Chapter 8 - Loyalty
Michael:
Stepping out of the shower, I run a towel through my hair and wrap another around my hips. I do not require much sleep, but there’s not much I can do, considering the Nagas are safely sleeping in their nests. I also thought it would be best for Valentina to sleep. She seemed stressed and exhausted, which can be dangerous to our mission.
I try not to think about her lips against my skin or how right it felt when she rested her head on my shoulder. It took all of my willpower not to pull her into my lap and kiss her. There’s just something about her that awakens a deep desire inside of me.
Unfortunately, this is another complication that I cannot afford to have because I already had a mate, and I should only feel this way about my mate. Frustrated, I toss my towel on the floor and sift my fingers through my hair. That’s another issue that I need to eventually face. I had a mate who I know nothing about, and now she’s dead.
“Merde!” I slide the towel from my waist, throw it on the distressed floor, then reach for my sleep sweats and roughly slide them on.
Leaning on the white marble counter, I look in my mirror and take a couple of deep, calming breaths. My chest rises and falls rapidly, and my angelic eyes are glowing like beacons.
Jaw tight, I assess my image. Though I have lived for many millennia, I look like a young man in his early twenties. My body is fit and muscular but not bulky, and I’m six and a half feet tall. I’ve fought many battles but have no scars due to my rapid angelic healing as a warrior. At least I have no scars that anyone can see.
My russet curls slide through my fingers, and my startling green eyes seem hollow as I appraise my appearance. True to my kind, I am physically attractive. However, I’ve only had a few intimate interactions with human females because they are much too fragile, and their life spans are too short for me to develop any feelings.
A knock on the door startles me from my musings. Moving to the room, I walk to the door and open it. Valentina’s beautiful eyes glow like golden gems from beneath the curtain of her thick hair, and her bare legs shift back and forth nervously. I have to gulp loudly when I see that she’s wearing the dark t - shirt I gave her. The shirt falls past her knees, but it doesn’t stop me from appreciating the outline of her breasts, hips and derriere.
“Hey,” she clears her throat, “Can I come in?”
I push the door open and gesture for her to enter.
Her eyes run across the room, assessing everything before they settle on my bare chest. Clearing her throat, she pushes a tendril of hair behind her ear and looks down with embarrassment, “Um, sorry for intruding,”
I shake my head, “Non, you are not intruding. Is something wrong?”
She shakes her head and bites her luscious lower lip. “It’s just, I can’t sleep…” she stops and shakes her head, “…you know what? Never mind,” she turns to leave, but before she can, I take her hand and pull her close. Our bodies brush, making the mental walls that I’ve been carefully building to keep her from my thoughts shatter.
Her breath brushes my neck, and her body shudders beneath my touch. “Michael,” she whispers huskily.
My heart beats wildly in my chest, and my body heats when her hair brushes against my chin. I inhale deeply, hoping to catch my breath, but instead find myself inhaling her arousing scent.
As if coming out of a trance, I take a step back and clear my throat.
Valentina wrings her fingers, “Is it okay if I hang out for a minute?”
I swallow down the emotions constricting my throat and gesture for her to sit on the bed. “Oui lay on the bed, and I shall sit above the covers.”
Nodding, Valentina crawls to the opposite side of the bed and slides inside the comforter. Seeing that I have to move, I settle beside her, keeping the comforter beneath me. “What was it you wish to speak about?”
She shrugs, “I don’t know.”
I lie my head back on the pillow and settle my arm behind my head, “How about you tell me how you met your friend?”
Valentina lifts up on her elbow and tucks the comforter close to her chest like a child. However, that’s where the comparison ends because the comforter outlines her voluptuous figure perfectly.
“Actually, I have two best friends, Ever and Sami. Ever did not come to Paris with us because she had a project to work on with one of our professors. I was fourteen when my grandmother passed away and living in the streets, trying to find a safe place to sleep when I saw these two girls fighting off a group of men who were trying to hurt them. Seeing that they needed help, I jumped into the fight. Eventually, we got away from the men, but none of us had anywhere to go, so we stuck together until child services caught up to us. Since we were orphans and had nowhere to go, we were all placed in the same group home. It wasn’t a great place to live, but at least we had each other. When we realized that we were about to age out of the home, we tried to find a place to live together.”
She looks past me blankly as she recalls her sad childhood.
“We may have been poor foster kids, but we were all surprisingly good students. Two things we knew were that we wanted to go to college, and we wanted to get as far away from the city as possible. So when we couldn’t decide on a place to go, we threw a dart at a map and let fate decide.”
She chuckles as she recalls how amusing it was to do something so silly, “It was pretty stupid, but it worked out. The map landed on Arizona, so we all applied to attend Arizona State. To our relief, we all got full rides to ASU. As soon as we graduated, we packed what little belongings we had and moved there.”
I smile, humbled by their loyalty and perseverance, “You are all quite brave. What are you studying? I ask.
She gives me a corresponding smile, “Everly is studying archeology, Samira is studying ancient civilization, and I’m studying languages. We all dream about traveling the world and learning about other cultures.”
“Is that why you chose to come to Paris?”
She nods, “Yeah, Sami and I were given the opportunity to do a travel abroad experience, and we jumped at the chance to come here. We had all just finished our junior year,” she concludes mournfully.
Seeing her grim expression, I reach for her hand and squeeze it gently, “We will save your friend from the Naga. Have faith, chérie.”
Valentina gives me a tearful nod, “I know we will. I have no other choice.”
My fingers tingle as she runs her fingers distractedly against them. Her eyes grow heavy, but she blinks the sleep away. “You have beautiful wings,” she mutters huskily. “Do all angels have wings like yours?”
I shake my head, “Non, not all species of angels have wings. However, angels of different castes have different wings. Because I am an archangel, my wings are ivory. Seraphims and Cherubims have silver and gold woven into theirs, and my brother, Lucifer’s wings, are ebony.”
“Why don’t all angels have wings?” she asks.
I shake my head, “Nephilim can be born without wings, and most of the time, it’s only the males that have them.”
“Why not all of the females?” She asks.
“There aren’t many pure female angels, chérie. Most females are Nephilim.”
“Why aren’t there many female angels?”
I shrug, “We believe Le Créateur did not create many females because he wanted the males to remain loyal to him. Less than a quarter of Seraphims and Cherubins are females. Lucifer’s mate, Lana, is one of the few angels who have wings.”
“So why are you living on earth instead of… you know…up there,” she points at the ceiling.
I arch a brow, “What do you mean?”
She waves her hand around the room and ceiling, “Shouldn’t you like be in heaven kicking ass or something? I mean, why are you here? It’s all just so…mundane considering that you’re like this totally badass archangel.”
My lip quirks at her tone, “It’s not that simple, Valentina. Oui, I was the Creator’s top warrior in heaven, but sometimes there is calm in the mundane.”
She considers my words, “I guess it makes sense for a being that has lived thousands of years to desire simplicity. It’s crazy, but also not out of the realm of possibility. So you’re like the devil’s brother?”
I nod with amusement, “Oui, but do not call him that. Lucifer despises the monicker. He likes to call himself the king of hell.”
She scoffs and rubs her temple, “Okay, I guess that’s going to take some getting used to. So getting back to the mate thing…if Lana is Lucifer’s mate, where’s yours?”
She leans close and lets her hair fall around me like a curtain,
I look down for a moment, my expression becoming broody. “Archangels were not given, mates. Or at least we believed that was the case.”
“Wait,” she sits up as if coming to a conclusion, “the archangel females you spoke of are your mates, aren’t they?”
My expression shutters. I hate talking about Le Créateur’s deception. “Oui, they are, but all signs point to them having perished when Le Créateur’s seal was closed.”
“Wow, the Creator was a serious douche, wasn’t he. So, what was his actual plan once he set off the apocalypse?”
His lip curls with derision, “Le Créateur wanted to end humanity and recreate the world.”
Valentina yawns loudly, her eyes growing heavy with sleep, “Damn, he really screwed you guys. I’m sorry.”
I shake my head, “Do not be sorry. In the end, we were able to stop him and save humanity.”
Valentina’s expression softens as she moves closer until we’re face - to - face, “You might have saved the world, but you paid a pretty steep price for it. I mean, you lost your mate, and that totally sucks,” she says as she distractedly caresses my jaw and lips.
I close my eyes, savoring the feel of her fingers on my skin. It’s enticing and awakens a desire in me that I thought lost.
Our faces are so close that I can feel her breaths against my lips. My ears thrum, and my body heat as I gaze into her gorgeous eyes.
I don’t know who moves first, but suddenly we’re both kissing. Valentina’s sweet taste is heady as our tongues meld and explore. My hands slide up and down her spine as she grinds her hips against mine. Her hands wrap around my neck as I push her against one of the walls. Groaning with pleasure, I nip her sweet lips and swallow her pleasured mewls. Our tongues swirl and twine as our bodies meld together. A fire roars through me at the contact of her hot center against my hard cock. My hands sliver over her hips and mold to her firm derriere as she grinds against me. Holding her tightly to me, I savor her taste and pillowy lips. Merde, I feel like an out-of-control youth in her arms as I deepen the kiss.
It’s only when I feel my wings straining against my back, and my eyes begin to glow that I become conscious of my actions. Freezing with horror, I push back and silently berate myself.
Before she can say a word, I harden my expression and say, “We shouldn’t have done that. C'était une erreur.” That was a mistake.
Valentina’s eyes meet mine, her cheeks burning and her chest heaving. Her tongue darts out, swiping at her plump bottom lip, “I...”
I shake my head, stopping her rejoinder, “You should go back to the guestroom and forget that this ever happened. I cannot…I had a mate, and I…” I stop, unsure of how to continue.
Thankfully, Valentina does not seem offended by my reaction. Instead, she seems a bit sad as she rises from the bed and stutters out an apology, “I - I…I’m…sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” she stutters mournfully as her eyes gleam with tears.”
I look away, unwilling to speak further, “You should go,” I mumble again.
Valentina gives me a sad expression before she walks out of the door.
As I lie in my bed, I feel conflicted. Though I know it is not wrong to feel these emotions for Valentina, I still feel guilty because I have not fully mourned my mate. I might have told Lucifer that I feel pained, but all I feel is numb. I reason with myself that I never got to establish a bond with my mate. Therefore, I cannot miss what I did not have, but it still makes guilt burn inside me.
Regardless of these feelings and my loss, I am not ready to feel any attachment to a female.
Not even one as alluring as Valentina.