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As I stand there, a fresh wave of realization washes over me. The people I serve at Anna's Kitchen, the ones I've vowed to protect and uplift, live in conditions much worse than this. The contrast between my world and theirs—and now, Natalie's—is jarring.
All this time, I've been fighting for a cause, championing the underprivileged, and I've been blind to the reality of their daily struggles. My life, surrounded by wealth and power, has insulated me from the hardships that some people face every day.
I've been living in a bubble.
I turn to Natalie, seeing her in a new light, and feel a surge of respect for her. She just grins at me. "It's notthatbad, Alessa. Come on, I'd better patch up your arm."
Only then do I glance down and see that she's right; that second bullet grazed me. I'm bleeding a little, the red stain coming through my expensive cashmere coat.
Natalie helps me take it off, and then my blouse as well, so that I'm only in my black bra and skirt as I follow her into her bedroom.
This is not how I imagined things would go between us.
And yet…it kind of is, too.
In the quiet confines of Natalie's bedroom, the world outside seems almost irrelevant. The room is small and sparsely furnished, with a single window letting in the light from the street. Natalie shuts the blinds and then guides me to sit on the edge of her bed, her movements gentle but firm.
She retrieves a first aid kit from the bathroom, her fingers deftly unzipping the bag to reveal its contents. Then, with careful hands, she begins to tend to the graze on my arm—a superficial wound, but a stark reminder of the danger we've just escaped.
The touch of her fingers on my skin is soft, almost tender, sending an unexpected shiver down my spine.
Her eyes are focused on the task, but I can feel something building up in her. Finally, she breaks the silence, sounding almost frustrated. "Why did you do that? Jump on top of me, I mean. You could have been killed."
I look down at my arm, watching as she carefully cleans the wound. The question deserves an honest answer, but the truth is something I've been grappling with myself.
After a long moment, she lifts her gaze to meet mine. "Because I couldn't stand the thought of losing you," I tell her quietly.
It's a revelation, even to me. An admission of the depth of my feelings for her.
And all I can do is wait with terrified hope, and see how Natalie will respond.
CHAPTER14
ALESSA
Natalie has paused, her hands stilling on my arm as I spilled out the truth to her. She finishes bandaging my arm in silence, her touch lingering longer than necessary, but whenever she looks up at me, she's smiling.
She'ssmiling. She's not horrified, not angry, not shutting down.
Compelled by a force stronger than my own will, I reach out, running a hand through her hair. It's a simple gesture, but it feels like a crossing of thresholds, a venture into uncharted territory.
She doesn't move away.
Doesn't toss her head to get away from my fingers.
Slowly, I lean in, my lips finding hers in a soft, questioning kiss. It's tentative at first, a gentle exploration, but then she responds. Her lips move against mine with a hesitancy that mirrors my own, a dance of uncertainty and longing.
The kiss deepens, fueled by the pent-up emotions and the shared adrenaline of the day's events. We fall back onto the bed, still locked in the embrace. In this moment, there's onlyus—Alessa and Natalie, connected by something that transcends the chaos of our lives.
My hand slips under her shirt, fingertips tracing the soft curve of her waist. Natalie's breath hitches, a small, barely audible sound that sends a thrill right through me. To know that I can affect her like this with the lightest caress...it's intoxicating.
She'sintoxicating.
"Natalie, I want you," I tell her, my voice husky with desire. "Right now. So if you don't want this—if you don't want me—now's the time to—"
I break off because she presses her mouth to mine in a hungry kiss. And then I can let myself surrender to the passion, a primal need that demands release.
I lose myself in the sensation of Natalie's body, her skin like silk beneath my fingertips, so familiar and yet so longed for. She arches into me, her hips pressing against mine in a movement that sets my blood aflame, helping me pull off my bra, my skirt, my panties…
