Chapter Eleven
The call Miracle had been dreading finally came. CIRO’s big boss wanted to talk to them—all of them, Miracle included. While the others went on ahead, Barbie drove Miracle back to her apartment so she could pick up a pant suit and a sensible pair of heels. While she gathered a few things, so she could go back to Beast’s apartment afterward, she called Liane to let her know she could come back.
“I’m not coming back, Miracle,” Liane said, her voice hard. “I think I’m going back to finish Teacher’s College.”
“Oh—” That was surprising to Miracle since Liane hated Teacher’s College so much she’d dropped out. “What brought this on?”
“Life is short, Miracle,” Liane said. “Very short.”
“Sure—okay.”
“I can’t go back to Germany. Please understand.”
“It’s okay. I’ll see you when I come to visit.”
“Does this mean things have progressed between you and Beast?”
“Yes.” Miracle turned as a knock sounded at the door. Barbie was there tapping her watch. Miracle nodded. “I’ll tell you more later. Right now I have to go. His boss wants to talk to us.”
“Didn’t his boss die?” Liane asked.
“The boss higher than him.”
“Oh, okay. Call me later?”
Miracle promised she would and hung up. Barbie walked in and grabbed her packed bag. Though Miracle tried taking it back, Barbie merely grinned and headed out the door. Miracle jogged to catch up.
Back in the car, she slipped on her seatbelt and they were on their way. The two women talked about everything—boys, life, music. The ride wasn’t nearly long enough and soon, Barbie fell into a disciplined line with the rest of her team. Miracle wasn’t sure what to do so she stood at the door watching them.
The older man with the grey sideburns turned and waved her in. “Please close the door,” he said.
Miracle glanced at Beast who nodded and she did as the man asked.
“Have a seat guys,” he said. “Miracle Jones, is it?”
“Yes,” Miracle replied, not sure if she should say sir, or your highness. Instead she said the one word then sat between Beast and Pitbull.
“My name is Ulrich Weber. I was briefed on what happened to you,” Ulrich said. “I cannot begin to tell you how sorry we are for that.”
“I’m still standing—so to speak—I have these guys to thank for that,” Miracle said. “They’re not in trouble, are they?”
Ulrich smiled. “No. But we are asking that they take a vacation. We need to go through the ranks and clean house. We need to know who knew what and when—it’s a mess and I really don’t want CIRO to be caught in the middle of that.”
“So you’re punishing us,” Zero said. “We saved a life and you’re kicking us out.”
“No.” Ulrich shook his head. “You’ve done your job. Now, we have to clean up what’s left. Once it’s clear, you come back.”
“How long will this take?” Beast asked.
“Four, five months? At least that’s what they tell me.” Ulrich exhaled loudly. “I don’t think I have to tell you this has to stay between us.”
“No,” Pitbull spoke up. “We got it.”
“Who are we going to tell?” Mouth asked. “It would just cause panic. That’s why they used cops for GSG 9 and not soldiers because people were afraid something like this would happen.”
Ulrich nodded. “I have all your reports. Take the time—we’ll pay for it if you wanted to leave the country for a spell. Once we have everyone vetted, you come back. We won’t keep you out longer than necessary. CIRO is one of our more productive teams.”
Barbie grunted.
Ulrich dismissed them and they all rose to leave. Ulrich asked to speak with Miracle alone and she saw the moment Beast’s back went up. Miracle squeezed his hand and stepped toward Ulrich. Waiting until the door clicked closed behind her, she sighed. The fear of being kidnapped again raged inside her head. Still, she remained standing, keeping her eyes on Ulrich. Beast taught her things and this time she would not be going lightly.
“Is there anything we can do?” Ulrich asked. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
“I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Beast and I...” She stopped.
“Are seeing each other.” Ulrich nodded. “He has already made me aware of that. He’s not in any trouble for it. He’s a good man, Fräulein Jones. Regardless of what’s happened of late, we don’t make a habit out of punishing good men when great things happen in their lives. Listen, if you ever need anything…”
“I’m sure I won’t.” Miracle smiled. “I have a group of guys outside that door who have my back.”
Ulrich smiled knowingly and nodded. He extended a hand and Miracle shook it.
“Thank you for the offer though,” she said.
“The offer is there.” Ulrich promised.
With the meeting over, Miracle exited the office to find Beast and the others in deep conversation in the hall. When she approached them, Beast turned to her and arched a brow. She kissed his nose. “It’s okay. He just wanted to see if there was anything he could do. I guess he feels guilty too.”
“He should.” Zero muttered. “He hired the guy.”
“You guys have plans for tonight?” Miracle asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
“How about I make you all a good dinner?” Miracle asked. “When was the last time you had a home-cooked meal?”
“Beast?” Mouth asked.
“Look, what the lady wants.” Beast wrapped an arm around Miracle’s hips. “The lady gets.”
The group laughed.
“Perfect.” Miracle flailed. “Beast and I have to go shopping.”
Beast groaned. “Woman, you are so lucky I adore you.”
“You’d better.” Miracle joked.
After they set their plans, Beast escorted her to his vehicle and opened her door. She kissed him before sliding into the leather seat. Beast stared in at her for a silent moment before jogging around and easing into the driver’s seat.
On their way back to his apartment, he slowed down, measuring his words carefully before speaking. “Have you given any more thoughts to speaking to someone?” Beast asked out of the blue.
“I said I would go and I meant it.”
“I know, but sometimes, in the heat of the moment...”
“Beast, I know you’re worried about me, and I adore you for it.”
“I just want you to be okay.” He sighed. “You were kidnapped and tortured. You can’t take a shower alone and you haven’t taken a bath since it happened. I know why. I can’t help you like you deserve and it makes me feel weak. A man isn’t supposed to be weak for his woman.”
Miracle cradled his face. “Weak? Beast you’re the strongest man I know.”
“Then why can’t I help you?”
She kissed him. “I’ll talk to someone,” she said. “Because you’re right. I love taking baths and it’s been torture not being able to have one. Water terrifies me now.”
“I’ll go with you,” Beast said.
“Thanks, hon.”
The made it through the night and soon one day rolled into two into three. Miracle visited the therapist. The woman was petite, with blue eyes and dark brown hair. It didn’t take a genius to realize the woman was originally a blond. Beast wanted to enter the session with her but she declined. Miracle knew he wasn’t good with that but, she couldn’t spend the rest of her life afraid of people.
“So, I was told something traumatic happened recently,” Doctor Wilhelm said. “Want to tell me about that?”
“I was kidnapped and tortured,” Miracle said with a shrug. “My boyfriend believes I need to speak to someone. At first I was upset he’d even suggested it but then he reminded me that I freaked out when trying to take a bath. I haven’t been able to shower alone since it happened.”
“Aquaphobia—you have a fear of water. And idea why?”
“I was held under water—I almost drowned a few times.”
Dr. Wilhelm scribbled in her notes.
And the session continued.
By the end of it, Miracle had to admit, she did feel better.
Chapter Twelve
After three weeks of showering with Beast, Miracle figured it was time to try and do it solo. When she brought up the suggestion to the therapist, the doctor asked to speak with Beast in private. The meeting hadn’t been long and Miracle didn’t pry as to what the doctor wanted to know. She figured it was about what to do if Miracle freaked out while in the shower. The first night, Beast sat on the closed toilet seat while she showered with the curtain open. The next time, he sat in the bedroom while she showered with the curtain open. Miracle had panicked both times, but the attacks weren’t as paralyzing as the first time she tried taking a bath.
Another week melted by and soon, as long as Beast was somewhere in the house, Miracle was able to bathe on her own.
One night, as they laid in bed, Beast sat up and faced her. She shifted so she could allow her gaze to travel over his beautifully toned body. His large chest called for her to kiss it all over but his eyes were troubled.
“Miracle, can you do me a favor?” Beast asked.
“Okay?”
“Tell me what happened,” Beast said. “While you were kidnapped.”
“Why?”
“I need to know.”
“Alric.” She pushed to her elbow and used her free hand to caress his cheek. “Baby, that wasn’t your fault. Your boss gave you an order and you obeyed. You saved a few lives. You can’t carry this.”
“Please…”
Miracle exhaled and moved so she could curl her legs beneath her. She took his hands in hers and looked down at them before lifting his and kissing the backs. “At first they merely held me in this small room. Then they came for me. They started with just knocking me around…” Miracle stopped when Beast flinched. “Beast…”
“I’m okay. Go on.”
Though she wasn’t sure, Miracle continued. “When I wasn’t telling them what they wanted to hear, they tossed me back into the room but came back minutes later. They tried using a hose to spray water into my face. Then they graduated to the tank.”
“Did they…” Beast exhaled and cleared his throat. “Did they…”
“No. I wasn’t sexually assaulted. If that had happened I would have told you immediately and I don’t think we’d be able to make love as many times as we have.”
“Baby, I’m sorry. I really should have been here for you.”
“Like I said, there’s nothing to be sorry for. I don’t blame you for any of this.” She eased in to brush her lips against his Adam’s apple. “You’re going to want to protect me from everything. But even though your name is Beastmode, it’s impossible to save me all the time. Some monsters will be out of control and there will be nothing you can do about them.”
“We’ll just have to see about that.” Beast pouted at her.
Miracle grinned. “I tell you what—we have a little time before we have to get ready for our date. Why don’t we find something fun to do?”
“Oh yeah?” Beast leaned in, pressing his large shoulders into her and taking her lips in short, searing kisses. “I can think of a few things.”
“Woohoo!” Miracle cheered.
Beast laughed. “Tell me something—why did your parents name you Miracle?”
“My mom was told she’d never be able to have children,” Miracle said. “Then when she got pregnant with me, she was regulated to bed rest for nine months.”
“At risk pregnancy?”
“Yes. When I came, apparently the nurse was like, here’s your little miracle. Maybe it was the pain meds talking but she agreed and Voila!”
“Here’s my little miracle.”
It was Miracle’s turn to laugh. “Sure, Beast.”
Beast kissed her again and sighed. She wondered if he was okay but she quickly got the answer when she slipped a hand between her legs.
Miracle didn’t think making love with Beast could be any better than it had been over the past few weeks. But as he bent her over the side of the bed and took her hard from behind, Miracle realized she had been wrong. He had her rooting back into him as he sunk his fingers in her hair and wrapped the strands around his arm. She panted, whispered his name, mewled for him. All of it seemed to only make him hotter for he throbbed inside her.
“You’re so tight,” Beast grunted. “How is that...yes Fleur.”
Miracle gave in to the wanton vulgarity of what he did to her. She allowed him to pull her hair, and tap her ass with his palm as he drove her from one climax to another with a roll of his skillful hips.
One position morphed into another and when she was on her back, looking up at his sweat drenched body, Miracle took a chance and reached up. She caught his nipples and pinched.
“Miracle, what are you doing to me?” Beast groaned. “Squeeze then harder.”
“What’s the magic world?” Miracle teased while licking her fingers wet.
“Darling, please...”
With a smile, Miracle caught his tender buds between damp fingers. She twisted and tugged on them until Beast tossed his head back and roared for her. In that moment, he was so damn sexy, she could barely breathe. The look of him, like Poseidon rising from his waves sent tremors through Miracle’s body. Just before Beast leaned in to kiss her, her whole body fell apart.
She released his nipples, tangled her arms about his neck, and surrendered her mouth like she had her body.
Beast looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d dressed up for anything. Still, there he was, dressed in a black pair of slacks, black Oxfords with matching shirt and leather jacket. The only color in his outfit was a silver necklace with dog tags that hung around his neck. After checking his hair to ensure everything was in place, he added some aftershave to his cheeks and neck. Ready, he picked up the single rose he’d bought for his Fleur, along with a small velvet box, he’d been hiding from her.
Hopefully that would make up for him acting like a jealous idiot. Miracle had to call her professor back in Norfolk about her paper and seeing if she could get an extension because of the recent incidents. She hadn’t gotten a hold of him but left a message. He called back and Beast answered after he saw “Kitt Darling” popped up on her screen. He did it because he wanted to know who this man was that Miracle was calling “Darling.” How was he supposed to know that was the man’s last name?
Needless to say, Miracle hadn’t been impressed. She’d tore a verbal strip off his ass then stormed out. Thankfully, she hadn’t stayed gone for long—though to Beast, it felt like an eternity. When she returned, Miracle was much calmer and after a talk and making love, things seemed to have worked out.
It’d been weeks since her kidnapping, and though Miracle was still a little nervous about the water situation, she was still showering alone. They were quick dips—in and out—but was all she needed and he didn’t push. When she’d told him what happened while she was in captivity, Beast felt physically ill. If he could kill Loft again, he would—a million times over. Just thinking of the evil the man put her through riled Beast.
Beast was just happy she seemed to show some improvement. With a deep breath, Beast left the bathroom and waited for her in the living room. Her heels clicked against the hardwood floor. He turned and almost fainted when he saw her. He never thought she could look any better to him than she already did. But decked out in a figure hugging black skirt, one of his white shirts, put together with a red neck tie and black stilettos, she had her hair tied up in a simple ponytail, exposing her neck. The only thing that might get in the way of his lips as they searched the warm of her skin was a pair of dangling earrings, with red rubies at the ends, that brushed her ebony shoulders.
Beast realized he hadn’t exhaled since he saw her and forced himself to pushed air out his lips. “You look beautiful…”
She twirled for him and that gave him a perfect view of how the material clung to her ass. In that moment, he was tempted to postpone the date and take her back into the bedroom, but this was what she wanted. She’d been to a few therapy sessions and her doctor agreed, him taking her on a date would give her a moment to breathe and feel like a woman again. Personally, Beast didn’t think she needed his help for that—watching the way she stood before him with poise and perfection told him, she knew.
“Damn…”
“Beast, we have reservations,” Miracle said, approaching to kiss his nose. “When we come back, you can do anything you want to me.” She winked.
“All I need his half an hour.” Beast extended the rose.
Miracle instantly lifted it to her nose. “Then we’ll miss our reservation. You bought me a flower?”
“Yes, and you’re right. We should go, before I change my mind.”
She laughed and turned on her heels for the door. Beast hung back to watch the way her ass moved beneath the leather of her skirt. “Miracle, before we go...”
“Mmm?” She faced him, lifting the rose to her nose.
Beast held out the long, red velvet box. Her brow shot up.
“Beast...what’s this?”
“Open it,” Beast said.
When she accepted the box, Beast noticed her hand was shaking. He held her flower so she could open the box. It’d taken him three days of consistently going to the store to find the perfect necklace. He was pretty sure she’d complain he didn’t have to buy her anything but he wanted to. He wanted to have something that every time she looked at it, she would think of him.
When the white gold necklace with a Three-Stone Drop diamond pendant caught her eyes, a tear rolled down Miracle’s cheek.
“Fleur, I didn’t give you a present to make you sad.”
She smiled. “They’re happy tears. I promise.”
Beast lifted the delicate piece of jewelry from the case and stepped behind her. He set it around her neck then let the clasp fall in place. She turned and beamed up at him.
“I love it. Thank you—but I didn’t get you a present.”
“Trust me, Miracle.” He dropped a smooch to her nose. “You’ve given me more than you can ever imagine. This is just a token to tell you what my intentions are. I want a house overlooking the Rhine and I want that with you.”
“Me too.”
“Miracle?”
“Mmm?”
“One day, my beauty, I’ll tell you I love you—one day very soon.”
“And on that day.” Miracle accepted her flower from him again and sniffed it. “On that day, Alric Gerhart, my Beast, I’ll tell you that I love you too.”
The End