Category Archives: Her Guardian Angel

It’s time for another chapter of Her Guardian Angel (Her Angel romance series #4) as part of my Paranormal Pandemonium 2011 Blog Tour. I’ll be posting the first five chapters for FREE. You can find them all by clicking here: Her Guardian Angel chapters

Her Guardian Angel is currently available in e-book direct from my website, Amazon Kindle Stores, and Smashwords, Apple iBookstore and Kobo. It will soon be available from Barnes and Noble, Sony. It’s also available as a paperback from Amazon sites and Barnes and Noble.

Other stories in the Her Angel series are: Her Dark Angel, Her Fallen Angel and Her Warrior Angel. Details of them and where they are available in e-book and paperback can be found at my website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebookseries.php?series=Her%20Angel

Felicity Heaton
A simple mission becomes a fight for survival in this fantastic instalment in the Her Angel series.

A guardian angel dedicated to his duty, Marcus will do whatever Heaven asks of him, but even his loyalty has its limits. When his superior orders him to gain Amelia’s trust through seduction, Marcus starts to question his mission and his feelings for the beautiful woman he has watched over since her birth.

Amelia has gone from one bad relationship to another, so when a gorgeous guy moves in next door looking like Mr Right, she hopes he doesn’t turn out to be another black knight in disguise. But there’s more to Marcus than meets the eye, and when he rescues her from three demonic men, Amelia is thrust into his nightmarish world—a world where God and the Devil exist, and only one angel can save her from death—Marcus, the angel she’s falling in love with.

On the run from demonic angels and the Devil himself, aided by Marcus’s angel friends and their amazing women, fighting for survival against the odds, Marcus and Amelia discover a love that will last forever.

A love so strong it will shake Heaven and Hell.

ebook price: $3.99
paperback price: $9.99
genre: paranormal angel romance
length: 110000 words
rating: sultry
released: July 2011
Book 4 in the Her Angel series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Her-Guardian-Angel-Her-Angel/book-lVb0k7lC80OOiMBAOa-Ldg/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463788363/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-guardian-angel-felicity-heaton/1032773836

You can now download the extended excerpt of Her Guardian Angel (the first five chapters) in PDF from my website. Just click the large “download extended excerpt” button on the book page: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel

There was no doubt about it.

Marcus had put his foot in it.

Everything had been going well yesterday until Amelia had taken hold of his hand and he had quickly withdrawn his, and rather than making an excuse as planned, he had warned her away.

Instinct had pushed those words from his lips.

He had no desire to get any closer to her than was necessary.

Marcus raked his fingers through his overlong black hair, combing it away from his forehead, and stared into the distance across the rooftops of London.

Who was he fooling?

Not himself, that was certain.

The spark of desire her touch had reignited in him, bringing his hunger to caress her in return back to boiling point, and the warmth that travelled through his flesh, spreading outwards from the point where her fingers rested against his skin was unmistakably a sign of him harbouring an attraction towards her.

He paced the black tarred roof of his apartment building, scouring the horizon for an answer to his troubles. The problem of gaining Amelia’s trust had been all but solved until he had foolishly told her to keep away from him.

He had always been aware that his instinct to protect her ran deep in his veins but had never suspected that it had corrupted his heart too and that he would even deem it necessary to protect her from himself. She’d had her share of pain and suffering, more than such a pure kind soul deserved, and he couldn’t bring himself to add to it. When his mission was over, he was leaving Earth and Amelia behind him for good. If he used her desire against her, her heart would break when that happened. She would never understand. She would blame herself, just as she did whenever one of the vile men she involved herself with decided to leave her or did something that forced her to leave them.

He couldn’t be like them.

Amelia deserved better.

Far better than him, that was for sure.

One day, she would meet the man who would become her world and who would treat her right and make her happy.

A flash of her smiling at him yesterday cut into his thoughts and deep into his chest.

He had made her smile.

Truly smile with happiness and warmth.

And then she had looked wounded, leaving him at the café alone to ponder what had possessed him to say such things to her and why he had decided to once again intervene in her destructive relationship with her ex-lover.

Duty.

In part it was a lie to say he did these things out of his sense of duty, but it was also his shield and he would not cast it aside.

The dying rays of the sun warmed his skin, the lingering heat of the day cocooning him in a soft breeze that stirred his soul as he watched the sun set over London. It was growing late. Time had passed quickly while he had been lost in his thoughts, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the mortal realm far below him, and he still hadn’t found the answers to the questions that plagued him. Questions about his mission had been joined by ones about Amelia and her feelings for him.

Why would a beautiful mortal female look upon him with such desire?

Marcus looked down at his hands and turned them palm up. These hands had killed many in the line of duty, harvesting souls of sinners and detaining them for judgement. In times past, when wars had been frequent, he had reaped battlefields and cities alike in the name of Heaven, following orders to the letter to assist the angels of death in their mission, never once feeling remorse over his actions.

Until now.

He had told her to keep away from him.

She deserved better than a man who had killed so many of her kind without flinching.

A role he would gladly resume once his current mission had come to an end.

He was no better than those men who had hurt her.

If anything, he was worse.

For all their noise and disgraceful behaviour, none of them had ever taken the life of another mortal. Amelia believed him good and kind, thought that he was different to the men she had previously been intimate with, but she would never see him that way if she knew the things he had done in his past, in the time before he had lost his wings.

Since being cursed, he had led a different life. Wars had become less frequent and the angels of death had no longer required outside assistance from the other branches of angels in Heaven. His kind, the guardians, had returned to their normal duties, shepherding souls and protecting Heaven, or watching over the mortals, both in the present and in the future.

He had never seen the single pool which held the future. Only a few angels were allowed entry to the room containing it in the grand palatial house of Heaven, and those angels were sworn to silence, allowed only to speak to their superior, who in turn relayed necessary information on critical events to other high ranking angels.

His superior included.

Which led Marcus to believe that he was aware of what fate awaited Amelia.

Marcus curled his fingers into fists and frowned at the vambraces protecting his forearms, watching the way the sunlight danced across the blue armour and reflected off the silver raised edges and the silver buckles on the leather straps against his underarms.

There was something freeing about changing out of his mortal appearance and donning his armour. He felt closer to home again and distant from the goings on of the mortal world around him. He shrugged his shoulders, raising the blue breastplate of his armour and exposing his bare stomach, and then stretched his arms out at his sides and closed his eyes as he unfurled his wings.

Warm summer air tickled his silvery-blue feathers, teasing his senses, and he basked in the sunlight, absorbing the heat and allowing it to relax him and chase away his troubled thoughts.

He was a soldier.

Soldiers followed their orders.

He didn’t have to think. He just had to follow orders and his mission would be over.

Marcus opened his eyes and looked at the infinite sky. The pale blue dome turned to green and then hues of orange near the horizon, scattered with ribbons of cloud that caught the fading sunlight and burned gold and pink. It was beautiful and this evening it would be his playground again, his world in which he would immerse himself to escape the mortal realm and find peace for a few brief hours. He would fly until he ached from the exertion, until he couldn’t beat his wings one last time, and then he would return to his apartment and sleep until morning finally came.

Free of this world.

Five centuries without wings and every day had been torture.

He beat his wings and lifted off the tarred roof only to be struck by a shaft of brilliant white light.

Marcus closed his eyes and waited for the tingling sensation caused by the light to pass before opening them again.

He sighed at the sight of the white double doors ahead and the reception room surrounding him.

All he had wanted was to fly for a while. Couldn’t they have waited? By the time they returned him, it would be deep night. These things never moved swiftly and while they could return him to the same moment they had taken him, they never did.

Marcus pushed the double doors open and marched straight to the dock, facing the same three angels who had questioned him the last time they had brought him here.

“There has been a development.” His superior sat at the head of the triangle closest to Marcus, his sandy hair as neat as his blue armour and the large silver-blue wings tucked against his back.

The dark haired mediator and white-blond haired angel of death murmured in agreement.

“May I ask what this development is?” Marcus hid none of his displeasure at having his plans for the evening ruined. They had brought him here and he would make the most of it. While they hadn’t answered direct questions about his mission, perhaps they would answer one about the date of the event if he asked it in such a way that linked it to this development. “Does it mean my mission will end soon?”

All three angels nodded.

“Your final task approaches.” There was no lie in his superior’s expression, or that of the other two angels. “Soon your mission will end, Marcus.”

“You have been patient in your duty and we appreciate everything you have done for us. Once this final task has been completed, you will be free to return to Heaven.” The mediator to his superior’s left smiled at him and then looked across at the angel of death.

“You must be relieved to know that your final task will be over soon and you can return home,” the white-blond haired man said.

Marcus nodded and his shoulders relaxed with the relief that swept through him but he didn’t quite feel as he had expected to on hearing such good news. There was something about the appearances of all three angels, and the soft way they spoke to him, that set him on edge and filled his head with more questions than ever before.

“What is my final task?” All three angels had mentioned it so all three knew what it was, but the moment the question left his lips, their expressions turned stony and closed.

“You will find out soon enough.” His superior leaned back in his chair on the raised platform. The other two angels seated slightly behind him looked at each other and then at his superior, and then at Marcus.

“In the meantime, you must continue to protect her from the world.” Those words leaving the mediator’s lips startled Marcus into looking straight at him.

It was more than he had been told before.

“Am I to believe that there is someone who seeks to harm her?” It had always been there at the back of his mind. Why would a mortal need an angel to watch over them until a certain point in time? Why would they need a protector unless someone intended to hurt them? He had never been told to guide her on her path. His mission had always been phrased in a way that made him believe it was physical protection that she had needed in order to achieve her destiny.

“You must not allow demons to interfere with her existence.”

Marcus’s gaze snapped back to his superior and he stared wide-eyed at him. “Demons?”

The sandy-haired man nodded. “You must keep the female safe until the event that we have witnessed comes to pass.”

“And what is this event?” Marcus knew he had pushed too far again when darkness crossed his superior’s face.

“It is not necessary for you to know that right now, Marcus. We need you to focus on your mission. It has become critical that you gain her trust. Your attempt failed. Your mission was clear. You will get closer to her by any means. Do you understand?”

Marcus wasn’t sure that he wanted to understand.

“What are you implying exactly?” He frowned at his superior, wanting him to say the words so he knew exactly what they were ordering him to do. So everyone here knew and acknowledged the order they were giving him.

“The female is enamoured with you. You are to use that to gain her trust.”

Marcus’s heart raced, anger curling through his body as he looked at all three men seated before him and searched each of their faces for a sign that this was some sort of sick joke. Their expressions remained cold and fixed, hard as they stared back at him. He reined in his outrage and stifled it, unwilling to allow it to control him and give away how much he despised the thought of what they were asking of him let alone the reality of it.

He had no desire to be false with Amelia or hurt her, and they were ordering him to do just that.

“Why is having her trust so important?” he bit out the words and then clamped his jaw shut before he could add that it was despicable of them to do such a thing to a mortal. He had no love for the mortals himself but he had principles. He was an angel, born into a race created to protect humans, not deceive them and lead them into sinning. That was the job of those in the service of the Devil.

“Silence, Marcus.”

He glared at his superior, barely restraining his fury and desire to argue. Using Amelia’s feelings in such a way went against everything he stood for, all of his principles and his honour, and was callous and cruel. He had no desire to hurt her.

“Follow your orders.”

Marcus went to speak but the light engulfed him again. When it faded, he was standing outside the café where he had shared coffee with Amelia.

He tilted his head back and frowned at the colourful evening sky. They had returned him to the exact moment in time that they had taken him. Why? It wasn’t like them.

He looked down at himself and noted that he was dressed now, wearing a dark blue shirt and dark jeans with his boots. It was a little smarter than his usual attire and it was his true appearance, not a glamour they had cast upon him. They had even neatened his hair for him, combing the unruly black lengths back out of his face. Why? They had to be up to something.

The answer became apparent when Amelia walked past him, heavy white plastic grocery bags hanging from her arms.

They certainly weren’t wasting any time. They had dressed him up and sent him back to the moment they had taken him so he could seduce Amelia tonight.

Marcus shook his head. He couldn’t do such a thing and he doubted she would go for it even if he tried. His actions the other day had driven her away and she hadn’t even looked at him the two times they had passed each other today.

Although, he suspected that her reason for ignoring him just now was because she literally hadn’t seen him.

He waved at another passerby, his hand close to their face, and they didn’t even flinch.

When the person had passed him and there were no others in sight, he lifted the glamour that made him invisible to mortal eyes and hurried towards the entrance to his apartment building, determined to reach it before Amelia stepped into the lift. The dull silver lift doors were closing just as he stepped into the foyer and he raced for them.

“Hold it,” he hollered and was surprised when the doors opened again and he stepped inside to find that Amelia was alone.

Had she known it was him and that was why she had held the doors, or hadn’t she realised? He pinched the bridge of his nose. A man could go crazy trying to figure out the inner workings of the female mind. It was little wonder he had never bothered to try before now.

The journey up to their floor passed in uncomfortable silence and it was only when they were stepping out of the lift that inspiration struck Marcus.

He couldn’t disobey his orders to gain her trust but that didn’t mean he had to play the cad and seduce her. He would try the friendship thing again and hopefully this time he wouldn’t mess it up. Rather than using her attraction towards him, he would do something he had never done. He would lower his guard and let her in instead, and gain her trust that way, as a man would, not a devil. No deception.

Marcus reminded himself that he was already deceiving her. She had no idea what he really was and why he had been living next door to her for a month now.

“Amelia,” he said and she stopped at her door and turned to face him. Her beauty arrested his steps and his breath, chasing away some of his anger. He hesitated and then walked over to her, broadcasting as much confidence as he could manage given the unfamiliar situation. “I apologise about yesterday. Can I make it up to you somehow?”

She smiled. “Dinner would be good.”

Like a date? That didn’t sound good at all. That sounded like what his superior had ordered him to do. Marcus squirmed for a few seconds, battling the part of him that said it wouldn’t be so bad to seduce her. She was beautiful and he was finding it increasingly difficult to get dancing Amelia out of his head and his dreams.

“How about dinner at my place?” he said without thinking and the way her face lit up was all the answer he needed. It had been impulsive but it had avoided taking her out to dinner and therefore any sense that this was more than platonic.

He frowned.

Or had he only made it sound more like an offer of sex?

Dinner in his apartment could easily be classified as more intimate than dinner in a restaurant.

“Great. I’ll be over in half an hour.” With that, she opened the door to her apartment and closed it behind her, leaving him standing in the cream hallway trying to figure out what he had offered her.

Perhaps he should call for assistance. He knew one angel in London. Einar was fallen thanks to his forbidden relationship with a female half-demon but that very fact only meant that he was qualified to answer Marcus’s questions.

Marcus opened the door to his own apartment with the intent of calling Einar and interrogating him about women and whether he had just offered something a touch more intimate than anticipated but halted halfway to the telephone. The apartment was a mess.

He had never really paid much attention to his living quarters but it certainly didn’t look like the sort of place a man should invite a woman into. He swapped calling Einar for a quick sweep of his apartment, using his supernatural speed to toss all dirty clothes into the laundry basket in his bathroom, straighten furniture, and clear the dust away before Amelia knocked on his door. If there was any time left on the clock, he would phone his friend for advice, but it wasn’t looking promising. The bathroom was a mess too and so was the kitchen, and she was likely to visit both of those places.

Dinner in a restaurant suddenly looked more appealing.

Marcus stopped dead in the middle of the kitchen, turned on his heel, and gingerly opened the white refrigerator. The only thing in it was some old cheese he hadn’t particularly enjoyed the taste of and a half eaten melon that had seen better days. There was no need to inspect the dark wooden cupboards. He could definitely recall eating the remaining half a box of cereal this morning whilst thinking and the carton was still on his bedside table to prove it.

Someone knocked on the door.

Marcus spun to face the kitchen doorway and looked through it to the entertainment centre in the living room. He glared at the clock on his DVD player. Amelia was ten minutes early. He cursed. No time to correct the food problem or call Einar. He scanned the pale apartment en route to the door and, satisfied that it now appeared far less like the bachelor pad it was, opened it.

His greeting fled his lips the moment he set eyes on her.

She had changed out of the short jacket, t-shirt and jeans she had been wearing in the lift and into a rather alluring little dark red dress that had him clearing his throat and searching for a compliment.

“You look…” What would she like to hear? The expectant shine to her eyes and the tentative smile curving the corners of her glossy cherry lips said that she was hoping to hear beautiful or similar, and he would be a liar if he said anything less. “Stunning.”

Stunning was apt. He certainly felt as though she had clobbered him.

“You don’t look half bad yourself.” She smiled and he went to follow suit but then she held up a bottle in front of her and he froze. “I only had rosé. I know it’s a bit girly but it would’ve been rude to bring nothing.”

He hadn’t really taken in anything she had said whilst he had been staring at his nemesis.

Alcohol.

Of course she would bring alcohol. It was the right response to the situation, wasn’t it? A man invited her to dinner in his apartment. She brought something to make the evening go without a hitch.

He forced a smile and reached out to take it, but she drew it back to her chest, clutching it there and eyeing him closely.

“That’s not a good smile. I’ve seen that smile before,” she said with a small frown and looked down at the bottle. “It’s really all I had but then I guess you’re probably a beer drinker.”

“No.” He snatched the bottle from her, accidentally brushing her cleavage at the same time. Could someone in Heaven reverse the past thirty minutes for him and give him a second chance in which not to make a complete idiot of himself?

The blush on Amelia’s cheeks and the way she was staring at her breasts said it all. He had practically groped her. Considering he had wanted this evening to be little more than just opening up to her and gaining her trust through friendship, he was certainly sending out the wrong sort of signals. Were his superiors in Heaven tampering with him or something? He didn’t feel at all like himself and he was currently on course for gaining her trust the way they wanted.

Still, the feel of her soft breasts beneath his fingers in that flash of a caress had his heart racing and palms sweating. He was a stranger to physical intimacy but had witnessed enough carnal matters as a watcher to know the sordid things humans did. It hadn’t interested him much in the past, but the more he focused on his hand and the area that had brushed her chest and on how beautiful Amelia looked tonight, the more appealing interacting with her physically became.

Cad.

The object of tonight’s mission wasn’t seduction. It was forming the foundations of friendship.

She stared at him, making him heavily aware that he should have said something to explain his reaction rather than drifting off into a fantasy world.

“The wine you have brought is not the problem… and it is most appreciated… but… I just don’t really drink.” He shrugged and hoped she would let it go and not pursue the subject. He wasn’t sure what he would say if she asked him why he didn’t drink. Could he play the role of recovering alcoholic? Would that dampen Amelia’s desire for him?

Marcus wasn’t sure whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing.

“Oh.” Her eyebrows rose, bringing her head up with them, and he wished she would stop looking at him in a way that left him feeling emasculated. She nodded a few times and then said, “So you don’t drink coffee and you avoid alcohol. Are you one of those vegan types too?”

“Hell no.” He stepped back, horrified at the suggestion. He could eat a whole cow in one sitting when on Earth. In Heaven, he didn’t have to eat at all, but that certainly didn’t place him in the vegan category. There was nothing wrong with abstaining from certain substances that didn’t agree with your lifestyle choice, but this wasn’t one of those times and he would be happy to prove it to her.

Amelia closed the door behind her and walked into his apartment, casting her gaze over everything and then him, and he felt the challenge in her look. She was trying to figure him out and he didn’t particularly like the tone of her expression.

In a fit of desire to prove himself a man, he strode into the kitchen, unscrewed the cap on the wine and set it down on the counter. Another flaw in his plan produced itself as he searched the dark wooden cupboards for wine glasses but he overcame it by using two short tumblers instead. If anything, rosé wine could only look more manly in such a glass, surely?

He poured two healthy glasses of wine as Amelia approached the open double doors and then held one out to her. She took it without questioning his choice of glass and then raised it towards him.

“Cheers,” she said in a low sexy voice that had his gaze drifting towards her lips so he could watch her drink and then added, “Cheers?”

Marcus realised he was supposed to respond in kind, so raised his glass too. “Cheers.”

“Or bottoms up.” Amelia giggled, turned and walked back into the living room.

Bottoms up.

Marcus’s eyes dropped to her backside. The deep red material of her dress clung to it, emphasising the shape of her bottom in a way that had his blood pounding through his temples again. He took a deep breath and joined her in the living room. Amelia sipped her drink. Marcus stared at his.

Alcohol hadn’t passed his lips in five centuries, not since the one and only time he had dared to drink it and had awoken with a demonic curse scrawled on his back. Back then, it had been a forbidden item. Now, any angel could drink it without castigation.

Marcus had no desire to do such a thing.

He took another deep breath and blew it out, trying to psych himself up. He could feel Amelia’s gaze on him and he hoped she didn’t think he was spacing out again or had noticed his fear of what might happened when he finally took a sip of the wine. Blood whooshed through his ears, drowning out all sound as he stared at the innocent looking pink liquid in the glass. Alcohol released inhibitions. It would be a good way of lowering his guard so he could grow closer to Amelia and gain her trust.

Marcus lifted it to his lips and breathed in, catching the fiery hint of alcohol in its scent, and then continued. The moment it passed his lips, a shiver raced down his spine and along his arms, and heat followed it down his throat.

The effect was instantaneous. He had spent the whole day thinking over his mission and had ignored his body’s cries for nourishment, leaving him ravenous and his stomach empty. The wine rocketed straight to his head, sending it spinning, and a second sip only made the situation worse, lessening his control over his body.

His eyes widened in alarm when his wings pushed for freedom and he concentrated hard in an attempt to contain them and stop them from tearing through his navy shirt.

“I’ll be just a minute.” He rushed into the bathroom, slammed the door, and turned to face the white vanity unit and the large rectangular mirror above it on the wall.

Marcus set his glass down and fumbled with it, almost knocking his wine down the sink, and then turned the cold tap on so fast that he had to dash to his right to avoid the spray of water that bounced off the porcelain, threatening to douse his crotch. With a grimace, he turned the tap down to a steady flow and splashed the water on his face. His wings pushed again and he ached with the desire to strip off his shirt and unleash them for a moment, to surrender to his desire to beat them and shed his mortal appearance.

He couldn’t.

Not only could Amelia end up seeing them, ruining any chance of gaining her trust, but he might not want to put them away again. He couldn’t spend the whole evening in the bathroom.

His stomach growled and he pressed his damp hand against it.

If tonight was going to be anything near to a success, he needed to eat and soon, but there was nothing in his apartment. He had promised Amelia dinner. Even if she was kind enough to offer her own groceries, he wouldn’t know how to cook her anything. He had never used a stove for anything other than warming basic foodstuffs, such as soup and other items that came in neat little cans with clear instructions on the labels.

This whole plan was ridiculously flawed.

His head turned again and he reached for his wine, taking a greedy gulp of it in the hope that it would dull his senses enough that his wings would relent and he would forget his desire to fly off somewhere.

With Amelia.

That was a thought.

He looked into the mirror at the reflection of the white door behind him. Water dripped from the tip of his nose and rolled off his jaw. His heavy breathing filled the silence.

How would a human react to the sight of his wings and the knowledge that angels existed? If she knew what he was, he wouldn’t be deceiving her and there was a chance that he could convince her that his reason for being here was to protect her. Would that gain her trust?

He laughed at himself.

Any sane mortal would run a mile if they saw an angel.

She would never trust him.

“Are you feeling alright?” The sound of her voice, soft through the door, roused a different sort of hunger in him. He stared at the door, picturing her on the other side, how concerned she would look and how that caring edge to her expression would only add to her beauty.

If forced, could he seduce her?

Could it be called deception if he wanted her too?

It wasn’t going to happen.

Marcus dried his face on a hand towel, opened the door and smiled at her. “Never better.”

She gave him a hesitant and unconvinced smile in return, and looked past him at the bathroom, her eyebrows raised high. What was she looking for? It dawned on him that she thought the wine had made him sick. He could laugh at that. The one time he had turned to drink, it had taken close to a barrel of mead to render him unconscious, and even then he hadn’t thrown up.

He picked up his glass of wine, sipped it again to prove that he could handle it, and then smiled at her. Crimson spread across her cheeks, a delightful rosy tint that his smile had caused, and she held her own glass up, revealing that it was already empty.

Marcus took it from her and went into the kitchen to top it up. He took another swig from his own glass to give himself a little Dutch courage and then filled it too. When he walked back into the living room, Amelia was perched on the arm of his pale couch, her slender legs crossed at the knee, smiling at him. A different urge struck him, one that would definitely give her the impression that he was out to seduce her should she notice the effect it had on him.

He handed her the glass and stood in a way that wouldn’t reveal the growing bulge in his jeans, waiting for it to pass.

Amelia toyed with the glass, delicately running her right index finger around the rim, mesmerising him and filling his head with images of her stroking him in such a fashion. She looked up at him. “So what are we eating?”

Marcus grinned. “About that… you see… I don’t actually have any food that is edible and even if I did, I am not a good cook.”

The expression that settled on her face looked decidedly like relief.

“Something I said?”

A smile teased her lips. “I half expected you to be this incredible cook and to show me up. I’m atrocious.”

Marcus felt her relief sweep through him too and remembered how often she ate take away food. His gaze dropped to the bare slip of a dress she wore. Take out didn’t look bad on her. She had to work out more often than he knew. He had watched her jogging around Hyde Park before and had even jogged there once or twice himself before giving up the pretence and flying above her instead, invisible to mortal eyes.

“How does Chinese food suit you?” She took another sip of her wine before picking up the black cordless phone from the coffee table. “I know a great place that delivers.”

Marcus nodded in approval and then listened as she recited what sounded like the entire menu. He didn’t care what he ate as long as it got here fast and gave him some defence against the wine so he let her order some of her favourite dishes for them to share.

He paid for the food when it arrived twenty minutes later and Amelia helped him arrange the dishes on the long wooden coffee table between the sofa and the entertainment centre in the corner of the room. While he went to top up their drinks and get some plates and cutlery, she found a movie in the small collection of DVDs he had acquired in his short time on Earth, and put it into the player.

It felt far too much like a date as he sat beside her on the couch. He wasn’t sure what a date felt like, but in all the movies he had watched on Earth and couples he had observed during his time in Heaven, this sort of thing was frequently classified as one. Dinner. Movie. Wine. Man and a woman. Date.

Marcus finished off the remains of his food and leaned back into the corner of the couch, bringing his wine with him. He crossed his legs and stretched his right arm out along the back of the sofa, settling his hand close to Amelia, and rested the bottom of his glass on his knee. He paid little attention to the movie playing on the large flat screen television. Amelia held it too firmly, keeping his eyes locked on her face as she laughed, oblivious to his watching her. She was beautiful, and it wasn’t the wine talking.

A pure soul, full of kindness and warmth. Her internal beauty shone through, enhancing her external looks and leading him to wonder how such a pretty woman could fall for such disgusting men. She couldn’t see the damage to their souls, so it was understandable that she would occasionally fall for males who were beneath her, but to always find the bad seed amongst the many decent men in the world? He had at least expected her to get rid of them the moment she realised they were no good for her, but she persevered, attempting to change their ways, as though she hoped that she could make them into a good man if she tried hard enough.

Impossible.

Men were resistant to change.

As were angels.

Amelia looked at him over her shoulder, her laughter dying away when she caught his gaze and her expression turning serious.

“Do I have something on my face?” she said with a hint of a smile and a blush.

Marcus wanted to say that she did and use the excuse to reach across and sweep the backs of his fingers across her cheek. He wanted to see if his touch could affect her with the same intensity that hers affected him. He shook his head instead, expecting her to go back to watching the movie. She didn’t.

She turned and leaned over him, kneeling on the couch seat, and pressed her hand against his chest.

Marcus stared at her mouth, everything good in him screaming to break away and stop her. He didn’t. He stayed stock still and let it happen.

His first kiss in this lifetime was a tentative sweep of soft lips over his followed by the press of her body into his. The feel of her against him sent a flood of feelings surging through him, setting his blood aflame with desire and the need to clutch her to him and possess her. It overwhelmed him and his restraint, crushing the good part that was still struggling to resist, and while he stopped himself from sliding his arm around her back and pulling the full length of her body flush against his, he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her.

She moaned softly when he responded, grazing his lips against hers in a gentle caress that fanned the flames within him until he burned for her and for more. Her tongue brushed along the seam of his mouth and he brought his to meet it, tangling softly and luring it into his mouth where they danced. He couldn’t remember kissing in his past lifetime but he certainly would have if it had felt like this. Warmth suffused him right down to his bones and every breathy little moan he elicited from Amelia turned the heat up another notch, until he was close to grabbing the nape of her neck and holding her mouth against his.

He breathed hard when she broke away to kneel on the sofa in front of him, her grey eyes wide and hand coming up to cover her mouth. She touched her lips, drawing his hungry gaze there, and he was ravenous all over again, starving for the sweet taste of her on his tongue.

“Shit… I’m sorry,” she said, instantly deflating his desire, and scrambled from the couch.

She was leaving?

Not good.

Marcus was off the sofa and had his hand locked around her wrist before she could reach the door.

“Wait,” he said and wasn’t sure what to do when she looked back at him so he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.

And damn she tasted just as good as she had the first time.

And damn he needed more.

She moaned when he backed her into the wall beside the door, pressing the hard length of his body against hers, and grabbed his shoulders. For a moment, he thought she would push him away, and then she dragged him closer still and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her fingers into his hair.

Part of him was vaguely aware that alcohol was responsible for his current situation and that he was going to regret it come the morning but the rest of him didn’t care. He had wanted to release his inhibitions and he had. He just hadn’t expected that this would be the result, and right now he didn’t care that he was on the verge of doing exactly as his superior had ordered.

All he cared about was satisfying his hunger to taste Amelia.

The part of him that was chanting about deception wouldn’t shut up and the more he listened to it, the more he felt like a demon.

Marcus stepped back, leaving Amelia sagged against the wall, panting so hard that her breasts rose and fell with each breath, presenting him with a glorious view that had him reconsidering what he was about to say.

She slowly opened her grey eyes and smiled shyly before raking her gaze over him. It lingered on his groin and her eyes widened, pupils dilating until her irises turned dark with desire. There was a wicked edge to her eyes when they met his again and she inclined her head, her pouty come hither look almost luring him in. Desire wasn’t the only thing written plainly across her face. There was expectation there too, and that alone pushed him into saying what he needed to.

“I think this is a bad idea.”

Her sultry temptress look immediately dissipated, leaving the Amelia he was familiar with standing before him.

“You really don’t like me,” she whispered and the hurt in her heart beat within his.

He wasn’t saying anything of the sort. But what could he tell her? He was halfway to drunk and not only did he need to get his head on straight so he was certain that he wasn’t doing this because he was subconsciously following orders but he was hardly going to produce the stellar performance she expected of him.

He had been celibate this entire lifetime.

And he was damned if his first time was going to be under orders.

If something was going to happen between them, it was going to happen naturally. He wasn’t going to seduce her and use her feelings against her.

“I do… but… I think the wine has gone to my head and I think it might have gone to yours too.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” She glanced at the empty bottle and his half-full glass on the table.

“It is.” Marcus ventured a step towards her and brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek, sweeping her straight dark hair from her face. Her skin was as smooth as he had imagined it would be and the way she closed her eyes, slowly inhaling at the same time, empowered him. He opened his hand and cupped her face, resting his fingers along her jaw and bringing his thumb close to her mouth. Such soft lips. He wanted to dip his head and kiss her again but he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop at just kissing if he did. “It is all a little quick and I don’t want you waking tomorrow feeling like crap because of what we did tonight.”

“I doubt I would feel crappy.” There it was again. Blatant expectation. Why? Because he was handsome to her? That instantly made him Casanova?

No pressure then.

“Amelia… how about we take it slow and steady?”

Her eyes lit up and he realised there could be another meaning in his words but he didn’t bother to correct her because he wasn’t about to let things get that far. His final task was coming. Everything that had happened tonight would satisfy his superior and his orders to gain her trust. He would date her a few times, keeping a suitable distance, and once his mission was over he would leave.

She nodded, tiptoed and kissed him.

Resisting was impossible.

He swept his lips over hers, tasting her again and savouring this brief contact between them. When she broke away this time, he led her back to the couch and settled there with her, his thoughts weighing him down. He watched her again, fascinated by the amusement she got from the movie and how she curled up next to him, her bare knees brushing his thigh. A deep ache to slide his arm around her shoulders and draw her closer still beat in his bones but he resisted.

He couldn’t use her feelings against her.

Not when he was starting to feel something for her too.

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Her-Guardian-Angel-Her-Angel/book-lVb0k7lC80OOiMBAOa-Ldg/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776
and the Apple iBookstore

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463788363/

I hope you’ve enjoyed these five free chapters and that you’ll purchase Her Guardian Angel, and perhaps others in the Her Angel series, and tell your friends about it if you enjoy the stories.

It’s time for another chapter of Her Guardian Angel (Her Angel romance series #4) as part of my Paranormal Pandemonium 2011 Blog Tour. I’ll be posting the first five chapters for FREE. You can find them all by clicking here: Her Guardian Angel chapters

Her Guardian Angel is currently available in e-book direct from my website, Amazon Kindle Stores, and Smashwords, Apple iBookstore and Kobo. It will soon be available from Barnes and Noble, Sony. It’s also available as a paperback from Amazon sites.

Other stories in the Her Angel series are: Her Dark Angel, Her Fallen Angel and Her Warrior Angel. Details of them and where they are available in e-book and paperback can be found at my website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebookseries.php?series=Her%20Angel

Felicity Heaton
A simple mission becomes a fight for survival in this fantastic instalment in the Her Angel series.

A guardian angel dedicated to his duty, Marcus will do whatever Heaven asks of him, but even his loyalty has its limits. When his superior orders him to gain Amelia’s trust through seduction, Marcus starts to question his mission and his feelings for the beautiful woman he has watched over since her birth.

Amelia has gone from one bad relationship to another, so when a gorgeous guy moves in next door looking like Mr Right, she hopes he doesn’t turn out to be another black knight in disguise. But there’s more to Marcus than meets the eye, and when he rescues her from three demonic men, Amelia is thrust into his nightmarish world—a world where God and the Devil exist, and only one angel can save her from death—Marcus, the angel she’s falling in love with.

On the run from demonic angels and the Devil himself, aided by Marcus’s angel friends and their amazing women, fighting for survival against the odds, Marcus and Amelia discover a love that will last forever.

A love so strong it will shake Heaven and Hell.

ebook price: $3.99
paperback price: $9.99
genre: paranormal angel romance
length: 110000 words
rating: sultry
released: July 2011
Book 4 in the Her Angel series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Her-Guardian-Angel-Her-Angel/book-lVb0k7lC80OOiMBAOa-Ldg/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776
and the Apple iBookstore

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463788363/

Amelia sat back in her seat when Marcus took his hand away from hers and leaned back in his chair. She toyed with her slim black mobile phone for a moment to distract herself from the disturbed look on Marcus’s face. When he didn’t stop glaring at her, she put her phone down on the round dark metal table and nursed her drink, feeling incredibly foolish for taking hold of his hand. She sipped her coffee, grimacing internally as the cold liquid touched her tongue. Nothing was going right for her today. No, some things had been going right. She hadn’t been imagining the way Marcus’s eyes had lingered on her body, or how quick he was to smile at her whenever she smiled at him. Those smiles had reached his beautiful silver-blue eyes too, lighting them in a way that wasn’t fake and that told her they were real this time, not the usual polite ones he forced whenever someone spoke to him.

He had been different since last night.

She wasn’t usually in the habit of relying on men to fight her battles for her but she had appreciated his intervention. It was the first time that a man had come to her rescue and when he had punched Mike, her heart had fluttered and she had looked at Marcus with new eyes. She had noticed him the moment he had moved in next door to her, had registered him as handsome, but she had never really taken the time to look at him. The man had a body that could put models to shame and she hadn’t stopped wondering what he did for a profession since setting eyes on it. Was he a model? She hoped to God he wasn’t a hand model because her own stupid choice of men had gone and wrecked one of his lovely strong hands.

Amelia stared at his injured one, her heart beating hard in her throat. He had large hands, made for cupping and holding, or made for fighting. He had landed a hefty punch on Mike, sending him down with one blow, and for a brief moment she had feared he wasn’t going to get back up. She had almost gone to him but then instinct had kicked in and reminded her that Mike had been intent on fighting Marcus. He must have been drunk. Only an idiot would pick a fight with Marcus if they were sober, and Mike wasn’t that stupid. He should have known he didn’t stand a chance.

Marcus had a seriously cut physique, lithe muscles that radiated strength and raw masculinity.

Once she had noticed that he was topless, it had been difficult not to stare. The few times that she had managed to peel her eyes off his body and found the courage to meet his, he had been looking at her with wide pupils darkening his amazing eyes, a sure sign of desire.

So why had he been so quick to snatch his hand away from hers?

Amelia almost laughed at herself. Since when had she given a damn about what men thought of her? Men were trouble. Mike had hammered that nail so firmly into her head that she had got the message this time. Men were something she could live without and that life would certainly be a lot easier and less painful than hers had been up to this point.

Her eyes betrayed her and snuck back to Marcus. He sat opposite her with his head tilted back and eyes on the sky. The lines of his defined jaw led her gaze up to his square chin and sensual mouth and her pulse picked up, jittery in its beat, when she licked her lips and contemplated what kissing him would be like. He lowered his head, their eyes met and then he looked away, an air of irritation about him.

Her fault?

She had taken his hand last night when icing his knuckles and he hadn’t reacted so coldly then. If anything, the desire in his eyes had increased. What had happened between then and today? Had she said or done something wrong? She could have sworn that she had read the signals right and that Marcus liked her. Now she felt as though a vast frigid ocean had opened between them and that she would drown if she tried to traverse it to reach him.

She wanted to.

Last night had opened her eyes to the fact that there was a fantastic man living next door to her and since then she had felt tied up in knots, twisted inside out and back to front. She had never been backwards about being forward before but something about Marcus made her hesitate. It wasn’t just because he would think she was rebounding. It was because he seemed like a nice guy, a cut above gorgeous in looks and personality, and she didn’t want to screw things up. He had been on her mind all day and she had tried to think of a way to bump into him again so she could strike up a conversation and get to know him better. When she had spotted him outside their building, it had felt as though fate had brought them together, but her nerve had failed at the sight of him standing staring at the floor as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world. He hadn’t heard her at first. It had taken her three attempts before he had lifted his head and noticed her, and by then her confidence had been shattered. Had he been thinking too?

About her?

Amelia rolled her eyes at her thoughts. As if. The poor man was sleep-deprived thanks to her terrible choice in men. He had probably been spacing out just as she had said he was, unable to function with only a few hours sleep. When he had gone back to his own apartment half an hour after she had iced his left hand, she hadn’t heard a peep out of him until gone six in the morning when there had been some movement next door. She hadn’t been able to sleep herself. Fear had kept her awake and she had watched one movie after another in an attempt to push it to the back of her mind. She was running on empty today, half asleep and feeling as though what had been a dream was turning into a nightmare.

Amelia leaned one elbow on the metal table and stared at Marcus, studying the nuances that crossed his handsome face as he watched the people passing them by on the pavement. For all she knew, Marcus was Mr Right for someone already. It wouldn’t surprise her. He had looks, a fabulous body, was quick to defend women, and had proven himself intelligent in the brief conversations they had shared. Her younger sister would have taken one look at him, with his dark tousled hair that caressed the nape of his neck and sometimes fell down to brush his forehead, causing him to sweep his fingers through it to groom it back, incredible pale blue eyes, and scorching hot body, and declared him ‘smexy’. Smart and sexy apparently. Her mother would have taken one look at him and told her that he was a keeper and not to give up on him.

Someone else was probably already keeping him.

Maybe that was why he had taken his hand back so quickly.

Marcus looked across the table at her and Amelia felt cold inside from the emptiness in his eyes. Where had the nice Marcus gone? Had she chased him away? A sense of impatience surrounded him, as though he didn’t want to sit with her anymore, and he couldn’t hold her gaze for more than a few seconds.

Amelia mused that he was always detached from everyone and distant. She shouldn’t be so surprised that he had withdrawn from her.

“I wouldn’t be any good for you,” he said, his deep voice as devoid of emotion as his face, and Amelia held her hands up, desperate to shift the course of conversation away from her feelings. “You are better off keeping away from me.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She had but he didn’t need to know that. Her heart ached as he crushed it in her chest with just a glance and a handful of words. She blushed, her face on fire, and stuttered, trying to get an excuse into order.

She couldn’t find the words as he stared at her, his expression gradually turning from awkwardness towards anger, and she knew in her heart that she couldn’t have been more wrong about him.

His appearance now was a harsh contrast to how he had looked just a few minutes ago and last night. The heat that had touched his handsome features then, warming them and giving her the impression that she stood a chance with him, and the undeniable spark of desire that had lit his eyes, made her feel as though she had met a different person in that moment and not the real Marcus.

Perhaps all her thoughts about him were wrong, even last night, and he was right. She really didn’t know anything about him. Her white knight might just be another black one in disguise and she really didn’t need that on top of everything else. What would she do if Marcus turned out to be another wrong choice when he looked so much like a good man? It would certainly compound the growing notion inside her that she was doomed to spend her life with a string of Mr Wrongs in an impossible search for one Mr Right.

“Did I thank you for last night?” Desperate times called for desperate measures. All she could do now was try to deflect his attention away from what she had done in some dire hope of easing the tension mounting between them.

He nodded. Silent treatment was it? He was the first man to do that to her, but it wasn’t going to deter her. Once they were back on steady ground, she would make her excuses and leave, and hopefully things wouldn’t be too awkward between them whenever they met in the hallways of their apartment building.

“Was your coffee good?” Amelia looked at the white mug. He had barely touched it. In fact, he hadn’t done or said much since sitting down with her. He really didn’t want to be here. Had he only agreed to coffee out of politeness?

Marcus lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug. He had looked so good in only his deep grey sweat pants, his bare upper body on display as a midnight feast for her eyes. She tried to keep her focus on the more pressing matters of her present situation and failed, ending up picturing him as he had appeared last night instead. He had an athletic physique, toned and powerful but not overly built. The sort of body she would love to run her fingers over and had fantasised about. The sweat pants had barely hidden the muscular shape of his thighs and had rode low on his hips, revealing a V line that had stirred all manner of wicked thoughts in her head, as well as a treasure trail of dark hair that her lips and fingers ached to follow. When he had punched Mike, his entire body had come alive with movement, fascinating her. The way his muscles shifted and moved with him, tensing or stretching beneath his pale skin, had been mesmerising. It had taken her a moment to realise that Mike was flat on his backside and that she should react to it in some way other than gawping at Marcus.

When she had taken him into her apartment and iced his knuckles, she had put his body to memory, including the beautiful tattoo of angel wings he had on his back. She hadn’t figured him as a tattoo type so the swirling blue-grey elaborate wings that decorated his shoulder blades had surprised her. She had wanted to ask him about them but hadn’t been able to find her voice at the time, and asking him about them now certainly wouldn’t help her cause, not when she wanted to ask him why such an elementally masculine man had such beautifully delicate tattoos. They seemed like a strange choice.

Unless he was gay.

Was that a possibility?

Amelia’s gaze darted to his face and her eyes widened when she caught him staring at her chest. He quickly looked away, turning his right cheek to her and taking in the people walking along the street, lending her a view of his noble profile. Bi? He was gorgeous, clearly looked after himself, and also kept to himself. Was that a bad sign? Amelia frowned at her thoughts. She was overanalysing things. Just because he was good looking and not interested in her didn’t mean he was gay or involved in a relationship, or any of those things that she wanted him to be so she would feel better about his rejection.

He just didn’t find her attractive.

He had said it straight. Stay away.

Maybe she would do just that.

Amelia went to pick up her black leather handbag and then hesitated. Flushed with bravery and unwilling to give up so easily, she fixed Marcus with a hard look and was surprised when he turned his head and looked at her, as though he had felt her staring.

“Is something wrong?” Not a trace of a tremble in her voice. Her heart pounded, adrenaline thundering in her veins, but she held her ground. It was a horribly personal question to ask him but she had to find out whether his reaction to her touch was because he didn’t want her or because he did but felt he wasn’t good for her, as he had said.

Marcus stared at her for almost a full minute, the fading evening light reflecting off the windows and his white shirt, illuminating his face and chasing the shadows away. The edge of darkness his expression had gained lifted to reveal something that wasn’t quite warmth, but wasn’t icy cold either.

“Why?” A slight frown pinched his black eyebrows together.

“You… it’s just you seem more out of spirits than normal.”

He gave her an odd look. It was the truth. He never seemed very happy and now she couldn’t help wondering why. His warning to keep away from him had brought back all the previous times she had seen him and the distance he maintained between him and everyone in their building, and now she wanted to know whether the man sitting opposite her was more similar to her than she had thought possible.

Did he go from one bad experience to the next too?

He had to have a reason for wanting to keep his distance from everyone and not letting anyone in. Was he afraid of being hurt or feeling something for someone? She feared that too, entered into relationships believing that eventually they would end and she would be hurt, but as much as she tried to live alone and be the independent woman she wanted to be, she couldn’t help feeling lonely and wanting to share her life with someone.

For a brief moment, Marcus had seemed like someone she could do that with, and this time she had felt it wouldn’t end in tears.

He could have been her Mr Right, but such a man wouldn’t have told her to keep away from him. That hadn’t been in her dream of what would happen today when she bumped into him. She hadn’t anticipated that response at all. She couldn’t blame him though. Chatty old Mrs McCartney next door had probably told him all about her poor choice in men and he was telling her to keep away because he didn’t want to get sucked into her miserable life.

Amelia jumped when her mobile phone rang, the jaunty tune breaking the heavy silence as it buzzed on the table. Marcus frowned, his blue eyes darting to it. She wanted to ignore it, knowing that it would be Mike calling to chew her ear off about last night and make her feel wretched for the rest of the weekend, but the ring was so loud that people around her were staring.

Instead of answering, she picked it up, put her handbag on the table, and dumped the phone into it, muffling the annoying ringtone.

“Why didn’t you answer it?” Marcus stared at her bag. Amelia tapped the table, cringing inside and wishing the phone would stop ringing.

“It’s my ex.” Ignoring him was preferable to speaking with him.

Marcus surprised her by reaching across the table, fishing the phone out of her handbag, and flicking it open. Amelia could only stare as he brought the phone to his ear, his face set in grim dark lines, and glared at the table as though he wanted to kill it.

“I thought I told you to leave Amelia alone?” He paused, his expression darkening further and the muscle in his jaw tensing. Amelia’s heart pounded hard and she wished she could hear what Mike was saying to Marcus, because he looked close to going ahead and breaking something. Anger radiated from him in strong waves and everyone stared as he barked into the phone, “Stay away from her because the next time you dare to go near her, I’m not going to be so kind as to let you walk away.”

Amelia’s hands shook, her limbs trembling with them, and she joined everyone in staring at Marcus as he clicked the phone shut and dropped it back into her purse. What had just happened?

He had defended her again when she had been convinced that he wanted nothing to do with her.

His eyes met hers across the table and the trace of compassion in them only confused her further. He blinked slowly, dark lashes shuttering his pale blue irises, stealing them from view before lifting again to reveal the full extent of their beauty. Warmth shone in them, a softness that reached out and curled around her, filling her with a sense of safety even as her whole body quaked with the fear that Mike wouldn’t heed Marcus’s warning and would come after her again.

“I won’t let him near you, Amelia. You don’t have to worry about him. I will keep you safe.” Those words, so softly spoken in his deep voice, weren’t a lie. There was truth in his eyes and his open expression, and she believed him.

She just wasn’t sure what to make of him.

What sort of man told a woman to stay away from him and then promised to keep her safe?

Marcus was an enigma and something inside her was telling her to take his advice and keep away from him, because if he turned out to be another black knight and broke her heart, she didn’t think she would recover from it.

She gathered her things, rose from her seat and hesitated only long enough to catch the confusion surfacing in his eyes before making a swift exit.

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Her-Guardian-Angel-Her-Angel/book-lVb0k7lC80OOiMBAOa-Ldg/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776
and the Apple iBookstore

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463788363/

Be sure to come back next week for the next free chapter of this angel romance novel!

It’s time for another chapter of Her Guardian Angel (Her Angel romance series #4) as part of my Paranormal Pandemonium 2011 Blog Tour. I’ll be posting the first five chapters for FREE. You can find them all by clicking here: Her Guardian Angel chapters

Her Guardian Angel is currently available in e-book direct from my website, Amazon Kindle Stores, Apple iBookstore and Smashwords. It will soon be available from Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, and also as a paperback from Amazon sites.

Other stories in the Her Angel series are: Her Dark Angel, Her Fallen Angel and Her Warrior Angel. Details of them and where they are available in e-book and paperback can be found at my website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebookseries.php?series=Her%20Angel

Felicity Heaton
A simple mission becomes a fight for survival in this fantastic instalment in the Her Angel series.

A guardian angel dedicated to his duty, Marcus will do whatever Heaven asks of him, but even his loyalty has its limits. When his superior orders him to gain Amelia’s trust through seduction, Marcus starts to question his mission and his feelings for the beautiful woman he has watched over since her birth.

Amelia has gone from one bad relationship to another, so when a gorgeous guy moves in next door looking like Mr Right, she hopes he doesn’t turn out to be another black knight in disguise. But there’s more to Marcus than meets the eye, and when he rescues her from three demonic men, Amelia is thrust into his nightmarish world—a world where God and the Devil exist, and only one angel can save her from death—Marcus, the angel she’s falling in love with.

On the run from demonic angels and the Devil himself, aided by Marcus’s angel friends and their amazing women, fighting for survival against the odds, Marcus and Amelia discover a love that will last forever.

A love so strong it will shake Heaven and Hell.

ebook price: $3.99
genre: paranormal angel romance
length: 110000 words
rating: sultry
released: July 2011
Book 4 in the Her Angel series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776

Marcus was still pondering how to gain Amelia’s trust the next evening as he walked back towards his apartment building near the centre of London. The street wasn’t affluent or run-down. It sat somewhere in the middle, and was far nicer than the first area Amelia had lived in when she had moved out of her parents house. This was a safe neighbourhood, full of mortals who worked in Central London and were paid well enough to live only a few Tube stops from the office. Cafés, restaurants and shops lined the busy street, mortals coming and going as they went about their business. It was Saturday and, since waking around noon because of the heat, he had passed the entire day wandering the city, watching mortals as they interacted with each other. The local park had produced the most interesting results. The bright sunny summer’s day had drawn many couples, both long-term and aspiring, into the lush green park, where they had sat on blankets and talked, amongst more carnal things.

Marcus had sat in a large oak tree, invisible to mortal eyes and shaded from the heat by the thick leafy canopy, surveying them with interest. Given the number of couples that were kissing or looking as though they were going to kiss given an opportune moment and the correct signal from their chosen partner, a picnic seemed too intimate for his requirement but it had given him some ideas about how to gain Amelia’s trust, although he wasn’t sure if it was necessary for his mission at all. Amelia had allowed him into her home last night. Based on that, he concluded that she already trusted him on some level, and since he had protected her from her ex-lover, proving his ability and strength, when the time came, she might do whatever he had to ask of her.

He only wished he knew what he was going to face during the event they were heading towards. If he knew that, if his superiors would give him more information about what they had seen, then perhaps he would be better prepared to deal with it and complete his mission. There had to be a reason they weren’t telling him though, and it was his duty to obey his orders without question. A good soldier did what was asked of him, regardless of what it was.

Marcus blew out a sigh. He could do that because the mission would end if he did and he would be free of Earth and the mortals.

“Hi.”

Marcus raised his head and looked at his surroundings, surprised to see that he was back at the old redbrick apartment building.

Amelia stood before him, her hand still raised in greeting, a smile on her face.

“You spacing out?” She bit her lip. “Don’t tell me it’s lack of sleep. I still feel terrible about last night.”

Marcus shook his head and scrubbed a hand down his face.

“Shoot, it is lack of sleep, isn’t it? I’m sorry.” She nibbled her lower lip again, entrancing him.

It wasn’t just her soft mouth that held his attention today. The evening sun shone down on her, highlighting her shoulder-length dark hair with ribbons of gold and warming her skin almost as much as her blush. She was radiant and the trace of shyness in her eyes as she glanced at anywhere but him only added to her allure.

She had always been so confident in the past when he had been watching her. What had her acting so feminine and shy now?

Her grey eyes briefly touched on his and then dropped to the black leather purse she clutched over her shoulder.

Marcus resisted the desire to follow the strap down over her slender bare shoulder and take in her body. The thin cream ribbon of material that sat close to her bag strap hinted at another flimsy dress. It had been hard enough to cope with the feelings her slip had produced in him last night. He wasn’t sure how he would react to the sight of her in another revealing item of clothing.

She cleared her throat and his silver-blue gaze drifted back to her face. Her cheeks darkened and she covered her mouth with her hand and then let it fall away and raised her head, locking eyes with him.

“I’m going to buy you a coffee.”

Marcus raised a single dark eyebrow at the force in her tone and the command in her words. That was more like the Amelia he knew so well, yet the quaver in her voice gave away her underlying nerves as much as her rapid heartbeat pounding in his skull. Perhaps his superiors were correct in their assumption. Amelia liked him.

Could he use that against her in some attempt to gain her trust?

It felt wrong to do so and nothing at all like the correct behaviour for an angel.

He followed her gaze over his shoulder to the small café a few doors down from their building. There were some couples sitting outside at the tables that lined the pavement close to the wide glass windows, shaded by large pale sun umbrellas.

Marcus considered declining her order but found himself nodding before he could put voice to his refusal.

A bright smile curved her lips and lit her eyes, and his heart thudded hard against his chest.

Amelia breezed past him and his eyes followed her, slowly dropping to the cream summer dress she wore. It hugged her slender figure even more than the slip had, revealing the tempting luscious curve of her waist and flaring out over her full hips. Marcus stared at her backside, riveted by how the pale-pink-flower-spotted material swayed with each step.

An angel.

Or perhaps a demon for tempting him so easily.

He cocked his head to one side and followed her, unable to resist her silent siren’s call. She looked back at him as she reached the glass door, the evening light adding to her radiance, and it struck him that she had never looked as beautiful as she did today. The usual warmth in her look had increased until she shone with what he could only conclude was happiness. She radiated it in waves that reached through him, warming him too and bringing a smile to his face. He had never seen her like this. She had been through a lot in life, especially since deciding to leave home at eighteen. A string of bad relationships had followed that, and poor luck with employment and also with her family. She had lost her mother three years ago and even though he hadn’t realised it at the time, he had felt for her as he had watched her grieve, had desired to go to her and offer her the comfort she clearly needed. Her family had neglected to give it to her, or perhaps they hadn’t seen what he had. Around them, she had put on a brave face, playing the role of the strong daughter and giving comfort to others, taking none for herself.

She deserved so much better than this life that fate had given to her.

If her smile was because of him, if he was the cause of her happiness, then he was glad.

He had never cared much for mortals.

But he was starting to think he cared for her.

He wasn’t sure where that would lead though. Their worlds were separate and he had always maintained his belief that they should forever remain that way. Other angels he knew had fallen for mortals and forsaken their position to be with them, but that wasn’t something that he could do. His duty was his reason for living. He had been given this existence in order to serve his master, not so he could callously turn his back on his creator and the gift given to him.

Marcus surmised that it was his duty to watch over Amelia and protect her. It was natural that he cared for her because of it. That was all this feeling was. Compassion born of duty.

He cared about her because he cared about his mission.

She crooked her finger and Marcus obeyed, following her into the colourful interior of the café. The scent of coffee filled his nostrils, swirling in his senses, and stirred a curious hunger to taste the liquid that went with it.

He couldn’t.

He wouldn’t dabble in such substances.

Not again.

“What can I get you?” Amelia said when he reached her at the glass cabinets full of delicious looking pastries beside the counter and he stared at the black boards on the wall, unsure of what any of it meant.

He had studied the mortal realm and knew more than most angels about living on Earth and what things were. Most angels only knew mortal inventions from the regular reports they received. Those fortunate enough to watch over Earth in the pools in Heaven that recorded the history of mortals had learned more about it than others, including languages throughout the ages, and about food too. He had been studying Amelia for her whole life and had come to know her favourite foods, drinks, and all about the technology she regularly used. In his month on Earth, he had learned how to use such modern items too, and had indulged in tasting a lot of human foodstuffs and drinks. Food was a necessity. Angels used vast amounts of energy in the mortal realm, mostly expended on maintaining their glamour, which is why he often opted for the less energy consuming path of putting his wings away and donning mortal clothing.

The couple in front of them at the counter ordered. The female opted for a latte and the male for a cappuccino. He searched for those on the board behind the people serving the coffees and taking orders. Latte and cappuccino fell under the coffee heading. He raised an eyebrow again when a small footnote on the board declared that coffee was also available decaffeinated. Marcus presumed that meant they had removed the stimulant. He turned to Amelia.

“I am not really a coffee drinker. It’s the caffeine… it keeps me awake.”

Her grey eyes widened and her lips parted. “There’s herbal tea.”

Tea didn’t seem a very manly drink. He frowned.

“Decaffeinated means without caffeine?” It wasn’t exactly how he had wanted to find out. Asking her what something meant was bound to make him appear less appealing to her. He didn’t know something so basic. How had he missed such things?

He realised that Amelia always drank straight coffee. She had never opted for anything foreign sounding or decaffeinated in all the times he had watched over her. These past thirty years, he had been so focused on her that he had only learned about the things that she liked. Chinese food, Italian cooking, Spanish tapas, and straight coffee. Sometimes a fruity shake, a smoothie they called it, or some frozen coffee drink. Occasionally a glass of wine with friends. Never beer or mead. He grimaced, stomach turning at the memory of what too much mead could do to an angel.

“It’s not quite without caffeine. I think they sort of extract it or something. It leaves a hint of it behind.” Amelia didn’t look sure.

Marcus nodded. “Decaffeinated cappuccino then.”

It sounded manly enough and he could handle any effect it might have on him. He hadn’t tucked in his white linen shirt today because he had wanted to feel the slight breeze, needing it to cool down in the hot summer sun. The tail hung loose, covering his dark jeans to the apex of his thighs. If the coffee produced any sort of negative effect on him, he would be able to conceal it.

Amelia ordered the drinks for him and even paid. He hadn’t noticed in time to stop her, dropping more points in the manly stakes. He had wanted to insist on paying so her trust in him would increase. It seemed to work for the other men in the queue, gaining them smiles from their females.

Chivalry, he supposed. A code of honour he was familiar with. Did it only take chivalry to gain a female’s favour?

He caught Amelia looking around the coffee shop. There were a few tables free on the buzzing inside, but some outside too.

“Why don’t we sit in the sun?” he said before she could make a decision and then added, “I will pick up the coffees while you find us a table.”

She nodded and smiled at him, a brilliant one that drew another hard thump from his heart. At this rate, he wouldn’t need even a trace of caffeine to embarrass himself. Whenever Amelia smiled at him, her grey eyes warm with it, he wanted to reach out and brush the straight lengths of her hair from her face so he could take it all in. The feel of her skin beneath his fingers would definitely be too much. When she had touched his hand last night, he had felt the warmth of her caress for minutes after she had released him. In fact, he could still feel it now if he focused hard enough on remembering that moment, as though a ghost of her touch remained.

The man making the coffees pushed two white mugs towards him and said something about decaffeinated. One looked frothy with a sprinkling of chocolate on top and the other was straight white coffee. Definitely their drinks. He took the two mugs and wove through the patrons in the café, heading for Amelia where she waited for him at a table in the sun.

The evening was drawing on but the light was still warm on her face, highlighting her soft features and shattering the momentary control he had gained over his emotions. How was it that she could distract him so easily?

He placed the coffees down on the round dark metal table and took the seat opposite her, studying her face and trying to keep his attention on the conversation and what she was saying. It was impossible as he looked at her, his knuckles throbbing with the memory of how she had iced them for him, and how gently she had held his hand.

Being around her today was different. Was it because of last night? They had never touched before. They had barely spoken a word to each other beyond pleasantries on meeting in the hallway outside their flats. She had rarely looked at him in the past.

But now she was looking right at him, her gaze boring into his with such intensity but such shyness that he couldn’t look away. Transfixed. Mesmerised. Bewitched. Three words that sounded so innocent yet felt so dangerous to him.

He couldn’t allow things to head in this direction, but he felt powerless to stop them.

Marcus sipped his drink, making appropriate responses whenever he caught what she was talking to him about and enjoying the slight buzz the remaining trace of caffeine gave him. Not enough to cause adverse effects on his body but enough that it created a tingle in all the good places.

Amelia was animated now but the shyness still lingered beneath her layers of confidence, betraying that inside her tough exterior beat the heart of a female, a woman that he was affecting by only sitting and drinking coffee with her. Was this enough to gain her trust? Would it satisfy his superiors or would they demand he took things further?

He wasn’t sure how he would respond to such an order. Drinking coffee with her seemed innocent enough. He wasn’t seducing her or using her feelings against her. He was merely being friendly and it was forging a stronger connection between them. Every minute that passed, each sip of coffee she took and smile she flashed, she was growing more confident and more at ease around him.

The sun bounced off the shop windows on the opposite side of the street and played on her face and her body, stuttering as cars and red double-decker buses broke the beams of warm light. Amelia didn’t seem to notice. She continued to talk about small things such as their neighbours, work and the weather. Idle conversation. He’d had practice in that during previous missions on Earth and also from his time in Heaven when he’d had to speak with angels he wasn’t overly familiar with.

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled again, overflowing with warmth and life, gloriously radiant.

Marcus forgot his coffee and just watched her, stealing this moment with her, unable to believe that after all this time he was actually speaking with her directly, talking to her like a mere mortal and not her protector. It was a strange experience. He had never truly spoken to a mortal before and the workings of her mind were fascinating. She bounced around subjects so quickly that he couldn’t keep up with the flow of conversation, and whenever he fell behind, she smiled brightly and apologised.

Another thing he had never noticed about her before last night.

He had never seen her apologise so profusely to anyone.

She paused in the middle of her conversation about a news programme she had watched about the upcoming planetary alignment.

“Are you sure last night didn’t wreck your sleep?” she said, concern in her eyes as she leaned across the table, affording him a view down her cream dress that he refused to take advantage of.

Marcus held her gaze instead and smiled faintly. “Maybe a little. Have I been… spacing out again?”

That was what she had called it. Spacing out. He presumed that meant he was currently occupying another galaxy. It seemed apt for his behaviour over the past half an hour with her.

“I’m sorry.” Amelia reached across the table and took hold of his left hand, her touch jolting him. His gaze leapt down to her fingers. Her thumb softly caressed his knuckles and her fingertips brushed his palm, bringing everything he had felt last night back to a rolling boil inside him. His pulse raced and his breathing quickened.

Desire?

Couldn’t be.

But even as he stared at their joined hands he couldn’t form a denial.

He inhaled sharply, trying to catch his breath and instead catching her sweet fragrance on the dusty warm air. Blood pounded in his temples and he could only watch the gentle sweep of her thumb across his fingers in abject fascination.

Images of her flashed across his wide eyes, dressed in her satin slip or in the tight summer dress she wore now, twirling and spinning towards him until her hands pressed against his chest and she was smiling right up into his eyes, her lips parting in invitation.

No.

He had never cared about anyone.

Had never desired a female.

He couldn’t start now.

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776

Be sure to come back next week for the next free chapter of this angel romance novel!

It’s time for another chapter of Her Guardian Angel (Her Angel romance series #4) as part of my Paranormal Pandemonium 2011 Blog Tour. I’ll be posting the first five chapters for FREE. You can find them all by clicking here: Her Guardian Angel chapters

Her Guardian Angel is currently available in e-book direct from my website, Amazon Kindle Stores, and Smashwords. It will soon be available from Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Apple iBookstore, and also as a paperback from Amazon sites.

Other stories in the Her Angel series are: Her Dark Angel, Her Fallen Angel and Her Warrior Angel. Details of them and where they are available in e-book and paperback can be found at my website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebookseries.php?series=Her%20Angel

Felicity Heaton
A simple mission becomes a fight for survival in this fantastic instalment in the Her Angel series.

A guardian angel dedicated to his duty, Marcus will do whatever Heaven asks of him, but even his loyalty has its limits. When his superior orders him to gain Amelia’s trust through seduction, Marcus starts to question his mission and his feelings for the beautiful woman he has watched over since her birth.

Amelia has gone from one bad relationship to another, so when a gorgeous guy moves in next door looking like Mr Right, she hopes he doesn’t turn out to be another black knight in disguise. But there’s more to Marcus than meets the eye, and when he rescues her from three demonic men, Amelia is thrust into his nightmarish world—a world where God and the Devil exist, and only one angel can save her from death—Marcus, the angel she’s falling in love with.

On the run from demonic angels and the Devil himself, aided by Marcus’s angel friends and their amazing women, fighting for survival against the odds, Marcus and Amelia discover a love that will last forever.

A love so strong it will shake Heaven and Hell.

ebook price: $3.99
genre: paranormal angel romance
length: 110000 words
rating: sultry
released: July 2011
Book 4 in the Her Angel series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776

The moment Marcus set foot back in his apartment and closed the door, a bright shaft of light encased him. His wings swiftly emerged, silver-blue feathers warming as the light touched them, and his sweat pants disappeared, replaced by his dark blue loincloth. His armour appeared next. Dark leather boots slowly materialised on his feet, followed by rich blue metal vambraces that covered his forearms and greaves that encased his lower legs. His blue back plate and breastplate melted into existence, protecting his upper torso, moulded into muscles to mimic his body. The raised silver edging on his armour shone brilliantly, reflecting the blinding white light.

When the light faded, an equally bright room surrounded him. Marcus straightened, flapped his wings to bring his feathers into line and then furled them against his back. He noted with annoyance that neither of his weapons had appeared at his hips. It seemed Heaven didn’t want him armed for this meeting.

He walked forwards and the brightness dimmed, revealing what most mortals would consider a waiting room. The pale furniture melted into the white walls and floors, making it difficult to distinguish them, and for once the room was empty. He couldn’t remember the last time he had reported to Heaven’s Court and it had been like this. Normally his fellow guardians were here on some business or another, escorting detainees or sinners, or reporting on missions themselves.

Putting it down to the late hour, he strode towards the white double doors at the opposite end of the room, passing the empty reception desk and armchairs.

He pushed the heavy doors open, revealing the equally white room beyond.

It appeared much like a human court, only everything was white. The benches where those awaiting their hearing would sit, the barrier between them and the area where the judges and jurors sat, and the dock were all so bright that they blended together and made him wonder for what must have been at least the six hundredth time why everything was so irritatingly pale in Heaven.

He looked down at his blue armour.

At least that had colour to it.

The weight of it felt good against him and he ached to beat his wings and feel the wind cut through his feathers. He was so focused on himself that he failed to notice that he wasn’t alone until someone spoke.

“Report, Marcus.”

Marcus jerked his head up, eyes fixing on his superior, a man with short sandy locks and dark eyes that rarely held any trace of emotion. They were cold now, devoid of feeling as he stared at Marcus with a critical air about him. Marcus calmly walked towards him, opened the white gate, and stepped into the dock directly on the other side.

There were no lawyers in Heaven. Each sinner, detainee or reporter had to stand for themselves. It was even rare to have a jury. Ninety percent of cases were decided by three judges.

His sat before him on a raised platform encased by an elaborate curved white wall that bore a beautiful carving of angels in battle and hid their bodies from their chests downwards.

The two men nearer the back, flanking his superior, were there to oversee his report and to ensure that everything followed the rules of their kind. They were angels from a different division to Marcus and his superior. The dark haired man to his superior’s left wore white armour edged with gold and had pure white wings, the sign of a mediator and intervention specialist, and the white-blond haired man to his right wore black armour edged with gold and had raven-black wings, the sign of those affiliated with death. Marcus’s own armour and wing colour signified him as a guardian, one of the angels who were responsible for shepherding souls through Heaven for judgement and then leading them to their respective resting place in Heaven or escorting them to Hell. There were watchers who wore armour like his too, and even a faction of the army. He bit his tongue as desire to mention his request to join that army welled up inside him and saluted his superior instead, bowing his head in greeting.

“Am I to be punished?” Marcus said without a trace of fear in his voice.

He wasn’t sure what punishment for striking an innocent would entail, but it couldn’t be any worse than what he had already suffered because of his sins.

“That is yet to be determined. We are gathered here to review your actions tonight. We withheld punishment in order to see if your actions engendered a positive emotional response that may forge a stronger connection between yourself and the mortal.”

Marcus frowned. “And why is there need for a connection?”

His superior didn’t hesitate. “So that she might trust you.”

Marcus leaned forwards, looking right into his superior’s dark eyes, eager to spot some truth in them, some answers to the thousand questions he had asked in the past and they had refused to answer.

“And why must she trust me?” Marcus knew he had pushed too far when a dark look crossed all three men’s faces.

“Enough questions, Marcus. Report.”

He ground his teeth. Always the same response whenever he pushed them to elaborate on his mission. He hated being left in the dark about everything almost as much as he despised having to live in the mortal realm.

“There was a problem with an ex-lover of the female’s. He was causing her fear and emotional harm. He was also causing me to lose sleep. I took it upon myself to forcibly remove him from the premises and deter him from attempting a repeat performance.”

“So you might gain more sleep?” His superior didn’t look impressed and neither did the two angels flanking him.

“No, so that the female may not come to physical harm.”

“You had reason to believe that this male might act in violence towards her?”

“She was afraid. I have watched her for thirty one years. Never once have I witnessed her this afraid. Seeing that the man was bent on violence, I took it upon myself to ensure that he would leave her alone.”

“Did the man say anything in his defence?”

Marcus frowned. Had he? He had accused Amelia of a lot of things, all of them false. Nothing the man had said had held any credit.

“No. He was intent on harming her and laying false accusations at her door.”

“So you struck him?”

“No!” Marcus leaned forwards. “It didn’t happen like that. He turned his foul derision in my direction and attempted to hit me.”

“Why did he do such a thing?”

His superior and these two angels were already aware of what had occurred tonight so why were they trying to draw it out of him? Were they hoping to embarrass him or cause him to reveal something? If they believed him attracted to her, then he would have to disappoint them.

“I was accused of being her lover. The man decided to… damage my face… in order to teach both myself and the female a lesson. I believe he sought to render me less attractive to her.”

“So you struck him?”

“I acted to defend myself and the female, as per my orders. I eliminated a threat to her.”

“And do you concur that the female is attracted to you, as this man believed?”

Marcus stared blankly at the three angels, mind working furiously back over tonight’s events as he tried to compute an answer to the question. Did he? Was she?

Amelia had certainly looked upon him with desire darkening her grey eyes and those eyes had lingered on his bare torso more than once. She had been gentle with his hand and had blushed several times during their talk in the aftermath of the event. He had little experience of females and couldn’t easily conclude what her reaction had meant, but it had seemed positive.

“I am not sure.” Marcus pushed the words out, his mouth and throat dry as he contemplated the answer he had wanted to say. Yes. Yes, the mortal did desire him. He wasn’t certain why, but the telltale signs had been there.

“Then we shall not punish you.”

Marcus frowned again. “Why not?”

“Because we require that ‘pretty face’ of yours to remain attractive to the female in order to form a stronger bond between you.” There was a definite smirk in his superior’s tone although it didn’t touch his stony face. “You will return to Earth and continue with your mission as planned.”

“When will my mission end?” Marcus wasn’t going to give up this time. Things were becoming critical on Earth and his desire to complete his duty there had increased a hundredfold tonight when he had been with Amelia, and a thousandfold just now when his superior had implied that Amelia was attracted to him and they would use that as a means of bringing them closer together. He needed to end this and return to Heaven. It was his heart’s desire.

His heart denied that and an image of Amelia flickered across his mind, wearing a plum-coloured shimmering slip that inflamed his desire.

He shoved the vision away and stared at his superior.

“When will it end?” Marcus spat out and the sandy-haired man leaned back in his seat and regarded him with flinty eyes.

“When you have completed it.”

“What must I do to achieve that?”

“Be patient. All will be revealed in time.”

“Time,” Marcus snapped and gripped the white wooden railing that ran around the dock, digging his fingers into it so hard that his bruised knuckles burned fiercely. “It is always the same. I tire of this mission. I demand to know when it will end!”

His superior shot to his feet and the air in the room grew heavy, draining the light from it and leaving it grey.

“It will end when you have completed it! This is your duty, Marcus, and you will obey my orders.”

Marcus clenched his teeth and lowered his gaze, staring at his hands where they trembled against the railing, a visible sign of the pressure bearing down on his body. The hot thick air in the room stuck in his throat and stole the breath from his lungs, leaving him wheezing.

His mind turned foggy, thoughts swimming in and out of focus, and he blinked several times, fighting for consciousness. His heavy limbs shook, bones aching as darkness descended on him, the power of his superior too intense to withstand.

A moment later it lifted, the room brightening as it faded away, and Marcus sucked in much needed air as the strain on him eased. His body continued to tremble and he clung fiercely to the railing to remain standing as his legs threatened to give out.

Marcus cursed under his breath. He shouldn’t have lost his calm. He had never snapped like this before but the pressure of living in the mortal realm, of having to endure being so close to Amelia, was getting to him. He had been waiting over thirty years for this mission to end and they had always given him the same answer to his questions. It was his duty. He had to obey.

His loyalty was to Heaven, born of faith and his belief that they knew what the future held and what each of his master’s servants were destined to do, but when they withheld information from him, when they shut him in the dark and expected him to blindly obey their orders without question, he found his faith wavering. He only wanted answers.

He had tried countless times and in countless different ways but each time they told him the same thing. His duty was to watch over Amelia until a certain point in time. They had never expanded on the nature of his mission or given him any other details. Each time they brought him back to Heaven, they asked the same questions and gave him the same answers.

It wasn’t necessary for him to know such information.

It was only necessary for him to obey their orders.

So he obeyed, and every time he left them, he hated his mission a little more.

His shoulder blades tingled where his wings joined them. Amelia had seen the marks there. He hated them too. If it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t be in this situation. He would have asked for a transfer and would have been a soldier. It was his fault though and he accepted this mission as punishment for committing sin.

“Have you experienced any difficulties with your wings since living in the mortal realm?”

That softly spoken question came not from his superior but the dark haired man to his left. A mediator. Marcus didn’t know him or the other angel, but he could see from the embellishment on their armour that they were high ranking, and clearly they knew of his problem.

“There was one incident and that is all.” Marcus couldn’t meet the man’s eye. He hated talking about this with anyone, even his superior and the medical staff who had assisted him throughout the centuries since the marks had appeared on his back. It made him feel vulnerable and weak, and disgraced.

“Can you recall what you felt in that situation or anything that may have caused the curse to trigger again?” His superior this time.

Marcus risked a glance at him. The concern in his dark eyes surprised him and buoyed his spirits, and Marcus thought about what had happened the last time his wings had failed to appear.

Thankfully he had been on the ground and had only attempted to take off but it was always there at the back of his mind whenever he flew. His wings were unpredictable. There was nothing stopping the curse from triggering mid-flight and sending him plummeting to Earth. He had no desire to hit the ground from a great height. While the fall wouldn’t kill him, it would certainly render him unconscious and vulnerable to attack, and it would definitely hurt.

“Nothing particular. I had merely wanted to stretch my wings and fly somewhere new for a change of scenery.”

“Report back to us if anything happens. It should not be long now, Marcus. Your destiny awaits.”

Before Marcus could ask exactly what that destiny entailed, the light engulfed him again. When it receded, it revealed the low-lit lounge of his apartment.

He looked at the clock on the DVD player in the entertainment centre to his right and frowned at the time. Almost six. He rubbed his eyes and locked the front door, and then trudged wearily across the living room, stifling a yawn as he did so. When he reached his bedroom door, he beat his wings, glad to feel them and sense that they were stable, and then focused so they would disappear. They gradually shrank into his back and when the last feathers were gone, the marks there flushed with heat and then settled again.

Marcus didn’t bother to remove his armour. He flopped down on his back on his double bed, enjoying the cool of the covers against his bare skin between his back plate and loincloth and on his arms and thighs. A gentle breeze drifted in through the open window, washing over his head and shoulders, bringing with it the scent of dawn and carrying some of his irritation away. He stared at the ceiling, watching the room brighten with the rising of the sun, his mind racing but not with questions about his mission. He focused on his shoulder blades and the marks there.

When they had appeared five centuries ago, he had thought it was castigation for sinning. He had broken the law that night and had indulged in mead, a heady drink that at the time had been a banned substance for angels due to its alcoholic nature. When he had come around with his head on the verge of exploding and his stomach rebelling, his shoulder blades had been ablaze, burning so fiercely that he had felt as though someone had branded him. He had tried to bring his wings out but they had failed to appear.

When Heaven had called him back to them, Marcus had discovered that it wasn’t punishment at all but rather a curse. It took weeks for the medical staff to discover what it meant, and months for it to sink in that it was inerasable. The marks sealed his wings for five hundred years, leaving him stranded in Heaven, only able to do the duty of a watcher.

In the same week that Heaven had assigned him to watch over Amelia, his wings had finally escaped their prison. The medical staff had declared that the bond of the curse was weakening with time but that he might still encounter difficulties. He had been too intoxicated by the thought of flying again to care that there might be future incidents where his wings would refuse to appear.

There were many at first but as time continued to flow, so the curse continued to weaken, and the space between the incidents grew. During his last assessment, the medical team had announced that his problem was no longer the curse but psychological barriers he had constructed. Something about it being his mind causing his wings not to appear.

Marcus had found it difficult to believe since he had no desire to drop from the sky and hit the pavement, but when they had explained it in layman’s terms, he had understood their point a little better. If he feared that his wings would disappear, or not appear when he needed them, then he could actually cause such a thing to happen. The power of the mind was frightening.

Since then, he had spent every moment when flying thinking about how wonderful his wings were and that he was glad to have them, and he really didn’t want them to go away, and that his curse wasn’t in effect anymore.

It seemed to have worked well so far.

There had only been that one incident since coming to the mortal realm, and the incident before that had been almost thirteen years ago when he had come to Earth to oversee Amelia as she moved out of her family’s house in the countryside and into her own apartment in London at the age of eighteen. He wasn’t sure what had happened then either.

His mind drifted over the past incidents and how his superior had conveniently used each one to deflect his questions and get him off the subject of Amelia’s destiny. Skilful old bastard. His superior was ancient in angel terms, reborn almost six thousand years ago, although he appeared no older than Marcus.

Marcus had been reborn in a time of peace two thousand years ago and could only remember that his previous position had been that of a guardian too. Most angels changed roles on their rebirth, with the exception of a few who bore destinies that kept them harnessed into a specific role, but all forgot their past lives. It was common for some to recall main points about themselves and all retained their former appearance, although wing colour changed from role to role.

Marcus couldn’t recall ever being something other than a guardian.

He knew angels who had changed roles, dying one day as a guardian and waking the next as a mediator or assistant of death or a hunter.

Death himself, Apollyon by name, had been reborn countless times into the same role, forever a black-winged messenger of destruction, and was a singularity in that he could remember important historical events in which he had been involved. Namely horrific times of devastation such as the flood, and the fall of civilisations, and the punishment inflicted upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

Perhaps Marcus was eternally reborn as a guardian because he had a destiny.

He just wasn’t sure what that destiny was.

But he knew it had something to do with Amelia and the event that would occur in the future. His reason for keeping her safe. Once the event occurred, his mission would end. What was her destiny?

Whatever it was, it was important enough that Heaven had assigned him to watch over her as she walked the path towards her fate. Not many mortals had personal watchers. Most angels in the Higher Order of Watchers were assigned to thousands of people at once.

Amelia had her own guardian angel.

Himself.

Why?

Marcus threw his left arm across his face and grimaced when the hard cold vambrace protecting his forearm struck his nose, sending dull pain splintering across his skull. He sighed and focused, using his power to remove his armour, and lay naked on the bed, contemplating what the future held for him and for Amelia.

Heaven hadn’t punished him.

His actions tonight had engendered a positive emotional response in Amelia.

He didn’t like the sound of that or what his superior had implied.

He tilted his head to his right and stared at the wall that separated his apartment from Amelia’s. He couldn’t feel her in the bedroom, which meant she was sleeping on the couch, too far away for him to easily sense.

Was she attracted to him?

If she was, could he bring himself to use that against her and forge the connection between them that his superior had mentioned?

He wanted his mission to end.

But he wasn’t sure he was willing to pay the price his superior had placed on it.

Marcus had always obeyed his orders and did all in his power to remain a faithful and loyal servant of his master, but he was also a man of principles who followed a code of honour, and using Amelia’s feelings against her was wrong. As little as he cared about mortals, he couldn’t ensnare her in such a way or gain her trust through manipulation.

He would gain her trust and connect with her, but not as his superior had ordered.

He would do so in a mortal way.

He just had to figure out what that entailed.

This was going to take some research.

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776

Be sure to come back next week for the next free chapter of this angel romance novel!