Guardian (27 page)

She nodded, her cheeks rubbing against the smooth skin of his palms. “I didn’t want to see you,” she said, throat closing around each word. “I don’t want to lose you. Isn’t that horrible? Isn’t that awful? Being with me would cost you eternity, and I’m worried about myself. Nothing makes sense anymore.” 

“This does.” Cautiously, he tilted toward her lips. She drowned in the Mediterranean-blue gaze she’d come to love. His eyes closed, dark lashes shadowing his cheeks. When his mouth lightly feathered against hers, she felt like her body could float away. He tasted sweet, like powdered sugar, her favorite ingredient when baking. Mace was her perfect ingredient, his mouth against hers conjuring warm thoughts of a home, a promise, a recipe for life. 

But that was no more real than the hope of her ever having a normal life again. Desperation lit a fuse inside her. She broke the kiss. “Promise me something,” she rasped.

“Anything.” His fingers threaded into her hair, combing through methodically as if making up for the time they’d lost. When he reached the ends of the strands, his hands slipped to her temples and began the trek again, soothing her with each stroke.

Nikki sank into his touch. “Mace, I’m so perplexed about everything. Tonight, can we just be? Promise me we won’t talk about tomorrow or what will happen to us.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I know it’s wrong, but can we just forget all the horrible things we’re involved in?” The words caught in a throat too hoarse to cry anymore.

“Nikki, I’ll give you the moon if you ask. Tonight is yours. Where do you want to go? What do you want to see? I’ll fly you to Europe so you can watch the sunrise, or we’ll go to where it’s setting. Whatever will make you happy, I’ll make it happen.” To fly across the ocean on angel’s wings. To watch the sunrise atop the Eiffel tower. “Anything? Anywhere?” she said. “Anything you want.”

She pressed into the rock-hard muscles of his chest. “I just want you, Mace.”  

And as the moon smiled down at the tumbling sea, Nikki and Mace held each other with the promise of right now the only dream they dared hope for. She felt like their emotions ignited the space around them, seeping into the wooden slats of the balcony, drifting on the ocean’s constant rush, replacing the atmosphere of doubt with that of purest love. If she only lived another day, she’d die with the knowledge that she’d felt something this strong. Though every obstacle remained in their way, love had conquered. Sliding from his embrace, she slipped into her bedroom and emerged with her sketchbook and a charcoal pencil.

“Do something for me?” she asked, words soft as a kitten’s purr. 

A slow smile spread across his face. “Yes?”

“Take off your shirt and show me your wings. You still owe me.”

His brow arched, but he obeyed, drawing his shirt up and over his head to reveal the smooth muscled flesh beneath. With one great snap, his wings flew open, catching her by surprise. White with tiny flecks of gray, they stretched out and into the air. Caught by the ocean wind, they danced, pushing against the current. Mace’s body flexed to hold him on the balcony. The wind grabbed with persistence, causing the muscles in his chest and arms to strain and enlarge. He nodded to the sketchbook. “You sure that’s safe?”

“Mm-hmm.” Her cheeks were fire hot.

A grin toyed at his mouth.

“It’s safe. Will taught me how to tell when I’m tapping into the other realm. As long as I work slowly and I’m careful, it’ll be fine.”

A rakish smile replaced the playful grin. “Work slowly, huh?”

“Yeah, you’ll just have to stay like that for a while.” 

“An angel’s work is never done.”

“You’ll survive.”

Nikki forced her gaze to her sketchbook. Flipping past drawings, she stopped at a blank page. With warmth pooling in her stomach, she pulled a steadying breath and began to draw.

He would be her masterpiece.

What’s it like when Halflings fall in love?” Nikki asked, snuggled up against Mace on a deck chair. Once she’d finished her drawing, they’d settled onto a cushioned seat by the water. Waves rolled toward them, pushed along by the current just like the two of them had been pushed. Together, apart, then back again.

Mace really did stabilize her world. He truly was the one who made everything make sense. With Raven, she wanted to run away. But Mace forced her to face the hard, unforgiving truth head-on. And there was a strength in that she couldn’t deny.

Mace maneuvered his head to look at her face.

She smiled. “It must be amazing.”

He kissed her forehead. “Do you know much about eagles?” She shook her head.

He leaned back against the cushion. “Eagles mate for life. But before they do, they go through this elaborate ritual where the female soars to these amazing heights.”

“She’s showing off for him?” Nikki asked.

“No, she wants to make sure he’s worthy. She carries a stick high into the air and drops it.” His fingertips traced her arm. 

She quivered. “And?”

“He has to catch it.”

“Sounds simple enough.” She moved just enough to press the length of her leg against his.

“That’s just the beginning. She chooses another stick and another.” Mace angled and kissed the side of her head. “Until finally she picks a tree branch that weighs the same as her.” 

“And she drops it?” Nikki asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

He pivoted to look at her. “Because every female should know that the mate she chooses can catch her if she falls.” 

Then his arms were there, all around her, holding her, protecting her. That’s what Mace did. Always. And she’d not made his job easy. Over and over she’d fallen, and over and over he’d been there. 

As if he heard her thoughts, he whispered, “I’ll catch you, Nikki.”

She nuzzled deeper into him, drawing his scent into her nose. “You already did.”

Some horrible, irritating thing was pulling at her arm. She moaned before realizing it was Mace, and that she must have dozed off. She squeezed her eyes shut when he tried to rouse her.

“Come on,” he said. “I want to show you something.” 

“Can’t it wait until … oh, say, next year?” she teased. “We’ve been out here on the deck for two hours.” For all she cared, time could stop.

“And, no, it can’t wait until next year.” He rose and tugged her dead weight.

“Fine,” she said in a breathy whisper. “Where are you taking me?”

“To watch the eagles.”

Her interest piqued, she lumbered off the chair. Once standing, Mace caught her in a firm hold. A sexy smile crossed his face. “Hang on,” he said, and unfurled his wings and leapt. From above she could perceive the earth below, but as if through a veil. A golden hue tinted everything. Other times she’d flown, they’d been moving at such a phenomenal speed her eyes hadn’t adjusted in time to see anything.

But now they watched it through a dazzling fog. Cities came into view and disappeared as they passed.

Sometimes Mace beat his powerful wings, body tensing with each push. But most of their time was spent soaring on the thermal drafts. She spotted a city below. Gatherings of lights illuminated various portions until it appeared to be made up of miners with their oil lamps huddled together.

“What is that?” she asked, awed by the light so beautiful she wanted to stare at it forever.

“Prayers,” he said.

“What?”

He nodded below. “The youth groups in that city are holding an all-night prayer vigil.”

Upon closer inspection, she realized the gatherings of lights were concentrated within buildings, many of which sported crosses on the rooftops. The golden lights were visible through the buildings.

“What you’re seeing are their prayers rising to the Throne.” 

“Wow. Does it … you know, make a difference?” 

He scanned the area beneath them. “It can change a city. If caught, it can change a state, even a nation.”

She started to ask him what he meant by caught, but she noticed he’d slowed as he angled toward a distant mountaintop. She didn’t know how long they’d flown. She didn’t care; time seemed so inconsequential now. They touched down on a flattened rock with a natural seat carved into the stone. He snapped his wings shut and gestured for her to sit. “Do you need me to build you a fire? I realize it’s a little cooler here.” 

“Not if you sit by me. Keep me warm?”

He sank into the seat and pulled her close. “Look.” He nodded toward another rock face.

Two majestic eagles soared and dipped in the sky as the sun began to peek over a mountaintop near them.

Awestruck, Nikki gasped when the first bird climbed higher and higher. When the eagle dropped a stick, the other sailed on the wind to capture it. The dance continued as sticks became branches. As Mace had said, the final limb was so heavy, the female seemed barely able to lift it. Once in flight, she carried it to an incredibly high point.

Mace whispered against her hair. “Look closer, Nikki.” 

She flashed a frown, but concentrated.

“Closer,” he encouraged.

She focused her attention on the eagles as the female dropped the tree limb. “Halflings,” she whispered almost reverently. Her eyes widened, blinked, then widened again. “They’re actually Halflings.”

The branch plummeted toward the earth. Mace pointed.

“The male must wait until the last possible moment before capturing this one.”

But Nikki could barely listen, and couldn’t move. The limb rolled and tumbled closer to the ground. Just behind it, a male Halfling with wings tucked in rocketed like a bullet. He gathered speed until he was only a blur, gaining on the branch as he dropped.

Her hands shot up to cover most of her face. “Will he make it?”

But Mace wouldn’t let her hide. He grabbed her hands and dragged them from her eyes. “Watch and see.”

After excruciating moments, and just before the branch crashed into the rocky ground, the male’s wings cracked open as he snagged the limb.

Nikki released the breath she’d been holding.

Meeting in the air, the two Halflings tumbled into one another’s arms, drifting, climbing, falling. 

“It’s beautiful,” she said. It’s something I can never give you. But she forced the thought from her mind. Tonight was perfect, tomorrow seemed forever away, even if the sun was rising near them.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Me either.”

She pushed back to look at his face.

“Just heard the stories.” His eyes followed a trail to the Halflings. “I didn’t realize it would be so …”

“Amazing,” she finished for him.

“Yeah.” But there was something there. Some irritating little worm boring into their perfect night. Nikki recognized it as reality and rejected it with fierce determination. Nothing would steal her perfect night. It might be the only one she got.

Mace touched down on her balcony and hugged her. Nikki snagged her water from beside the lawn chair and chugged the whole thing. “So thirsty these days,” she said. 

Faking an English accent, he bowed. “Other than water, did the evening meet your expectations, my lady?”

She frowned. My lady. Damon’s special nickname. Damon. His name officially brought reality crashing down.

What was she doing? What was she thinking? She’d reacted carelessly. Watching the Halflings only solidified the stupidity of her actions. She slid a hand through her hair. “Everything is so confusing right now.” Nikki hugged the bottle like it was a lifeline.

Mace frowned.

The last month flashed like fireworks in her mind. She had a job to do. She had to find the man who killed her parents. Then, only then, could she move on to a life with … What? With Mace? No, certainly not that. She couldn’t give him what he needed. Damon was the only hope of a real life, one separate from boys with wings, and eagles … and love.

Mace noticed the change in her. His eyes sharpened. 

“I’m confused,” she repeated, and placed her palm against her throbbing temple. “Everything is … wrong.”

Mace placed a hand on her arm, and she could feel the panic coursing through him. “No, Nikki. It’s not. We’ll find a way to be together.”

Was it possible? She didn’t see how. Maybe once she settled the score for her parents, but not now. She wouldn’t ask Mace to trek that path with her. It would definitely destroy him. Wasn’t it destroying her bit by bit, wearing away her conscience like a poison corroding her emotions? “This was a mistake,” she said.