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several sets of hands are caressing her, massaging her body from head to toe. Her nipples are aflame. She can hear herself laughing, the kind of high-pitched, nervous laughter that usually rips from her when Andrew surprises her in the shower with a forceful tongue and a throbbing erection.
    As she catches her breath, she sees the golden column above the candle’s flame. It towers over her now, at least seven or eight feet tall. Its celestial light bathes the undersides of the thick oak branches above. The glittering particles swirling madly through the body of the column take on distinct shapes.
    Bare shoulders, the napes of necks, faces turned away from her—three apparitions appear inside the candle’s impossible golden halo, each one worshiping the tiny flame below. As they gain definition, they rise higher toward the branches above, sloughing off more sparkling tendrils.
    Their naked backs are turned to her as they spin. Cassidy sees a woman and two men, their heads bowed, their foreheads practically touching, as if they’re all staring down at the candle that gave them impossible life. It looks as if they’ve been placed on a hovering, spinning dais composed of the candle’s smoke and light. They rise higher into the air, growing in size beyond any proportion that could be called human.
    Then, some threshold is crossed. Suddenly all three figures lift their heads and gaze into each other’s eyes. But there is only a deeper shade of gold beneath their eyelids. And while their expressions are serene, the display should be terrifying, this sudden life force that courses through figures that were mere silhouettes just seconds before. But the woman in the trio doesn’t look like Cassidy at all, and for some reason Cassidy is too startled by this fact to be afraid. The two men don’t look like Andrew and Shane either. She doesn’t recognize their faces at all.
    Both men peel away from the column before Cassidy can study them further. They lose their human shape, columns of glittering gold, rocketing skyward, the branches slicing through them as they ascend.
    Cassidy is alone with the remaining sprit. Almost as tall as the oak branches overhead now, the woman has tuned her placid smile and glittering gold eyes on the bench—and on Cassidy. If it wasn’t for that peaceful, welcoming expression, if it wasn’t for the warm and welcoming color of her impossible form, Cassidy would be terrified of this… ghost? Spirit? Angel? What is it? Who is it?
    Cassidy has no time to decide. Suddenly, the ghostly woman’s face collapses. Her body becomes a single sheet of glittering gold that crashes silently over Cassidy’s body like snow in a downdraft. A shuddering orgasm that’s been building in her since she first lit the candle explodes inside of Cassidy. She hears her ecstatic cries as if from a distance.
    When the darkness returns, it feels as if a blanket has been drawn around her. In contrast to the blinding wash of gold, the garden’s ordinary shadows suddenly feel like a jarring supernatural event.
    Cassidy shudders and gasps. It feels as if the woman’s spirit moved right through Cassidy from her toes to her head, gently dragging her fingertips along every pleasure center in Cassidy’s body during the trip.
    A stab of guilt tries to pierce the layers of bliss, but fails. An orgasm without her husband? It’s not like she was truly alone. Not really. Two other spirits just rocketed skyward, very much like the one that has left her thighs in spasms. But she knows right where they’re headed; she’s sure. Or who they’re headed for. The idea that Shane and Andrew may soon share in this intense, ethereal delight fills her with joy. Not just joy, but also a wild and unrestrained hunger for them both.
     

5
    ANDREW
    With each stroke, Andrew hopes Cassidy will return home before he exhausts himself. When she does, he’ll pull her into the pool by one arm, peel her wet blouse from her breasts with his teeth, grip