Chapter 10: Kiss Me, Rowan
1113 Words
THEA
Rowan leaned in, his nose brushing against the pulse point of my neck. He took a long, deep inhale, his eyes darkening.
My knees turned to water.
I reached up, my fingers clutching at his shirt, pulling him just an inch closer. His right hand trailed down from the wall, his grip firm and possessive as it landed on my hip, then pulled me flush against him.
"Oh," I breathed, the sound escaping me like a confession.
My hands tangled into his hair, pulling him deeper into the space between us.
He froze.
For a second, he just hovered there, his eyes searching mine like he was trying to solve a puzzle he didn’t want to understand.
I knew my face was flushed, burning with the heat of the moment.
He stared at me, his jaw tight. "How do you do that?" he murmured, sounding genuinely frustrated. "How can your scent smell this good, even for an omega?"
I felt a giddy, dangerous smile pull at my lips. He didn’t wait for an answer. He leaned in, running his nose along my cheekbone, the light friction making me shiver and chuckle at the same time.
"Maybe it’s the perfume my mum bought me," I offered, my voice breathless.
He pulled back just enough to look at me, shaking his head. "I don’t think you ever wore perfume."
"Well, I’ve only used it once," I said.
He let out a sharp, jagged sigh and tugged gently at my hair, pulling my head back so I had no choice but to look straight into his eyes. "Do you know what your scent does to me? It calms my wolf. It’s like a sedative. Is that why you keep chasing me? Thinking I’m weak because I can’t resist that?"
I gave him a sheepish, knowing smile. "I didn't know," I lied, my heart hammering against my ribs. "But now that I do? I’ve got even more reason to chase you, big wolf."
I reached up and pinched his chest, just hard enough to tease. He shook his head, looking like a man trying to fight a tide.
He took a step back, but I didn't let him go.
I kept my fingers locked in the fabric of his shirt, tugging him back toward me. I didn't want him to leave. I wanted him to do something... to kiss me, to touch me, to acknowledge the electricity humming between us.
He caught my wrists, holding them steady but not forceful. "We can’t do this, Thea. I can’t be who you want me to be."
I felt a surge of genuine annoyance. I pulled on his shirt, dragging him back down to my level. "Why not? Because you think I’m a kid? Because I’m your daughter’s friend? I’m twenty-three, Rowan. I'm not a child."
"I’m twice your age," he countered, his voice hard, trying to use logic to kill the mood.
"It doesn’t matter," I insisted, leaning into his space until our chests were almost touching.
"All that matters is that I want you so much and I know you want me, too. So stop fighting it. You deserve to feel good. You said it yourself... my scent calms your wolf. Why are you so afraid of a little peace?"
He opened his mouth to argue, but I didn’t give him the air.
"And if you’re worried about Liana? Trust me, she won’t hear. She won’t know. We can keep this between us until I’m brave enough to tell her. You don’t have to worry about anything else."
Rowan closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping. He looked exhausted, like he was carrying the weight of the entire pack on his back. "Liana... she doesn't want me with anyone else. She wants me to focus only on her."
"I understand," I said softly, reaching up to trace his jawline. "But that doesn't mean you're abandoning her. It means you're finally chasing your own life, too."
My words didn't seem to be getting through. He reached down, gently but firmly prying my fingers off his shirt.
He stepped back, putting physical distance between us, creating a wall of air that felt colder than the one behind me.
"I do like you, Little T," he started, his voice heavy with regret.
I raised a hand, stopping him.
"Maybe we should start there by stopping calling me 'Little T.' It’s the first reason why you see me like a child. I'm not a child." I glared at him, lifting my chin, trying to project every bit of alpha energy I could muster.
He blinked, a small, genuine laugh escaping him. It wasn't the bitter sound from before; it was soft. "Look at that. An omega acting like an alpha."
"Thank you," I said, my voice steady. "I feel energized when I'm around you. I don't know why you're so determined to push me away."
"I don't have a new name for you yet," he said, his hand coming up to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing the skin. "But I'll call you by that for now, until I find something that actually fits how beautiful you are."
I scoffed, trying to hide how much those words made my heart skip. "I'm beautiful to you, but you keep running away. Why?"
He looked away, his gaze drifting to the window, watching the light filter through the polls... a reminder of the wild, werewolf nature pulsing beneath his skin.
"I've liked you since the first time I saw you at the academy, during your second year. You were wearing that bright pink dress. I thought it was the perfect color for you. I was the one who told Liana to decorate your dorm room in pink."
My breath hitched.
He had been watching me, caring for me, long before I had even realized he existed in the periphery of my life. I stared at him, stunned.
He had been there all along.
I lunged forward, hitting his chest with my palm, not hard, but enough to make him gasp dramatically. "You coward! If you felt that way, why didn't you do something? Why didn't you come for me?"
"Because you were my daughter's lucky best friend," he said, his voice thick. "And you were dating that boy, that stupid mate of yours."
I stepped closer, closing the distance he had tried to create.
I didn't care about the past anymore. I only cared about the heat in his eyes right now.
"Well," I whispered, looking up at him, "it seems fate still has a few tricks up its sleeve. We're here now. Why don't we start from this very second? Kiss me, Rowan."
- Writer
