It was
more than he had been told before.
“Am I to
believe that there is someone who seeks to harm her?” It had always
been there at the back of his mind. Why would a mortal need an
angel to watch over them until a certain point in time? Why would
they need a protector unless someone intended to hurt them? He had
never been told to guide her on her path. His mission had always
been phrased in a way that made him believe it was physical
protection that she had needed in order to achieve her
destiny.
“You must
not allow demons to interfere with her existence.”
Marcus’s
gaze snapped back to his superior and he stared wide-eyed at him.
“Demons?”
The
sandy-haired man nodded. “You must keep the female safe until the
event that we have witnessed comes to pass.”
“And what
is this event?” Marcus knew he had pushed too far again when
darkness crossed his superior’s face.
“It is
not necessary for you to know that right now, Marcus. We need you
to focus on your mission. It has become critical that you gain her
trust. Your attempt failed. Your mission was clear. You will get
closer to her by any means. Do you understand?”
Marcus
wasn’t sure that he wanted to understand.
“What are
you implying exactly?” He frowned at his superior, wanting him to
say the words so he knew exactly what they were ordering him to do.
So everyone here knew and acknowledged the order they were giving
him.
“The
female is enamoured with you. You are to use that to gain her
trust.”
Marcus’s
heart raced, anger curling through his body as he looked at all
three men seated before him and searched each of their faces for a
sign that this was some sort of sick joke. Their expressions
remained cold and fixed, hard as they stared back at him. He reined
in his outrage and stifled it, unwilling to allow it to control him
and give away how much he despised the thought of what they were
asking of him let alone the reality of it.
He had no
desire to be false with Amelia or hurt her, and they were ordering
him to do just that.
“Why is
having her trust so important?” he bit out the words and then
clamped his jaw shut before he could add that it was despicable of
them to do such a thing to a mortal. He had no love for the mortals
himself but he had principles. He was an angel, born into a race
created to protect humans, not deceive them and lead them into
sinning. That was the job of those in the service of the
Devil.
“Silence,
Marcus.”
He glared
at his superior, barely restraining his fury and desire to argue.
Using Amelia’s feelings in such a way went against everything he
stood for, all of his principles and his honour, and was callous
and cruel. He had no desire to hurt her.
“Follow
your orders.”
Marcus
went to speak but the light engulfed him again. When it faded, he
was standing outside the café where he had shared coffee with
Amelia.
He tilted
his head back and frowned at the colourful evening sky. They had
returned him to the exact moment in time that they had taken him.
Why? It wasn’t like them.
He looked
down at himself and noted that he was dressed now, wearing a dark
blue shirt and dark jeans with his boots. It was a little smarter
than his usual attire and it was his true appearance, not a glamour
they had cast upon him. They had even neatened his hair for him,
combing the unruly black lengths back out of his face. Why? They
had to be up to something.
The
answer became apparent when Amelia walked past him, heavy white
plastic grocery bags hanging from her arms.
They
certainly weren’t wasting any time. They had dressed him up and
sent him back to the moment they had taken him so he could seduce
Amelia tonight.
Marcus
shook his head. He couldn’t do such a thing and he doubted she
would go for it even if he tried. His actions the other day had
driven her away and she hadn’t even looked at him the two times
they had passed each other today.
Although,
he suspected that her reason for ignoring him just now was because
she literally hadn’t seen him.
He waved
at another passerby, his hand close to their face, and they didn’t
even flinch.
When the
person had passed him and there were no others in sight, he lifted
the glamour that made him invisible to mortal eyes and hurried
towards the entrance to his apartment building, determined to reach
it before Amelia stepped into the lift. The dull silver lift doors
were closing just as he stepped into the foyer and he raced for
them.
“Hold
it,” he hollered and was surprised when the doors opened again and
he stepped inside to find that Amelia was alone.
Had she
known it was him and that was why she had held the doors, or hadn’t
she realised? He pinched the bridge of his nose. A man could go
crazy trying to figure out the inner workings of the female mind.
It was little wonder he had never bothered to try before
now.
The
journey up to their floor passed in uncomfortable silence and it
was only when they were stepping out of the lift that inspiration
struck Marcus.
He
couldn’t disobey his orders to gain her trust but that didn’t mean
he had to play the cad and seduce her. He would try the friendship
thing again and hopefully this time he wouldn’t mess it up. Rather
than using her attraction towards him, he would do something he had
never done. He would lower his guard and let her in instead, and
gain her trust that way, as a man would, not a devil. No
deception.
Marcus
reminded himself that he was already deceiving her. She had no idea
what he really was and why he had been living next door to her for
a month now.
“Amelia,”
he said and she stopped at her door and turned to face him. Her
beauty arrested his steps and his breath, chasing away some of his
anger. He hesitated and then walked over to her, broadcasting as
much confidence as he could manage given the unfamiliar situation.
“I apologise about yesterday. Can I make it up to you
somehow?”
She
smiled. “Dinner would be good.”
Like a
date? That didn’t sound good at all. That sounded like what his
superior had ordered him to do. Marcus squirmed for a few seconds,
battling the part of him that said it wouldn’t be so bad to seduce
her. She was beautiful and he was finding it increasingly difficult
to get dancing Amelia out of his head and his dreams.
“How
about dinner at my place?” he said without thinking and the way her
face lit up was all the answer he needed. It had been impulsive but
it had avoided taking her out to dinner and therefore any sense
that this was more than platonic.
He
frowned.
Or had he
only made it sound more like an offer of sex?
Dinner in
his apartment could easily be classified as more intimate than
dinner in a restaurant.
“Great.
I’ll be over in half an hour.” With that, she opened the door to
her apartment and closed it behind her, leaving him standing in the
cream hallway trying to figure out what he had offered
her.
Perhaps
he should call for assistance. He knew one angel in London. Einar
was fallen thanks to his forbidden relationship with a female
half-demon but that very fact only meant that he was qualified to
answer Marcus’s questions.
Marcus
opened the door to his own apartment with the intent of calling
Einar and interrogating him about women and whether he had just
offered something a touch more intimate than anticipated but halted
halfway to the telephone. The apartment was a mess.
He had
never really paid much attention to his living quarters but it
certainly didn’t look like the sort of place a man should invite a
woman into. He swapped calling Einar for a quick sweep of his
apartment, using his supernatural speed to toss all dirty clothes
into the laundry basket in his bathroom, straighten furniture, and
clear the dust away before Amelia knocked on his door. If there was
any time left on the clock, he would phone his friend for advice,
but it wasn’t looking promising. The bathroom was a mess too and so
was the kitchen, and she was likely to visit both of those
places.
Dinner in
a restaurant suddenly looked more appealing.
Marcus
stopped dead in the middle of the kitchen, turned on his heel, and
gingerly opened the white refrigerator. The only thing in it was
some old cheese he hadn’t particularly enjoyed the taste of and a
half eaten melon that had seen better days. There was no need to
inspect the dark wooden cupboards. He could definitely recall
eating the remaining half a box of cereal this morning whilst
thinking and the carton was still on his bedside table to prove
it.
Someone
knocked on the door.
Marcus
spun to face the kitchen doorway and looked through it to the
entertainment centre in the living room. He glared at the clock on
his DVD player. Amelia was ten minutes early. He cursed. No time to
correct the food problem or call Einar. He scanned the pale
apartment en route to the door and, satisfied that it now appeared
far less like the bachelor pad it was, opened it.
His
greeting fled his lips the moment he set eyes on her.
She had
changed out of the short jacket, t-shirt and jeans she had been
wearing in the lift and into a rather alluring little dark red
dress that had him clearing his throat and searching for a
compliment.
“You
look…” What would she like to hear? The expectant shine to her eyes
and the tentative smile curving the corners of her glossy cherry
lips said that she was hoping to hear beautiful or similar, and he
would be a liar if he said anything less. “Stunning.”
Stunning
was apt. He certainly felt as though she had clobbered
him.
“You
don’t look half bad yourself.” She smiled and he went to follow
suit but then she held up a bottle in front of her and he froze. “I
only had rosé. I know it’s a bit girly but it would’ve been rude to
bring nothing.”
He hadn’t
really taken in anything she had said whilst he had been staring at
his nemesis.
Alcohol.
Of course
she would bring alcohol. It was the right response to the
situation, wasn’t it? A man invited her to dinner in his apartment.
She brought something to make the evening go without a
hitch.
He forced
a smile and reached out to take it, but she drew it back to her
chest, clutching it there and eyeing him closely.
“That’s
not a good smile. I’ve seen that smile before,” she said with a
small frown and looked down at the bottle. “It’s really all I had
but then I guess you’re probably a beer drinker.”
“No.” He
snatched the bottle from her, accidentally brushing her cleavage at
the same time. Could someone in Heaven reverse the past thirty
minutes for him and give him a second chance in which not to make a
complete idiot of himself?
The blush
on Amelia’s cheeks and the way she was staring at her breasts said
it all. He had practically groped her. Considering he had wanted
this evening to be little more than just opening up to her and
gaining her trust through friendship, he was certainly sending out
the wrong sort of signals. Were his superiors in Heaven tampering
with him or something? He didn’t feel at all like himself and he
was currently on course for gaining her trust the way they
wanted.
Still,
the feel of her soft breasts beneath his fingers in that flash of a
caress had his heart racing and palms sweating. He was a stranger
to physical intimacy but had witnessed enough carnal matters as a
watcher to know the sordid things humans did. It hadn’t interested
him much in the past, but the more he focused on his hand and the
area that had brushed her chest and on how beautiful Amelia looked
tonight, the more appealing interacting with her physically
became.
Cad.
The
object of tonight’s mission wasn’t seduction. It was forming the
foundations of friendship.
She
stared at him, making him heavily aware that he should have said
something to explain his reaction rather than drifting off into a
fantasy world.
“The wine
you have brought is not the problem... and it is most
appreciated... but... I just don’t really drink.” He shrugged and
hoped she would let it go and not pursue the subject. He wasn’t
sure what he would say if she asked him why he didn’t drink. Could
he play the role of recovering alcoholic? Would that dampen
Amelia’s desire for him?
Marcus
wasn’t sure whether that would be a good thing or a bad
thing.
“Oh.” Her
eyebrows rose, bringing her head up with them, and he wished she
would stop looking at him in a way that left him feeling
emasculated. She nodded a few times and then said, “So you don’t
drink coffee and you avoid alcohol. Are you one of those vegan
types too?”
“Hell
no.” He stepped back, horrified at the suggestion. He could eat a
whole cow in one sitting when on Earth. In Heaven, he didn’t have
to eat at all, but that certainly didn’t place him in the vegan
category. There was nothing wrong with abstaining from certain
substances that didn’t agree with your lifestyle choice, but this
wasn’t one of those times and he would be happy to prove it to
her.