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He caresses my cheek, and his breath dances across my skin.
I know he’s trying to be supportive, and he’s right of course. But there are still things I need to tell him. He needs to know everything about Frida and see her secret room. I want to tell him about her friendship with Charles and Mr. Brian... I need to tell him about Noah...
But then he touches his lips to mine and silences all my thoughts. We have time, I tell myself. Now that we’re finally together, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to talk about everything. Right now, I just want to be near him and savor this moment with all of my senses.
Chapter 24
Iroll over in bed and stretch, feeling better than I have in a long time. I open my eyes slightly to see the big bed in which I’m lying, the wardrobe, the sofa that I once spent the night on.
So it wasn’t a dream. A peculiar feeling grips me. It’s a stabbing chill, so icy and piercing that I jump in fright and quickly grope around to my right. But the other side of the bed is not empty, as this feeling of dread was trying to lead me to believe. Ayden hasn’t run away. He’s lying beside me. He held me the entire night, talked with me, kissed me, until we fell asleep. Now he turns over in his sleep and instinctively puts his arm around me, pulling me toward him, and sleeps on.
It’s a wonderful feeling being so close to him. I look into his perfectly proportioned face and find that even early in the morning he looks like a model – perfectly styled for just such a morning scene. His long dark lashes, his cheekbones, his straight nose, his full, beautifully contoured lips. I want to kiss every inch of him. I nestle up to him and listen to his breath, his heartbeat. I caress his back and look at the clock. It’s already six o’clock. I should start getting ready for school. I need to showerand change into fresh clothes.
I gently try to wake Ayden by stroking his arm, but he doesn’t wake up. I shake him gently, and he just grunts irritably, moves away from me, and continues sleeping. It’s not until I give him a shove and say his name that he opens his eyes. As soon as he sees me, a smile appears on his lips. He reaches out and pulls me in close again.
“You’re awake early,” he observes.
“It’s six o’clock, and I need to go to my room and get ready.”
“That’s the middle of the night.”
“Apparently. It was hard to wake you.”
“When I sleep, I sleep soundly,” he replies with a smile, giving me a peck on the cheek.
Our eyes meet again, but only for a brief moment. Because then our lips quickly find each other. This irrepressible desire instantly surges over me, like a raging storm. I can’t understand how Ayden triggers such feelings in me. I pull him closer to me. His hands are on my hips, running along the band of my briefs, pushing them down a little. I gasp as his fingers wander lower. My whole body tingles, feels like it’s on fire, and yearns for more.
At that moment, the alarm on my phone beeps, and as much as I resent it, I have to lean out of the bed and switch it off.
“It’s okay,” Ayden says when I look back at him. “We should get up. I have a meeting with the hunters before class to report on yesterdays’ patrol,” he says as he plays with a strand of my hair.
“Did it go okay?” I ask, unable to disguise the concern in my voice. I think of Noah and wonder – as unlikely as it is – whether Ayden may have encountered him.
“It was fine. Nothing special,” he reassures me.
He kisses me briefly on the lips, softly, like a sweet promise for later. He gets up, pulls on a pair of pants over his boxers and walks me to the door. I can’t stop staring at his naked torso, taut skin stretched over muscles.
“Sure you don’t want to go back to bed?” he asks with a suggestive grin.
I give him a light punch on the arm. “Don’t make fun of me. If I had anywhere near the kind of effect on you that you have on me...”
I don’t get to finish my sentence because Ayden moves around behind me and brushes his lips along the curve of my neck, whispering, “If you had any idea how crazy you make me. I can barely control myself...” His hands brush across my belly and then feel their way over my jeans, and when I press myself into him, I can distinctly feel what he means. I hear him gasp and a shiver runs up my spine.
“You should go,” he murmurs, “or we’ll never make it to any of our classes.”
It’s hard to tear myself away, but I know he’s right.
“I’ll see you after training. I won’t be there this afternoon,” he says.
I open the door, give him a kiss that’s far too fleeting, and step out into the corridor. I glance back at him to see that breathtaking smile and when I turn to leave, I almost run into someone. I wish I could fall through a hole in the floor because it’s none other than Mr. Collins. And he immediately grasps the situation. I’m leaving his son’s room early in the morning, and Ayden’s standing in the doorway half naked. It’s not that I’m ashamed of being with him. And I have no problem with Mr. Collins knowing about us. But I wish he didn’t have to find out like this.
I glance at the principal, and I’m relieved to see a friendly smile on his face.
“Ayden, I was just coming to see you. You haven’t filed your report from yesterday’s patrol, and I also wanted to...” He glances at me and then continues evasively, “...discuss a few dates with you.”
I can’t help wondering whether he’s referring to the weird study that Ayden’s part of. I shudder because I still have no idea what it actually involves. And I can’t deny that I’m afraid for him.
“But I can see you’re busy.” He’s still smiling, but now I notice the displeasure in Mr. Collins’ eyes. He’s looking down his nose at me, and his voice is sharp. “I didn’t know you had a new fling. Although I suppose I’m not aware of most of them. So, this time it’s someone from school.”
