Earthbound Angels Part 1: The Heartthrob Fallen Celestial Stories Collection (18 page)

This is going to be amazing, Devon thought. Dan
would have loved it. No, I'm not going to think about him right
now. It's only going to make me sad and I can't afford to get
depressed right now. She went into her sunny kitchen and grabbed a
diet soda from the refrigerator. Stocking the refrigerator had been
something she had had the foresight to do. She would get her bed
set up and at least be able to eat something in her own home
tonight.

Just as she popped the top on the soda, her
phone rang. Startled, she nearly spit out her swallow of diet coke.
It had to be a wrong number, she thought as she went back into the
living room to answer the phone. Picking up the phone, she said a
cautious but cheery "Hello." At first, no one said anything.

"Hi, is anyone there?" Devon said.

"Hi," a deep male voice said. "I guess I must
have the wrong number. I was trying to get in touch with Dan, but
you're obviously not him."

"Dan?" A little unpleasant shock ran through
Devon's body. "How do you know Dan?" "Hey, I'm really sorry for
bothering you."

Before she could say anything else, her caller
had hung up. She checked the caller ID and saw Unknown Number
registered there. How odd, she thought. There wasn't enough time
left to dwell on it, though, because at that moment, the movers
pulled up. She was distracted for the next couple of hours with
supervising the unloading of her furniture and boxes of things.

As she had promised herself, Devon got her bed
set up and a path cleared so that she could eat a simple dinner in
her very own kitchen. She nibbled on a salad and an avocado and
bacon sandwich when she remembered the odd phone call from earlier.
That really had to be a coincidence, she thought. It did make her
miss Dan even more than ever. That feeling was especially bad at
night. She tended to remember the way he used to make her body
absolutely sing with pleasure. No man had ever been able to do that
for her before or since. In fact, Devon was pretty much afraid that
she would never meet another man that would do that to her.

Suddenly, she realized just how tired she was.
She got up and changed into her pajama pants and spaghetti strap
t-shirt. Washing her face and brushing her teeth completed the
bedtime ritual for tonight. She slipped into her bed and turned out
the lamp on her nightstand. Just as she was dozing off, her
telephone started to ring. Fortunately, she had an extension
sitting on her nightstand so all she had to do was reach over and
pick it up.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi, is Dan there?" came the same male voice
from earlier.

"It's you again," Devon said accusatorially.
"Who is this and what do you want?" "Oops, I've got a wrong number
again! So sorry!" And with that, the connection was broken.

Dammit! Now, Devon would never be able to get to
sleep. What the hell was going on? Was someone trying to play some
sort of joke on her? If so, it was a very cruel one and she didn't
appreciate it. Dan was gone and he wasn't ever going to come back.
She had only recently begun to accept that and now, some asshole
was trying to rattle her cage. Of course, she could be crazy. It
could just be that it was an honest mistake. Dan was a pretty
common name, after all.

Common, however, was the last word that would
ever have described her Dan. Laying back onto her pillow, she could
see his tousled black hair, high cheekbones, blue green eyes and
sexy sideways smile. God, how she missed him! No one was ever going
to take his place and she knew it. Her body still missed him every
night. Even right now, when she was tired and hot, her body wanted
Dan to be touching her, kissing her, and making love to her.
Finally, she turned over on her side and went to sleep with a
single tear sliding down her cheek.

"Wake up, sweetheart. Devon, open your eyes
and look at me."

"Mmm but it's so wonderful to lay here like this
with you, Dan. Do we really have to get up now?"

"Yes, darling. I would love nothing more than to
hold you in my arms all day, but now isn't the time. There's
something I must tell you and it's important that you pay
attention."

"Of course, Dan, I'm listening. What is it?"

"You need to be careful. I can't protect you
from where I am but you need to know that you're in danger."

"Danger? Who on earth wants to hurt me?"

"Shhh, don't speak. I'll tell you
everything."

There was a ringing sound in Devon's ears
suddenly. She was trying so hard to hold Dan's face in her mind but
he was fading very quickly. The ringing became louder and more
insistent. Devon's eyes flew open. She realized that the telephone
was ringing on her nightstand. The sun was shining brightly and
streaming through the partially opened curtains. Her bedside clock
read 8:35 AM. Who the hell could be calling her at this hour?
Reaching over, she lifted the phone and mumbled into it.

"Good morning, is Dan there, please?"

This again! She didn't even bother trying to
carry on a conversation. Simply disconnecting the call would have
to do. Devon didn't have the time, patience or energy for this.
However, she was awake now and had a full day ahead of her. A
shower sounded great to her at that moment so she got out of bed
and padded into the bathroom.

Minutes later, she was stripped and standing
under the refreshing spray of water. Picking up the tube of shower
gel, she squirted some into her hand and started to move her soapy
hands over her body. As she passed over her full breasts, the
unexpected stimulation caused her to emit a gasp. She had lost
count of how long it had been since she had experienced any sort of
sexual pleasure. Her toys had even been neglected because she just
hadn't felt the need for them. Now, however, as she absently
lightly pinched her nipples, she felt a jolt of sexual electricity
move through her body.

Closing her eyes, she continued to tease her
nipples until the ache had moved directly to her clit. Without
seeming to be aware of her actions, Devon slid one hand down over
her stomach to her nether region. With a single minded motion, she
parted the folds that revealed her clit that stood out like a tiny
erect cock. Stroking it only brought her a more exquisite and
torturous need for release. As she continued, that special
sensation started to creep over her before slamming into her
violently. Devon cried out as she rode her hand, moving the other
one down so that she could slip two fingers deep inside of her
soaking and spasming pussy. Just as she was coming down from that
orgasm, she felt it rising inside her again. Before she returned to
herself, Devon had reached a total of four intense orgasms. Now,
she was weak and her legs were barely holding her up. Giving into
the afterglow of the moment, she slid down the shower walls and sat
under the cascading water.

Well, she thought. I suppose that was
inevitable. After all, I'm still young and healthy, and it has been
quite a while since I allowed myself to have any physical pleasure.
Dan wouldn't want me to deny myself. This is probably good for me
and will help me clear my mind because I really need to think about
that very odd dream I was having before the phone rang.

Devon finished showering and dressed in faded
jeans and a spaghetti strap tank top. It was going to be rather
warm today while she and Janina worked in the shop. That reminded
her that she needed to be sure that the air conditioning was turned
on. Otherwise, they were going to be sweating all over the books.
After putting a on a pot of French Vanilla coffee, she toasted a
bagel and covered it in cream cheese. This was, sometimes, her
favorite part of the day. It had always been so very special for
Dan and her.

Thinking of Dan brought the memory of her dream
back to her. There was something that he had wanted to tell her.
That part of the dream she remembered very clearly. It was
something about her being in danger and he wasn't going to be able
to protect her. Dreams can be very strange events. She did remember
how real it felt, though. She could still see Dan's beautiful blue
green eyes gazing into her big brown ones. I really didn't want to
wake up, she thought. Maybe I should read on it later.

Of course, now it was time to get to work. She
had a new life here in Crystal Cove and she wanted to be sure that
it got off to a great start. Carrying her coffee downstairs, she
entered the box filled shop. Just as she walked into the main part
of the shop, Janina knocked on the window at the door and waved at
her. Hiring her is one the best decisions I've made, Devon thought,
smiling and waving back. She went over and unlocked the door to let
Janina inside.

"Hi there, you're right on time!" exclaimed
Devon. "Would you like some coffee? I made some just before coming
downstairs." "Oh that sounds great! But don't worry; I'll go up and
get a cup myself."

"Ok, but be careful. Everything is still sort of
a disaster area." Janina's long, toned legs quickly jogged up the
stairs that led to Devon's apartment. She was back in no time
holding a large mug of coffee. The two women discussed where they
needed to focus first and got started with the unpacking and
arranging. Time flew by and they didn't stop until it was nearly
2:30 PM. They had started making quite a dent in the work that
needed to be done.

"Ok, let's take a break," Devon announced. "I'm
actually hungry and pretty thirsty. I can't believe you didn't say
anything!"

"Not me," laughed Janina. "I didn't even notice
how much time went by."

"Let's go upstairs and dig around in my fridge
for lunch. Then, we'll work a little longer."

As they got to the stop of the stairs, they
could hear Devon's landline ringing. She opened the door quickly
and ran inside, grabbing the phone in mid-ring. With a breathless
"Hello," Devon listened to the silence on the other end of the
phone. Repeating herself, she listened intently to see if there was
really anyone on the other end of the line.

"Yes, hello, is Dan available?"

"You again. Look, how many times do you need to
call this number to understand that it's a wrong number? There is
no Dan here, as I've told you every other time you have called
here!"

"Oh, so sorry to have troubled you."

Devon slammed the phone back on the table with a
curse. Janina looked at her quizzically. She supposed she should
give Janina an explanation. So she told her about this man that
kept calling and asking for Dan.

"Dan? But isn't that the name of..?" "Yes, it
is." Devon answered curtly.

"Ah, well I can see why you would be so upset.
But, you know, it's probably just a really awful coincidence. Try
not to let it get to you. It's a new number so give it a little
time. You're probably going to have a few other wrong numbers
before it levels off."

"Yes, I know, you're probably right. Come on,
let's raid the fridge. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for
some food and something to drink!"

That night, Devon decided to go out for
dinner and just relax. She asked Janina to go with her to Bon
Appetit, a great little restaurant just down the street from the
book shop. It was quiet and the food was excellent. She felt it was
just the place to unwind after her busy day. Besides, they had
accomplished quite a lot that day.

As Devon and Janina chatted over two plates of
shrimp pasta, salad, fresh baked bread and some great wine, Devon
felt herself starting to relax for the first time in weeks. They
were chatting about the shop and what they planned to accomplish
the next day. At the end of the meal, they decided they wanted some
of the restaurant's bread pudding for dessert.

Devon stretched back in her chair as she
surveyed the ruins of their meal. Patting her stomach, she
groaned.

"I'm so full I can barely move," she said.

Janina was laughing at her, but she was also
moving pretty slowly.

"Hey, I doubt that you've eaten a decent meal
during this entire move. It's good for you!"

"Yeah, good for me but not my budget when I have
to replace my entire wardrobe with larger clothes!"

"Oh stop! You can stand to gain a pound or
two."

The women were still laughing together when
Devon suddenly looked over to the window of the restaurant. She saw
a man standing there just in the shadows and out of the street
light. It seemed as if he was looking in at them. As she watched,
he moved from the shadows into the light just long enough for her
to see his face.

"Oh my god!" she gasped. Leaping up from her
chair, she took off for the door of the restaurant. By the time she
had yanked the door open, the man was gone. She went outside and
looked up and down the street but there was no sign of the man.
Janina appeared at the door as Devon stood on the street
corner.

"Hey, what's going on?" Janina called.

"Nothing," Devon said. "I just thought I saw
someone I knew."

She went back inside the restaurant to find the
manager eyeing her warily. Oh my god, she thought. He probably
thought she was skipping out on the bill. To put his mind at ease,
she quickly paid for both meals plus a generous tip and they
left.

"Ok, now tell me the truth," Janina demanded.
"What did you really see?" "I did tell you the truth," Devon
replied. "There was a man standing outside the window and he was
watching us. I'm sure of it. Then, he stepped briefly into the
light and I saw his face. Janina, it was Dan!"

Janina watched her for a several minutes before
replying. She wanted to be very careful of the next words she
chose.

"Dev, you've been through more than anyone
should have to. I understand that and I know that you've been
trying your best to move past it. It's no wonder that you see guys
sometimes that remind you of Dan." "This man did not remind me of
Dan! He looked exactly like Dan! I did not imagine it! I saw
him!"