Free Angel's Kiss by Melanie Tomlin

the flowers in turn.
    “What are you doing?” I asked.
    When he’d finished breathing on the last flower he picked up the chain and held it out for me to inspect. The entire chain had been crystallised. Talk about cold breath!
    “Go on, touch it,” he encouraged me. “It’s hard as rock and won’t break.”
    I tapped a fingernail on the white petals and they chimed like a crystal glass being rapped with a fork or knife to call people to attention.
    “It’s beautiful .”
    He inclined his head slightly and pushed the crystal chain towards me.
    “For you mademoiselle.”
    “But it’s yours,” I whispered. “I made it for you.”
    “A trade,” he said and took the chain from my head, turning it into crystal as well. “I shall keep yours as a memento of our friendship .”
    I could live with that.
    Danny took my hand and pulled me to the bedroom. My heart sank. For all his talk of being my friend and not having mortal desires it had now come to this — payment was due.
    “I want to try something.”
    I cringed at his words.
    “The normal rules don’t seem to apply to you, and from what I’ve been able to piece together angel’s blood shouldn’t be lethal to you. Do you trust me?”
    I was a big girl now. I knew nothing was given freely. I could live through whatever was demanded of me, although once it was over I would leave, never to see this angel again. He was just like the rest — mortal or angel, men were all the same.
    “Yes,” I whispered.
    “Lay down,” he said.
    I lay on my back and clasped my hands on my abdomen. When Danny removed the bandage from my head I wondered what he was doing. Did he get off on seeing me wounded? Did it make me seem more helpless? Is that it — he wants me helpless? I shivered.
    “It’s okay. I’ll try my best not to hurt you, but I can’t guarantee what will happen. As far as I know this has never been attempted before.”
    Are all angels virgins? I thought, and shivered again.
    When I saw the glint of steel in his hand I attempted to sit up and scramble away. Danny placed one hand on my shoulder, in an effort to stop me from running away.
    “You said you trusted me,” he reminded me.
    I’d been trapped by my own stupidity.
    “Go ahead and get it over and done with,” I said through gritted teeth.
    The blade flashed above me and I saw Danny slice his left palm. I could smell his blood as soon as the knife pierced his skin. It was sweet, like nectar, and I found my mouth salivating, part of me craving for a taste.
    Control yourself, I thought. He’s not food .
    Danny let the blood from his palm drip onto the gash in my forehead. It burned, oh how it burned!
    I clenched my jaw and could feel the veins in my neck standing out from the effort. I would not scream. I was stronger than that.
    Danny’s palm had healed before the burning sensation in my forehead faded away. Perspiration had formed on my brow and Danny wiped it away with a towel he produced from thin air.
    “How do you feel?” he asked.
    When the burning stopped I noticed my head was no longer throbbing.
    “Pretty good, actually,” I replied, touching my forehead gingerly.
    “No other pain or nausea?”
    “No, none.”
    “Incredible,” Danny said, shaking his head. “You truly are an enigma. Angel’s blood is a very potent poison, yet your body reacted as though it were a healing elixir … just as I’d hoped.”
    “Does that mean I’m no vampire or monster, that I’m more angel than anything else?” I asked hopefully. I wanted to be an angel, though one who enjoyed life’s little pleasures.
    He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.”
    “Danny,” I said hesitantly. “I owe you an apology. I thought —”
    He held up his hand. “Don’t say it. I know your thoughts as well as you do. I know how you feel about men. There’s no need to apologise for something that is intrinsic within your nature. It is so ingrained in you that it would take a miracle to wipe the slate clean. Those