Ominous Love (14 page)

Chapter Sixteen

I must
be dreaming again because I'm back in the clouds, but instead of a comfy
white bed to lie on, I'm soaring through the sky. Though it's a wonderful
feeling, I was hoping to dream about the mystery man again,
then
maybe I could finally see his face. As I ascend higher and higher, an icy cold
wind takes my breath away and my ears start popping. I swallow to clear them
and open my eyes.

Shoot! I'm not dreaming. I really am in the
sky—and I'm not alone. I'm in the arms of an angel—a beautiful strong angel with
huge silver wings. My heart beating like a drum, I hold on tight to his powerful
shoulders and gaze into his brilliant blue eyes.

He smiles. “Hello, Miss Beautiful.”

I blink twice. “Seal, you're … you're an
angel? Did Devlin kill you?”

He squeezes me to his bare chest, his arms rippling
with muscles,
then
he kisses my eyes, my cheeks, my
hair. “No, Eloise, Devlin didn't kill me. I've always been an angel, your
guardian angel.”

Oh my God!
A thrill runs through me. He doesn't
have a girlfriend?
I'm
Miss
Beautiful? I gulp. “Am I in heaven? Did the bird eat me?”

Seal throws his head back and laughs. “No,
babe, there was no bird. It was me who saved you. Devlin kidnapped me when I
came to the party to look for you. He drugged me,
then
took me to his dungeon, but I found a way to change back into an angel and rescue
you.”

My mind is spinning and I can't work out if
I'm dreaming or awake. As I pinch my arm to see if it hurts, I glance below. Holy
crap! We're so high up and I can see the ocean miles below us. “This is way
scary,” I yell. “Don't drop me.”

“Don't worry, honey,” he whispers into my
ear. “I won't let you go.”

I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment,
then
as I start to feel secure in his grip, I peek out. When
he ascends upwards, his enormous wings flap in the breeze. It's so quiet up
here, there's nothing but the sound of his wings and the wind in my ears. As we
zoom over the clouds, my silver comb drops out of my hair and my curls fall in
waves around my shoulders and whips across my face.

“Hold on tight to my arms,” he shouts, then
he soars high above the clouds and over the top of a magnificent rainbow, then as
he flutters down the other side, I gasp as we descend onto a familiar white cloud.

As he lays me softly down, I gaze at his
beautiful face and smile. I can't believe I'm actually on the feather bed from
my dreams, and lying next to me is the mystery man, my very own angel with a
body to die for. His bare thighs are burning through the tears in his ripped
denim jeans, sending my pulse racing with desire. I've surely died and gone to
heaven. As tears of joy gather in my eyes, he takes me in his arms and kisses
them away. “Don't cry, Eloise. No one can harm you here.”

I melt into his bare chest and inhale his
sweet scent. “I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm happy because I'm here with you,
Seal. The moment I saw you on the beach, I had a feeling you were the boy from
my dreams, but I would never have guessed you were an angel. I'm so happy
Devlin didn't harm you.”

He squeezes me tight. “Eloise, you've no idea
how relieved I am now that you're away from that monster, and Father Luke. I
would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

“But it wouldn't have been your fault, Seal.
You begged me not to go to that party with Tom. I should've listened to you. I
put my own life in danger, as well as yours.”

He looks deep into my eyes. “Eloise, I'm your
guardian angel. I've been watching over you and keeping you from danger since the
day you were born. It's my responsibility to make sure nothing happens to you,
so I would be to blame, not you.”

My jaw drops. “So it was you who saved me from
all those near accidents?”

He grins.
“Yes, you little
klutz, you certainly kept me busy.”

I smile. “You saved me from the car in the
fog?”

He sighs. “Now, that was scary. I only just
managed to blow you out of the way in time.”

I chuckle. “Did you throw the cricket ball at
Tom's window, too?”

He frowns. “I most certainly did.”

“Oh my goodness.
You've seen everything.” I blush
at the thought of it.

He holds my face between his hands and kisses
the tip of my nose. “You've done nothing to be ashamed of, Eloise, though I
can't say the same about myself.”

“What do you mean?”

Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath,
then
he looks at me. “The reason you found me naked on the
beach was because God burnt my wings off with a bolt of lightning, then I fell
from the sky into the ocean.”

I sit upright. “You're kidding. No wonder you
were unconscious. But why did God burn your wings off, and how did you get them
back?”

He takes my hands in his. “It's a long story,
so listen carefully. It has to do with Devlin, Tom and you.”

The mention of Devlin's name gives me the
creeps and I start to shiver. “What does Tom have to do with Devlin? They don't
even know each other.”

“That's right. They only recently met. You
see, Devlin is also a fallen angel.

“What?” I hold my mouth. “How can that evil
man be an angel?”

“Eloise, listen to me carefully.” He puts a
finger on my lips to stop me from interrupting him. “Before I tell you about
Devlin, I have to explain something.”

Sitting cross-legged, I face him. “Okay.”

He looks at me for a long moment, his eyes
serious. “Your paternal grandfather is a fallen angel.”

“What? How can my dad’s father be an angel?”

Seal shakes his head. “No, Eloise. He’s a
fallen
angel. He lost his wings because
he yearned for physical pleasures and succumbed to temptation.”

“Does my father know?”

“No, he doesn't, but his father isn’t exactly
bad.
It goes back to the sixties when
a group of angels lost their wings after seeking human pleasure in a commune of
hippies. These hippies were into free love and three angels that were guarding
some of these wild teens decided they'd prefer to join them. Of course they
lost their wings for breaking the law, and your grandfather was one of them. So
you see, Eloise, you’re your father is the result of the union between a fallen
angel and a human girl.”

I blink. This is hard to comprehend. “So my
dad’s father is a fallen angel, but what about his mother? Does she know her
husband used to be an angel?”

“No, and your grandfather probably has no
memory of it either. He just lives a normal life as a human. When angels lose their
wings, they can become human, or live on earth as a demon. Your grandfather
chose to be a good man, not a demon.”

My head is spinning as I try to understand it
all. “Can he become an angel again?”

“No. He lost God's trust for that position.
He had children. If you lose your wings, you have to earn them back,
usually
before you have children.”

“So let me get this straight. Devlin is a
fallen angel and is now human and can have kids? What did he do wrong? Why did
he kidnap me? And what about you, Seal? Why did you lose your wings? And how
come you got yours back and Devlin didn't?”

Seal looks at me and sighs. “Devlin wanted to
be assigned as your guardian angel because it's a privilege for an angel to
guard the bloodline of another angel. But I was chosen and Devlin has hated me
ever since. His envy, low self-esteem, and yearning for revenge upon me
corrupted him. And as you grew up and became more beautiful, he was determined
to have you in whatever way he could. But angels can't have physical relationships
with humans, not unless they possess a human body. So whenever Tom was alone
with you, Devlin took over
his
body.”

I hold my head. “Hang on a minute. So every
time Tom got a little carried away with me, it was really
Devlin
possessing his body?”

“I'm afraid so, but only when Tom was alone
with you, like at his home and in your bedroom.”

“So when Tom took me to his house, it was
really Devlin?”

“Yes, but I don't know when Devlin took over,
you'd know better. His personality would change. I'm your guardian angel, so I
sense when you're in danger and just turn up. When I got to Tom's house, he was
pulling your clothes off, or should I say, Devlin was. I made the cricket ball
go through the window to distract him,
then
you
snatched the iPad. What a great idea. I was so proud of you. Devlin uses Tom's
iPad to find out his plans, so he wouldn't have wanted it broken. I was so
relieved when you got away from him."

“So Tom's not so bad after all? Was it Tom or
Devlin fighting with you on my front lawn?”

“I had amnesia then, but I suspect it was
Devlin, and Tom.”

“But the time Tom sneaked into my bedroom, I
was dreaming about the faceless mystery man, which is you. I was kissing you,
Seal. Then I woke and found Tom in my room, and he said I was kissing him, not
the other way around.” I stare at Seal, confused.

Seal blushes and kneels on the bed in front
of me. “I told you I'm not innocent.” He looks away, then back into my eyes. “That
night when Tom came in to your bedroom, Devlin was waiting and watching outside
your window. I was doing my guardian angel duties and watching you from up
here. I sensed you were in danger and when Devlin possessed Tom's body, I tried
to wake you by communicating with your unconscious mind, to warn you. But when
Devlin started kissing you, you thought he was some mystery man in your dream
and instead of pushing him away, you kissed him back. I had to stop Devlin from
raping you, so I flew into Tom's body and forced him out. I struck him with a
lightning bolt and burned his wings off.”

I hold my face. “Oh, my god, Seal, I thought
I was kissing you, but you did nothing wrong. You saved me.”

He looks at his finger, and then gazes at me
through long dark lashes. “Yes, but when Devlin left Tom's body, I didn't. The
temptation for that one kiss was just too much for me. I've been in love with
you for so long that once I felt what it was like to physically hold you in my
arms, I got a bit carried away; especially when you kissed me back. Your scent
intoxicated me and your skin was so soft and smooth, and if it wasn't for
Matilda jumping between us, who knows what would have happened, especially if
you’d kissed me back.”

So Seal really
does
love me? I tingle all over and blush with pleasure at his
words. I giggle. “No wonder I was enjoying that dream so much.”

“Yes, but look what happened. I lost my wings
just like Devlin, but I also lost my memory. Then as a man, I fell in love with
you all over again, but when my memory came back and I saw Devlin was a human,
I realised I could no longer protect you from him. He was in your garden,
spying on you, waiting for an opportunity to meet you in person. I realised the
only way to help you was to beg for God’s forgiveness and get my wings back.”

I frown. “Was that when you ran off into the
wood in the rain? That was so sad.”

“Yes. God told me that because I hadn't
actually had sex with you, I could earn my wings back by proving I could resist
the temptation of you. I had to earn his trust again. He said I was to stay
with you until your parents came home, but I wasn't allowed to touch or kiss
you. You see, Eloise, I didn't push you away because I had a girlfriend, or
because I didn't feel anything for you. It was because I love you so much and I
wanted to save you. It was so hard to resist you when you were so near,
especially with Tom and Devlin both trying to make out with you.”

I hug him close. “I didn't want them, Seal. I
only wanted you. I only went to the party with Tom to make you jealous.”

He grips my arms and looks deep into my eyes.
“But it didn't matter that you didn't want them. Devlin was determined to have
you, not matter what. I had no powers other than the strength of a man, and you
know now what he's capable of. So you see I
had
to sacrifice our relationship in order to get my wings back—so I could protect
you.”

I look into his eyes, my heart pummelling, panic
setting in. “You sacrificed our relationship? What does that mean, Seal?”

He wraps his arms around me. “Oh, Eloise, I so
wanted to stay human and be with you, but if I had, you would still be with
Devlin as a prisoner in his castle. There would've been no way for me to find
you. You see Devlin tricked me. He knew if he possessed Tom's body and tried to
make love to you that I would stop him and burn his wings off. That's what he
wanted. He yearned to be sent to earth as a man,
then
he could experience the physical pleasures that humans have. He fell in love
with you, too, but he's jealous and vain. He wanted you to love him, not Tom,
not me. Plus he wanted his revenge on me, which he surely got.”

“How come Devlin’s got blood feathers on his
back, but you didn’t have any?”