But sometimes it’s so goddamn difficult keeping her at a distance, with how close we’d become. I’ve done too well of a job fusing our lives together.
That was the risk of being assigned a ward at youth.
We grew up together.
I learned to be human with her.
I fell in love with her.
But it doesn’t matter how much I long to touch her, to feel her bare skin against mine.
It’s wrong, and what’s more, it’s forbidden.
Forbidden.
And if I indulged my earthly desires, my punishment would be severe.
Betrayal and jealously made for a deadly mixture.
Getting caught engaging in carnal acts with my own ward could very well get my wings ripped from me.
I’d lose my immortality.
I’d be one of the fallen.
I’d age and die and then be sent to the Underworld. And nobody wanted to go there. Not even Lucifer Morningstar had been able to stand the Pit.
It was obvious Mel felt the pull of our bond just like I did.
Even if she didn’t understand truly what it was.
She lusted for me.
Which made resisting temptation all the more impossible.
“Um, Gabe?” Mel flashed me a mischievous grin in the rearview mirror. “There’s a stoplight coming up, and I can promise you it’s not stuffed in my panties, so maybe you should look at the road instead.”
I glared at her before tearing my gaze away from the gorgeous, half-naked woman in my review mirror.
A honking horn had me realizing I’d glided slightly into the next lane, so I jerked the car back onto the appropriate side of the street.
“Hey!” Mel cried, tumbling in the backseat.
Shit. Reckless driving was just another line item to add to the ever-growing list of why I might not be such a model guardian after all. The truth of it was, my close relationship with Mel made me a bad angel.
A good friend. The best of friends. But a bad angel.
A very bad angel.
Most guardians weren’t fortunate enough to say that they even liked their wards, let alone loved them.
Some wards didn’t even know of the guardian’s existence. In fact, most guardian class angels fucked up the whole “integrate into your ward’s life” thing and found it easiest just to stalk them.
In hindsight, maybe that would have been easier.
Less torture on my part, maybe.
I stole another glance at her, wiggling into her sexy outfit. Her smile brought one of my own to my lips. Spending time with her watching our favorite shows—even if they usually involved the devil—and eating pancakes filled my heart.
