Free Fallen: Celeste by Tiffany Aaron Page A

head and turned back towards the door.
Standing, William had a smile on his face.
    "Go ahead and ask. But are you sure you want to hear the
answer?"
    Facing the door, Adam took a deep breath. He wasn't sure he could
bring himself to ask.
    "No, we haven't. And we never will." William's voice was
filled with understanding. "Celeste is my dearest friend and the only one
I'll ever trust. I won't destroy that connection by turning it into a physical
one."
    Adam nodded in thanks and left.
    William sighed. He checked on Celeste once more. She was sleeping
soundly. Leaving a note on the kitchen table, he left to go in search of a
fallen angel.
    * * * *
    Two hours later, Celeste had just finished lunch when another
knock sounded on her door. This time there wasn't any anger in the sound. She
opened it to find Adam leaning casually on the doorjamb. He looked good enough
to eat, she thought. In tight faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt, he seemed
more rested. She had to fight the urge to pull him inside and run her hands all
over his naked body. She grinned at him.
    Adam knew what she was thinking. She could see the lust burning in
his eyes. He shook his head. Disappointment ran through her.
    "Grab a jacket. I'm kidnapping you."
    "Really? And where are you taking me?"
    "You'll just have to wait and see." He smirked at her.
Helping her with her jacket, he let his hands caress her shoulders.
    "It's a surprise, huh?" She shut the door behind her.
Following him to his truck, she mentally wiped the drool off her chin. The man
had an ass she would love to lick chocolate off of. She backed off from those
thoughts. She had the feeling Adam was trying to help her relax and having
lustful thoughts wasn't going to help lower her heart rate.
    His hand brushed her breast as he helped her into the truck. It
took all her will power not to grab his hand and cup it around her breast. She
was disgusted with herself. She couldn't even go five minutes without thinking
some kind of sexual thought about this man. She was going to have to do better.
    The silence in the truck was thick as they headed down the street.
Finally, Celeste laughed. "We don't seem to be able to talk to each other
unless we're arguing or fucking, huh?"
    He chuckled. "I'm sure we could if we tried. We've just never
had the chance, I guess."
    "Did you ever finish high school?" Celeste asked,
turning in her seat to look at him.
    He shook his head. "You're looking at a self-made man. Of
course, in a street gang, you really don't need a degree to get where you want
to go."
    "But you do need to be intelligent and cunning," Celeste
stated.
    "Just like any animal living in the jungle."
    "I give you credit. You didn't start out with much, but
somehow you managed to gain a lot."
    "By stealing, cheating and lying. Yeah, that makes me a model
citizen. Isn't that against your angelic code?"
    Celeste gave him a slight smile. "Maybe if I was still an
angel I'd have a problem with it. But I've lived in the world for a long time.
The survival instinct is strong in you. You do whatever you have to do to make
it day by day."
    "Don't throw stones in a glass house."
    "I'm not going to judge you, that's for sure. Considering
what I'm being punished for, your crimes are pretty petty."
    Adam laughed. "I don't think the police would agree with
you."
    "True. Some of them have no room to criticize you either. The
only one you will ever have to answer to in the end is Him."
    "Why don't you call Him God?"
    "Getting tossed from Heaven puts a damper on things. Since I
can no longer stand in His presence, I can't even say His name. It hurts my
head and my heart."
    "I wouldn't know what it's like to be banished like that. I
mean I'm sure it's like being banished from a parent's presence. But since
neither of my parents cared for me, I've always known that feeling." Adam
shrugged. He pulled into the parking garage.
    Celeste looked around. "The zoo? You're taking me to the zoo.
I've never been here before."
    "You've