Chapter 16
Falls For
Rionan sat on the sand. He was fairly sure he was in the exact spot that Alianna had found him.
Perhaps retracing his steps to his arrival in Porthan would help him understand what was needed of him here.
He flicked his mobile phone around in his hand, debating whether he should reach out to Alianna today, or focus on whatever he was supposed to be searching for.
Giving in to the strange pull he undeniably felt towards the human, he opened up his messages.
Rionan
He waited for her response. Five minutes. Ten minutes.
Alianna
17:52: are you married, Max?
Rionan laughed as he read the message.
Rionan
17:53: What makes you ask if I am married?
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Alianna
17:57: that isnt a no. i didnt hear from you all day. with what happened last night, i thought id have heard from you. then i realised i dont know about your home life. youre on a business trip. i dont want to be the girl that falls for the married man while he is away for work
Rionan took in her words, hanging on to two specific words: falls for.
This wasn’t supposed to be happening. He was being drawn to Alianna, by his power.
He was certain of it. Neither of them was supposed to be falling for anyone.
Yet, he couldn’t deny that when he thought of her, when he spent time in her company…
part of him felt alive. Like he’d found a missing piece that he didn’t know he’d been searching for.
Rionan grunted, fighting the urge to throw his phone down on the sand. In a matter of days, he would be home. He would be trying to right things in Xanthia. He absolutely could not be developing feelings for a human. A mortal.
Regardless of his current frustration, he could almost feel Alianna on the other side of her phone screen, waiting for his response.
Rionan
18:04: No, I am not married. I do not have a wife, a husband, a girlfriend, any sort of life partner.
I am not romantically involved with anybody at home.
I have no way that I can prove this to you, except my word.
I am sorry I gave you reason to think my not contacting you today was suspicious.
I truly did enjoy our evening. For what it is worth, I am sorry that it was interrupted.
Alianna
18:07: you are? what did you want to do if we werent?
Dangerous. That is what this was becoming. Rionan could feel his mind slipping back to his fantasies from the night before, and he cursed silently.
He had two ways he could approach this.
He could be a gentleman. This seemed like the respectful thing to do. Court her as he would any other female.
Or, he could say what was truly going through his head. A more forward approach. It could do no harm, given that he was not going to be in this Realm for much longer, should all go to plan.
Rionan typed out his response, considering his words before hitting send.
Rionan
18:10: I wanted to worship your body, Alianna. I wanted to touch you in ways that I know nobody has ever touched you before. I wanted to spend all night showing you just how glorious I think you are.
Rionan
18:11: I wanted to take a long time doing it. There are things that I would rush, in life. I would not rush with you, Alianna. I wanted to savour every moment with you, until my name was the only thing that you remembered.