Chapter 21 - Shaken

Valentina:

A blinding bright light permeates my closed lids, and my body aches as I slowly come awake. Blinking my eyes, I groan and furrow my brow when I hear the steady sound of a beeping noise and look up at the light hovering over me.

As soon as my vision clears, I get a good look at where I am. The first thing I see are the plain white walls, blue curtains and machines surrounding me. Rising up, I look down and see that I’m lying on a gurney, and there's an IV attached to my hand.

My heart pounds wildly with fear as I try to release my hand from the IV.

It’s only when two policemen walk into the room and begin to speak that I realize I might be in trouble. One is close to my age, tall and thin with short blond hair and blue eyes, and the other is older with gray hair, average height, dark brown eyes and very pale. Both men are wearing crisply pressed police uniforms.

“Madame Gurre, je suis l'officier Gerald Troudeu et voici l'officier Paul Arnaud de la Police nationale. Nous sommes ici parce que vous avez été l'une des dernières personnes à voir Mlle Kimber Adams, fille du magnat des médias internationaux, Alias ​​Adams avant sa disparition le lendemain de son arrivée. Il a également été porté à notre attention par le préposé dans votre appartement que votre colocataire, Mme Samira Sunder, est également portée disparue.” Madame Gurre, I am Officer Gerald Troudeu and this is Officer Paul Arnaud of the National Police. We're here because you were one of the last people to see Miss Kimber Adams, daughter of international media mogul, Alias ​​Adams, before she disappeared the day after she arrived. It was also brought to our attention by the attendant in your apartment that your roommate, Ms. Samira Sunder, is also missing, the officer states. “Savez - vous où sont les deux femelles?” Do you know where these females are?

The blood drains from my face when I realize that the officers think I might have hurt Kimber and Sami. After everything that happened, I never considered that Kimber was missing. Shit, I hope the Naga didn’t kill her. I swallow hard, trying to consider how to answer. Seeing that I have to say something, I tell a watered-down version of the truth. “I…I…last time I saw Kimber was the night we arrived. Sami and I went with her to see a burlesque show.” I carefully reply back in French, “After the show, someone in the crowd became agitated and started fighting, so we ran. Unfortunately, during the rush, we became separated, and Samira was injured. Kimber became scared and ran off, leaving Sami and me. I don’t know what happened to her, but Sami is currently recuperating at a friend’s house.”

The two officers’ eyes narrow as they look at each other then back at me. “Pourquoi n'avez - vous pas signalé cela à la police locale?” Why didn’t you report this to the police?”

I shrug and release a weak sigh, “I honestly thought that Kimber was fine. I didn’t really know her very well. We had pretty much met that day. She gave me the perception that she wasn’t happy about being in Paris. If you ask the organizer, she’ll tell you that she requested to change rooms.”

The young officer nods, “L'organisateur nous a fait part de sa demande.”The organizer did tell us of her request. “La préposée à l'appartement nous a également dit qu'elle avait vu Mme Adams arriver seule dans l'immeuble tard dans la nuit de son arrivée.” The apartment attendant also told us that she saw Ms. Adams arriving alone in the building the morning after her arrival.

I snap my fingers, recalling the conversation Kimber had before we went out, “Obviously, that happened after she left us and ran from the burlesque club. But I do remember before we went to the club, she called her boyfriend. I didn’t really hear much, but I know that he was also staying in Paris. Maybe you can check with him.”

The officer jots the information down on his tablet, “Connaissez - vous le nom du petit ami?” Do you know the boyfriend's name?

I shake my head, “Sorry, but I don’t. To be honest, I hadn’t given much thought to Kimber because I was taking care of Sami. We didn’t get much of a chance to talk in - depth about Kimber’s life. I mean, Kimber was basically a stranger to us, and she planned on leaving anyway.”

The young officer gives me a pitying look but the older one is not convinced, “Voudriez - vous expliquer alors comment vous avez été retrouvé inconscient au milieu du trottoir?” Could you explain then how you were found unconscious in the middle of the sidewalk?

I blink my eyes exhaustedly, “I…I don’t know. I guess I was tired from caring for my friend.”

After a couple of minutes, the officers wrap up their questioning and hand me a card. “S'il vous plaît appelez - nous si vous découvrez d'autres nouvelles sur Mme Adams. Pour l'instant, nous vous serions reconnaissants si vous n'aviez pas d'ennuis. Nous resterons en contact.” Please give us a call if you find out any other news on Ms. Adams. For now, we would be grateful if you didn't get in any trouble. We will stay in touch.

Once the officers leave, I rise from the bed and search for my clothes. A nurse comes in and tries to stop me, but I convince her to let me go home. Thankfully, I was only out for an hour, and it’s still dark outside. I look at the clock on the wall. There’s still a couple of hours left before the sun rises.

Once I’m dressed, I rush out of the hospital but quickly realize that I don’t know where to go. Michael’s masculine features rush through my mind. Though I’m not sure if he made it out of the catacombs, I don’t lose hope as I make my way to his home. I have to believe that he made it out alive. I can’t afford to think otherwise.

To my dread, there’s no sign of him. I’m about to step out of his home when a loud sound nearby startles me back in. Rushing to Michael’s terrace, I gasp when I see him lying on the floor bloody and beaten. Rushing forward, I kneel beside him and turn him on his back.

“Michael!” I call out as I search his body for any serious wounds.

Michael opens his eyes with a groan, “Chérie.”

My hands hover over his chest because I’m unsure where to touch him without hurting him. “Michael, what happened?” I ask with a sigh of relief.

Michael’s emerald eyes meet mine as he sits up and slides his arms around me, “After I pushed you out of the collapse, I was trapped in a room and too weak to flash out. Seeing that I had to dig myself out, I manage to escape the room until I found myself in a chamber with the queen and her soldiers.”

As I help him rise to a nearby chair and help him remove his armor, he hisses with pain. “Shit…sorry,” I mutter when I see the large gaping wounds decorating his torso and stomach. “Where is your first aid kit?”

Michael shakes his head, “Non, I do not need it, chérie. I am already healing. See?” He gestures to one of the deeper wounds that seem to be healing itself. “It did take all of the energy I had left to flash here, which is why I’m still feeling weak.”

“What the hell happened to you? Did you kill the queen?” I ask.

He grimaces, “I fought her and her horde and managed to wound her, but she weakened me with a sacred sword,” he points to his wounds.

“What’s a sacred sword?” I ask.

Michael removes the last piece of his armor, leaving him in a pair of leather pants, and tosses each part on the ground. Closing his eyes, he leans back on his chair and takes a couple of deep breaths. “A sacred sword is un outil sacré que vous pouvez utiliser pour tuer un ange.” A holy tool that you can use to kill an angel.

My eyes widen with shock. Placing my fingers on my temples, I give him an incredulous look and hand him a stack of paper towels, “I saw her stab you through the heart, Michael. How are you even still alive?”

His lip quirks as he reaches for one of the towels and wipes his wounds, “It takes more than a sacred sword to kill an archangel because my brothers and I were imbued by Le Créateurs grace. As far as I know, we were the only ones. It also helps that the queen barely missed my heart by half a meter, at least. That is why it’s taking so long for me to heal.”

I bite my lower lips as the skin continues to knit and tearfully kneel before him, “I…I thought you were dead,” I croak mournfully.

Michael gazes down at me and leans forward until we’re face to face. “I’m not that easily killed, chérie. However, I did fail you by not killing the queen.”

I shake my head, “No, Michael, you didn’t fail me. I’m the one that failed. If I hadn’t been watching where I was going and stayed close to you, we would have both caught that bitch by now. I messed up, and now she’s probably long gone.”

Michae’s eyes soften as he reaches for me and sits me on his lap. “We both made mistakes. However, il y a encore une chance,” There’s still a chance, he mutters against my temple.

I angle my head and gaze up at him, “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that though she managed to wound me, I was also able to grievously wound her. I nearly cut off one of her legs and sliced her open from neck to navel. She’s only alive because the rest of her soldiers arrived, and I did not cut her in half. I had no choice but to flash out before their numbers overwhelmed me.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and think about what he just said, “So she’s probably not going to be able to leave her nest until she is healed?"

Michael nods, "Oui, and it will take several nights and a lot of feeding before she is fully healed, which will allow us the time to kill her.”

“Shit, then we still have a chance.” I muse.

Michael rises from the chair and clutches his chest carefully, “For now, I will let my body heal before I use my abilities. To do that, I have to be bathed and rested.”

I silently follow him to his room and watch as he removes his leather pants before removing my own clothes and following him inside the shower. Michael doesn’t argue or push me away as I clean his naked body. In fact, he seems content to feel my hands on him. He groans as I run a sponge down his broad chest and arms. “I was so worried about you,” I mutter earnestly.

Water rains down upon us, creating a sensual scene as steam rises around us. His eyes become hooded as he pushes my hair away from my face and rests his forehead against mine. His jaw ticks and his chest expands beneath my ministrations. “I was worried about you too, mon petit. I wasn’t sure if you had made it out of the chamber unscathed.”

My nipples harden as his hands gently slide down my shoulders and arms. “You saved me,” I whisper.

Michael’s brow furrows as he moves closer until our naked forms are touching, “I could never let you be hurt.”

I blink with confusion, “Why?”

His thumb caresses my lower lip as he angles his head and sensually kisses my jaw, “Because I care for you, chérie. I care for you more than I should because you’re human, and one day you’ll die.”

He sounds so resigned that it makes something inside of me choke up with a bevy of emotions, “I care about you too,” I mumble shyly, “and I understand why you’ve pushed me away. I know that you feel guilt over losing your mate.”

I gaze up at him through the fringes of my lashes, feeling anticipation build. His wet hair molds to his head, emphasizing his chiseled jaw, brooding eyes and plump lips. My heart thrums in my ears as he moves his lips close to mine and whispers, “That is the problem, chérie. I do not feel any guilt because you’re all I want. I cannot conceive the idea of losing you, and it haunts me.”

Before he can say another word, I wrap my arm around his shoulder and kiss him.

The kiss is slow and hot as our bodies grind together sensually.

Michael’s hands map my curves, his fingers caressing every nook and swell as his tongue swirls and glides around mine. Groaning with pleasure, I sift my fingers through his hair and settle my leg over his thigh, grinding my wet center against him until we’re both gasping with pleasure.

“J'ai tellement envie de toi.” I want you so badly, Michael murmurs against my lips as he settles his leg over my thigh and slides his hard cock inside my molten center.

My sheath clings tightly to his shaft as he blissfully strokes in and out of me at a toe - curling pace, and my eyes roll to the back of my head as he fills me to the brim. Though now I know that I’m an angel, I also know that this is the closest to heaven that I’ve ever been. The way Michael looks into my eyes as he moves his hips in a controlled pattern is hypnotizing. As the water pours down on us and his strokes heighten into a pounding rhythm, I can feel my climax growing closer. Closing my eyes, I cling to his neck and bite down on his shoulder while Michael sucks my hard nipples into his warm mouth.

Unable to take the fiery bliss building, I open my lips and cry out as waves of ecstasy overwhelm me. My sheath quivers around Michael’s hard shaft, creating such pleasurable friction that his orgasm soon follows mine. As he pumps and cries out with bliss, I ride my own climax until I’m completely wrung out.

Without a word, Michael carries me to his bed and proceeds to make love to me again. It’s a wonderful way to end the evening when it began with such a disaster.