TESSA’S POV
I did not know why I felt this strong urge inside of me. The moment his gaze drifted to my lips, the sudden thirst rose within my lungs, and it made me want to be kissed over again. But I just could not tell the future Alpha to kiss me as I desired. That would be hilarious and embarrassing.
Just before my wild imagination got into me, I stood up, straightening my clothes and clearing my throat.
“Blue has been waiting for you. He’s been meowing since we went home,” I told him and took secret glances at him.
“Blue?” He chuckled.
“The cat.” I crossed my arms against my chest. “I named him Blue, and I think he misses you.”
“How about you?”
“What do you mean, how about me?” My forehead creased as I looked at him, confused.
He smiled cockily. “Did you miss me too?”
“O-Of course not!” I scowled at him. My cheeks flushed even more. “W-Why would I even miss you?”
“Right.” He shook his head, smiling as he started to pet Blue. “I think I’m the only one who’s missing you here.”
He missed me?
I could not help but swallow hard, as if that would ever make the loud beating of my heart stop. A sudden feeling of being delighted enveloped my stomach, making those unwanted bats inside of it dance crazily. For the record, I didn’t know why I was feeling that way.
“Must it be because of the mate bond?” I asked, trying to reason out his emotions towards me.
“It must be.” He then stood up and walked toward me. “I’m already bonded. My heart and soul, in fact.”
My heart pounded aggressively inside my chest. How could he easily play with words and make it sound so appealing to my ears? He stepped forward until we were just a few inches away from each other. I gasped when he leaned down; my eyes shut immediately as I waited for him to kiss me, but the kiss did not happen.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw him grinning from ear to ear.
“Did you just think I was going to kiss you?” he teased me.
I stepped back and looked away, totally embarrassed by the fact that I anticipated that he’d kiss me, only to be humiliated in return. My cheeks heated in shame, and I could not utter a single word to somehow defend myself because… he was right.
“I-If you just came here to t-tease me, you better stop and leave.” I inhaled sharply and bit my lower lip, wincing. “It’s not funny, I swear.”
He tugged on my arm before I could even finish my statement. Feeling his arm wrap around my waist, he then leaned down and claimed my lips in the most unexpected way. My eyes blinked because I was totally stunned. I could not even process it. The loud beating of my heart became so evident that it was like it was the only thing I could hear afterward.
But then when his lips moved, it drove me so crazy. The thirst that I once felt awhile ago came back hunting me for more, and just like that, I kissed him back as passionate as what he was giving me.
Atlas held my nape, pulling me deeper. I gasped when I had the chance to breathe some air, but I kissed him again. The movement of our lips became rough, and I just found myself pressing my body against his, tiptoeing while my arms were looped around her neck so I could kiss and taste him more.
The sensation started to build all the way down my groin area. It was something that tickled me, making me feel an intense desire to the core of my being.
His lips went to the corner of my mouth, my jaw until it reached my neck. My mouth formed an ‘O’ as he licked my skin right there. Seconds later, I felt his teeth biting me, but instead of feeling pain, I was consumed with pleasure. A moan escaped my throat.
My eyes opened when he pulled back.
“We should stop now before I lose my control,” he said.
Our gaze locked for a brief moment, both panting due to the long kiss we shared. His lips formed a smile, and it was as infectious as I just found myself smiling at him too.
“D-Did you just bite me?” I asked.
My question made him chuckle. “I like your smell. I can’t help it,” he said as he licked his lower lip. “I think strawberry will be my favorite from now on.”
Earlier this morning, I used a strawberry perfume that I bought from the market with her aunt last week. Ever since I was a child, I had already had an obsession with strawberries because of their sweet, alluring scent, and now that Atlas liked my perfume scent, I could not help but feel giddy on the inside.
The door of my bedroom swung open, which startled me. Aunt Alice walked into the room with crossed arms, eyebrows raising as she glanced between me and Atlas.
“I wonder what those noises I heard from here are,” Aunt Alice said suspiciously.
My cheeks blushed as I sucked in a deep breath, not sure if telling her that Atlas and I kissed was a good idea given that she somehow disliked him. I tried to blank my mind as much as possible, so she would not be able to read my thoughts and hold me accountable for the sudden burst of desire that happened between me and Atlas awhile ago.
“Good afternoon, Alice,” Atlas formally greeted her. “I came here to visit the cat.”
Aunt Alice nodded, but her expression told me she didn’t buy what he just said.
“Yeah, so you sneaked into her room using the balcony instead of knocking on the door below, huh? That’s very surprising, Atlas,” Aunt Alice said.
“I saw her sitting on the balcony.” Atlas then looked at me. “And I felt excited right away, so I just jumped ahead instead of knocking on the door. I apologize, Alice.”
Aunt Alice sighed in defeat, but the dismay in her expression was still so visible that it made me feel bad for Atlas. I knew she disliked his family, but she didn’t have to be this obvious.
Atlas still had emotions.
“I am afraid I have to tell you to leave for now,” she said.
“Aunt Alice,” I called her attention, and when she looked at me, I shook my head. “He just arrived.”
“I know, and you kissed, right?”
I was taken aback that she already knew about what we did when I tried to cloud my thoughts with other things so she wouldn’t be able to read my mind. But I guess I couldn’t hide anything from her.
“Yes, we did,” Atlas confirmed. “She’s my mate. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“I know you will say that. But I just want to remind you that Tessa here hasn’t felt the mate bond, so it’s just appropriate if I ask you not to cross the line early.”
“Aunt Alice, please stop!” I said, but this time my voice sounded so irritated.
“You say goodbye to your suitor now, Tessa.” She smiled at us. “We’ll be having dinner with the Brookes family, so we have to prepare for that.”
“What?” Atlas sounded like he didn’t like what he had just heard.
Aunt Alice smirked at him. “Seems like the Brookes like Tessa for Cohen. I’m happy his family wants to accept her as their son’s mate…”
I scowled at my aunt, as I was offended on behalf of Atlas.