Kiss Me Again

Chapter Six

Safira

I didn’t even know where I was going.

My legs moved too fast again the marble floors of the castle, almost as if I was no longer in control of them. My breathing came in uneven gasp as I stormed through the endless hallways and u familiar corridors, trying desperately to outrun the lain clawing through my chest and the betrayal pulsing through me.

But there was no escape, nowhere to run to.

Because no matter how far I ran, I could still feel him, the undeniable pull and the weight of his betrayal pressing hardly against my chest.

It didn’t make sense.

Nothing did.

The same man from the bad, the one who held me like I was something precious, like he had been searching for me his entire life was the Alpha kings he was my stepmother’s mate.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

What a fucking joke!

Or maybe I was the joke. Because I had searched for this same man for months. I had replayed that night in my head, again and again like a fool, wondering why he never came back for me, wondering if I had just imagined the intensity and sincerity in his eyes when he called me mate.

Now I got my answer. He had been here. With her. He had been with my stepmother all along and I had been going to the bar over and over again, hoping to cross paths with him.

A dull ache spread through my chest. The way Clarissa held into him and the the way he touched her face, the way they looked at each other. God… they looked like the perfect picture of love.

And what about me now? What was I to him? What was my position in his life if Clarissa was his mate? What was the exact meaning of the mark on my neck if the man who put it there was about to get mated to someone else. And now just anyone, my own goddamn stepmother.

Would it have hurt less if it was someone I didn’t know? Would it have been easier to comprehend and take all in if he was getting mated to someone I wasn’t related to? I didn’t know that. All I knew was that the idea of him being with another woman made my intestines twist with a mix of pain and fury. Why would he do all of that to me just to dump me and claim someone else?

And somehow, despite the pain burning through me, despite the anger and betrayal twisting inside my stomach, my body still reacted to the sheer presence of him.

I hated it. I hated the way my eyes went to his strong hands, and the way my thoughts kept running wild, back to that night when those same hands kept my legs in place as he ran his tongue through me.

God, I hated that some weak, hungry part of me still wanted him. Even after what he had done, after calling me mate, leaving me to burn for nights in hope that he’ll be back, only to be getting mated to someone else.

Was I ever his mate? Or had he forgotten that night? What we shared? How perfect and meant to be it had felt? Had he forgotten he called someone mate? Because now he was even acting like he had never seen me before, like he hadn’t made me dance over his thick erection until my legs were trembling beyond my control. Had he forgotten all of that?

I didn’t stop running through the hallway, unsure of where exactly I was going. I just wanted to get away from all of these, go get a quiet time for myself because even with all that happened, I couldn’t deny the frantic racing of my heart, the way my body felt while I was close to him, the undeniable proof that I still wanted him, that more than anything, I wanted to relive that night.

But now, any form of connection with him would become an entanglement because he was to be my stepfather, he was to get married to a woman that had positioned herself as my mother. What would it sound like for a mother and daughter wanting the same man?

But a part of me didn’t care about Clarissa, because for once in my life I wanted something, and I didn’t want her taking that from me like she had done with everything else.

I was still running when a hand grabbed me, hauling me hard again a strong chest. That warm, dangerous and addictive scent immediately filled my nose, followed by the aching familiarity of his touch.

It was him.

Alpha Azrael.

My breath hitched as I looked up at him, watching as his chest rose and fell heavily, as though he had been running as well. And the second our eyes locked again, every coherent thoughts in my head melted.

All that was left was my desires and the shameless little one he met in that bar nights ago. The girl who melted under his touch. The girl who let him mark her. The girl who still ached for him despite everything.

“That’s a restricted area,” he said calmly, as though I was still some stranger. As though he hadn’t buried his face between my legs and taken every drop of my release that night. “Don’t go in there.” He added.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. I just stared at him, unable to form any meaningful sentence.

My eyes remained on his face, staring at the same lips that had kissed every inch of my skin. At the same eyes that once looked at me like I was something precious, and even now I could see that look hidden behind a shaky mask of control.

And I couldn’t understand it. I didn’t know why he had to do all of that, why he had to leave me for someone like Clarissa. Wasn’t I good enough? What was it that made him choose my stepmother? Or was there a missing piece in this painful puzzle? What if there was something I wasn’t seeing?

I took a deep breath. “You found me.” I whispered shakily.

I saw something flicker across his face, like the fragile control he was holding onto nearly snapped. His hands remained tight around my waist, as if he was scared to let go.

“You shouldn’t be wandering around the castle alone.” He stated, the distance in his voice alone felt like a slow death, it hurt more than I wanted to admit it.

But I couldn’t hold the laughter that escaped my lips, seeing just how he was being difficult while I was there, burning to be seen, to be touched again, burning to be claimed by the man who marked me. And I knew, I had to go for what I want, like Mae said a year ago.

“Is that all you’re going to say?” My voice cracked slightly. “Nothing more?”

He shrugged once, but still wouldn’t let go of my waist. “What else is there to talk about?”

“Did you really run after me just to tell me not to wander around the castle alone?”

I slowly rose onto my toes until we were almost eye level. Instantly, his hands shifted upward, settling just beneath my boobs like he was afraid I might lose my balance. But the movement only pushed my boobs higher against the thin fabric of my dress, making it more visible.

“Was that really why you came?”

I caught him stealing a glance before he forced his face back up again. A slow smile fell on my face. I still had the charm. After everything, after an entire year apart, I still had the power to make a man like Alpha Azrael crumble all over again and heck, I wanted to do that.

“Not because of this?” I swayed slightly against him, making my boobs bounced as I watched his jaw tighten, his gaze betraying him for another second.

“Or maybe because of this?” I grabbed his wrist gently and guided his hand lower until it rested against my ass before leaning closer to him, pressed against his crotch. The sharp inhale he took was so fucking satisfying.

“And this?” I moved, grinding against him gently just enough to feel the hard outline of his cock straining beneath his pant.

His grip tightened, his finger digging deep into my ass, enough to leave a lasting ache.

“Not because you want still to fuck me the way you promised?” I leaned closer, voice dropping lower. “Hard… rough… and fast.” I whispered, almost inaudible. “Then why are you pretending you don’t want me? Like…”

“Stop!” His voice came out as a a rough growl.

Before I could respond, he spun me around pinning my back against the wall as his hands trapped both my wrists above my head. It was so fast, so painfully familiar that heat rushed straight to my core, instantly dragging me back to that night when he pinned my hand against the sofa.

Damn, everything reminded me of that night.

“Stop right now.”

I knew he didn’t mean those words.

I could see it in his face. I could see it in the way his grip trembled slightly against my wrists, like controlling himself was becoming physically painful for him. His breathing had changed too, it was heavier now, uneven beneath the cold mask he was desperately trying to maintain.

He wanted this.

Wanted me.

And the fact that he still hadn’t said he didn’t made something reckless bloom inside me.

Slowly, I twisted my wrists free from his grip before sliding my arms around his neck. My fingers drifted across the hard planes of his chest, down the ridges of his torso, lower until they brushed against the bulge straining in his pants.

His entire body tensed instantly.

“I know you don’t want me to stop,” I whispered shakily. “I know you still want me.”

His hand shot down immediately, seizing mine before I could move any further. “Do you even understand what you’re doing, Safira?” His voice came out rougher this time. Lower. “You’re going to be like a daughter to me.”

The words hit me like poison.

I hated them.

Hated how wrong they sounded coming from the same man who once devoured me like I was his greatest weakness.

“Well, I know my father,” I snapped bitterly, stepping closer instead of away, “and that’s not you.”

His jaw clenched hard.

“My father wouldn’t push my legs apart and work his tongue through me until I was a shaky mess.” My voice dropped softer with every word. “My father wouldn’t take my nipples into his mouth and leave me aching for more.”

His grip on my hand tightened painfully.

“My father,” I whispered, leaning closer until my lips brushed the shell of his ear, “wouldn’t promise to fuck me the way you did.”

A low growl rumbled from deep inside his chest. His hand suddenly gripped my shoulder tightly.

“You need to forget what happened in that bar.” His voice sounded strained now, like every word cost him effort. “Forget that night.”

I pulled back, staring at him in disbelief.

“How long has it been?” he continued quietly. “A year. It’s in the past now, Safira. You should…”

“The past?” I cut him off sharply.

My fingers immediately moved to my hair, pulling it aside to expose the mark branded against my neck. The mark he gave me. The mark that still burned every single day like my body refused to let him go.

“How exactly am I supposed to forget?” My voice cracked softly. “Does this look like the past to you?”

The second his eyes landed on the mark, the restless movement of his eyes and body suddenly froze.

Silence fell heavily between us and for one unbearably long moment, neither of us moved or spoke.

Then slowly, his hand rose toward my face and the touch sent electrifying jolt through me instantly. My body remembered, every part of me remembered that touch.

Alpha Azrael’s fingers cupped my cheek carefully, almost worshipfully, before tracing downward until they brushed lightly against the mark on my neck and a shiver ran down my body. His thumb lingered there, stroking it slowly like he remembered exactly when he put it there.

And Gush...

The look in his eyes made my chest ache in the best way possible.

Gone was the cold Alpha King.

Gone was the distance.

All I could see now was the man from that bar. The man who looked at me as if I were both his sanctuary and his sweetest torment.

My breath caught painfully in my throat, looking at him felt like a physical tug at the base of my spine, pulling me toward him.

“Azrael…” I whispered.

His eyes lifted slowly to mine. We were too close now.

Close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath against my lips. Close enough for me to hear the uneven rhythm of his breathing. Close enough for me to notice the exact moment his control began slipping away.

Neither of us moved. Neither of us looked away. And suddenly, I was right back in that booth again. Back to the moment everything between us began.

My lips parted slightly.

“Kiss me,” I whispered, my fingers knotting into the fabric of his shirt as if he were the only anchor left in my crumbling world.

A deep breath tore from his throat as his hand slid behind my neck. He pulled me against him and crashed his mouth onto mine with a reckless, desperate force that made a helpless ache throb between my thighs.