Chapter Eight
Temptation
Fuelled by fury, Nathaniel rocketed upwards at cosmic speed. Knowing Devlin wouldn’t give up without a fight, he wished he’d worn stretch pants instead of a robe, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t worn his sword, but every second counted and there was no time to go back.
As he zoomed through the atmosphere, he wondered why he’d been so careless. He should’ve been prepared for Devlin to be so underhanded that he’d take Eloise’s soul while she was under anaesthetic, especially after he’d threatened to kidnap her. Eloise was the sweetest and most precious ward he’d ever had and he didn’t know what he’d do if anything happened to her. He just prayed he was heading in the right direction. If not, who knows where Devlin would take her.
Propelling himself higher, he darted around the stars and shot towards the Heavens. He had to get to Eloise before Devlin bargained with Lucifer, that’s if he hadn’t already.
Once Devlin’s cloud came into view, Nathaniel slowed his pace, then as softly as he could, he swooped beneath it. When he looked up, he could clearly see Devlin next to Eloise on his bed, but worse, his arm was around her shoulders and he was stroking her face. With rage zapping his core, Nathaniel balled his fingers into fists. He wanted to crush Devlin’s head with his bare hands and scorch his wings off forever, but there was no time for that. He had to get Eloise back into her body, and fast. Stretching his arms up, he burst through the cloud and grabbed her by the waist, then holding her tight, he back-kicked Devlin with all of his strength, sending him tumbling backwards into the dark night sky.
Eloise writhed and thrashed in his arms as she tried to free herself. “What are you doing? Let go of me.”
Gripping her tighter, Nathaniel flew off into the night. “It’s okay, settle down. I won’t hurt you.”
“Oh, my God!” she squealed, peeking below. “Please don’t drop me! I’m scared of heights.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.” As he held her to his chest, he realised with shock that she was totally naked, and for the first time in his whole existence he felt the stirrings of something he’d never known. With his loss of focus, they began plummeting towards Earth at full speed.
Eloise clung to his neck and screamed in his ear, bringing his mind back to attention.
He blinked twice, then in a flash, he adjusted his wings and shot upwards. He couldn’t understand it. He’d held thousands of souls throughout the centuries, yet none had disturbed him like that before.
Trembling in his arms, she stared at him. “Holy Crap! You’re the bad angel, aren’t you?”
Nathaniel threw his head back and laughed. He was so ecstatic he’d managed to save her, he didn’t care if she believed Devlin’s lies, but he wanted to put her mind at ease. “Of course I’m not.”
“Take me back,” she yelled. “I’m scared of heights and I don’t believe you.”
“I wish you’d stop screeching in my ear like that.” He flew to a nearby cloud and put her down, then he whipped his robe off.
“Oh, my god,” she screamed, crouching into a ball with her hands over her breasts. “What are you doing?”
There was a full moon and now that he was facing her, he could clearly see she was terrified of him. Ashamed of himself, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “It’s all right, Eloise. Don’t worry, I’m not a bad angel and I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just giving you my gown.” As he tugged it over her head, their eyes locked and he froze. Even as a spirit she was beautiful.
After quickly adjusted the robe, she looked him up and down and smirked.
He glanced down at the skimpy piece of silk he was wearing around his hips and silently cringed. Then he lifted her back into his arms to hide his embarrassment as well as his nakedness.
Holding onto his shoulders, she gazed into his eyes. “Have I died and gone to Heaven or am I in Hell with a demon?”
“Neither,” he said, zooming off into the night again. He’d never felt so energised in his entire existence and he didn’t know what to make of it, but as he zipped under the moon, she clung on tighter and rested her head against his bare chest.
“I’m still scared,” she said. “So don’t drop me.”
“It’s all right, Eloise, I would never drop you.”
She glanced up at him again. “This is just crazy. I must be having a nightmare. Who are you and how do you know my name?”
“I’ll tell you soon, but hold on because I’m about to descend.”
“Oh, please don’t go fast again,” she pleaded, gripping onto his bicep.
He jerked as a power surge shot up his arm, but instead of plummeting again, he sailed on a breeze, then swerved to the right. What was she doing to him?
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Please slow down.”
He smiled. “Don’t panic, you’re safe with me.”
As she squealed into his ear, he zigzagged around the twinkling stars and pointed to a meteor storm. “Look, Eloise. You have to see this.”
She gazed up and gasped, “Wow! That’s so beautiful. What is it?”
He flew to a nearby cloud and put her gently down. “It’s actually a shooting star, but you’re seeing it close up.” With his arm around her shoulder, they watched as shiny pieces of stardust fell from the sky like raindrops from Heaven.
Laughing, she reached out to touch them, but they were too far away. She smiled up at him, her eyes luminous. “I don’t know who you are, but I must be having a beautiful dream. I’ve never seen anything like this before.
He knew he should take her back to the hospital, but first, he wanted to give her something to protect her from Lucifer. She’d obviously lost her crucifix. Picking her up with one arm, he raised the other above his head and rocketed upwards. As Eloise held onto him, he grabbed one of the particles, then swooped down, plummeting below the mist and heading back to Earth.
She waved her right arm up and down. “I’m a bird.”
Nathaniel smiled. She looked more like an angel than a bird, especially the way her hair was blowing around her face.
When they descended beneath the clouds, the vast oceans and city lights came into view. Eloise threw her arms around his neck. “Holy crap. Now I can see how high up we are, I’m really scared. Oh, please, don’t let me fall.”
As she shivered with fear, he squeezed her tighter to his chest. “Hey, I’m an angel. Don’t you trust me?”
She gripped his shoulders and gazed into his eyes. “I don’t know what to believe.”
Nathaniel quickly looked away. Being so close to her was giving him strange pleasurable vibrations and they were causing him to lose focus. Shaking his head, he forced himself to pay more attention to where they were going. As he flew towards the beach, Eloise peeked over her arm. “Oh, my God, there’s Creed Valley. You’re taking me home.”
“Not exactly,” he said, but before he had a chance to finish what he was saying, she gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. Stunned at her actions, he blinked as a jolt of electricity shot from his lips to his toes. Her face was so close to his and her eyes were mesmerising him, sending his mind into a spin.
“Watch out,” she screamed, gripping hold of his hair. “We’re going to drown.”
When he snapped back to reality, he was shocked to see they were plummeting at full speed towards the Tasman Sea. Alarmed at his own carelessness, he propelled himself upwards, only seconds before they hit the ocean. Jesus Christ! What was she doing to him? At this rate, God would burn his wings off before ever getting to Devlin’s. Shaking his head, he glanced sideways at her, but she was too busy staring down at the water to notice his reprimand. When they reached the lookout, he fluttered gently down and landed on the cliff top. “There you go. Now you’re safe,” he said, furling his wings behind his back and putting her on the ground. “Though you’re lucky we didn’t fall into the sea after what you just did to me.”
Her brows bunched into a frown. “What do you mean? You’re th
e one who was navigating, not me. I’m not an angel.”
He smirked. “Aren’t you?” He was tempted to tell her she was the descendant of one after what she’d just done to him, but he couldn’t do that.
She squinted at him. “Look, why have you brought me here? You’re obviously not human and I was supposed to be in the hospital. I feel like I’m wide awake, so I can’t be dreaming. Please, you have to tell me the truth. I’m dead, aren’t I?”
He brushed a stray curl from her forehead and smiled. “It’s all right, Eloise. You’re not dead. You’re just having a dream and I’m a figment of your imagination.” He hated lying to her, but if he told her the truth, it would put her life in danger.
Folding her arms, she looked him up and down. “I so didn’t imagine you.” Then she bit her lip. “But I guess you are the sort of boy I’d dream about.”
“Oh, I’m a boy, am I?” Before she could answer him, he grabbed her right wrist and opened her fingers, then he placed the silver rock in her hand. “I want you to always keep this for good luck and protection.”
As she stared in awe at the glittering crucifix-shaped stone in her hand, her mouth dropped wide open. “Oh, my goodness. It’s the most beautiful gift I’ve ever been given.”
“If you get your father to drill a hole in it, you could wear it around your neck like the crucifix you lost.”
She looked up at him. “How do you know about my necklace?”
Uh-oh, he’d slipped up. Thinking quickly, he said, “Because you dreamed me up, so I think and say whatever you want me to.”
She raised a brow. “That’s bullshit because if I really did dream you up, you wouldn’t have rejected my kiss.”
He blinked twice. “I didn’t reject your kiss. I’m an angel and angels don’t kiss. Surely you know that from your bible classes.”
“Whatever,” she said, holding the crucifix tightly in her hand. “I can take rejection. You don’t have to make excuses.”
Holy Heaven, now what had he done? He quickly crossed himself. How could he have let her get a crush on him? He certainly hadn’t encouraged it, had he? He frowned, knowing he’d better get her back to the hospital before she got him banished to Earth forever.
Feeling guilty for wasting precious time, he scooped her into his arms and flew towards the hospital.
“Where are you taking me?” she said, snaking her arms around his neck and gazing into his eyes again.
Nathaniel scowled. He wished she wouldn’t look at him like that. She was awakening something in his soul he never knew existed, but what? Heavens above, is this what happened to Devlin? Had a human tempted him, corrupted him? He gave her a stern look. “I’m taking you back to the hospital because your dream is ending.”
She pouted. “But it’s my dream and I don’t want it to end.”
“You have no choice. It’s dangerous to astral travel for too long.” He wanted to tell her it was also dangerous for him to be with her like this, but that would just encourage her.
She tugged on his curls. “But you still haven’t told me your name.”
He grinned. “You dreamed me up, so I don’t know my name.”
“Well if I did, I should’ve made you ugly.”
Smirking, he sailed through an open window on the fourth floor of the hospital and headed straight to her recovery room. While watching a medic working on her physical body, Nathaniel flipped her spirit in his arms so she couldn’t see what was happening. Then hovering above the hospital bed, he spoke softly to her. “Your dream is ending now, Eloise, and you’ll wake up soon.”
She shook her head. “No, please don’t leave me. I don’t want to wake up yet. You haven’t told me who you are or why you snatched me away from that other angel.”
Nathaniel scowled. “What did he tell you?”
“He said his name was Devlin and that he was my guardian angel. Then he said he loved me and he’d always protect me.”
“Listen, Devlin’s not your guardian angel, Eloise, but I am. You have to believe me. Please, tell me you’ll never listen to him? He’s a bad angel.”
When the doctors began to panic, Nathaniel knew he had to let her go. But as he readied himself to send her soul back into her body, she reached up and kissed his mouth again, sending a surge of electricity right to his core. As his whole being vibrated, he dropped her onto the hospital bed.