Her Guardians: Her Guardians Trilogy Book 1 (27 page)

“Cassandra, my child.” She moved in closer, caressing my face. I closed my eyes and let the feel of her caress wash over me. It was a powerful emotion. I felt love for this woman, complete and utter adoration. It was almost like the kind a child gives to his or her mother to let them know how much they appreciated them. Sometimes, just one look is all it took for a mother to know.

I opened my eyes and her smile was wide at my response. “You have grown into the most beautiful woman,” she said. “But be careful. Your heart is fragile and the choices you make might not be the ones you want. I know you will chose wisely, but it will come to you. Please take care, my heart.”

She placed her hand on my heart.

I woke with a gasp. “Cassie, what’s the matter?” Michael was up and by my side.

Placing my hand on my chest
, I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my lips. “The dream… She was in my dream again.”

“What dream?”

As I woke a little more, I explained to him the beautiful woman in my dreams. Before I could say more, Michael confirmed it was Archangel Charisma.

I
told him little bits of what was said and he looked just as stumped as Stephen was.

“We just have to be more c
areful, I think. Maybe this business with Daniel was all the warning we needed to tread carefully. I don’t want you to get hurt. You’re too precious to me.”

Grabbing my hand
, he kissed it tenderly. The guilt came flooding in, as always, and now I had Charisma’s words floating around in my head. She talked about choices, but I didn’t feel I had one. How could I make a choice? Whichever one I chose, one of them would never be able to go back. I couldn’t live with myself for that.

**********

I spent most of my morning getting myself ready and packing the little bag I had with me. I was going back home and I didn’t know whether the plans were for us to part ways. A part of me didn’t want to, but another part of me thought it was the best thing to do. Michael and Stephen only clouded my judgement when I was with them.

Maybe I needed some time away to think about what I was going to do.
What the hell
could
I do? I was out of options before I’d even begun.

“Can I stay with you
at your place? I have an early shift in the morning, but I promise to not wake you before I leave.”

“Ok
ay.” I seemed to say it without even thinking. Sometimes, my heart ruled my head or, in this case, my mouth.

After that
, we moved quickly, getting ready to go back to my cosy little studio. I was looking forward to the ride back as the sun had made another appearance today. It was still cold, but I couldn’t complain. It felt nice when the sun was high in the sky.

I was getting used to being on the back of a bike now.
I had to laugh at myself, thinking of me being a biker chick, but I quickly remembered I wasn’t anyone’s chick and I didn’t think I would ever be. I was doomed to lose the two men to whom I had given my heart. I knew that nothing could ever be the same for me again.

We ge
t to the flat in no time. It was Sunday afternoon and all was relatively quiet. No doubt that as the afternoon wore on, more people would appear in the sun, usually to the first bar they came across.

We were both settled in nicely when a thought popped in
to my head. “I need to visit with Ms. Summers next door. I haven’t seen her in a while and she probably thinks I’ve abandoned her.”

“I don’t think she will ever think that about you, Cassie.
But she might be a little worried if she’s so used to you calling frequently. Do you want me to come?”

“Ok
ay.” I smiled brightly. “I’m sure she won’t mind. She saw you with me that day.”

“Yes.”
He winced slightly. “What a screw up that was.”

W
alking over to Michael, I stroked his arm. “You didn’t know. You know now and we’re okay, aren’t we?”

“Yes.
I just can’t help feeling that if things had been different, if only I had let my walls down a bit with you, I would have noticed a lot sooner.”

His arms w
ere soon wrapping themselves around me, making me feel safe and secure as I rested my head on his chest. I inhaled his sweet scent—a similar kind of scent that Stephen had. I concluded that it must be an angel thing, but it confused the hell out of me.

“Come on.”
Michael reluctantly pulled away from my grip. “Let’s go and see to Ms. Summers.”

We knock
ed on the door. After a couple of minutes, she answered. I always made sure I waited a bit, just in case.

“Cassie, dear
. How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yes
. I’m sorry about that, Ms. Summers. I’ve not been too well.”

“My goodness
. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now
, thank you. I fell and hit my head on a slippery surface outside and got a concussion. I had to rest for a while, but I’m fine now.”

Concerned,
I looked at Michael. I didn’t like lying to her, but I didn’t want her to know the truth, either.

Michael smiled
at me, and Ms. Summers turned to him. “You were the one I saw before with Cassie, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right
, Ms. Summers. I’m a very great friend of Cassie’s.”

“Hmm.”
She pondered a little. “She looked a little upset last time, if I remember correctly.”

Michael bowed
his head a little. “Yes. I may have had something to do with that and I deeply regret it now. I’ve been doing everything in my power to make sure I make it up to her. She’s worth it all and more.”

“Yes
, she is.” Ms. Summers smiled tenderly towards me. “Well, come in. I shall get the kettle on for you both.”

“Thank you.
I hope we’re not intruding. I just wanted to know if you needed anything. I’m planning on going to the shops today.”

“I don’t want you running around for me if you’ve not been well.”

“It’s no trouble. I was planning to go anyway. Besides, Michael has his bike so it will be a doddle.”

Ms
. Summers patted her grey hair and motioned towards the sofa. “Please, sit. I will make us all some tea and get a little list for you then.” She walked off, leaving Michael and I in the living room.

“You’re an amazing woman, you know that?”

“Michael, stop.” I could feel the heat rushing to my face.

“I was completely wrong about you and I’m sorry.”

I looked into Michael’s eyes and it was then that I could see his sadness. I knew he was regretting all that happened since we met, and I knew he was beating himself up over Stephen and me.

All of this just made everything I felt harder to endure.
I was the guilty one but, yet, Michael was blaming himself for not getting to me first.

“I did
n’t know whether you took sugar.” Ms. Summers’ cheerful voice pulled us from our stare. “I’m sorry. What was your name again? I’m not sure if I caught it.”

“I apologise
, Ms. Summers. This is Michael. He is a policeman where I work.”

“Oh, I bet you look very handsome in your uniform.”

I gasped. “Ms. Summers! I would never have thought.”

“You’re never too old to appreciate the fine male form, Cassie.
And, by the way, it is Dorothy.”

“Sorry
. Dorothy.” I looked over at Michael, who was beaming from ear-to-ear. He obviously thought it was funny and it instantly relaxed me a little.

After that
, things seemed to be easier around him.

We drank our
tea and went about getting the stuff on the list Ms. Summers gave me. No matter how many times she insisted on me calling her Dorothy, it just didn’t seem right. I suppose it was a habit that was hard to break.

I go
t some steak for Michael and me, and even picked up a bottle of wine, thinking that it might be okay for me to drink now. The headaches were not as bad. Today, I had gone all day without even the hint of one. I was feeling much better and I thought it was Michael’s influence helping me.

“Are you sure we should be buyin
g that?” Michael spies the bottle, eyebrows raised.

“I’m a lot better.
I will only have a couple of glasses. If I get sick, I will know not to drink for a little while longer.” I gave him a look that said I wasn’t budging. He just shook his head and let me lead the way to the counter.

Once back, I
popped round to deliver Ms. Summers’ shopping, then got cracking on our dinner. I put the steaks in a frying pan and boiled a few vegetables. I even thought I would live a little and put on some oven chips.

Once
all was ready, I walked out with our plates to find Michael standing by my little table. He had lit a candle and dimmed the lights. On the table sat two glasses, and he was in the middle of pouring the wine.

I had to stop a moment and stare at him.
He looked gorgeous with the flickering of the candlelight dancing on his face. It was taking me a moment to gather some momentum, but I had to try.

I took a deep breath as he caught
my stare, and I raced to the dinner table to place our meals down.

“This looks lovely.”
I smiled as best as I could, even though my legs were now like jelly.

“Only the best for you.”

We both sat down as Michael thanked me for the meal.

In the middle of chewing
, he says, “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

Fair question
,
I thought. “Very. I would prefer to get it over with as soon as possible.”

“I’ve been thinking about it quite a b
it. Why don’t you tell the Chief that I put you up to finding some info on Richards? I arrested him. It would only seem plausible that you were in there looking. Otherwise, I’m not sure what you could say.”

I thought
about that for a moment. “But won’t that get
you
into trouble?”

“I don’t see why
it would. I wasn’t there to do it myself. I was just asking you to check something for me. I can’t see that it would be a problem.”

I kind of had the feeling he was lying to me
, but I couldn’t prove it. I suppose it seemed logical.

“You won’t get me into trouble
,” he said, as if sensing my unease.

“Is
this an angel thing?” I had to know if he could read my mind or sense how I was feeling. It seemed to be a reoccurring pattern with both Michael and Stephen.

“What?”
Michael frowned a little.

“Reading people’s minds.”

“No.” His laughter bounced off the walls. “I think I just get a sense for things. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong.”

“Oh
, I could never imagine that.” I was being cheeky now.

“Are you flirting with me, Miss Johnson?”

“Are you using those senses of yours again? Guess whether you’re correct or not this time around?”

“I’m guessing that I’m correct
, especially now,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “
Am
I?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?
I’m going to keep you guessing, I think.”

“Really?”
His breathing hitched as he edged closer to me.

“Yes, really.”
My voice sounded more seductive than I wanted it to.

With one
swoop of his hand, he pulled my chair right next to his, and before I knew it, his face was inches away from mine. “I think you’re being very naughty.” His eyes searched my face.

“I try my hardest.”
My breathing was now harsh.

His
lips went straight to mine and I certainly didn’t complain. His eagerness to flirt right back at me made me putty in his hands. This was a whole new side to Michael that I had never seen, and it really turned me on.

My ha
nds went straight to his hair, causing him to moan into my mouth. “Michael,” I breathed as I caressed his cheek and explored his lips.

He pu
lled away and rested his forehead on mine. I could see him gripping his eyes shut and it made me feel really terrible. I wanted to tell him that it’s okay, that he could take me now and I would gladly be his. But it always boiled down to one thing…well, one person.

Stephen.

Before this week, I would have gladly given all to Michael. What is the saying? “It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?” In all my twenty-five years, I’ve never known what it was like to feel true love. I have never known the act of love-making and how it binds a couple through such an intimate connection. I needed to feel it, wanted to feel it, but now that I could have it, I was turning it away. I didn’t know what I felt and that was what was holding me back.