Nathaniel Teen Angel (6 page)

Nathaniel grinned. He had to agree. Angels didn’t feel the rain the same as humans did, and it sure felt amazing on his face, though the wounds on his back were beginning to stick to his clothes.

Chapter Eight

When they reached her house, they dashed up the driveway and ran up the steps to the front door.

“You’d better have a hot shower,” said Eloise, unlocking the door and opening it. “I’d hate you to get a chill.”

Nathaniel closed the door. “You’d better have one first. I don’t want you getting sick.”

She gazed up at him. “No, you go first. I can put on a robe while I wait and I’ll make us a hot drink.”

He stared down at her. She looked so lovely with her hair dripping wet and her curls plastered against her face. He was tempted to take her in his arms right there and taste the sweetness of her mouth again, but before he had a chance, she pointed at the bathroom. “Go on,” she said. “There’s some clean towels already in there.”

“Okay, but get out of your wet clothes and put something dry on while you wait.”

“Don’t worry, I will. Oh, and I’ll get you some dry clothes from my dad’s wardrobe, so just leave the wet ones on the floor and I’ll throw them in the wash.”

“You’re a doll,” he said kissing the end of her nose and hurrying into the bathroom. After closing the door, he took a deep breath. Oh great. Now he’d gone and done it. Though it was only a peck on the nose, he was shaking like a leaf and he’d given her hope. Oh well, as least if he
did
kiss her tonight, her heartache wouldn’t last long, not if Gabriel kept his promise and erased her memory of him.

Pulling the sweater and t-shirt gently over his head, he cringed. His back was hurting like Hell and he didn’t want to start it bleeding again. After dropping the tops on the floor, he kicked the jeans and underpants off and hopped into the shower. As warm water poured down his back, he trembled with pain. “Aarrrh.” Angels didn’t know how good they had it. Though to him, having the thrill of holding Eloise in his arms for a while would be well worth the suffering. He just hoped he had the opportunity to kiss her before her mother arrived home.

After washing himself with soap, he rinsed off, then stepped onto the fluffy blue bathmat. As he dried himself with the large white towel, he began having
a
déjà
 
vu
moment and his heart began to race. Just remembering Eloise walking in on him stark naked was giving him a panic attack and he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist before it happened again. He put on some deodorant and brushed his teeth, then as he combed his hair, she tapped on the door.

“I’ve put you some clean clothes on the floor,” she shouted through the crack.

He opened the door. “Thank you. I’m done now, so you can have the bathroom.”

Staring at his bare chest, she sucked in a breath. “Um, okay. You can dress in the guestroom if you like. It’s the middle room on the left.”

His face burning, he grabbed the shoes and clothing from the carpet and took off down the hall before she noticed the burns on his back. He knew he wouldn’t have an ounce of will power if she touched any part of him while he was dressed like that, not after the way she’d just devoured him with her eyes. He hurried into the guestroom and closed the door. Just seeing her in a bathrobe had made him sweat and the thought of her curves beneath it was giving him thoughts he shouldn’t have. As he dressed in her father’s clothing, a phone rang in the hall. Wondering who it was, he prayed no one would come around and spoil his last few hours with Eloise, but as he heard her talking to someone, his heart sank.

“Oh, no, that’s terrible,” said Eloise. “I hope you’re not in too much pain. I better phone Dad. All right, I won’t phone him, but I’ll catch a cab and come over.”

Nathaniel hurried to the door to listen. Eloise sounded distressed and he began to worry something bad had happened.

“Okay, okay. I won’t leave the house until I go to school in the morning. No, I don’t want to go over to Brooke’s house. I’ve just had a shower and I’m tired. Yes, Mum, I promise I’ll lock up properly. What? No way. I don’t need to call Grandpa. I’m eighteen for goodness sake. I don’t need a babysitter. Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye, Mum. Love you.”

As she hung up the phone, Nathaniel hurried into the hall. “Is everything all right? You sound distressed.”

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and her face pale. “My mum was in a car accident. They left the cinema early because the film was boring, but on her way home, another car collided with hers and she’s in hospital getting stitches in her leg.”

Nathaniel rushed over and put his arm around her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Eloise. If she’s in Creed Valley Hospital, I’m sure she’ll get the best of care.”

“How do you know? Have you been there before?”

Ooops, he shouldn’t have said that. “Um, no but I’ve heard it has a good reputation.”

Biting her lip, she started to tremble. I’m so glad she didn’t get badly hurt, but I can’t understand why she told me not to go and see her. I want to go and make sure she’s alright. Do you think I should go?”

Nathaniel shook his head. “Not if she told you not to. She wouldn’t want you roaming the streets late at night, and even if you caught a cab, she’d worry about you. I’ll tell you what though. I’ll jog over there and find out how she is, just to put your mind at ease.”

She smiled. “Would you? I’d really appreciate that. But how will you get to see her. They might not let you.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll still be in Emergency. I’ll walk around until I see her, then I’ll go and talk to one of the nurses. I’ll say I’m a neighbour.”

“That might work. Our neighbour is called Joseph Miller.”

“Okay, well I’ll go now, and you, young lady, should get dried and put some warm clothes on.”

Looking down at herself wrapped in her towel, she gasped. “Yipes.” Taking off, she hurried to her bedroom.

“Lock the door after me Eloise. I’m not leaving until you do.”

“Just slam it behind you and it locks,” she called out. “When you come back, knock three times so I know it’s you because if Brooke and her mother turn up, I’m not answering it.”

“Okay.” After closing it behind him, Nathaniel sprinted up the road towards the beach. He was glad the rain had stopped. He didn’t fancy getting his clothes wet again. Turing left along the coast road, he ran as fast as he could. It was quite a hike to the hospital and he wanted to get back to Eloise before she fell asleep.

After running for twenty minutes, he reached the hospital and stopped at the entrance to get his breath back. As he waited for his heart to slow down, he prayed the two angels that Michael had promised him were guarding Eloise while he was away. As he strode into the Emergency entrance, he sniffed his sweater, glad the deodorant he’d put on earlier had kept him smelling nice. He would hate to think his clothes smelled as bad as the tracksuit he’d stolen from the changing rooms. Just the thought of those smelly clothes turned his stomach.

When he glanced around the emergency waiting room, he wasn’t surprised to see it full of patients. It was the only hospital for miles around and had always been busy in the years he’d been guarding Eloise. He’d been in the hospital’s emergency quite a few times now, so he knew which rooms to look in. After peaking in a few of the makeshift rooms on the ground floor, he found Madeline. She was in a bed in one of the single rooms, and as he poked his head around the door, she looked up from her book.

“Are you a doctor?” she asked.

“No, I’m just an intern, but I think I’m in the wrong room. Sorry.”

She smiled. “Oh, well since you’re here, could you organise me a cup of tea, that’s if it’s not too much trouble of course.”

He grinned. “Sure.” Then he hurried down the corridor to the staff tea room. He’d seen it many times before when he’d been in the hospital, so he knew where everything was kept. After making Madeline a cup of tea the way she liked it, he grabbed one of the little packets of biscuits from the tin and placed it on her saucer. On his way out, he spotted a bunch of flowers in the sink and grabbed one for Madeline.

After, hurrying back to her room, he put the tea on the bedside cupboard and handed her the flower. “There you go,” he said, giving her his best smile. He wanted to hug her for letting him have Eloise all to himself for the evening, but he knew he couldn’t do that.

Her eyes wide, she stared at the pretty pink flower, then smiled up at him. “Oh, thank you,” she said, but when she glanced at his sweater, he knew it was time to get out of there before she recognised her husband’s clothes. 

“I see you’re not wearing an identity badge. What’s your name?”

He blew out a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn’t question Eloise about her father’s sweater. Then he said the first thing that came into his head. “I’m Nathan Burns. It’s my first night on the job, so I haven’t been given a badge yet.”

“Well, thank you very much for the tea and the flower, Nathan. You’re a very sweet young man.”

He coughed. She wouldn’t think he was so sweet if she knew he was planning to spend the rest of the evening kissing her daughter. But before leaving, he glanced at her leg. “How is it? I hope it’s not hurting too much.”

She stared at her bandaged knee and rolled her eyes. “I’ve had ten stiches, but the pain isn’t too bad because the doctor gave me morphi
ne. I wanted to go home, but he said I have to stay overnight for observation and to have an x-ray tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s broken.  I’m more annoyed about not having my car until it’s been fixed, though I probably wouldn’t be able to drive it until my leg heals anyway.”

Nathaniel smiled. “Well, that’s great that you’re going to be all right.” He glanced at the clock. “Okay, I better get going before my supervisor comes looking for me. I hope you feel better soon.”

As he walked towards the door, she sang out. “You have the same designer jeans as my husband. You must have good taste.”

Not wanting her to asked him any more questions about his clothes, and eager to get back to Eloise, he waved and left. Chuckling to himself for getting away with it, he hurried out the entrance doors and jogged back up the coast road towards the beach. The food Eloise had brought him had given him energy and the run had made him feel invigorated. Inhaling the salty sea air, he sprinted along the bitumen bicycle track as he listened to the surf smashing against the shore. It felt good to be alive, and though he didn’t have wings to fly with, he was enjoying the thrill of traveling by foot. It made him feel powerful and strong and with his confidence returning, he planned on lifting Eloise into his arms and holding her all night.

He turned right and ran along Beach Road, then veered left into the cul-de-sac. Just two doors up from Eloise’s house, he spotted some flowers in the garden. Hoping the neighbour wouldn’t mind, he leaped over the fence and began picking some, all in different colours. He couldn’t wait to spend some time with Eloise and was thrilled he had some good news to give her about her mother. After running up her driveway, he charged up the steps to the porch and tapped three times on her front door.

With his stomach fluttering like a nervous teenager, he held the flowers behind his back and imagined how soft Eloise’s lips would feel when he kissed her. He just wished she’d hurry up and open the door so he could take her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. Then a horrible thought crossed his mind and he began to panic. What if Devlin had escaped and was in there with her, or worse. What if it was Lucifer?

As his blood ran cold, he pounded on the door with the flat of his hand. “Eloise, open up! It’s me, Nathaniel!”

Chapter Nine

As the porch light flickered on, Nathaniel swallowed a lump in his throat and prayed Eloise was all right, but when the door opened, he gasped. She looked so beautiful, she took his breath away. With her long hair falling in ringlets all the way to her waist, and wearing a flowing white dress, she looked like an angel. He just wanted to scoop her into his arms, but now that he was in front of her again, he was shaking like a leaf and couldn’t even speak.

“Don’t just stand there,” she said, tugging at his arm. “Come in and tell me about my mum. Is she okay?”

His face flushed with guilt. He’d been so caught up in seeing Eloise again, he’d forgotten about her mother. He hurried inside and locked the door. “Don’t worry, your mother’s okay. She was sitting up in bed reading a book. She’s had stitches in her right leg and the doctor’s given her some pain medication, but she has to stay in hospital until tomorrow. She has to have x-rays and other tests.”

Eloise let out a huge sigh. “Thank goodness. I was worried she’d lied to me.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you about your mum. I was so distracted at how gorgeous you look in that dress, I forgot everything else.”

Her mouth curved into a beautiful smile. “I made it for my school exam?” She ran her hands down the silky material, then held her arms up and twirled around. As the skirt swirled above her knees, Nathaniel stared at her shapely legs, but when he caught a glimpse of her lacy underwear, he sucked in a sharp breath.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said.

Blushing, he cleared his throat and raised his gaze to her face. “You always look gorgeous, Eloise, but in that dress you look ... um,
really
stunning.” He wanted to say sexy, but he didn’t dare.

Her eyes sparkled with innocent pride, but then she frowned and chewed the inside of her cheek as if she was disappointed about something.

He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck, wondering what had changed her mood. “What’s the matter? Did I say something wrong?”

She gave him a sad little smile. “No, of course not. It’s just that I wanted to wear this dress to the party on Saturday night and.... oh, it doesn’t matter.”

A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to please her, yet he couldn’t even hang around long enough to take her to a party. Forcing a smile, he tried to change the subject. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get top marks for your dress. It’s lovely.”

She glanced up at him, but the warm glow in her eyes had gone. “I hand-stitched the hem while you were gone. It helped to calm my nerves. I was so worried about my mum. I thought she was keeping something from me. But I feel better now that’ you’ve seen her.”

He felt happy he could at least do that for her, but then he remembered the flowers behind his back and he held them out to her. “I picked these for you.”

She grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, thank you, Nathaniel. They’re so beautiful.”

He nervously averted his eyes. “I have to confess though, I stole them from your neighbour’s garden.”

She pressed her fist to her mouth and giggled. “That’s so funny. Did they see you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think so, but who knows.”

Holding the flowers to her nose, she inhaled their perfume. “Mm, they smell divine.”

“Um, talking about smelling, I ran all the way to the hospital and back and I’m a little sweaty. Is it okay if I have a quick shower?”

“Of course you can. I’m so sorry, I should’ve given you the bus timetable.” She suddenly blushed and pressed her hand to her mouth as if she wanted to bite her tongue off.

Nathaniel smirked. Obviously she didn’t want to embarrass him by mentioning he had no money.

She pointed down the hall. “The clean towels are in the linen cupboard next to the bathroom, so help yourself. Oh, and I thought you’d be hungry so I made us a pizza for supper, so hurry up.”

He inhaled through his nose. “I wondered what that wonderful aroma was.”

She headed to the kitchen with the flowers. “These are so pretty. I’m going to put them in a vase.”

Smiling he headed to the bathroom. He was happy she liked the flowers, but he wished he could give her more. He let out a long breath. He was beginning to think he was totally gutless as a human. No courage at all. Eloise was so amazingly gorgeous and she’d obviously made it quite clear that she liked him, yet he couldn’t even summon the nerve to kiss her, let alone dance with her. As an angel, he’d fought and won many battles with evil angels and demons over thousands of years. Heck, he’d even fought Lucifer. That was it, he decided. As soon as he’d had his shower, he was taking her in his arms and doing whatever came naturally, whatever that may be. Jeez, he’d even dance with her in the lounge room if he could summon some mettle.

After grabbing a towel and washcloth from the linen cupboard, he slipped into the bathroom and locked the door.

Slowly and carefully, he pulled his sweater and tea-shirt over his head. The last thing he wanted was to start his wounds bleeding again. Especially knowing how squeamish Eloise was. After yanking his shoes and socks off, he slipped out of his jeans and boxer shorts, then he folded everything up and placed them on the stool. On his way to the shower, he glanced at his back in the mirror. Good heavens. His wounds were deep and purple. If Eloise saw them, she’d nag him to see a doctor. And since he’d be losing his human body in less than nineteen hours, there was no point in that.

Hopping into the shower, he let the warm water run down his back, but as he washed himself with soap, he avoided his wounds. After rinsing off, he stepped out onto the bathmat and grabbed a towel. He had so much to look forward to in the next few hours and he intended making the most of it. As he rubbed himself dry with a towel, he pictured himself kissing Eloise, then without warning, the muscles in his abdomen tightened and his heart began thundering like hoof beats. Afraid he was about to have a heart attack, he splashed cold water on his trimmings, then he wrapped the towel around his waist.
Holy Heaven.
It seemed he had no control over his virility.

When his pulse settled, he combed his hair and rolled some deodorant under his arms. Wanting to be clean all over, and to have sweet breath, he brushed his teeth again. Being an angel without all these extra things to do was easier, but the physical pleasures of being human certainly made it worthwhile. Though he couldn’t wait to taste the pizza, his stomach was flipping at the thought of kissing Eloise and he couldn’t wait to tell her that he loved her.

He didn’t need another shave, but he wanted to smell nice. After rummaging through her father’s colognes again, he grabbed a different bottle and sniffed it. “Mm, that’s nice and spicy.” Not wanting to get any on his knuckles again, he grabbed a pair of rubber gloves out of the drawer and put them on. Humming to himself, he splashed the cologne onto his cheeks, but just like before, some of it shot over his shoulders and dripped onto his wounds.

“Fuck!” he yelled, squeezing his eyes shut and doubling over with excruciating pain. It was even worse than before. Why on Earth was he turning into a klutz? Then just his luck, Eloise picked that moment to tap on the door.

“Nathaniel, are you all right?”

His back still smarting, he gripped onto the sink to steady himself. “Yeah, I’m good,” he lied.

“Well, I’ve brought you some clean clothes?”

“It’s okay. These ones are fine.”

“No, they’re not. Can I come in?”

“Sure, just a sec.” He pulled off the rubber gloves. Even in agony, knowing she was only a metre away was making his heart skip. He tightened the towel so it didn’t fall off his hips, then opened the door and smiled. “I hope you haven’t brought me more designer clothes. Your father will wonder why you’ve washed them.”

Biting her lip, she glanced at his bare chest, then raised her eyes to his. “It’s okay. This time, I’ve brought you an old pair of jeans, a tea-shirt, undies and a sweater. I’m sure my dad won’t miss them.” Pushing past him, she walked into the bathroom and put them on the side of the bath. “I can get you some pyjamas if you want to stay. You can sleep in the guestroom.”

He gulped. He’d love nothing more than to stay the night, but he knew that he shouldn’t. “I don’t think your parents would like that, Eloise. And you don’t even know me. Plus you have school tomorrow.”

She pouted. “But I’ll be scared being here on my own all night. My father’s away with work, so you’ll have to stay.”

Wondering what to do, he leaned against the sink and ran his hand through his hair. He knew she was really thinking of him even if she was scared of being alone. Then a horrible thought crossed his mind. If he didn’t stay the night, she might phone Tom. Shoot! That hot-blooded kid would be here in a heartbeat. Michael may well have two angels guarding Eloise, but they probably wouldn’t stop Tom from visiting her because Devlin was in rehab. And the thought of Tom kissing her again was boiling his blood. “Okay, Eloise, I’d love to stay.”

“You will?” Standing on her tiptoes, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

A jolt of electricity shot from his face to his heart and he sucked in a sharp breath, but instead of pulling her into his arms, he
leaned back and gripped the sink again. What on Earth was he waiting for? She was obviously begging him to kiss her, but boy was he afraid—afraid if he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop—afraid
she
wouldn’t be able to stop—and then he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to Michael of going too far.

She was still gazing at him, her eyes smouldering, burning into his soul and sending pleasure ripples from his head to his toes. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, his insides unfurled and he squeezed his eyes shut. Heaven’s above, if she didn’t leave the bathroom in the next five seconds he knew he’d lose control. Did she know what she was doing to him? When he opened his eyes, she was still gazing at him. Her mouth was so near he could practically taste her sweet breath, and her breasts, oh Lord, they couldn’t be any closer to him.
They were pressing so deliciously against his ribs, his body was trembling. Unable to control himself any longer, he seized her delicate face in his hands and crushed his mouth to hers. God she smelt good and her skin was like silk. As she softly moaned, he teased her lips apart, enjoying the taste and feel of her mouth.

When she slipped her hands around his waist, his senses went wild and he pulled her closer, enjoying the warmth of her body and the beat of her heart next to his. She felt so darn good, he wanted to hold her forever and never let her go. “Oh, Eloise,” he breathed. “I’m so in love with you.”

As she quivered in his arms, he realised he’d never been as happy in his entire existence as he was at that moment. He no longer cared what happened in the future. This was their night together and he wanted to savour every second of it. When she began to sob, he tilted her face with his hand, forcing her to look at him. “Please don’t cry, honey.”

She gazed up at him through glistening green eyes and smiled. “But I’m crying because I’m happy.”

He kissed her wet lashes, then brushed her tears away with his thumbs. “Well, I don’t want you to cry.”

She traced his lips with her finger. “Then kiss me again.”

He didn’t need to be asked twice. He covered her mouth with his, seeking her tongue and kissing her harder. She tasted so good, he wanted to carry her to ... Sweet Jesus, what he thinking? Breaking away from her lips, he silently prayed for the strength to resist her. And why on Earth was he kissing her like that when all he was wearing was a towel? No way should he stay here all night, even if he was in a different bedroom. She was much too tempting—but then he couldn’t leave her vulnerable either.

Eloise pulled away from him and gasped. “Oh my God, Nathaniel, those wounds on your back are huge.”

He froze for a second, his whole body tense. She was looking at his shoulders through the mirror.

Darn it!