Page 16 of Fallen Angel
Chapter Seven
He woke with a start, his hand immediately feeling the empty space beside him. Sitting up, he scanned the room, but Angel wasn’t there. He swung his legs over the bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes before he stood, adjusting the jeans he still wore from the night before. Striding from the room, he made his way down the hallway into the open living area and spotted Angel at the kitchen island scribbling a note.
He leaned against the large archway that separated the two rooms. “Are you making a to-do list for the day?” he asked quietly, although he assumed she was writing him a goodbye note.
She looked up at him with wide, nervous eyes. Her face turned bright crimson.
“You’re blushing again,” he said softly. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw a woman blush so much.
The color on her cheeks only deepened. “I…I was just trying to thank you.”
He started toward her. “You seem nervous. Are you okay?”
She blushed even more and tucked her hair behind her ear. “You make me nervous.”
Her innocence drove him wild. He stopped walking. “How so?”
“You’re just so…well…you know…” she said, motioning to his body.
He smiled. “No, I don’t know.”
“Unforgettable,” she blurted. Then she motioned to herself. “While I’m as forgettable as they come.”
More than anything, he wanted to grab her, tear the clothes from her sleek body, and show her just how unforgettable she truly was. His shoulders tensed with restraint as he started toward her again. “Actually, Angel, I’ve not been able to get you out of my mind since I first laid eyes on you.”
She backed up against the fridge. Once again, she tucked her chin to her chest. Her shoulders tensed around her ears as if she expected him to strike her. He stopped in his tracks. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, reaching out a calming hand.
She nodded and swallowed hard. “I know. I can’t help it. I know you don’t mean to, but you make me nervous.”
He held her gaze a moment longer. He wanted to go to her, to be near her, but he didn’t want her to be afraid of him. She seemed to be afraid most of the time. Forcing the tension from his body, he took on an easy stance and moved to the other side of the room and started making coffee. “Stay for breakfast. I’ll make you French toast. It’s impossible to be nervous while eating French toast.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I have some things to figure out, and I have to work tonight and—”
“And we have some things to discuss,” he said, interrupting. “Anyway,” he continued, his lips curved in a slight smile, “you have no choice. You can’t get out of here without my code.”
Her big, beautiful eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Was that supposed to make me feel better, knowing that I’m trapped here?”
“No, it was supposed to demonstrate that I will always tell you the truth. I may be many things, but I’m not a liar. When I tell you I won’t hurt you, I mean it. When I tell you I will protect you, that means you can count on me to keep you safe. When I tell you, that I’ve been unable to think of anything but you for days, despite even my own wishes, it’s because it’s true. You will always get the truth from me, Angel. That’s the one thing I ask from you—honesty. Can you give me that?”
She nodded but remained quiet. At length, her cheeks took on a pink hue, and she asked, “Have you really been thinking about me?”
He crossed back to her side with a full cup of coffee in hand. “I hope you like it black. I have no cream or sugar. And, yes, I really have been thinking about you.”
Her smile widened. She accepted the mug. Holding it in both hands, she brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply. “Black is the only way to drink coffee,” she said, hiding her face behind the mug. “I had a roommate for a brief while who always said he liked his coffee like a candy bar, rich and sweet. But once when he was making the morning coffee he smelled the grounds and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if coffee tasted the way it smelled?’ I pointed out if he didn’t add all that stuff to it that it would.” She laughed nervously. “Sorry,” she said, shifting her gaze to the floor. “I’m talking too much.”
Her trip down memory lane had renewed the tension in his shoulders. “Talk all you want. I like listening, but last night you said you didn’t have a roommate.” He couldn’t handle the idea of another man living with his Angel.
When had she becomehisAngel?
“I don’t. I was just talking about my friend, Matty, from work. His boyfriend kicked him out, so I let him crash on my couch for a few weeks.”
Ethan relaxed and took a long sip of coffee. “So, you don’t have another roommate?”
She shook her head. “No, I prefer to live alone.”
“And you said last night that you don’t have any family.”
She nodded but didn’t offer any more information. Ethan wasn’t going to press her, knowing whatever her story was, it was bound to be tragic. At that moment, he wanted to make her feel at ease. Still, he needed a few questions answered before things went any farther. “How long have you been on your own?”
