My Soul to Take (Soul Keepers (Young Adult paranormal romance))

by Melissa Solis

  “I’d like that.”

  We both rise from the chair and I go to leave. Elijah takes my elbow and I lean in to him. He whispers in my ear. “Tonight, you’re mine.” His comment catches me off guard. He glides off without a glint of humor in his eyes. He’s left me liquefied where I stand.

  My mother makes her way over to me and takes my hand, snapping me out of my gelatinous state.

  “Come on I’ve reserved the visitor’s suite.” She leads me down a maze of hallways until we come to an elevator. We take that down for what feels like minutes. The doors chime and open. I step foot into what looks like the most luxurious spa in the world. A bare chested man greets each of us with a robe and shows us to the dressing room. We walk past a very large indoor swimming pool, it’s lined with mother of pearl giving off an iridescent shimmer of pinks and blues. White marble columns stretch up to the ceiling which looks like it was painted by Da’Vinci himself. Then again – maybe it was.

  Once in our robes, we are treated to a glass of champagne and a spoon of caviar. Two more bare chested men come into the parlor and lead us into the salon. I sink down into a buttery soft leather chair as the buff, half-dressed men refill our glasses before they start our pedicures. Is it possible I’m in Heaven by mistake?

  “You must tell me everything you love, despise, and all that’s in-between.” My mother insists.

  “That sounds like fun, if you’ll do the same.”

  “Deal!”

  “Okay I love the ocean. I despise jelly fish.” I start with.

  “They’re pesky, aren’t they? I love children. I despise condiments. I can’t stand the smell of mustard. Mayonnaise makes me think of lard, and ketchup is just plain nasty.”

  I crack up at the way she speaks. She has a royal air about her, she exudes grace at every movement, but when she speaks she is like every other girl on the planet, down-to-earth and honest. We keep up with the get to know you game during our finger and toe’s time. By the time Hanz and Franz have us on the massage table we have bridged into romance.

  “So tell me how you fell for daddy.”

  She smiles over at me with a look in her eye like she is recalling the joy that memory brings her. “Alright, I was given the order to find someone special for our, “project.” So that’s what I’m to her– to them? A project? I clench my jaw at the realization that maybe their experiment is on the cusp of failure. “When your father came in with that little boy he found, he captured my heart. I mean, I’ve met a lot of soldiers and most of the ones that high up in rank would have given the task over to someone like a private. I could tell he was protective over the boy, even though he didn’t know who the child was or what he’d been through. Your father had already bought him a meal and cleaned him up. I knew right then he would make a great father.

  I accepted his drink offer and the more I got to know him, I was certain I had met the man that would love you with all of his heart and protect you with his life. I fell in love with him quickly and as much as I hated to see him go I knew it would only be that much harder to leave him when my time on Earth was finished.”

  “Just like me and Elijah?” She nods and rests her head back down. “I don’t know how to leave him. I don’t want to, but Sam…” I sigh and bury my face back down on the table.

  “You’ll figure it out. Don’t worry so much.” I hope I can figure it out in the next few hours, because Elijah has something in store for me tonight that’s had me wrought with anticipation all day.

  If Elijah is keeping his availability a secret then I won’t let on that I know either. What we have now is already too strong, if his lips touch mine again, I’m done, forever his and ruined for any other.

  My mother and I’ve a teary goodbye when we leave the spa. She’s agreed to visit the next time she’s on assignment. She told me she still gets to go on dates with my dad and they’re quite happy up in Heaven. I wish I could see him again, but knowing he is happy makes a world of difference. She reassured me that my grandmother is still giving him hell about preceding her in death and I can just picture all of them there, happy, reunited, our insane family, together again.

  Chapter 15 ~ Bliss

  “Ready to go?” Elijah asks as we meet in the garden. I nod. “Are you up for a bit of a ride? Or I could fly you? I want to take you to where I really live.”

  “What’s the cottage for?”

  “That would be like having an apartment in the city if you worked downtown. I use my house when I’m here for a couple of days or more. Sam will be out for two more days so I figured, we could have a little vacation.”

  “I’ve been getting pampered all day and I would hate for all that primping to go to waste.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” He’s shirtless and winged in seconds; good grief. I roll my hair up into a low chignon since it sounds like we’ve got a long trip ahead of us. He scoops me up in his arms and in seconds, we are flitting through the clouds and dodging wildly colorful birds. He spins and twist, diving down in a flash, just to show me a particular waterfall, or race alongside a wild giraffe. For some reason he is in a playful mood and I love this side of him.

  None of this seems real. If someone had told me six months ago that I’d be flying around in the arms of an angel, on another planet, or that I was actually half angel, I’d would have had a strong inclination to have them committed to a nut house.

  “What is the real name of this place?” I can’t keep calling it the In-Between, it has to have a real name.

  “Amorous,” he says low in my ear, so close that I can still feel the heat from his mouth. I roll it around in my head as we fly. It’s the perfect name for this place. The scenery has slowly changed and the land is much flatter here. Fields of tall grass blowing in the wind looking like slow ocean waves. The air is getting saltier and warmer.

  I begin to see water on the horizon and finally a beach. Its pristine white sand, stretches out for miles below us. Elijah circles us over a very large home –okay a make that a mansion. There is not another home around for as far as I can see. There is no way this is his home. I turn to him and give him an, are-you-serious glare. His grin is sheepish. He gives me the aerial tour, pointing out his lavish gardens and pool with a resort style lazy river circling the grounds. The pools here look nothing like the concrete tubs back home, no this looks like a home-grown miniature lake.

  His home is all white with a copper colored metallic looking roof and a mossy-green, trims out the shutters and accents. I would have to categorize the architecture as Georgian. One whole wing of the house is surrounded by arches that enclose a wraparound porch. The front of the house is flanked by white columns and a round portico. It’s all very charming despite the massive size of the place. He lands swiftly and retracts his wings in a blink.

  “Elijah this place is breathtaking.”

  “I’m glad you like it. We could come here whenever you want, you know. It could be our little get away.” He looks almost bored by the whole “mansion” thing.

  “Um there is nothing little about this place.” He takes my hand and leads me through the front door. My eyes are in awe of every detail. Chandeliers drip from the entryway and dining room like fine jewelry. The kitchen is gorgeous, made up of white marble counters with white antiqued cabinets, brown glass inlaid in the doors. The island is made of dark wood, setting it apart from the room like a piece of furniture. I don’t ever want to leave. I want to make snow angels on these countertops. Elijah patiently watches me as I take it all in.

  Journal of E.M February 24th 2013

  Brennen circles the kitchen twice before remembering I’m still here. I’m loving the fact that she is enamored with this place. I knew she would love it. I will find a way to let us live here one day. She is half angel after all, there has to be a compromise in there somewhere. She is going to be my wife someday, somehow.

  After she explores the entire house and finds me sitting in the living room, she joins me on the sofa. Her teeth pull
on her lower lip and it drives me insane. She told her mother she would keep working on Sam to get him on board with not being a couple. They would be free to date other people and I know she did this for us.

  I hand her a glass of wine knowing that one glass will relax her just enough to kick up her heels a little bit. She is so serious, focused on her destiny, getting into the best college, she forgets to enjoy life. I hope tonight she will forget her own name by the time I’m through with her.

  I lead her into the music room and invite her to join me on the bench. I play her favorite Coldplay song out and she actually sings along. Her voice is so clear and pure when she sings. It sends warmth through my body, spreading the fire into my neck. She laughs when it’s over like she can’t believe she sang in front of me even though I’ve heard her sing every song that came out of those perfect lips since she learned she could sing. Her laugh, that sweet little silver bell sound that she releases, tugs at my heart.

  She rests her head on my shoulder. Her hair redolent of coconut, pulls me in closer. She looks up at me for a moment and I’m reminded of the same look she had when we shared our first kiss. She has grown so much in that short time. Her full lips are freshly moistened by her tongue and I can’t resist them any longer.

  My fingers instinctively caress the back of her head and I bring her lips closer to mine. I hover there for a second just to be sure this is okay. Her eyes flutter open and then close softly. She tilts her head up toward me and I close the gap. We engage in a slow soft kiss. My tongue parts her soft lips and I deepen the kiss.

  She makes a needy sound and melts into my arms. That noise has flipped my insides upside down. She’s my whole world and I want to shout it from the roof of this oversized shack. Sam can forget about ever touching her again. Brennen Hale is mine and only mine. I would break every rule, get tossed out of grace, and give up my very life for this girl. Brennen was right, after this moment there is no going back.

  She pulls back and shows me her pretty smile. I can see the elation written on her face and I know exactly how she feels because, I probably have the same silly grin on my face too.

  This kiss was even better than the first, only because I was not cut off midway, to receive an order to keep my hands off of her. I kiss her once again, just to make sure I still can. Her lips are smooth and supple in mine and she pulls me in with her hand gripped on my neck for dear life. She has an appetite and she is hungry only for me.

  She runs her fingers down my back so achingly slow, it makes me forget my own name. It takes everything in me not to make good use of the glossy top of this piano. I scoop her up from the bench and carry her right out the back door, giggling the entire way. She has to see the sun set from here, it’s dimmed enough for her eyes to handle. I ease her body down on the cushioned porch swing.

  “Have you any idea how much I love you?” She shakes her head. No? Well I will have to show her in every way possible, and I’ve two whole days to stretch out the description of our love so that she knows how much, how often, and how well I can love her.

  Chapter 16 ~ Escapade

  Elijah’s lips kiss my neck just under my ear. His tongue pressed firmly into my neck sends a stream of butterflies straight into my core and I can feel it all the way to my toes as he runs it along the muscle in one long languid motion. It makes my whole body writhe in anticipation. My nails reflexively dig into his back as he continues. His body is so firm it feels like steel, layered beneath his silky skin.

  Very softly, I caress his bare back, easing him to slow things down even though my own body is screaming for me not to. His lips pour a kiss over mine that sends a fever into my body that would have me throw my virtues straight out the window. He pulls back and locks his beautiful blue eyes on mine. “I love you,” I whisper.

  His face softens at my words. Elijah drapes his arm over my shoulder and I settle into his chest. We watch as the majestic sun of Amorous dips below the sea, turning the sky to bright oranges and pinks, then slowly to deep purple.

  This swing is very cool. I want one for my house, it’s more like a small bed hanging from chains with no backrest. Elijah lies down, taking me with him. My fingers explore his chest like they just can’t help themselves. My body craves his. I wonder what that silky warm chest would feel like draped over my bare skin. The thought makes me blush and Elijah sucks in a breath as my hand had wandered far more south than I had intended.

  He maneuvers himself over me in the next instant with a desperateness in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. Just when I think he is about to eat me alive, he lands a feather light kiss on my lips and melts his body over mine. We are wrapped up in each other so tightly I can scarcely make out whose limbs belong to whom. He pushes his jeans over my hip and lets out a soft moan as he takes my earlobe in his mouth. The heat from his breath in my ear has me pushing myself even closer against him.

  My body wants to be even closer but my conscious is ticking out like Elena’s blasted metronome, wait, wait, wait, wait. Oh, shut up already! Elijah rocks over me, his hands moving up the outside of my thigh and then under my gauzy dress to my waist. His fingers light a trail of kerosene in their path. They linger over my hip bone and grip my flesh just above my thigh as he continues to softly push against my other hip with his jeans. His hand continues up and under my bra, releasing the hooks like he’s a pro. I make no effort to stop him.

  He is wine, and I’m filling my cup, and drinking him all down. My head is swimming, drunk off of his love and my body aches for relief. His hands softly take their cue and fill that need. The small sounds that escapes me sends Elijah over the edge as well.

  We sway gently back and forth on the swing letting the steady crash of the waves kissing the shore rock us to sleep.

  ***

  “Twenty five thousand square feet of house and we fall asleep outside. I guess that goes to prove, home is wherever you are,” he says as he wakes me before the overly bright sun has a chance to rise and sear my retinas permanently.

  “How about I cook you something for a change. After last night, I’m in the mood to bake something.” I get the drop dead gorgeous smile flashed at me for my comment.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to bake with you?” he teases.

  “If both of us were baking in the kitchen I’m pretty sure we would never get around to actually eating anything.”

  “Alright, have it your way. But one day we will bake together and our concoction will surpass any mouthwatering culinary feat.” His promise leaves me parched and hungry for him. He disappears inside, possibly lost in his own house.

  I find all of the ingredients in his kitchen for blueberry muffins and make a batch. Elijah enters the room just as I pull them out.

  “Smells good in here,” he says before kissing my neck, causing me to forget what I was doing all together. He is freshly showered and dressed in only indecently low hung cargo shorts. A v shape is expertly hewn into his six pack, causing my eyes to become weirdly glued to the perfect site.

  “Ouch!” I forgot I was holding a pan of muffins, the heat finally coming through the towel and burning my finger. I toss the pan on the counter and shake my hand out in pain.

  “Let me see.” He puts my finger in his mouth and heals it, then savors it like it was a candy cane. I giggle and retrieve my finger.

  “Go put a shirt on before I’mputate a limb or something.” He smiles and returns a moment later, fully dressed.

  We eat our quick breakfast and then he shows me to the master bathroom suite so I can get ready for the day. Of course the bathroom is elegant and the most beautiful one I’ve ever been in. The guy has very good taste. A crystal chandelier glows above an island of a bathtub. There is a low fire flickering from a full sized fireplace, beautifully carved from sort of stone. But the coolest thing is the view. A very large sheet of glass curves around half of the room giving way to a full ocean view.

  He told me to dress lightly so I wonder what he has planned. He laid out a mor
e youthful pair of the sun filtering glasses for me, at least now I don’t have to feel like a grandpa, while he gets to fly around looking like Adonis. I put on a pair of shorts and a tank top over my swimsuit. I’m still on the thin side from being held with little food for two weeks. I’m surprised all of Elijah’s rich food hasn’t packed on ten pounds by now.

  “Ready?” I give him a nod. “You are going to love this.” He tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear. My eyes are on his lips willing them to come closer. He reads my look and moves in for a soft kiss. He leads me outside and takes off with me in his arms before I even know what happened.

  It’s not long before we are soaring above the clouds. I can just make out the tip of a mountain in the distance.

  “That’s where we’re going.” A few minutes later, he lands us on the smooth rock bed and loses his wings. “Come, We’ll hike the rest of the way.”

  “This is beautiful Elijah.”

  “Wait until you see where we’re going.” The terrain is a mixture of rocks and vibrant green lush plant life.

  “How big is your planet?”

  “It’s tiny compared to Earth. And compared to heaven.”

  “Oh. So how does it all work?”

  “What?”

  “Tell me everything about the Soul Keepers, about how you live here, who runs things. I want to know everything.”

  “Not much to tell that you don’t already know. We are given assignments. Most are short term. When we don’t have anything to do we can live here or like Elena, take a vacation on earth. Nehemiah gets his orders from the High angel who gets his orders from our maker.”

  “So Nehemiah, he doesn’t really know everything, I mean his screen of the future isn’t all knowing, all seeing.” Elijah laughs.

  “The oracle only gives him limited views. But Nehemiah has a special skill set that makes him the best interpreter of the visions we have.” So basically my future and Sam’s is based on the best guess of an interpretation of one white haired angel. I don’t give Elijah any clue that I’m perturbed by this.