Chapter 64 Sealed With A Kiss
Celene's POV
I did not even know what time I dozed off, but I definitely knew what time I started to have a nightmare.
That feeling of dread and self-consciousness that came with bad breams can never be replicated. Nightmares had a fucking peculiar and familiar feeling.
In the dream, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest... I did not know where I was, but I was running barefoot in a dark alley, my feet slapping repeatedly on the wet ground. I ran through the darkness with no sense of direction and kept running till I got to a dead end.
Frustration and fear filled my heart as I stared at the cement wall. The wall facing me was dark and very high I could barely see the top.
I tried to lift my head to see how tall the wall was but I could barely get halfway before I felt the rough hands of a man as he grabbed my face, effectively closing my eyes with his palm.
I began to struggle, yelling out loud at the top of my lungs, but I could not hear my voice. Then I smelt the distinct smell of blood. As the hands left my head, I quickly opened my eye and turned to catch the face of my assailant, but they was no one there.
Panicking, I turned back towards the wall but stopped in my tracks... Something was pinned on the wall now. I squinted to get a better look at it and almost threw up.
The dead cat and the note were staring at back at me
“Hello Kitten.”
My breath caught in my throat as the dream twisted, turning every shadow into something hunting me.
“No...” I gasped.
My body jerked violently as I woke, my chest heaving. The room was dark but I could feel the terror still clawing through my ribs.
A sob tore from my throat before I could stop it.
“No, no, no…”
My hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t control them.
I could not see in front of me because of the darkness in the room I was in and that scared me even more.
"Please...please...please...don't kill me...please"
Then suddenly strong arms wrapped around me.
“Celene.” the cold voice did not register in my head, I could not recognize it, and Lord... It scared me even more
"Oh God, pleaseeeee"
"Celene Luther...breathe, Kitten..."
I immediately recognized the voice... The man who could bend and will darkness to his gain. If he was here, then they couldn't touch me...
"Baby girl...breathe for me"
Cole’s voice was low and steady, close to my ear.
I hadn’t even realized he’d been lying beside me... I did not even care at this point.
I immediately turned and clutched him instinctively, my fingers gripping his shirt like a fucking lifeline. My face buried against his chest as the sobs came harder.
He didn’t say anything at first.
He just held me.
One hand pressed gently against the back of my head, guiding me closer while the other moved slowly up and down my back in quiet, soothing strokes.
“It's just a nightmare, Baby girl...I’ve got you,” he murmured.
His heartbeat was steady under my cheek. Strong. So solid... So real.
With him near, I could feel the real world around me.... Not the nightmare, not the fear... Just him. Only me...
My breathing slowly started to calm, though my fingers still clung tightly to his shirt.
Almost thirty minutes passed with me clinging to him like that.
Maybe even longer.
Eventually the shaking stopped.
Cole shifted slightly, carefully loosening his arms.
“You’re alright now,” he said softly.
I lifted my head just enough to see his face in the dim light.
His jaw was tight.
Like he was holding himself back.
Like it had taken everything in him not to do something reckless.
“I’ll let you rest,” he added quietly, beginning to pull away and ready to walk out of the room.
The moment he moved, something inside me panicked. I suddenly did not want him to leave.
My hand shot out and grabbed his.
He stopped instantly.
“Celene?” his voice sounded guarded and almost worried but that was not what I was thinking about.
I didn’t give myself time to think.
If I did, I’d lose my nerve.
I pulled him back down toward me and leaned forward just enough to press a small, quick kiss to his lips.
It was barely more than a peck, really...but I really needed to do that.
I needed him to know how I felt even though I could not fully explain how I felt and what I really wanted to tell him.
I hoped that even in that hesitant soft kiss, he could at least see what I wanted to show... And hear what I wanted to tell him.
He looked at me for a few seconds before turning around and walking towards the door.
For a split second, he stopped halfway towards the door and then went completely still.
Like the world had frozen around him.
Then he exhaled sharply and turned towards me.
“Fuck it.” he whispered and stormed towards me.
His hand came up and cupped the back of my neck as he pulled me toward him again and crashed his lips to mine.
This time the kiss wasn’t gentle.
It was deep and hungry like weeks of restraint breaking all at once.
His mouth moved against mine with a heat that stole the air from my fucking lungs, like he’d been starving and had finally decided he didn’t care anymore.
I felt my head swim with the intensity of everything happening all at once. I was floating and yet I was drowning in everything that he gave me... In everything that was him.
I felt his other arm wrap firmly around my waist, pulling me closer against him.
My fingers twisted into his shirt as the kiss deepened, my heart racing wildly in my chest.
Every nerve in my body felt alive.
And for the first time since everything began…
The fear disappeared.
Because right now, I wasn’t thinking about stalkers.
Or dead cats... Fuck it... All I wanted was him.... I would think about the consequences of my choice later.