Fallen Angel - Prequel To Nathaniel Teen Angel

by Patricia Puddle

  Chapter Eleven

  Tom

  A month after her operation, Eloise came home from school in a mood. Knowing she’d been struggling to get through her assignments after been ill, Nathaniel decided to listen to her phone calls to see if there was anything else troubling her. He couldn’t afford to take any risks after what had happened at the hospital, and from his past experiences with teenagers, he knew how sneaky they could be.

  After following Eloise to her bedroom, he watched as she struggled with a word document on her laptop. As he started to send her suggestions on how to fix it, Madeline popped her head around the door.

  “There’s a new release on at the cinema tonight, honey. If you hurry up and finish your homework you can come with me. You can ask Brooke to come too if you like, her mum is coming.”

  Eloise rolled her eyes. “I can’t. I have a heap of homework to do and I don’t understand it. Why can’t I just leave school and get a job like my friend, Sally?”

  “No, Eloise, You’re going to stay on and get a good education.”

  “But I’ll learn more at TAFE. I want to work with animals and there’s a job going at the pet shop down at Creed Valley. Please, Mum. Let me apply for it. I promise to go to night school.”

  Madeline frowned. “I don’t know, honey. You’ll have to ask your father when he gets home on Friday night. If he says yes, I’ll agree, if not, you’ll have to stay at school, okay?”

  Eloise sighed. “I guess.”

  “What about the movie. Are you coming?”

  “No thanks. I’m going to try and get through this.”

  “Sorry I can’t help you with it, love. I’m no good with computers.” I’ll see you later then.”

  “See ya.”

  “Oh, and don’t answer the door to strangers, you hear me?”

  Eloise scowled. “Mum, I’m eighteen, not twelve.”

  Madeline raised her brows. “I’m serious, Elle.”

  Eloise fiddled with her computer. “Yes, okay.”

  “Right then, I’m off,” said her mother, closing the door behind her.

  Nathaniel was pleased Madeline had instructed Eloise not to answer the door to strangers, though he doubted she’d listen. She was such a warm-hearted girl and way too trusting of people.

  As soon as he mother’s car had pulled out of the driveway, Eloise phoned someone on her cell phone. “Hi, it’s me, Elle, can you come over and help me with my homework. I’m having trouble with my word documents. They keep freezing on me and my assignment has to be in by tomorrow. I don’t want to get into trouble again. Great, see you in five.”

  As she hung up, Nathaniel wondered who she’d phoned. From the sound of it, it was one of her friends from school, probably Brooke or Ruby.

  It wasn’t long before someone knocked on the front door, but when Eloise answered it, Nathaniel scowled. Instead of one of her girlfriends turning up, there was a motorbike parked out the front and a tall handsome boy with dark hair swaggered into the hall. After closing the door, Eloise smiled at him. “Aw, thanks for coming, you’re a life saver. Come into my room.”

  What? Nathaniel ruffled his feather in frustration and followed them down the hall. Madeline wouldn’t approve of this muscly young man coming into the house when she was out, and she certainly wouldn’t allow him in Eloise’s bedroom.

  Though he was probably in her class, the boy looked older than Eloise, and apparently he shaved from look of the dark shadow on his cheeks. Smiling at her, the boy took his leather jacket off and hung it on a hook on the door. Wearing nothing but a singlet and tight black jeans, he looked awfully muscly for a school boy, and he obviously worked out at a gym. As he sat on a chair in front of the laptop, Eloise pulled a stool up next to him.

  Nathaniel didn’t trust him for a second and decided to stay close in case he got a bit frisky. Eloise wouldn’t stand a chance with a hot-blooded guy like that if he took advantage of her.

  After adjusting her word document, the boy smiled. “There, you go, Elle. It’s all ready for you to type out your assignment and I’ve made you a template, so you’ll have one ready for next week.”

  Eloise gave him a hug. “Oh, you’re an angel for doing that. I was totally confused. Hey, it’s great having you back. Have you moved home with your parents?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yes, unfortunately.”

  Nathaniel frowned. Hmm, looks like she didn’t need her guardian angel to help with her assignment tonight. Seems she has a human angel for that.

  The young man stepped over to the door and grabbed a book from his jacket pocket. “Here, you can borrow my manual for fixing document problems. If you get stuck, just give me a call.”

  Eloise stood up and glanced through the booklet, then put it on her desk. “Aw, thanks, Tom. That will save me from getting busted tomorrow.”

  Nathaniel blinked. Did she say Tom? Surely this solid young man wasn’t the same skinny little Tom from her class that had left home a year ago?

  Looking Eloise up and down, Tom smiled. “Anything for you, babe.”

  Babe? He called her babe. Nathaniel stood in front him to see if he had a scar on his brow like the kid from her class, but as he peered at his face, Tom unexpectedly moved forward, passing right through him.

  Disorientated, Nathaniel blinked. What happened? Instead of facing Tom, he was facing Eloise—and she was smiling at him. Surely she couldn’t see him again like she had when she was a child? As he opened his mouth to ask her, she stood on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

  Whoa! Nathaniel reeled backwards as a volt of electricity zapped his face.

  Eloise stared up at him. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”

  His eyes grew wide. Goodness! Not only could she see him, he’d felt the warmth of her kiss. In all the years he’d been a guardian, he’d never experienced the physical touch of a human before. Still trembling from the shock of it, he reached out to see if he could touch her without passing through her body, but when his fingers met her face, strange tingles ran up his arms. Holy Heaven! He could actually feel the silkiness of her skin, and oh, did she feel good. He yanked his hand away. “I’m fine, Eloise, and now that you’re older, I guess it won’t be a problem if you see me.”

  Something sparkled in her eyes, then without warning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her lips to his.

  Oh, my God!

  Holding his hands up, he froze as a tremendous surge of energy shot through his soul. What on Earth was she doing? She was so close to him, her breasts were squashed against his chest. And her hands—Holy Heaven—they were raking through his hair and sending shivers down his back. Trembling, he gripped her shoulders to push her away, but when she moaned into his mouth, he totally lost it.

  Closing his eyes, he gathered her into his arms and tasted the sweetness of her lips, her breath, her mouth. She felt like nothing he could ever imagine and the warmth and feel of her curves beneath his hands was blowing his mind. He tried to pull away, but when she slid her arms around his waist, an uncontrollable groan escaped his throat and he arched his back as inexplicable sensations like he’d never known pulsated from his abdomen and burned into his thighs. Never in his whole existence had he ever experienced anything so pleasurable or as painful, but the intensity of so many sensations hitting him at once was igniting him to the core. With no control over what was happening, his mind began to spin and he was sure he was about to spontaneously combust. Pulling away from the kiss, he buried his face in her hair and held her tight to stop himself from collapsing onto the floor.

  She’d awakened something in his soul he never knew existed and when she squeezed him tight, a tremendous heat burned through every part of him. Unable to resist her, he thrust his hands into her long wavy hair and kissed her again. Though he knew what he was doing was wrong, she felt so good, he couldn’t let her go. He wanted hold her in his arms forever and never let her go. Seizing her face between his hands, he gazed into her smouldering green e
yes. “Oh, Eloise,” he whispered. “What have you done to me?”

  Though she didn’t answer, she sucked in a sharp breath and he kissed her again. Her sweet innocent nature and her beautiful spirit had captivated his soul and all he wanted to do was—oh, Sweet Jesus.

  Realising the depth of what he was doing, he moved away from her mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. Holy Heaven, he was as bad as Devlin. He was lusting after a human—no, worse, he’d fallen in love with one, and she obviously felt the same way about him. It was all his fault for encouraging her. He quickly crossed himself. Jesus Christ, what had he done? Could he sacrifice his wings and all of eternity to spend a lifetime with her? Gazing out the window, he silently prayed.

  Oh, Lord, give me strength. I’m so sorry, but Eloise is more beautiful than I ever imagined, and although I never wished or planned to ever hold her like this, it happened. And now that I love her, I can’t let her go. Please, Jesus, forgive me?

  Eloise rested her hand on his brow. “Are you okay? Your head is so hot.”

  Her touch made him weak at the knees and as he fell into her bottomless green eyes, he whispered, “I’m falling for you, honey.”

  Blushing, she lowered her lashes and rested her head on his chest, but when she slipped her hands around his waist again, he flinched as an excruciating pain ran across his shoulders and down his back.

  When the burning intensified, he cried out in pain, then somewhere in his hazy spell of ecstasy, he realised what was happening.

  Holy Heaven! God was burning his wings off.

  Terrified Eloise would get caught in the flames, he jerked away from her. “Eloise, I’m so sorry.”

  Her brow furrowed with concern and she grabbed his hand. “Tom, what’s the matter? You look ill?”

  Tom? She called me Tom? Nathaniel’s jaw dropped as he realised what had happened. Eloise couldn’t see him at all. Somehow he’d accidently possessed Tom’s body. Jesus. He was about to get his wings burned off for nothing. Eloise didn’t have feelings for him. She had a crush on Tom. Fearing she’d burn along with him, he tore away from her and shot out the window. Landing on the grass, he fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands. How could he have been so foolish to think Eloise was in love with him? And he’d never felt that way about her before—but oh, how she’d felt in his arms.

  As grey smoke billowed around him, he realised his wings were on fire. “Holly shit!” Flapping them wildly, he leapt to his feet, then with his arms stretched out in front of him, he shot towards the beach. When he reached the ocean, he dived head first into the white-capped surf, then froze with shock as the icy water hit him like a sword. Oh Lord! The sea had never hurt him before and for some reason he couldn’t glide through it like he used to. His chest was killing him and his throat was filling with water. Raising his arms above his head, he gagged and kicked until he ascended upwards. When he hit the surface, he instinctively opened his mouth and gasped for air, then he coughed and spluttered and thrashed his arms about as he desperately tried to swim to shore.

  Seeing a huge wave behind him, he stretched his arms out, hoping to catch it, but as it thundered above him, it dragged him under, tumbling him over and over and tangling him in seaweed before dumping him on the shore. Grateful he hadn’t drowned, he collapsed onto the hard wet sand and panted for breath as salty water poured from his nose. When he tried to get up, a sharp pain knotted inside of him and he held his belly and heaved as water and bile shot from his throat. His back was killing him, and when he glanced over his shoulder and uncontrollable scream escaped his throat. Holy Heaven! It was too late to pray for forgiveness. He’d already fallen.

  He scrambled to his feet and ripped the seaweed from his hair, then he stared down at his naked body. Jesus! As well as losing his wings, his clothes were gone. It was freezing cold and he was stark naked for the world to see. He glanced around, but there was no one about, at least not for now.

  As blood dripped from the wounds on his back, he stepped into a rock pool and washed it off. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so miserable and lonely and he wondered what he was supposed to do next, but sitting and freezing to death wasn’t the answer. Shivering, he gazed up at the ominous clouds and tried to think of somewhere to shelter from the brewing storm before he got pneumonia. With no clothes to warm his naked body or hide the wounds on his back, he knew he was in for a cold wet night if he didn’t find a dry place to sleep.

  He climbed out of the pond and shook the water from his skin and hair. He couldn’t understand how he’d gotten himself into such a sorry mess, but surely he didn’t deserve this? It wasn’t his fault he’d accidently possessed Tom’s body, or that Eloise had kissed him. He certainly hadn’t been yearning for her. That thought had never occurred to him—not until he’d tasted the sweetness of her lips and felt the softness of her skin.

  He raked his hands through his wet hair. Oh, why hadn’t he resisted the temptation of her? The way he’d held and kissed her was so wrong. He’d weakened and failed his duty as a guardian. Lowering his head in shame, Nathaniel realised with horror that he was no different to Devlin.

  But what now? Should he try and win Eloise’s heart, the one thing he’d risked his wings for? Or should he disappear into the wilderness and pray for God’s forgiveness?

  Deciding to beg God for his wings back, he knelt on the sand, but as he joined his hands together, a movement on the cliff caught his eye and he glanced up.

  A White-bellied Sea Eagle was perched on the lookout, its evil black eyes fixed on him.

  Nathaniel froze. Good Heavens. It was a bird of prey and it was after his blood. As he held its gaze, it flapped its huge black wings and glided south over the ocean. Nathaniel sighed with relief, but when it swerved around and headed back towards him, he stomach tightened and he started to run. When he glanced upwards, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The eagle was circling above him and its large hooked claws were ready to tear him to pieces. Far out! It had a body the size of a large dog and its wingspan was enormous. As it descended lower, its hungry black eyes burned into him.

  His heart pounding against his ribs, Nathaniel sprinted naked along the shore, but no matter how fast he ran, the eagle followed. Realising he couldn’t outrun the pest, he prayed it would go and hunt for fish, but when he noticed his own blood, running down his legs, he knew there was no chance of that. The hooked-nosed predator was after a meal and determined to linger, ready to pounce.

  Though he didn’t fancy being eaten alive, the nearest shelter was half a mile away. Straining every muscle in his legs and arms, he bolted at full speed towards the safety of the public changing rooms. But it was no use, he couldn’t outrun a hungry bird. He kept on running, but he only managed to get half-way to the white stone building before the Eagle swooped down and landed on the sand in front of him.

  Freezing on the spot, Nathaniel held his hands out ready to fight it to the death, but instead of attacking him, the Eagle transformed into Father Luke. “What a pretty sight you are, Nathaniel.”

  Nathaniel glared at him. “You vile piece of shit, I should’ve guessed it was you behind all of this.”

  Lucifer eyed him up and down and grinned. “And what do you think of yourself now, Romeo? You’re certainly are a fine specimen of a man.”

  Clenching his jaw, Nathaniel balled his hands into fists. “What do you want? Spit it out so I can leave.”

  “Oh, don’t be so impatient,” he said, lifting his cane and running it down the centre of Nathaniel’s naked abdomen.

  Nathaniel bashed it away with his hand. “Get away from me, you depraved pervert.”

  Lucifer laughed. “Now you’ve had a taste of human pleasure, my dear. How about selling me your soul for more? After all, not only can I make you rich, I can make it possible for you to be with Eloise for a whole lifetime.”

  “I have no intension of ever selling you my soul. This was all your trickery, wasn’t it?”

  Lucifer walked closer to him. “I don’t
think you should disrespect me, Nathaniel. You’re forgetting you have no wings and no powers. I can take you right now and imprison your sorry ass in my castle jail with all my other collections, and there’ll be nothing you can do about it. So be a good boy and sell me your soul. Then I’ll take you straight to your precious Eloise so you can begin your lives together.”

  Nathaniel raised a brow. “Oh, and what about Tom?”

  Lucifer threw his head back and laughed. “Tom? What has he got to do with it? He’s just a teenage punk. You don’t owe him anything. The only thing Tom cares about is having a good time. Anyway, he’s not in love with Eloise, but you are.”

  Nathaniel pushed him away. “Get away from me. That was an illusion. You put some kind of spell on me.”

  Lucifer shook his head. “I can assure you, I did no such thing. All I did was to make sure that Tom stopped at the right moment instead of passing through you.” He grinned wickedly. “I knew you’d weaken, Nathaniel. Most angels do once they get a taste of human pleasures.”

  “That’s not true, and you know it. Anyway, it hasn’t worked with me because I’m not interested. Now get out of my way.” Shoving past him, Nathaniel stormed up the beach.

  “Have it your own way,” said Lucifer. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours to change your mind, and if you don’t. I’ll make the offer to Devlin.”

  What? Nathaniel spun around to face him, but it was too late, Lucifer had turned back into an eagle and was already a mile away.