Free Salvation (The Guardian Angel Series Book 3) by Skyla Madi Page A

opened the door.
    “Eli? What are you doing here?”
    He glanced at me, the beginning of a smirk forming on his lips when he saw me in my pajamas.
    “I thought we could eat together,” he said, holding up a few plastic containers. My knees threatened to give way at the sight of him in his guardian uniform.
    “Sure, come in.”
    As Eli took off his big guardian boots, I walked to the kitchen and searched the cupboards for plates. When I found them, I sat them on the bench and Eli opened the containers.
    “Unfortunately, they were only serving chicken salad for dinner.”
    “That’s perfect, I half filled up on grapes before you came anyway,” I replied, reaching into the drawer and pulling out cutlery. I felt tense and nervous. I wasn’t uncomfortable. Eli doesn’t make me uncomfortable, but it was a strange feeling I couldn’t explain. Then it hit me. Eli and I have never really spent time together under normal circumstances. There was always something big, something life-threatening in the works. Now, even though we’re convinced the council is up to something, we’re spending time together for the sake of each other’s company, not because it might be the last time.
    “Is everything okay? You seem nervous,” he asked, leaning over the bench and touching my arm.
    “I realized that we’ve never spent time together under normal conditions.”
    He opened his mouth to say something and then stopped when he came to the same realization.
    “Well then, let’s make tonight unforgettable.”
    I blushed, wondering if I had imagined the dangerous gleam that flickered in his eyes. He scooped food onto the plates and we sat on the floor in the living room, eating and talking about life away from each other. We didn’t talk about how much it hurt us to be apart, instead we focused on funny things that’d happened to us. When we finished, Eli stood up and prepared to leave.
    “You don’t have to go just yet. We could talk for a little while longer.”
    “It’s getting late. I don’t want to keep you up.”
    “You won’t be keeping me up.” I cleared my throat and fidgeted with my fingers. “You said you wanted to make tonight unforgettable…”
    He pressed his lips together, trying to hide his amusement. “Wasn’t the chicken salad enough?” he replied sarcastically, taking a few slow steps toward me.
    I scowled at him. “The salad was fine.”
    “Then tell me, what would you deem unforgettable?”
    I felt embarrassed. I didn’t know what I was meant to say. There were so many things I could have said, done, but I played it safe.
    “Would it be inappropriate for me to ask you to stay with me tonight?”
    He ran his index finger across his bottom lip. “It’d be dangerous in more ways than one.”
    “But it’d be unforgettable, wouldn’t it?”
    “Every moment with you is unforgettable.”
    I smiled. His line was totally cheesy, but totally romantic.
    “I can’t stay, but I can lay down with you until you fall asleep,” he offered.
    It made me feel like a child, but no way in hell was I going to pass it up. We entered my room and I flicked on the desk lamp on the far side of the room. Its dim light illuminated the room poorly, but I only needed enough light to see his face. I climbed into bed, unable to bring myself to pull the blanket up. It was still hot, hotter now that Eli’s body heat was adding to mine.
    “Do you know how to work the air conditioner?” I asked.
    Eli disappeared into the living room and after a few beeps, a low vibration hummed throughout the house. By the time he returned I was in bed, pulling the blanket up to my chest. Eli lay beside me, staying on top of the blanket. Within minutes the air cooled, making being under the blanket more bearable. He stroked my hair, but I couldn’t sleep. Here we were— undisturbed and alone in my bedroom—doing nothing.
    “If you have to go, I don’t want to keep you,” I mumbled, trying to suss out how much time he could spare