Chapter 13
Celani
We make it home and I go through my normal daily routine while Killian works on his laptop.
I clean and we eat lunch together, then I convince him to watch another cooking show with me. He spends more time watching me than the show as we sit next to each other on the sofa, but I try to keep focused and take my recipe notes.
I decide to start dinner early, and he insists on helping me cut up vegetables while we talk. I tell him more about my best friend Desirée, and what life was like for me back in Verona growing up, then he tells me about the different places he lived growing up with his grandfather, Fritz.
I sit with him at the island while the food finishes up in the oven, enjoying a cup of coffee while I listen to him tell me about the time he spent living in Germany. His phone chirps interrupting his story, and he glowers as he reads over the message.
“That’s Malakai. He says that Pierce is on his way home early,” he announces.
I sigh, not bothering to hide my disappointment. The day always feels so peaceful until Pierce comes through the door lately. It’s like a cold wave enters the house and drowns my happy mood.
I get up to go and put our coffee mugs in the sink, and Killian stands up pocketing his phone. His eyes suddenly roam over my body with no inhibition and a shiver races through me.
He stalks over to me, his green eyes flashing with something dangerous that makes me back away from him.
But every step backwards I take he follows with a step forward until my butt hits the counter of the island. He crowds into my space and I feel my head growing dizzy with his cedarwood scent.
He keeps his eyes on me and his hand moves to the side of my neck caressing me.
He inches forward and I place my hands on his chest. His heart is beating as wildly as mine is, and it feels impossible to me that this tough man that always seems to be in control would be having the same reaction to our nearness that I am.
My entire body heats knowing that the two of us are already crossing a line right now so distinct that I can still see the other side of it from here.
See my chance to leap back over to the right side before this goes any further.
“Killian..” I whisper faintly. “What are we doing?”
His jaw flexes and his thumb moves down to feel the pulse beating wildly in my neck.
“I’m doing what we both want to do, but you’re afraid to admit, Celani,” he rasps, his voice low and dangerous.
He inches down until his lips are hovering over mine.
“Tell me to stop. And I will,” he murmurs.
My eyes leave his and move down to his lips and that’s all of the reassurance he needs before he presses his mouth to mine.
His kiss is gentler than I expected and he takes his time giving me small pecks until he deepens the kiss, pressing his body against mine. My fingers curl around his dress shirt and the heavy pulse between my legs returns in full force.
He explores my mouth and I let him have control, getting lost in the feel of his hand roaming from my throat to my cheek, and his hard body against mine. I can feel something hard pressing against my stomach, and it definitely isn’t his gun.
Without a second thought, because who needs those, I rub my body against his. He growls into my mouth and a whimper leaves me as he lifts me up onto the counter in one swift motion. He positions himself between my legs and I pull my lips free from his, slowly blinking out of my lust-filled fog.
His grip on my hips tightens and he runs his tongue over his bottom lip staring me down with hunger in his gaze. I can feel the charged energy around us like a heavy force pushing us together. He bends down to give me one last gentle kiss, and his expression is frustrated as he pulls away from me.
“They’ll be here any minute,” he murmurs, his voice hoarse and full of irritation.
I clear my throat and try to piece together my ability to form a coherent sentence. “Right. We should..” I trail off, lowering my head as the butterflies in my stomach lose flight and turn to stone.
Guilt and disappointment rear their ugly heads, and I wonder if he is having any regrets now.
He gently lifts my chin. “I’m not going anywhere, Celani,” he promises. “I’ll be right here in the morning to take care of you like I always am. Ok, sweetheart?”
I nod and force a weak smile even though my heart feels like that’s a million years from now. I don’t know what is going on with me, and I nervously rub a hand across my face like it can magically help me sort through my feelings.
“I know, Killian. I’ll be fine,” I finally respond.
He studies my face for a moment like he knows my words aren’t anywhere near true. The alarm chimes for the front door and he slides me off of the counter, and I hold on to him as he gently places me on the floor.
I keep my hold on his arms and look up at him wanting to tell him how I’m feeling. How he has gone so quickly from being someone who came here to ensure my safety, to someone I trust, and feel truly understands and sees me.
But there’s no time for that right now, and I need to think about what this all means before I say anything at all.
I step away from him, my hands shaking as I run them over my shirt to straighten it and try to calm down. He moves and grabs his jacket, slipping it on just as Pierce comes into the kitchen, his eyes glued to his phone.
“Hello,” Pierce mutters, looking up and walking over to me. He kisses me on the cheek and I flinch.
I take a step away from him, and fold my arms around myself. “How was your day?” I murmur.
“Busy. And I’m starving,” he grumbles, looking over to Killian. “We are good here.”
Killian glares at Pierce’s dismissive announcement, but Pierce doesn’t notice as he makes his way to the dining room.
Killian’s eyes find mine before he heads to the back door. He opens it and pauses there for a moment before looking at me over his shoulder.
“I’ll be here in the morning, Celani,” he says, before heading outside.
I stand there in a trance, staring after him until all I see is darkness.