Free Personal Demons 2 - Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers Page B

the car.”
    I smile, liking the way he looks without it. I hold my arm up to him again, but he shakes his head even as a slow smile creeps across his face. “I think we’ve pressed our luck as far as it will go.”
    He moves to the window, looks down, and hesitates. “This would be so much easier if I could phase out of here.”
    I climb out of bed and move to his side. “You’re gonna break your neck. You should stay.” I take his hand and wrap his arm around me.
    Stay with me.
    â€œFrannie, please. It was your Sway that got me up here in the first place, against my better judgment, I might add. But I really have to go.”
    He kisses me, then looks back out into the tree. With a hammering heart, I watch him pull the screen from the window and climb onto the window frame. He reaches up for a branch and tugs it a few times, then grasps it with both hands and swings away from the house. The branch sags under his weight. I gasp when I hear a crack, but it holds him long enough for his foot to catch a larger branch lower down and closer to the trunk. He reminds me of a lithe black cat as he shifts from one branch to another, sure-footed and steady, and eventually swings himself to the ground. I realize I’m holding my breath and let it out in a slow, shaky puff as he steps back to look up at me. And God, he’s beautiful.
    The horizon is beginning to turn pink with the start of a new day. He backs away slowly toward his car and my heart aches more with every step.
    â€œWhat the Hell is wrong with you?” Matt’s hiss in my ear scares the hell out of me.
    I bite back the yelp, then turn to look at him. He’s scowling at me, and when he sees my T-shirt, he rolls his eyes. “ Here? You were going to do that here? With Mom and Dad just down the hall?”
    My face is on fire and I have to fight to keep my voice a whisper. “You were watching ?”
    He backs off a few steps. “I’m an angel, not a voyeur. I wasn’t watching. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you aren’t dragging your boyfriend into your room in the middle of the night to talk. ”
    â€œFor your information, we were just talking, because Luc stopped.”
    â€œYeah. That’s why you’re wearing his T-shirt.” His smile is sour.
    I turn to hide my flaming cheeks. “And anyway, it’s none of your business what Luc and I do. Or where.”
    â€œIt’s exactly my business. My job is to protect you, even if it is from your stupid self. I’m not going to let you do this, Frannie. I’m not going to let you ruin your life.”
    Rage erupts out of my emotional black pit when it hits me…what he did. I stand up and shove him as hard as I can. “You ripped that mirror off the wall. Didn’t you?”
    He staggers back a few steps, and a grim smile curls his lips.
    â€œJesus, Matt!” I grab fistfuls of my hair and yank before groaning and turning toward the window. I look out at the Shelby, still parked outside, and breathe deep, then turn back to Matt. “Can we talk about this later?”
    His face softening, he nods and disappears.
    I climb into bed and pull the sheet over my head. After a long minute, I lift my head out from under the sheet and scan the room. Still empty.
    I trace the path of Luc’s lips with my hand, still feeling the tingle of my skin from his touch. Closing my eyes, I bring his T-shirt to my face, breathing my heart back to a normal rhythm.
    I’m so glad to have Matt back, but who knew having a guardian angel would turn out to be such an epic buzz kill? He’s like my own personal chastity belt. Even though I swore I wouldn’t use my Sway on family, maybe I should try it on Matt, just to get him to lighten up a little. I need practice, after all.
    I smile, remembering how well it almost worked on Luc. ’Course, I really didn’t mean to use it. I finally doze