My Sweet Escape: A Touched by an Angel Novel

by Roselynn Reyes

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on everything around me. The cool wind was calming my skin. I definitely needed a facial when I got back home. The moonlight and the stars were caressing my skin, bringing it back to life. The waves were crashing on the shore and on the rocks. I could hear people talking and laughing in the background, somewhere far away. I could smell his aroma. I could feel heat radiating from his skin. I could hear his heartbeat…

  My eyes snapped open. So much for my calm mediation. I looked over at him; he was still staring out at the ocean with his arms on his knees. I thought about what I was going to do. Well, I should indulge now because once we headed to Egypt, I might never see him again. I might lose him forever.

  I came up to a sitting position without disturbing him. I scooted up and sat right in front of him. He looked at me in shock. I brought my hand up and traced his eyebrow. I saw his Adam’s apple move and he closed his eyes. The wind pushed my hair in all different directions. I looked up at his buzz cut and bought my hand to it. His hair felt sharp and uneven, needing another haircut. Angel tried to stay as still as possible, but I could hear him catching his breath. I took my finger and traced his lips, his pink beautiful lips. The same lips that had me at the edge of my sanity. Talking all the advantage I could, I traced the lines of muscles of his arms, something that had been haunting my dreams. I traced every color and stroke of his tattoos. Every skull, every angel’s wing, even the giant black cross that engulfed the tattoos all around them. This one looked older; as if it was the first one he’d gotten.

  I dropped my hand and recorded his face in my mind. His face was incredibly clear of scars or sun damage. His lips were remarkably smooth.

  As if on cue, he opened his eyes to dazzle me with his most remarkable feature. He lit up something inside when he looked at me. I didn’t hesitate; I touched his cheek while his eyes were still open. He tilted his head and rubbed his cheek against my palm. I got up on my knees and looked down at him. He just looked at me, no expression for me to read. I grabbed both of his hands and put them on my waist. I took his face in my hands and leaned in for the repeat kiss I’d been waiting for since the night he kissed me.

  My kiss was hungry, needy. I kissed him with everything I had. I put my hands around his neck and brought him as close to me as I could. It was something that had been burning inside me from the moment he walked into my shack, sweaty and looking extremely sexy dressed in all black. He was a professional at kissing, I could tell and I was losing control.

  I pushed him back hungrily so he could lie on the sand. I jumped on top of him and began kissing him again. After a while, I broke the kiss and yanked his shirt away from his body. I looked down at his perfect chest. I traced the muscles in his abdomen. I looked up to catch him staring at me. His eyes were slightly closed, his lips open. But as usual, there wasn’t any big emotion in his face.

  Annoyed, I removed my tee to leave me with a bra too small for my bust size, exposing the scratches and bite marks all over my chest. I began to lie on top of him and grabbed his jaw to kiss him again. He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back. “Samantha…”

  I interrupted him by kissing him again. This kiss was more passionate. I broke the kiss and went for his neck, biting and kissing him softly. I went for his shorts and his hands met me there. I sat back up on top of him. “Samantha, we can’t.”

  I was so annoyed I hopped off him and sat down facing the water. “Why not? Is it because you have someone else waiting for you? Or is it because my father is this big important guy and you don’t want to seem unprofessional to him?”

  I was mad. “I’m an adult. I don’t live with my father anymore…only on the summer vacations. But in one more year I am going to make a living on my own. My father has no right to tell me what to do anymore, especially when I come back home. That’s if I make it home.”

  He got up. I could hear him because his dogtags jingled with his movement. He was behind me. I could feel him. His voice was near me. His soul haunted me.

  “Samantha. You are an adult, I’m not arguing about that. I don’t feel that I have to consult your father about your own decisions.” God, the way he talked made him sound so professional. “And you are a very beautiful person, so it’s not that either. And no, there isn’t anyone waiting for me at home. I’ve already told you that, and I don’t need to repeat myself. I just simply feel that we are both in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Geez, could he make me feel any worse?

  I wanted to cry, but that would make me seem even more immature. So I simply turned around and looked at him. He was already looking at me with warm eyes. I could tell that he was making an effort for them to look warm. I knew he spent years learning to control his emotions while in the Navy, but it was really getting on my nerves. He always looked so stone faced and cold-hearted.

  As if he could read my thoughts, he gave me a tiny smile. He brought his hands up and caressed my cheek. “Let’s just take it day by day, okay. Today was one of the few days where we didn’t get attacked by anyone.”

  He was right; there was no arguing with that one. He slowly brought his lips to mine and kissed me very gently. The kiss sent shivers all the way up my spine and into my brain, ringing a bell. I could feel his soft full lips slowly parting mine. His tongue slowly licked my lips, teasing the kiss before he pulled away.

  A little breathless, I looked down at my thighs and said, “If you want me to behave, you should not do that again.”

  He touched my chin so I would look up at his eyes. “We won’t be able to behave for too long.”

  Before I was able to ask him what he meant, he turned and grabbed my tee shirt and dropped it over my head. Looking me over with heavy eyes, he pulled my arms through the shirt and pulled it down. Helping me up, we both made our way back to the hotel room.

  Once we were back in our room, I washed up again and got underneath the covers wearing just his tee and my underwear. Angel followed after I got out of the shower. I laid down on my stomach, facing him. I closed my eyes as he pulled my shirt up, revealing the slash marks all over my back, sixteen that I was able to count. He laid down with me, removing some of the pain and torture with his cool fingers. I was out of tears; I just kept my eyes closed to avoid my look of hurt. I felt him press his lips on my back a few times.

  I opened my eyes as he turned to face me and gathered me in his arms, groaning softly before closing his eyes. I could feel him breathing in my hair; this made my body relax all over. Before I went to sleep completely he kissed my hair several times and whispered ‘Good night’ in my ear.

  Chapter 8

  I woke up at the sound of the front door closing. Angel plopped on the bed with two cups of coffee and a bag of bagels. He was dressed in his uniform as usual, though it was looking worn out. He looked delicious.

  I got up and smiled at him. He smiled back and handed me a cup of coffee. “I got you strawberry jelly and cream cheese. I didn’t know which one you liked.” He had one on each hand and gave me a shy smile.

  I took a sip of the coffee. It was delicious. I beamed with excitement because it had no sugar and the right amount of vanilla cream. “That is my ultimate favorite kind of jelly,” I said, pointing at the one he had in his right hand.

  He looked at me and laughed, but I gave him a look so he didn’t even dare comment on it. I spread everything on the bed and began to prepare my bagel. I put the perfect amount of cream cheese and jelly on it and began to eat.

  I don’t know if I felt bolder because I’d attacked him last night, but I became more confident with saying everything I felt. “You know,” I said in between bites, “you look extremely mouthwatering when you’re in complete uniform.”

  His bagel was frozen between the bed and his mouth. He just looked at me so I started laughing, throwing my head back as I did. He put the bagel down and said smiling, “I can see you’re becoming more yourself now. Your father did warn me that you’re very outspoken.”

  I rolled my e
yes and finished the bagel. The last thing I needed right now was my father’s face in my thoughts. I got out of the bed and went to the bathroom to wash up and change my clothes. I French-braided my hair and put my hat on to conceal my face.

  When I walked out the door Angel was ready to go. “So, what’s the agenda for today?”

  He picked up the duffle bag and opened the door. “We’re driving to Inrick, Turkey. Captain thinks it’s a good idea to get rid of the truck we borrowed and re-gather ourselves there. Their naval base is the perfect place to lay low for a few days before we go back to Afghanistan.”

  I quickened my pace to keep up with him. “Why can’t we just use one of their helicopters or jets and go home?” I asked him as we exited the hotel and onto another humid day.

  He opened the truck door and threw the duffle bag in the back seat. “Remember, we’re supposed to keep a low profile. The Navy won’t report us because I was stationed there, but they will let us stay for a night. We cannot show in any way that we used the Army or Navy for our personal business. That is just asking for trouble back home.”

  We jumped into the cabin and rolled down the windows. “Okay, so you’re not supposed to use the Navy for personal business? I don’t get it but whatever. So how long is this drive?”

  “A few hours. Who knows, the traffic here varies so it’s hard to say.”

  I stopped with the interrogation to give him time to breathe. I enjoyed the scenery and continued taking pictures of things I didn’t yesterday, including of well-rested Angel. The sky was clear and the weather was perfect. I took more pictures of the beach since it looked more green than blue today. I turned to Angel and snapped half a dozen pictures of him in his adorable uniform. This time, he didn’t say anything. He just looked arrogant.

  He looked over at me again and said, “One thing I’ll have a hard time getting used to is your blue eyes. They look sad all the time, even when you’re smiling.”

  I glanced at him, surprised at what he’d just said. My eyes are hard to get used to? What about his? “I know, they’re teal. My father always called them puppy eyes when I was a girl. Because he said he was never able to say no to me.” I looked back out the window.

  We passed a few more ruins before everything left us. The street was deserted and there weren’t any structures. All I could see were trees and mountains. I took a deep breath and plopped my head on my hands, removing the hat that was making me sweat.

  He looked over at me and laughed. “You don’t want to take pictures of mountains?” I looked at him and rolled my eyes, which made him laugh even harder. That sound made his eyes sparkle. His eyes shone like an angel. It was beautiful. “We need to stop for gas,” he said looking at the dashboard, a hint of laughter still in his voice.

  Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into what looked like at a gas station. It was completely run down and it looked scary. I didn’t even bother to go into the small convenience store because I knew I wouldn’t find anything in there. So I just went around to the back to use the bathroom.

  I found it quickly because of the smell. It was horrendous. I opened the door with my foot and the sight was even worse. There were flies all over the place. The toilet looked like it wouldn’t flush. There was dirt or other stuff that I didn’t want to think about on the walls. I took a deep breath and closed the door. I squatted with my feet apart and began to breathe with my mouth when I couldn’t hold my breath any longer. I couldn’t complain because this looked a lot better than the dump where I’d been held.

  Don’t fall.

  Don’t fall.

  Don’t fall.

  Don’t fall.

  That was all I could think of as I squatted and did my business.

  As soon as I was finished I opened the door so I could breathe clean air. But the door opened to a tall white man with green eyes and a full-grown beard.

  “I’m sorry…” but his sentence cut off when he looked me over. I felt completely naked in front of him. He took the time to look at every inch of my body. He looked behind him as if to see if the coast was clear.

  I tried to walk past him but he grabbed my arm and turned me to him, pinning me against the dirty wall behind me. He looked about thirty, or maybe younger without the beard. But he was creepy. I knew his intentions weren’t good from the way his eyes kept roaming around my body. I began to pound on his thick chest because my mouth went completely dry. I actually thought that I was going to be raped again. I couldn’t believe this.

  With fear running though my body I screamed so loud that the man let go of me and covered his ears.

  I kicked him in the groin and turned to run again, but he caught my leg and we both went down together. He began pulling me to him. “You’re gonna be sorry, bitch.”

  He pulled me underneath him while I screamed again. I slapped his face but he didn’t even notice. He ripped my shirt and pulled it away from me while he licked my neck. Of course, today I’d decided not to wear the extra tight bra because it bothered the lashes on my back. His hands began exploring every inch of my body. I began crying now that I couldn’t scream anymore. He went for my shorts and began to pull them down. Right when I was about to pass out I heard Angel.

  “Get your fucking dirty hands off her!”

  I opened my eyes to see Angel pointing his magnum in our direction. The guy got off me with his hands up in defense. But Angel did something that both surprised me and scared me at the same time.

  He put his gun back on the holster and said, “I wanna get a fucking piece of you.”

  He walked over to him with excitement written all over his face and they began fighting. Just like that. I sat up to cover myself and saw Angel grab him by the shirt and punch him in the face. The guy went limp on the floor with a single thump. I began to pull my shorts up and covered my chest with my ripped shirt.

  Just as Angel came towards me, the man got back up and headed for us. I tried to say something or move, but I couldn’t. I was frozen. The man went for the gun on his thigh and yanked it free at the same time that Angel turned around and began beating the man down again. I couldn’t see clearly what was going on. There was a struggle for a few minutes. I wanted to get up and help him but I couldn’t. I just watched.

  I heard the gun go off. The man got up, threw the gun to the ground and ran away. This time I did get my body to work. I ran towards Angel with the shirt still wrapped around my chest. I began crying hysterically as I made my way to him. I cried like a little girl. He was face down so I threw myself on him. I heard a car screech and drive away.

  This wasn’t happening to me. Right when everything was finally falling into place, something bad happened as usual. I didn’t want to cause his death. That was the last thing I wanted for him.

  I turned Angel over and realized that his eyes were open and he was still breathing. They were short painful breaths. I sobbed as I pulled his shirt off to inspect the damage. I found the entrance wound on his right shoulder, right where his tattoos ended. I sighed with relief, covered my face with my hands, and began crying all over again.

  “Son of a bitch shot me,” he breathed.

  Angel sat up slowly and pulled me to him, hugging me with his left arm. I hugged him as gently as I could and sobbed on his unharmed shoulder. I couldn’t lose him. I couldn’t. He was the only person I had left. He was the only person keeping me together. I kissed his cheeks over and over.

  “Why are you crying?” he whispered in my ear, kissing it gently.

  I could give him all the answers. I’d thought I was going to be raped. I’d thought I was going to die. I’d thought I was never going to see him again. I’d thought I’d lost him forever. But I gave him the answer that had been bothering me since I met him.

  “I thought you weren’t human.”

  I felt his stomach rumble with laughter then quickly stop because of the pain. I pulled away and looked at him. He had dirt all over, and he was sweating and looking a little clammy. I caressed his face, trying to re
move some of the dirt and sweat there.

  He looked into my eyes and said, “I told you not to go anywhere alone. I wish for once you could listen to me.” He didn’t sound angry though.

  I smiled as I began to clean his body of all the dirt and sweat. I was glad to hear him still act like Mr. No Feelings. I was glad that he was still being himself. “But I really needed to pee.”

  He smiled as he stroked my cheek with his left hand and said, “You need to get the first aid kit. Put my shirt on.”

  I looked down at his shirt. It had a small hole on the right shoulder. I turned away from him and pulled the ripped shirt free before I pulled on his black one. I turned back to him and began to feel his pockets for the truck keys. Once I found them, I ran for the truck and unlocked it. I grabbed the duffle bag and pulled out the kit. I locked the door and ran back to him. He had pulled himself to lean on the cement wall where there was shade and had his eyes closed. There was blood all over the dirt and running down his right eye.

  I threw myself in front of him and he opened his eyes. His blue eyes looked sad. I opened the kit and poured alcohol on all the instruments before pouring some on a gauze pad. Avoiding the bullet hole, I held it firmly on his eyebrow as he closed his eyes in pain. Once I disinfected it, I applied anti-bacterial ointment and sealed it shut with tape. I cleaned the blood from his face and he looked up at me.

  “I don’t think you need stitches.”

  He put his hand over the tape and felt the cut. “You need to take the bullet out.”