Chapter 52 The Kiss
Daxton
I could see the sour expression on Verena’s face as she came out of the corner she disappeared into earlier. I was just about to go find her because why was she taking so long? Behind her was Kian, hurt in his eyes, cheek in his palm, and a smudge of lipstick on his mouth.
The same one as that of Verena’s.
A strange fire burned in my chest, Verena’s eyes brightening as she stood next to me. “Hey, handsome,” She grabbed a wine glass.
“Hey,” The word was heavy on my tongue. I wasn’t really good at hiding my emotions as my eyes darted to Kian who had dropped his palm from his cheek and the slight handprint welt on it made my eyes widen.
She did that? What the hell transpired between them?
My eyes slowly settled on the redness on her arm and as if my gaze burned into her skin, she glanced up at me, following where I was looking at and quickly covered it with her hand.
Oh wow. This was how she wanted to play? Interesting.
My jaw clenched so hard that a muscle feathered. “Why did you and Kian come out at the same time”
Verena choked hard on her wine, face turning red like fresh tomatoes, eyes widening and she looked like someone who was just caught telling a bad lie and that unsettled me in unnerving ways.
“We kind of ran into each other—” She was trying too hard to explain. “No, he followed me and did something crazy but I settled it already. I slapped him on the face. I would have actually done worse but he was drunk” She patted her cheeks, smiling and she looked so cute doing that but I wasn’t having any of this yet.
Not now.
“Something?”
Her smile dropped. “Please don’t ask me about what happened. It is so embarrassing that I don’t want to talk about it,”
My gaze traveled back to Kian who chugged down a bottle of wine, spilling it all over his suit while an influx of thoughts rushed into my mind. It was evident that he kissed her but did she kiss him back? Was that what she found so embarrassing that she couldn’t tell me?
Did she still have feelings for him? I still had more work to do with Verena?—like filling her head with thoughts about me and only me.
Kissing her and letting the ghost of my kisses haunt her until she craved my presence, my dick, and just me.
Her warm hand on mine dragged me out of my thoughts. “Daxton,” She called softly.
“I don’t like that you are hiding things from me, Verena”
She sighed between smiles. “I know but I would tell you the details later but not here,”
I stared intently at her, trying to read through her as I twirled an errant strand of her hair between my fingers. “What are you scared of?”
“Nothing. This place isn’t just the right place”
“Afraid that I might cause a fight or punch someone’s face”
God! I just wanted to know if she kissed him back before she hit him on the face. That was still progress but a bad one.
“Everyone gather,” Jana said into the microphone while my eyes remained on Verena’s, her eyes softening with every second that our gazes lingered.
I wanted to kiss her but not now. Not until I found out what happened between her and Kian.
“I said, everyone gather!” Jana’s voice came out harsher, dripping with a tinge of irritation—like it was directed to Verena and me.
Just as I turned, I caught her rolling her eyes. She leaned against Neil who stared at her like she meant the world to him and it was fucking laughable. I had never seen any couple who hated one another more than those two, yet they couldn’t do without each other.
Sometimes, it looked like they were in love. Most of the time, it was just fire between them.
“I want to sincerely thank everyone for being here to celebrate my 30th wedding anniversary. This may not be a grand speech, but from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank God for my marriage and my husband—the love of my life, Neil Cooper”
Applause rang through the hall as she gazed lovingly at him while he hugged and kissed her.
He took her hands, directing the microphone to his mouth as he shouted. “I love my wife!”
Laughter echoed through the space, reverberating through my chest, and for a second, I imagined Verena and me celebrating our wedding anniversary. We wouldn’t hate each other the way Jana couldn’t stand Neil.
I would serve, worship, and make her the essence of my being and she would love me.
No.
I was going too far or even asking for too much. I still didn’t know what fully transpired between Verena and Kian.
Kian leaned against the wall, obviously disinterested in whatever was going on in the hall as he kept drinking. His eyes were red, from anger and drunkenness and then he turned, locking eyes with me and smirked.
A calm smile slipped through my face despite the storm brewing inside of me.
“I love my husband too. He is my whole world. God didn’t only bless me with Neil, but with my lovely, compassionate, and respectful son. My only child, Kian Cooper” She pointed to Kian, a flicker of shock in her eyes when she saw him arguing with Zita who forced the bottle of wine out of his hand.
Neil gritted his teeth, and Jana’s smile fell before she forced another out. Desperate to redirect the guest’s attention back to her, her words came out rushed. “And my son has upheld a tradition during every wedding anniversary of mine and I know he looks drunk right now, but it is all a show between him and his lovely fiancée”
Jana laughed awkwardly, anger burning in Zita’s eyes before she forced out a smile.
“Kian would always sing or read us handwritten poems on every wedding anniversary. And today, my beloved son will present the piece that he prepared for us”
Verena stiffened, almost as if she avoided looking at Kian who struggled to keep his eyes open and stopped himself from staggering.
Jana handed the mic to him, muttering incoherent words as she patted him on the back. I could only make out some words she mouthed. “You can stand, right”
“Yes, mum” Kian groaned into the mic—every second looking like he could sway and collapse to the ground or crash into the ice sculpture behind him.
Possessiveness suddenly flared to life at the pit of my stomach as I took Verena’s hands in mine. Her eyes flickered to mine. “Daxton”
I didn’t answer, only stared at Kian as anger churned my insides in and out.
“It is my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary…” He slurred, holding the mic with both hands as he squeezed his eyes shut and forced them open again. “But, I didn’t prepare a piece for my parents this time. However, I am letting this flow from my heart to the person who holds my heart”
Jana blinked. “The theme is still about love and this should be for Zita, my son’s lovely fiancée”
Zita held her breath, her fingers fluttering to her neck as she smiled and blushed hard.
Kian’s chuckle was low. “This is for the woman who made my heart race after such a long time—”
My jaw tightened and Zita’s smile faded as she turned furious eyes to Verena.
“She used to be so sweet, docile, and quiet but she slapped me tonight—” He threw his head back and laughed amusingly.
Jana clutched her pearls while Neil reached to grab the mic from Kian only for him to shove him away.
“But I liked it. I liked that side of her and I am willing to explore that part of her just as I explored her mouth. Our tongues clashed and she kissed me longer than she should have and when she realized it, she hit me”
My brain stopped working altogether and my blood ran cold.
Verena let out a derisive snort, fingers tightening around hers as I turned to her with eyes devoid of emotion. “You kissed him back?”
“No!”
“Yes, she kissed me back,” Kian shouted.
“No, I didn’t you fucker!” She turned, screaming at him.
Eyes settled on us, murmurs slowly erupting but my eyes were on Verena. I gripped her chin gently, forcing her to look at me as I searched through those eyes that glistened with tears. “I didn’t kiss him back, Daxton,”
“Kiss me”
“What!”
“Kiss me, Verena. Right now”
She stared at me confused. “Daxton?”
“Now!”
She glanced around, biting her lower lip, and pressed her lips on mine. Fuck, her lips were soft.
Possessiveness flared alive in my brain and before she could pull away, I gripped her face and forced my tongue through the seam of her lips. I ravaged every part of her mouth, as her tongue met mine, her fingers flattening on my chest, slowly curling into my suit.
I had to show Kian what he would never get—Verena kissing me back.