Read Salvation (The Guardian Angel Series Book 3) for Free Online Page B

be what you want, not what I want. Don’t you want friends? A life?”
    I knelt beside her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close to me. I do want all those things. I want to have a normal life—more than anything in the world. “It is what I want. I’ll stay with you.”
    “Do you promise?” She sniffled.
    “I promise.”
    She leaned into me and fell silent, content with the promise I made.

    I didn’t know how long it was until snapping twigs and crunching leaves filled my ears. It had to be Eli, but I stayed quiet in case it wasn’t. In the faint light of the moon, I saw his white shirt stand out from beneath his tux. Shadow covered most of his face, but I could still make his relieved expression.
    “Is she okay?” he asked, kneeling down and touching her forehead before towering over us again.
    “She’s okay now. She’s had too much to drink and decided she wanted to go swimming.”
    Although he had disapproval written all over his face, he didn’t say anything. He wanted what I wanted—to get Mila home safely.
    “We’ll take her back to your house. I don’t want to ruin Mr Aleksandrov’s night,” he suggested, checking his cell phone.
    I nodded, not sure what else to say.
    “Is there anything I can do?” said a voice from behind Eli.
    I was too busy focusing on Eli’s looming figure to notice Xavier standing behind him.
    “Um, yeah… Can you get her off me?”
    Xavier stepped past Eli and scooped Mila up in his arms. Eli extended his hand to me and I took it. As he pulled me to my feet, I ignored the electrical current that pulsed through me.
    We followed closely behind Xavier while he carried Mila effortlessly, as if she was a feather.
    As we walked, my head spun slightly, causing me to miss my step over a rotten piece of wood. Unable to catch my footing, I fell. Eli reached out and caught my arm, pulling me toward him. Somehow, we’d ended up with our bodies pressing firmly together. His eyes watched me intently, waiting for me to pull away… or kiss him, I couldn’t tell. After a few long seconds, he spoke. “Are you all right?”
    I nodded slowly, completely incapacitated by his touch. “I’m okay. Thank you.”
    I expected him to let me go, but he didn’t.
    “You still have the whistle?” he asked in a low tone.
    “I was going to return it tonight, but then this happened.”
    Much to my dismay, he released me from his grip and my heart sent a weird shock throughout my body.
    “How did this happen?”
    I steadied myself and started walking again. “She wanted to get away and have fun.”
    “And you encouraged it?”
    I shrugged. “I didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t going to say no to her, not after everything I put her through.”
    Beside me, Eli fell silent. That was it for conversation until Xavier laid Mila down on my bed. Eli and I waited in the living room. I pulled leaves and sticks out of my hair and Eli was leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him, watching me in amusement. I glowered at him. Even after the run through the forest, his hair was still perfect, his skin was clean, and there was barely a mark on his outfit.
    “It’s not funny.”
    He smiled. “It is a bit funny.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “Because no matter what you do, you can’t stay out of trouble.”
    A small laugh escaped me. I had to give it to him—he spoke the truth—to an extent. He didn’t take his eyes off me as I attempted to remove a hairpin from my hair. I kept my eyes on the floor, too nervous to make eye contact. If I did, there was no guaranteeing I’d be able to stay on this side of the room. My lips twitched, I was trying hard not to smile. This was how it should be between Eli and I. Our conversations should be light-hearted and normal, not stressed or forced. I yanked one final time on my hairpin, but couldn’t get it free.
    “Do you need help?” Eli offered.
    I exhaled and pointlessly straightened my dress. “Yes, please.”
    Slowly, he walked