The Guardians (30 page)

His mouth gaped open. “You mean you know how to do stitches?”

“I got a little training through the missionary work my parents did.” I gave him an amused smile. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“It’s up to you.”

“All right, Dr. Christenson, work your magic.”

“Give me one sec.” I hurried into the bedroom and threw open my closet door. I waded through a mound of clothes at the bottom. A couple of months ago when I stowed my First Aid kit away, I never imagined I would be using it again so soon, least of all on my new assignment.

When I returned, I found Zach leaned back against mirror, staring at his hands. I held a rolled up towel out to him. “Want to bite down on this?” I asked, holding back a smile.

He rolled his eyes. “I think I’m man enough to handle it.”

I threaded the needle before bringing my hand to Zach’s eyebrow. He flinched as the needle entered his skin. “Hold still,” I instructed.

“Easy for you to say,” he grumbled.

With a few steady strokes, I sealed the cut. “All finished.”

Zach turned to the mirror and surveyed my handiwork. He grinned. “Not bad. You sure are a woman of many talents.”

“Thanks.” I turned my attention then to his chest where fresh blood oozed through the fabric of his shirt. I reached out and touched above his heart. “I think you’ve got another cut. You better take off your shirt so I can take a look.”

He winked at me. “I thought you’d never ask.”

I rolled my eyes but laughed in spite of myself.

At the sight of his busted skin, I shook my head. “That must’ve been some ring Bruce was wearing.”

“It felt more like brass knuckles,” Zach mumbled. Then he raised his head and peered at me. “Wait, how did you know it was a ring? Did I tell you that?”

My breath hitched. “Uh—no, you didn’t tell me. I mean, I just assumed it had to be a ring to make those cuts,” I quickly replied. I then focused my attention back on doing the stitches. When I finished, I smiled up at him. “There. All done.”

“What would do I without you?” Zach asked.

“I suppose you’d be lost.”

“I think so.”

Without another word, he hopped down off the counter, and we walked out into the bedroom. “I guess I better get back home.” I felt his hesitation and the fear he would never admit to feeling.

“Why don’t you stay here with me?” I asked.

“With
you
? I thought we were just friends,” he teased, obviously trying to lighten the tension.

“That’s not what I meant. You can sleep on the couch or with Rafe and Elijah.”

“I’d rather sleep with
you
,” he said, his voice low and husky. I threw a pillow at him. “Easy Rambo, don’t forget the stiches!” he laughed.

I sighed. “Just get the pillow. I’ll go get you a blanket.”

“All right,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

He followed me downstairs, where I grabbed up some sheets and a blanket, and we went into the living room. As I made up the fold out couch, an uneasy feeling crept over me. Zach’s closeness, plus the fact that he was half naked, had me on edge. “Want me to get you a shirt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Well, goodnight then,” I said.

“What? No goodnight kiss?”

“Do you ever stop?”

“Never,” he laughed.

I snorted in exasperation. Zach pulled me to him, crushing me against his chest. I was surprised he didn’t wince. When I wriggled away, he smiled at me. “Thanks for letting me stay.”

“Anytime,” I replied, softly.

He stared intently at me, and the smile faded a little from his face. “Cassie, I-”

Something about the way he said my name made my heartbeat accelerate. “What is it?” I asked, desperate to know what he was going to say.

The intensity of his stare made the space between us feel very small. He leaned forward, brushing his hand across my cheek. I started to feel further and further away from myself…or my angelic self. It was the most human I’d felt in my entire time on earth.

Zach brought his lips to mine. Blood raced through my body, and in that instant, I’d never felt so alive and so very unangelic. This was the kiss the human side of me had dreamed of—a very different one from the one Chaz had bestowed on me. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around him, not like a friend, but a
girlfriend
. My mind screamed at me to stop, to remember Lauren, and to most of all, remember what I really was.

But instead, I pressed against Zach, which caused him to jerk back.

Heat flooded my cheeks. “You were right to pull away. I can’t believe we just did that.”

A sheepish grin curled on his lips. “Actually, it was the stitches.”

“I thought it was because we had crossed the line.”

“I couldn’t help it. I don’t think I could have gone another day without kissing you again, Cassie. I like you too much.”

The world tilted and spun as my breath caught in my throat. I might have slid to the floor if he hadn’t been holding me. I didn’t know what to say or do. There was a part of me that did love Zach…innocently, and that part didn’t want to hurt him or lead him on. But then there was another part, be it real or part of the demon’s kiss, that desperately wanted him. I drew in a deep breath and prepared myself to give him the words he wanted to hear…and maybe the words I wanted to say.

“I like you too,” I whispered.

“But we’re supposed to be just friends, right?”

“Yes.” I started coming back to myself more and more and realizing the enormity of what had just happened. I imagined somewhere Lucius was getting a big power surge and a kick out of what I had done.”

Zach’s hands wound through my hair. “So what are we going to do about that?”

“Nothing! What just happened was
so
wrong!” I countered. At his wounded expression, I replied, “I do care about you. Don’t you see that friends care about you?”

A low growl erupted in his throat. “I don’t care about you like a friend. I like you like a girlfriend, like a lover, like a soul mate!”

His words sent me spinning like I was on an out of control Merry Go Round. I fought to keep my balance. “No, I won’t! I can’t—” I began to protest.

He shook his head at me. “Yes, you can, and you do. I know you like me too. More than a friend. I see it in your eyes. Stop denying how you feel about me!”

It seemed like an eternity passed as we stood staring at each other. I jumped a mile when someone cleared his throat behind us.

It was Elijah. I should have flushed in embarrassment, but Elijah did instead. “Uh, hi, g-guys,” he stammered.

“Hi, Elijah,” Zach said.

“Zach’s staying over tonight,” I quickly explained.

Elijah nodded. “I’ll just be heading upstairs now.”

When he was gone, I shoved Zach away. “We are not doing this. Have you forgotten you have a girlfriend?”

He grimaced. “No, I haven’t.”

“Lauren loves you. And me? I’m supposed to be her friend. How do you think she would feel if she knew you were saying this to me?”

“I get it. I’m scum. She deserves way better than an asshole who has cheated on her,” Zach replied, as he flopped down on the couch.

Neither one of us said anything. Finally, I cleared my throat. “Look, it’s been a crazy, emotional night for you. This doesn’t mean anything has changed between us. I love you, and you love me…as friends,
just
friends. It has to stay that way so we don’t hurt Lauren. And I know you do care about her, Zach.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I do. And you’re right.” He looked up at me. “I promise I won’t say or try to do anything else out of line, okay?”

“Me too.”

The unspeakable and unmentionables hung heavy in the air between us—the longing, desire, and guilt. I might have talked a good game about only being his friend, but with the flickering emotions of the Demon’s Kiss, I wasn’t completely honest. “Goodnight,” I said, before turning to head upstairs.

“Goodnight.”

When I got to my room, I didn’t go to bed. Oh no, bed was the farthest thing from my mind. I was too wound up to sleep. Plus, I wanted to be able to explain Zach’s presence to Gabriel when he got in.

After midnight, I crept downstairs and stood in the doorway to the den, listening to Zach’s soft snoring. I tip-toed back and sat down on the landing of the stairs to wait for Gabriel. When he opened the front door, he jumped back in surprise. “What’s up, Cass?”

“Zach’s here,” I whispered, motioning to the den.

“Oh?” Gabriel asked, in a hushed tone.

I nodded. “He’s sleeping on the couch. I hope that’s okay.”

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. “As long as you’re staying safely upstairs, it should be fine.”

“I will,” I answered.

“Rough evening at home?”

“Yeah, he had to come between them again.”

“That’s got to be tough,” Gabriel said.

“It is.”

Gabriel cleared his throat. “I want you to know something, Cassie. At first, I wasn’t keen on the way you were handling your assignment. But now that I see Zach in church and the change that’s come over him, I’m really proud of you.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You are?”

“Yes, I am. I may have been on earth for one hundred and nine years, but I learn something new each and every day.”

Something about his words caused the dam holding up my emotions to implode. Tears came pouring out of my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Doubling over, I began sobbing so hard my body shook. “Cassie, shh, you have to stop, or you’ll wake up Zach,” Gabriel hissed in a loud whisper.

But that only made me cry harder. Gabriel’s arms came around me, and suddenly, he whisked up the stairs and into my room. He sat me down on my bed. When I finally dared myself to look up at him, he was staring open mouthed at me. “Can you tell me what I could have possibly said that just drove you over the edge the way it did?”

“It’s so awful, Gabriel,” I moaned.

He squatted down beside me. “Well, I don’t know how to fix it unless you tell me.”

“I’ve screwed it all up!”

“Cassie, you know I don’t like that kind of language,” Gabriel cautioned.

I snorted. “Trust me, there’s no other word at this moment in time to fully illustrate what I’ve done.”

Gabriel eased himself onto the floor. “Fine. Tell me how you have
messed
things up so badly.”

“I’m supposed to be Lauren’s friend, right? I’m supposed to be helping her, right?”

Gabriel nodded.

“And I’m supposed to be guiding and protecting Zach too, right?”

Once again Gabriel nodded. I could tell his patience was growing thin after a long night at the hospital.

I sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve totally scr-messed them both over! Tonight, Zach told me he loved me. He knows it’s wrong, and he’s supposed to be with Lauren, but he said he can’t help the way he feels.”

“Well, I don’t—”

I cut him off before he could continue. “And worst of all, I led him on. I kissed him back when he kissed me, and then I think I led him to believe I cared about him as much as he cared about me.” I shook my head. “I know you’re going to say it’s all part of the Demon’s Kiss, and I really don’t harbor feelings for Zach, but I don’t know. They feel pretty strong to me!” Tears poured off my cheeks, and I felt like a snot-nosed mess. “Don’t you see, Gabriel, I’m going to end up ruining both of their lives. Lauren will be so devastated that Zach doesn’t truly love her that it’ll break her heart, and she’ll hate me. And then Zach is going to hate me when he realizes how much he’s been jerked around!”

After all the word vomit had spewed out, I glanced over at Gabriel. His face was a mixture of amusement and worry. “Cassie, I don’t know exactly what to tell you. For one so young in the ways of the world, I can’t imagine such a predicament. I certainly wasn’t faced with something so difficult on my first assignment, but the world was a different place then.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

Gabriel took my hand in his. “Neither Zach nor Lauren is going to collapse or go off the deep end because of your actions tonight. Lauren is already making great strides in her self-esteem. All you have to do is make sure you keep letting Zach know how you truly feel, which is that you only care for him
only
as a friend.” At my look of disbelief, he said, “And that
is
really how you feel for him. By the roller coaster of emotions you’re on tonight, it appears that Lucius did succeed in some ways.” At his words, I began to sob harder.

“Cassie, it’s not a lost cause,” Gabriel argued. “Zach will be fine, and Lauren will never have to know. You just have to find some ways to work at it.”

Wiping my eyes on my sleeve, I asked, “Are you sure?”

He smiled. “I’m as sure as I can possibly be about this. I know it seems like something insurmountable to you, but really compared to what you’ve already faced, it isn’t. It’s totally fixable.”