Chapter 22: Part 22

“Why are you out here, sir?” I questioned, raising my chin in the air, trying not to let the closeness affect me any longer. The hair on the back of my neck stood up in attention as he lazily swiped his tongue over the bottom lip.

“I don’t think I am an enjoyable company today.” He replied, the honesty in his voice almost taking me back. I did not expect Abel to admit out loud since he almost appeared seconds away from breaking the glass.

“You are not enjoyable a lot of times, sir, but I am glad you are self aware at least.”

The Alpha made a show of putting a hand to his chest, with a mock look of offense, "Your words sting." He smiled afterwards, one that I had not yet seen. Amused, yes, but more pleased than I would have imagined my quip could cause. Staring at him just made me realise how agreeable Abel looked. How much I wanted to tangle my fingers in the mop of his hair and track the lovely curve of his lips—dangerous thoughts.

“They are meant to!”

“Are you always this catty, or is this an effect of your new boyfriend?”

“Do not speak about Avon!”

“So it’s true then!” He almost let out a snarled hand grabbing my wrist and raising it in the air. My mouth parted in a low gasp, the fire in my eyes persisting despite our position. His nose twitched.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Is it, omega?”

I suppressed a whine at the way he called out the last word, eyes blazing. “Do not call me that.”

“But it is what you are,” He huffed, his bare hand creeping up my arm, enjoying the shudders he created in his wake before it settled on the side of my neck. “You let that knothead walk you around, introduce everyone as his and then lie to me?!”

I was not as surprised by his harsh words as I got distracted by my slight noise, so close to a whimper, as he pressed a thumb below my ear. I could feel my breath caught up in my throat as he leaned down as well, even as my hands reached forward, settling on his shoulders, gripping and yet not pushing away.

A thumb traced the outline of my jaw, softly, trailing, a barely-there touch that sent a wave of heat up my spine nonetheless. I suppressed a shudder, a sudden intake of breath, a treacherous hitch in my throat, trying to keep my pulse even but to no avail. My heart was beating solidly against the chest, threatening to break out.

Abel fought a smile, watching me shiver under his touch, backing me further against the wall, so his hips press flush against my stomach. His breath felt heavier somehow as he looked into my eyes, wide and a hint of something else gleaming into them.

The Alpha’s grip on my jaw tightened then, turning my head so that we were adequately facing each other, nose touching and breaths mingling. His eyes fell on my parted pink lips, and when he looked back up again, I stopped breathing.

Instead of pulling away, he pushed our lips together.

The weight of his lips took a second to process, and I gasped into it, my heart skipping a beat. A rush of pleasure went through my whole body as I almost sagged closer, whining low in my throat and hands tightening but then relaxing on his shoulders, a frisson of heat forming in my stomach and spreading across my body. 

Abel leaned forward, his other hand finding a place on the small of my back, pressing our bodies together.

I tentatively buried my fingers in his curls, tugging involuntarily as the Alpha gently bit down.

As a gasp rang out of my lips, he dove his tongue first, eliciting a low growl from his own throat. Our tongues slid together, messy, in an attempt to compete with each other. I pulled away abruptly as another thought came to his mind, trying to catch my breathing.

Abel moved ever so slightly, lips still parted, most likely a perfect mirror image of how I appeared at the moment. Watching his chest heaving, eyes narrowed, I wanted nothing more than to pull him back in, my body crawling with want.

I could feel my knees growing weak, my skin growing too tight and only now did I truly realise that I had been fantasising about this– this kiss. But I assumed that it would always remain nothing more than a mere fantasy– something pleasant to think about. Feeling Abel kiss me was so utterly natural that it almost hurt; every single nerve in my body stood on edge while I desperately tried to hold on to something.

As the realisation of our action slowly sank in, I looked around us, a relived breath escaping me. There was no one in the hallway. I stared at him with the same wide eyes, cheeks now flaming and a hand hiding half of my face. I started breathing heavily, so heavily I was sure anyone could hear it even from a distance.

The Alpha took a tentative step forward, but I stepped back, putting a few inches between us as if it would protect me from Abel. Why did I do that? It’s not the first time which makes it even more shameful. How are we going to call it a mistake?

"We never should have done that," I slowly spoke up, clasping my hands together in front of me, head bent down. I pressed my feet together, praying for the ground to open up and swallow me right now. “You kissed me!”

“You kissed me back.” I heard him exhale loudly, mouth pressing in a thin line. The Alpha squared his shoulders, pinning me with a challenging glare.

I opened and closed my mouth, unable to counter that. Technically I could have pushed him away but instead indulged and kissed him back. A lump formed in my throat, pink rising on my cheeks all over again.

“So what you want to me to apologise, sir?”

He winced at my sharp tone, face scrunching. Raising his hand in the air, the Alpha raked over his hair and tugged it furiously. I could still feel the man's eyes on my profile, a soft, pitiful sigh escaping him. “No! That’s not what I was expecting….”

“I should head back, sir.” I cut him off, my voice dropping low.

“Emma.”

“Please stop. I know what you are going to say, and let’s just….” I bit on my lower lip hard enough to draw blood, chin rising in the air. “I get it! Loud and clear. You have said it before, so don’t repeat yourself.”

I don’t think I can take it again, hear the half-hearted and careful chosen words. The knife will only plunge deeper inside. Abel did not care about kissing em before and couldn’t have made it more clear.

Hurt blossomed in the pit of my stomach, turning on my feet to slip back out the doors in which I had come from. It was cooler, the warmth of the people milling about almost refreshing compared to the stifling heat that seemed to have overtaken me in the hallway.

It was not refreshing enough, though, the change in atmosphere. I could feel the heat still coursing through my veins, warming the inside of my skin. The sudden want. I took an even breath, hoping the cold, bitter air would soothe my blush one final time.

Avon waved at me as I got back to the table, his brows furrowed together. I shook my head and sat down next to him, trying to appear spooked by the sound of heavy footsteps behind.

“We need to talk,” I murmured to Avon, leaning closer to him as he started enjoying his dessert.

Abel sat across me, his eyes glaring into my side, the dessert placed in front of him untouched. What was going through the Alphas mind? I thought for a second but then squashed it. It should not matter.

Avon, next to me, nervously chuckled, swirling his spoon and avoiding eye contact. “What about?”

“Oh, you’ll know what I am talking about!” I whispered in a low done, my cheek almost pressing into the side of his shoulder.

“Do you want us to leave the room, you two?” Leon teased, his voice obnoxiously loud as he crossed his arms together.

I winced at his tone, shyly pulling away and looking at my clasped hands instead. From my peripheral vision, I notice Abel clench his jaw.

“Young love!” He placed a hand on his chest, the tone of his voice mocking. Leon grabbed at the beta sitting next to him, nudging her and reminiscing their days.

“Excuse us!” Avon suddenly said, standing up and motioning me along. I followed him, turning around and not caring about that one particular set of eyes shooting daggers at our back.

***