“Oh,” he seemed rather puzzled, and I heard his footstep coming even much closer, making my heart pick up its pace. “That’s the first.”
“How is it the first? We were intimate, and then you act as if nothing like that ever happened.”
“I hope I’m safe.” He breathed, and it sounded more flirty than scared.
“We will find out together,” I answered, and then I turned to him. I dragged a deep breath at the sight of the man who now stood before me in a white round-necked polo and black jeans trousers. He seemed to have also been playing with water because his hair, although not dripping, looked wet. A few strands fell into his face, shielding his alluring eyes and puffy, red lips. He looked as gorgeous as ever. It took much control not to reach for him.
I took a deep breath and returned to reality to meet Aaron’s eyes, staring at me from head to toe. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a desire in his eyes as he beheld me.
The first goal was reached.
“You look beautiful. It’s as if you got ready for someone.” I didn’t miss the trace of humour in his voice.
“I did,” I answered, unwilling to bite around the bush anymore. I’ve done that for two weeks straight.
“Lucky him.”
“What happened?”
“How do you mean?”
“At the party, we were all over each other, and after that, everything changed, and it felt as if we never even crossed a line.” I didn’t know where my courage came from, but I was not complaining.
He didn’t act as if he didn’t understand what I spoke about. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want an apology. I want an explanation.” I folded my arms across my chest.
He took a deep breath. “I never stopped thinking about what happened, Zera. It was the thought I woke up with and slept with every day in the past three weeks.”
Okay, this is progress.
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I was scared and unsure. I have never stopped wanting you, even after all these years, and while I know what I want, I have to consider what’s best for you.”
“What’s best for me?” I echoed, not knowing where he was headed with his explanation.
“Someone who will not be gone soon.”
I raised a brow. “Oh, yeah, that. Shouldn’t that be all the more reason not to spend time acting like we feel nothing when we actually do?”
“I can’t give you assurance, Zera. You’re still so young and deserve someone who will always be there for you and Zion.”
I scoffed in disbelief and took a step back. “I can’t believe this.”
“Believe what?”
“Your audacity in deciding for me!” I slammed, my tone rising a little. “You made me want you, long for you, only to pull away at the last minute. I had spent the past few weeks wanting you and wondering what I had done wrong to make you act so coldly towards me. Now you’re saying you gave me the cold shoulder because you’re dying.”
“That’s a legit reason, Zera.”
“It’s a bullshit reason. You do not get to decide for me. I am a grown woman, and I can do that for myself well!”
He opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut and just stared at me.
“You do not know what I’ve been through these past weeks.”
His apology came immediately. “I am sorry I put you through that, but I believe you might not be looking at this from every angle or in the long run. I am not a human like you. I am a werewolf, and that alone is enough to keep me away. And with my reality, I do not think it’s fair.” He reached out, and his hand stroked my face tenderly. I leaned into his touch before I could snap out of it. “I never stopped wanting you, and I never will.”
“I know your fate, and I am quite aware of what that means for me if I choose this, but you feel more real than anything else. I also cannot let the fear of the future dictate the present.” Perhaps this was me being sex-starved and wanting to be dominated properly by a man. It didn’t matter at this point.
He chuckled, and I raised a brow at him. “You’re so fucking stubborn.” He cupped my face in his palm and pulled me closer to mumble, “I can’t get enough of that.”
He took my lips between his for a soft kiss that made my toes curl. My body eased into his, trying to find completeness and comfort. He pulled back, and I saw the red flare in his eyes, overshadowing their natural hazel.
I didn’t fear the sight. It had to mean something good.
He kissed me again, sliding his tongue into my mouth, and I accepted and deepened the kiss. His finger trailed the side of my face, sending tingles through me and making goosebumps break out on my skin. He pulled away and let his hand wander to my neck, dropping further over my chest and over the cut of the red blouse that led between my two breasts. My nipples hardened at the impact of his touch, and the bud pushed against the blouse, revealing itself and its need.
He took a deep breath. “Not here.” He spoke as if scolding himself, and with that, he scooped me into his arms and raced us into the bedroom in seconds before setting me on my feet.
He didn’t give me time to get accustomed to the bedroom, which I hadn’t been in before, because he kissed me desperately while his hand pushed off the jacket I had on. Then he cupped the swell of my breasts, fondling them tenderly. He kneads the nipples between his thumbs, earning a moan from my lips.
His lips strayed from mine onto my neck, kissing and sucking on the skin there. My legs grew weak, and I clung to him desperately. He got to the slim hand of my blouse and paused, pulling away to stare at me.
A smile remained on his face. “You wore this for me.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.
I bit my lips and nodded. “I like it,” he answered.
“I’m glad.”
“But I want to take it off and see what’s underneath now. Can I take it off?”
I bobbed my head.
With ease, he pulled the blouse off my skin, and my breast came free before his eyes.
My cheeks heated, and I felt even more nervous. I pulled my blouse down to cover my naked upper body.
“Change of mind?” he asked, his brow curiously furrowed.
I took a step back towards the door. “Would it be a problem if I had one?”
His smile came out a little. “No, it won’t. But I know you want this just as much as I do. I will not force you or manipulate you into it. It has to be your decision.”
I turned to the door and reached for the knob but paused. This was me acting out of fear of being unable to live for once. Fear that after this, we would go back to acting like nothing happened for weeks again. Fear of the many sleepless nights ahead if this went sour.
“Fuck it.” I let go of the knob and hurried over to Aaron, kissing him hard on his soft, full lips. He didn’t hesitate to kiss me back. He pulled me closer to his body, and mine pressed against him as if we were one.
His hand raced to the back of my blouse, and he slowly sank his hands into the flesh of the skin exposed to his touch. I gasped when he applied pressure, and he snaked his tongue into my mouth again. I kissed him and pushed at his shirt, and he reached for it, breaking the kiss to yank it off his body.
He stood naked from the waist up, his inked skin exposed to my gaze, and I dragged my eyes to every corner. Although this body is the same as the one I had many years ago, it has a few new inks on it now, all of which drew me in to find out more.
I bit my lips and placed my hand on his rip side, trailing over the line. His breath hitched when I moved my fingers up to his arms and then shoulders.
There was a beautiful work of art on an attractive man whom I was about to have. The very thought set off nerves of reaction within me.
“It’s just sex,” I said, more to myself than him. I needed to take this with much confidence.
It’s the only way.
“It can be whatever you want it to be, love.”