Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2) (2 page)

I turned to face the voice; it was Rylan, just
my luck. His face creased, reminding me I’d told him that I wasn’t going with
anyone.

“I didn’t.”

Does it count as going together if Hunter
showed up at my door?

“You’re even wearing matching colors.”

As I stepped forward, preparing my
mind-your-own-business speech, I lost my footing and stumbled backwards a
little. Hunter grabbed my arm, steadying me again.

“Have you given her alcohol?” Rylan barked
at Hunter. “Ruby, what were you thinking?”

“Hey!” growled Hunter, stepping closer to
Rylan. “You don’t own her; she can do whatever she wants.”

A few students dancing near us stopped to
see what was happening. It was my fault, I should have known better than to
come to the dance tonight. Drama always reared its ugly face when I’m out and
about trying to have a good time. I turned quickly on my heel and headed for
the exit. I felt claustrophobic as I pushed my way through people standing only
centimeters apart. Mrs Ploit would have to let me into my dorm if I wasn’t
feeling well, wouldn’t she?

When I got outside, I took a moment to lean
against the brick wall, hoping it would stop my head from spinning. The cool
air worked wonders and sobered me slightly. I glanced up at the stars. I loved
the way the small diamonds glistened against the black sky. There wasn’t much
natural light out tonight, the moon failed to shed enough light on the dark
grounds.

“Ruby?” Rylan called, exiting the building
and leaning against the wall next to me.

“Haven’t you ruined my night enough?”

“You said you weren’t coming with anybody.”

“I didn’t initially, and even if I did, it’s
none of your business.”

“Rylan, are you coming?” a female voice
called.

It wasn’t hard to match the annoying,
high-pitched voice to a face. I turned my head towards the entrance of the
dining hall and there stood Raina in a pink, poufy dress that looked like it
belonged to an eighteenth century princess.

What an idiot.

“You came with Raina? You are unbelievable.
You don’t approve of me coming with Hunter, yet you show up with her?” I spat.

I’m not jealous, just confused. When I had
first arrived at Sage Sanctum, Rylan and his friend Zavion had expressed their
distaste in Raina, but it looks like Rylan has changed his mind. Perhaps it was
all a joke to impress me.

“Ignore her. Ruby, I like you, you’re
beautiful, funny, and charming. I just want to know if you have ever felt
anything for me … do I have a chance with you?”

I felt horrible. I didn’t want to break his
heart but I had no choice. I didn’t have any romantic feelings towards Rylan. Sure,
he was cute and nice and everything other girls look for, but my heart was
someone else’s.

“No, I’m sorry.”

I saw his broken heart reflect in his eyes
and Rylan lingered for a moment before turning and joining Raina at the top of
the stairs, but not before sparing a saddened glance my way.

“That would have hurt.”

My eyes shot up to an approaching figure in
the darkness. The voice was familiar but it couldn’t be him.

“Eli?”

Unexpected Reunion

My heartbeat sped up and my breath was
sucked out of my lungs as the anonymous figure stepped into the light. His
piercing green eyes were the first thing I noticed, followed by his full, lush
lips — delicious. I stepped forward. I needed to see I wasn’t imagining him. As
my foot came into contact with the ground, a pain radiated through my ankle and
I found myself meeting the hard terrain.

“Have you been drinking?” Eli asked,
helping me to my feet.

“No.”

He was back five seconds and I was already
lying to him. He knew I was lying, he could probably smell it.

“Ruby, you —”

“Stop! You can’t waltz in here after three
months and start telling me what to do.”

Was I imagining the slur that had attached
itself to my words? I turned to storm off, but I fell. This time Eli caught me,
cradling me with one arm. My ankle throbbed in pain but I was too caught up
admiring Eli’s face to even care. I felt whole suddenly. I could feel my heart
racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins. I inhaled
and my lungs filled with his sweet scent. This was not how I imagined our
reunion. I imagined hugs, beautiful words, and maybe even a kiss. I didn’t
picture me being overly tipsy, rolling my ankle, and falling over. He
straightened me up, both my feet firmly on the ground. I winced at the sharp
ache that pounded in my ankle. Eli kept a hand on my shoulder, keeping me
steady.

“You’ve rolled your ankle. You can’t go to
the medical building; they’ll see you’ve had alcohol. I imagine you’re still
walking on thin ice with the school?”

“Very thin.” I sighed.

He leaned down and wrapped his arm around
my waist, shifting most of my weight onto him. I ignored the electricity I felt
when our skin touched and the way my stomach muscles tensed. His cologne
surrounded us. I took a deep breath as it entered my nostrils, it was so intoxicating.
Oh how I missed it.

Eli and I had to sign into the girl’s dorms
before we were allowed in. After my little adventure, all students and teachers
had to sign in and out of dorm rooms, every single time.

“Mr De Luca, it’s good to see that you’re
back. Miss Moore has already managed to use up your time, I see.”

Mrs Ploit peered over her reading glasses
and looked down her nose at me.

I glared at her; Mrs Ploit still held a
grudge against me. After my ‘stunt’ she got into a lot of trouble for letting a
student out.

“I’m just glad to be back. Ruby was walking
and rolled her ankle. She’ll be fine; I’m just assisting her to her dorm.” Eli
smiled.

“In those heels I’m surprised she didn’t
break her neck.” Mrs Ploit scowled.

“Yes, they are a bit high, aren’t they?”

I rolled my eyes. I hated being spoken about
like I wasn’t there. Teachers, parents, and bosses do it all the time.

“I’m in room four zero two now,” I
interrupted.

Eli raised an eyebrow and nodded his head
at my change in dorm rooms.

“I take it Sam isn’t coming back?”

Eli asked as we reached my dorm.

“Not for a while, and Mila managed to
convince Aleksandrov into letting us share a room.”

I pulled the dorm key out from my bra. His
lips twitched, fighting a smile.

“What? I don’t have a purse that matches my
dress.”

We entered and Eli sat me down on the bed
with a purple satin duvet, my bed.

“Do you have a first aid kit?”

I pointed to the bathroom. “Under the sink.”

He got the kit and returned, then he
kneeled before me and removed my shoe. I swear I could hear the electricity
that crackled along my skin as an aftermath of his touch. How does he do this
to me? He began bandaging my foot and my skin erupted in goose bumps as his
skin glided against mine.

“Is this what you’ve been doing whilst I’ve
been gone?”

A hint of frustration laced his words. I
knew he was talking about the drinking.

“No, this is a first,” I muttered,
intimidated by his cold voice. “You didn’t have to help me, Hunter wou —”

“Hunter? He was feeding you alcohol all
night. He wouldn’t have done anything other than take adv —” his words were cut
off by a deep exhale. He closed his eyes, regaining his composure. Eli’s lips
were held in an impassive line.

“He didn’t force me to drink it, he offered
it and I took it. I just wanted to stop thinking about you and… have fun.”

Damn you, alcohol, for magnifying my
emotions.
I pressed my
tongue hard against the roof of my mouth. I read once that it stops you from
crying, so far so good. When Eli had finished bandaging my ankle, he sat on
Mila’s bed, opposite me.

“You didn’t even tell me you were going… if
it was payback for what I did to you, then fine, I get it, but you were gone
for three months.” Tears began welling in my eyes and my words choked in my
throat. “Three months, Eli. I had no idea whether you were alive or dead, and my
tattoo washed off in the shower … How was I supposed to take that?”

His usual bright green eyes turned bleak as
he ran his fingers briefly through his dark hair.

“I’m sorry I put you through that, but now
I’m not your problem and you’re not mine.”

I flinched at the harshness of his words. “What
does that mean?”

“It means that I’m no longer your guardian
angel. You’re no longer being targeted by anyone specifically, you don’t need
me.”

“I do need you.”

I hated sounding so needy and childish, but
I did need him. I tried for months to convince myself that I didn’t, but seeing
him tonight made me realize that I needed him more than anything.

“Because of you, I was interrogated for
months on end! I was treated like a prisoner. I’m not going through that again.”
Eli’s voice was loud and angry. Frustration marred his face. All his careful
control evaporated and afterward, we were stuck in a long silence.

“What did the higher power want?”

“I didn’t see him. I saw a bunch of gods
and goddesses and they wanted a reason why I killed Tay; you aren’t allowed to
kill a fellow guardian angel. Even a guardian angel that has committed the
worst crime is entitled to a hearing. I also had to defend an inappropriate
relationship between us.” He paused as he contemplated what to say next. “I’m
just thankful I got us both out of that shit-storm.”

His calm demeanor returned and relief flooded
my body. Now I was certain Tay wouldn’t come after me, but at the same time,
sorrow battled against the relief. I could see how upset Eli was that Tay was
dead, and I was the reason why.

“I have to go and register with the school
again.” He left the bed and walked over to the door, pausing before he opened
it. “Stay out of trouble.”

I nodded and watched as he shut the door
behind him. Tears spilled over the rims of my eyes.  Eli was back, so why was I
feeling so depressed? I had imagined I’d be happy … This was the day I’d been
waiting months for, and yet I wanted it to be over already. I hopped over to my
cupboard, feeling like an idiot. I think bed was the best option for me at this
point. I unzipped my dress from the side and stepped out of it as it fell into
a rumpled heap on the floor beneath my feet. I slid a nighty over my head. The silk
fabric was cool against my skin, causing goose bumps to raise a little.

Knock Knock.

I paused for a few moments. I was unsure if
I wanted to see anyone, even Eli or Hunter. I hobbled over to the door. If it
was Eli, it would be nice to drink in a few more of his features before going
to sleep. The smile I met on the other side of the door wasn’t Eli’s.

“Ruby, there you are!” Hunter smirked,
glancing amusingly over my choice of bed clothes.

“Hunter, what are you doing here? And how
did you get past Mrs Ploit?”

Or Eli.

He leaned up against the frame of my door.

“I told Mrs Ploit I needed to check up on
my date. I only have —” He checked his watch. “Three more minutes before she
‘drags me out by my ear.’ Although, she did mention that Eli had already made
sure you got back okay.” He glanced briefly at the bandage on my ankle.

The last part of his sentence was tainted with
frustration … or jealousy. I’ve only heard Hunter speak in a joking, sarcastic
or smart ass manner, and that made it difficult to determine the new tones I
was hearing.

“I rolled my ankle and Eli showed up and
helped me.”

He grabbed my hand.

“How convenient,” he muttered. “Come to
dinner with me tomorrow night, at La Hope?”

La Hope was a romantic restaurant and
dessert bar in Sage town.

“Hunter, I went to the dance with you. We
had fun and we danced, but that doesn’t mean I want to date you.”

Does it?

“Would your answer be different if Eli
hadn’t come back tonight?”

I opened my mouth but the words wouldn’t
come out. I was caught off guard. Hunter’s grey gaze held mine, it was
unnerving.

Would my answer be different?
my subconscious asked. Despite how tonight
turned out, it started out pretty good and I had a lot of fun with Hunter. Hunter
was the opposite of Eli, he spoke what he thought. He did whatever he wanted
and he was a school Prefect, even though he had no regard for the rules.

“Goodnight, Ruby,” he whispered, kissing my
cheek.

He turned and headed down the hallway and I
was stuck thinking about the time he kissed me a few months ago. I had been off
and on with Hunter, and I can’t say that I haven’t led him on, because I have.