AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No! No, no, no. You agreed to sex only. Then you went and fucked it up!” she yelled. The emotions she’d been shoving down for months burned so hot that she couldn’t hold them in any longer.
Maybe it was everything she’d been through—all the attacks—or just the situation they found themselves in now, but her emotions were begging to be let free. Bubbling up inside her like molten lava, in a way that scared her more than death.
“You made me feel things I didn’t want to feel ever again! You overtook my thoughts, and it’s like you crawled right into my soul! I don’t want that!” A sob ripped from her throat, but she forced herself to continue. “It’s too powerful! The feeling… it… it gives you the power to shred me!”
Kate ignored the burning behind her eyes and focused on her anger, letting it build to a crescendo. “Fuck you, Isaac! Fuck you for changing the rules! I didn’t want to fall in love with you!”
13
Isaac stood still, watching as Kate’s chest heaved, her breaths rapid as she struggled not to cry. He’d been falling for Kate for months, but it was during the last two weeks that he realized he wasn’t just falling anymore. He had already fallen, like right over a sharp cliff, and landed hard.
Over the last two weeks, she’d been injured or in a trance three times. Three times he had rushed to her, his heart in his throat, not knowing if she was okay. Three times he had feared he would lose her, either from injury or because that chip on her shoulder would grow so large it would never let him get close.
During those times, he realized his love for her had the ability to shred him too. Their love wasn’t roses and candlelight dinners. It wasn’t gentle and nice. It was raw and emotional and so fucking powerful, it terrified the shit out of him like nothing else ever had.
If Isaac could choose a less powerful love, a less scary love—one that was sweet and soothing—he wouldn’t. Maybe in the past, before he knew what it was like to love Kate, but not now. Not if it meant passing up the all-consuming intensity he felt for this amazingly strong, stubborn, brave, beautiful woman.
Isaac took a step toward Kate, and she tried to back up, but she hit the folding screen he’d conjured earlier. Reaching out, he steadied the screen, then wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. It had become his go-to move with her. If he let his magic out, he could feel her essence through his palm whenever pulled her close. But he didn’t this time, not yet. He left a few inches of space between them as he looked into her eyes. “Tell me again,” he said, his voice raspy with emotion.
He was sure she knew what he wanted, but she shook her head, yet she didn’t pull away from his grasp.
“Yes. Say it,” he demanded.
Kate shook her head again. “No. I don’t want to feel it,” she choked out.
He caressed her cheek with his thumb, wiping away her tears. “It doesn’t matter what you want. We don’t get to pick some of our feelings, like love. That’s why they’re so powerful.” Leaning forward he brushed his lips along hers. Just a feather-like touch. “Tell me, Kate.”
Isaac could have gone first and told her how much he loved her. How he’d been falling for her for months. That thoughts of her filled his every waking moment. But he didn’t. He needed Kate to face these emotions and for this moment to be her choice. Pulling back just enough to see her eyes, his thumb continued to caress her cheek as he watched her.
“I thought it would just be a few nights of fun sex,” she whispered. “Then you decided to stay. I told myself that was good—I’d get regular sex whenever I wanted. I’d be satisfied. I… I thought I could put what we had in a nice little box and keep it locked up tight. But… right from the beginning, you fucking scared me with how much you made me feel.”
The more she said, the lower her voice became, as if she was afraid to say the words out loud. But Isaac hung on to each one.
“But then… somewhere along the way, the box cracked open. I…” Her voice was barely perceptible now. “I fell in love with you, Isaac.”
In this dark, cold room, with no way to know if people were searching for them, if they’d ever make it out, Isaac felt like he had suddenly been given the sun, the moon, and all the stars wrapped up in a big, shiny bow.
Not once in the years since his family had fractured with his dad’s death and then his brother’s had he felt whole like he did in that instant. It didn’t matter where they were because Kate loved him. It didn’t even matter that she didn’t want to love him because she did.
“Do you love me?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“I do. I love you, Kate.”
Isaac bent, and putting one arm under Kate’s legs and the other cradling her back, he picked her up and carried her to the bed and laid her down. “I want to strip you slowly and then make love to every inch of your body.”
She huffed out a small laugh. “But we’ll freeze.”
He chuckled. “Yup, that’s what I was thinking. We’ll have to compromise.” Using his magic he removed their clothing, leaving it folded on the floor. Then he quickly climbed into the bed beside her and pulled up all the blankets.
When she shivered, he sent his magic throughout his body, as well as into his hands, warming her skin wherever it touched his.
“Ahhh, warmth.”
Moving up onto his side, he shifted so he was hovering over her. “I love you, Kate.” Not waiting for a response, he lowered his lips to hers. He wanted to keep the pace slow and make love to her, letting her feel his love.
He kept the kiss slow, gliding his lips over hers, his tongue playing with hers, for as long as he could. Smiling to himself, he knew it wouldn’t last. Not that he was complaining. He loved how passionate Kate was and he could show her he loved her in a hard and fast way too.
“Please, Isaac, no teasing. I don’t want slow.”
