Chapter 14 Ambrose
Ambrose
Harper nestled against me, her warmth curling around my side like a secret.
And for me, it was. That fact was not lost upon me. The guilt of keeping my knowing of who she was from her slowly ate at me.
The smell of her scent, drenched in my own, filled my room. It had become routine. She would come over, spend the night, and by seven in the morning, she would vanish like a ghost.
One more session…
Would she leave when they were done?
Would she believe me if I told her I was still unstable?
Or…
My guts twisted as I raked the tips of my claws up and down her arm, enjoying how her skin would raise in small goosebumps wherever I touched her.
Would she accept me if I took off the blindfold?
Shifting, I leaned back from her, trailing my fingers down her arms until I found her hands.
“Want to play a game?” I asked, moving to sit up.
Two taps on the top of my hand.
Holding my hands palm-up, I waited. “Hold your hands slightly above mine.”
I lifted my finger up, poking her palm to check that she was doing it.
I waited for a breath before moving to hit her palms. But instead of striking her, my hands swashed through the air.
Her soft laugh, hushed and attempting to mask her voice, filled the room as I moved my hands to do it again.
Once again, I missed.
I cocked my head, letting a slow smile play on my lips.
“Are you cheating, Flower?” My voice dropped to a whisper, laced with mock accusation as I leaned forward, slightly.
“Because, as you well know, I can’t see you.
And I must admit…” I clicked my tongue. “If you were cheating a blind man, that would make you, tragically, morally corrupt.”
A single tap on my palm.
“Then perhaps I am just bad at this game, then?”
Two taps.
I scoffed in mock offense, then moved without warning. I caught her wrists and yanked her down with me as I fell backward onto the bed. She landed on my chest, breath catching as her body molded to mine.
Her heart thundered between us, her scent blooming, saturating the air with notes that drove every rational thought from my mind.
“Are you sure I have to wear this?” I murmured, brushing the edge of the silk blindfold.
Her nails drag up my bare chest—leaving fire in their wake—sending a thrill down my spine as she worked her way up to my lips, tapping twice.
“Very well, Flower,” I resigned, longing blooming in my heart, twisting around it like a vine. “Though, I do hope you trust me enough one day to let me see you.”
One tap on my lips.
I exhaled slowly. “Coffee,” I said, the word practically a prayer. “I should make you a coffee.”
Without warning, I sat up, pulling her with me as I threw her over my shoulder. A soft shriek escaped her as her hands began wildly slapping my back.
“Relax, Flower, I will not drop you. Have some trust in me.”
I traced the wall with the pads of my fingers as I made my way to the kitchen, my arm tight around Harper’s waist as she wiggled in my grip.
Lifting my hand from the wall, I slapped her ass, earning a soft gasp.
“Still yourself, Flower.”
Placing her hands on my lower back, she propped herself up but stopped squirming.
Slowly, I was learning to take my wins where I could get them.
Once I reached the kitchen, I held out my hand as I walked forward until I feel the hard edge of the island. Grabbing her thighs, I slowly lowered her to sit on the stone.
“You know, Flower,” I mused as I left her to feel my way around the counter to where my coffee machine is. “This might be for my pheromones, but I find myself enjoying our time together. More than I ever thought I would.”
Not unexpectedly, there was silence, interrupted by the sound of espresso beans being ground.
But as notes of coffee began to fill the air, so did the scent of flowers.
I smiled to myself as I used my tamper to press the grinds down before I placed it in the slot and let the hot water run through it.
“You may not be talking,” I continued, “but I still feel as though the conversations I have had with you have been the most real ones I have had in a long time.”
The tapping of bare feet on marble caused me to glace over my shoulder despite being blindfolded.
And then in an instant, whatever will I had left to let her go broke away like the final petal falling off a flower as she her body pressed against my back, wrapping her arms around my torso.
Harper.
Harper.
I wanted to sing her name, to call her as mine.
I placed my hand over hers, wishing I could hold her here—with me—forever.
I never knew what it meant to have a house feel dead until she walked in, breathing life into it.
Now, I…
I feared the absence of her presence.
Was it wrong to no longer wish to be alone?
Was it selfish?
Clearing my throat, I tapped her hand twice and she released her hold on me.
I quickly foamed some milk, pouring it into a travel mug with the shot of coffee before I turned. Holding the mug in one hand, I used my other to search for hers, brushing her fingers against mine as I handed it to her.
“It is the least I can do before you run out the door again.”
At first there was nothing. No tapping or soft sounds to let me know she was still there. Until I felt the softness of her lips placing a tender kiss on my cheek.
Harper grabbed my hand, flipping it over to trace letters in my palm.
T
H
A
N
K
Y
O
U
I smiled softly, nodding my head.
“Of course, Flower.”
Tracing my hands along the counter, I found my record player neatly nestled in the corner. I dusted the edge with my thumb, lips twitching into something crooked as I dropped the needle. The vinyl cracked, sighed, and then the first note spilled through the room.
Turning, I followed her scent and the softness of her breaths until I was standing before her, holding out my hand.
“Can’t a blind man dance?”
Her fingers traced up my palm until her hand interlaced with mine.
“Though, if you let me take off this blindfold, I can assure you, I will be the perfect dancing partner.”
One tap on the back of my hand.
My claws traced down her back until they reached the small of her waist as I guided her in circles around the kitchen. Her scent blossomed and it was all I could do to not live off it.
A small laugh escaped her as I dipped her, feeling the way her body yielded to my touch. We danced in silence for a few minutes, and I made sure to burn this moment into my memory, so I may have it for eternity.
“You know, Flower,” my voice dropped, something not unlike reverence in my tone, “you somehow make silence bearable. You make a demon think that he has a chance at redemption.”
With a softness I did not deserve, her lips brushed mine as I guided her back up.
“Stay,” I begged against her kiss, “whatever it is you need, I can provide it.”
Her breaths feathered my lips as the record crackled in silence and the song finished.
One tap.
One tap as she pulled away, taking all the warmth with her.
I closed my fists reflexively at my sides as her footsteps began to fade from the kitchen.
I did not ask her to stay or to wait. I did nothing as she retreated from me.
Once the door clicked shut, I loosened the blindfold, letting it fall to the floor.
“I can’t keep you like this.”
And like the final puzzle piece falling into place, I knew.
I had to tell her the truth.
Today.