Nathaniel Teen Angel (7 page)

Chapter Ten

Holding her mouth, she stared up at him. “Turn around.”

He gulped but his throat muscles seemed to have locked. “It’s okay. My wounds are healing.”

She grabbed his waist and tried to move him. “Nathaniel, please, you’re badly injured.”

He threw his hands up and turned around. There was no point resisting her. He knew she’d never give in.

With one hand on his waist, she traced his wounds with her fingers.

“Aaaah,” he groaned, arching his back and enjoying the tingles that shot down his spine.

“I’m, sorry, did I hurt you?”

Turning to face her, he leaned back against the sink and grinned. “That was a sigh of pleasure, honey, not pain. I told you, I’m fine.”

Though she scowled, her eyes shone with obvious delight. “Be serious, Nathaniel. How can it be pleasure? I don’t know why you’re not constantly groaning with agony from those wounds. I think you should see a doctor.”

Beads of sweat trickled down his temples. No way was he going to a doctor. There was no point since he’d only be human for another eighteen hours, and he certainly wasn’t wasting his time in medical surgeries. “I’m okay, really I am. You don’t need to fuss.”

Her eyes probed his as if she didn’t believe him. “What happened to you, Nathaniel? Did someone beat you up?”

Unable to help himself, he threw his head back and laughed. That was an understatement, but he wasn’t about to tell her that God burned his wings off because he kissed her.

She pressed her hands to her hips. “What’s so funny?”

Still chuckling, he stared at her. “You’re even pretty when you’re angry.”

She squinted at him. “This is no laughing matter, Nathaniel, and if you don’t tell me who did this to you, I’m calling an ambulance. If someone beat you up, we should call the cops.”

That made him crack up even more and he held his belly and snorted.

“Nathaniel!”

With tears of laughter pouring down his cheeks, he tried to catch his breath. “Okay. I’ll tell you, but you have to promise to give it a rest. Besides, an ambulance wouldn’t even turn up for my injuries. They have enough on their plate and they’d be quite annoyed.”

She folded her arms. “Okay, well tell me what happened because I’m all ears.”

Not quite knowing what to tell her, he said the first thing that popped into his head. “I fell down an embankment when I was running through the forest, but I’m fine, honestly. The injuries look worse than they feel.”

“They look like third-degree burns to me and I think you’re just being brave, and if you won’t go to the hospital, at least let me dress them with sterile bandages.”

He grabbed her hands. “There’s no need, honestly.”

Raising a brow, she pulled her arms away. “I’m going to get the first aid kit from the laundry, so don’t you dare move. When I come back, I’m going to put antiseptic ointment on your wounds.

“But, Eloise ...”

“Hey, I’m not taking no for an answer, so stay there.”

His lips twitched into a smile and he held his hands up. “Okay, I surrender, baby.”

“Right then, I’ll be back in a minute.”

As she hurried out the door, he smirked. Though she couldn’t stand the sight of her own blood, she often fussed over in injured animals. He chuckled. Maybe she thought he was an animal. Well, he wasn’t sitting here in nothing but a towel. He pulled on the boxer shorts, then slipped into the torn jeans. Kissing Eloise was much better than he’d ever imagined, even more so in his own human body. He liked the testosterone that came along with it, but it sure caused a lot of problems. Just the thought of spending the night with her was making his insides unfurl to the core, and half the time he wasn’t sure what was happening . Well, he wouldn’t have to worry about that soon because he would be back to his angel duties. Wearing just the jeans, he flexed his muscles and stared at himself in the full length mirror. He’d gotten used to how he looked as a human and he liked the changes, pity he had to give them up.

Breezing back into the bathroom with her first aid kit in her hands, Eloise smiled triumphantly. “I can see you’re not happy about this, Nathaniel, but I’ll try not to hurt you, okay?”

He grinned. “Actually, I wasn’t thinking about my injuries, I was thinking about you.”

She put the first-aid box on the sink. “Oh, and were you thinking of running off before I got back?”

He lifted her hand and kissed it. “Actually, no, I was thinking how lovely you are and the sacrifices I’d make for you.”

“Really, what sort of sacrifices?”

Snaking his arms around her waist, he gazed into her twinkling green eyes. “I’d die for you, baby.”

She chuckled. “You are so full of it, Nathaniel. Do you really think your charm will get you out of having your wounds cleaned?”

He kissed the end of her nose. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

She grinned teasingly. “Well, it didn’t work, so sit on the stool.”

“What, not even a kiss for my compliment?” Rolling his eyes, he did as he was told, but when he saw the bottle of antiseptic she’d grabbed, he cringed. “Eww, that looks bloody painful. I already suffered when I spilled your father’s cologne on my wounds, now you’re going to torture me some more.”

“I wondered what that strong spicy smell was.” She laughed. “Is that why you swore?”

“You’d swear too if you spilled that stuff on a wound. It stung like Hell.”

She shook her head. “Deary me. What am I going to do with you, Nathaniel?”

He grinned mischievously. “I can give you a few ideas.”

She smacked his behind. “Behave and let me dress your wound. And don’t worry, I’m diluting the antiseptic  with sterile water and ointment.” She took out a swab and dunked in the solution. “Now, turn around and hold your breath because it might sting a bit.”

He sucked in a breath. Hopefully he’d adjusted to coping with pain better. He’d certainly had his share of it since he’d fallen, but when the liniment hit his wounds, he screamed like a child. “Eeeeeoooww.”

“Sorry, baby.”

Looking over his shoulder, he cocked an eyebrow. “Are you being facetious again?”

“No, Nathaniel, I really feel sorry for you. Your injuries are so bad. And look at the state of your fingers.”

He whipped his hands under his arms. “Hey, you’re not putting that Hellfire on my knuckles.”

“Well, let me just put balm on them?”

“No!”

As she continued dabbing ointment on his back, Nathaniel gritted his teeth. The pain was bad enough before, but now it was worse. Plus he didn’t particularly want her scrutinising his wounds in case she figured out how he got them. He blew out a sigh. But what did it matter now? Her memory of him would be erased in a few hours anyway.

“Nathaniel, how did your knuckles get so badly injured?”

He looked down at them and scowled. “I did something stupid.”

She bit her lip. “Were you in a fight or something?”

“You could say that,” he said. “I had a fight with myself. I punched a tree in your garden.”

“Why on Earth would you do that?”

“It doesn’t matter, but I’m really sorry you have to do this for me, especially with you being so squeamish.”

She moved in front of him. “How do you know I’m squeamish?”

Ooops, another slip up. “I ... I just saw the way you looked at my knuckles, so I guessed you were.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “You’re very mysterious, Nathaniel.”

“I am?” He realised he shouldn’t have told her he punched a tree. Now she was probably scared of him. What was he thinking? Maybe he shouldn’t stay here after all. She might be afraid of him now.

“Hey, if you’ve finished torturing me, I’ll put my top on.”

“I’ve finished, but I don’t think you should put a top on yet. Let the wounds dry out a bit. Material will stick to them unless you let me put a lint bandage on.”

“It’s okay, Eloise. I’ll leave my top off for a while.”

Her mouth curving into a smile, she glanced at his chest. “Good, now come with me and I’ll show you the guest room, then we’ll have supper.”

His heart jumping with enthusiasm, he gathered his clothes and shoes, then followed her down the hall. When she opened the guestroom door, he walked in and smiled as he wondered what she’d say if she knew he’d lived there since the day she was born and he knew every room in the house.

“It’s nice and quiet in here,” she said. “It’s away from the road, so you won’t hear the noisy garbage trucks as bad in the morning. The bed’s comfortable and there’s a TV and stereo.”

He plonked his clothes on a chair. “Thanks, Eloise. You’re too good to me.”

Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “That’s because you’re adorable.”

His heart pounding, he was about to pull her into an embrace, but she grabbed his hand and steered him out the door. “Come on. It’s pizza time.”

“Mmm, I can smell it,” he said, inhaling the wonderful aroma that was drifting through the air. As they entered the kitchen, his stomach grumbled at the anticipation of tasting something new.

She opened the fridge and passed him a cola. “Here, you must be thirsty.”

“Thanks,” he said, staring at the bottle. He’d never tried cola before. Smiling, he twisted the lid like he’d seen humans do, but as he lifted the bottle to his lips, the cola fizzed out the top and shot
into his throat and up his nose. Holding his mouth, he spluttered through his fingers.

Eloise chuckled. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “That drink sure has a bite to it.”

Taking it off him, she poured it into a glass. “Here it’ll be easier to drink now.”

“Thanks,” he said, cautiously taking a sip, then he grinned. “Mmm, it tastes pretty good.”

“Have a seat at the table and I’ll bring the pizza over,” she said, opening the oven door.

“I’ll get that for you,” he said, grabbing a tea-towel. “I don’t want you burning yourself.” After lifting it out, he carried it to the table and placed it on the mat. “It certainly looks good.”

She sat in a chair opposite him and began cutting the pizza into slices. “Thanks for visiting my mum, Nathaniel. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s the least I could do for you. You’ve been so kind to me. Plus I wanted to make sure your mother was all right.”

“Well, it put my mind at ease because I was stressing really badly.”

He took another gulp of his cola, “Well, you don’t have to worry. She was reading a book and I made her a cup of tea.”

She stared at him, open-mouthed. “You did?”

He grinned. “Yes, I pretended to be an intern. I know that was bad, but I had to find out how she was doing.”

Eloise held her belly and laughed. “You’re a crack up, Nathaniel. That’s so funny. Did she actually believe you?”

“She seemed to, but there was one scary moment when she noticed the designer jeans I was wearing. She said I had good taste.” He chuckled. “After that, I took off.”

“Oh, my God, that’s hilarious. Imagine if she guessed they were my dad’s?”

“Well, lucky for me, she didn’t.”

Eloise looked at him for a long moment, then quivered. “Well, you’d better get stuck into the pizza while it’s hot. You must be hungry after running all the way to the hospital and back.”

Wondering why she’d trembled just then, he grabbed a piece and started munching into it, “Mmm,” he said, savouring the delicious flavour. “This is so good.”

Still chuckling at him, she took a piece. “I’m glad you like it.”

After guzzling the rest of his cola, he took another piece of pizza and ate it without speaking. The pleasures of food and drink were certainly wonderful, but they didn’t measure up to the enjoyment of kissing Eloise. And the anticipation of holding her again was making him sweat, but now she was laughing at him, he was feeling nervous again.

She stood up and grabbed the dirty plates. “Do you want to watch TV or listen to music?”

He jumped up to help her carry the dishes. “Whatever you want to do is fine by me.”