Angel's Halo: Guardian Angel Read Online Free PDF Page B

would be starting in the morning.
    I had to get out of that house, out of his bed, or I was going to go insane. It was torture to sleep next to him every damn night and to not beg him to touch me, kiss me. Anything that would take away this ache that seemed to have become a festering part of my soul. My heart was going to be nothing but a shriveled-up raisin in my chest if I didn’t put distance between us soon.
    The sound of an engine growling as it revved up had me lifting my head. When I saw the Chevelle parked close to the front of the restaurant and Hawk sitting behind the wheel, my heart stuttered in my chest before starting back at double its normal rate. I might not want to get into an argument with him but I was glad to see him.
    Damn him for making me love him a little more as he got out of the classic car and came around the front. I took a small step closer and he shot me that grin that never failed to make my legs turn to the consistency of a melting popsicle. Hawk opened the passenger door for me, winking down at me without saying a word as I got into the car.
    Damn me for wanting something so much even though I knew he would never see me as more than the girl he’d saved from being raped. He treated me like I was fragile, like I would break at the slightest gust of wind. But he had no clue that I was much stronger than anyone had ever given me credit for. The only thing that could really break me was now sitting beside me in the driver’s seat. And if I wasn’t careful he would not only break me, but shatter me into a billion pieces that would never fit back together.
    “How was your day, sweetheart?” he asked as he pulled out onto the highway and drove in the direction of the house. “Do your feet hurt?”
    “Not too badly,” I lied. If I told him the truth—that my feet not only hurt, but also that I was sure that I had a few blisters—it would just give him more ammunition in his attempts to convince me to quit.
    His brows lifted and he gave me a long, assessing look before turning his gaze back to the road. “What about your back? Carrying all those heavy dishes all day must have made it sore.”
    I shrugged, turning my own gaze out my window and gazing at the dimming sun in the distance. “It’s okay. Nothing that won’t get worked out in a few days. I just have to get used to it. I had fun though, and I got some really good tips. I can even pay Raven for groceries.”
    Hawk clenched his jaw, his hands tightening on the steering wheel as he drove on. He didn’t say another word until he pulled into the driveway at home. I started to reach for the door handle, ready to get up to our room and take a long hot shower and down a few Tylenol. Before I could get the door open, he grasped my hands and examined them.
    “What are you doing?” I demanded and winced when he rubbed his thumb over a sore spot. I realized I not only had blisters on my feet, but on my hands too. When had I gotten those?
    “Your hands are already starting to get beat up.” His voice was rough, his eyes dark. “They were so soft. I want them to stay that way, Gracie. I love how they rub over my chest when you cuddle against me at night. They feel like silk as they drift over my stomach and then lie over my heart all night long.”
    I pulled them back from him fast, feeling like he’d just punched me in the heart. “So if they are work-worn and callused you wouldn’t want me to touch you?” I asked in a voice that sounded brittle to my ears. I swallowed the hurt-filled lump of tears stuck in my throat and reached for the handle again. “Sorry, you won’t have to worry about it happening. I’ll make sure I don’t cuddle you in my sleep anymore. Wouldn’t want my beat-up hands disgusting you or anything. And since I’ve got a second job now, I won’t have to share your bed for more than a few more weeks at the most.”
    “Gracie, that’s not…” Whatever he was saying was cut off when I stepped out of the