DESIRE

CHAPTER NINE

WINTER BRAY

I had never been more uneasy in my life. I slowly inched my hands around Theo's waist. Even if I didn't lay much pressure, I could yet sense the muscles underneath his shirt. I blushed at the thought of Theo being shirtless. Other than that, he gave me his helmet. Of course, it caused me to be thankful, but what if something happened, and he got hurt? But then again, I shouldn't overthink. Just like he said.

I hid from the icy air by putting my head on Theo's shoulder. The weird thing was, that Theo's body was heated with warmth, and not cold as his fingers were. I felt as if I was flying while sitting on the motorcycle. I had washed away my worries, the second Theo drove, and it startled me.

I felt my grip getting tighter around Theo's waist, as the speed gained. I buried my head further into his shoulder as the cold invaded. Goosebumps appeared on my cold skin. Even though I couldn't see them, I could feel them. I didn't know how long the drive would be, or where we were at this point. All I knew was, it was freezing.

I couldn't wrap my head around the fact, that Theo's body carried this heat within. It wasn't normal to be this warm while driving in such weather. He wasn't wearing anything but a jacket, and the jacket looked to be made out of thin fabric. Suddenly, I didn't feel any movement or hear any sound. It was like everything stopped and was in slow motion. But little did I know, the reason for that was, Theo had stopped driving.

I slowly retreated my head from Theo's shoulder to find my house in front of my eyes. My little, small house which I still didn't see as my home yet. Every time I glanced at the place, it still looked like some stranger house, and not the house I lived in. But something, I found very strange was how Theo knew my exact address, but I decided to let it go for now.

"Thank you," I said as I started to loosen my grip around Theo. He hopped off the bike and helped me down.

"For what?" Theo replied as soon as he had placed me safely on the ground and gotten the helmet off of my head. One thing that surprised me was how he managed to keep his sunglasses on for the whole ride, without them falling off. Again, I wanted to ask him, but I knew it would sound weird.

"Erm... For not rejecting me, and driving me here." I felt the heat in my face, again. I always blushed, I had no control over it and never had.

"I would never reject you, Winter." Suddenly, every word I wanted to speak out loud vanished from my mind, and my throat became dry. Like I was unable to speak or talk ever again

"What?" It was the first word my mind could process. I spoke in the quietest whisper, and I wasn't sure if Theo heard me. I got a feeling as if I could start over.

"I would never reject you." Theo repeated. I felt yet another blush closing in on my cheeks. I couldn't stop the smile from reaching my face, and my eyes. Even though Theo was mysterious, and I knew nothing about him. There was something telling me, to trust him. I still had Nadora's words in the back of my head, they reminded me to be careful, but right now, at this moment, I chose to leave my worries in the back of my head.

"Thank you. That means a lot more than you'll ever think." I smiled widely at this point, and to Theo, I might have looked totally stupid. I walked up to the front door and unlocked it. We walked in silence as we made our way to my room. It wasn't awkward silence but more like a comfortable one.

Theo looked around my room, glancing at every detail, even though there weren't much in there. I had my bed with green coloured sheets as well as ten fur pillows (my mother loved decorating) My big, brown bookshelf stood in the far corner of the room. The rest was in boxes or bags, even my clothes. The walls were white, and the floor was a dark brown oak. It was the same for the rest of the house.

"You read?" That was the first thing Theo asked me about. I was a little shocked, I hadn't expected him to ask me about my books. The fact that he hadn't asked me about, why I hadn't unpacked yet, made me happy. I felt relief wash over me since I didn't feel the need to explain myself.

"Yeah, total nerd." I chuckled awkwardly. That was one of the reasons why Howlan bullied me because I liked to spend time in the library instead of being outside. In the end, I stopped bringing books of my own to school. I would basically hide away from everyone, or more like hide from Howlan.

"Does that make me a nerd too?" Theo asked a bit harshly, turning to face me. My eyes widened at his words, and the tone of his voice. He always surprised me with his words. Once again, I felt lost for words, I had basically insulted him.

"N-No. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." I started nervously "It's just, people seem to think it's nerdy, and I thought y-"

"You thought, I was like them, didn't you?" I had a lump in my throat, and it didn't seem to disappear. Theo waited impatiently for my answer as he started walking toward me.

He stopped right in front of my face. He lowered himself, so I could feel his warm breath on my face. My own breath hitched, he was so close, just like he was in my dream. Nothing but the silence was between us, and once again my heart was beating out of my chest. The only thing I could see, was my own reflection, looking into Theo's sunglasses.

Theo leaned even closer to me, or more like my ear. His actions made me freeze. I couldn't breathe probably. The only thing I could focus on, was Theo's breath, as it hit the shell of my ear. I waited for him to say something, or even do something. The seconds felt like minutes, and the minutes felt like hours, but finally, after what seemed like the most horrific moments of my life, he spoke.

"Let's get this straight, my little Snowflake." His voice was husky, and when he paused, I wasn't thinking clearly anymore "I'm not like everyone else, and I would never judge you." His voice went from strong and husky to a softer one.

I still couldn't move a muscle, but then he stepped back and grabbed my chin. I looked directly into my own reflection again. I didn't know what came over me, but I let my hand come closer to Theo's sunglasses. I desperately wanted to see those eyes; I was so close to seeing them. Two inches, one, and Theo grabbed my wrist.

I let out a sigh of frustration and slowly retreated my hand "Why?" I asked quietly, avoiding Theo's gaze by turning my head to the side, so I forced him to let go of my chin. Theo said nothing, but I felt his breath getting closer to my neck. I could feel every time he would breathe because it lingered on my neck. And to be honest, I had no idea, what would happen next.