Read Fallen Online

Authors: Elise Marion

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal

Fallen (5 page)

BOOK: Fallen
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No,
why
are you
here
? Not one word from you in two years. Not one phone call, not one card on my birthday, not even an email. Nothing! And you show up
now
?”

Sharice stood, reaching her arms out as if she meant to hug Shayla. “You’re still our baby, Shayla.”

Careful to hang on to her walker with one hand, she pushed Sharice away with the other. Choking back tears that seemed to rise up in the back of her throat out of nowhere, Shayla moved toward the door. “I think it’s time for you to leave,” she said, reaching out to swing the door open. “We have nothing more to say to each other.”


How could you speak to us this way?” Sharice cried dramatically. “We are still your parents.”

Shayla shook her head. “No, my parents became dead to me two years ago. As far as I’m concerned
,
you’re just two strangers. Leave.”

Shayla gathered up her fur and slung it around her shoulders with a sigh. “I was so hoping we’d be able to put all of that ugliness behind us.”


A simple apology would be a good place to start. One for not speaking to your own daughter for two years, and another for being so rude to my friend.”


Is that what this is about? Your little boyfriend? You care about his feelings before those of your parents?”


He was there for me when you two weren’t, not that I have to explain anything to you. Now, I believe I asked you to leave.”

With a huff and a dramatic toss of her head, Sharice was breezing through the door. Ronald paused in the doorway for a moment before leaning forward to pull Shayla into his arms. For a short moment, Shayla was taken back to her childhood. His embrace was so familiar. There was something about the scratchy texture of his wool coat and the smell of him, like leather and pipe tobacco, that conjured up so many memories. She was just about to lift her arms to hug him back, when he pulled away abruptly and turned to leave. Shayla could have sworn she saw the glisten of tears in his eyes as he turned away.

 

 

 

 

Amir returned the next morning as promised
.
H
e
also
returned again the day after that, and the day after that. They continued as they had been in the hospital, only in the comfort of Shayla’s apartment. He would come every morning with pastries from their favorite bakery; she would already have the coffee brewed.

Shayla had no reason to complain
.
T
heir relationship was perfectly comfortable and familiar. And yet she couldn’t help wishing for more. As close as she felt she and Amir were, she still knew virtually nothing about him. They’d known each other for almost two months and still she knew no more about him than she had when they first met. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried. She’d asked him a few very probing questions, and he always managed to answer her without actually telling her anything.

When she’d asked him how he had so much time to spend with her, and why he wasn’t working, he had told her he was taking a break between clients before changing the subject. When she asked where he was from he gave some cryptic response about it being far away, a place she’d probably never even been. It wasn’t so much that he was being dishonest, he was just dodging her questions like they were bullets.

Shayla sighed as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She was mostly able to walk on her own now, though she was still in a significant amount of pain and couldn’t go far before she would have to sit back down again. The bruising on her face was mostly gone, and she was glad to be almost back to her normal self. It would be a while yet before she could dance, but Shayla decided not to dwell on that any longer. Amir was on his way over for dinner, and she had just enough time to touch up her makeup before he arrived.

She smeared some gloss across her generous lips before giving her loose hair another tousle with her fingers. Tonight would be the first time Amir saw her not leaning on a walker and not wearing a pair of blue jeans. It would also be the first time he wouldn’t be able to dodge her questions.
S
he was not going to let him. Satisfied with her appearance, Shayla switched off the bathroom light and returned to the kitchen.

 

Chapter 9: Fire and Desire

 

The sun blazed hotly overhead as Amir walked among the clouds, his wings outstretched. He spread his arms wide, basking in the warmth of the sun on his bare skin. He held one hand up to shield his eyes and squinted at the figure moving through the billowy white clouds toward him.

It was Shayla, he realized, walking slowly toward him. The sun kissed her hair, igniting it with shades of brown and gold; it hung loosely around her shoulders. Her eyes were fixated on his as she walked, slowly, seductively, toward him.

The sun kissed her gleaming brown skin, and as Amir’s eyes roamed from her head down to her feet, he realized that she was completely naked. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from round breasts and swaying hips as she came near.

When the distance between them was gone, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, pressing his open mouth to hers as he’d wanted to so many times. Her flesh was warm and pliant in his hands as he touched her, exploring every inch as he’d been longing to do. Her fingers threaded through his hair as she kissed him back, gifting him with the velvet rasp of her tongue against his.

In an instant she was under him, stretched out on the white cloud, smiling up at him invitingly. The intensity of the sun’s heat was increasing by the second
.
B
eads of sweat broke out over his forehead as he lowered his body over hers.

With every touch of his hand or mouth on her body, the heat increased; something in the back of his mind was screaming at him to stop, but he could not. Her skin tasted like heaven, and the soft, quivering flesh beneath his hands was just begging to be touched. He looked down, and his eyes locked with hers just before he flexed his hips forward to join his body with hers. In the exact moment that he buried himself inside of her, his wings burst into flames.

Neither of them noticed the rapidly spreading fire that was incinerating his wings, and swiftly spreading down to his back. So caught up were they in the intoxicating sensations humming through their bodies, that they barely noticed that the flames had consumed them both.

The heat was almost unbearable now, and Amir felt his skin burning slowly, but still he couldn’t stop. Shayla moaned and thrashed wildly beneath him, caught up in both the pleasure of his loving and the pain of the flames licking at them both. They clung to each other as the cloud beneath them opened up. His wings gone, Amir could do nothing but cling to Shayla as they plummeted from the sky toward the cold, hard earth. Just as they were about to hit the ground, a large hole opened up in the pavement. More flames licking up from the hole enveloped them both as they fell through the open pit and into the very bowels of the earth…

 

 

 

 

Amir flew into a sitting position on the bed, fighting against the covers for release. He pressed his hand to his heaving chest and waited for his heartbeat to slow before he tried to leave the bed. Every muscle in his body was tense and tight
.
H
e could feel the rapid beat of his pulse thrumming through his body all the way to his fingertips.

He glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed; only thirty minutes until he had to be at Shayla’s for dinner. He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water over his face, allowing it to drip over his neck and shoulders, soaking through his plain white-t-shirt.

The dream had been so vivid he could have sworn it had really happened. He glanced down and sucked in a surprised breath. He was aroused, hard as stone. “Well that’s new,” he murmured as he walked over to the shower. Angels were certainly able to feel every emotion humans could. They even had free will like humans, but were held to a much higher standard. His focus on his calling as a healer had blocked out all else for the three hundred years he had been on earth. He had never before been plagued by desire.

He had admired the beauty of many women, angel and human alike. They were Father’s most beautiful creation, and so he couldn’t help but appreciate their loveliness. But appreciation and desire were two different things, and Amir found desire had ten times the impact.

He wasn’t even sure he should go to Shayla’s for dinner. He wasn’t sure he should be seeing her at all. It had been weeks and still no word from Sarah on an assignment, leaving him with nothing to occupy his time. He hated to admit that Sarah had been right. He was dancing on the line, and if his dream meant anything it was that he was but a breath away from teetering over the edge.

For a moment he considered not going. He thought about locking himself away in his apartment until he heard from Sarah about a new assignment or until he had purged himself of all desire and want. But the thought of Shayla, angry and maybe even saddened by his not showing up weighed heavily on his conscious.

Tonight would be the last night, he told himself. He would go there, have dinner, and tell her they couldn’t see each other anymore. He would be as honest as he could without telling her everything. Then he would walk out of her life and try his hardest not to look back.

He slid open the glass door to the walk-in shower and turned the knob for hot water. Then, he changed his mind and switched it off before reaching for the other knob. “Cold,” he muttered as he pulled his clothing off and tossed it aside. “Definitely cold.”

 

 

 

 

Amir felt as if he’d been punched in the gut when the door to Shayla’s apartment swung open. She looked stunning. Her face had completely healed, and she was standing in the doorway without her walker. A strapless, navy blue satin dress hugged her curves and showcased seemingly endless legs.


I guess I don’t have to ask if you like my dress,” she said with a giggle, ushering him inside and closing the door.


I’m sorry,” he said, finally finding his voice. “It’s just that…I mean you were beautiful before, but now…”

She laughed again, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the kitchen. “I cleaned up just for you.”

Amir turned and glanced around the living room and kitchen, which had both been cleared of their usual clutter. The island was set for two, and candles were lit here and there. Enticing aromas were coming from the kitchen.


I’m impressed,” he remarked
,
taking a seat at the island. He sat and watched her move around the kitchen, stirring something in a pot before pulling a corkscrew out of a drawer to open a bottle of wine. He couldn’t stop watching her, couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering over her bare shoulders and back and wondering how she would react if he were to walk up behind her and tug on the zipper at the back of the dress. He wondered if she would lean back against him as he bent his head to lightly kiss the back of her neck.

He accepted his wineglass gratefully when she offered it, and tore his eyes away from her. His eyes remained mostly on his plate through the meal. He tried to remain calm during dinner, and allow their usual comfort with each other to fall into place. It was hard, but he managed to muddle through dinner without any more inappropriate thoughts invading his mind.

When they’d finished, she grabbed his hand and led him into the clean living room before plopping down on the couch. She kicked off her pumps and rubbed one of her calves absently.


Legs hurting?” he asked, already knowing the answer. His own legs had been throbbing since they’d sat down to eat.

She nodded. “Shouldn’t have tried to impress you with those three inch heels.”

Amir chuckled and knelt on the floor in front of the couch. He would do one last thing for Shayla before they parted ways. He hoped that easing her physical pain would be good enough to make up for the emotional pain he was about to cause.

He grabbed both legs by the ankle and pulled until she was stretched out straight, her feet resting on his thighs. “You have to close your eyes and relax,” he instructed, his hands poised at her ankles.


Okay
,
but keep it below the knee, mister,” she admonished with a grin. She folded her hands behind her head and lay back, closing her eyes. Amir checked to make sure she wasn’t looking before he closed his eyes as well. He was taking a risk.
S
he could open her eyes at any time and notice the glow radiating from him as he worked. It was a risk he was willing to take. As he focused his energy on soothing her hurts, his hands glided slowly over the silken skin of her calves firmly but gently.

Shayla sighed with contentment and nestled even further into the soft couch. “That’s amazing,” she said when he was finished. “It’s like you have magical hands. I don’t feel any more pain.”

Amir smiled, still kneeling on the floor and grasping her legs in his hands. He knew he should pull his hands way but he couldn’t. “Anything I can do to help.”

BOOK: Fallen
3.17Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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