Touched By Sin: A Dark Paranormal Romance (Sins of The Fallen Book 1)

“Show us your wings,” Freya says to Oliver after class, batting her wispy eyelashes. My attention is elsewhere as I stare longingly at the path that leads to the gates.

“Wow,” she gasps behind me, “they’re amazing!”

I walk away, my feet padding on the soft grass. Freya won’t notice I have left. Not when Oliver flexes his impressive wings. He’ll have the pick of the crop one day when it’s time to choose a wife. I wouldn’t say no, but he doesn’t excite me either. Unfortunately, there’s not much choice here in Eden unless you’re into blonde-haired boys with blue eyes that shimmer like the fish pond in my backyard.

I’ve never seen a dark-haired boy. They only exist in the fairytales we’re told around the campfire about dangerous boys with hellfire in their eyes and sin at the touch of their fingertips—the fallen angels, banished from the Garden of Eden.

It doesn’t take me long to reach the tall and majestic gates lined with white roses. They shimmer gold up ahead, the flowery fragrance tantalizing my senses as I near. Birds sing in the trees, and the breeze lifts my hair off my shoulders. I’m closer than ever. Close enough to be in serious trouble if anyone sees me.

I look behind me, but there’s no one around except a deer munching on the grass by the tree line. It flicks its ears as I reach my fingers out to trace the green leaf of a white rose. The petals shimmer like everything here in Heaven.

I draw in a breath and my hand retreats but soon moves back in to slide over the gate’s smooth surface. To my surprise, it creaks open enough to allow me to slip through. I hesitate for a brief moment. Will I find my way back if I leave? What if I get lost? What if Freya comes looking for me?

Before I can think it through, I sneak out. The air is different out here, denser somehow. It’s colder too, and shivers run down my back as I step further away from the gate. The dark, gaping forest, with trees that appear like demons with claws and fangs, draws me closer until I stand at the edge with my heart in my throat, barely daring to breathe. My arm brushes up against the scratchy branch of a tree as I debate turning back.

I don’t.

“Come closer,” the darkness whispers, reaching for me like tendrils in the night, long, crooked fingers tangling in my hair and pulling at my pale skin. I gasp and step back. My heart thunders in my chest, and I’m more alive than I’ve ever been. I should turn around and walk back to safety, but I step forward instead.

With one last glance behind me, I disappear into the shadows, my wings kept tucked close to my body. My cascading hair snags on the branches, and it’s not long before damp leaves and twigs stick to the tangled strands. It’s silent in here except for my racing heartbeat and the throb of it in my ears. It’s chilly, too. My breath is visible in the air and my skin swells with goosebumps. There’s no bird song, no deer munching on leaves, and no hares twitching their ears. It’s just me and the tall, spindly trees that reach for my limbs and tangle in my hair while whispering untold secrets.

I keep walking deeper into the forest, pulled forward by my own unsatiated curiosity. The woods whisper my name, welcoming me home. As though I were a visitor in Eden, and this is where I belong.

There’s a sudden sound to my left—a twig snapping—and I whirl around, stumbling back when three boys emerge from the shadows. Boys unlike anything I’ve seen before. Boys with hellfire in their dark eyes and sin at their fingertips.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” the tall boy to the right asks, cocking his head to the side and smiling cruelly.

The boy in the middle chuckles darkly. “Are you lost, little angel?”

My feet carry me backward until my spine connects with a tree. I try to move around it, but the boys are faster.

“Where are you going, pretty little thing?”

Dark hair, darker eyes, black wings. They’re fallen angels, the monsters from the fairytales of my youth.

“What’s an innocent little thing like you doing out here?” one of them asks as I back away. They circle me like predators circle prey. “You never know what monsters lurk in the shadows.”

I dart to the left, but one of the boys steps in front of me, causing me to stumble back against a hard chest. Big hands grip my pale arms. “You’re far away from home, little angel.”

I walked much farther than I intended to, and now I don’t know where I am or which way leads back to Eden.

“What shall we do with her?” the boy in front of me asks, and the one off to the side says, “I think we should keep her.”

“A souvenir,” the boy behind me agrees, his nose buried in my matted hair. He breathes me in.

“Let me go!” I hiss, my small tits jiggling as I fight his grip on me.

“Look at that.” The boy in front of me palms my breasts. “It’s true what they say. All true angels are naked.” His dark eyes collide with mine. “Inside those gates, do you really not realize you’re naked?”

His rough fingers have me fighting twice as hard. No boy has ever touched me before. Not like this. “Get your hands off me,” I snarl, surprising myself. I’ve never felt this unpleasant, aggravating emotion before. I’m not happy or content. I want to hurt him. I want to claw his face and draw blood.

Chuckling knowingly, he grabs my chin and inspects my face. “She’s pretty.”

“Are you surprised? She’s a true angel. They’re all supposed to be beautiful.” The boy standing to the side sounds bored.

“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never seen one before.”

The boy with the bored expression pushes off the tree he’s leaning against and drawls, “Let’s go already before they notice that she’s gone.”

“I can’t believe we’re stealing an angel,” the boy behind me says excitedly as he drags me away.

Digging my feet in, I lash out and strike him repeatedly. If they take me, I’ll never find my way back home. I’ll never see Freya again. “Let me go!”

I’m lifted up and carried fireman style. The boy is insanely strong, not breaking a sweat. I try to fight him but find myself face-to-face with the black wings on his back. I’ve never seen anything like it before. They’re so dark, and I can already tell that they’re big.

“Speechless?” one of the boys asks, eyeing me curiously. It’s dark in the forest, as if night fell while I was walking further away from safety. That can’t be right. It was only past lunchtime when I snuck out.

“You’ll regret this!” I hiss.

“I count on it.” He winks.

“It’s true,” the boy whose shoulder I’m on agrees. “Nothing good can come from stealing an angel.”

“Besides the pleasure of defiling her?” the bored-looking boy at the front asks. I can’t see him, but his deep voice sends shivers down my spine. The boy in front of me grins, flashing white teeth in the darkness. “Welcome to Hell, little angel.”