Sunday, November 6, 2011

Chapter 7 continues

     Felina scrubbed her body clean, inside and out, as she stood in the steaming hot waters of the glass enclosed shower. She tried not to think about what had transpired but flashes of her attacker's face filled her mind every time she closed her eyes. Even though she had a prescription for Nembutal, for her ever present insomnia, Felina did not wish to take any of the pills, for she was afraid of what dreams may come if she went to sleep. Luckily for her Michael was still down stairs waiting for, so Felina hurried to dry off, rubbing a rose scented moisturizing lotion into her naked skin, then she slipped on a long black silk night gown with a matching robe, and a pair of pink satin slippers from Victoria's Secret of London. Felina combed out her long black, wet hair and applied some Oil of Olay on her clean, freshly scrubbed face. She rushed down stairs back to the kitchen where she thought Michael would have broken his promise to her and left her house, but Felina's fear dissolved away, like sugar in coffee, when she saw the handsome, blue-eyed man, sitting right where she had left him.
     "Well." Michael said as he stared over at Felina, who looked even more beautiful than before. In his experience, the majority of gorgeous women he had dealt with, looked a lot different in the morning when all the mascara, eye-liner, fake eyelashes and make-up came off, but not this one. Felina had clear, dark brown, tanned skin, with soft, full, moist lips, large almond shaped smokey quartz colored dark eyes,  and the look of extreme intelligence behind her piercing gaze. Michael felt like she could, in an instant, see right through him, to the ugliness inside him. However Michael had no idea of Felina's true, vindictive nature. "You are so amazingly beautiful." he said in all honesty as he stood up from his seat, extending his hand out to her.
     "How tall are you? About.., 6.1?" Felina asked not acknowledging Michael's compliment.
     "Yes! That is exactly how tall I am." Michael said amazed.
     "Yes, I thought so. You are the exact same height as my brother, Xation." she smiled.
     "Satan?" he asked mishearing her words.
     "No!" Felina laughed "His name is Xation. Though it does sound a lot like Satan, you are right." she rolled her eyes saying "And well, sometimes my brother has been known to act like Satan." she laughed
leaving Michael with the distinct feeling there was some sort of secret story there, but of her brothers actions, Felina did not wish to share. Instead she suggested Michael take a shower saying she would provide a clean pair of pajamas for Michael to wear to bed. So Felina led Michael through the elegant rooms, up the grand staircase to a large, well appointed, lavishly decorated bedroom that adjoined Felina's  room via a carved gilt door. "This is my brother's room, when he is in town." Felina said as she switched on the light.
     "This is the biggest bed I have ever seen in my life!" Michael marveled at the four poster bed whose supporting columns were like tree trunks, carved with vines, thorns and snakes, there were gold, silk jacquard drapes enclosing the bed which was covered in a thick soft duvet and  pillows of linen and silk. The bedroom itself was fit for a king, to say the least, and Michael was not far off from his belief, for Felina's brother Xation Day was  a king in the empire he had created for himself.
     "Yes, it was shipped over from an estate in Brittany." then she added "It is very comfortable." which, for some reason, Michael thought that was an odd thing to say about her brothers bed, but no matter, for Michael was quickly whisked away into Xation's closet; which Michael was astounded by, for the enormous closet was larger than his hotel room. It looked like the men's department at Barney's New York, There were hundreds of suits, shirts, ties, at least eighty pairs of fine leather shoes from every well known designer on the planet. There were two large dressers, pushed back to back, in the middle of the space and it was from one of the drawers Felina retrieved a pair of red Perry Ellis silk pajamas, she also took a pair a red plaid and shearling Ralph Lauren slippers from one of the endless shoe shelves, then Felina directed Michael to the large modernized bathroom. "I think you will be a little more relaxed after you have had a nice hot shower. I'll meet you down stairs." she gave Michael a sweet, sisterly-type smile, adding "I will put on some music and open a bottle of red wine.., we can stay up and talk, get to know each other better."
     "I'd like that." Michael smiled realizing he had made his first friend in this city; to which he had never been and he was glad to know that he was able to befriend a member of one of the wealthiest families he had ever known. Michael was quite pleased he was the one to be there, to help save this beautiful, charming, wealthy woman's life.
     "So make yourself at home, I want you to feel welcome here always."
     With that Felina went down stairs where she walked around the house making sure all the doors and windows were locked up tight. Then she went to the main formal living room, at the front of the house, where she switched on her C.D. player, cuing up a lengthy disk of Mozart. After lighting a few candles, filling the room with a warm soft glow, Felina brought out two Waterford crystal wine goblets and uncorked an expensive bottle of French red wine, a 1945 Mouton Rothschild; which she had purchased at auction for a little over $25,000 for her sister Serena's wedding, but that blessed day, tragically, never came. Felina opted, instead, to open up the bottle tonight on the special occasion that she was still alive. While Felina decanted the rare wine, she thought back on what the police had told her. They were almost positive the man who attacked her was the serial rapist/murderer that had been terrifying the city for the past two years. The detective said they could not be certain until the dead man's D.N.A. was matched up with samples of evidence found inside the victim's bodies, but with the composite sketches , made by a few women who managed to get away, the man that raped her and tried to strangle her, looked very similar to the man they were looking for.
     A chill ran up the length of her spine and through her entire body as she could see the face of her would-be killer flash before her eyes. Felina trembled as she remembered the feeling of his hands wrapped around her throat, and then she saw the stranger, much to her relief, come up from behind with the knife, spilling the vile man's warm, sticky blood out of his body. The thought of this man's death brought a great ease and comfort to her heart for she believed God, himself, had sent Michael, to save her. Then Felina made  a sacred and secret promise to the Lord, her God, that she would never leave Michael, nor would she ever forsake him. However her brother, and Bengiman, she was most unhappy with. For she believed, and held true in her heart, that none of this would have happened if Xation had not taken Bengiman off to Maui for a week of golf at Kapalua. For if Bengiman had stayed in town she would have not been there to be doing the payroll for him. And it would have been 6 foot 5, Bengiman Pruce, a former rugby player and ex-con, who the rapist would have encountered. Alas, it was poor little Felina whom he came upon, not the bald, British bastard, Bengiman Pruce. So while Felina waited for her guest to come down stairs she placed a call to her brother, trying to reach him on his cell phone. Now it was a little after 1:00 a.m. so she knew that it was after 6:00 a.m. at the Ritz Carlton, on Maui, but Felina did not care about the time.
     The phone rang and was answered by Xation's voice mail and Felina left a message for her brother "Xation! Algo terrible na sucedido esta noche, la policia se encontraban en Bengiman's pub. Necesito que me llame enseguida, yo estaba casi muerto esta noche!" Felina spoke in short, panicked breaths "Necesito que por favor llameme tan pronto como se reciba esta mensaje!" Felina hung up the telephone as she felt her pulse race and her blood pressure rise, the panic returning once more, then she turned and saw Michael, her hero, standing at the door. "Come, sit sown beside me here." she smiled graciously happy to see her new, dear friend, someone she could talk to, someone who would stay up with her through the long dark night. "Do you feel a little better after what has happened?"
     "I will be fine. It's you I am worried about." Michael said with great concern as he had overheard her on the telephone, he felt she was putting on a brave face for him, but Michael knew the events of this evening would leave a deep scar upon her heart and mind.
     "I do not know how I feel, honestly, but right now all I want to do is drink this  exquisite bottle of wine and get to know you better." Felina said as she filled up the goblets saying to Michael "So, please, tell me more about yourself. What is it that you do for a living? What brings you to Argentina?"
     Here Michael froze up a little, for he did not know if he could trust Felina with the truth of his story, yet something deep within his soul wanted to tell her all the sordid details of his life and crimes. And he truly felt, maybe, after what he had just done for her, saving her life, that she might afford him some sense of loyalty. Though, of course, of this he could not be certain. Michael let out a heavy sigh and slowly shook his head, determined not to speak, but he looked into her big, brown, trusting eyes and said "I will only tell you my story, IF you can honestly say you will keep my secret."
     Felina's eyes grew wide with intrigue, she moved closer to him on the sofa, taking his hands in hers, telling him "After what you have done for me tonight, I promise I will protect your secret, whatever that secret may be, with my life."
    

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