Page 145 of Crimson Promises
Guess my night isn’t close to being over with.
No matter how challenging the task, Bennett had remained true to his word. He was always there, guiding me with his gentle touch and husky voice. Ben taught me some basic spells that he instructed sternly should only be used as a last resort.Exarmarewas to be used to disarm,sputumto conjure a shield,deflectereto deflect, andnovato blind my opponent with a large burst of light.
Most of the spells derived from various forms of Latin, which Ben explained was conceived from the language other fallen angels brought to earth when they were cast out of Heaven. As mortals began to grow and evolve, so did the various dialects.
Finally, we returned to the cliffs where we had started the night.
I crossed my legs under myself and scanned the view below. Wide beaches were hugged by sandy and burnt colored cliffs. “It really is beautiful out here.”
“When the sun peeks above the horizon at dawn, they look like they’ve been set on heavenly fire. It is a sight to behold.”
“I’d like to see that. One day.”
Ben’s knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms draped loosely over his knees. He kept giving me brief side-long glances.
The tension between us was scalding and tense, like the air before a thunderstorm. I wasn’t ready for lightning to strike just yet. I needed to somehow distract the urge that my magic had to soothe his broken and jagged edges. “You owe me at least five questions I haven’t collected on yet.”
“Don’t I get the chance to ask some of my own questions? I think I earned the right to ask them as much as you have today.” He leaned forward infinitesimally.
“Alright, fine.” I blew a breath upwards to loosen a strand that had escaped my hair tie.
“Before all of this happened to you, what was your plan for your life?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Don’t you already know? You watched me for so long I assumed you knew all there is to know about me.”
He propped his cheek on his fist.
“While I may have pieced some things together, once you got older, I couldn’t talk to you anymore. One thing I’ve learned is that nothing remains constant. I can’t know your dreams and deepest desires by watching you, Aurora.”
“Speaking of watching me, did you watch me during intimate moments, while I was in the shower or, um,” my cheeks flooded at the thought.
“Pleasuring yourself?” He smirked.
“Yeah. That.”
He reached out a hand and patted my leg. “Never. You’re entitled to privacy, and if I’m being candid, the thought of listening to that would have driven me wild. I was doing both of us a favor by keeping my distance. Though I will have to say, I didn’t know books had that kind of effect on women.”
I cocked my head. “You’d be surprised at how skilled authors are at knowing what chords to hit to ignite the flame of imagination to life. Women want to be wooed and teased. Taunted and worshipped. Our bodies want to be pulled taut until that bow is played in the precise way needed to achieve a blissful release.”
“Hm… I’ll need to borrow a few then.” His hand, which practically covered my entire thigh, drew large, lazy circles near my knee.
“Certainly, that can be arranged.”
“So…my question,” he said, squeezing my thigh.
“Books have always been my refuge, which you already know. I’ve always been attracted to both history and literature. I thought maybe I would try and get into publishing or perhaps become a professor myself. I don’t have a defined idea of a career, but I know that I want it to have something to do with books and reading. I’ve always wanted to travel and see the world. See the pyramids, Stonehenge, the Cliffs of Moher, the Colosseum, and Machu Pichu. Places that I’ve read about in books. I want to see, feel, touch them, and breathe in life that existed thousands of years before me. Have a strong group of women in my life who empower and respect me. Eventually, I wanted to have a family of my own, maybe adopt a child that lost a parent like I’ve lost mine.” I wrung my hands in front of me. “That probably sounds silly to you.”
“It doesn’t. All of it sounds wonderful, Aurora, and you should have all that you dreamed about.” He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. The bond between us went limp as if it was heavy with sadness. “Seems like you already have the answers to the questions you resist asking yourself. You can live a full life here, to be or do anything you want, to have it mean something. There is nothing for you in Heaven except power and pain. Trust me on that, at least.”
There’s you,my treacherous mind answered.
“So, you don’t think I should choose to be an angel then?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Maybe not those exact words, but it was implied.”
Ben took his hand from my leg, and I wanted to pick it up and drag it back. “My experience as an angel has been tumultuous. My background is my own, and it shouldn’t influence your decision. Your decision should be yours. If you had the chance to talk to a Gifted angel, they would have something very different to offer you.”
