Son of Eden, a Paranormal Romance (Tales of the Guardian)

by Brianna Merrill

  “So does every fiber of me yearn to hold you and kiss you? Of course! I can barely control myself when I’m around you. Never question whether I am attracted to you, that is silly.” Alexander let his hand fall from her lips and backed away.

  Emily took a moment to catch her breath. She examined Alexander’s expression. Everything he said was true and from his heart, but he was troubled. It was up to her to push whatever he had left to say out into the open.

  “If you think I’m beautiful, and you’re attracted to me, then why don’t you kiss me?”

  “It’s complicated. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I’m unsure of what the consequences will be for us if I do.” He gave a frustrated grunt.

  “What do you mean consequences? It’s just a kiss.”

  “That’s just it. It isn’t just a kiss, it could be more. I’m not sure because I’ve never done it in human form.” Alexander put his hand to the top of his head.

  Emily could tell he was contemplating how to go about explaining things but she could not wait.

  “You’ve never done it in human form? So you’ve kissed someone when you are invisible? How is that possible?” Emily was not sure where he was going with his confusing explanation, and could feel her patience quickly fading.

  “It is possible. Remember I told you that we have the ability to take away illness and disease? Well that’s how we do it. When we are in our invisible state we give our Traveler a simple kiss and it pulls everything out of their body.” Alexander looked at Emily searching her expression for any clue as to how she was handling this strange new information.

  “Do you kiss them on the lips?” was all Emily could ask.

  She was slightly amused, but also relieved that his reason for not kissing her had nothing to do with how he felt about her.

  “That is your only concern, where I kiss them? Ha, Emily, you are one in a million, that is for sure.” He laughed a little while shaking his head. “We kiss them on their foreheads. That’s all that is needed, nothing passionate.”

  “Well then, problem solved. Only kiss me when you’re in your visible state. And as long as you steer clear of the target zone, which is easy since it’s my forehead, I don’t see the problem,” Emily stated in a matter-of- fact tone.

  “I’m not sure if it’s that easy. I’m not certain I won’t affect you in this state. As far as I know it’s never been tried.” Alexander still seemed unconvinced.

  “What is the worst that can happen? I will just be really healthy, no more trips to the doctor. That’s not so bad.” Emily expressed her excitement over he thought of not being ill anymore.

  “We are talking about my abilities and issues I shouldn’t be meddling with in the first place.”

  “Can you tell when your powers have an effect? Do you know if you’ve done something to the person?”

  “I can. Guardians can feel whatever it is being pulled out of the human body and into us. Much like a rush of ice water through our mouths, and down our throats. Then it feels like something inside heats up and incinerates the cold feeling. I can usually see my Traveler give a slight shiver as well.” Alexander put his hand to his mouth in deep contemplation.

  Emily moved in closer so that she was touching him again. “What if I kissed you? That’s different. I could give you a trial smooch right there.” She tapped his check, slightly twisting her finger at the side of his lips where a dimple would go.

  “I don’t think I’m capable of just sitting there and letting you kiss me. Not returning the gesture would be more like torture than pleasure,” he huffed.

  Emily squeezed in even closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Can’t we at least try? You would be able to tell if you had done anything and then at least we’d know. I don’t think I can keep from kissing you the rest of my life because of something that may or may not happen.” Emily gave him her best puppy dog look, the one she had used often on her father. But the truth was Emily was pretty nervous. She had never kissed a guy before. Yet she had also never felt this way about anyone either.

  Alexander’s eyes softened and then his cheeks and lips followed.

  Emily could sense his surrender. She slowly inched up on her toes so that she was close enough to his cheek. She had him and she knew it. Just then her cell phone rang and they both jumped at the abrupt interruption.

  Alexander seized the opportunity to back away as Emily reached into her pocket for the phone. She had to answer it, simply because she knew exactly who was calling. She had forgotten to let her father know she had arrived safely and was sure it would be his panicked voice on the other end of the line.

  “Hi Daddy… Yeah I’m fine, I just forgot to call. I’m really sorry…really. I’m just great, no worries, okay?” Emily paused in her conversation and listened to her father ramble a bit about how worried he was. When he had gotten it all out, they moved on. “It is raining here but I think it’s going to turn to snow any minute…..Oh, no actually I didn’t listen to the radio on the way up. I wasn’t aware they were forecasting that much snow.” Emily glanced toward Alexander with a baffled expression.

  “I think I would rather stay here for the night too. You know me; I’m not a fan of driving in the snow….No I don’t think you should come up here. I don’t like the idea of you driving in the storm either; besides it’s not necessary. I’ll be fine, I’m actually feeling loads better. This trip was just what I needed…. Yeah, I will….Daddy I will. You act like I’ve never been up here alone before. I’ll be perfectly safe, guaranteed.” Emily winked at Alexander.

  Emily listened to her father for another minute and then closed the conversation. “Yeah, I’ll probably head back sometime tomorrow whenever the snow stops and the roads have been plowed…I’ll call in the morning and give you an update okay? Alright, I love you too…Bye, Dad.”

  Emily placed the phone back in her pocket.

  Alexander raised his eyebrows in a questioning glance. “So, the storm is supposed to be that bad?”

  “I guess so,” Emily responded, she hadn’t even thought to look at the forecast before coming out here. That was usually something she made a point to do.

  “What, no chaperone then?” Alexander joked.

  “I’m afraid not.” Emily could sense that he was somewhat concerned despite his attempt to make light of the situation. Emily was a little concerned as well. She hadn’t planned on isolating the two of them out here over night. But she trusted herself, and she trusted Alexander, they didn’t have an option not to; at least not in Emily’s mind. “That does change things a bit doesn’t it? But it’s not like my dad knew you were there last night.”

  “Yeah but you weren’t trying to kiss me last night!” Alexander playfully retorted.

  “Oh come on, I’m not that scary. And I’m not sure why you are so surprised.” Emily deepened her voice with a heavy mocking tone. “Come now, Alexander, you seem to be blissfully unaware of all your amazing qualities. You have to be one of the most humble Guardians I know.”

  Alexander recognized his own words and had to laugh at Emily’s imitation of him. “I’m the only Guardian you know.”

  “You bring up a good point. Do you suppose I’ll ever get to meet another Guardian, or is that a no-no as well?” Emily joked.

  “The only one I can think of that you might want to meet, and that I know wants to meet you, is Xavier.”

  “Who’s Xavier?”

  “He’s my best friend, my Brother, and for whatever crazy reason unknown to me, he is your father’s Guardian.” Alexander shrugged his shoulders.

  “My father’s Guardian? I guess I totally forgot about him in all this. Of course he would have one as well. Are the two of you often assigned to the same families?”

  “No, actually this is the first occasion. That’s why I said it was crazy. Of all the times to have assignments to members of the same family, it happens to be now. He was assigned to your father about five years ago. We usually have an entire family to
look after ourselves but we each only have one person at this point. It has been great to have him around, and I didn’t really question why until these past few weeks. Now his presence seems less coincidental to me.”

  “Well I definitely want to meet him. That would be awesome!” Emily exclaimed.

  “I may be able to arrange a meeting.”

  Right then Emily’s stomach gave a growl. Just like the one earlier in the day when they had stopped at the café.

  “You never ended up eating anything, did you?” Alexander questioned.

  “I suppose I forgot.” Emily looked down at the ground, cursing her human needs. They certainly stood out with her present company.

  Alexander grabbed her hand. “Well, let’s go see about getting you fed.”

  In one swift motion he led her up the two steps from the dropped living room and into the adjacent open dining room. He pulled out a chair for her and then gently guided it in as she sat.

  “What can I get for you?” Alexander asked as if he was her waiter.

  Emily went along with the scenario. His playfulness was always so contagious. “I’m not sure, seeing how there isn’t much besides some canned food and stale cereal in the house.”

  “Where is that sandwich you ordered from the café?” Alexander asked as he glanced over the breakfast bar and into the kitchen.

  Emily had to think for a moment, her memory was foggy and she couldn’t remember putting the box anywhere.

  “I think I left it in the car,” Emily said, not quite sure of her response.

  “Okay, wait here and I’ll check.”

  In the blink of an eye Alexander was gone from her sight. She lost focus and immediately her eyes began searching the area where he had been. Before Emily could even give the room a full sweep she heard the front door open and turned to see Alexander walking through with the white sandwich box.

  He walked around to the kitchen, straight to the cabinet where the plates were kept. He pulled one out and placed the sandwich neatly on it, and then grabbed a glass and filled it up with water from the tap. He moved as though he knew exactly where everything was. Emily realized that he did know where everything was. Every time she was here he must have been as well.

  Alexander made his way to the table and set the plate down in front of her. She sat in silence with a look of disbelief on her face.

  “How did you do that?” she interrogated.

  “I’ve been around long enough to know where things are in this place,” Alexander said in a tone that emphasized that it was no big surprise.

  “No, not that, the whole whoosh thing, the… What was that like… the teleporting thing? You were here one second and then the next you were walking through the front door.” Emily gestured at the door, still a bit flustered.

  Alexander pursed his lips a bit and scrunched his eyebrows in thought. He began to talk quietly, almost to himself. “Hmm, I’ve never thought of it as teleporting, but I guess that would be a good description.”

  “Alexander.” Emily waved her hand in his line of sight trying to break his concentration. “ Hellooo, explain please.”

  Alexander snapped out of his thoughts. “Oh yes, I keep forgetting how new all this is for you. I guess you could say it’s like teleporting. When I’m in my other state I’m not held to the restrictions and laws that govern solid matter. So, I have the ability to move quickly, like at the speed of light, I guess. I never gave it much thought because it’s just a part of who I am. A necessity really.” Alexander shrugged.

  “Why would that be a necessity?”

  “If I’m at home, in the Guardian Realm, or visiting some museum in Italy and I receive a vision that you need my help, I need to be able to get to you as fast as possible. Walking or running just isn’t an option in most circumstances.”

  “So you can just visit Italy whenever you want?” She wondered how much more would continue to surface about Alexander, if there would ever be an end to all his abilities.

  “I can, or wherever else I wish to go. It’s a perk that comes with the job.”

  “I wish you could take me. That would be amazing,” Emily said as she gave in to daydreaming about all the places around the world she would love to see.

  “I wish I could, too. Places like Paris and Rome would have a whole new meaning for me if you were there.” Alexander’s eyes danced with the thought of having Emily with him in all those places he had spent centuries walking alone.

  “I don’t see why we can’t go someday. Of course, it would take longer because we would have to go by plane. That is as long as you don’t mind a human like me slowing you down,” Emily teased.

  Alexander sat down in the chair next to her. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” His eyes burned with an intensity that Emily had not seen before.

  Emily felt frozen as Alexander used the back of his hand to stroke her cheek, leaning in closer as he did so. His huge hand then opened and slid to the back of her neck and gently cupped the base of her head letting her hair weave through his open fingers.

  There was no way to hear any sound other than her pounding heart. It thumped so loudly that every beat echoed in her ears. Alexander leaned in close enough that Emily could now feel his hot breath on her lips. He paused there for a moment, giving his actions one last thought and then slowly let his lips touch hers.

  Emily could feel the overwhelming heat of his skin as he pressed his lips tighter to hers. Her lips parted slightly as he pulled back and then kissed her again. She was trying to concentrate on how she felt, if there was anything different, any shiver or unusual feeling running though her body.

  It didn’t take long for Emily give up trying though. She didn’t care. Instead, she closed her eyes letting herself enjoy the sweet sensation of Alexander’s contact. There was a new awareness she could feel course through her veins, telling her it was okay to kiss him. She knew now, more than ever, that they were supposed to be together. They were perfect for one another, and nothing on this earth would keep them apart.

  Chapter 9

  * * *

  Sound the Alarm

  It was Thursday morning and Emily gave a long stretch as she slowly opened her eyes. It was bright in the room and she wondered how long she had slept. She felt around, touching the sheets that surrounded her and realized she was in one of the beds at her family’s vacation home.

  Emily thought back to the previous night, trying to recall where she had fallen asleep. After she had eaten, Alexander had built a much stronger fire and they had cuddled on the couch as they watched old, classic movies. Emily had enjoyed Alexander’s commentary during the films. He always kept her laughing. He never hesitated to say, “That’s not how it really was back then.”

  Remembering now that she had fallen asleep on the couch, she figured Alexander must have carried her to bed. Sitting up, she gave another stretch and gazed out the window. Fresh powder, about eight inches high covered the ground. It was beautiful; Emily felt like she was in the middle of a dream. The past three days all seemed like some crazy hallucination, one she did not want to wake up from.

  When she finally kicked her feet over the side of the large brass bed frame she found her slippers were waiting neatly on the floor. She slipped her feet into them and stood up, giving one more good stretch. She then noticed her robe draped over the rocking chair near the bed.

  “He has thought of everything hasn’t he? I don’t know how I came to deserve such treatment. He is absolutely amazing.”

  Emily slid her arms through the terry cloth robe.

  Making her way out of the bedroom, she could hear the pop and crackle of a roaring fire. When she stepped down into the living room she saw Alexander sitting on the hearth of the fireplace, leaning on his knees and reading a book.

  As soon as he heard her he closed the pages that no longer had his attention and stood up. It only took a few long strides for Alexander to reach her side.

  “Ahh Sleeping Beauty is finally awake,” he softl
y exclaimed as he put both hands on either side of her face and leaned in to give her a kiss. “Good morning.”

  Emily suddenly felt self- conscious and immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

  “This is the wrong time of the day to be close. I’m sure I have horrible morning breath.”

  She took a step back and lowered her hand, trying to smile. “Uh, what time is it?”

  Alexander snickered. “About nine-thirty. You slept for a while.”

  “Wow, I guess I did.” Emily rubbed her head. She could feel the bumps and knots that had formed in her hair overnight and she was beginning to wonder if having Alexander around nonstop was such a good idea.

  “I must look like a hideous mess!”

  “You look beautiful as always,” Alexander commented, as though he could read her mind. “Come to the kitchen. I have hot water ready for cocoa.” He clasped her hand in his and led her to the breakfast bar attached to the kitchen counter. After she was seated he grabbed the teapot off the stove and poured water into a mug he had readied.