Angel's Guardian: A Contemporary Vampire Romance (18 page)
Read Angel's Guardian: A Contemporary Vampire Romance Online
Authors: Zeecé Lugo
“Yes, I imagine you are right, but I have made New York City my home for many years, and my investments, my business manager, and connections are based there. I have no wish to move anywhere else.”
“Angel,” her father pressed, “after having lost you for so many years, we hope you want to live near us. We want to have our grandchildren around us, to spoil, to teach, to love, to catch up with all the things we have missed.”
“Maybe I can stay a bit longer,” she said, looking at Max for his approval. “A week seems so little.”
“Yes,” he answered woodenly, already feeling the divide opening up between them.
******
Max stood alone and forlorn again, on the edge of a parapet, the wind blowing at him like a willful child straining to push him off. The moon was a sliver of white on a clear sky, and the stars were for once, visible, although not as bright and numerous as they would be in the country.
Almost a month ago, he left Angel with her family and returned to the city. At first, he’d called every night, eager to hear about her latest experiences and plans with her parents and siblings. Then, he’d begun to resent her happiness and obvious enjoyment of a situation that did not include him. In truth, he was angry with her for being happy without him. He felt betrayed.
A week ago, she’d stopped answering his calls. He was not stupid. He’d known it was coming. Tonight, he’d spent a few hours with Jonathan. His friend was totally recovered from the torture that Pretto dealt him. In fact, he now proudly saw himself as part of that elite warrior group that has survived torture and bears the scars as badges of courage to prove it. He seemed edgier now, not so soft, much more masculine.
Max told his friend about the situation, his fear that he’d lost Angel. Jonathan thought he was being childish, petty, and impatient. Maybe he was.
He took his cell out of his coat’s pocket and dialed again. No one answered. His fury and pain burning through him, he flung the phone with all his might, watching it disappear into the night.
He stayed out until just before the edge of dawn. He dreaded going back to the house, to the lingering scent and absence of the little family that had so unexpectedly and thoroughly burrowed its way into his cold heart. Today, he would change his plans to visit his family. He would move them forward and leave immediately. He needed a diversion from his pain and misery.
He opened the door and stepped over the threshold only to be assailed by the stink of baby poo.
What the hell? he thought. Where has that come from?
Then confusion gave way to joy. Baby poo. His favorite smell in the world!
Max took the stairs three at a time. He burst into his bedroom, and there they were. Angel was changing the baby’s diaper. Nina, tired but awake, ran into his arms with a big whoop of joy.
Angel turned, a big smile on her face. She picked up a freshly diapered little Marco and held him up for Max’s kiss. “We just got in. Took a cab from Kennedy. My phone fell in the toilet a week ago, and I never memorized your number. I was going crazy worrying about you.”
“Baby, you should never have worried. I was not worried in the least,” he lied with aplomb. “You need to learn to use the internet, open a Facebook account so that you’ll always be connected. I will do it for you.”
******
They kissed for hours. They touched forever. They remained locked in the ecstasy of their physical union all day. When Max’s fangs found their mark, the blood kiss took them to the edge of the precipice, and they went over it together. Later they talked in the hushed murmurs that lovers use when sated and exhausted.
“You honestly thought I’d not come back?”
“The possibility crossed my mind,” he said with nonchalance.
“Hmm, the possibility crossed your mind. It doesn’t sound like it would make much of a difference to you.” Angel was upset.
Max smiled to himself. His woman feared losing him. He pulled her over to lay on top of him, belly to belly and, taking her face in both his hands, brought her in for a long, passionate kiss.
“I went insane. For a whole week, you stopped answering my phone calls. I thought you were doing it on purpose. Tonight, in my fury, I threw my cell phone away, my beautiful $700 Galaxy which I bought barely three months ago. I convinced myself that you’d chosen to stay in Texas with your family. You have no idea the joy I felt when I walked through the door and smelled baby poop.”
Angel looked down at him with love in her eyes. “I love you, my vampire. I don’t think I could live without you. I can visit and talk to my family whenever I want, but my daily life, my happiness, my passion, I want to share with you each moment for the rest of my life. Never doubt that.”
“I won’t.”
“Besides, Nina would never let me forget you. She was almost as eager as I was to get home.”
“I missed her too. I missed all of you. Most of all, I missed this,” and Max flipped her over again and taking her lips in a passionate kiss, sank into her sweet depths once more.
******
The most beautiful full moon hung over the New York City skyline. In the distance, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and the rest of the nightscape spread out before them, seeming to go on forever. The breeze blew cold and crisp, the moon seemed an arm’s reach away, and the city twinkled and breathed below them, its night voice drifting up to them like mist in the hills. From their perch high up, the little family gazed in awe, their hair and clothes blowing in the wind.
The baby was strapped securely in a special carrier to Angel’s back. Nina was similarly strapped to Max’s back, her little arms tight around his neck. At his side, Angel held his hand, both wonder and fear thrumming through her.
“This is wonderful. Max. I never imagined. The view is magnificent, scary.”
Max looked down at her and smiled. “It’s only the beginning, love. Only the beginning.” He took Angel firmly by the waist and took a flying leap to the next building. Angel closed her eyes and hung tightly to Max, but Nina’s screams of joy and laughter echoed for miles and miles.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Please, before you move on to your next wonderful read, could you leave a short review of this novel? This novel is a new release and, as of the publishing date, it has no reviews. I did not appeal to friends and colleagues for early reviews. As a self-published author, I really need and appreciate honest reviews from readers like yourself.
Many readers will skip over a book that has few reviews, and sellers such as Amazon will not promote it. Your review will inform prospective readers, and if it says good things, it will make me smile all day! If it finds faults, it will make me strive to fix the bad and become a better writer. Thank you, truly.
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BACK MATTER
This book is not part of the Daniel’s Fork series. There are other stories, novels, and novellas available in that series, which I hope you will read. You may be interested in the following author sites:
Journey to the Future Past!
See at
Amazon
This novel is a romance set ten years before
Daniel’s Fork
. It introduces the character of Setiyah, the healer, as a young girl in her native village. Her beautiful and beloved cousin Annasai is the intended bride for the lord of the territory, the powerful and handsome Victor Strongheart. However, before he arrives to meet his bride, the girls switch places, and events take an unexpected turn! This novel is approximately 72,000 words. It has sexual content not suitable for younger readers.
Journey to the Future Past!
See at
Amazon
This novel is set ten years after
Strongheart’s Woman
, in the village of Daniel’s Fork. It is the first book in the Daniel’s Fork Universe, but it is not the first in the timeline. Once again, we meet Setiyah, but now she is a widow. The new lord replacing the beloved Strongheart, has arrived, and he is not at all what she expected. This book is approximately 70,000 words. It has strong sexual content and is not suitable for young readers.
AUTHOR BIO
Zeecé Lugo was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Brooklyn, and lived in many places. Her early love was reading. The worlds of Pern, Middle-earth, St. Mary Mead, and Shrewsbury Abbey had an incredible influence and hold on her imagination.
She wrote her first novel,
Daniel’s Fork
, in two months, spending long days at her task. During that time, she ensconced herself in her bedroom with her computer, barely coming out to grab a cup of coffee or a snack. One day, her nearest neighbor came desperately knocking at her bedroom window, afraid that Zeecé might be dead; no one had seen her for days!
Daniel’s Fork
was meant to be the first book in a romantic trilogy. Little did Zeecé know that stories have a way of going where they want to go. It turned out to be a journey to the future past! It is a sexy mystery set in a future that is ironically similar to our past, giving birth to a fictional universe: the Daniel’s Fork universe.