Read Nightingale Girl for Free Online Page B

of the cheeseburger in my mouth and stand. “Come on.” I take Sparrow’s hand and drag him around the store with me. We collect Twinkies and Sno Balls and chips and a case of orange soda.
    At the checkout the clerk gives us a look as he bags everything up. “This crap will give you a heart attack.” He glances at the fresh tattoo on my collarbone.
    I know what he’s thinking. The same everyone else thought of me my entire life: white trash. I should let him know I’m a princess and Sparrow is a prince, and I’m a millionaire.
    “Sixty-two dollars and three cents,” the clerk says.
    I shake it off, slide my bank card, sign the receipt, take our snacks, and leave.
    “There’s a Hilton extended-stay hotel nearby. Want to crash there for the night?” I ask Sparrow as we’re setting our bags in the back of the minivan.
    “If that’s where you want to stay.”
    We get in the car. Sparrow is oddly silent.
    I drive to the Hilton. The hotel isn’t really big, but it still looks out of place in this little town. I park the van; we grab our bags and walk in. The lobby is all dark tile, white columns, and beige decor. I’ve never stayed in a hotel like this before.
    The girl at the desk smiles. “Welcome to the Hilton. How can I help you?” Her eyes flick twice to Sparrow, and even though she’s talking to me, she keeps looking at him.
    “We need a room.”
    “A double?” she asks sweetly.
    Doesn’t she wish. I want no doubt left in her mind that Sparrow’s mine, and if these are my last days with him, I’m going all out. I splurge on the king suite.
    After paying for the room and signing the papers, the girl hands me the key cards.
    “Enjoy your stay.”
    We follow the floral-patterned carpet to the elevators. Sparrow pushes the button to the third floor. He turns, a grin spreading across his face. Sparrow could stop a train with his smile. I wonder if he realizes that?
    “What are you thinking?” I ask, shifting the bag of sweets to my other arm.
    His smile widens, and his green eyes hint of trouble. “We’re no longer in Heaven.”
    “No.”
    The elevator dings.
    “Gabriel can no longer see,” he says.
    I smile. “Let’s find our room.”
    We step off the elevator, take a left, and follow the hall to the end. Using the key card, I open the door to the suite, and we walk in. The hotel room is huge. A full kitchenette and table, a living room, and there’s an open double door revealing a giant bed.
    I drop my bags on the kitchen counter. Sparrow hefts the case of soda up onto the table and sets his bag of food there, as well.
    We turn to each other. He looks so good dressed like that, even if it is outdated. He’s tall and muscular and very attractive.
    “I don’t want you to be a Hellion,” I tell Sparrow in a moment of weakness and truth.
    “I don’t want our children to be crazy.”
    “I’m sinful,” I warn.
    “Soon, I will be, too.”
    I run at Sparrow and leap into his arms. He catches me as if I weigh nothing and walks toward the bedroom as I cling to him. I pull my shirt off and toss it on the floor. Sparrow buries his face in my neck, whispering sweet words, snowy owl words. I missed this about him. No one ever spoke to me like this before. Just him, only him. The tip of his nose rubs against the sensitive skin of my ear.
    “Say yes,” he whispers. “Only if you say yes. You have to say yes. Remember?”
    I grip his shoulders; he stands at the end of the bed.
    “Yes.” My eyes search his. “God, yes. Hell, yes.”
    He drops me on the bed. The denim getup disappears as he strips. I lick my lips. A naked Sparrow is a beautiful sight. His body has angles and planes that I’ve never seen on another man.
    Sparrow reaches for the waistband on my jeans, flicks the button, and peels them down my legs.
    “So beautiful,” he says as he throws my pants over his shoulder.
    Sparrow bends, his hands drop to the mattress on each side of my head supporting his big body, and he kisses me.