Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2) (22 page)

Hunter and I had gotten close again during
the last few weeks. On more than one occasion (with Eli’s permission) we went
out under the oak trees and hung out. During that time it felt like we were
just two normal people. Although we started getting on better, it was still
nothing like it used to be, but I was comfortable enough around him to have fun
and joke around.

Today was the day before we left for Gerald
Harbor. As usual, I was waiting for Eli to collect me for training. The early
starts still sucked but at least I got to go back to sleep afterwards until
nightfall.

Sure enough, three soft knocks landed on my
door. I pulled it open and his gorgeous smiling face greeted me.

“Are you ready for one last training
session?”

“More than ready.”

We warmed up, we ran, and then went into
our usual defense and offense techniques. Eli and I crouched before each other.
I could tell by his eyes that he was going to go all out on me. It was my last
training session; he needed to see if I was ready. He lunged at me and I dove
out of the way. With a tumble roll I managed to find my footing immediately and
I was facing him again. His face was tense but his eyes watched me with pride.

He dove at me again and I was too busy
admiring him admiring me to react in time. As I tried to side step him he
caught my arm.

The double arm grab.
I knew exactly what to do. He pulled me
toward him but I bent my elbow, using his strength and momentum against him. I
dropped my rear shoulder, giving me extra strength in my legs. Before Eli had a
chance to regain his balance, I kicked his knee. I didn’t kick it hard enough
to displace it but hard enough to know I meant business. As his knee gave out
from under him, he bent over in pain and I pulled the stake from my back
pocket, pressing against his back and above his heart.

Eli stood up, neither of us panting hard
enough for his liking. “Not bad.”

“Another one,” I demanded.

“Someone is keen.”

I took twenty paces away from Eli and returned
to my crouching stance. “This time, I’ll attack you.”

He ran a hand through his dark messy hair
and laughed. “Give it your best shot.” He stood waiting for me, his eyes
narrowed, waiting to see my next move. I ran at him and he braced himself for
impact. As I got closer, I threw a punch and he blocked it. From there, there
was a series of punches, blocks, ducking and diving. He hadn’t thrown a single
punch in this session. When I thought about it, he hadn’t thrown a single punch
in any of our sessions. He was taking it easy on me.

This frustrated me. I thought I was
improving, but how could I if my teacher insisted on going easy on me. With a
growl, I landed a punch to his chest. He flinched slightly but managed to block
my second punch. He had me by both my hands.

“Unh,” I gasped as he shoved me against a
wall of the courtyard.

“You’re angry, why?” He didn’t drop my
hands.

“Because it took me this long to figure out
you’re going easy on me.”

“Of course I’m going easy on you. You’ve
only trained for three weeks … I’ll hurt you.”

“Hurt me.”

“I can’t risk that.” He smiled. “Maybe
after all of this is over.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes. I promise to beat you up when all of
this is over.” He laughed.

I pressed my mouth to his, cutting off his
laugh. One of his arms wrapped around my waist and the other entangled in my
hair. Gently he pulled on my lip with his teeth and tugged on my hair, forcing
my head backwards. He trailed hard kisses from my mouth, across my jaw line and
down my neck. I shuddered under his touch and a weird knot formed in my
stomach. He met my mouth again, only this time his kiss was loving and intimate
— apologetic, even.

“I don’t want to stop,” I pouted as he
pulled away.

“I know.”

Our foreheads were resting against each
other’s.

“Do we go back to training now?”

“No. It’s your last session, I’ll let you
off. Besides, there’s nothing more I can teach you here.” His full lips pressed
against my forehead and he turned away from me.

“You didn’t want to see how I go with a
stake?” I asked.

Eli hadn’t taught me how to use a stake
properly. He didn’t want me to get close enough to a vampire to stake it. It
was sweet, he wanted to protect me. Little did he know that I had mastered the
technique for staking a vampire.

“You won’t need to use one. Stick with your
powers, leave everything else to me and the rest of the guardians.”

I stalked over to the dummy and pulled the
stake from my back pocket. I slammed it into the dummy with every ounce of
strength I had. Eli turned around and saw that the stake had went in far enough
to kill a vampire.

“How did you —”

“Uh-uh, a magician never tells her secrets.”

“How is it possible?” His eyes glazed over
in awe and wonderment.

“How is what possible?”

“How is it possible that you manage to
impress me more and more every day?”

I smiled, our passionate kiss was still
fresh on my lips and they tingled when I moved them. “C’mon. Let’s get some
rest and then pack some things. We leave as soon as the sun goes down.”

Eli walked me back to my room. It was still
early morning and my body was very much awake, especially after training.

“So I’ll —”

I threw my hands around his neck and closed
the distance between our lips. The wonderful, indescribable taste of his lips
pressed eagerly onto mine.

“Stop,” he said in between kisses. I knew
better, if he really wanted me to stop, he wouldn’t kiss me back.

“You stop first.” I giggled.

He suddenly moved forward, coming into my
room, and kissed me hard. I kissed him back, possibly even harder. I didn’t
know where this might end but I knew where I wanted it to go. Who knew if we’d survive
tomorrow night? I wanted to be with him romantically, to be physically intimate,
and this might be my last chance. A nervous feeling began to trump the
excitement that knotted in my stomach.

His forearm wrapped around my waist and he
lifted me up so my legs wrapped around him. He carried me towards the bed, our
lips still pressed together. I was afraid if we stopped kissing he’d change his
mind. Gently he laid me down and he climbed on top of me, kissing me even more
urgently. I needed air but refused to break away from him. I was too desperate
for his taste. So much desire, need, want, passion, all raged in that kiss.
Nothing else existed but us.

Oh my god. This is really happening. How
could anybody think that this was wrong? We we’re so perfect together.

I ran my fingers up and down the back of
his neck. I rubbed his shoulder blades and then his arms as we kissed. His body
was so firm and masculine. He pulled his lips from mine and my breath hitched.

“This isn’t a good idea,” he growled
seductively.

“So? We’re probably going to die, anyway.”

His face flinched and he rolled off me.

“What’s wrong?”

He lay on his back, staring up at the
ceiling. “I don’t want you to do this because you think you’re going to die
tomorrow. I thought you wanted to do it because you care.”

I caressed his chest.

“I do care.”

His green eyes met mine and he genuinely
looked hurt. My chest ached, I’d never seen him so vulnerable. I grasped his
face.

“I love you.”

His lips twitched a little as the words
fell from my lips. He definitely wasn’t expecting that. He didn’t have to say
it back, not right now. I assumed he would take time to process it. I knew he
felt the same, I could see it in his eyes. They glowed with love and passion.

He traced a finger along my cheek, down my
neck, and across my chest just above my breasts, igniting my blood. He pulled
me against him and our lips were reunited in blissful pleasure. His hand slid
up my shirt, sending goosebumps all over me. Somehow he managed to get my shirt
off. I was nervous and tried hard not to feel insecure in front of him. In
seconds we were kneeling against each other and his shirt was off. It was all
happening so quickly. I pulled my lips away and took in his entire body. I had
never seen him with his shirt off before. He’d always kept a tank top on, even
when we were training, but now, I was exposed to his manly chest and thick
muscles. More clothes littered the floor and soon we were both naked and under
the silk sheets. He paused and his eyes surveyed me as his hands roamed all
over. It was obvious he liked what he saw, and I secretly enjoyed the effect I
was having on him.

“You’re not going to believe this.”

“What?”

“I don’t have a —”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He shook his head.

“I thought boys carry one around in their
wallets all the time.”

“I’m not in high school, Ruby. I don’t
carry one around, hoping I have sex …”

“What do we do?”

“We aren’t going to risk it.”

“You don’t have any in your room?”

He laughed. “We were coming to live with
vampires and the higher power, who, by the way, made it illegal for goddesses
or gods and guardian angels to have relationships. The last thing on my mind
were condoms.”

I tried to hide my disappointment. “Okay,
so now what do we do?”

“We get dressed, we pack a bag, we rest,
and then we get up at night time and travel to Gerald Harbor.”

“Oh.”

“And,” he continued, drawing small circles
around my belly button. “We continue this when we’re free from all this
ridiculousness.”

“Promise?”

He bit his swollen bottom lip, fighting a
tantalizing smile.

“I promise.”

The Parting Surprise

I opened my eyes as the last portion of the
sun lowered beneath the horizon. I had gone back to bed once Eli left my room
and I packed a bag of absolute necessities. Things like a few tank tops and
fresh underwear, a hairbrush, a photo of my mother and I, and a toothbrush. Underneath
it all was a few short wooden stakes. I was willing to part with the rest of my
stuff, it was clothes mostly.

“Time to go,” I groaned to myself. I
climbed out of bed, raising my arms above my head and stretching. I grabbed my
bag from the end of my bed and headed down to the sitting room. That’s where
Lucian said to meet up.

When I entered the sitting room the
atmosphere was dark and tense. There were low, inaudible conversations taking place
in the room and my stomach twisted. I couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow
they knew what Eli and I had almost done.

I searched the room for Eli and I found him
by a wall to the left side of the room. Our eyes made contact. Briefly his were
reminiscent of what had taken place this morning, and then they returned to
their normal guardian angel intense gaze.

“Well, well, well.” Lucian entered the
room. “What a beautiful night.”

The smile he wore sent chills down my
spine. It seemed so threatening and almost psychopathic. Hunter and Anna
strolled sheepishly behind him. Something wasn’t right. I glanced at Eli, and
judging by his expression, he was thinking the same thing. Lucian’s gaze fell
on me. It wasn’t filled with his usual sarcastic, fake happiness. He was angry
and somehow his eyes had grown darker than their usual shade of black.

“Do you think I am weak?” he asked me.

The vampires in the room that stood in
front of me parted like the Red Sea, clearing a path between Lucian and me.

“Not at all,” I replied calmly.

“Hmph. Then why do you think you can
outsmart me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lucian covered the distance between us in
less than a second. Four vampires dove onto Eli, holding him back. He fought
against them but there were too many.

“Don’t play coy with; me, child. I know everything.
I know that Ivan has planned an escape for you at Gerald Harbor tomorrow night.
Did you actually think it was going to work? It’s a good thing I have my little
protégé over there, otherwise I would have never known.”

Oh no
. I told Hunter about our plan. I only did it because
I thought maybe he could help us. I looked at Eli. He stared at me in disbelief
before shaking his head in response, disappointment plain on his features. I
tried to convey how sorry I was, but he no longer looked at me.

“Hunter, how could you?” I yelled, tears
threatening to spill over and run down my cheek.

“I’m sorry, he is my creator … I — I don’t
have a choice.”