Chapter 34: Part 34

The rogue was motionless for a long minute before twisting and turning in pain. Relief sank in my bones, a sigh escaping past my parted lips. If something had happened to him, I would be blamed. My scent is everywhere by now.

“Sick bastard!” Abel spat, taking a step forward as if to kick him when I wrapped my arms around his middle. It took a lot of strength to pull him back, gritting my teeth.

“Are you crazy? Do you want to kill him?”

“He deserves it!”

My mouth parted at the cold tone, the blank stare as he roamed his eyes over the fallen guy. He was serious. I should be scared, but all I felt was the need to hug him.

“I-I am sure he learned his lesson for today. Please let’s go.”

The Alpha raised a brow, eyes zoning on my arms wrapped tightly around him like a koala. Flustered, I took several steps back, shifting on my feet and awkwardly twisting my head to the side.

“Come on!”

On the way to his car, I found Abel cradling his hand, face twisted into a pained grimace. Zoning in on it, I noticed the red, purplish spots spreading around bruised knuckles.

"Can I see your hand?" I mumbled as soon as we sat in the car, already reaching for it. The knuckles were indeed severely bruised and swollen, and I wondered if the reason it had gotten this bad was the lack of ice.

“It looks like it hurts a lot.”

Abel shrugged, lip quirked upward as I examined it, my teeth dug into my lip. “I broke his jaw, so….”

I carefully ran a finger over his knuckles, able to feel the swelling. His skin was soft but had broken at several spots, creating tiny red cracks on the surface. Abel did not bleed, but it looked bruised and damaged and had to hurt. I flipped his hand over, and he hummed out a groan while I roamed my eyes.

“You need to ice it.”

“I’ll do it once I get back home.”

“Or you can stop on the way to the medical….”

“Fine!”

We spent the rest of the drive-in silence, my eyes lingering on his hand where it rested atop the steering wheel, large and bruised. I had so many questions for him, my stomach flipping at the thought of the incident a few minutes ago. Abel saved me. The thought sat heavy in the pit of my stomach. If not for him, I shuddered, just thinking about the possibility.

I picked up an ointment for him to apply at night, along with an ice pack. We sat in the car, legs crossed together as he nursed the wound. The night was quiet; the vehicles passing by cast shadows on his face, making him look serene and beautiful.

I glanced out the window, watching the lampposts. “Please don’t make a habit of going around and punching people, sir. We are lucky no one was around to witness that, or else it would have caused a scandal.”

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Abel opening his mouth as if to argue but let out a bare hum.

“Fine! I will be sure to remember that next time."

***

I smiled softly at him when we headed towards the elevator, hands clasped behind my back. It was far past ten, but that didn't matter.

“I'll walk you to the door."

The fresh air hit my cheeks as we both stepped in. Far from the road and bustling noises of the traffic, everything appeared quieter than usual. I shifted on my feet, looking up as I heard him approach.

“I hope you will not tell about any of it to my brother.”

“Why? He deserves to know.”

“No!” My eyes turned fiery when I met his, a hand on my hip and mouth pressing in a thin line. “You don’t understand! He is already unhappy about me staying here and working at a cafe. This incident will only piss him off.”

“Rightfully so!” He huffed, turning to me, shoulders squared. “Do you realise how fucking dangerous and irresponsible it was to walk on your own? What if…” The Alpha flared his nostrils, shaking his head and muttering something.

“Why the fuck did you work past your shift anyway? Sometimes I truly don’t get you….”

A traitorous thrill fired up my chest at those words. I should have known better than to underestimate his silence. A storm was brewing in the pit of his stomach from the moment we sat back in the car.

“I don’t get you either. You act like such a gentleman, but then you yell at me and go around breaking people’s jaw.”

"I may talk like a gentleman, but I'm not a saint! That was a bad guy. He had it coming!”

“Of course, anything to justify violence….” My insides clenched as a sudden memory surfaces in my head, toes curling.

“Where is this coming from? Huh? Instead of thanking me, you are yelling at me?!”

The elevator dinged at that moment, and I rushed, feeling him hot on my heels. Wrapping a hand around my wrist, he tugged me, effectively pinning me against the wall.

“This conversation is not over!”

“I have nothing to say to you.” My chest heaved, breath caught in my throat while he stared, and at that moment, his hand came to rest at the small of my back. I nearly jumped at the touch, feeling the warmth of his palm at the lowest part of my back, putting just the slightest of pressure. It was dauntingly intimate, but alright, even as he stared back at me with tension crawling up our sides.

“I am so mad….” He breathed, head angling forward while his fingers stroked my skin through the back of the jacket. His forehead bumped into mine. "And I want to do something that is by no means right for this moment….”

My nerves quivered helplessly in my body, breath stuttering each time I felt him exhale against my skin. His breath landed on my mouth, warm but light like a thin breeze. Raising my head, I met his eyes, half-lidded and darker than I had ever seen them. Abel may have spoken like a gentleman, but his eyes looked nothing but sinful when he nudged his face against mine.

He smelled warm, earthy, in a way that I wanted to burrow further into him until my nose was pressed to the curve of his shoulder. The Alpha’s grip tightened around me as I shakily exhaled. His fingers felt heavy, significant as they squeezed around my waist.

Abel was holding me securely to his body, pressed impossibly close. I felt a thigh nudging at my legs as they slotted between them, and it was more than I had ever experienced.

“Say something, because I...I cannot….” His rough voice disappeared into a low moan, almost guttural, as he caged my body against the wall, fully embracing me.

“P-Please kiss me….”

His blunt nails dug into my hips, eliciting a low whine before he broke free from the embrace, spun me around to face him and crushed our lips together. My eyes fluttered shut, moaning into the kiss, the vibrations travelling up towards my head, blurring out everything else around me, where all I can focus on are his lips and his devilish tongue slipping into my mouth.

The all-encompassing heat, from his mouth to the scent surrounding us to the nerves thrumming inside. My head was spinning, and all I could do was let the Alpha take over.

While uncoordinated, our kisses were still gentle. The sweet noises that he pulled as we delved deeper into our kisses set both of our bodies ablaze. We wrapped closer until my brain couldn't tell where one began and the other one ended. It was never enough. I grew more desperate with the moments that passed—every fibre of my being yearned for him.

When I pulled him in impossibly tighter, he changed the angle of our faces. For a moment, our laboured breaths were the only echoing in the hallway before we descended back into our feverish kisses. Through open mouths escaped needy noises that fuelled the thick tension in the air around us.

My head was a mess, no thought inside clear. But I couldn't care less. There was only one thing I wanted right now, and judging by how his hand slipped from my waist to further down to explore my body, he was just as willing to provide.

"You know where this is going," Abel murmured against my lips, the tip of his finger tracing the apples of my cheek, almost tender.

I shivered at the touch, knees buckling, thankful for being pressed against the wall. As the silence surrounded us, I looked behind him, slowly realising that anyone could open the door and spot us.

“Emma?”

“I know.” I pushed at his chest. “We can’t…not now.”

“When?” His nostrils flared.

“Soon.”

***