Page 19 of Scrooged for the Holidays
I stand from my chair and step in his path, grabbing his biceps. His muscles flex beneath my palms. “What do I need to be concerned about?”
Sam brushes off my hands and shoves his in the pockets of his slacks. His nearly black eyes are heavy with his emotions, a mix of concern, stress, pain, and anger. Many beings couldn’t begin to fathom all that he feels, most Nephilim included.
His angelic grace, granting him visions of futures, deaths, and endings for all souls save the Nephilim and Angels, presses on him like a constant weight. It would be a lot for anyone to see other people’s grief, to experience the weight of how their choices affect the ending of their lives. It’s worn him down over the centuries. Kai and I do our best to help him, and he manages most of the time, but our new guest has disrupted his usual steady demeanor.
“Don’t play dumb, Remi. You know better than I do that Kai should not have even entertained an intimate connection with our job, a single kiss or otherwise.”
“Her name is Greer.”
Sam scowls at me. “Don’t tell me she’s got you under some kind of spell as well?”
“No, she hasn’t. I haven’t spent enough time with her yet for that to be true.”
“Maybe not, but you haven’t cared if I called a human by their name or not before.”
I cross my arms over my chest. I don’t think I’d call what I feel being under a spell. Part of what I’m best at is living in the present, taking things in as they are and evaluating them then leading in kind. The pull I felt to Greer at Holly’s spiked my curiosity. Kai’s desire for her matches the attraction I felt as well.
Should I be concerned by what it all means? Maybe. But I’m oddly grounded now that she’s here, even with the hunger still rolling in my gut. The more I pull it apart, I realize the hunger is desperate to not only be around her but to get to know her as well. Touch her. If I were in Kai’s position, I have no doubt I would have kissed her. Maybe done more, regardless of the fact she’s here for us to guide.
Sam’s black aura, one that signifies his lineage and the power of his grace and is usually calm like the night sky, emanates from his being. The sight of it is curious. Normally, I tap into his energy to see it, but it’s expanding around him all on its own like he can’t control it.
“Sam,” I say carefully. “I know our reactions to Greer aren’t normal, but it’s affecting you deeply.” I lift my gaze to the smoky tendrils pulsing around him. His back straightens when he realizes what’s happening, and his aura snaps back into his body like a rubber band.
I take a tentative step toward him, thankful he allows me to place a calming hand on his shoulder, soothing him with my own aura, light easing dark. He closes his eyes, taking an inhale, and reopens them on an exhale. His angry gaze still remains, but he’s back in control now, pupils focused.
“Sam,what—”
“I know you live in the present, Remi—it’s what makes you, you.” He cuts me off, obviously not wanting to speak about what just happened. “But I need you to think about the whole picture here.Greeris here because she needs our help, not because she needs to be kissed or otherwise. We need to stick to the routine: three days, three visions. Then she’s gone.”
My gaze is still locked on his when it occurs to me. “Is there something you know that you’re not telling me?”
He places his hand over mine on his shoulder. “Greer is here to learn. Her gray aura is unlike any we’ve seen; she was brought to us for a reason.”
“I know that. You know that I know that.”
“Then be reasonable.”
I sigh. “Nothing that has been said or done so far today will change what she sees here, and nothing will.”
“You don’t know that,” he says with a conviction that makes me wonder if he’s seen something in her future already that would. “Sexual intimacy can change everything,” he adds.
I grip his shoulder harder. I know he’s right, but maybe Kai’s sunny optimism and my present attitude is clouding our judgment. I can’t say I’m against it if anything were to happen, though. My curiosity over what this all means and the hunger in my gut is overriding any sense.
“I understand your concerns, Sam, but you can’t deny that something is different here. You feel it, too, or your reactions wouldn’t be so strong.”
He grinds his teeth. “I’m reacting because you’re our leader, Remiel, the head guardian of Elysian Pines.”
My own anger prickles at the back of my neck. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I shouldn’t be the one stopping Malachi from kissing our job. You shouldn’t be asking me these questions right now. We shouldn’t even be discussing something like this at all.”
“I disagree. We should be, because as we all have pointed out, many things about Greer aren’t usual.”
“Only because you and Kai are thinking with your dicks instead of your brains.”
I press my lips into a hard line, fisting my hands at my sides. “I’m not thinking with my dick, and I don’t think Kai is, either. My gut is telling me that Greer, these new feelings—there’s a reason for them. I think it’s best we let things play out how the town wants it to play out.”
“The town does not want us to fuck her.”
