The intensity of our lovemaking steadily increased. My need for him grew stronger and stronger, and I rode him with a ferocity that was still tender and full of the love that burned between us. I loved the feel of him, loved how I could thrust him into me, hard and deep. And yet…

"It's not enough," I murmured. "We're still not close enough." It might have been a foolish sentiment, considering we were as physically close as two people could be. But Seth understood.

"I know," he gasped. "I know. We'll never be close enough."

Joy lit his face then, and when he came, his body arched up toward mine. I leaned down and increased my rhythm and hardness, wanting so badly to be even closer and have as much of him in me as I could. His mouth parted in a soft moan that mirrored my earlier one, and when he started to instinctively close his eyes, he quickly opened them again to stay locked with my gaze. There was no looking away between us, no avoiding what we felt. As I stared into his eyes and felt his body's trembling fade, energy seemed to crackle between our souls in a way that had nothing to do with succubus soul-stealing.

Carefully, I eased myself off him and lay down on my side again, draping my body over his. I was drowning in feeling and emotion.

"Georgina," he murmured, pulling me closer. "You are the world."

I'd heard that somewhere before, but I was too overwhelmed to parse it much. I was too lost in Seth. Instead, what I said was unoriginal but absolutely true: "I love you."

When it was over, I rested my cheek against his chest while still staying mostly on my side. His heart beat heavy beneath my hands, and the smell of his skin and sweat nearly overpowered me. I lay there, perfectly still, scarcely daring to breathe. I was afraid that if I moved too much, I'd break this spell, this dream that I'd somehow stumbled into.

Slowly, carefully, Seth ran his fingers through my hair, idly twining the strands into loops. He let his hand drop and shifted slightly, just enough to press a kiss to my forehead. I exhaled and snuggled closer, realizing that I really wasn't going to wake from this dream.

At least, that's what I thought until his cell phone rang.

The ring was "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2, not a particularly hard or jarring song but one that made me flinch anyway. For a moment, we each held our breath, both of us frozen. I wanted the phone to disappear off the face of the earth, to get smote the way I kept fearing some demon would smite me. I needed it to go away because if it kept ringing, it meant none of this was real. That we were going to have to face reality.

But it was already too late. The spell was broken. The phone was reality.

"You should answer that," I said.

He hesitated for the space of two heartbeats, sighed, and then slowly disentangled himself from me, still careful of my back. Sitting on the side of the bed, he reached down and pulled the cell phone from his jeans pocket. I shifted over, staying propped up on one elbow, admiring the shape of his body, even as a strange, bittersweet feeling began spilling through my heart. I knew, without knowing how I knew, that it was Maddie.

"Hey. Yeah…I got caught up with…um…" Seth paused, and I sensed something monumental about to take place. "I got an idea for this latest chapter."

I closed my eyes. In all the time I'd known him, I'd never heard Seth outright lie.

"Right. Yeah. Okay. Um, if I leave now, I can probably make it in…oh, twenty minutes. Mmm-hmm. You want me to pick you up, or…? Okay. See you there."

He disconnected and continued sitting with his back to me, clasping the phone in his hands. Although he sat up straight, he had the air of someone hunched over, weary with defeat.

"You have to go?" I asked.

He looked back at me, anguish on his face. "Georgina…"

I managed a weak smile. "It's okay. I wasn't tricked here. I understand the situation."

"I know, but I want you to realize that it wasn't…that I didn't…"

He didn't need to finish. One of the things I'd always loved about Seth was his open, honest nature. Occasionally he'd been able to hide his feelings from me, but more often than not, they shone through on his features. This was one of those times. With a single look, I saw what was in his heart, that he hadn't had sex with me because I was easy or available. He'd done it because of how he felt about me, because he loved-still loved-me. It made all of this that much worse.

"I know," I said softly.

After one more kiss to my forehead, he put on his clothes. I watched each move hungrily, uncertain if I'd ever see anything like it again. When he was dressed and ready to go, he sat beside me on the bed, playing with my hair again. Again, those golden brown eyes spilled over with emotion. He was overcome and confused. I was too, but for his sake, I tried to appear strong and articulate.

"It's okay," I said. "It was great. Amazing…but I understand that we shouldn't have and that we can't ever…" So much for articulation.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"It was just this once. And it was perfect."

"Just this once," he repeated.

I couldn't read his voice, but something told me he wasn't entirely happy about that. Neither was I, but honestly, what could we do? We'd succumbed to passion, and now he had to go back to his girlfriend. End of story.

He tipped my head back, and our lips met in a soft, warm kiss. It was brief, only a few moments, but I felt that same, soul-deep connection that had consumed me during sex. He stood up and studied me for a few moments more, as though he might not ever see me again. I felt a little silly lying there naked, but his expression told me he thought I was beautiful.

He left after that, and I stayed in bed, drunk on my own feelings. Aubrey joined me, curling up against my leg.

"Was that how it was supposed to be, Aubrey?" I couldn't decide. Certainly the sex had been everything I'd ever imagined with Seth. But this afterglow? It was a bit lacking. Nothing about the situation was normal. I had no prior experience to fall back on.

After almost a half hour of staring at nothing and reaching no conclusions, I got out of bed. I was still reeling from what had happened, and my body burned with what Seth and I had done. I usually liked to shower after sex, but not today. I could smell Seth on me, his sweat and even a faint trace of the leather-and-apple cologne he used sometimes. I couldn't stand to wash him off yet, so I put the old cotton robe back on. Ratty or not, its fabric was soft against my bruised skin.

As I was about to leave my room, I noticed the photo of the medallion on the floor. I picked it up, intending to set it on my nightstand, and froze. There was writing on it.

Inked with a black Sharpie, neat handwriting read: Smoky quartz indicates earth or a oneness with the earth . The symbols on the medallion were circled, with lines drawn out from each one, leading to brief notes: this indicates an affinity for water, a harmonious, blending state; this is similar to the water one, except it's for the earth; this is a masking symbol, meant to shield the object it protects and keep the seal strong; this one's strange, indicates blankness or whiteness-maybe white sand or stones?; this is the symbol for tears-combined with the water sign, probably indicates salt water .

I reread the notes three times. Where had they come from? When had this happened? I retraced my steps, trying to figure out when I'd abandoned the picture. There'd been no writing when I showed it to Dante. The most likely time would have been while I was out for food. Someone could have also theoretically broken into my home and done it while I was with Carter in the living room, but sneaking past the angel seemed pretty out there.