Summer Of My Secret Angel (41 page)

There you go. Craziness is taking over.

Julian returned my intense glare. Then he
lifted one suggestive brow. “Don’t want to come join me out
here?”

Slowly, I shook my head. “I’m hallucinating.
I’m hallucinating…”

Then why the hell bother to shake your
head at a mirage
?
Why was no one around to slap me when
I was so obviously going insane?

Julian drew his brows together, the corners
of his mouth turning downward. “Come on, Jona. You didn’t make me
wait for you this long just to call me a fantasy in the end.”

His voice sounded so real. And his body
seemed solid, not ghostlike as I had seen him half an hour ago. He
also appeared without his wings, dressed in his usual outfit of
blue jeans and a shirt.

But, jeez, what would happen if I fell for
my own delusions?

Better make it a good one
!

My gulp echoed through the room as I rose
from his bed. Knees wobbly, I crossed to the door, but stopped with
a hand to the frame for support.

“What brought you back?” My voice had
abandoned me completely. In order for him to answer, he would have
to be able to read lips.

“You. Because you finally accepted what you
felt all along. You’ve learned to trust. And by speaking it out
loud you opened the portal for me to return.”

“Fully? Return?” My sandpaper-dry tongue
stuck to the roof of my mouth. It made me stammer. “I—I mean, did
you come back as the man or the angel?”

His shoes thudded on the floorboards as he
hopped down. The boxes planted with bright red flowers shook,
releasing drops of dew. His thumbs dipped into his pockets, and he
leaned against the railing.

“Fully,” he confirmed. “I’m here to
stay.”

I struggled to grasp what he’d said. I’d
endured so long without him, and now he’d come back. I was tempted
to run into his embrace. But the small chance that he would
vaporize into thin air the instant I wrapped my arms around him
kept me rooted. How much craziness was one mind capable of?

“
Bonjour
, Jona,” my aunt shouted with
her usual cheerful tone from the garden below. “Hi, Julian. Will
you stay for breakfast?”

I held my breath. Leaning slightly to the
side, I gazed past Julian and spotted Marie carrying a scalding pot
of coffee and a tray of buns to the table under the willow
tree.

“Yeah, I think I will,” Julian replied with
a grin but without turning away from me.

“She just invited you to eat with us.” As
though it was the most natural thing in the world to have an angel
sitting at the breakfast table. “How come she remembers you?”

“You opened the gate.” He shrugged.
“Everyone affected will accept me as part of their life again.”

Mind swimming, I gave him a pointed stare.
“My aunt doesn’t wonder where you came from all of a sudden?”

“She knows me as her sister’s caretaker. As
far as she remembers, I left shortly after the funeral on another
assignment. She doesn’t doubt I’m real.” He walked toward me at a
seductive pace, his chin low and fire sparkling in his eyes. “So
why do you?”

I reached out, almost expecting him to draw
back like he had done so many times in my dreams. But he moved
closer and let me feel the smooth skin of his face. I skimmed my
fingers over his cheeks, his lips, down his neck and shoulders.

“You feel so real. Totally alive. I think
even though I couldn’t remember, I was waiting for this moment all
these months.” Feeling his firm biceps, I ran my hands lower and
finally laced them with his. “And now you’re here, and I can’t dare
to trust my eyes.”

“You’d better believe it, baby. Because it
makes
this
feel so much better.” And the next instant his
lips took mine in a slow, thrilling kiss. My palms pressed against
the wall as I surrendered to him. His tongue delved into my mouth,
whirling ravenously around mine. My knees gave way, but he steadied
me with his body pushing against mine.

Kissing a path along my jaw, he purred into
my ear. “Until the sun sets tonight I will still be an angel. It is
up to you to decide before then whether you want me to stay—or
leave again.”

Huh
?
Stop kidding me,
angel
!
“Can I make that decision now? I want you to
stay
!
”

One corner of his
mouth lifted in my favorite lopsided smile. “I hoped you would say
that. So after sundown, I’ll lose my angel powers and spend this
life with you as
ordinary Julian
.” He nibbled my earlobe.
“But before that happens, there is something I’ve wanted to do with
you for a very long time.” His fingers found the first button of
his shirt.

“What?” I croaked, pressing harder against
the wall behind me. “Make love to me?”

His fingers went down from one button to the
next, revealing his strong chest to my gaping eyes. “That, too.” A
rascally grin flashed across his face. “But it will have to wait
another
moment
.”

Over his shoulder, I spotted Marie pouring
coffee into a cup, only the stream didn’t reach the cup. She seemed
suddenly frozen in time. My unbelieving gaze moved back to Julian,
who had dropped his shirt to the floor. Behind him the air wavered
until a jet of light emerged. Two marvelous, wide wings appeared
and hovered at his sides.

Their sight robbed the air from my
lungs.

One arm behind my knees and the other
planted firmly on my back, Julian swept me up. Mischief sparked in
his deep blue eyes. His warm breath brushed my face. “Are you ready
to sky dive?”

Head tilted back, I laughed out loud. “Bring
it on, angel.”

OneRepublic – Secrets

(On the run through London)

Jervy Hou – A Short Beautiful Piano Piece -
Improv

(Saying goodbye to Quinn)

Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the
ring

(The vineyards)

OneRepublic – Good Life

(Teamwork with Julian)

British Anthem; God Save the Queen

(A weird dream)

Owl City - Fireflies

(
Balconies, birds, town, ice
cream. He’s impossible. And then there’s that dress…)

Guillaume Robbe – Hallelujah (piano
cover)

(A special song for Jona)

Wall.E Soundtrack – Define Dancing

(
The wingbeat of a bird stretched
to eternity)

Jervy Hou – A Breathtaking Piano Piece

(
Truths, lies, confessions,
loss
)

Lindsey Stirling – Elements

(Run. Before it’s too late. He’ll
leave.)

Miley Cyrus – When I look at you

(No memory of the angel, but he’s still
around)

The Piano Guys – Over the rainbow

(Return of the angel)

Alexandra Burke – Hallelujah

(
A beautiful performance of Jona
and Julian’s song)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANNA KATMORE prefers blue to green, spring to
winter, and writing to almost everything else. It helps her to
escape from a boring world to something with actual adventure and
romance in it, she says. Even when she’s not crafting a new story,
you’ll see her lounging with a book in some quiet spot. She was 17
when she left Vienna to live in the tranquil countryside of
Austria, and from there she loves to plan trips to anywhere in the
world. Two of her favorite places? Disneyland and the deep dungeons
of her creative mind.

For more information, please visit her
website at
www.annakatmore.com