His bedroom looked exactly identical to the interior of his house. Elegant and bright. The walls were painted white, and the ceiling was a neutral gray. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. A king-size bed was placed in the center of the room, with a black carpet beneath it. Simple furniture in a snow-white color, a large window with long curtains tied apart, and a small couch with a coffee table next to it, which I sat on while Rowan was changing.

This guy had a huge amount of money. More than I thought.

After a few minutes, Rowan entered the room from his closet, dressed in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. I couldn't help myself but stare at his masculine body. He was like a work of art you just had to admire from a distance.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" He asked.

"Coffee at such an hour? Don't tell me you drink it so late every day." I laughed.

He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at me awkwardly, which I found very adorable. "Uhm, of course not. Tea is a better option, huh?"

I nodded, and my lips created a thin line. I again felt weird at someone else's place. I sat at the edge of the couch like a weirdo. When Rowan went downstairs to prepare the tea, I quickly shifted in my place to look more comfortable, but truthfully, I was nervous.

Rowan was the most interesting and well-behaved man I've ever met, but I had a feeling he was hiding something from me the moment he could stand up after being hit by Death. I mean, how could you, without a problem, get up when the Grim Reaper smacked you and you flew like a ball? When Rowan returned with cups of tea, I knew I had to question him.

"How are you feeling now?" I analyzed his body, which looked perfectly unscathed.

He sipped from his tea and choked on it as he heard my question. "I feel...well?" He said.

My eyebrows were raised so high that they almost reached my hairline.

"Take off your shirt," I demanded.

He gawked at me like I was insane, but I had to be sure. I wouldn't make the same mistake I did with Madeline. I mean, Death.

When he didn't do as I asked of him, I got up and walked in front of him. At first, I wanted to just lift his shirt, but I thought of a better plan in case he would protest. Without a warning, I crashed down on his lap, and that took him by such a huge surprise that he froze wide-eyed, staring at me.

I touched the hem of his shirt and swiftly pulled it over his body while he was still in shock. I threw the T-shirt onto the floor like trash and scanned his untouched body. Not a single scratch. Not a single bruise.

I stared at his excellently shaped abs; I had to touch them. His skin was smooth and flawless as I trailed my fingers over his torso. Suddenly, butterflies spread, flying inside my stomach. My cheeks began to burn, and when my eyes met his, there was a moment of desire flicking in his pupils.

That not-lasting moment was destroyed when, behind Rowan's back, a pair of feathered wings unfolded. I flinched so badly that I fell onto my back on the floor. Thankfully, the fall wasn't too bad, as my back landed on a comfortable rug.

"Are you okay?" Rowan's head hovered over me, but I couldn't believe what I was seeing attached to his back. He helped me get up, and I immediately had to sit down; otherwise, I'd be lying on the floor again.

Did I go crazy?

"What? How? Why?" I burst out, holding my forehead.

Rowan sat down next to me and made his wide wings disappear. "I'll explain everything." He cleared his throat. "I had no intention to lie to you, but I first wanted to know what kind of person you are. When I saw you for the first time, I thought you were a dark person because of the way you presented yourself."

I narrowed my eyes at that.

"Anyhow, when I watched you work and interact with people, I saw how kind you were despite looking tired and heavily burdened. For the second time I saw you, I wanted to know you better than just observing you from afar." Rowan kept fidgeting with his hands as he was explaining.

"Wait a minute. I still don't understand why you were stalking me." I said.

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Rowan blinked repeatedly. "Stalk you?! No, no, no, you got it the wrong way, Vivienne."

Watching me from afar isn't stalking, in his opinion?

"I was looking out for you the whole time, not just when I was in the bar."

I raised a brow at him, still not understanding his point.

Rowan sighed out loud, then nervously laughed. "I was protecting you from Death. Since the day he killed a human out of anger. He was always hot-tempered; however, he never killed a human when it wasn't their time to leave. We found it alarming, so I came down to investigate and found out that you became his first victim of fascination."

I didn't know if I should be impressed that the Grim Reaper found me amusing for the first time in his never-ending years of living. Can I say 'living' if he's dead?

All of a sudden, a shiver ran down my spine. How did I happen to be here?

"I know you must be extremely confused right now and even mad at me that I hid this from you when I'm, after all, protecting you," Rowan said.

Confused is not the word with which I'd defined the state of my mind. It made me wonder how much of the world we don't know. Angels exist, even the fallen ones. Is everything we know even true?

Rowan reached out his hand to grab mine. His hand was warm, not like the Grim Reaper's hand-filled with nothing but coldness. Although Rowan did lie to me, I knew deeply in my gut that what he said was the truth. His angelic smile was hard to not smile at as well. Warmth radiated from him. The same cozy feeling I felt with my mother before she lost her spark. From time to time, I wonder why she killed herself. Why did she decide to leave me? But it's all in the past now because I'm by myself to deal with my burden.

"I know you have a lot on your mind; however, I'd be delighted if you spent the night here. Death is not happy about what you said. In all honesty, I found what you said to him pretty amazing since everyone is afraid of him." Rowan wholeheartedly laughed, showing his perfectly white teeth.

I didn't laugh, though. I didn't realize my hands were trembling once I tried to lift the cup of tea. Without Rowan's hand supporting the bottom of the cup, it would be shattered on the floor. Once the cup was secured with his hand, I brought it to my shivering lips, taking a sip of the hot tea.

"Now your leave is not negotiable." Rowan proclaimed. He got up from the couch and headed to the closet. When he returned, he held a large fuzzy blanket that he wrapped around my body like a snail's house.

Despite not liking staying at someone's place, especially a guy's place, I had to agree with his offer because I was in a catastrophic state. I'd probably get kidnapped by Death if I left Rowan's place.

"Uhm, just a small request...could I borrow your phone? Mine is dead." At least that's what I hoped for because if he wasn't dead but crashed because of the fall, I would lose my mind. I don't have money for a new phone.

"Yeah, sure." He handed me his phone, and when I unlocked it, it was like he never used it, but it was understandable since he's an angel.

I'm definitely not weirded out by that fact...

I called Grandma, telling her I'd be staying at my friend's house. I had to say I was staying at Madeline's apartment, even though it wasn't true. I didn't like it when I had to lie to Grandma, but it was a better option than saying I was sleeping in a guy's house.

After I ended the call, Rowan took me downstairs into the kitchen. I said I wasn't hungry, but he insisted I had to have something in my stomach. I watched him as he prepared soup for us. He even put on an apron. I laughed inside my head.

"So, I have a lot of questions, and I do not take no for an answer," I stated.

"I'm ready to answer all of them!" He responded, and I could hear the cutting of some vegetable.

I had millions of unanswered questions, so I had to sort them first in my mind before I asked them out loud.

"The first question is, is this your real body or a disguise?" I wondered.

Rowan chuckled. "Yes, this is my real body, face, and everything you see with your eyes."

I sighed in relief. I couldn't handle another surprise.

Rowan placed all kinds of vegetables inside the pot and stirred them. While it was cooking, he sat opposite me at the dining table.

"The second question is, does Death know that you're here to protect me from him?" This was lingering in my mind for a while. Death is a clever creature. Did he not recognize Rowan as an angel? Or he only pretended to not know?

"Well, Death does know I'm here because he already detected my presence. If you wonder if he knew it was me when he hit me, the answer is yes. Before, he saw me as a light and couldn't see anything except my wings. But today, he touched me. He sensed I was not a human." Rowan explained.

That explained a lot of things. The night he came into my room and suddenly had to leave was probably because of Rowan. If he only knew, he saved me that night because I had no idea what the Grim Reaper was about to do with my legs spread out.

"This might sound ungrateful, but how will you be able to protect me all the time when you're not with me? He comes and goes whenever he pleases into my house. What if he does something to Grandma? Ugh, this is so frustrating!" I exhaled with anger.

"If he wanted to hurt your grandma, he'd already do so. I watched his every move, and he seems to like your Grandma." He said.

"What do you mean by that? Do you want to tell me that Death took a liking for my Grandma and won't kill her?"

"Vivienne, please calm down. I'll protect you and your Grandma. I already have a plan. Oh! The soup-" Rowan ran to the stove to turn the gas down as the soup was bubbling.

"And what kind of plan is that? I'm sorry I'm so arrogant, but you have to understand what I'm dealing with. He does what he wants without a care."

Rowan began to ladle the soup into a ceramic bowl. Once he was done, he placed it in front of me. He took a step back and spread his wings. Rowan's wings were an impressive sight, spanning wide and majestic. It felt like I was in heaven for a second. Some feathers flew out in the process and rocked the air until one landed on top of my head.

"This is the solution," Rowan said, grabbing the fallen feather from my head and placing it in my hand.