Chapter 35 Two souls entwined
Kael’s lips brushed Hazel’s neck with a softness she wasn’t expecting. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when he got so close.
The warmth of his breath slid down her spine, and Hazel felt her body freeze. She closed her eyes, taking in the passion his touch brought.
She wanted him so bad, the pull was magnetic, irresistible, almost torturous but she opened her eyes and spoke very quietly.
“Kael”
She whispered but he didn’t pull away.
He stopped kissing her and rested his forehead lightly against the curve where her neck met her shoulder, his breath unsteady, almost as though he was fighting a war within himself.
His hands hovered at her waist, not touching yet, as if waiting for permission, or maybe struggling to hold himself back.
“You’re too quiet”.
He murmured, voice rough, breath heavy.
“Too still”.
Hazel swallowed, her chest rising and falling with a careful slowness.
“I’m thinking”.
She finally said.
“About what”?
His fingers brushed the side of her hip light, showing a bit of hesitation.
Hazel almost hated how much her body leaned into that barely-there touch.
“About… this”.
She said, trying so hard to hide the way her body was feeling.
He let out a soft laugh against her skin, but it wasn’t from amusement, it was exhaustion, fear, and longing all tangled together.
“Hazel, about earlier…”
He lifted his head slightly.
“I'm sorry I hurt you”.
She turned enough to see him clearly. His damp hair clung slightly to his forehead from the shower. His eyes which still looked tired, shadowed, and conflicted, were fixed on her with a depth that made her heart twist.
“I know you didn’t”.
Hazel said quietly, trying to let him know she didn't blame him at all.
“But you’re scared”.
His voice broke slightly on the last word.
Hazel smiled and shook her head.
She was indeed scared, but not of Kael, she was scared of everything that was happening around them and most importantly, the way she felt. She couldn't deny her body his touch any longer.
Kael cupped her chin gently and made her face him again.
“Hazel… you have to trust me”.
Her lips parted, but nothing came out.
Not because she didn’t trust him, but because her attention was fully on his lips at this point.
Kael studied her face, and smiled when he noticed her eyes was fixed on his lips but he pretended not to notice.
“Alright, for now… I’ll be the one doing the trusting.”
Hazel frowned slightly and looked at him.
“What do you mean”?
“I trust you”.
Kael said, voice lower, and steadier and Hazel's heart skipped a beat.
“I trust you to stay alive, to let me protect you. I trust you to work with me, to not walk into danger alone again, and to not… leave me”.
Her breath caught.
Kael stepped even closer, their foreheads almost touching.
“And I trust that whatever is coming… we’ll face it together.”
Hazel’s heart tugged painfully, as if something inside her wanted to melt at his words, but she forced herself to breathe slowly, to stay level.
“Kael, this is not the time to…”
She muttered, still trying to hide how she felt even though it was almost impossible right now.
He cut her off with a soft smile.
“I know Hazel, believe me, I know”.
He said as he closed his eyes and gently rested his forehead on hers.
“But being so close yet being so apart feels like torture.
No matter how much I try to hold myself back, I can't deny how much I want you”.
He said and Hazel swallowed hard and without thinking, she said quietly.
“Me too”.
Kael's eyes gently opened and met her widely opened one.
“Uhm…”
Hazel said and tried to move away but Kael held her by her waist and pulled her closer to him.
“Just say it, say you want me too Hazel".
He said, almost in a plea.
Hazel looked at him for a while before moving closer again and placing her hands on his chest.
“Do I have to spit it out for you to know”?
For a moment, neither of them moved.
There were no words, no movements, just two people so in love they could literally feel each other's souls.
After a while, Kael completely covered the space between them and grabbed her lips with his in a kiss.
It was slow at first, passionate. One that they didn't want to end but in seconds, it became a lot more intense.
They looked hungry, like they had being starving all their lives.
Kael was trying to be careful. He was trying to hold himself back despite the torture because he didn't want to hurt her but the moment she melted into him, everything inside him snapped.
Years of yearning, months of tension, weeks of denying themselves, hours of pretending they didn’t feel what they both clearly did.
All of it poured into that kiss.
Hazel clutched the front of his shirt, pulling him closer as the heat between them flared. Kael’s hands slid from her waist to her lower back, gripping her gently but firmly, as if afraid she might disappear if he didn’t hold on tight enough.
Her lips parted with a small inhale he swallowed immediately, deepening the kiss as his tongue began to explore every inch of her mouth.
Hazel felt her mind go blank, her entire focus narrowing to the way his mouth moved against hers. Slow, then fierce, then soft again, like he couldn’t decide which part of her to worship first.
“Kael…”
She breathed against his lips when they parted for a second, but the sound of his name only made him kiss her harder.
He lifted her effortlessly, one hand under her thigh, the other on her back. Hazel gasped softly as her feet left the ground, but she wrapped her legs around his waist without hesitation, holding on as if she had been waiting for this moment as desperately as he had.
Kael walked them back toward the bed, his lips still on hers, trailing down her jaw, then to her neck where he found the softest part of her skin. Hazel’s breath hitched sharply when his mouth brushed the delicate point just below her ear.
Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer.
“Hazel…”
He murmured against her skin, his voice low and unsteady, as he tried to calm his own breathing. Then he raised his head a little and looked her right in her eyes.
“If we go any further… I won’t be able to stop”.
Her answer came without thinking, without doubt.
“I don’t want you to stop”.