Chapter 34 Stuck To Her Like Glue
Aiyana's P.O.V
By midday, it became clear that I had been claimed.
Not by Jerome.
Not by Gerald.
By Noah.
He followed me everywhere like a determined shadow with opinions.
If I stood, he stood.
If I sat, he climbed into my lap.
If I moved three steps away, he appeared at my side again, small fingers curling into my clothes like anchors.
“Where are you going?” He asked when I tried to cross the hall alone, like a puppy being abandoned by it's owner.
“Just to get some water.” I said gently.
“I’ll come.”
“You don’t need to…” I started but he already ran towards me placing his hands in mine and cutting my sentence halfway.
“I want to.”
And that was that.
Gerald noticed first.
He leaned against a doorway, arms crossed, watching as Noah wedged himself firmly between us when Gerald tried to hand me a training wrap.
“Well…” Gerald drawled, intentionally trying to rile the child
“looks like I’ve been replaced.” He sighed and I just shook my head at his childish antics.
Noah glared up at him. “She’s mine.” He said standing up in a bid to push Gerald away.
I blinked. “Noah!”
“You can borrow her.” He amended seriously “But you have to give her back.”
Gerald laughed outright. “Kid’s got rules.”
I, the commodity, had no choice but to go with their agreement.
Jerome, who had been observing quietly from the end of the corridor, said nothing, but his eyes softened in a way that startled me.
Training was… complicated.
Noah insisted on sitting at the edge of the yard, legs crossed, chin in his hands, watching every movement like it was the most important thing in the world. Every time I stumbled, he gasped, but every time I blocked a strike, he clapped.
I couldn't pretend that it wasn't nice having my personal cheerleader though.
When Gerald corrected my stance with a firm tap to the shoulder, Noah stood abruptly.
“Don’t push her!”
“I didn’t push.” Gerald said calmly, rolling his eyes at the same time.
“You looked like you wanted to!” Noah yelled back, crossing his arms in defiance
Gerald glanced at me. “He’s terrifying.”
I smiled weakly.
Halfway through, I took a jab to the ribs, nothing serious, just sharp enough to steal my breath and remind me I was still learning.
I hissed, stepping back instinctively.
His reaction was immediate.
Noah burst into tears.
Full, heartbroken sobs that tore through the yard like sirens.
“She’s hurt!” He cried, running toward me. “You hurt her! You promised!”
“I did not promise that.” Gerald said, clearly panicking. “I promised not to kill her.”
That did not help.
Noah threw his arms around my waist, crying into my side like the world had ended.
At first, incident known what to do to pacify him but soon enough, I knelt quickly, wincing slightly as his loud cries were now next to my ears and wrapped my arms around him.
“I’m okay.” I whispered. “I promise. See? Still standing.”
He sniffed, pulling back just enough to inspect me with wet eyes.
“You swear?” He asked like he was not the overly smart noah that I knew but I conformed to his needy needs to avoid any more cries.
“I swear.”
Only then did he calm down, although he refused to let go for the rest of the session, sitting pressed against me like a small, furious guard.
Jerome appeared moments later, summoned not by sound but by instinct, eyes scanning me for injuries.
“I’m fine.” I said before he could ask as I could already hear the question and accusations, loud and clear.
His gaze flicked to my side anyway. He nodded once and turned to Gerald. “That’s enough for today.”
“I was about to suggest the same. Mostly because I fear retaliation.”
Gerald said as he lifted his hands in surrender and he took steps back like a man at gunpoint, Noah stuck his tongue out at him.
Evening settled quietly after that.
Noah stayed glued to me through dinner, sitting so close our shoulders touched, eating slowly so he wouldn’t be the first to finish and risk being separated. When someone else spoke to me, he leaned closer. When Jerome passed by, Noah wrapped an arm around my leg possessively.
Jerome raised an eyebrow. “I see how it is.”
“She’s safe,” Noah said seriously. “I’m guarding her.”
Jerome’s lips twitched. “Good job.”
By nightfall, Noah finally dozed off in the sitting room, curled on the couch with a blanket tucked under his chin.
That was when Jerome came to me.
He didn’t ask. He never did.
He simply knelt in front of me with the small tin of balm he always carried, his movements practiced, careful.
He touched only where he knew he was allowed, my forearms, my shoulders, the edge of my ribs, never lingering longer than necessary, never crossing a boundary I hadn’t opened.
Yet tonight… something was different.
His eyes.
They always held fire. Yes, there was no doubt about that but tonight, that fire burned lower. Hotter.
Focused.
His fingers were warm as they smoothed the balm into my skin, the scent sharp and grounding. My breathing slowed without me meaning it to. Then quickened.
The room felt smaller.
Too quiet.
I became acutely aware of everything, how close he was, how steady his hands were despite the tension I could feel rolling off him, how good he smelled. Cinnamon, spice and something undeniably him.
I swallowed.
“You’re sore here.” He murmured, thumb brushing gently along my shoulder.
I nodded, unable to speak just yet.
He looked up then.
And the look in his eyes made my lungs forget how to work properly.
Not hunger.
Not possession.
Something deeper. More dangerous.
Care sharpened by want.
I realized then clearly, undeniably that I liked him.
The way my heart quickened and goosebumps littered my skin in seconds, the fact that the fear in my heart was not even for my safety but at the thought that I didn't deserve this and I may not be able to care for him him even a quarter of how he does me
I wasn’t ready to say what it meant. Wasn’t brave enough to imagine what it could become. Fear still lived too close to my heart, but when he looked at me like that, like I was something precious and tempting all at once, it became painfully hard to remember all the reasons I should keep my distance.
His hand paused at my wrist.
Neither of us moved but I could feel the air tighten.
Slowly, so slowly, I leaned forward as my heart beat erratically and just as our lips were about to meet…
The door burst open and we immediately froze, especially after seeing who it was at the door.
Noah stood there, hands on his hips, wearing the most smug expression I had ever seen on a 9 year old.
“Noah.” Jerome said calmly, “It is bedtime.”
“I know,” Noah said cheerfully. He ran forward, planting a quick kiss on my cheek. Then another on the other side.
“Goodnight.”