Chapter Fourteen
Angel
My breath collided with his, our gazes locked, our hearts racing in our chests as the world around us came back.
My body was quivering, jerking every few seconds from my climax.
His fingers were no longer between my legs but resting on my thigh.
His hand was strong and warm, just like every other part of him.
I was caged, surrounded by his protection, his comfort, his acceptance.
I didn’t move when he lifted his forehead from mine, replacing it with his lips. He kept them there as he wrapped his other arm around me, hand at the back of my head. Time passed. I didn’t care. I grounded myself in him, in the way he made me feel.
Everything had changed now.
There was no going back.
“Are you all right?” he murmured against my head, his breath moving my hair.
“Y-yes,” I pushed out, still trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened.
You practically jumped him, Angel.
“Are you all right?” I repeated back to him, tipping my head back. I needed to see his eyes.
A soft, gentle, beautiful smile appeared then. “I’m more than all right, baby. Thanks for checking.”
Heat shot up to my face. “I’m still sitting on your thigh.”
“Any other day, beautiful, you’d be sitting on my cock, but the horrors persist.”
“And so do we,” I tacked on as he lowered his leg, holding me steady as I found my balance again. My legs were tingling, nearly Jell-O. Once I had my footing, he gave me some room, stepping back. My eyes dropped to the wet spot on his jeans. “Oh, my goodness. I’m so—”
“Don’t you dare,” he cut me off, chuckling and shaking his head. “Don’t apologize to me. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Dominic and Jake are going to see that and think—”
“Think what?” He ticked his head to the side, the corner of his mouth tipping up.
My mouth opened and closed a few times, my tongue not knowing what words to form. “This has been the weirdest day,” I confessed.
His smirk faded, his brow furrowing. “I know it has.”
My bed was in the center of the room, just a few feet behind Ash, and all I wanted was to crawl into it.
Hide for the rest of eternity. With Ash beside me, of course.
There was a strange sense of guilt manifesting in my stomach now, talons forming, ready to slice me up for the feelings fluttering inside me.
“I feel as if I’m in a hurricane,” I blew out, pulling my hair off my neck.
“A hurricane?”
“The first wall of a hurricane is the worst, and even though you know it’s coming, it’s way worse than anything you could’ve prepared for.
I was prepared for Felix to no longer be in my life, but not like this.
” My voice dissipated into a whisper, images of him watching the sunset just a week ago rushing to the front of my mind.
“He told me was leaving. He was unhappy, but he didn’t want to die, Ash.
” I lifted my eyes from the floor. “He wanted to live. He wanted to go and discover himself.”
He said nothing, watching me closely, and I tried to sort out my feelings.
“Seeing him this morning, lying there in the sand…that was the first wall. The big hit. It threw me off. Then, in the middle of my panic, there you were,” I went on, moving to my bed as I laced my fingers together.
“You were there, and it was like the storm had let up. The ocean wasn’t invading the land anymore.
I had a moment to catch my breath.” I sat on the edge of the bed, crossed my legs, and focused on my hands.
“I don’t—I don’t want this to come off corny, but this is the only way I think I can get you to understand what’s going on inside my head. ”
His throat bobbed. “You can tell me anything.”
“Kissing you…” I let out a deep breath and raised my head. “Kissing you and getting lost in you, Ash—that was the eye of my storm.”
I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t him flinching. It was the smallest of movements. If I had blinked, I would’ve missed it. Thank goodness I didn’t. Emotion, I didn’t know what, passed over his rugged features. It was dark. It was groundbreaking. On any other day, it would’ve scared me.
But not today.
Not after the line we’d crossed.
“Thank you for letting me have that,” I concluded. He said nothing, and as I stared at him, something clicked. “You shaved.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Your beard is shorter than the last time I saw you.” It looked cleaner, reminding me of the day I met him. “I’m sorry for just now noticing.”
His jaw tightened. “What did I just say about apologizing?”
“Well, I should’ve noticed before I jumped you, at the very least,” I argued. “It looks nice.”
“You have to stop.”
“That wasn’t an apology.”
He moved then, prowling toward me like a caged animal.
My chin was between his fingers, my head was tipped back, and he got in my space, his nostrils flared.
“You gotta stop complimenting me, telling me I look nice, telling me I'm the eye of your storm. After what you just gave me, any more of your beauty will feel like torture.”
My lips parted. “Wh-what?”
Our gazes broke as he turned his head, staring out the window and muttering something I couldn’t decipher.
“What? What did you just say?” I whispered, chest heaving as my heart climbed into my throat.
Those dark eyes were on me again. “You don’t want to know, baby.”
“I think I do.”
“Not when you have the other half of your storm to weather,” he said firmly. “We need to put this on the back burner, you got me?”
Guilt’s talons made their first move, digging in deep as it slowly made its way to my heart. “I understand. I’m sor—”
He kissed me. Hard. Holding me against his lips until I melted. When he pulled back, air was nearly a stranger. “Stop fucking apologizing,” he clipped, his voice low. “Get dressed and meet me downstairs. We have other things to discuss.”
The second half of the storm.
“Okay.”
He gave me another kiss, this time a soft peck. “I’ll be downstairs with the guys,” he murmured. “Take your time.”
When I came downstairs, I lingered at the entrance of my dining room for a moment to take everything in.
Jake, who was Red Snake’s tech guy, was sitting at the head of the table, elbow on its surface, fist under his scruffy chin, staring at the screen of his laptop.
There was a large tablet on one side of it and a notebook filled with scribbled lines on the other side.
His pen was tucked behind his ear. My eyes drifted up, studying his messy man bun.
His hair was the color of autumn, a rich red with a hint of cinnamon.
There were millions of people, women mainly, who spent thousands of dollars trying to get this particular hair color. He was beautiful.
Dominic, who had a PhD in psychology, was sitting to the right of Jake, phone to his ear, jotting down notes on the tablet in front of him.
He, I’d come to learn, always wore a suit.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen him in plain clothes.
His suits were always blue or dark gray, always cool colors.
He was also the only one of the team who kept a clean shave.
Then again, he had the face structure of an ancient god, so who could really blame him for showing off his sharp jawline daily?
His hair was dark, nearly black, and there was a piece hanging over his furrowed brow.
He was beautiful, but in a haunting sort of way. He reminded me of the grim reaper.
Ash was standing by the window, his arms folded over his wide chest, staring out into my backyard.
His face gave nothing away, but I knew his mind was racing.
There was so much history between us, so much to discuss, so much to look forward to, but today’s darkness wouldn’t let me have that chance.
He’d changed his jeans, now wearing a lighter, more worn-out pair that hung low on his hips in just the right way.
The sleeves of his blue Henley were shoved up, revealing his tanned forearms, thick and powerful.
His hair was even more disheveled now, his hands doing more damage than mine when he’d made me see God a few minutes ago.
“Right,” Dominic muttered. “I appreciate your help. Thank you.”
“What did he say?”
Dominic sighed, setting the phone on the table. Just as he was about to speak, he glanced up, saw me, and I watched with certain fascination as his features softened. His eyes, the color of the deepest parts of the ocean, warmed. “Good afternoon, Ms. Howell. Are you feeling all right?”
Jake’s head turned, his eyes quickly assessing me. “Hey, Angel. Do you need anything? Is there something I can get you?”
“She needs lunch,” Ash said, turning to face everyone.
“Oh, I’m okay. I don’t need anything to eat,” I politely declined.
Ash gave me a small smile before focusing on Jake. “She’s a type-two diabetic. She needs food and she needs to have her blood sugar checked.”
Jake nodded and got out of his seat.
“Really, I’m fine. I don’t need you going through all the trouble,” I argued gently, stepping into the room, the plush rug soft under my feet.
“Nope,” Jake said, popping the P. “My mother is diabetic. I’m not letting you go without eating.”
“None of us are,” Dominic tacked on, pulling Jake’s laptop over to him. As he started typing, he added, “We’re not fond of pretty angels fainting on us.”
My cheeks heated.
Ash chuckled and rounded the table, coming to me. His arm snaked around my waist. “You want some tea with your snack?” he asked.
I stared at him. “I’m not a child. I’m perfectly capable of making myself tea and getting a snack.”
“Yes, but on days like today, it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself,” he murmured, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “Let me take care of you, yeah?”
The chair in front of us was pushed out by Dominic’s foot. “Take a seat, Angel.”
“I’m fine—”
“Doss, please make her sit down.” He sighed.
My brows shot up as they met Ash’s eyes. “Make me?”
His lips twitched. “Forgive Dominic. He can be a bit controlling.”