Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2)
Read Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2) Online
Authors: Skyla Madi
Sun Kissed
Copyright
© 2012 by Skyla Madi. All rights reserved.
Limitless
Publishing, LLC
Kailua,
HI 96734
http://www.limitlesspublishing.com
First
Kindle Edition: December 2012
All
rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment of the
original purchaser only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other
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work of this author.
The
characters and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used
fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental
and not intended by the author.
To Lorna and Shannon
Table of Contents
Remnants
I dream about him. I see his face, his
smile, and his deep green eyes. Momentarily, I am in heaven. It usually doesn’t
take long for my blasting alarm clock to bring me back to reality. I wish I
didn’t dream about him, perhaps then he would be easier to let go. Was he dead?
I tell myself every day he’s coming back, that he’s alive and well, but with
every passing week, my hope lessens.
“Are you ready yet?” Mila called through
the bathroom door.
I glanced down at the remnants of the
feather tattoo on my wrist, a tattoo that once bound Eli and I together. It
just washed away in the shower like it was nothing more than dirt on skin,
leaving merely a scar. I pulled my hair to the front so it draped around both
of my shoulders and down my chest. My straightened hair seemed darker against
the royal blue fabric of my dress.
Tonight was the school’s dance. I didn’t
want to go but it was compulsory and I was still treading on very thin ice. I
opened the bathroom door and suddenly felt insecure. Mila looked beautiful. The
long gold gown she wore molded to her perfectly slim build and seemed a lot
more elegant than my strapless, above-the-knee cocktail dress.
“Wow,” Mila gasped at me.
“Don’t wow me, I feel cheap next to you.”
“If I had the boobs and legs to pull off
that dress I would’ve bought a dress like yours. This silly gown is annoying.”
I opened my mouth to protest her ridiculous
observation but a knock on the door stopped me. Every time a knock sounds upon my
door my heart races and my hope rises, it could be Eli.
“Oh my goddess, you look beautiful.”
It was Gabriel. Gabriel was a student
guardian angel we had met a few months ago in the dining hall; he was also Hunter’s
best friend.
A fake smile spread across my lips as I hid
my disappointment, something that came naturally now.
“Don’t forget to lock the door; I don’t
want my new laptop to get stolen. We’ll see you there,” Mila said, closing the
door behind her.
Mila and I now share a room. Somehow, she
convinced her uncle, Ivan Aleksandrov, that she could help me stay on track and
out of trouble. We were moved to the far end of the dorm, in Sam and Cloud’s
old room. It was double the size of single dorms; it was perfect.
I pulled on a black pair of heels, they
were a lot higher than what I was used to. I wobbled unsteadily to my feet.
With the first step, I found my groove and managed to walk confidently over to
the door. I switched out the light and locked the door behind me.
“Goddess.”
I turned abruptly, my heart jumping into my
throat. “Jesus Christ, Hunter.”
He adjusted the toothpick that hung out of
his mouth and smiled. He looked so smart in his black suit pants and long
sleeved, button up royal blue shirt. What are the odds that we had both chosen
to wear the same color?
“What are you doing here?” I gasped.
His sudden appearance put me in a bit of an
awkward situation. We hadn’t spoken since he kissed me and I told him to leave
me alone. I assumed he was annoyed with me, like everyone else.
“We’re going to the dance.”
“No, I’m going alone.”
“Well, I’m heading that way anyway, we can walk
together.”
“Fine.”
We walked side by side; his black dress
shoes hitting the tiled corridor floor with quiet taps. Mine made a much louder
click with every step.
“Why are you chewing a toothpick?”
Starting a conversation was the only thing
I could do to take my mind off the incessant beat of my five inch heels. They
had me wondering if I was walking properly.
“I quit smoking. It helps with the
cravings.”
I thought about the time I discovered his
smoking spot by accident when I was looking for a subtle place to teach myself
how to use my elements. It was only a few months ago, I was impressed by his
progress so far.
“You know, at least Gabriel showed up
announced like a gentleman. He even told Mila that she looked beautiful. You
and your toothpick just show up, scaring me half to death,” I stated as Hunter
and I signed out and exited the girl’s dorms.
“You don’t look beautiful.” Hunter smiled
as the cool night air hit my face.
“Thanks.”
“You look sexy.”
I rolled my eyes. Hunter was that type of
person, I suppose. He was very raw and uncensored. He was a smartass and he knew
it. He doesn’t care about boundaries; Hunter knows exactly what he wants and
how to get it. He was the exact opposite of Eli. Eli was respectful and
charming, a real gentleman. He knew how to sweep a girl off her feet
classically and he knew how to make her feel like there was no one else in the
world but her. I kind of like that he said that to me, though. I’d been so
lonely the last few months here without Eli. Knowing that someone here cared
about me was like being given a box of matches when you’re stranded on a cold,
deserted island.
We approached the dining hall. My head was thumping
along with the club beats pouring out of the open windows and doors.
“Are you ready?” Hunter asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
The room that was usually filled with long
tables was now filled with balloons, streamers, punch bowls, and rows and rows
of snacks. It was dim and loud; I could barely hear myself think.
“Enjoy yourself,” Hunter shouted in my ear.
He began to walk off but I grabbed his arm,
preventing him from taking another step. I did want to come alone initially, but
now that I’m here, I don’t feel like standing in the corner praying for the
event to end. Some company would be nice.
“Wait.”
Hunter smiled an impudent smile, like he
knew I was going to stop him all along.
“Let’s get a drink.”
We ducked and squeezed past sweaty
teenagers and over to one of the many punch bowls. Hunter pulled a small flask
from his inside jacket pocket and proceeded to empty its contents into our
cups, concealing the clear liquid with passionfruit punch.
“Hunter, what are you doing?” I whispered
hastily into his ear.
“Relax. It’ll help loosen you up.”
He pushed the cup closer to my chest.
Momentarily, I stared at the strange smelling liquid, weighing the pros and
cons.
“Ruby, it’s okay. Who’s going to know?”
I grasped the cup and I thought about the
consequences. If this all went wrong, I would no doubt be expelled from Sage,
and yet that threat doesn’t scare me anymore; there was nothing for me here. A
lot of students still hated me for what I did a few months ago, and guardian
angels went out of their way to ignore me or glare. I did get their colleagues
and friends killed, after all. If I did do this, then for one night I could
forget about everything and have fun.
The smell burnt my nose as I brought the
cup to my lips.
Surely it doesn’t taste as bad as it smells?
As it began
pouring down my throat I realized it did taste as bad as it smelled. My throat
began burning, it was like I was drinking some kind of cleaning chemical straight
from the bottle.
“That’s too much,” I coughed.
Hunter smiled. “That’s the way I like it.”
It didn’t take long for my body to feel the
effects of the alcohol and I was having a good time. The best time I’ve had in
a while.
“Dance with me.” Hunter gestured to the
dance floor.
A slow song played through the speakers and
Hunter flicked his eyebrows towards the dance floor.
“It’s just one dance. We can’t stand and
chat all night, let’s have fun.”
“I know, I’m just scared that …” I paused. “If
I walk, I’m going to fall.”
“I’ll support you.”
He wrapped an arm around my waist. It was a
relief when we made it to the dance floor without any embarrassing falls or
stumbles.
He pulled me closer, putting both arms
around my waist. His body pressed slightly against mine as he started moving
with me to the slow beat of the music.. It was nice, comforting even, but it
didn’t feel ‘electric’ like it did when Eli touched me. I stared awkwardly
around the room as Hunter kept his eyes solely on me. Eventually, I gained
enough confidence to look him directly in the eyes.
“You miss him?” he mumbled.
“Hmm?”
“Eli.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said, trying hard to
sound indifferent.
If only anyone knew how much I missed Eli …
maybe then Eli’s departure would have been easier on me if I had someone to
talk to about it.
“I noticed your wrist, the tattoo is gone …”
I swallowed hard. It was extremely
difficult talking about it. I also think the alcohol magnified all my bad feelings
by a thousand.
“It washed off in the shower — do we really
have to talk about this?”
“Not if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t.”
He didn’t bring it up again and we danced
silently through another slow song. It wasn’t an awkward silence, it was peaceful.
“I thought you weren’t going with anyone.”
A voice snapped behind me.