Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2) (3 page)

“I’ll go to dinner with you,” I exhaled. “As
friends.”

“I already made the reservations,” he called
over his shoulder.

Of course he did.

Angel
Love

I raised my hand to catch the white and red
rose petals that glided down from the sky. I watched in awe as they landed
peacefully on the ground. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, making the
flowers on the forest floor dance. This place looked peaceful and alive, like it
was torn directly from a fairy tale. I glanced down at my clothes. I was
wearing a white gown that flowed all the way down to the floor and then along
the ground for a meter.

“Ruby? Are you okay?”

I recognized the voice. I glanced at my
companion. Hunter. He stood beside me in a tuxedo, looking very handsome.

“I’m … I’m fine.”

I looked around; suddenly we were standing
in front of hundreds of people in the middle of a rainforest. Trees were
decorated in white and red, the crowd was split up into two big groups and
separated by a long red carpet. I had no idea why it took me so long to piece
it all together, it was painfully obvious. I was at a wedding, my wedding.

“You may now kiss the bride,” said an old
man that stood before us.

Hunter leaned towards me and I couldn’t move.
My mouth was moving but the words wouldn’t come out. Out of the corner of my
eye, I saw a tall figure standing at the back of the crowd.

“Eli?” I called out.

My eyes were focused only on him; he
returned my stare with a hard gaze, his face pained and hurt.

“Eli!” I called, but only my mouth moved.

Hunter moved towards me in extreme slo-mo. I
turned and ran down the red carpet. Eli stood at the end, shaking his head,
urging me to turn around. The carpet grew longer and longer, keeping Eli just out
of arm’s reach.

“Stop, Ruby,” he begged. “We can never be
together. Go back, Hunter loves you. Don’t do this to him.”

“No, Eli!” I cried as he faded into
darkness. “I love you!”

I woke up with a gasp. The dream replayed in
my mind as my heart beat rapidly in my chest. The early morning light peering
through my window was enough to force me out of bed.

“Ahh, shit!” I stood on my sore ankle. It
was feeling a lot better since last night but it was still quite tender.

“Ruby? What time is it?” squeaked Mila.

I glanced over at the alarm clock. “Seven.”

Mila sat up in her bed, rubbing sleep away
from her eyes.

“And what are you doing? You’ve never been
up this early.”

“Bad dream. I’m going to have a shower and
then I’ll probably go to breakfast.”

Thinking about breakfast made my stomach
groan and my headache worse. It felt like someone was using a jackhammer on my
skull.

“Okay, I’ll get dressed. I want to hear all
about last night! The word is that you went with Hunter!”

“Really? That’s what people are talking about?
Why can’t it be that Eli has returned or —”

“Eli’s back? Wait! Don’t say anything. Have
a shower, get dressed, and we’ll talk about it over breakfast! How exciting!”

I couldn’t bring myself to argue right now.
My brain and my stomach wouldn’t allow me to. If I had known what a hangover
felt like, I never would have touched the alcohol.

The shower was a godsend. I had fallen
straight to sleep after Hunter said goodnight. I never got a chance to think
things through. What better way than standing under warm flowing water beating
down on my back?

So starting from the beginning; Rylan and
Raina, Eli returned and tonight … oh god. I completely forgot I had agreed to
go to dinner with Hunter tonight. He said he’d already made reservations, which
meant he would have got a clearance and a guardian angel chauffeur to take us.
I sighed. I guess I can’t back out at the last minute now.

Getting dressed and arriving at the dining
hall was a blur. My mind was preoccupied with too many things, like Eli and
Hunter and trying not to vomit at all the ‘breakfasty’ breakfast options — bacon,
eggs, yogurt, milk, cereals and toast. My stomach lurched at the thought of any
of those.

“Let’s sit over there,” Mila suggested. Of
course she was pointing over to Gabriel and Hunter.

“No, please!” I begged. “I already have to
spend dinner with him, can we leave breakfast out of it?”

She glanced longingly at their table.

“Besides, I can’t tell you all the gossip
when they’re sitting right next to us.”

“Fine. Here will do,” she said with a pout.

It wasn’t like our seating choice mattered
anyway. Within minutes, Gabriel and Hunter flung themselves into the seats next
to us.

‘Good morning, ladies,” Hunter greeted,
sliding a bowl of fruit salad in front of me. My stomach groaned.

“Good morning,” Mila replied so cheerfully
it made me want to vomit even more.

“Not feeling too crash hot this morning,
Ruby?” Gabriel asked.

“Eh,” I groaned.

Gabriel and Mila engaged in conversation
and giggles as I slid the bowl forward and put my head down face first onto the
table.

“I assumed you’d be someone who could
handle their alcohol … and hangovers.” Hunter chuckled.

“I’ve never touched alcohol in my life
before last night.”

Hunter brushed hair out of my face and I
turned to face him.

“You’re kidding.”

I shook my head.

“I’m sorry … I thought you … really? Never?”

“Never.”

“Well, I’m glad I was your first …” he said
mockingly.

Eli had said that exact statement before he
left. He’d said he was proud of me and I told him no one had ever said that to
me before. Hunter had eavesdropped in on the conversation, giving me shit about
it a few minutes later and again now.

I couldn’t help but laugh. It was one of
those jokes that aren’t actually funny, but when you say it at the right time,
it suddenly becomes funny.

“Ruby.”

Eli’s voice hit me and I lifted my head
toward him like a hypnotized cobra. Of course he looked amazing; he had the
‘just-got-out-of-the-shower’ clean skin and crisp scent, styled messy hair, and
the sky blue shirt he wore made his skin look deliciously tan and his deep
green eyes stand out.

“How’s your ankle?” he asked.

Oh, don’t get me started on his voice …
deep and husky, yet smooth like velvet.

“A lot better this morning … thank you.”

He nodded and continued walking towards the
other guardians, who greeted him with handshakes and hugs. My eyes fell onto
the wooden table.

“Is everything okay?” Mila mumbled to me.

“Everything is fine,” I replied. “It’s just
weird seeing him again after the whole Tay thing.”

It wasn’t a total lie; it was weird seeing
him again. Not only because I was the reason that he’d murdered his friend and
fellow guardian angel, or because I was the reason he was stuck with the higher
power for three months, but also because I was head over heels in love with
him. I had never admitted that to myself before now. I love Eli De Luca.

“I actually ran into him after leaving your
dorm last night,” Hunter said.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he, uh, was quite angry with me.”

“What happened? What did he say?” Mila pried.

“The usual … don’t go into the girl’s
dorms, blah, blah, blah.”

There was no doubt that Eli would have been
pissed off at Hunter. I spared Hunter a thank you glance for keeping the whole
alcohol thing to himself. It’s not that I didn’t trust Mila, I do, but I couldn’t
risk Raina finding out anything else. Raina had been very quiet lately. I got no
snarky comments or smirks when I walked by her, in fact, her beady blue eyes
don’t even make contact with mine. When Raina is attacking me, I’m a lot more
stress free. She attacks me with insults like vamp girl or whore because she
has nothing else on me. It’s the silence that makes me nervous … I know she’s
planning something, something big.

“Ruby and I were going to have breakfast
together … alone. I have a few things I want to talk to her about, so …”

That was Mila’s way of telling them leave.

“Say no more,” Gabriel began. “We have training
to get to, anyway.”

“See you tonight.” Hunter winked.

“He’s such a gentleman.” Mila sighed,
watching Gabriel’s back as he and Hunter walked away.

“He’s also a guardian angel,” I reminded
her.

“I know. We’re just friends …”

“Somehow I don’t believe that.”

“Anyway …” she continued, changing the
subject. “I heard you went to the dance with Hunter last night?”

“It’s a long story. I wasn’t intending on
going with him, but he showed up and we walked together. Rylan showed up, then
he got mad, and then Eli came back and I ended up rolling my ankle …” I sighed.
“It was one big mess.”

“Wow. You do have the most interesting
life.”

“Interesting? Hardly … It’s more
complicated, if anything.” If only she knew. “And now I’m going to dinner with
Hunter tonight,” I added.

“How exciting! Do you think you guys will
be boyfriend-girlfriend?”

I cringed at the sound of it. It was so
childish. “No. I agreed to it last night, under the influence of alcohol and
guilt.”

“I don’t know why you aren’t interested in
anyone at SS … There are plenty of gods to choose from.”

I shrugged. The sad reality is I don’t want
a god, I want an angel.

“I’m just not interested right now. I’m
still getting over things. I need more time.”

“Well, when you decide to date … keep me in
the loop!” She giggled.

We finished breakfast and exited the hall. Today
was Saturday and we had nothing to do. On weekends we can choose from a variety
of activities from sports like soccer, cricket, touch football, and so on, or
quieter recreational hobbies such as art, knitting, or necklace making. I liked
to spend my Saturdays with Mila in the library or by the pond; there Mila would
try to teach me how to conjure water balls. No luck so far.

Originally, Hunter and I had planned to meet
up and he was going teach me how to use my magic, but after the whole Hank
thing, I didn’t want to risk being caught. After I told Mila about it, she
decided she’d help me instead. She figured if we were caught, nothing too bad
would happen because I was with her.

“To the library?”

“I suppose … there isn’t anything else to
do.”

The library was empty. This made it harder
to blend in and practice unnoticed. The smell of old and new dusty books filled
my nose. It was a smell I usually love and inhaled willingly, but today it was
a smell that repulsed me, forcing me to hold my breath. I paced quickly through
the library and breathed in the fresh air as I stepped onto the balcony.

“Are you going to be sick?” Mila asked.

“No … at least, I don’t think so. The smell
was too much.”

“Serves you right.” She chuckled. “They ran
out of cups so I can’t get any water. We’re going to have to read instead.”

It was easier said than done. I tried hard
to focus on the words but my mind wouldn’t let me. The writing sprawled out on
the paper before me, spinning out of control, making my stomach even more
upset.

“I can’t do this today. I need to rest.”

“You need fresh air; we’ll go to the oval
and relax on the grass. It’s Saturday, I can’t imagine too much would be going
on down there. Maybe a soccer game, but we can sit away from that.”

“I can’t imagine too much would be going on
down there.” I mocked her as we came to a stop on the edge of the field. The
oval was filled with topless gods and guardian angels fighting each other.

“Mila!” I groaned, when I realized she’d
only suggested the oval so she could watch Gabriel train. “This is too far. He’s
a guardian angel, you might want each other, but it can never happen. Don’t think
about yourself, think about Gabriel. You might be able to get on with your life
once the higher power interferes, but what about Gabriel? He’ll be banished to
live among humans and he’ll have all his abilities and wings taken from him. Is
that worth risking?”

I quieted my voice as I came to my own
realization. Mila’s eyes fell onto the grass. I don’t know the exact time the
relationship between Eli and I escalated to the point of him risking his life
for me, killing for me, and lying for me, but it was my fault.

“I’m, uh, going to go back to the dorm. All
this sun is giving me a headache,” Mila replied.