Chapter Twenty-seven - True feelings

Aria’s POV.

One minute I was looking into his intense forest green orbs and the next I was sealing my lips to his for a kiss. The moment my lips touched his, I felt him tense and his hold on my hips tightened. For a minute, he remained still, not making any move to deepen the kiss. Disappointment and mortification crashed into me and I quickly pulled away, trying to put some distance between us but then he grabbed my hips tightly and pulled hard, jerking me forward until my chest was pressed tightly to his and a gasp of shock flew out of my lips. But before I could get a chance to gather my scattered thoughts, his lips were on mine, kissing me passionately and possessively as though he couldn’t get enough. One of his hands gripped my waist tightly while the other traveled up my back, to the nape of my neck to hold it in place as he continued kissing me, allowing his tongue to taste me and mate with mine. It was so heated that I couldn’t hold back the whimper that escaped my lips but he swallowed the sound, not minding it.

When we finally pulled away to catch our breath, he rested his forehead on mine, with his eyes still closed. I swallowed and moved to adjust myself properly on his legs but that was my mistake. I innocently shifted myself on the hard bulge in his sweatpants and an audible gasp flew out of my lips when I felt it poking a sensitive spot in my core. I tried moving again to shift away from it but his hands on my hips held me firmly in place and his eyes snapped out. They were so dark and intense that it made a shiver run down my spine.

“God, Angel, you have no idea what you do to me,” he growled in that dark guttural tone that always makes my stomach quiver.

My cheeks stained crimson and I quickly averted my gaze from his. I searched in my head for Hailey’s voice but it was nowhere. It was as though she’d suddenly gone quiet. But I didn’t have enough time to find her before Shane was lifting my chin. Our gaze locked and I blinked, licking my suddenly dried lips.

“Don’t ever hide your beautiful face from me.” His words had butterflies setting off in my stomach as a thrilling sensation ran down my spine. I saw his lips tilt in a smirk, before a boyish grin split them apart. “I love it when I make you blush, angel,” his words weren’t helping. I could feel how hot my cheeks had become and I had the strangest urge to hide my face in his neck but I knew he wouldn’t let me. “You’re so pretty that I can’t stop staring. I think you’ve stolen my heart,”

There were those words again.

My heart skipped on hearing them. And I knew I had to say something to change the topic, or else I’d end up running away from him again but I didn’t want to do that. We’ve gotten so close that I didn’t want to think of how it’d make me feel to put some distance between us.

“Umm… I still haven’t gotten a chance to tell you about my day,” I suddenly said, and his eyes lit up but then I saw him take a pillow and lie down, pulling me to lie on his chest.

“I’m all ears, Angel. I could listen to your heart-warming and melodious voice all night."

This made me giggle.

“You’re a smooth talker, aren’t you?”

“Anything to win your precious heart, baby.”

I rolled my eyes but then I eventually dove into the tale of mysterious Lucy and Mrs Salvatore. By the end of my story, he was laughing, with one of his arms still wrapped around my waist and the other gently caressing my back, making tingles to spread down my spine.

“So you think you could keep her around as a friend? I mean she seems pretty handy and smart.”

I nodded in approval. It’d be my first attempt at making a friend in Black Mane but I’d thought about it and I was ready to give Lucy a trial.

“I think so. I mean, I could use some girls time in your absence to keep me busy,”

“I’d love that too,” he pressed his lips to my temple. “I’m glad you’re finally finding yourself, angel,”

A huge smile spread across my face.

“All thanks to you,”

“I’ll do anything for you, angel. From the first time I caught wind of you in my dreams, I knew you were the one for me,”

My heart skipped at that and I rose to a sitting position, straddling his hips as I stared down at him with furrowed brows.

“What?”

His palms that were splayed on my thighs gradually traveled higher to the hem of my dress and he ran his deft fingertips along it but never made a move to go higher. His eyes were still fixed on mine as my heart started slamming hard against my chest while I waited for his explanation.

“It started two years ago,” he started and I gulped, dragging in a shaky breath. “When I just turned eighteen. I had a dream and the first thing I inhaled was your scent of jasmine. Then I heard the voice crying and calling for help and I tried to find you but each time I always woke up before I get to you,”

At this point, my heart was racing as a fearful shiver ran down my spine. It felt as though my fear was finally coming to pass.

“Until that day I inhaled your scent at the school and I had to find you. The moment I saw you, I knew you were the one, my mate who the moon goddess has been trying to help me find,” his voice was filled with so much emotion that I could hear it in his words and it didn’t help that his dark intense unwavering gaze was trained on mine. It made me feel as though he was looking into my soul.

I shook my head in disagreement, trying to tell him it wasn’t true but the words wouldn’t come out. I could feel Hailey linking with his wolf as if they were building a bond and my heart was palpitating erratically but I knew I had to stop it. I couldn’t let it happen.

“N-no…”

“Don’t say that, Aria. You’re mine, and will forever be. You can’t keep running away from this chemistry between us,” he shot up to a sitting position. “I know you feel it too,” he took my palm and placed it flat on his chest and truly, I felt his heart pounding against it.

“You don’t know what you’re saying. This is a mistake, a mis…”

“It’s not, Aria,” he snapped, cutting me off. “Please, stop pushing me away,”

I shook my head vigorously, tears welling up in my eyes.

“You don’t get it. I can’t be what you want me to be. I’m not the one for you. I’m just a broken girl,”

With those words, I jumped down from the bed and ran out of his room, into mine and I quickly clicked the lock in place as the tears flowed down my cheeks in a torrent.

I finally realized and accepted the truth. I was running away from him not because I was scared of love, but because I was dirty. After all my dad had done to me, I couldn’t stand to be with Shane.

I was too dirty for him, and I’d never be worthy of him.