by Sofia Grey
“Don’t pretend any more, Daniel.” I tried to free myself, but he clung tight. “Tell me the truth. Please.”
Chapter ten
Daniel
This was going to kill me. Leaving her last time had left me adrift, with a hollow inside my chest where my heart used to be. Knowing that I’d frightened her, causing her to cry, and to fear me, was even worse. If ripping out my guts with a rusty knife would help, I’d do it in an instant. I’d do anything to spare her this pain, this distress.
All I could do, was the thing I’d wanted to avoid. I had to wipe her memories. Again.
I tilted her chin up to meet her eyes, and gazed into their stricken amber depths. This had to be the last time. Human brains didn’t cope well with this level of angelic tampering. Doing it once was usually acceptable, but doing it a second time made it harder to do thoroughly. I’d completely missed the sketchbook last time, and I couldn’t afford such a sloppy job today. Above all else, I had to protect her.
“I love you, Hannah. I wish things were different.”
Before she could reply, before I could change my mind, I pressed my palm to her forehead and focused on her memories. It was the work of moments to sift through them and discard everything from the past twenty-four hours. She’d remember meeting me for lunch, and my invitation to decorate the house, but she’d think she came here alone.
“Daniel?” she sounded confused, and I saw fear in her eyes. This was to be expected. I’d been selfish and spent too long with her. Right now, she ought to be falling asleep in my arms while her brain fritzed out. She should sleep for an hour, giving me time to clean up and get out.
“Daniel?” She asked again, and I felt a frisson of anxiety. Why wasn’t it working? I couldn’t let her remember me.
“Sleep, my love.” I kissed her forehead and arrowed into her memory. She whimpered. A solitary tear trickled down her cheek and I wept inside. I was hurting her. I didn’t deserve to exist.
“I love you,” she whispered, and then crumpled in my arms. Unconscious.
I DROVE AWAY HALF AN hour later, after removing every trace that I’d been there. The road blurred before my eyes and I had to stop, and wait until my breathing steadied.
Meeting her four years ago had changed my life. I’d been unable to keep my distance from her brightness and colour, her bubbly personality, so full of energy in comparison to mine. As a senior angel, I was allowed to spend more time on earth walking amongst mankind, but the more I saw of man, the more I tired of my own existence. We weren’t superior. We were arrogant.
I was lonely.
I’d danced around the edge of Hannah’s life and watched as she started her own business, buying coffee from her when I could. This was the highlight of my long, bleak days. When I was finally granted a weekend in mortal form, I grabbed the chance and persuaded Hannah to have dinner with me. One thing led to another, and we spent an idyllic day and night up in Peka Peka.
Wiping her memories hurt, but I took solace in the knowledge that she wouldn’t pine for me. I’d go back to watching her from afar, only stepping in if she needed help. One day she’d fall in love, marry, have a family. All the things I could never have.
I’d been assigned as her guardian angel. I had no right to fall in love with her.
One night in her arms should have been enough. Two nights was greedy, but I was starving for her.
It would have to sustain me for eternity.
To keep up to date on new releases and other news from Sofia Grey, click here to subscribe to her newsletter.
Please help this author’s career by posting an honest review wherever you purchased this book.
About Sofia Grey
Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in the fiction line, but she prefers her romances to be hot, and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and always makes them work hard for their happy endings.
Find Sofia Grey Online:
Website: www.SofiaGrey.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sofia.Grey.Romance.Author
Twitter: @SofiaGreyAuthor
FOR ADVANCE COPIES, exclusive previews, and a lively group to hang out with, join Sofia’s Fan Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/225805550957721/
More by Sofia Grey
Love at the Beach series (contemporary romance)
His Private Fix (Cass & Jonah)
His Temporary Fix (Holly & Zack)
His Sweet Fix (Caitlin & Jasper)
Her Fiery Fix (Steph & Dean)
Love in Wellington series (contemporary romance)
Faking the Love – short story (Lucy & Jez)
Seeing the Love (Natalie & Lucas)
Pretending to Love (Dorothy & Ben)
Perfect Series (contemporary romance)
Perfect Stranger (Kate & Jordan)
Perfect Rebound – novella (Jenny & Cade)
Perfect Place (Anita & Jon)
Kate and Jordan also feature in the Event Horizon romantic suspense series
Event Horizon series (romantic suspense)
Lying in Shadows (Marianne & Marcus)
Two Nights in Houston – novella (Sylvie & Alex)
Covering the Lies (Adele & Karl)
Hiding the Truth (Jaq & Jack)
Alex and Sylvie, and Jon & Anita also feature in the Talisman dark paranormal romantic suspense series
Talisman series (dark paranormal romantic suspense)
Obsession (Josh & Suki)
Craving (Dante & Katherine)
Addiction (Krista and Matt)
Out of Time series (time travel romance)
Lila’s Wolf (Lila & Jared)
Isabella’s Airman (Isabella & Davy)
Juliet’s Soldier (Juliet & Marc)
Snowdonia Wolves series (paranormal wolf shifter romance)
Wolf at the Door (Lillian & Jake)
A Handful of Wolf (Megan & Sasha)
Caging the Wolf (Jessie & Levi)
Dreaming of a Wolf (Olivia & Alun)
Standalone romances
Come to Me (paranormal romance)
One Night in Her Arms (paranormal romance)
Did you know I also write M/M romance?
Wellington Guys series (contemporary M/M)
Busted (Dan & Jamie)
Loving Rush (Ed and Rush)
Standalone M/M romances
Breathing Again (contemporary M/M)
Displaced (paranormal M/M)
