40. It is very real
1409 Words
"What you started yesterday?" she finally asked after recovering from the tingling within her.
They stopped before her bedroom door, and he responded, "First, we should talk."
"I guess."
He smiled and reached for the door handle.
After opening it and motioning her in, he added, "We should talk about us."
The door closed.
"Us?" she asked, her legs walking to her wardrobe to pick an outfit for the outing with Amir and Lucille.
"Well, mostly you." She turned to Nathaniel, who carefully pressed down the edge of her bed with his weight.
"Me?"
"Quit your job as a maid," came his response, his eyes drilling into hers.
When she reached the bed, she tossed the gown she had picked onto the sheets and felt a little cursed in her head because his answer initiated another round of conflicts.
"What?"
“We are in a relationship now. I don't want you to work for me.”
"I never agreed to be in a relationship with you," she answered.
"Chloe, I don't want you to work for me."
"I can't quit."
"Why?"
"I need this job."
"I will get you a more decent job." He certainly wasn't going to back down easily.
Well, she wasn't going to either. Not when she had to continue the mission and even obtain answers about a certain issue in her life.
“Nathaniel, I am not comfortable with your offer. I prefer what I'm doing now. I am proud of myself for achieving things on my own.”
He pushed his hands backwards and with that sexy lean-back, he watched her.
She couldn't survive the flipping sensation his stare brought, so she broke the silence and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Drawing a long breath first, he eventually replied with, "There is this particular image of you I can't seem to get out of my head."
Her brows c****d in question.
Sitting straight, he continued, "Can't I convince you to change your mind?" He got up, his figure hovering with a certain aura. "Quit your job, Chloe."
"I don't think you can convince me."
"Are you sure?" He took slow steps towards her, a smirk on his lips. "I can be persuasive in a frustrating way."
"Well," she smiled and crossed her arms. "I am equally stubborn."
"Are you now?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement, his body now very close to hers. "That's one more thing I like about you." Chloe felt a little flinch within her response to his confession. His smile grew bigger in reaction. "Quit, Chloe."
"Nathaniel, it will take more than that to change my mind.”
Even the proximity of his cologne was doing things to her.
It was a miracle that she could still speak.
"Really?" He took one more step forward.
“Nathaniel…” Her voice was now a whisper. “You will-”
“I will what?” His head ducked closer, the distance between them became shorter. “Hmm?” Clearly, he was taking joy in teasing her into being vulnerable using just his voice and some movements.
Chloe, being the stubborn girl she was, kept fighting, “You will have to…” His lips inched closer, she could now feel his breath. “To do…” The f*****g sensation was too distracting. “To do…”
She immediately melted into his presence when his touch clasped her back.
And when Nathaniel whispered, “All I will do is kiss you,” she fell into the trance of their chemistry.
And she fell deeper when he kissed her.
With a push, her chest glued to his and he claimed her lips so thrillingly that she responded without hesitation.
With low moans and groans of delight and even a little body wiggling, she let him know that she loved how his hands rubbed past her hair. And how his tongue explored every flesh of her mouth while his lips tugged at hers.
“Am I changing your mind, Chloe?” he asked after reluctantly breaking the kiss.
Feeling a pulse in her lips added to the haze in her soul as she shook her head and answered, “It'll take more than that.”
“Hmm.” He began to draw lines on her bare arm. “You want it all, don't you?” Like before, his touch lit something up in her.
“Maybe?”
Nathaniel's lips softened into a smile. “I have just the-"
A loud triple knock cut through the tense moment.
“Fuck.” He buried his face in her shoulder. “I want to hate that person.”
“Don't be silly.” Chloe, who was already worried that they'd end up moving too fast, hurriedly approached the front door. “Amir?”
"Hi. Sebastian shifted the time.” He glanced at his watch which suited his casual, exotic look. “We have to leave now."
"Oh." Something sank within her. As much as she didn't wish to move so fast with Nathaniel, she wanted more time with him. "Do I have to come along?"
Amir frowned. "You don't want to?"
"I... I will be ready in five minutes."
Amir nodded. "You have been part of this from the start; it is only right to keep involving you. But if you don't want to come along, I…"
The look on his face was like that of a young kid who didn't want his mom to leave, but he kept telling her to if that's what she wanted.
"I am coming along, Amir."
Relieved, he gripped her hand. "Thank you so much, Chloe."
"You are welcome."
Maybe helping him prove his innocence could be her form of atonement for whatever that would happen when the mission reveals her true identity, she thought.
Once Amir left, she walked back to the room.
Nathaniel was seated on her bed again and carefully, he said, “Please be careful out there, Chloe.”
"I will."
"Come here." She didn't hesitate. She found a place on his lap and breathed him in while he held her hand. “You mustn't get hurt. The thought of something bad happening is…” He focused his eyes on their joined hands. “Just don't get hurt, okay?”
"Yes, sir."
"I am serious, Chloe." He looked up at her. "Be careful."
"I will be.”
Their fingers entwined and he rested against her shoulder. “Don't forget, I'm your man now.”
He caught the pregnant silence she responded with.
“Chloe, I can be your man, right?”
"You can." She fought her smile as her heart kept wanting to burst.
"Good. Don't forget that."
Chloe nodded even though he couldn't see her.
Taking in his scent some more, his heat sending bliss to her system, she asked, "Is this real?"
Nathaniel brought their entangled hands to his lips and planted a kiss on her skin before thickly replying, "Yes. It is very real."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chloe found herself zoning out a lot during the ride to Sebastian's place.
She could still feel Nathaniel's touch. She could still smell him. His taste on her lips wasn't fading away either.
Her fingers almost grazing her small lips, she was still finding it hard to believe everything she was feeling at that moment.
"Chloe?" Lucille's voice called. "We are here."
A small frown took over her face. "This is not Sebastian's spot, Amir."
"He texted me to come here. Maybe he had some business here."
Chloe's brows danced as she took one more look around the space filled with abandoned cars and car parts
"This place gives me creepy vibes," said Lucille.
"Same here," Chloe said because the junkyard truly looked suspicious.
"Ladies, do not fear, Amir is with you."
"Don't be so cocky. We can take care of ourselves," Lucille retorted playfully.
"Okay." He gave up. "Let's just go in."
"In where?" Chloe asked, her eyes still scanning through and past the stacked cars amid the strong scent of what she guessed was engine oil.
"I have no idea either," Amir replied as he got down from the car. "I'll just call Sebastian."
"Please do," Lucille shot a worried glance at him. "Dying in a junkyard isn't really my thing."
Amir smiled. “Lucille, You are so-"
Bang!
That loud explosion cut him short. As a huge ball of flame erupted seconds after, Amir screamed at the women to find protection.
- Writer
