Read Online Tempted by Elise Marion - Free Book Online

priorities.”
    “ Not one for vanity, huh? So is that why you choose to look the way you do? I mean, I’m assuming angels are in control of their human appearance.”
    “ There is nothing wrong with the way I look,” she said, her voice raising an octave. If Jackson didn’t know better, he could have sworn he heard impatience edging her voice. It was the first time he’d heard her speak higher than a near-whisper. “Besides, I have more important things to worry about.”
    “ Look, I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said earnestly. “It’s just that I’ve seen the way you really look.”
    He stopped on the sidewalk and gripped her arm gently. She turned and stared up at him.
    “ It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen,” he continued. “I just don’t understand why you would trap all of that behind a plain face and a curtain of mousy hair.”
    Her hand came up to stroke a lock of the waist-length hair. Her eyes lowered, and he could tell he had hurt her feelings...the few feelings she had anyway.
    “ Damn it,” he said, running one hand over his hair with a sigh. “Listen, I’m not very good at this,” he said. “Being in Iraq destroyed all of my social skills and now I just pretty much say what’s on my mind without thinking. I didn’t mean to upset you. Besides, I thought you weren’t vain.”
    That last statement had the corners of her mouth turning up and Jackson felt relief flood him. They continued on down the sidewalk, nearing his apartment.
    “ Enough about me,” she said as they walked. “We’re supposed to be talking about you.”
    Jackson nodded slowly, the sick feeling of nervousness working its way through his gut. He liked it better when they were talking about her.
    “ Why are you stalking your ex-wife?”
    “ I am not stalking her,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m stalking my son.”
    They came to a stop in front of his apartment and she turned to face him silently. When it became clear that she was waiting for an explanation, Jackson continued grudgingly.
    “ Rochelle left me,” he said, his voice wavering with anger as old feelings washed over him. The pain was similar to a bandage being ripped away from a festering wound. “She quit on me when I needed her and she has made it clear she wants nothing more to do with me. I can’t really say that I blame her, either. I’m a goddamn mess! I’m so messed up that I can’t even be a decent father to my son!”
    Jackson knew he was yelling, that he was unloading his anger and his hurt on Sarah, but he couldn’t stop himself. It just felt so good to finally get it out; it didn’t matter that he barely knew Sarah. Something about her just made him open up…maybe it had something to do with her divine nature.
    “ I am no good for anybody,” he said, his voice lowering and his shoulders slumping. “I can barely get out of bed in the morning. I can’t sleep without at least half a bottle of liquor in me, and when I do sleep I see the faces of people that died because of my bad decisions. I can’t be a good husband or a good father. I can’t date, and I can’t have a love life, because I’m so damn broken that anyone who comes near me is in danger of sinking like they’re standing on quicksand. No one deserves to be pulled down into my muck, and that’s why I closet myself away in my apartment, and that’s why I would seriously consider running if I were you. Put as much distance between me and you as possible, and don’t look back.”
    “ You have a really low opinion of yourself.”
    He folded his arms across his chest defensively. “If you knew how many lives I destroyed, you would too.”
     
     
     
     
     
    Sarah stared at her reflection in the mirror, her fingers running through the heavy, dull curtain that was her hair. She didn’t usually spend a lot of time looking in mirrors; when on earth she had better things to do and more important things to worry about.
    But, as much as