of the way, then wrapped one leg around his hip. He tugged my other leg up to wrap around him and with both hands under my bottom, he slowly eased himself deep inside, both of us moaning into the kiss.

I involuntary tightened my fingers in Zac's hair, tugging none too gently as he slowly slid out, and thrust back inside again. "Harder, please harder." I begged him. "You'll get splinters in your back," he whispered with a smile. I squirmed against him, the friction causing us both to cry out. "You can pick them out later. Please..." I begged as Zac nuzzled at my neck, his mouth finding my favourite sensitive spot and worrying it gently with his teeth, stubble rasping against my throat as he increased his pace, slamming my back against the tree with every thrust. My breathing was coming faster and more ragged as I neared my climax, fingers tightening against his biceps as I whimpered his name frantically. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 86 Pgina 87 Zac worked one hand down between where our bodies were joined, and lightly traced his fingers against the slick skin. "Here?" he asked softly, and I groaned, burying my face in his neck. "Oh yes, I think right there," he murmured against my ear, increasing the pressure until I cried out my orgasm, nails biting into his shoulders and biceps hard enough to break the skin and tip Zac over the edge of his own orgasm, panting and groaning my name. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 8 87 Pgina 88 Captulo 9 Breathing hard, Zac kissed me lightly on my cheek, "You still alive?" , perguntou ele. "Yeah, just about." I answered, breathing just as hard as Zac. "Want to go collapse somewhere comfy." I leant my head back against the tree trunk, legs still locked around his hips, "The ground looks pretty damn comfy to me." He gave me that slow smirk again, "Or there's the tree." I glanced up at the hollow that was barely visible from their position, "I don't know about you, but I really don't think I can climb up there." "Was thinking about flying." Much better idea. I grinned lazily, "I'm up for anything that doesn't involve any effort from me." Zac raised one eyebrow, "I'll remember that." I laughed, "I didn't mean it like that." The smirk was back again, "I know." He shifted his grip on my hips, "Hold on, and don't look down."

I tightened my grip on Zac, and felt his wings flex under my hands before we were momentarily airborne, then he was setting me down on a branch, ten feet up. "Uh, Zac?" "Yeah?" "You left our clothes on the ground." He glanced down at the clothes scattered across the grass and shrugged. "We're in a tree, no ones going to see us." "Well yeah, but..." I trailed off, seeing that he wasn't going back for our clothes. Zac stepped from the branch down to the hollow, and held out a hand to me. "Come on, I'm the only person up here, and I've seen you naked already." I rolled her eyes at him, and stepped down to join him. "Are you sure there's room for us both up here?" "Yeah, as long as you're not claustrophobic" "Eu no sou." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 88 Pgina 89 "And as long as you don't mind sleeping very close to me." "Huh. I knew there'd be a catch." He grinned and sat down, tugging me down onto his lap and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Get some sleep," he said, kissing the back of my neck. "Naked and sitting on your lap, in a tree?" Eu perguntei. "Yeah. Naked, on my lap, in a tree." he chuckled. "That sounded more like an invitation for kinky sex than a suggestion for a nap." "Mmm, I like the way you think. Can it wait until morning though, I'm exhausted?" "Zac! I wasn't suggesting kinky sex." Exclamei. "Oh. Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure!" He shifted slightly under me, settling back into a more comfortable position against the tree trunk. "Do you think you might change your mind in the morning?" he asked. "Probably." I could feel him smile against my neck. "I can't wait." I woke up early the following morning, Zac's arms around my waist and his slow breathing whispering across the back of my neck. I lifted my head to look over the branch at the ground, a very long way down. Instinctively, I pressed myself back against Zac. He tightened his arms around me, "Everything ok?" ele perguntou sleepily. "Yeah, we're just a long way up." "I know. No polar bears up here though." "How do you know that, you haven't even opened your eyes?" Eu sorri. "I don't need to open my eyes."

"And why not?" He nuzzled the back of my neck, "Because I'm pretty damn good even with my eyes shut." "Yeah? Prove it." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realised that I probably shouldn't have challenged Zac. His low chuckle just confirmed that. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 89 Pgina 90 "Uh, Zac... Actually, you don't have to prove it." "Don't you want me to?" he asked, one hand caressing slow circles low on my belly. I didn't reply, unsure what my answer would be. "Let me convince you," he whispered, returning to kissing the back of my neck, his rough stubble scratching gently and making me shiver. Zac ran the tip of his tongue over my skin, "You taste of vanilla." , disse. I gave a shaky laugh, "Are you sure it's vanilla, not salt?" "No, definitely vanilla. And oranges. It's... intoxicating." "Certo". "It's true." "And what do you taste like?" "You tell me." I twisted around so I was on my back and Zac was leaning over me. He cupped my cheek with one hand and leaned down to brush the barest whisper of a kiss across my lips, "Vanilla," he murmured. I smiled and pulled him down for another kiss, my tongue sliding across Zac's lips, teasing and tasting him. "Bem?" , perguntou ele. "Mmm, I'm not sure. Let me try again." That oh-so-naughty smirk was back again, melting any resolve I might have had. Ever so slowly, Zac kissed me again, his tongue flickering across my lips before I parted them for him. I wrapped one long leg around his waist, pulling Zac closer as he pressed one thigh between mine, causing me to shudder and arch up against him, moaning into his kiss. I ran my fingers over the bruise low on his left hip - a reminder of the beach fight with Gabe, and Zac moaned roughly against my lips, the pleasure/pain causing him to involuntary thrust against me. He skimmed a hand lightly across my hip, and then carried on upwards to cup my breast. I covered his hand with mine, "Is this the kinky tree sex?" "No. Not yet." I raised an eyebrow, "Not yet? Then what's this?" Zac grinned down at me; "You stopped me, just when it was getting good." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 90 Pgina 91

He glanced down at where our fingers were entwined, and rubbed his thumb along the sensitive skin on the inside of my breast, "So can we carry on with the kinky tree sex now?" I sucked in a sharp breath, "If you carry on doing that, yes, please, more kinky tree sex." Zac slid his free hand into my hair and tugged my head back so he could nibble his way down my neck. Eu tilted my head further back, giving him better access and he bit down lightly. I buried a hand in his hair, pulling him closer, "Harder." I begged. Zac sank his teeth into my throat, sucking on my pulse while I writhed beneath him, moaning his name and arching my hips up against his. Zac paused in his teasing, and I took the opportunity to run the tip of my tongue along the hollow at the base of his throat, making Zac groan. Smiling, I continued to kiss and bite my way along his throat before reaching the spot where his neck and shoulder met that made him moan my name when I bit down on it. Gently sliding my tongue over the bite mark, I was rewarded with a rough groan from Zac. "Stop that," he whispered, his fingers digging into me. "You don't like it?" I teased, warm breath ticking against his damp skin. "Yes... No.... If you don't stop, I'm going to come." That sounded good to me. I wrapped my thighs around his hips, grasping him in one hand to guide him into mim. Zac braced himself above me, watching me as he slid ever so slowly out, and then deep back in again. Eu gasped his name, fingers digging into his hips, silently begging him for more. "Zac, please..." Eu choraminguei. "Have you ever had multiple orgasms?" He whispered, running his tongue slowly along the edge of my ear. I whimpered softly; all the answer, and challenge, he needed. He leaned down to kiss me again, his tongue dancing across my lips until I opened for him, tongues tangling. Eu moaned into his mouth, my fingers running up his spine and tugging gently on the feathers at the base of his wings making Zac groan against my lips and increase his pace, every thrust making me moan and beg for more until I came clenching around him, his name on my lips and my fingers bruising his biceps. Before I could pause for a breath, Zac had worked a hand between us, rubbing his fingertips against my slick wetness and I found myself coming again; my orgasm spiralling out control as I moaned his name over and mais. "Should we try for lucky number three?" Zac murmured, his talented fingers already rubbing against me, just where I wanted them. I could barely manage whole words, "Please.... Zac..." I begged, before succumbing to yet another orgasm, as

Zac followed suit, his own orgasm overtaking him with a groan. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 91 Pgina 92 "You like biting me, don't you?" I asked later, running my fingers over the bite marks and developing bruises across my throat. Zac gently kissed all of the marks he'd made before answering, "I told you, you taste good." "Are you sure you weren't a vampire in a past life?" "Nope. You seem to like being bitten though, maybe you were the vampire." "More like I've seen Twilight too many times, and developed a biting fetish." "Twilight?" "Next time you're on earth, go observe someone with a TV." "Noted. Now, back to this fetish of yours.... Do you have any more I should know about?" "No!" Zac looked disappointed, "Are you sure?" I laughed at him, "Yes, I'm sure." "Not even a little fetish?" he asked hopefully, "I definitely remember you mentioning handcuffs earlier, that must count as one." "Handcuffs are not a fetish. Being restrained is the fetish." Zac looked interested, "You seem to know a lot about this, explain." Oh dear. I blushed, "No. I'm not explaining bondage fetishes to you. I'm pretty sure I'd go straight to Hell for corrupting an angel." "I'd be sharing a cell with you, I think. How else are you planning on corrupting me?" I rolled my eyes, "I'm not planning on corrupting you at all. It was you that seduced me, if you recall." "It was you that started it in the hammock." "What about you behind the waterfall?" I countered. "You stopped it before anything happened. It doesn't count." Zac stated. "But you still started it." "Nope, I barely even groped you before you had your hands down my pants." Zac smiled, "That was kinky, can we do it again sometime?" I buried my face in his chest, embarrassed. "No, I'm not doing that again. I can't believe I even did it in the first place." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 92 Pgina 93 "What do you want to do instead?" Zac teased, "Handcuff me to your bed, or would you rather be handcuffed?" "Zac!" I exclaimed, "Neither of us are going to be handcuffed to my bed." "Wrists tied with silk scarves instead?" he suggested.

"What? Where did the silk scarves come from?" "I was going to use them as blindfolds," he admitted, "But I could just as easily tie you to the bed with them." "Ok, no more talking about bondage." I declared. "Wimp," Zac smiled against my hair. "Want to talk about how ticklish you are, and how much fun I could have teasing you with feathers?" I groaned against his neck, "Please stop teasing me like this. We've just had sex in a tree, and you're discussing fetishes. You're going to make me spontaneously combust." "Didn't I do that in the hammock already?" "You're not really an angel, are you? You're far too depraved to be any kind of angel." Eu ri. "If I wasn't an angel, I would have kicked you out if the tree for waking me before the sun was up this morning," he yawned. "And then you wouldn't have gotten kinky tree sex." I reminded him. "Yeah, there is that," he murmured, cuddling closer to me and yawning again, "But sleep is good too." I ran my fingers through his hair; "I'll wake you up for more kinky tree sex later then." I watched Zac sleep, stroking my fingers lightly over his back and shoulders then down his arm to entwine our fingers, liking the way our hands looked folded around each other. Now that I had some time to think, I wondered how much of what Zac said about Gabe being a fallen angel era verdade. They had both gone out of their way to look after me, even though only Gabe had done it with a smile on his face. Neither of them were evil, were they? I sighed and leant my forehead against Zac's. In Gabe's favour, he hadn't said a word against Zac, even though it was obvious that they disliked each other. Zac had dished plenty of dirt on Gabe, which made me inclined to believe him - anyone that nice was definitely hiding something. Then again, maybe last night and the repeat performance this morning were clouding my judgement, I smiled to myself. Ok, I needed to think and not while I was entwined with Zac in a tree. I slowly disentangled myself, careful not to wake Zac and climbed down from the tree to where our clothes were scattered all over the grass. I dressed quietly and piled Zac's clothes at the base of the tree where he'd see them - as much as I'd rather hide them and see him wandering around naked, I probably shouldn't. Although he hadn't been too bothered about As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 93 Pgina 94 being naked over the past few days, I reflected with a smile.

On impulse, I swiped Zac's never-ending packet of cigarettes from the pocket of his jeans and lit one as I wandered aimlessly. Thinking as I walked, I wondered what would happen to Zac after this was all over. Would he go back to watching whoever he was watching? Would he come visit me in heaven? Would he want to? Isto , assuming that I managed to get into heaven. "This is not helping," I muttered, scuffing my feet along the ground. "What's not helping?" asked a voice from behind me. I jumped and turned around, surprised, "Gabe?" Gabe smiled and hugged me, "I was worried about you." He looked over my messy hair and wrinkled clothes, "Looks like I had good reason to be." I glanced down at myself with a wry smile, "Yeah, I somehow seem to keep ending up in the water fully dressed." "You look like you've slept in those clothes as well." Good guess. I blushed, recalling my last two nights sleep - both spent naked and wrapped around Zac. "Eu didn't quite sleep in them," I hedged. "Then what did you....? Never mind, I don't think I want to know." "Jealous?" I asked, enjoying teasing him. "A little," he admitted. Bom. I smiled, "I missed you." "Srio?" A wide smile lit up his face, and I laughed, relieved. "Where have you been for the past couple of days?" I asked, feeling slightly guilty for not wondering before. "Recovering from being nearly eaten by a tree, and looking for you. What happened to you?" "Long story," I paused to try to line up my thoughts, "I was chased by a polar bear, swallowed by the earth, nearly drowned in an underground lake and came very close to falling into a volcano." Gabe was impressed, "Wow, all that in just a few days?" "Yeah, it seems like longer though." "Looks like we have a lot of catching up to do." "Speaking of catching up, Zac mentioned something about you being not quite an angel?" I figured I might as well get it all out in open. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 94 Pgina 95 "Not quite an angel? How does that work?" Gabe asked, amused. "He said you left Heaven with Lucifer." Gabe laughed, "I left Heaven in the same way that Zac did - through the front door. Neither of us exactly work l ". "What about Lucifer?"

Gabe looked up at the blue sky for the longest time before answering, "He was an old friend. When he got kicked out, I left." "With him?" "No." Oh. I let out a long breath. "Zac must have misunderstood and thought you left with him." "Maybe." Embarrassed, I gave him a clumsy hug. "I didn't mean to dredge up painful memories." Gabe returned the hug, "You didn't. Don't worry about it." "Thanks. Subject change?" "Good idea." "It's not easy to come up with a new subject." I commented as we walked in silence. "I was thinking the same thing," Gabe smiled. My brain had no problems coming up with a new subject though, desperately wanting to ask why Gabe and Zac were fighting over me on the beach if they both wanted to help me get to heaven. Surely two angels were better than one in this situation. Gabe beat me to it though, "So why are you wandering around on your own? Where's Zac?" "I needed to think, so went for a walk and left him asleep in a tree. Then I ran into you." "You left him asleep in a tree?" Gabe asked, "You make me laugh." "We had a perfectly good reason for being in a tree," I defended myself, "There's a polar bear wandering around somewhere, and we didn't want to get eaten in our sleep." Gabe wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "You know bears can climb trees, right?" "They can?" He smiled, "Yes." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 95 Pgina 96 "Does Zac know that?" "Sim". That git. I swore under my breath and Gabe laughed again. "Did he charm you into the tree and try to seduce you?" he asked, amused. I blushed, thinking about what had happened in the tree. And up against it. "Not exactly." He nudged me, "Explain." "Nope, a lady never kisses and tells." Gabe raised an eyebrow, "And a gentleman never asks. But something obviously happened, and the masochist in me wants to know" "Masochist? Really?" He shook his head, "Trust you to pick up on the Masochist, not the gentleman." I laughed, "Gentlemen are boring." "I'm a gentleman, and you seem to like my company well enough," said Gabe, with a smile.

"I used to go out with a guy who said he was a gentleman in bed," I confided, "I cured him of that pretty quickly though." Gabe raised an eyebrow, "I can imagine." "It was a lot of fun." "Now that's something I shouldn't be imagining." Eu tambm no. I chuckled, "If your imagination comes anywhere close to the things we did, I'm going to handcuff you to my bed." "Handcuffs? I don't think my imagination can measure up to your kinky standards." I didn't think so either; Gabe seemed too nice for that. I smiled at him, "Not many men can." I looked up at the sun, "Zac will probably be awake by now, I should get back to him." Gabe looked contrite, "Sorry, I didn't realise how far we'd come. I'll walk back with you, in case the wild polar bears are still running around." I threw him a mock glare, "There really was a polar bear. And it was bloody huge." He grinned, "I believe you." Half an hour later, we found ourselves back at the tree that I'd left Zac sleeping in. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 96 Pgina 97 "Are you sure this is the right tree?" Gabe asked, looking around, "He's not here." "No, nor are his clothes," I murmured absently. Hell, I've been abandoned again. I could feel tears welling up, and squashed the feeling down. "We should go look for him." "Voc tem certeza?" Gabe asked, "Wouldn't he have waited for you here?" I shrugged, "I have no idea. But I'm going to find him." I set off determinedly in the opposite direction, Gabe trailing after me. He tried to make conversation, but I was far too involved in my own confused thoughts to talk, so we walked in relative silence until I heard the sound of a fight. I exchanged alarmed looks with Gabe and we ran through the trees until they finally cleared, depositing us on a cliff edge where Zac and a polar bear were fighting. Fighting? Again? "I thought you guys were supposed to be angels. You always seem to be getting into fights." I accused Gabe. He shrugged, concentrating on the scene in front of us. "Well? Aren't you going to help him?" I asked impatiently. "No," he said, never taking his eyes of the fight. "No? What do you mean no?" He shrugged, "You're right, it's a polar bear. A big one. I'm not going to get in a fight with it." "Oh, for fucks sake," I muttered angrily, starting towards Zac when Gabe grabbed my arm, pulling me back. "Don't be stupid, it's a polar bear. Do you want it to kill you?"

O qu? Alarm bells rang in my head as I gave him a disgusted look, "I'm dead already, I can't die again." I'll admit, charging into a fight with an angry polar bear wasn't the best idea I'd had, but it worked. Durante um curto while anyway, distracting the polar bear long enough for Zac to scramble away from the edge of the cliff. "What the Hell are you doing?" he demanded angrily, pushing me behind him as the bear circled us and backed us up against the steep drop. "Saving you from being thrown off a cliff?" Zac shoved me to the ground as the bear leapt towards us, "I have wings, it doesn't matter if I get thrown off a cliff." "They're mended now?" I asked, spitting out a mouthful of grass. Zac dragged me to my feet to face off against the bear again, "Stay behind me," he ordered. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 97 Pgina 98 "Answer the damn question." Movement in my peripheral vision distracted me from pestering Zac. Gabe had backed away from the fight and was now leaning against a tree arms crossed, watching us calmly. I glared at him, realisation finally setting in. He wasn't here to help me at all. Gabe gave me an amused smile in return, which only pissed me off even more, before he turned around and walked calmly into the forest, leaving me and Zac to fend for ourselves. I'd managed to miss what was going on in the fight between Zac and the polar bear during my silent argument with Gabe, but was dragged back into it suddenly when Zac pulled me out of the way. Unfortunately I hadn't been paying enough attention and stumbled, allowing the polar bear to backhand me across my already bruised ribs with one huge paw and send me flying over the cliff towards the rocky ravine below. Everything happened in slow motion after that - I watched the ground grow closer, and fleetingly wondered if I really could die here. I closed my eyes as the rocky ground grew closer still, regrets flashing through my mind - until it was interrupted by a sharp jolt as Zac wrapped both arms around my waist and we glided roughly to the ground where we landed in a tangled, dusty heap. Uau. Neither of us moved for a minute, laying there catching our breath before Zac crawled to his feet. "Are you hurt?" he asked, scanning the cliff above us, presumably for any sign of the polar bear. "Battered, not hurt," I groaned, dragging myself upright.

Zac nodded, "Good. If you follow the ravine in that direction it should lead you around the mountain. You shouldn't get into any trouble, unless you go looking for it." Ouch. I winced at the implication. "I don't go looking for trouble." He shrugged and turned in the opposite direction, "Whatever. Good luck." I stood rooted to the spot, watching him walk away and this time I couldn't ignore the feeling of abandonment, tears spilling down my cheeks. "Are you leaving me?" I asked, forlornly. Zac glanced over his shoulder, "No. You left me this morning." "No, I didn't," I whispered to myself. He didn't give any sign that he'd heard, just carried on walking. Suddenly angry, I chased after Zac and planted myself firmly in his path. "You need to listen to me," I demanded. Zac refused to look at me, attempting to keep walking, but I refused to let him past. Fisting both hands in his t-shirt, I forced him to stop and acknowledge me. "I went for a walk this morning, I needed to think." I explained, the words spilling out in an angry rush, "I didn't plan on being gone long, and I certainly didn't go looking for Gabe. He found me, we were just talking and lost track of time. When I got back and saw you'd left the tree, I thought you'd abandoned me." Zac softened slightly, "I wouldn't abandon you." I blinked back more tears, "It's what you're doing now, isn't it?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 98 Pgina 99 He sighed and wrapped his arms around me, "Yeah. It is." Relieved, I buried my face in his neck, Zac's t-shirt soaking up my tears. "Gabe told me it was a misunderstanding - that he really was an angel. But he wouldn't help when you were fighting the bear." Zac thought about that for a second, "Wait, you thought Gabe was the good guy and you still came looking for mim? " "Well, yeah." He stroked my hair, "Really? You would have come back to me, even when you thought I was dragging you down to Hell?" Stupid man. I lifted my head to look at him, "I wouldn't have jumped in front of an angry polar bear if I thought you were dragging me to Hell. I guess I had an epiphany when Gabe wouldn't join in the fight. E no properly bad guy would save me from a very painful landing with a busted wing." Zac's dirty grin returned as he slid one hand into my back pocket to retrieve his cigarettes, "Well, I couldn't let you land on these and ruin them." I smacked his chest lightly, "So are you going to finish this with me?" I asked shyly. Zac brushed a light kiss across my lips, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Thanks," I smiled, relieved. With a great deal of effort, I stepped back out of ac's arms and looked around at the ravine - it was empty save for sharp rocks scattered across the floor, contrasting sharply with the pretty scenery on the rest of the island. Zac caught my hand and pulled me back against him, "Seriously, thank you for coming back. You distracted that polar bear nicely, although next time, please try not to take flying leaps off cliffs." He whispered in my ear. "Speaking of which, how's your wing?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the feel of Zac pressed against my back. Zac shrugged, "It'll be fine." "Men." I muttered, turning to look at him, "But how is it now?" "It's fine. It would be better if I hadn't had to use it," he added reluctantly at my sceptical look, "But it'll mend." "Bom". I took his hand and we started walking through the boring ravine. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 9 99 Page 100 Captulo 10 I suddenly laughed as a thought popped into my head, "Gabe told me my name means sheep." Zac laughed, "Sheep? That's terrible!" "Yeah, and he said Gabriel means angelic, so I'm not putting much faith in these meanings." "Want to know what my name means?" He leaned in close at my eager nod, "It means surrender." That made me laugh again, "Surrender? Really?" "Sim". He looked smug, "And you definitely surrendered to me." I groaned, "That was so cheesy." He shrugged, "But true." "I think you surrendered to me as well," I countered. Zac considered that, "Maybe." "You definitely did in the hammock." He smiled at the memory, "Yeah, I liked that hammock." I looked up at the cliff above them, "Look, we managed to get past the flowers," I exclaimed, seeing we'd just passed the last of them. "Good. They were a pain in the arse." "They're flowers! They're not a pain." I chastised him. "They were a bloody pain," he grumbled. "If it wasn't for the flowers, we wouldn't have stopped and ended up having sex up against a tree. And in a tree." I reminded Zac. "Oh yeah. Wonderful things, flowers," he said with a dopey smile on his face, "Trees are pretty wonderful as

well," he added. "You're kinky." Zac grinned, "Wait until you hear what else I've got planned." I elbowed him in the ribs, laughing, before a sobering idea occurred to me; "Zac, how long will it take to finish?" "I don't know. If your tests are all over, maybe a few hours." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 10 100 Page 101 "A few hours? That's all?" Zac squeezed my hand; "I'm taking that as a compliment." "When I get to Heaven, will you be able to come see me?" I asked slightly nervously, feeling like a teenager asking a boy on a date for the first time. "So you've decided you're going to Heaven then?" ele brincou. "Yes. Answer the question." He hesitated before answering, "I can come and see you, but we've only known each other a few days. Are you sure you want me to?" I didn't hesitate, "Yes." "Okay, I'll come visit. Shall I bring the handcuffs?" he added with a naughty smirk. "Only if there's a four poster bed we can use them on." "I might know of a handy four poster we can use." Srio? I arched an eyebrow, "And will the owner mind?" The smirk was back, "Absolutely not." "I'm actually not sure how to respond to that," I told him, lost for words. "I know," Zac told me, "That's the idea." "Ah, your anti-social tendencies are back again." "Yep. Actually, I need to tell you something." I looked up at him sharply, "Sounds serious. What is it?" "It's about the Minotaur." Oh. I shivered, "Do we have to talk about this?" "Yes. You're nearly finished, so you need to know this." "Know what?" I prompted him, eager to get it over with. Zac took a deep breath, and spilled quickly, "You didn't kill the Minotaur." O qu? I stopped walking, "I didn't?" "No." "Wow. How long have you known?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 10 101 Page 102 He was evasive, "A while." "Is this going to start another argument?" I asked, forcing myself to remain calm. He sighed, "Yeah, probably. I couldn't tell you before. I'm only telling you now to put your mind at ease." "My mind was already eased," I lied.

"Right. Of course it was." He dropped a kiss on my forehead, "Getting to Heaven, it's not just a physical jornada. It's mental as well. You need to know you didn't kill anyone." I considered that for a moment, recalling Gabe had said something very similar, "Thanks, I did need to know that actually. Why did Gabe tell me I did kill it?" "I suspect it was mainly to make you doubt yourself. To make you think you weren't good enough." Oh great. I grimaced, "Remind me again why I liked him." "Because he was nice and charming, and you liked his smile." "I never said I liked his smile." I demurred. "But you do," he pressed. "Not any more." Zac grinned at that, "Good answer." "We're nearly there," Zac said. "You sure?" I had no idea how he knew, all this rock looked the same to me. "Yes. You're nervous?" "A little bit. And, I'm going to miss you." I admitted shyly. "I won't be gone long enough for you to miss me," he reassured me with a smile. The ravine came to an abrupt end, opening into a grassy clearing ringed with trees, and a battered wooden door in the middle of the clearing. Seriously, I swear I was the only person who didn't get issued with a map of this place. How had Zac known we were nearly here? Gabe stepped out of the trees opposite us as we walked into the clearing, "Rae, there you are, I've been looking for you everywhere." He smiled. "What a coincidence, I've been avoiding you everywhere." I replied flatly. He laughed, "You're quoting Disney at me? This is real life princess, kissing a frog won't get you a prince." My patience snapped, "Stop playing Gabe, I know you're not an angel. You weren't trying to help me get to Cu. And you lied to me about the Minotaur." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 10 102 Page 103 Gabe smiled and shrugged, realising he'd been found out and dropped all pretences, "I don't recall saying I was going to help you get to Heaven. I just said I was going to get you here." "No, you said you were going to help me get to Heaven." I shot back angrily. Zac rubbed a hand up my back, "Relax. Don't let him get to you." "Good advice," Gabe said lazily leaning against a tree, "And if you think back, I told you I would help you get here, not Heaven. I try not to lie, its far too difficult keeping all the stories straight that way. And anyway, I think you've managed quite well without my help." I glanced anxiously over my shoulder at Zac, then back at Gabe, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He indicated the wooden door, "Does that really look like the gates to Heaven?" , perguntou ele. "I don't think I was a needed here at all." Zac spoke up from behind me, "It might not be the gate to Heaven, but it's not the gate to Hell." "Voc tem certeza?" Gabe asked, "I didn't realise you'd been close enough to see the gates of Hell." Zac ground his teeth, conceding Gabe's point. "You're not needed here," Zac spat at Gabe, "Rae's decided she's going to Heaven, and you couldn't lead her far enough astray to make her change her mind." I looked nervously back and forth between the two angels; Zac angrily glaring at the lazily smug Gabe, and wondered if I should worry about them starting another fight - Zac in particular, as Gabe looked far too comfortable propped up against the tree to start anything. Before Zac could start the impending fight, Gabe shrugged and smiled, having succeeded in throwing me, and probably Zac, off balance and turned back towards the forest. "Good luck, Rae." He called over his shoulder as he walked away. I turned to Zac once we were alone. "E agora?" I asked panicked, "I don't want to go to Hell." "You won't," he said, "Forget Gabe, he was just trying to unsettle you." "Yeah, he did a good job." "Where do you want the door to lead, Heaven or Hell?" , perguntou ele. "Neither. I don't want to die," I whispered. "Good answer. Want to know what I would do in your place?" I nodded, even if I couldn't imagine Zac winding up here. "I'd take a leap of faith. You're not a bad person; you can't go to Hell for a few indiscretions. I'd see what was on the other side of that door." "That sounds so easy," I whispered, looking at the decaying, battered door. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 10 103 Page 104 "It's not," he assured me, "And it's not meant to be. Otherwise there wouldn't be any point in testing you." "Yeah, good point." I looked at the door again, "Now?" Zac nodded, "Yeah." I leant over and hugged him, "Thank you." He hugged me back harder, my bruises from the last few days protesting, but I couldn't bring myself to let go. "I'll be waiting for you. I promise." he whispered against my hair. I stepped away from Zac slowly, and walked towards the door. Taking a deep breath, I took one last look at Zac then opened the door and stepped through into a light so bright it was almost blinding. The ground

seemed to drop out from under my feet, and I felt myself falling before everything went black. I opened my eyes to bright light and the lapping of water against my skin. Blinking in confusion and trying to shake the feeling of deja vu, I looked down to find I was laying in a bath full of steaming water, a razor blade in one hand, poised at the opposite wrist. Memories came flooding back, reminding me why I was holding the blade, and tears spilled down my cheeks. Then more memories followed, of my time spent in purgatory and with Zac. Hands shaking, I carefully put the blade down and stepped out of the bath before I could change my mind. Wrapped in only a towel, I slowly walked into my bedroom, still in a daze, to find Zac sprawled barefoot across my enormous four-poster bed. He smiled up at me, "I told you I'd be waiting." "Oh". Shocked, I leaned against the wall for support, and clutched the towel tighter. Zac climbed off the bed and slowly walked over to where I was holding onto the doorframe. "Rae? Are you alright?" he asked softly. I nodded jerkily, "Yeah, I just wasn't expecting to be here." "No one does." Confused, I raised my head to meet his eyes, "So purgatory leads back here then?" Zac shook his head, "Only for a select few." He took my hand and ran his fingers over the unbroken skin on the inside of my wrist, "You had to decide you wanted to live to come back." "What if I hadn't?" "You would have gone to Heaven." "Bom". I murmured distractedly. As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 10 104 Page 105 Still rubbing his fingers along the inside of my wrist with one hand, Zac wrapped the other arm around me. "You're not taking this very well, are you?" he asked softly. Uh, no. I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder. "It's a lot to take in." "Eu sei." Zac lead me across the room and sat me on his lap in the middle of the bed. "I'm sorry," he whispered, wrapping both arms tightly around my waist and cradling me close to his chest. "What for?" "That I couldn't save you before." "Before when?" "Before, when you killed yourself." "I was the life and death situation you couldn't prevent?" I asked in surprise. "Yes, and if I hadn't been at that ridiculous purgatory boot camp, I would have been here to stop it. You have no idea how shocked I was when I first saw you on the beach." Oh. I sagged against him, "We've had a really rough week, haven't we?"

"Yeah, you could say that." He rubbed a hand down my back, "But I remembered the handcuffs, and the four poster bed, just like I promised." I hid my face against the curve of his neck, appreciating his attempt to lighten the atmosphere, "I forgot all sobre isso. Wait, wasn't there something about silk scarves as well?" "Yeah, I couldn't find any at such short notice. I was hoping you'd have some." Heat flooded my cheeks and Zac smiled. "Eu sabia que voc iria." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Captulo 10 105 Page 106 Chapter 11: Epilogue Eplogo Zac kissed my bare shoulder, "You taste like mint" he said, mystified, "Did you spill toothpaste in the bath?" I pulled the towel tighter around me, although I had no idea why I even bothered. "No, it's my shower gel." Zac bit lightly at my bare skin again, "I like it. What's it called?" "Dirty." He chuckled against my neck, sending shivers racing up and down my spine, "Dirty? Very appropriate." It was actually. Zac kissed me softly, sliding one hand under the towel and tickling his fingers lightly across my waist, then down to my hip. I smiled against his lips and pushed his hand away, "I should get dressed." "Why? I'm only going to get you undressed again straight away." He looked thoughtful for a moment, looking around the room "Actually, where do you keep your underwear? I'll help you get dressed, before I get you undressed." I crawled off his lap, smiling "No, you can go wait outside while I find clothes." Zac followed me off the bed, "I've seen you naked before," he protested. I opened a drawer and grabbed a handful of underwear without even looking at them, "Out, now." I said, pointing to the door. Zac reached behind me and took the underwear out of my hands, "Black lace?" he asked, "My favourite." I rolled my eyes, "Only because it matches you," I said, gesturing to his black shirt and wings. He dropped the frothy underwear on the floor behind him and took a step towards me. I stepped back and bumped into the chest of drawers; Zac smiled and took another step, now so close we were almost touching. He cupped my face in his hands, "You're not really kicking me out while you're getting naked, are you?" ele asked softly. I really wanted to say no. "Yes. If you stayed here, I'd never get around to getting dressed." Zac smiled, "I could take my clothes off as well. Would that help?"

"No!" He slid one hand around to the back of my neck and bit lightly at my bottom lip, pressing the length of his body against mine. I wrapped both arms around his waist, hands exploring under his shirt. "Sure you don't want me naked as well?" Zac asked against my lips. I shook my head and capitulated with a smile, "Take your shirt off." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue 106 Page 107 Zac grinned, "I wasn't expecting that." He half turned away, "Undo me?" I laughed and started to untie the laces down his back, "You sound like the heroine out of a Victorian romance novel." "Want me to swoon across the bed?" he asked mischievously. Laces untied, I pulled the shirt over his head, "Yes." "Srio?" It was my turn to give him a naughty smile, "Yep." Zac threw himself spread-eagled backwards onto the bed, bouncing happily. "That was not swooning," I laughed, straddling his thighs. He shrugged, "It was more fun than swooning melodramatically." "So is this." I leant down to brush a light kiss against the bruise around his eye, "You got these bruises fighting over me, I think I should make them better." Zac tapped a finger against his lips, "I got cut here," he pouted, "It needs kissing better as well." I gave him the lightest, barest kiss on his scratched lips, "Better?" He licked his lips thoughtfully, "No, I think you need to try again." Tart. I kissed him again and Zac wound a hand through my hair, holding me in place, teasing my lips with his lngua. "I thought I was in charge here," I murmured between kisses. "You are." Zac agreed, tugging at the towel and throwing it on the floor, leaving me sprawled naked across ele. "Much better," he decided, gently raking his nails down my spine, making me whimper and squirm contra ele. I reluctantly dragged his hands away; "I didn't finish making all your bruises better." "You gave me that one," he interrupted, as I kissed a developing bruise against Zac's collarbone. I ran my tongue over it lightly, "I did?" "Yeah, in the tree." "I'll skip any that I caused then shall I?" I asked with a mischievous smile. Zac reconsidered, "Actually, I'm not sure I can remember which ones you gave me. You might need to kiss all of them better." I bit down on his throat, then brushed my lips across it with a smile. "No fair making more," panted Zac, "Now you're just teasing me." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue

107 Page 108 I sat up to give him a wide-eyed innocent look, "Tease you? I wasn't teasing you." Distracted from the conversation, Zac smiled somewhat stupidly, running his hands up my ribs where I caught them and laced my fingers through his. "Now you're teasing me," he grinned. "Well, maybe a little," I conceded with a smile. Releasing both of his hands, I carried on kissing and licking my way down his chest until I reached the spot I'd been wanting to bite ever since I saw Zac fighting on the praia. Undoing the first few buttons on his jeans for better access, I lightly kissed at the bruise on his hip, "Does this hurt?" "Little bit. Do it harder." Zac begged. I bit down gently and he groaned, fisting his hands in the covers underneath him. I trailed butterfly kisses and tiny bites around the edge of the bruise, before acquiescing to Zac's pleas for mercy. Pressing open-mouthed kisses to his stomach, my fingers pulled gently at the line of hair disappearing into his jeans. Distracted, I followed it with my tongue until I encountered his jeans inconvenient of him to wear button fly, I mused, they were so much more difficult than a zip to get undone with just my teeth. Shaking my head, I refocused my attention on Zac's opposite hip, slowly tracing my tongue over the outline of his tattoo while he whimpered and begged. I paused to glance up at Zac and admire the view of the half naked angel spread-eagled across the bed, both hands gripping the bed sheets, his chest rising and falling heavily as he panted and begged me to stop teasing. His eyes locked with mine and I slowly, deliberately lowered my mouth to the sensitive skin just beneath his tattoo, sucking on it gently, never breaking eye contact. Zac groaned as I sucked harder, and had to bury both hands in my hair to drag me away before he disgraced se. I had a naughty smile on my face, which was a replaced with one of surprise as he flipped me onto my back, underneath him. Zac didn't give me a chance to react, pinning both of my hands above my head and kissed me roughly, licking into my mouth, demanding and hot while he ground his hips against mine. I wrapped both legs around his waist, arching up against Zac, just a thin layer of denim separating us. Ele groaned into my mouth, "Do that again," he gasped. I rocked my hips against him again, thighs tightening around his waist as I shuddered at the friction and moaned, fingers clenching against his. "Just - yeah, like that," Zac whimpered against my throat, the rough drag of his stubble against my skin

enough to tip me over the edge and groan my orgasm just as Zac moaned his own. "This bed is enormous. You could have a really good orgy on it." Zac gazed up at the canopy, impressed. I giggled and cuddled close to Zac, "Only you would think that about my bed." He raised an eyebrow, "Any man who has ever seen this bed has had that thought." I propped myself up on one elbow, "You're the only person to ever see this bed." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue 108 Page 109 "I am?" Zac looked alarmed. "Don't look so worried, it's a new bed." "Oh. I thought you were going to tell me...." he trailed off, relieved. I laughed, "God, no." "Well you have excellent taste in beds," he said, taking in the huge dark cherry wood four-poster with its floaty white drapes at each post and the piles of snowy white pillows cascading onto the floor. "Nice colour scheme as well, but it makes me feel like I'm corrupting a Disney princess." "Well I was trying to corrupt you earlier, but you took over." I pointed out. He smiled lazily, "Yeah, sorry about that - I like to be in charge." "I noticed. Next time, I'm tying you to the bed so you can't take over." "Promessa"? Hell yes. I collapsed against him, giggling and Zac hugged me to him. "I like you like this," he whispered. "Como o qu?" Eu sorri. "Giggly. Girlie. Relaxed. You had too much to worry about before, you weren't like this then." Very true. I wound both arms around his neck and kissed Zac lightly, "You've changed as well - you're not as grumpy." I ran my palm across his unshaven cheek, "And you still don't own a razor." "Yeah I do. I just don't use it." "I wasn't complaining. Just making an observation." "I know you weren't complaining." I raised an eyebrow, "How?" Zac gave me a slow, naughty smile and nuzzled at my neck, his stubble scratching lightly and I shivered. "That's how." "Don't tease me like that," I groaned, "That's just being mean." "It's only mean if I stop." He did stop then, hearing a loud rumbling, "Was that your stomach?" he asked incredulously. Oops. I blushed, "I haven't eaten in days. Wait, what day is it again?" "Saturday." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue 109 Page 110 "Right, then I haven't eaten in a couple of hours." Zac chuckled, "Want me to make dinner?"

"You can cook?" This time it was my turn to look shocked. Zac mock frowned, "Of course I can cook. Well, I can microwave at least." "Yeah, that sounds more likely. I'd be impressed if you could remember the recipe for toast." I crawled naked off the bed, "I'll cook dinner," I told him, wrapping myself in a soft fuzzy robe. Zac followed me into the kitchen, doing up his jeans as he went. "Any preferences?" I asked, surveying the contents of the fridge. "Food. Lots of it." Zac said absently, wandering around the kitchen, poking around nosily. I left him to his noisy explorations, emptying the fridge onto the counter and started preparing dinner. Zac meanwhile, had found the liquor cabinet and wandered over to the kitchen table with a bottle of tequila. "Got any limes?" he asked. "In the fridge." He rustled around and emerged with limes before opening every cupboard, loudly. I finally turned around, bemused "What are you looking for?" "Salt. Can't do tequila shots without salt." "Bloody Hell." He grinned and grabbed a knife from the block next to me to slice the limes with, "You do dinner, and I'll do the pre dinner drinks," he said, kissing my cheek before retreating to the table. I dumped the ingredients into a pan, and put it in the oven. "Dinner's ready in an hour." I informed Zac, sitting next to him at the table. "Good, leaves plenty of time for me to get you drunk. Hand please." Get me drunk? Uh-oh. I held out my hand, bemused. Zac licked the sensitive stretch of skin between my first finger and thumb, and I wondered if he'd mind me skipping the getting drunk part of the evening in favour of climbing onto his lap. "It works better if you lick your skin before," he said, applying salt to the damp skin, then repeating the process on his own hand and sliding a shot glass of tequila and wedge of lime along the table. I picked up the shot glass in my other hand, "Ok, what's the order?" "Lick. Sip. Suck." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue 110 Page 111 "That sounds ridiculously pornographic." He smiled at my blush, "This should be fun. Ladies first." I licked the salt off my hand and downed the tequila, grimacing at the taste. Zac held out the lime and I bit into it, juice spurting everywhere. "That was nasty. I can't believe you like these things." Zac did his own shot, "It's not about the taste, it's about doing it properly. This is the boring social way of doing slammers."

"The social way? What other way is there?" I asked, mentally kicking myself for asking such a stupid pergunta. "The social way is how you would do them if you were in public. Then there's the slightly less social way of doing it." Zac refilled my glass and shook more salt on his hand before holding it out, "Lick," he ordered. I was sure he wouldn't mind if I misunderstood and licked more than the salt, but restrained myself, leaning forwards to lick the salt off his hand then downing the tequila and lime in quick succession one after the other. "You're right, that tasted much better." Eu concordei. "It gets even better than that," Zac teased. "Really? Show me." I demanded, slightly drunk already. "Ok, but this next shot is mine - lean back." Zac pushed me back against my chair, then leant over to slowly lick a line down my cleavage and applied salt to it. Oh god, I wasn't sure I could cope with him actually licking the salt off. He picked up a wedge of lime and held it out, "Hold this." I took the wedge, turning it over in my fingers, unsure what I was meant to do with it, making Zac laugh in the process, "You're such an innocent," he took the lime back and turned it so it was facing him, "Bite on this." Oh, that made sense. "This really is pornographic," I muttered, biting down on the lime. Zac gave me one of his dirty smiles, then leant over and painstakingly slowly licked the salt from my skin, making sure he got every single grain. He downed the tequila in one quick swallow then bit down on the lime, his teeth teasingly grazing my lips. I interrupted the semi-kiss long just enough to get rid of the lime and pull Zac back down for a proper kiss, licking the lime juice and salt from his lips. Zac all but manhandled me onto his lap, licking at my mouth and tasting the lime and tequila. He pushed the robe off my shoulders and I helped shove it down until it was pooled around my waist and we were touching, bare skin to bare skin. "You realise we've done the mutual orgasm thing more than we've had sex," he mumbled against my lips as I wound my arms around his neck and pulled at his hair. "You kept count?" As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue 111 Page 112 "It wasn't exactly difficult," Zac defended himself, "There was the hammock, then your bed, and we had sex twice."

"Is that your subtle way of asking for more sex?" I asked, "Because you really don't have to be subtle." Zac grinned, "In that case, do you want to do it here on the chair, or on the kitchen table?" "You mean I have to choose?" He considered, "Well, maybe choose which one you want to do first." I wriggled experimentally against Zac, and he tightened his grip on my waist, "The chair?" I suggested innocently. Zac grinned and reached behind me to swiped a chunk of lime from the table, squeezing it and letting the juice spurt everywhere. "Hey!" I exclaimed, looking down at the drops of juice scattered across my bare chest. He smiled up at me innocently, "My bad, let me get you get cleaned up." My laughter trailed off as Zac bent down to lick at the juice sliding down my breasts, "Next time we do slammers, I'm licking everything off you," he said, sucking at a particularly stubborn drop. I ran both hands through Zac's hair, pulling him up to kiss him again, biting at his lips, mouth slick and wet. Zac skimmed both hands down my back and along the underside of my thighs, tickling lightly as I shivered and pulled harder at his hair making Zac moan. "Truce?" I panted against his lips. Zac lightly scraped his fingernails up the inside of my legs, "Not a chance," he whispered against the soft skin below my jaw as I whimpered his name. I could feel him lick his lips, and braced myself for what was coming seguinte. He feathered light kisses up my throat, while his fingers traced intricate patterns up the inside of my thighs. "More. Again." I begged, fingers digging into Zac's shoulders, leaving more bruises. Pausing in his torture, Zac reached down to undo his jeans, buttons flying across the kitchen floor in his haste to get them undone, then pulled me towards him so I could slid down onto him in one long, slow thrust. I rocked my hips slowly against Zac, the friction making me moan and squirm against his chest. He dug his fingers into my hips, leaving his own bruises and urging me move against him faster. Sliding down lower in the chair, Zac was at the perfect height to rake his teeth across the delicate skin on the underside of my breasts in almost bites, while I writhed and moaned above him, hands fisted in his hair, tugging hard enough to make him groan. A filthy smile on his face, Zac traced his fingers achingly slowly up the inside of my thighs until he reached the tender spot that made me beg him for more. He obliged, stroking in smaller and smaller circles until I almost screamed my orgasm while Zac watched, groaning against my throat as he came, biting down hard and

As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue 112 Page 113 making me whimper softly as I came again. Zac pushed sweat-damp hair away from his cheeks as he cuddled me against him. "You've got bruises as well," he murmured, stroking his fingers over the marks on my hips, "Can I kiss them all better for you later?" "I promised you I'd teach to waltz, remember?" asked Zac, flicking through my CD collection. I propped myself up on both elbows on the bed so I could watch Zac wander around my bedroom in the fading sunlight. "I remember. I also remember you almost drowned, so learning to waltz wasn't exactly top of my to do list at the time." Zac selected a CD and skipped through the tracks until he found the one he wanted. "I'm not drowning now, so come here and I'll teach you." I smiled, not moving from the bed, "I can't - I'm not wearing anything." He picked up his t-shirt from where it was crumpled on the floor and threw it at me, "Put this on." I dragged the shirt on, the hem just covering my bottom, "Good enough?" I asked innocently, climbing off the bed and twirling for Zac's inspection. "Bloody Hell," he muttered, distracted by the unlaced back, and the bare skin on display. "I'll take that as a yes." I smiled, hooking a finger in the top of Zac's jeans which were barely staying on his hips, half of the buttons still strewn across the kitchen floor. "Behave." I gave Zac my most angelic smile, "I am." "Yeah, right." He dragged my hands out of his jeans, and placed one on his shoulder. The other he clasped in his hand, "You take one step to your left, then forwards, right and back. Simple." "Unless you have no coordination." Zac slid his free hand down my back to rest at the base of my spine. "And that's not distracting at all." I muttered. He chuckled, "That's the idea." The song playing in the background finished, and a new one started. Zac started to dance, moving them through the puddles of late evening sunshine spilling in through the windows, while I hesitantly followed his conduzir. After a couple of repetitions, we fell into a sort of rhythm and Zac pulled me closer, abandoning the proper stance we had been in and taking steps so small we were almost standing still. I leaned into Zac, my head against his shoulder and he sang along softly; "You do something to me Somewhere deep inside As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte

Chapter 11: Epilogue 113 Page 114 Hoping to get close to A peace I cannot find Dancing through the fire Just to catch a flame Just to get close to Just close enough to tell you that You do something to me Something deep inside." As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Chapter 11: Epilogue 114 Page 115 Other work by Laura J Curran Available on Booksie.com Romance Midnight Fantasy Fantasia Caramel Surprise (Working Title) Created from Booksie.com Generated: 2012-09-22 09:06:11 As meninas boas vo para o cu, meninas ms vo a toda parte Other work by Laura J Curran Available on Booksie.com 115