Page 82 of Lightning Angel
“Don’t eventhinkabout—”
“You can’t stop me.” He grinned devilishly. “Not even the lightning could keep me away from you now that you want me like I want you.”
All the protest at the tip of her tongue was forgotten at his last words. She smiled back.
“You want me, right?”
“Of course, I do.”
Alexa laid her head back on his chest. His arms came around her and he rested his head against hers. No more words were exchanged between them. They sat in sweet, comfortable silence, and slowly, her eyes began to droop.
She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep in Tristan’s arms until she felt being lifted off the floor and laid on her bed. Half-conscious, she smiled as he covered her with the blanket, tucking her in.
“Goodnight, Tristan,” she mumbled, peeling her sleepy eyes open to look at him.
Tristan’s radiant smile filled her vision. His hand stroked her hair and his knuckles grazed her temple down to her jaw.
“Goodnight, my angel,” he whispered, his blue eyes adoring. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
15
Angel & Knight
Alexadidthink it was only a sweet dream when she opened her eyes to the dim morning light the next morning. Until a thunderbolt clapped in the skies.
She jolted upright on the bed.Tristan!
She reached for her phone and fiddled with it for a moment in her haste to turn it on, and dialed his number.
He didn’t answer.
Of course, hecouldn’tanswer. He’d damage his phone if he touched it.
Tears burned in her eyes. Though he had assured her he would be fine, and that he’d been through this more than a dozen times before, she couldn’t shake off her concern for him. He was in pain; immense and agonizing pain. And her heart twistedat the thought.
She sent him a text.
Alexa: Call me when it’s over. I can’t seem to rest until I hear from you.
She stared at her screen and her vision blurred together. Her heart broke for him. She tried telling herself that he had been through this before and he would be alright. Not even direct lightning strikes could harm him.
Yes, not even direct strikes can harm him.She took a deep breath, letting the thought wash over her.He’s a survivor.
With that assurance, she climbed off the bed and did her daily workout before getting ready for school. She kept checking her phone for his response every now and then, despite the thunder still clapping in the skies. When she went down to the kitchen, Cassie was making breakfast.
Alexa told her sister what happened last night, and her sister hugged her with a gentle smile. When she shared her worries over Tristan with her, Cassie brushed them off with assuring words.
It rained that whole day, and Alexa didn’t recall having ever hated the weather before. Lightning flashed across the sky, small or big, occasionally. And not receiving Tristan’s response, not even that he had seen her message, only proved he hadn’t been able to recover. It took half an hour for the effect of the lightning to wear off, after all.
It was frustrating that the lightning kept flashing one after another before his recovery time was up.
By night, the weather had calmed. Alexastood in her balcony, looking up at the star-less sky, watching the lightning flash in the distance. She sighed and went back into the room, grabbing a book for a short read before bed.
The intended short read prolonged like always, pulling her from its depths only when the phone pinged with a text.
She nearly threw the book away in her hurry to grab the phone. Just as she anticipated, it was from Tristan. A smile bloomed into her face.
Tristan: I’m so sorry it took me long to respond. Today was bad, but I’ve lived through worse. I did see your message notification when the phone chimed, but wasn’t able to touch it until now. Thank you for checking on me, Alexa. I’m alright, please don’t worry. I can’t wait to see you again.