Heavenly (22 page)

"Phew," I couldn't very well tell him he was so gorgeous I couldn't stop staring like an idiot. "Is that why you're here?

That almost-accident?"

The right corner of his lip lifted. "No, Zoe." His stream-blue eyes held mine for a long moment before I blinked and focused on the road. I was thrilled he was in the car—no matter the reason. We were safe with him there, and the urge to go

to Britt's house vanished.

He looked heavenly in his morning-sky blue silky shirt and beach-sand toned pants. He turned to Abria and took her

hand. "Hello, Miss Abria. Are you enjoying the ride?"

Abria stared at him too, her saucer blue eyes unblinking as she studied him.

"I can't believe how quiet and subdued she is around you," I observed.

"I tend to have that affect on people," he said.

"Hey, can you tell me why Luke's guardian hasn't made an appearance?"

"Sassy," he murmured, sending a tingle of warmth down my body. "I told you, guardians only come to those open to Divine help, or those who are innocent, like our Miss Abria here."

"You mean God thinks Luke can help himself out of this mess?"

"I never presume to know what God thinks. However, if you'd like to take the issue up with Him, I'm sure He'd be

happy to hear you out." His blue eyes twinkled.

I snorted. "No thanks. Think I'll leave destiny and fate up to Him."

"Wise choice." Matthias took Abria by the hand and looked at her. "It's a cloudy day, isn't it?" His gentle voice wove in the air like floating cotton streams. "That means another storm is on the way. Don't be afraid of storms, Abria."

"Is she afraid of storms?" I asked. I had no idea.

"A little," he murmured.

How I wished it was me he was talking to with that soothing voice. "Is there weather where you come from?"

"Not in the traditional sense."

"In what sense then?" I laughed.

"There is light and warmth all the time."

"Now that would be perfect."

His eyes glittered. "It is."

"No cold, no snow, no blistering heat you die in the minute you step outside because it feels like somebody left a

zillion oven doors open."

He laughed, his head tilting back for a moment.
Beautiful.
I swerved. "Your sense of humor is the berries, Zoe. I like it."

"So what brings you here this evening? Abria's safe. She's with me."

"Of course she's safe with you." His tone was strong but with an edge that troubled me. "You wouldn't do anything to put her in harm's way, would you?" His gaze pinned mine.

I shifted. "Of course not." Britt's house flashed into my mind. I tore my eyes from his piercing gaze and focused on the road. Outside, night was falling, throwing grey and black shadows across the streets, behind buildings and in city

crevasses.

When I chanced a peek at him again through the mirror, he was still watching me. "What?" I asked. Surely he didn't

know that I'd been on my way to Britt's to get hammered.

"I'm glad we're on this drive together," he said, then his gaze swept the inside of the car. "Automobiles certainly have changed since I last drove one. They're so small. I can barely stretch out my legs back here."

A grin broke on my lips. I watched him try to get comfortable in the compact space of my backseat. His height didn't

fold well. "Cars have gotten smaller because smaller is more practical, Matthias. They don't eat up as much gas. You know, gas costs a million bucks a gallon now."

His eyes popped. "My-oh-my. Gas was fifteen cents a gallon when I drove my Roadster."

"I'm exaggerating. I can see you in a Roadster."

"She was a stunning beast. Thirty-five horsepower and light weight. Sleek, sharp and built for impressing. The inside

was magnificent with polished wood and leather seats." His hands skimmed the seats he sat on. "What
is
this material, anyway?"

I stifled a laugh. "Some kind of poly blend. Leather's for rich people or those not conscious of being 'green.' Too

many animals have to die for a coat or a couch, you know?"

His brows lifted. "Is there a shortage of cattle?"

I chuckled. "No. It's just leather seats in a car are not necessary."

"Well, this Polly person has created a decent substitute, I suppose." He looked around. "Tell me, Zoe, do you not have a trash receptacle?"

I cringed. My backseat
was
the trash receptacle. "Um. Sorry. I know it's a mess. But I wasn't planning on having any visitors."

"Cups, napkins, paper bags, books..."

"I know, I know. I bet your car was perfect, wasn't it?"

"I had a receptacle for trash, so, yes, it was clean."

"Do you hate me now?"

His eyes widened meeting mine in the rearview mirror. "Of course I don't hate you. I'm only suggesting—"

"Suggestion noted. Jeez. Embarrass me why don't you."

I saw him bend over. And bend over. Again. And Again. Sweat broke on my skin. "Please don't clean my car," I

shrieked. This couldn't be more humiliating.

A gas station was coming up on the right so I pulled into the lot and stopped near the trash containers. "I can do it.

Please don't." I turned around. Matthias had stuffed every last bit of trash into an old McDonald's bag, now splitting down one side.

He held it out with a smile. "Done."

"You didn't have to clean my mess. I feel terrible."

"It's the least I can do for you escorting Abria and I on this enchanting drive."

I took the bag. Overstuffed and brittle, it started to rip. Matthias grabbed for it at the same time I did and our fingers

met. A bolt of energy shot through my system, knocking my back into the steering wheel. Every cell burst open, like flowers

reaching for the sun, pulsing with a force that stole my breath. Power whirled through my veins like a tornado. Our eyes

locked. For the first time, I felt his flesh. Real.
Warm.
Connected with mine. I gasped, breathed. What did this mean? Would he vanish? Would the heavens quake and roar? Had he broken some divine law and would he be eternally punished now?

Horrified, I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came.

A hard swallow shifted in his throat. Slowly, he eased his hands away from the bag—his fingers disconnecting with

mine—stealing the rush of pulsing electricity out of my body in a sucking vortex that left me drained. I slumped, blinked, and searched for strength. I looked at the lopsided bag again in my hands.

"I'm so sorry." My voice cracked on a whisper. Maybe no one had noticed.

He sat with his back pressed against the seat, his crystal eyes piercing me to the core. Surely he didn't think I had

touched him on purpose. "I—that was an accident. I would never—"

He held up both hands and closed his eyes as if in deep thought.

"Matthias I am so sorry. I..."

He took a deep breath. His jaw locked. Was he praying?

What had I done? I wanted to shrink. I sat back, clutching the trash-filled bag to my breast, panicked. If he went away

because of me, I would never forgive myself. Anticipating the loss gouged a hole so vast and deep inside of me I wanted to

crumble into nothingness.

Next to him, strapped in her car seat, Abria stared at Matthias intently. Had she noticed that Heaven had reached

down and touched me? How could she not have felt that?

Awed, I stared at Matthias, at this being in my presence. Subtle. Powerful. Miraculous.
God, please don't take him

from us. Please.
I closed my eyes and whispered the plea over and over in my head—begging.

When I opened my eyes again, Matthias' gaze held me in calming blue comfort. His chest rose and fell in a soft

rhythm. I let out a sigh. Peace surrounded me. I knew—with no uncertainty—everything was going to be all right.

"Are you all right?" his voice was a tender whisper.

I nodded. His touch had connected us. I felt his every move, every breath as though his movements echoed through

the valleys and mountains of my soul. His heartbeat thrummed faintly in my ears. The sensation was both odd and natural as

if our souls were now one.

"I feel you," I whispered. "I—feel—you."

His eyes were alive, vibrant. He nodded. "Yes."

"What does it mean?"

"I'm your guardian now, Zoe."

My heart leapt to my throat. I blinked back a sudden rush of tears swarming my eyes. "You mean you aren't...

damned?"

His lips lifted slightly "No."

I turned and fell back against my seat, overjoyed. "I don't know what to say." Matthias.
My guardian.
I closed my eyes. Tears streamed out and ran down the sides of my face. I felt ready to burst.

He was silent, and the lack of sound caused a thread of worry to wind through me. I turned around, faced him. A

sober expression covered his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He blinked slowly, as if he was tired, then focused on me. "Dandy."

"Did we
do
something when we touched? Ruin something? Change the course of time or the future or something?"

A weary smile broke the soberness on his face. "No."

But I had the feeling he wasn't telling me everything. In some dark corner, deep inside of me, I felt his concern for

something. The feeling didn't leave, but was as if a door had been opened wherein I couldn't see clearly.

Then I had a sinking thought. "Does this mean you can't watch over Abria anymore?" Had my stupidity robbed Abria

of the protection she needed? I shrunk at the thought.

He shook his head. "Guardians often watch over more than one person."

"Oh." Why did that open door gape like a nightmare waiting for me to fall asleep so it could suck me in? "Why do you look like you're not happy to be my guardian?"

He ran his hands down his face, blinked, then smiled. "I'm very pleased to... protect you. I just wasn't expecting it to happen this way."

"So this—you being my guardian—is a result of an accident?"

"It doesn't matter now, Zoe. What's done is done."

"It matters to me. All this time I got the feeling you were terrified of touching me because... well, I don't know why.

Then when you did, I find out I forced you to be my guardian?"

"You're worrying about something you needn't worry about."

"I'm not sure I like feeling like an accident."

"You're not an accident." He sat forward and laid his hand on my shoulder. I fell back against the seat as if sucked by an unseen power that, if possible, would draw me through the very fibers of the seat and into Matthias. His warm, soothing

aura flowed through my body in a comforting swirl, as though his arms wrapped around me. I closed my eyes, took a breath.

My worries vanished.

Then his hand was gone.

"Will it always be like that when... you touch me?" My eyes fluttered open and my gaze met his through the mirror.

His penetrating gaze dove through every barrier that separated us.

"Yes."

I closed my eyes again, enjoying the luscious residual tingling left by his touch. Like nothing I had ever experienced

before. Every cell completely satiated with love. No wonder Abria was calm.

I opened my eyes, a content smile on my face. My eyes magnetically went to his, drawn as I was to the way he made

me feel. He dipped his head. I had the distinct feeling his power humbled him.

"What's it like?" my voice was barely a whisper. He lifted his gaze to me. "Having that effect on people?"

"It's a gift of the calling. I won't take credit for a divine endowment."

Speechless, lost in total awe, I merely stared into his unblinking eyes. He was amazing. Didn't he know that?

I stared straight ahead, at the gas station buzzing with people filling up their cars, coming out of the store with Big

Gulps even though it was freezing outside. A miracle had happened in my car, and life—tedious, unimportant— went on

around us without noticing the phenomenon. It didn't seem right. Because we'd been sitting a few minutes in the idling car,

the air started to chill. I turned on the heat and scrubbed my arms.

"It's cold." I looked at Matthias in his Easter egg colored clothing.

"Are you cold?"

He shook his head.

"You're not dressed very warmly. I mean, you look like you might be visiting from the tropics."

"My body doesn't feel temperature the way yours does anymore. A result of the refining process. I feel heat and I feel

cold, but neither affects me negatively."

"Cool." So much about him pricked my interest. Would his being my guardian allow me unlimited access to the

answers I sought?

"I guess I should head home now." I put my hands on the wheel and drove out of the parking lot. The trip to Britt's had been worth this, if it meant I had Matthias as a guardian, even for a day.

"Where were you going tonight, Zoe?"

Purposefully, I kept my eyes on the road. "Oh... just out for a drive."

"A house," he said. I gulped. "Brick, two-story, lawn laden with jolly creatures of the night?"

"How do you know that?"

He leaned forward, the motion sending a wave of energy surging my direction. My body absorbed the movement, a

powerful thrust that made my breath skip, my heart flutter. "When we touched, I connected with your spirit. It happens when a guardian takes on a charge."

Uh-oh.
"What does that mean,
exactly?"

His lips lifted in a light grin. "It means I have a direct line inside of your head."

I was in trouble. "You're joking, right? Because that would be a major breech of privacy. Major."

He nodded. "Nevertheless, that's how it works."

My throat clutched. Surely, this connection didn't allow him a front row seat to my thoughts. I would never be free to

think what I wanted again. "I'm sorry, but that's just wrong."

Matthias looked too pleased. He sat back like a king who'd just made a decree, and took Abria's flapping hand in his,