Page 23 of Guardian Angel

My body was rather enjoying the handcuffs idea until she threw a bucket of ice water on the fantasy with the insinuation that I would hurt her. There was a whole list of reasons why I could never hurt her or willingly let something happen to her that she didn’t know about, but what pissed me off was that she seemed to think I had the moral code of the Devil. She’d let me sleep in her living room and didn’t even trust me not to hurt her myself?

I shoved away the anger and forced my lips into a smirk. “As sexy as I think you’d look in handcuffs, I don’t think we’re at that stage in our relationship, baby girl.”

Her cheeks flushed a delicious shade of red. “I told you not to call me that.”

“And I’m ignoring your request, just like you seem intent on doing tomyrequest that you not go out ten times a day.”

She turned to the microwave and grabbed her lunch, not asking again if I wanted anything.

I narrowed my eyes at her, but she was studiously ignoring me. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and started typing one-handed while shoveling food into her mouth with the other hand.

“You’re still planning on going to work, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” she said without looking up at me.

And those were the last words Sierra said to me for the next two hours, during which she finished her lunch, did dishes, and fulfilled her plans to do laundry. I would think she’d actually managed to forget I was here if it weren’t for the fact that she went out of her way to never look in my direction.

Twenty minutes before her shift was supposed to start, she disappeared into her room and came out wearing a black polo shirt with Fountain of Youth’s logo on the breast pocket and a visor sporting the same logo. She completely ignored me as she retrieved her keys and headed out the door.

I caught the edge of the door before it could close behind her. She didn’t comment as I followed her out, just turned and locked the apartment door. I was content with our no-talking arrangement right up until she walked past her car, heading for the entrance to the apartment complex.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

She didn’t answer.

“Sierra.”I jogged forward, moving into her path and grabbing her upper arms to force her to stop.

“What, Nathaniel? You’re going to make me late.”

I looked over her shoulder at her car. She had a zero percent chance of being late. The café was a two-minute drive from here… but it was probably a fifteen-minute walk. “You’re not driving.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious. Do you have any other statements to add? Make sure I know that the sky is blue or that it’s sunny out?”

I might have deserved that.

“Do you walk to work often? Was that what you were doing when you ran into the lord of Hell?”

“If you want me to answer you, let go of me.” Her voice was calm and full of steel. She’d witnessed me taking out three demons yesterday, but she didn’t seem the slightest bit wary of me. She just seemed annoyed.

I dropped my hands, and she stepped around me to continue walking while I followed her like a loyal puppy.

How the fuck did this become my life? I was chasing after a girl whenshewas the one who neededmyprotection. This guardian-angel gig was utter bullshit.

“Yes, I ran into the demon while walking home from the café. I heard the girl—theangel—scream, and I went to see if I could help her.”

“You actively sought them out? I can’t believe you’ve managed to survive twenty-one years.”

“I don’t exactly live in a high crime area. And I wasn’t expecting them to be immune to bullets.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. She wasn’t being unreasonable, but a part of me still wanted to shake her. Or better yet, lock her inside her room where she couldn’t get into any trouble and no one could touch her.

Nine

Sierra

Over the next week,Nathaniel became a regular at Fountain of Youth. My coworkers were starting to notice the “handsome stranger” who came into the café with me every day and stayed for hours, leaving only when I did. I heard the whispers and snippets of conversation, but even Merida didn’t come right out and ask me who he was or what the story was between us. I think they were afraid of jinxing it.

Nathaniel was a perfect gentleman while at the café. He bought a steady stream of drinks and the occasional salad or protein bowl. He never harassed or bothered me while I was working. All in all, he gave no one anything to whisper about other than his frequent presence.