“I DARE you to leave again” Andrea shouted at her husband Michael in yet another one of their heated exchanges.
She dared him only because she could see in his eyes that he was already committed to another place. Although she was terrified of losing him, Andrea knew she had to let him go. She could not so easily forgive him this time. If she allowed him to stay, it would only be because her health depended on it and nothing more.
Andrea could not live with that fact, so she dared him to make her decision easier. His words were telling her one story but his actions spun a very different tale and Andrea had reached her final limit. There was no point in trying to salvage that which was permanently broken and the voice that once encouraged her to give Michael another chance was now telling her it was time to let him go.
The frequency of their fights had increased over the last few months. It was getting to the point where Andrea felt that all they ever did was argue and this time he was threatening to repeat his actions from nearly ten years ago. Andrea could never forget their first fight that quite resembled this one. She was young then, just about twenty and barely a woman. Michael had swept her off her feet in High School and being the loyal person that she was, she stayed committed to him until they graduated.
Her graduation gift was totally unexpected and Michael was barely able to get down on his knees fully before she snatched the ring box out of his hand and squealed a triumphant ‘yes’. Andrea naively thought that Michael was as loyal as she was. She could never have imagined that after two years of an immature marriage that he would so easily break the vows that he took, but he did and with a woman fifteen years her senior. Heartbroken and disgusted, she did her best to cope with the sickening fact.
It was a betrayal that tore the tapestry of trust she had in him and even though she did her best to forgive and move on, she realized that the tear could never truly be mended. He had walked out on her then to go clear his mind. Somehow even though he was in the wrong he had managed to make Andrea feel responsible for what he did. He came back a few months later and Andrea took him in again. It was her pride then that made her forgive his indiscretion.
Andrea could never forget those few weeks that he left her alone and the strange solace she found in it. She did not feel alone, in fact she felt as though someone was right there with her; someone who understood her more deeply than Michael ever could. This deep masculine angelic voice would speak to her heart and she obeyed every word. There were times when she could have sworn that she had seen this person. He was everywhere that she was. She dreamt of him until her desire to know if he truly existed became an obsession. She had thought of him so much that once she could have sworn he was standing behind her when she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She had been sobbing again, questioning herself and wondering what she could have done wrong to cause Michael to seek comfort in the arms of another woman. As she sobbed she heard his words as clearly as if he had placed his lips very close to her ear and spoke. He whispered in her ear that it wasn’t her fault and that he would help her through this difficult time. The voice, the tone, was so real that she spun around to catch the brief image of a man she was sure that her mind had created.
Her heart was pounding anxiously thinking that the man she had conjured in her mind was real. She caught a glimpse that only offered his silhouette clothed in beaming white. Andrea wasn’t very religious and the thought that this image could be anything other than a ghost she had created on her own, never crossed her mind. In fact Andrea was convinced that her grief was just making her delusional. At least that is what she told herself to not feel that she had completely lost her mind.
That same night as she sat crying in her bath contemplating filing for a divorce and having to listen to her father gloat about being right, the voice spoke to her again, encouraging her to give her marriage a chance. She was still very young, in fact both of them were and there was still room left to grow. Andrea never forgot that moment and now that Michael was threatening to leave again or rather she was telling him to, she felt a sweeping sense of relief that if he chose to walk out of the door, she would be comforted.
Andrea did not wait for him to say the words this time. She was the one giving him an ultimatum. If he chose to leave her again, she wasn’t going to take him back. Even though she did not have his full confession like the last time, Andrea had a sense that his recent withdrawal and quickness to pick fights with her for the littlest things was enough of a sign to suspect that he had found another seat to rest in. It was the same kind of behavior she had experienced when she was twenty and now that she was thirty-one, she did not need to have it spelled out for her.
Michael had cheated on her again and she did not care to know the name or see an image of the woman he chose to betray her with this time. She did not care that if he walked out and they got a divorce, her father would revel in the opportunity to rub her nose in the fact that he had warned her of this before she got married.
Andrea’s father never liked Michael, he called him ‘flighty’ and the more she tried to prove him wrong the more she was succeeding in making herself an even bigger fool. Andrea felt a strength that she had never felt before consuming her as she gave Michael her ultimatum. In her heart she knew that even if he gave in and chose to stay she would still tell him to leave. She could not be with him again -not this time, knowing what he chose not to confess.
The same voice that spoke to her years ago was in her head right now and he kept her grounded. It was her anchor and even though she wanted to shake with rage, it kept her still. She had to be still and not let her emotions get the better of her. Michael was beginning to break down. He was rethinking his position and not for the reasons she had hoped.
He wanted to stay not because he loved her and regretted what he did but because it was easier. Andrea felt as though she was in his mind and she saw the bolts turning over the thought of divorcing her and having to depart from the life her father’s fortune afforded him. She did not possess the power to read minds but she felt that the force possessing her at the moment did and he was showing her the truth. The same truth she knew deep down but chose to ignore because the first time she heard it was from the lips of her father.
“Andrea calm down” Michael offered.
His silver eyes were already filled with tears as though her words had truly struck a chord in his heart. Michael was a master at the dramatics. He could conjure tears at the drop of a hat. It was because of the years he spent in theatre which he loved a lot more than her. That was how she met him in the first place.
She was cast to play Juliet in the school play and he was of course Romeo. She was a terrible Juliet but his heart-warming performance sold her. Ironically now it did nothing but infuriate her. It was as if he was mocking her and she had to agree with the voice that was telling her she was worth more than this.
“I don’t want to hear your excuses Michael. I have had it. You can’t even say it…can you?” She retorted.
She was referring to the affair that she knew he was having. Michael tried to play it down.
“You haven’t been yourself lately. I don’t feel as though you love me anymore” he offered, trying turn things around like he always did.
Michael never liked taking responsibility for anything. In fact Andrea believed that the only responsible thing that he ever did in his life was marrying her and with the way that turned out she had very little hope that he would take the full blame for his most recent transgression.
“Don’t put this on me Michael. It’s not going to work this time. I was going to give you a chance but now that you have made it clear how little you think of me, I just want you gone.” She said with conviction.
Andrea meant every word. She was completely done with him. The past eleven years had been torture for her because she was sharing a bed with a man she did not trust. The only thing that made her existence easier were the dreams she comforted herself with. Andrea dreamt
of Gabriel, she gave him a face to match his voice and a body so that he could embrace her when she needed it.
Michael gave her a defeated look before leaving the house for the last time. As the door shut, Andrea broke down because the entire time that they were fighting she was holding her breath. His departure gave her the chance to exhale and she completely poured all the hurting out.
***
GABRIEL knew he was taking a huge risk getting so involved with the human that he was on an assignment to watch over but that did not stop him from staying as close to her as his powers allowed. He ignored his orders to stay out of her personal affairs and steer her out of the dangerous paths that could end her life prematurely and did exactly what he was forbidden to do.
Gabriel was no ordinary guardian Angel. Unlike his other brothers on assignment, Gabriel was given the gift of experiencing emotion. His gift allowed him to empathize with humans far better than any other angel because he felt the same emotions they did. Gabriel always had a fascination with humans because they were the most loved creatures in all of creation. Even if they did not believe in God or the supernatural realm, all humans were under the protection of God.
Each had their own guardian assigned to look after them until their numbers were called. The angel assigned at birth would usually be relieved whenever the human reached the age of maturity and a new angel would take up the task. Guardian Angels were always behind the gut feelings that humans get. They are the inner voices that help them make the right decisions. Andrea Lark was Gabriel’s first assignment and already his involvement with her was threatening to have him reassigned.
He was more than just her inner voice. He was breaking all the rules because her happiness was more important to him than his assignment. Not all angels were ready for this kind of duty, especially the ones capable of emotion and Gabriel was proving himself an unworthy guide.
The truth is from the first time Gabriel laid his eyes on Andrea his emotions stirred in a way that he was not prepared for. She had just turned eighteen and her childhood guardian had been relieved of his duty. Gabriel was very new to the task he had desired for quite some time but he was eager to do well. At first he watched her, admired even the beauty that she possessed. She was unlike any other human.
It was her heart that captured him most – the purest he had ever seen, almost as pure as his. Impossible, he thought that a human that wasn’t a devout believer in God could still have such goodness in them. Andrea had managed to hold on to her virtue all through high school and even though she loved Michael, she wasn’t foolish enough to throw away her most precious possession without his commitment to her. Gabriel was instantly impressed with her reserve. Andrea had a will that prevented her from being easily influenced by the masses and she listened to her heart.
That wonderful heart of hers was teeming with passion and the instant Gabriel felt it he was gone. It wasn’t her violet eyes that were more enchanting than the constellations, long slender legs painted with a silky cream glow or her narrow waist and curvy hips that caught him because Angels only saw inner beauty. Gabriel fell for the one thing inside her that he was forbidden to enter and that was her heart. There was a flame burning brightly in her heart, enticing him and all he wanted to do was capture it. He wanted that flame to burn for him even though in his form he would never be able to satisfy her if it ever did.
Gabriel watched Andrea for two years allowing his desire to fester in him like a plague until it consumed him. It took over his heart like wild ivy on a wall left unattended. He wanted desperately to reach out and hold her when she was sad and to be her comfort but his form did not allow such contact. As an Angel, Gabriel was painfully bound to his covenant with God and he could never succumb to the lure of human flesh. Gabriel’s first infraction happened when Michael cheated.
Andrea was broken and all Gabriel wanted to do was mend her heart. That passion and flame inside her was dying and he could not stop himself from doing what he did. He broke his vow to stay out of her personal affairs and spoke to the only thing she listened to. His intentions were noble then because he wanted her to be as happy as she was before she found out what Michael had done. He encouraged her to give him another chance because he thought that was what she needed. Andrea’s obedience gave him a new source of power that transformed him. The more she listened to him, the more whole he became.
He was able to transcend the borders that he had been forced to stay behind and become visible to her. But this power was new to him and he could not hold onto the form long enough for Andrea to see him in all his glory. It did not take long for his infraction to be reported to the creator and he was chastised for breaking his vow. He was given a warning that if he ever broke the vow again, he would be reassigned or even worse, cast out of heaven and exiled to earth, to live as a human without the protection of an Angel.
It was a fate that all angels feared including Gabriel. I heaven there was no death and his days were not numbered like humans. Gabriel was terrified of the consequences of his actions and he repented. For this act he was spared the punishment of having his mind purged and emotions stripped.
It was all going well until Michael chose to hurt Andrea again. Gabriel had tried his best to stay out of her marriage and it was pure agony because there were so many times that she needed him and he could not be there for her in the way he wanted to. Andrea’s health had taken a turn for the worst following a spell of pneumonia that she suffered a few years after the major fight she had with Michael.
It made her weak and Gabriel was always wary. Just like her, he did not know when her number would be called, all he was trusted with was the task of keeping her alive until that time and he would know it only seconds before she passed. In those fleeting seconds, she would be given the opportunity to repent and accept his creator to enter into heaven. This time around that Michael betrayed her, he could not tell her to give him another chance because his presence in her life was robbing her of the chance to live and she did not know it. In fact, Andrea believed that she needed Michael.
He had been very supportive of her during her health woes and she appreciated it. But Gabriel knew that her dependency on him was the very thing holding her back from making progress. Michael was like a wild vine choking the life out of her slowly. He had caused the fire in her heart to cool and her passion was almost gone.
Gabriel’s job was to protect her until her time came and if he wasn’t allowed to touch her the way he did the first time, she would surely succumb prematurely. He had to intervene this time even at the risk of losing his place in heaven and being cast down to earth to live as a human.
***
THE DOOR swung shot and Andrea staggered near the couch she stood in front of and eventually collapsed into its softness. She stretched her lean form to cover the length of the couch and kept her eyes on the ceiling to prevent the tears from bursting out of them. It failed to work and her cheeks were soaked in seconds.
Gabriel felt her pain and came swiftly to her side. He was allowed to soothe her, to keep her heart still and to prevent her from slipping into depression which would surely drain the last of her waning strength. But when Gabriel laid his eyes upon her it was as if he was struck behind the head and he lost all sense of what he was permitted to do.
He leaned over her confident that she could not see him and blew his angelic breath in her face. It was to replenish the strength she had lost. He swept his hand over her face and mimicked the caress of real hands. His fingers disappeared into her cheeks, reminding him that he was nothing but a ghost. He lowered his lips to her ear and whispered to her heart again.
“I’m here for you” he said.
Andrea sprang up as though she had been dealt an electric charge to her chest. Her breathing was quick and the heart he had spoken too was beating faster than ever. She clutched her breast and looked wildly around the room. She knew he was there, she felt him. He had returned to her again in her hour of need and she wanted to see him.
“Where are you?” she asked the still air around her.
She couldn’t be that insane to be visited by this familiar invisible ghost a second time and not see his face. She placed her fingertips on her temple and circled them. Gabriel was still. Even though he knew she could not view him unless he allowed it, he was afraid to move.
“I know you are here” she said, casting her gaze towards the mantle over the fireplace that held a few picture frames with images of a happier time.
Andrea refused to believe that she was crazy. His presence touched her and Gabriel could see the soft golden fibers on her skin becoming alert. Her eyes were filling up with tears again.
“You're just like him…you say you are here for me yet you refuse to show yourself. You would much rather have me believe I am mad” she cursed.
Gabriel’s heart was aching. His angelic heart that was never meant to feel so deeply for a human was in utter agony. He did not want her to think that at all. He was there and would always be there for her. Gabriel looked towards the heaven and pleaded with the creator to let him be free to comfort the creature he was assigned to protect. He knew the consequences of his request all too well but the pain of standing by, helpless to soothe her, was more than being stripped of his wings.
The Ultimate Erotic Short Story Collection 29 - Paranormal Edition: 11 Steamingly Hot Erotica Books for Women Page 17