Okay I'm on a roll! Must be all the fantastic comments coz I finished writing this chapter in a day! I'm glad the story's well received and I hope this chapter promises to be as entertaining and exciting as the previous ones. Thank you for reading and don't forget to rate and comment!
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Aria sat at the edge of her bed, simply staring out from her full length glass window. The sun was slowly rising beyond the darkened sky and Aria waited eagerly to greet it.
As the streaks of crimson stretched across the purplish blue sky, Aria got ready for the morning flight --the time when Angels flew off from their balconies into the beautiful sky --as the mark of a new day.
That
was the romantic reason of course. Truth was, the Angels were just off to go to work. Yes, they, like everybody else have jobs to go to and had problems as well. Even with the war approaching, the Archangel has commanded that lives continue to be run as usual. War, according to him, was not fought by civilians and as such their lives should be spared.
She was staring too much into the open space that she almost didn't hear the tap on her door. Feeling hopeful, Aria turned and waited for it to open.
In the glow of the morning sun, the Archangel himself looked like one of its shining ray.
"Come," was all he said.
Aria hesitated for a moment. She was fully aware of how dirty and sweaty she was. Not to mention smelly from four days of not bathing.
"Trust me; I have no intention of touching you so don't look so guilty."
Aria's mouth fell open at his words. He was doing so well with the monosyllabic welcome earlier. Anything beyond that was a mean to insult, seduce and manipulate his way into her head... like now.
"Where are we going?" she asked stiffly as she walked behind him.
He didn't reply her but continued walking; his wings tucked neatly behind him. For a moment Aria was sure that the metallic sheen on his wings were gone and were instead replaced by a soft down in the palest grey.
Her eyes were definitely making things up. Maybe she had too much sleep.
"Watch your step," he told her as he descended down a narrow flight of stairs. Aria had no idea where he was taking her but if they were leaving the 100
th
floor, it could only mean that he was bringing her away from his private level.
Maybe they had to take a lift on the 99
th
floor to get to the dungeons in the basement? The thought of stinky grimy pits made her want to gag. However she continued to follow him in silence.
"In here," he ushered, opening a door at the end of the corridor for her. Aria frowned as she moved closer. She did not see any elevators along the corridor at all. Could this floor still be out of bounds for the common angels and humans?
"What's in..." she trailed off. Whatever she wanted to say died on her lips the instant she saw the Olympic sized swimming pool. Water! Clean! Then her eyes moved to the windows and she felt her heart skip a beat.
The entire pool area was surrounded by full length glass that allowed a panoramic view of the city skyline. Aria could still see angels flying about as the sun continued to rise in the sky.
"Don't worry," he told her. "You can see out but no one can see in."
Aria dared herself to look at him. "Am I... I mean... Are you asking me to take a bath, Cardinal?"
"If you'd like to."
His reply startled her. He was giving her a choice?
"Yes I would... please."
He nodded and moved over to a control panel beside the door and pressed a few buttons. A moment later, Aria saw the pool bubble and froth; sweet fragrance floating in the air.
"Oh god... it's an Archangel-sized Jacuzzi..." she moaned. Turning around, she caught him staring at her. "Umm, I'm going to strip now," she announced.
"What? You want me to turn away? It's not like I haven't seen your private parts..."
The rebuff was already at the edge of her tongue but Aria valued her chance to bathe more than her desire to snap at him. Turning away from him, she began to undo the strap of the toga and unzipped the side of the dress before pulling it off over her head. Since the dress already had a built in bra, she was only left clad in her panties. Sliding the material down, Aria looked at the offensive heap of soiled material for one last time before jumping into the water.
She continued to ignore the fact that the Archangel was watching her every move and began to scrub ferociously at her skin, hoping to get every inch of grime and dirt off. Then she moved to her hair.
"Here," he said, offering her a bottle of what looked like shampoo.
"Thank you," she blinked the water away as she accepted his offering. Bringing the foam to lather, she began to work it through her strands; massaging her scalp and feeling her stress slipping away slowly.
"I can wash your back for you if you'd like..." his voice sounded raspy. Aria submerged herself in the water and came out a moment later with her hair free of the soap bubbles.
She cocked her head to the side and frowned at him. "Why are you being nice to me?"
He returned her frown. "Because I do not like to be accused of raping my woman."
"I am not
your
woman."
"But you are my prisoner. Mine."
Aria did not like that possessive tone in his voice. Did he forget that she's the enemy here?
"If you're trying to be nice to win my favor, it's not going to work."
This time the Archangel didn't reply but simply smiled. Making sure that her eyes were still on him, Zilarrezko untied the drawstring of his pants and let the soft cotton slide away. Sleep was the only time when he'd let himself wear human clothing. Otherwise, he preferred his armor.
He heard the soft intake of her breath as he walked naked towards her but her next question caught him by surprise.
"Why aren't your wings hard like blades?"
"Oh?" He spread his wings out as he stepped into the pool. Indeed his feathered wings were slowly getting wet as it soaked up the water. "I'd like to wake up without having multiple cuts on myself... or my lover," he told her, putting emphasis on the last word.
