"What the bloody hell?", I shriek astounded
"Oh, guess we are skipping over the pleasantries then", he straightens up ,calm as a statue nonchalance at its peak.
I hear him huff as he dusts off mud and gravel from his suit. "This is definitely not where I expected our next fateful encounter to be, but....", he smirks, "I'm not complaining little kitten"
Heat rushes to my cheeks. Anger. I tell myself
"Shut up —And stop calling me that!", I snap
"Why ? It matches you perfectly, don't you think?", he leans closer , bending to my level, until I hear his breath hot in my hear, "All claws and no bite"
I can almost imagine his dimples peeking through the dark mocking me
I blurt out through boiling rage and gritted teeth, "One more step closer and I'll show you how exactly I bite"
He obviously does not heed my warning and pulls me closer by the waist in one swift motion, close enough that the scent of him wraps both of us in a luscious, vicious trap.
I see nothing,
I hear nothing,
But I feel everything, I feel him.
His hands wrapped around me in a protective gesture, his breath hot on my neck, our bodies touching in a warm embrace.
And this time my heart doesn't beat faster, it just.....stops.
Does anger make your heart stop?
Does anger make your world freeze?
The world doesn't stay frozen for long
Skitterrr...
The sharp sudden skitter makes me bury my face in his chest and instinct makes my fingers curl around his lapels.
I hate this, I want to pull back with all the force I can muster, and maybe if I tried hard enough, this temporary moment of weakness might undo it.
But, he's too still. I must be hallucinating because I don't feel his chest rising with mocking laughter.
I gulp
"It's a spider, isn't it? —", my voice comes is muffled against his chest.
He does not humour me with a response, instead pulling me closer and whispering dark and intimate, "Shh, Little Kitten"
I don't snap back this time, my brain almost comically fixated on the spider that might have been behind me. My friends would rather argue I fear spiders. But I assure you —I don't fear spiders, I just hate them.
He twirls me gently leading us away from the bark to my back. As soon as we escape the close proximity of that vile little insect, I pull back sighing a breath of relief.
"You didn't have to do that", I huff out
"Aww, is that your way of telling 'thank you' little kitten?, he mocks menacingly
I glare back at him or so I hope as I'm apparently night blind.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt to admit that you enjoyed it", he quips
I point an angry accusing finger at him, "Enjoy? You were the one who made me bump into that stupid tree in the first place"
"Then you fell on top of me"
"That was momentary imbalance —"
"You ran your fingers over me"
"That was —"
"Momentary weakness? Like now, where you're pointing your finger at an owl?", he clutches my finger and pulls it in his direction, "I'm here little kitten"
I swear I heard my dignity die, but no way in hell I will let that rattle me
I don't give him a chance to revel, "That was self preservation. I was checking for weapons.I thought you were danger"
"I won't deny that"
My breath hitches
"But you like danger, don't you?", he steps closer, "No one in their right minds would make a deal with the devil and wander alone at 2 a.m"
My ears redden at the memory of the deal. That wretched deal.
Anger, I tell myself. This time, I know I'm right.
I turn around and start to walk in the opposite direction, hoping my luck will have my back and I don't run into a tree or a pole or anything.
But gods forbid, Luck is a fickle bitch
As expected, my foot catches in a knot and I trip over a stone—again.
Almost instantly his hand reaches out to grab my arm preventing me from falling face-first into the ground
"You're lost aren't you?", I don't need light to know he's smirking.
I flinch away harshly, "I can't deal with this, Ashford"
He sighs, "Okay, fine, why are you here again?"
"That's none of your business"
"Ouch. okay, at least tell me where you're heading to, I promise I won't bite"
The image of a worried Aiden who would probably be searching for me flashes through my mind
"A car is waiting for me at the main road"
He chuckles, but this time there is no mockery in it, "Fine, I'll drop you to the main road, and I won't speak a word"
He offers me his hand. I don't take it.
"Suit yourself", he says quickly after which he swirls around and starts walking in quick pace.
I instinctively run to keep pace and clutch his sleeve near his wrist, the soft fabric offering me an unexpected comfort as we continue advancing forward with quick steps.
He huffs but doesn't pull away and just like that we walk, together, with me clutching his sleeve.
Soon, the dim light of the streetlights illuminating the main road comes into view. I leave a breath I didn't know I was holding.
As soon as I spot the silhouette of my little brother against the dark car, I stop in my tracks.
Lucien looks at me
"I'll take it from here. Thanks", I say with a tight-lipped smile.
The last I needed was any speculation from my fictional little brother.
"You sure?", Lucien asks with the slightest hint of worry I refuse to acknowledge.
"Yes"
He nods and proceeds to swiftly turn around as I let go off his sleeve. A thought hits me right then. I don't hesitate.
"Why are you here by the way?", I whisper-scream
He answers without turning back, "That, little kitten, is none of your business"
An unbidden smile paints my face as the devil disappears within the shadows.
I quietly saunter towards Aiden.
As soon as his eyes land on me, he yells, "The hell, Genny, you disappeared —again?!, and why the hell are you so muddy?!"
"I'm sorry ", I apologise frowning slightly pretending to be guilty of it, "Don't ask me why, I'm tired"
He sighs and swings opens the car door as if he'd enough of the rollercoaster, "Just get in, Father might be angry"
My stomach churns.
Father. A father who was never fond of his daughter.