It's a Love Thing (22 page)

I couldn’t stand just going through
the motions every day not knowing where he was or what had happened
to him. Had he been punished for warning me about Jason? I knew it
was a possibility, a probability even, but I still prayed he
hadn’t. If there were angels and demons there had to be a God
right? Someone, somewhere, who would listen to me. So I prayed
every night for Lucas, just in case it helped.

Labor Day weekend. There
were supposed to be fireworks in the town park on Sunday night.
Somehow I just couldn’t find the energy to care, but mom insisted I
go even though she wasn’t going to be able to make it. Why was I
not surprised? According to her I had been ‘avoiding humanity’ long
enough. Little did she know it wasn’t humanity I was avoiding, just
what
pretended
to
be human. Having resigned myself to being the strange new girl who
doesn’t talk to anybody, I had zero motivation to celebrate much of
anything, but still I trudged my way across town. On foot, because
mom had the car. Another downfall of having no friends—no
rides.

When I arrived the park was already
crowded with families, groups of friends, and cuddly couples all
lounging on blankets. Gag me. I had forgotten to bring a blanket,
of course, so I just plopped down on the grass and stretched out my
legs. No one spoke to me; I didn’t speak to anyone. This was how it
was going to be so I might as well get used to it. The first whizz
was followed by a loud bang. A flurry of twinkling blue lights
rained through the sky and the crowd ooh’d and ahh’d. Even I had to
admit it was pretty. Reclining back on my elbows I stared up into
the cloudless night sky as explosion after explosion of color lit
the darkness.

The fireworks lasted almost forty-five
minutes, no dinky show here, and were really quite impressive. The
finale rained constant colors over us for nearly five straight
minutes. It was breathtaking. And I’m not talking figuratively
here. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until a dark
silhouette blocked my view and I gasped. At first I couldn’t figure
out what the guy’s problem was. Why would he stand right in front
of me to watch the fireworks? Then I realized he wasn’t watching
the fireworks, he was watching me.

Scrambling backward, crab
style on my hands and feet, I tried to distance myself from him.
What did he want? Who was he?
What
was he? Jason? I couldn’t tell. With the light
from the fireworks behind him it was impossible to make out more
than just his shadow. He stepped closer and my heart leapt into my
throat. What was I supposed to do right there in front of all of
these people? Would they help me?
Could
they help me? He took another
step and my dread cranked up a notch . . . or ten. He continued
towards me until he stepped into the light of the street lamp
behind me. Then my heart—and my scrambling—stopped
completely.

Lucas stood there grinning down at me.
Without thinking, without caring, I practically flew off the ground
and leapt into his arms. His laughter sounded like heaven to me, as
he held me close and kissed my face. His lips traveled along my
cheek, across my nose, down my jaw line until finally they found my
lips. The fireworks display had nothing on what happened
next.

I didn’t know what he was
doing there or how long he would stay, but I could feel the joy
radiating off him and it made me want to sing and laugh and cry all
at the same time. In that moment I didn’t care about school or
Jason or angels and demons. All I cared about was Lucas. I didn’t
care about what he was or what he did, just
who
he was. And he was the boy I
cared about more than anything, the boy I wanted to spend every
second of the rest of time with, the boy I
loved
. As soon as I thought it, I
knew it was true and then I did laugh. Right out loud I laughed
with joy and happiness, and Lucas laughed too.

By the time we had finally regained
some iota of control over ourselves the fireworks ended and
everyone packed up their stuff and left. Lucas settled down in the
grass beside me, never breaking contact like one of us might be
dragged away if we let go for even a second.

“
What are you doing here?”
I dared to ask once we were alone.

“
I’m here for
you.”

“
I like the sound of that,”
I said, grinning like a fool.

“
In more ways than one,” he
clarified and that got my attention.

“
What do you mean? What
happened at your trial?”

“
There wasn’t really much
of a trial,” he admitted.

“
Then where have you
been?”

“
Researching . . .
studying.”

“
Researching
what?”

“
Well . . .
you.”

Now that was kind of
creepy.

“
What?”

“
Remember when I told you I
had never seen a soul as beautiful as yours?”

I nodded, feeling a bit self-conscious
at the compliment.

“
Well, I meant it. I really
haven’t, and there’s a reason for that. It’s the same reason Jason
was breaking all the rules trying to get to you. The same reason he
was right when he said they’re never going to stop trying. It’s
because you’re a pure soul.”

What the heck was that supposed to
mean?

“
A pure soul? Like a . . .
you know . . . like because I haven’t . . .” I lifted my eyebrows
making the implication as clear as possible without actually saying
the words.

Lucas laughed.

“
No, not that.”

“
Oh.”

My cheeks were flaming but at least
Lucas had the good grace to pretend not to notice.

“
A person’s soul reflects
more than just their actions. It reflects their thoughts and
feelings, their emotions and desires. It reflects all of who you
are.”

“
That can’t be right,” I
blurted out.

I had plenty of problems. More than
plenty. And if he only knew half the desires I had when he was
around there was no way he’d be saying that.

“
It’s the truth, Mel. You
are a genuinely good person. I’ve seen it myself. That’s a rare
thing these days. And unfortunately that makes your soul valuable,
not just to us but to them as well. They want it, but if they can’t
have it they are going to do their best to make sure we don’t get
it either.”

“
What does that
mean?”

“
It means you’re in danger.
A stolen soul cannot be counted among their numbers, but it cannot
be counted among ours either. They are going to keep coming after
your soul.”

“
So what do we do?” I
asked, suddenly terrified.

“
That’s what we’ve been
trying to figure out and the elders have come to a
conclusion.”

He stopped there, like for dramatic
effect or something, but all it really did was make me want to
punch him. Punching an angel, wonder what that would do for my
soul?

“
You have been assigned
your own personal guardian angel to protect your soul.”

“
Whoa.”

I didn’t mean to say it, it
just sort of slipped out, but seriously I think that kind of
information warrants a
whoa
response.

“
Yeah, and guess who’s been
promoted and assigned the task?”

Oh, please be him, please be him,
please be him. I wasn’t sure I could handle any more angels or
demons in my life at the moment.

“
You?” I asked, practically
pleading.

Lucas laughed and nodded. My heart
soared and I jumped him for a second time. Lucas laughed harder and
settled me on his lap.

“
So what does that
mean?”

“
It means I will be
sticking close. At. All. Times. I guess you had better get used to
me because it looks like you’re stuck with me.”

“
What about the no
fraternizing in the work place rule?”

A sly grin crossed his
face.

“
Remember when I explained
that I was rare enough to be valuable?”

“
Yeah.”

“
You’re a pure soul,” he
explained again, emphasizing the word pure like it meant more than
I could possibly understand. “Having you on our side is a huge
advantage. They would practically move heaven and earth to make
sure you stay there. That’s why they sent me back; to make sure you
were kept happy with us.”

“
I like the sound of
that.”

“
You should,” he agreed,
bumping his nose off the tip of mine. “I take my work very
seriously.”

One corner of his mouth tugged upward
in a mischievous grin.

“
It will be dangerous at
times, I’m not going to lie to you,” he added, growing serious,
“but I swear I will never let anybody hurt you.”

“
I know,” I whispered into
the darkness encroaching around us. “I love you.”

His arms tightened around my waist and
his lips moved next to my ear.

“
I love you,
too.”

The End

About the Author of
Temptation

Jamie Canosa graduated from SUNY Albany
with degrees in Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice. When
she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she can usually
be found with her nose in a book. She currently resides in Ravena,
NY with her wonderful husband and three crazy kids . . . plus the
dog, the bird and the rabbit.

Find more about Jamie
Canosa at:

https://twitter.com/#!/JL_Canosa

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5795718-jamie-canosa

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Contents

Haven

Sera didn’t really mind the Haven Base
too much. Sometimes she missed her old life. But only sometimes. It
seemed so short now. It had been short, by the usual standards, but
the endless time presented to her now set her nineteen years on
earth in sharp perspective.

She watched faces pass on her
screen—faces of those about to arrive at the Haven Base. It was her
job to review their Earthly files and assign a Transition Overseer.
She let her fingers feather across the screen. The blemish-free
face of a blond girl with bright blue eyes faded into the
background. Another face, stark in comparison, took its
place.