Red Angel (The Angels of Paris Chronicles Book 2)

by Anna Santos

  “I can’t do that.” She pouted as she folded her arms.

  “Not yet. But Camille can teach you how. I can teach you, too, even if I’m not good at teaching people how to use their powers. I’m better at teaching them how to fight.”

  Aria kept biting her lip as her gaze aimed at the landscape around us.

  I let her think about what she really wanted. But I wasn’t going to let her run away from what we had. The mere thought of it made my heart shatter. “I don’t want to be away from you. I want you here with me.”

  “You never do what I want,” she complained in her girly voice.

  I smiled and got closer, leaning my head towards her to smell her hair. She didn’t move. I whispered near her ear, placing my arms around her waist and pulling her closer against my chest. “I’ll do anything you want. Just ask me.” I heard her heart rate increase. “I promise you. I’ll do anything you want. Do you want to go to the Louvre?” She shook her head, and I caressed her neck with my nose. “Do you want to see the Eifel Tower? We can teleport there right now. We don’t even need to wait in line. I can show you Paris from the top of the tower.”

  “I’m afraid of heights,” she whispered, clasping her hand to my arm.

  I stepped back and sat with her on my lap. “Right, we still have to fix that. Then I can show you Notre Dame or…I can take you to the Champs-Elysées. Would you like that?”

  She curled up in my lap, ticklish as my lips feathered kisses on her skin. Her warmth and giggles aroused me.

  “Or my bedroom. I can show you my bedroom.”

  “Cedric, stop,” she complained, trying to escape my mouth, which was kissing her neck. She wasn’t fighting to get away from my hold. She was ticklish, and I loved that about her. My hands caressed her back and my mouth nibbled on her shoulders, turning her laughter into sighs. She loved when I kissed her there. When her body fully relaxed, I kissed her cheeks and her red lips. She let me kiss her and explore her mouth. Before I could realize what I was doing, she was lacing my torso with her legs, and we were kissing deeply and breathlessly.

  “I’ve missed you,” I whispered, high on lust and love. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be better.”

  “You’re just saying that to make me stay.” She stopped kissing me and held my face between her hands.

  “I’m not. I didn’t know that I was neglecting to make you happy. I…don’t have an excuse for that. I’ve been alone for so long! I had no one besides my people to care about. I may have neglected you because of my duties, but I thought you would understand. I forgot that you were human and you don’t fully understand what’s expected from you. I’ll make sure I give you the proper attention from now on. I won’t put my needs above yours.” I grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “Aria, I want to know you. I want to know what you love—besides me, of course.”

  Frowning, she said, “Cocky much?”

  I chuckled and held her face. Calming down, I asked her, “What do you want to do today, other than leave me?”

  “Does that mean I can’t leave if I want?”

  “Do you really want to or were you just upset and that was how you determined to punish me?” I wanted to know her reasons and make her comprehend that I didn’t want her to leave.

  She pursed her lips. “I was upset. I still am.”

  I kissed her adorable pouting mouth, making her embrace me around the neck and moan. I got awfully proud whenever she would stay like that in my arms. I liked how she reacted to me and I enjoyed how my body reacted to hers.

  “Don’t be. It breaks my heart to know that.”

  “How did you expect me not to be? You were so cold to me, Cedric!”

  “I’m sorry. I…was afraid of losing you. I love you. Aria.” I put my hands on her face to make her look into my eyes. I wanted her to understand that I wasn’t lying or saying that to make her stay. “You are the most important thing to me. I’m afraid of losing you. I’m afraid that something will happen to you because you’re my mate. Many would use you to make me suffer, and I’m not talking about Philippe. There are many more who would do anything to hurt me. I don’t want you to leave. I don’t. I’m not going to say that the idea of letting you leave my house makes me happy. However, if that’s what you truly want… If you need some time…I won’t force you to stay here. I’ll assign an army to guard you, but you can leave.”

  “I’m strong now. You don’t need to be afraid. I can take care of myself.”

  “You are strong, but you don’t know how to use your powers. You’re afraid of flying. You are just one person and there’s only so much an angel can do alone against an army.”

  “And you say you aren’t paranoid.”

  She said that with a glint of amusement, making me smile and caress her hair. I kissed her forehead and held her tighter. I needed to feel her close to calm myself down.

  “There are a lot of things I need to tell you. I need to open up and let you in. We should talk more.”

  “We talk plenty,” she mumbled, caressing my back. “But we need to talk more about ourselves than about others. I want to know what you like and I want you to know what I like. I want to go out with you. I want…to go to the movies, or go for a walk in a park and spend the day watching the flowers and trees. I want you to show me the things you love.”

  Her words were sweetly spoken and they warmed my heart. “Please don’t leave, Aria. I don’t want to be alone again.” It felt as if I was begging. I was exposing my fears of being alone to her. Holding her tighter, I wanted her to stay in my arms forever. When we were close, loneliness hurt less.

  She was silent for far too long with her head on my shoulder while caressing my hair. I let her relax and think about what she wanted to do. I was hoping that she had reconsidered and that she was going to stay.

  “Are you regretting being bonded to me?” she asked.

  I couldn’t be more caught off-guard by her question. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you wanted someone older, a bit more mature than me. I know that I’m just a child and, for all intents and purposes, a commoner. I wasn’t raised to be a princess or a queen.”

  “I like you the way you are. Even when you argue with me and threaten to leave me,” I joked.

  Raising her head, she rolled her eyes. I was smiling, but I became serious when I asked her, “Are you going to give me a second chance?”

  She looked at my chest while scratching my shoulder with her nail. Her hesitation to answer made my heart beat fast.

  “I may stay if you’ll be nicer to me and…”

  “And?” I asked hopefully.

  “And we go watch a movie, eat popcorn, and then get ice cream. I’m dying for some ice cream,” she said. “What’s the point of having a boyfriend if I can’t do what I always dreamed about doing with one?”

  Smiling, I nodded at her simple requests. “We can do that.”

  “Can you teach me how to teleport?”

  “Whatever you want,” I agreed, glad to see her happy again. Thinking about it, I was an idiot for letting Philippe get on my nerves.

  She held me tighter. I winced because it hurt, even though I was trying to be brave about it.

  She released me from her hug. “What’s wrong?”

  “It hurts… I’m a bit sore from the fight,” I explained, ashamed at confessing that the stupid vamp was able to inflict pain on me. “We don’t heal as fast as vampires do. It’s nothing important.” I tried to clarify that when her face became pale and her eyes filled with water. “What’s wrong, Aria?” I didn’t want her to cry.

  “Was it me who hurt you?”

  “Of course not, darling. It was Philippe. Your powers didn’t touch me—they just nullified mine. Don’t cry. I’ll heal. I’ll go to the infirmary and a healing angel will fix me. And we can still go out. This doesn’t stop me from wanting to spend time with you now. I can heal later.”

  “I can heal you,” she whispered, clea
ring her eyes as she tried to swallow her tears.

  “I don’t think kisses can fix this, baby.”

  She snorted and I laughed, amused.

  “I’m a Red Angel. I have more than one power. Didn’t you know?”

  “Yes, but who told you?”

  “My other self,” she explained. “So do you want my help or not?”

  “Is your other power healing?”

  She nodded.

  It was a really nice power to have. I liked being a warrior. Angel princes normally were; however, having a healing ability could be a plus. “Are you sure you can use it?”

  “Trust me,” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder and closing her eyes. “This may take a while. I’m not entirely sure how it’s activated. So bear with me.”

  “Take as much time as you need,” I whispered, putting my hands on her hips and staring at her cleavage. I shouted with pain when she slapped me on my aching shoulder.

  “Stop staring at my breasts!”

  I laughed, looking at her face. She had one eye open and the other closed. Before she could say anything else, I kissed her and made her forget what she was going to complain about.

  “I’ve missed you,” I told her.

  “I’ve missed you, too.”

  “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be better. Please tell me that you aren’t going to leave me.”

  “I won’t.”

  I smiled, pleased. The next thing she knew, we were teleporting out of there and landing on my bed. She opened her eyes and took in where we were.

  “I think you can heal me better here,” I said, smiling wickedly and taking off my shirt.

  She didn’t smile. After seeing my bruises, her eyes clouded with tears once again.

  “It’s nothing. Just relax, okay?”

  She nodded, but I knew she wasn’t convinced by my words. It was a good sign that she didn’t want me hurt. I couldn’t stand the idea of her hurting, either. If someone hurt Aria, I’d go crazy. I could be a bit paranoid, but I didn’t want anything to happen to her. I didn’t want to lose someone I loved again because I wasn’t strong enough to protect her.

  Aria kneeled on the bed and stared at me attentively. “What do you want me to do?”

  “You need to place your open hand on my bruise and concentrate your power to heal me,” I explained, holding her hand and putting it on me really carefully.

  She let me do it, then closed her eyes and concentrated. I focused on her pretty face. She was gorgeous. I didn’t have time to think about anything else as her hand glowed and, before I could blink, a warm wave of light washed over me and healed me completely. She didn’t need to touch anywhere else to heal me; she was so powerful that one touch healed my whole body.

  She opened her eyes. “Did it work?”

  “The bruises are gone,” I answered, showing her. “Now…there’s just one thing that hurts here. Can you kiss it to stop the pain?” I asked, pointing to my neck.

  She smiled and nodded.

  “And then here,” I said, pointing to my cheek.

  She laughed, amused.

  “Do you have anything that hurts?” I asked, every single naughty intention behind my words deliberate.

  “I don’t think so,” she whispered with a pensive expression.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe I should check for myself,” I said, grabbing her and tickling her.

  Laughing, Aria held my hands until our mouths met, and we stayed there, tangled in each other, kissing and touching.

  Chapter SIXTEEN

  ARIA

  Cedric had taken the day off to spend time with me, and I was overjoyed. We used the rest of the afternoon to go to the movies. He let me choose the film. I was excited to learn that the sci-fi movie I wanted to see was already playing in France, so that was my choice, of course. Cedric wasn’t a sci-fi fan, but he indulged me nevertheless and showed enough interest to be able to follow the plot.

  Going out on a date with my boyfriend to watch a movie and eat popcorn was a dream come true. The only problem was that I’d totally forgotten that I’d called my parents and cried my eyes out about what had happened at Philippe’s house. At least as far as the argument was concerned. So it was a surprise when we arrived home and Mom and Dad were waiting in the living room. Camille and Jacob were keeping them company.

  My heart stopped and my smile faded away the minute I entered and saw my dad’s unhappy face. I felt bad for worrying him and forgetting to tell him that everything was fine.

  Cedric rubbed my back and grinned at me, making my heart beat again.

  Whispering in my ear, he told me, “I’ll take care of this, okay?”

  “I should explain myself to them,” I replied, troubled by the new pack of lies that I needed to tell them.

  Dad was already up and walking towards us. I curled back into Cedric’s arms.

  “Do you know how worried we were? You called me crying. Then you don’t pick up the phone. We come here, only to find out that you went to the movies with your boyfriend and didn’t even care about following up with your parents!”

  I hugged the rest of the popcorn against my chest, blushing with guilt. I couldn’t blame him for being upset.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy,” I mumbled, biting my lower lip.

  “I can’t understand what’s wrong with you, young girl. Ever since you arrived in Paris, you’ve been acting every way but normal!”

  Frowning, I asked, “How did you find me here?”

  He folded his arms as he muttered, “I have my sources.” Stepping closer, he put his hands on his waist. “I hope you had fun because we came here to get you and you’re leaving with us. Then you’ll explain to me everything that’s going on.”

  Cedric’s arm snaked around my waist and held me tightly against his chest. “Mr. Davis, Aria isn’t going anywhere.”

  My dad’s face tensed as he glared at Cedric. “I don’t know who you think you are, young man, but my daughter is leaving with us. I’ve been looking for her all day long while you two were having fun after your lovers’ quarrel. You made her cry. She was miserable on the phone. I have no idea what you must have told her to make her forgive you, but you have a lot to explain.”

  “Dad…”

  Before I could say anything else, Cedric put his hand on my arm and squeezed it as a clear sign that he wanted me to be quiet. His voice came out serious. “Mr. Davis, I understand your reasons for being concerned about Aria. She should have called. Plus, we need to have a serious conversation anyway. I’m glad you’re here. We can talk now.”

  “Talk?” Dad’s arched eyebrow proved he was as surprised as I was.

  Cedric let me go and walked to the stairs. “Could you and your wife follow me to my office?”

  Clenching my dress in my fists, I said, “Cedric, maybe I should go with my parents and explain what’s going on.”

  Cedric’s lips curled into a soft smile. “Relax, honey. It’s about time I had a serious conversation with your parents. Everything will be fine.”

  I nibbled my lower lip as my heart raced and drummed in my ears.

  “Camille, could you make arrangements to accommodate Aria’s parents?”

  “Certainly,” Camille answered.

  “Take Aria with you. I’d like her parents to join us for dinner.”

  I looked at Dad and Mom, who seemed unsure of what was going on. “Are you certain you don’t need me to go with you and explain?” I asked Cedric.

  “No need. You had a full day. I’m sure your parents will understand my reasons once they comprehend what’s going on.”

  Dad asked, “I’m sorry, but what do you mean by ‘accommodate us for the night’?”

  “I think he wants you to sleep here,” I explained to Dad as I mentally predicted what was going to happen if they found out that I was living with Cedric and sleeping in the same bed.

  “Everything will be crystal clear once we talk about what’s happenin
g,” Cedric said. “If you don’t mind following me upstairs.” He motioned the way up and kissed the top of my head before leaving.

  I watched as my parents followed him.

  “Your parents are lovely people,” Camille said when we were left alone.

  I nodded as I looked at Jacob. “Do you have any idea what Cedric plans to tell them?”

  “Probably the truth,” Jacob said.

  I felt the air rapidly abandon my lungs. “They’ll freak out!”

  “It’s better that they freak out now,” Camille argued. “Besides, if you want them in your life, they need to know the truth.”

  A dark thought swept its way into my mind. “Is he going to tell them what Philippe did to me?”

  I didn’t want them to hate Philippe. Dad was fond of Philippe. It would break his heart. Plus, Dad didn’t know malevolent Philippe, and Philippe had changed for the better. He was no longer insensible and cruel. Although I felt guilty for trying to apologize for my former mate’s actions.

  Camille came closer and put her hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong, Aria?”

  “I don’t want my parents to freak out,” I lied. “And if they want me to leave and never come back here?”

  “You’re old enough to make your own decisions,”

  said Jacob. “You’re eighteen. They can’t take you from here by force. Plus, Cedric would never let them take you away from us.”

  His words didn’t soothe my fear. “What do you mean?”

  Jacob sunk his hands into his pockets. “Nothing bad, Aria. Cedric wouldn’t hurt your parents. We’re angels, not vampires. I meant, Cedric will reason with them and explain to them what’s at stake. Also, if your parents love you and want what’s best for you, I don’t think they’d want you to die and go to hell, would they?”

  Holding on to Camille’s arm, I answered, “No. My parents are religious people. They believe in God.”

  Jacob grinned. “Cedric loves you. He wants what’s best for you. You’ll be his queen. You’ll be bonded for eternity. I’m sure he’ll ask them for your hand in marriage.”