you can do it.”
As she chuckled, he scooped her into his arms and kissed her again, but when he started carrying her towards her bedroom, Nathaniel saw red. He had to do something, and fast.
Eloise struggled to get free. “Tom, put me down.”
Devlin grinned. “Aw, you know you love it when I kiss you.”
She kicked her legs. “Stop it, Tom, my mother will be home soon.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “No she won’t. She’s at the movies. Come on , Eloise, it’s much more comfortable on your bed.”
Eloise pounded his shoulders with her fists. “Tom, this isn’t funny anymore. Stop messing about and put me down. You’re being an idiot.”
As he strode into her bedroom, Nathaniel crept up behind him, ready to grab him the moment he put Eloise down, but as he tossed her onto the bed, a key jiggled in the front door.
Within seconds, Devlin flew out of the bedroom window, leaving Tom in a confused heap on the floor. Nathaniel decided he’d better make a quick exit and go and look for Michael before Devlin came back.
When the front door opened, Nathaniel bolted out the back and ran down the side of the house to the street. After making sure no one was looking out the front window, he sprinted down the road towards the beach. What was going on and why hadn’t Michael told him what Devlin was up to? And why hadn’t he helped Eloise?
H is pulse pounding in his ears, Nathaniel charged up the lookout steps two at a time. He had to speak to Michael as soon as possible. Reaching the top, he panted for breath and sat on the bench in the dark. Though his belly was crying out for sustenance, it was nothing like the pain he felt in his heart. He’d been so close to holding Eloise in his arms, but Devlin had put a stop to that. Oh, why was he such a thorn in his side? Would it never end?
Nathaniel rested his head in his hands. All he wanted was to be left alone to be with Eloise. She was his destiny and he knew it, but if he didn’t get his wings back soon, Devlin would get to her, and who knows what he’d do. It certainly wouldn’t be anything good.
With a fury boiling his blood, he gritted his teeth and shouted to the sky. “Michael, where are you? What’s going on? Eloise is in trouble and I need my wings back, now!”
Though he waited for an answer, none came. With a frustrated sigh, he slumped in his seat and resigned himself to wait until morning. There was nothing else he could do. If he risked going back to Eloise, Devlin could be waiting to possess him. At least her mother had come home. He shook his head. It was so unfair. All he wanted was to stay as a human and hopefully win Eloise’s heart, but as a man, he knew he wouldn’t be able to save her from likes of Devlin. And from the looks of things, Devlin must’ve already done a deal with Lucifer. How else was he able to kiss and molest Eloise without getting his wings burned off?
With an urge to punch a tree again, Nathaniel looked at his injured knuckles. He soon thought better of it. It was way too painful and his fingers hadn’t even healed yet. He knew now, there was no way he could stay on Earth as a man. Not if it meant putting Eloise in danger. Michael was right after all. The only way to fight Lucifer and Devlin was with the help of God and getting his angel powers back. Eloise meant more to him than anything in the whole universe and he had to put her safety first, even if it meant breaking his own heart in the process.
Realising he’d just made up his mind to claim back his wings, he sobbed into his hands. The pain in his heart was too much to bear and he had no idea how to cope with it. Being a human was harder than he’d ever expected, certainly harder than being an angel.
Hearing the neighing of a horse, he gazed up at the sky. Michael was charging through the ominous clouds on his majestic white stallion, his gleaming blue sword held out in front of him.
Though Nathaniel was relieved to see him, he didn’t really