Author Note: Hello everyone! I know it's been a long time, but I need to get back into the writing groove before I tackle my other writing projects. I thought this would be a great place to practice since I need people to be accountable to or I'll just put off writing a little longer. Plus, you guys always make me feel like I'm home.

Anyway, this little story was originally wrote as a smutty one-shot, but I decided to change it a bit and make it into a story after Kyla713 and EricasTwilight took a look at it and helped with some plot bunnies. THANKS GIRLS! I'm not sure how often I'll post, because I'm kinda busy with a new job and some other stuff, but I've always been consistent at posting so I won't leave you hanging.

Please forgive that every chapter will be a first draft and those are usually the roughest form of writing.

ENJOY!

~O~

Chapter 1

Rain.

Vapors that rise out of lakes and oceans, like long lost spirits seeking the restful paradise that prophets of old promised to those faithful followers. It ascends upward, ever upward, until the mist reaches heaven where it cools and then falls back to the earth in a grand dance of precipitation. It cleanses, brings renewed hope to a barren land and it sustains all living things.

It's also a huge pain in the ass when you're trying to get over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Edward zipped around a minivan crawling across the bridge at a snail's pace and spewed a string of curses that would have made his Catholic mother blush. "Idiot California drivers," he muttered when he cooled off a little. Californians just didn't know how to drive in rainy weather. He'd lived in the Bay area for almost twelve years, reporting the weather changes on the evening news, and it still baffled him that a small rainstorm could cause such havoc.

He glanced at the clock on his radio and muttered another curse. There was no way he would be on time to the blind date his sister had set up. Not that he was thrilled with the prospect of sitting through another long dinner and feigning attraction in a woman who was probably as superficial as all the rest. He smiled and picked up his phone. With any luck, he could use the rain and the accident he'd passed at the mouth of the bridge as an excuse to cancel the dreaded date altogether.

"Don't you even think of backing out now," Alice snarled when she answered the phone. "You'll like this one, I promise."

"I'm sorry, sis. I'm stuck in traffic on the Iron Horse," he lied as he passed a semi-truck and flipped his wipers on high to accommodate the saturation of water from its tires. "With traffic this bad it'll take me at least two hours to get to the restaurant."

She let out a long sigh and he could imagine the epic eye roll she would have bestowed on him if he'd stood in front of her. "I'll see if she's available tomorrow. You will be able to make it tomorrow, won't you?"

He managed to restrain the frustrated groan that came to his lips. "I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

"Work."

"Give me a break, Edward. It's Saturday. You know all I have to do is turn on the evening news and see if you're lying or not."

"A lot more happens behind the scenes than in front of the camera," he said with a defensive tone.

"Whatever," she said, dismissing his argument. "I'll make sure to pick a restaurant closer to the station so you won't get stuck in traffic again."

Before he could protest, she hung up. With a sigh, he tossed his phone on the seat next to him. It bounced off the seat and landed on the floor. He would have normally left it where it landed, but the screen lit up, indicating a misdial.

"Dammit," he muttered as he reached over and plucked the phone up.

Screeching tires brought his head up with a snap as blinding rain poured over his windshield in curtains. The sound of crunching metal and breaking glass met his ears. He closed his eyes, pictured the headlines on the morning news, and succumbed to the irony of the situation.

Popular weatherman killed by freak torrential storm he didn't predict.

~O~

His mother always told him that hell was searing pain, screaming and wailing, along with gnashing of teeth. Whatever the hell that meant. He felt none of those things, and so he questioned whether he really died. However, the quiet didn't seem to fit with what he remembered before he blacked out. How long had he been unconscious?

He opened his eyes and stared up into a darkening sky. Small clouds floated overhead while the light from the sinking sun shone through a break in the formation. Edward pulled himself into a sitting position and stared at his mangled Volvo wedged underneath a box truck. No one could have survived that accident, but here he sat. Or did he? He looked for some indication of what happened, but no one was around. It was as if aliens came down and beamed everyone off the Golden Gate and left him to deal with the aftermath.

Panic rose in his chest and he stood, staring at the wreckage as if it would give him answers. He moved around to the driver's side and was about to peer inside when a movement in his peripheral vision made him look up. The clouds seemed to move at that exact moment, blocking out the last rays of sunshine and making him question what he saw.

A silhouette of a woman slowly walked toward him made him blink a couple of times as he told himself that the wispy wings that fluttered behind her were only a figment of his imagination. He shook his head and when they didn't disappear, he rationalized that they were clouds or fog set off in the distance. He must have hit his head harder than he thought and his depth perception was off.

She advanced with a slow, precise step as if afraid she'd frighten him if she moved too quickly. The gauzy material that covered her body rippled in the breeze off the ocean and Edward again took note of the quiet. Even hovering over the bay, he expected to hear birds, the sounds of the city, or even the ocean, but it was as quiet as if he were under water. He snapped his fingers, just to make sure he hadn't gone deaf and the sound echoed like a shotgun blast. The woman stopped before him and he looked up from his fingers, confused and dazed by what was happening.

At that moment, the clouds parted and he received his first vision of an angel. Stunning doe like eyes stared up at him through thick black lashes. They were beautiful, but the expression of kindness and wisdom were what rendered him speechless. She smiled as if she could read his mind and he had a sudden urge to touch her mouth. Her pink lips were full and looked as soft as the most delicate rose petal. He shook his head and wondered where the poetry that seemed to sing in his mind had come from. He'd never been a romantic, and the thoughts and feelings she stirred in him didn't quite befit an angel. Maybe a fallen one.

She seemed to laugh at him as she took his hands in hers and gave a small shake of her head. Her dark mahogany hair tumbled over one shoulder with the motion and fell in waves to her breasts. He averted his eyes and told himself that he did not see the trace of her dark nipples through the fabric.

He was definitely going to hell.

She stepped closer and he tried to ignore the flutter of soft-feathered wings behind her and focused on her upturned face. He cleared his throat as she moved closer. "Am I dead?" he asked through a hoarse voice. He'd heard enough bible thumping from his mother to last a lifetime, but he never took much stock in her beliefs. However, with this gorgeous creature standing in front of him, he wasn't so sure.

She smiled and slid her arms around his neck. It wasn't lost to him that she didn't answer his question, but before he could ask again, she pressed her mouth to his. The only way he could describe the kiss was like life shooting through him. Every nerve in his body vibrated with an all-consuming need for her. He wanted to possess her and felt like he would die a thousand horrifying deaths if he didn't get the chance.

As her mouth parted and he tasted her, he thought that maybe this was a malicious trick. Maybe he was in hell and this angel would be taken away from him, leaving him wanting and hungry for all eternity. He deepened the kiss, determined to feel every measure of her offering before she disappeared from his imagination. She melded into him and his arms wrapped around her small waist, pulling her closer and feeling her soft curves as they pressed against him.

He groaned in protest when she pulled away, but when he opened his eyes, he knew he had reached heaven. The bridge and tangled car wreck disappeared and in its place was an empty room with a brightness that should have hurt the eyes, but instead soothed and comforted. She took his hand and pulled him further inside and he looked out the wide doorway that led out onto a patio of white granite. Beyond, a Caribbean blue ocean lapped gently at the fine sand that stretched as far as the eye could see while a warm balmy breeze ruffled his hair.

"What is this place?"

She turned and looked at him over her shoulder and smiled again, causing his heart to pick up in anticipation. She didn't answer. Instead, she led him over to the middle of the room and turned to face him. The smile, playing at the corners of her lush mouth, persuaded him to take her into his arms. All thought of heaven and hell forgotten as she melded into him. He bent to kiss her once more, but she leaned back and touched his face to stop him. The confusion must have been written on his face because she smiled in reassurance. Her fingers, cool against his cheek, slid downward until they traced his upper lip.

"If we make love, we'll never be free of each other," she whispered in a sultry, yet innocent voice that stirred a feeling deep within his chest.

He kissed her, too consumed with the bigger fear that if he didn't make love to her, he'd lose his mind. Everything about her spoke to his soul and he knew that he would do anything to spend eternity loving her. The touch of her tongue to his sent a spark of fire through his veins and he wrapped his arms around her, needing to touch every inch of her. As his hands moved up her back, it registered in the recesses of his mind that it was smooth and what he imagined as wings must have been a hallucination. Convinced that he was going crazy, he reveled in the thought that he'd rather be crazy with her in his arms than be sane without knowing her touch.

He felt himself falling, metaphorically and physically. Stripped of their clothes in an instant and separated only by skin, they tumbled onto a cushion of softness that materialized out of thin air.

He lowered himself onto her body and took her face in his hands as his hips melded perfectly between her thighs. His cock slid between the softness of her lower lips and he stifled the urge to push into her. She groaned softly and the sound was music to his ears.

"Tell me your name," he whispered against her mouth.

Her eyes, so filled with love, looked up at him and began to tear up. She shook her head and arched her back until she kissed him. "I need you. Make love to me," she said, lying back and pushing her hips upward. The tip of his cock slid between her folds and he was surprised she was already wet and waiting. In any other circumstance, he'd want to explore this beautiful creature's body, but his need to be inside her was almost unbearable.

He kissed her again and slid his hand down her stomach and over her hip until he gripped her thigh. With a gentle nudge, he pulled her knee up, opening her to him. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled the sweet smell of jasmine as he slid into her. She pulled him tighter and lifted her hips to accommodate his long cock.

He almost lost it like a rookie.

"Damn," he said with a groan and gritted his teeth. Every hair on his body vibrated with energy that seemed to come from the woman beneath him. How could he have had sexual encounters and never known this feeling? Nothing compared and he knew that he'd only ever feel it with her.

Slowly, he slid out of her and the dance began. She gripped his back and rotated her hips upward as they met his. The slow, methodical grind of flesh on flesh brought him to the edge just as her moans of pleasure became more frenzied. Her fingers clutched at his hips and her body stiffened as she let out the sweetest noise he'd ever heard. Edward rode out her orgasm with a sense of satisfaction and let himself feel the desire she invoked with her warm body gripping him so perfectly.

His thrusts became more erratic, so he slowed down to try and prolong the sensation. However, she was having none of that. With a forceful shove, she rolled him over onto his back and climbed on top. When she slid back down on him, he gripped her hips to get her to take it slow. She laughed and shook her head.

"You're not in charge anymore, love," she said.

He groaned and released her hips, giving her the opportunity to do as she wished. She smiled and began a slow glide against him. He watched, mesmerized by the flat expanse of her stomach as it rolled with every forward thrust. Her breasts bounced ever so slightly while her long mahogany hair brushed the tip of her rosy nipples.

He held a breast in his hand and her head fell back, pushing herself further into his palm while she continued to slide against him. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and brought her down so he could take her nipple in his mouth. Her skin was covered with a light coat of perspiration, but she tasted sweet, not salty. He devoured her chest, switching from one breast to the other until she drove him closer to his release.

The need to come became so strong that he couldn't hold it back any longer. With gentle hands, he drove the other into her hair to hold her closer as he thrust his hips upward. She moaned again and he wondered if he held out a few more seconds, he could give her another orgasm. He pushed his face into her neck and kissed it while he kept thrusting into her. Her breathing picked up and he began to let himself go, knowing that she was only a couple drives away from her own release. Her orgasm came just as surged through him as well.

She lay against him until their breathing became less labored and then he rolled them over so they were facing each other.

"What is this place?" he asked again.

She gave him a sad smile, but just when he thought she might tell him, his eyes began to droop. He tried to fight the feeling that came over him, but couldn't. He grasped at her back and brought her closer.

"I don't want to leave you."

"Shhhh, Edward," she whispered. "Sleep and I'll be here when you wake up."

Edward nodded and let his eyes fall closed. He never wanted to go back. He wanted to stay with this beautiful woman for eternity and he'd do anything to make that happen.

~O~

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Please let me know what you think of the first chapter. You never know, your ideas and suggestions just may make it into another chapter.

Until next time…

Annalyse