Chapter 41

He cared for her with every fiber of his being. And he loved her with a kind of love that was unmatched. It was so great that he could barely contain it. It threatened to overpower him with its greatness. And that was something he would not mind. 

Using the tips of his fingers he ran them down the side of her face. His touch made her shiver. The tingling sensation it left on her skin was something she could picture herself looking forward to. 

Then he cupped her cheek and captured her lips with his. They were as soft as he remembered. Because the memory of their first kiss was at the forefront of his mind. He sucked on her lips. And she lifted her hand up to curve it around his nape. The kiss was soft and gentle. But also eager and insatiable. She sucked on his tongue when he slipped it inside her, earning her an approving moan from the back of his throat. 

Then she stood on her tiptoes to gain better access. Deepening the kiss like her conscience wanted her to. It became almost rough, open-mouthed and entirely consuming. She felt her skin begin to burn up with incomprehensible desire. And when he rubbed his hand over her back, demanding more, she felt prickles on her skin. The good kind of prickles. 

Nuriel dug his hand into her hair. Stroking her tongue before nipping at her lush lower lip. Pulling back for a second to let her catch her breath before continuing with what at that point could be termed as nothing other than a sensuous carnal assault. One which they were both so deeply engrossed in that time had appeared to have stopped. 

And when she pulled him down to get as much out of it as she could, he went willingly. 

He went eagerly. 

His eyes were glowing so brightly that the silver was almost blinding. And the feel of her body, rubbing against his was blissfully temptous. He had no idea how long the kiss lasted. But when they both reluctantly pulled apart, the memory of it was all either could remember. Everything else had been deleted from their heads. 

Still breathing hard, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. Not wanting to be separated from the being that made him whole. 

But then he heard Rehan's voice through their mind link, sounding urgent. 

" Sire, "

" What is it? "

He was sure that whatever it was it had to be urgent. Otherwise Rehan would have had no trouble taking care of it himself. And when the other angel answers, his suspicion was confirmed. 

" I'm afraid I have bad news. There's been another casualty. "

And just like that, what was supposed to be a relaxing day with his mate was cut shot by his duty. He had never been more furious . Not at his responsibility, but at whoever the cold bastard behind the murders was. 

Nuriel called for an immediate council meeting. They needed to do something and there was clearly no time to waste. 

But he still felt guilty about leaving Flame alone. Standing inside the entrance of the Triecan, he turned to face her.

At the moment she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that he could communicate with the others through their thoughts. 

" I'm so sorry m'eudail, "

She looked concerned, her brows raised. Then she asked him what for. 

" For all this, I really wish I could spend more time with you. "

" That's okay, I mean, right now your biggest concern should be catching that lunatic. "

" But that's the thing..." speaking in a low voice, he captured her eyes. Wondering why it was becoming so difficult to leave her. It felt like an impossibility. A thought he could not comprehend. 

" ..It isn't okay. I ought to be around you, especially now since you have not been here that long. "

It honestly felt like he was committing a sin. He wanted to attend to the matters at hand, but if so, then he wanted her to be by his side. Just being able to have her at a visible sight would be enough to ensure him that she was okay. 

" Don't worry about me, I'm sure I know my way around by now, " 

She could not believe that they were debating on that. A sycopathic killer versus her. It seemed like a clear choice. 

And yes, she would feel bad to watch him leave, but it wasn't like she would never see him again. And she had to get used to him having other more important things to take care of. 

" Okay, I'll take my leave now, " 

She nodded and smiled at him. Rehan had informed him that most of the other angels were already in the council room. So he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Flame's forehead. Prolonging it because he found it hard to take a step back. But finally he did. Then he walked a few steps and his whole being refused to let him go on. How could he leave her there?

Then he realised that he didn't have to. 

" Wait, " he said as he turned back to look at her. She was still on the same spot. 

" Yeah? "

Walking back to her, he took her hand. 

" Come with me. "

It would be the perfect opportunity to introduce her to all the others and still have her by his side. She parted her lips to ask him what he meant, but he was already leading her away.

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" No. I don't want to go in there! " Flame vainly attempted to yank her arm away. They were standing outside a wide and closed doorway. Aware that there were other angels in there, which was why she refused to go in. 

Not because she had a fear of strangers or crowds, on normal occasions she was fairly confident. But she was certain that she would not feel comfortable being there. 

" There's nothing to fear. You have already met more than half of them."

" Yeah, but what I'm I going to do in there? I'll just feel out of place and - "

" ...you deserve to be in there as much as I do. It's actually how things ought to be. "

He was the ruler of Zalian, and as his mate, then she shared in half of his responsibility. But she was still new to how things worked. And the purpose of bringing her along had nothing to do with stressing her with the kingdom's issues but rather with keeping her close. 

Something she was entirely against. They stayed there arguing for a while. Then he decided to just do things the hard way. 

" Are you certain that you don't want to join me? "

He let her pull her arm away. And she wrapped them around herself protectively and shrugged. A stubborn look on her face. 

" Yeah, I'm sure. " she looked away from him and he sighed. A little amused at the childish defiance that made her look all kinds of adorable. 

" Fine then, you've left me no choice. "

Turning to him with an incredulous look, she knit her brows together. Then realized what he planned to do and shook her head rapidly, taking several steps back while leveling him with what according to her was a threatening look. 

" Don't! I'm warning you angel, if you dare make me go in there I'll chop off your freaking wings and ...dang it! " 

She found herself moving back towards him. And he even had the nerve to make her unlock the door. An action she reluctantly did while throwing every possible insult she could think of at him. He on the other hand just stood there, his hand on her lower back, he took over the task of opening up the wide double doors. 

Leading her inside afterwards. She didn't look up. She planned to, but then the feeling of several pairs of eyes boring into her stopped her. The presence of all of them was domineering. One did not have to look at them, you simply had to be in their proximity and to feel how the air changed. How the energy intensified.

Nuriel led her to his seat. Standing beside it afterwards. 

" If it's okay with all of you, I'm going to skip the pleasantries. "

Nuriel went straight to the very urgent issue at hand. And Flame built up the courage to look up. 

They were mostly all staring at Nuriel. And it was good that she was not the main point of focus. It gave her time to study the ones that she had not yet met. But her intent was cut shot the moment her focus landed on Rehan's wings. He was seated on the first seat across from her. 

" Victor, I want a full lock down administered. And send every last one of your worriers to the kingdom. I want them to search every hole! every dark corner! every room in the whole bloody town! " Nuriel ordered. 

" I'll make sure that they'll do a thorough search. But first we need to distribute them, and that will take a bit of time since Andres isn't around. "

" Why not? " Aziel asked. His sleek sandy brown hair laid back and his chartreuse eyes curious. Andres was the best ranked warrior in the kingdom. Victor's right hand. A Dreimar as loyal as he was skillful.