Chapter 23

MELISSA QUIZON

"Can I kiss you, Mel?"

My eyes widened at what Eugene said. "Huh?"

"I'm not tired of waiting. I just want to know how you feel about me."

"I want to know too, Eugene." Could I tell how I felt about Eugene if I kissed him? Wright had done the same to me, and he knew how I felt.

Eugene turned to me and touched both my cheeks. "Can I?"

"You can." Yes.

He leaned down and kissed my lips, sucking at my lower lip.

"Eugene." Comfort. I felt comfortable.

"So sweet. It makes me want to taste more." He caressed my lower lip as we both caught our breath.

"Why do men kiss based on how women feel?"

"Girls are complicated to understand. But when it comes to kissing, they reveal their true feelings."

"What did you feel when I kissed you?" I mumbled.

"What did you feel when I kissed you?"

I raised an eyebrow and slapped him lightly on the arm. "That's rude. 'Don't answer my question with another question.' Say it."

"Go down. Maybe Reid is already waiting for you. Thanks for today, Melissa." He reached up and gently ran his fingers down my cheek to my chin. I stared at him. Even though he was smiling, I knew he was thinking about something. I knew it. I felt it. Eugene averted his gaze.

I opened the car door and got out. I stayed outside until the car disappeared. When Eugene left, I noticed Wright's pitch-black car parked on the side. I immediately went inside the house.

"I'm glad Reid is in the room. He didn't see you sharing saliva with someone else." I looked to the side of the door, where the voice came from. "Maybe you came home late because you were doing something else."

Wright saw us, huh?

I cleared my throat. "So what? Who are you to be mad at me?"

I turned my back on him to go to Reid. I knew he had locked in his room again, but Wright quickly pulled me over, turning me around. "Don't turn your back on me." He gripped my arms tightly. I winced at the pain of his fingers sticking into my arm, but I endured it. "Why did you kiss him, huh? Do you love him?"

I tried to get out of his grip, but he pressed me even harder against the wall. Ugh! "What are you talking about ?! Don't act like a possessive husband because you're not, and you never will be. I was stupid with you then, but I became wiser. You won't be able to fool me again."

Our gazes fought. Neither of us wanted to lose. I winced as his hands pressed harder against my arm. When he noticed that, his expression immediately softened, and his grip on me became lighter. I was surprised when he raised my arms and pressed a kiss to my hands. "Melissa, I love you. Don't you believe me? How many times do I have to prove it? Is everything I'm doing not enough? "

I held my breath. "You love me? That's the most preposterous word I've ever heard from you, Wright," I said coldly.

I saw the pain flash through his eyes. Was I too much?

"Melissa…" He hugged me tightly. I didn't reciprocate his hug. "All right. Hurt me more. I can endure it. If that's what makes you happy, get your revenge on me. All right. Even if it hurts. I just want us to be together again. I want us to go back to the way we were, Melissa."

I lost my words. What could I say? I still had to hurt him. But why was I also hurt by what I did and said?

Wright's hug loosened. He still didn't move away from me. His eyes dropped to my lips. I tried to edge away from him, but he held onto me tight. He touched both my cheeks. I was hypnotized. Seconds later, he was kissing me.

I was helpless, and I couldn't fight him—though the relentless ache between my legs wouldn't have let me fight anyway. His hot mouth rubbed over mine in a slow kiss, his lips firm but deliciously soft, his fingers warm against my cheeks. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue between my lips. He sought out my tongue and swirled over it, the taste of him assaulting my senses and making my knees wobble.

He immediately slid one hand to my waist to hold me steady, curling his fingers over my hips, his touch searing through the cotton material of my teacher's uniform and scorching my skin.

I couldn't move. Couldn't think. All I was capable of doing was sagging into his hard chest and drowning in those intoxicating lips of his.

The kiss grew harder, greedy, almost frantic. He licked my bottom lip, then sucked it hard into his mouth, eliciting a whimper from deep in my chest. And his tongue…it was too demanding, too precise, as it flicked over mine, thrusting in and out of my mouth.

"I want to bite this lip," he murmured against my mouth, and carefully, he tugged at it with his teeth. I moaned, and he smiled. "I want you to be mine again. Please, baby. Please take me back, baby."

No. No. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. Everything was going so wrong. It was not supposed to turn out this way!

I pushed him away. "No. Wright. It's Eugene. He's the one I love."

Did I need to lie? Was it right to use Eugene just to e get Wright off of me? I was no different from him, then; I was also using a human. Jeez, I was so stupid! I felt stunned. Eugene still didn't move away from me, so I looked up. His jaw moved. "I don't care if you already love someone else. I'll steal you from him. As long as you're not married, I can still kidnap you." Shit. He caressed my lower lip. "We have a concert next week, so I won't be able to visit much. But I will still try. God knows I will, baby."

Even though I could not recover, Wright left my side and left the house.

"Is he gone?" Reid asked me.

"Yeah." I sat on his bed, picked him up, and placed him between my thighs. My forehead furrowed because of the blood on his uniform. "Where did you get this?"

"A lot of people took pictures of Daddy at school. I was holding his hands, and then I got squished."

Damn you, Wright!

"Did you cry?"

"Of course not. I'm a big boy, eh."

"Why didn't your father take care of you?"

"I didn't want him to."

I took a tissue placed on the side of his bed and dipped it in some alcohol. I rubbed it on the side of his wound. He blinked but refused to show that it hurt him. "Reid, I know your secret," I tried to distract him.

"What secret? I don't have any."

"I saw a poster of your father. You liked him from the start, didn't you? Why are you rejecting him?"

He looked up at me. "How about you, Mommy? Why didn't you say goodbye to him?"

"You're too young to understand that. Let's heal your wound."

Four days passed quickly. Wright didn't come to my home often. He just took Reid to school, and I'd pick him up because Wright was busy with their upcoming concert. There were still no improvements to their relationship.

"Did you hear? Wright is supposed to announce something in the last minute of his concert," Crissa said as she stabbed the shumai she had bought. It was our break time, so that was why we were together.

"Maybe he'll propose. But aren't he and Claire broken up? The famous model." I looked at Nadine.

"They broke up. It's been confirmed, eh," Crissa replied.

"How about you, Mel? What do you think Wright will say?" I stopped at Ellyza's question.

"I don't know," I simply said.

"I think Wright has a new lover. He's just too private a person, so he doesn't say it." Wait. What did Ellyza mean by looking at me? Did she know anything? "But I know better."

"What else do you know, Manang Ellyza?" Nadine teased. "Does the Philippines still have a future?"

I laughed when Ellyza slapped Nadine. "Kiss N Tell isn't that popular. They're just public figures in America because a famous songwriter discovered them. After that, they had a lot of gigs at various big-time bars, and then they met a lot of Hollywood stars. Then, they became a YouTube sensation, and we found out about them here in the Philippines. Plus, the guys are deliciously, panty-meltingly, knee-bendingly, and eye-catchingly hot. Especially Leon. He has blue eyes to die for! "

"Wow, Ely. Are you a stalker?" said Crissa.

"Don't call it stalking. It's smart researching," Ellyza said artfully. "I need a lot of tissue. My cramps are coming out because of this cold."

I almost spit out the avocado shake I was drinking. "Awful, Ely! You're an awful woman. I'm drinking an avocado shake."

"It's good that I just said that, eh. Be glad that I didn't wipe it on you."

I pulled my phone out of my uniform pocket. My eyebrows rose when I saw Wright's name on the screen again.

'Hey, baby. We need to talk.'

Talk, my ass!

'I don't want to see you. Leave me alone,' I replied.

Even before I could put my phone away, it immediately vibrated. The speed of this idiot's fingers. I just sent that text.

'I can't. Will you stop biting your lips while texting me? It makes me want to feel your lips again.'

How did he…?

"It's Wright!" Ellyza shouted. Thank you so much for the warning, Ellyza. You are still human. "Oh, where are you going, Mel?"

"The CR." I quickly walked into the CR, which was exclusively for teachers. I stayed there for a few minutes until I heard the bell that signaled that break time was over.

I went out, making sure no one was around.

"If you try to avoid me, make sure I don't catch you." I gasped.

"I still have class," I murmured.

Wright strolled towards me. He was confident and sexy with eyes blazing, and my heart began to pound. He stood in front of me, staring down into my eyes. My breath hitched. "I want to invite you and Reid to watch our concert this Friday evening."

"I don't want to see you, and then you invite me to watch your concert? I don't want to. I'm still angry."

He looked up, and it seemed like he was running out of patience. "I don't want to blackmail you, baby. But you're pushing me to my limit. If you don't agree, I will make love to you. Right here. Right now. And yes, baby, I don't care who sees us. I will continue to pleasure you until you beg me to make you come some more."

"You perverted asshole! Your mouth is so rude, Wright," I kept saying. But he still looked challengingly at me. "Fine! On one condition. I take Eugene with me."

His expression changed. The tables had turned. "No. You can't do this to me, baby."

"Then my answer is 'no.' What? Let me go."

"Okay, fine! Do what makes you happy. Here's the VIP Ticket, valid for two people. If you want to be with your precious loving Eugene, persuade him to buy a ticket. I won't give it for free, baby." He took a red rose with a small stem out from behind him and tucked it behind my ear. "I love you."

I accepted that. "I hate you, Wright!"

"I've heard more painful words, baby. I'm used to it. Yeah, I'm used to it."