She walked out to the guest house late, so late she was sure no one would be up. Not even Domani. Waking him seemed to be the easiest way she could think of speaking to him; she was afraid she might scare him. Not that she could be sure she wouldn’t scare him now…
Sophie eased herself into the unlocked guest house and headed upstairs to the room Claire had told her he was in. His door wasn’t shut all the way; she could see the foot of the bed in the moonlight that fell in through the bedroom windows. She slipped in just as she had downstairs and shut the door quietly behind her.
Domani stirred at the small noise, but it wasn’t until she sat at the foot of the bed that he woke. “Sophie?” he murmured in a sleep heavy voice. She smiled at him, not sure if he would see it but smiling all the same.
“I’m not a ghost,” she whispered after a moment, smile growing as she remembered how that was the first thing she had said to Jake, too. “I’m not a dream, either,” she added more quietly. She couldn’t help herself; she slid slightly closer toward him on the bed.
Domani swore in Italian under his breath, visibly awake now and pushing himself into a sitting position. Nothing she could have said would have stopped him from touching her. His fingers found her shoulder, with a slight accidental force, as he thought they would have gone through her anyway. She felt them shake, as his fingertips grazed the skin of her neck. She tilted her head towards him, leaning into the touch.
“He told me you died,” Domani breathed, hand quickly moving to cup Sophie’s neck.
“I did,” she whispered. His hand stopped – though he didn’t pull it away.
“Then how…?”
Sophie leaned forward even more, eyes on Domani’s. Don’t be afraid, she thought. Don’t be afraid, please don’t be afraid. The air over her back shimmered, visible even in the dark, and faintly her wings appeared. His eyes widened but he didn’t move; his hand still cupped her neck and she watched him look her over. His eyes left hers as her wings appeared, and then slowly came back. She took a deep breath, finding herself without the will to explain. Not yet.
“Claire and Avery,” she murmured, “They’re angels too. I’ll tell you everything…” she trailed off, looking at him looking at her as if his world had ended and been made complete all at once. She lifted both her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks, and after a moment let them fall gently to his shoulders. He watched her the entire time. Slowly, she leaned down ad rested her forehead on his bare chest.
“Oh, Domani,” she breathed, voice barely audible now. Her wings faded away. “I’m so sorry.” A moment passed, and then lightly she kissed his chest. She could feel his heart beat and the way he breathed in suddenly as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.
“How are you real?” he asked quietly. She could still feel his eyes on her, the same way she felt him drag his fingers slowly through the ends of her hair.
“Because you want me to be,” was the only answer she really knew how to give.
He smelled and felt and sounded just like she remembered, despite the eighteen years that had passed. She didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes, only curled her fingers against his shoulders as minutes passed silently. Just as she was about to finally lift her head, she felt his hands on her waist, on her hips and then her waist again, gently sliding up. She sighed, the small exhale warming his chest.
She kissed his chest again, lingering longer this time, just as he started whispering softly in Italian. Her eyes clouded and she closed them again as Domani wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head.
“Would it be silly to say I still hoped you would come back to me?” he asked softly.
Sophie looked up and shook her head. “No,” she whispered. They were looking at each other again, until she touched her lips absently, remembering. Domani hesitated briefly, but gently took her hand away and replaced her fingers with his lips.
Their reactions were instantaneous; Domani slid his hands up her back and both of them parted their lips, barely audible sounds lost to each other. It broke after just a couple minutes, both of them grinning, both of them reaching for each other even though there was no distance to reach across. Happiness, relief and love flooded them both all at once. Domani flipped them over, kneeling over Sophie’s legs as she wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders. She had begun to glow softly.
“This must be a dream,” he whispered, looking at her. Her only answer was to glow up at him, deepening and brightening the longer he looked. “How could you be any more beautiful?” he asked, completely serious. He didn’t give her a chance to answer, and soon her eyes were closed, head turned and neck arched as he kissed his way slowly down to her shoulder.
“I missed you,” he breathed, nearly to himself. Sophie moved her hands, threading both into his hair.
“I know,” she answered, head still turned. He had hooked a couple fingers on the collar of her shirt and pulled it aside to kiss her shoulder. “I felt it constantly.” He kissed the curve of her throat, and she turned her head back to watch him.
“I love you,” she said, cupping and holding his face. “I never stopped.”
Domani smiled. “E ti amo,” he murmured. They paused, just looking at each other again, Sophie’s hands still lightly holding Domani’s face and his fingers still hooked into her shirt, stroking her shoulder softly. Time seemed to dissolve around them.
Sophie slid her arms around his neck again and eased him down close enough to kiss, finally. They could have stayed just like that, watching each other, for hours - hours that they had lost. Domani let out a small breath, whispered her name, and with that any hesitancy seemed to snap between them. Their kisses became harder, more desperate, and they grabbed at each other, trying to get closer even though closer was not possible. On both of their minds were the years that had passed without each other, and that loss that they had each carried within, just beneath the surface.
Clothes were quickly ripped off, the bed sheets shoved aside, limbs tangled. He flushed at the noises she made when he touched her, his fingers rougher than she remembered. She kept her eyes open for as long as she could, watching the colour spread over his face and chest, watching him move over her until she felt like she would combust. Their gasps and moans filled the room, making the air thick and hot. The pleasure mounted quickly, the two of them so tangibly desperate for each other it was as if either one of them might disappear at any moment were they not inside, wrapped around, and touching each other in every possible way. Names were breathed, gasped, cried out as loud as they dared; nail marks left as they gripped each other hard enough to break their skin, arching and thrusting together in seamless movements. Their need was spoken through their movements and rhythm, their frantic grabs and gasps, until finally both of them felt it. Complete.
The room quieted again with a shudder and a sigh, Sophie sprawled across the bed and Domani breathless over her, moaning with one last slow thrust of his hips. She ducked and hid her face against his forearm; skin flushed an uneven pink in the moonlight. Domani sunk down next to her after a moment, collapsing at the side her face was turned to. She immediately lifted her face to his and he kissed her softly. He kissed her again, until she moaned into his mouth, feeling him draw her to him without even a touch. She pressed her hand to his chest, curling her fingers over the damp skin over his heart.
“I love you,” she was whispering, without realising, over and over again. He kissed it off her lips each time, whispering it back, wrapping her up in his arms. When she quieted, there were no sounds except Domani’s breathing, slowly evening out. They laid there like that, noses touching, his breath on her lips, until she could hear him start to fall asleep.
“Bella mia,” he whispered, softly stroking her skin where his hand was at her back.
“Always,” she whispered back. She tilted her head up just slightly, kissing him again and lifting her hand to sweep aside the damp strands of his hair. She kept her hand there, kissing his face; his lips softly again, the corner of his mouth, then his jaw, his cheek, his temple. Finally she kissed his forehead and let his hair fall back, smiling as he smiled at her. He shifted and brought his hand around to take hers and thread their fingers together between them.
They stilled again and Sophie watched as he fell completely back to sleep, thinking about the look on his face when he would wake up to see her in the morning.