Chapter 1 ~ s. 10
826 Words
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
I could hear nothing but my own heartbeat.
Loud.
Wild.
Impossible to control.
His arms were still around me, but something had changed.
He wasn’t looking at me like a man who had just discovered his mate.
He was looking at me like a man who had known for a very long time.
And suddenly, something didn’t make sense.
“You knew.”
His expression froze.
“Knew what?”
“You knew who I was.”
He didn’t answer.
My stomach tightened.
“You knew me.”
His jaw clenched.
“Yes.”
The single word sent a strange chill through me.
“How?”
He looked away for a moment, as though deciding how much he should tell me.
“I’ve known about you for a long time.”
My heart skipped.
“But I’ve never seen you before.”
“I know.”
The answer came too quickly.
I stared at him.
“You’ve seen me?”
His eyes returned to mine.
“More times than you realize.”
A shiver ran through me.
“When?”
His thumb slowly moved across my cheek.
“At the gala.”
My eyebrows pulled together.
“I never went to a gala.”
“I know.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“You were there.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
His voice was calm, certain.
“You just didn’t know I was watching.”
My breath caught.
He continued before I could speak.
“I saw you at dinners. At meetings. At events where you thought you were surrounded by strangers.”
My heart began pounding harder.
“You watched me?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation in his answer.
“Why?”
His eyes darkened.
“Because I couldn’t stop.”
The room suddenly felt warmer.
“I didn’t know who you were to me then,” he whispered. “I only knew that every time you walked into a room, I noticed.”
His fingers tightened slightly around mine.
“I noticed when you laughed.”
My breath caught.
“When you were angry.”
His gaze traveled over my face.
“When you wore your hair differently.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“You remember all that?”
“I remember everything about you.”
Something fluttered inside my chest.
Stormy was practically screaming with happiness.
“But you never spoke to me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
His expression became darker.
“Because I was trying to stay away from you.”
“From me?”
“Yes.”
He exhaled slowly.
“You have no idea how many times I wanted to walk straight over to you.”
His eyes locked with mine.
“How many times I wanted to touch you.”
His voice dropped.
“How many times I had to leave the room because simply being near you was becoming unbearable.”
My lips parted.
“But I didn’t even know you existed.”
“I know.”
“And you knew everything about me?”
“Not everything.”
A faint smile appeared.
“But enough.”
I shook my head, completely overwhelmed.
“This is insane.”
“I know.”
“You’ve been watching me.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
His eyes became impossibly intense.
“Because if I had walked up to you before tonight, I don’t know if I would have been able to walk away.”
My heart hammered.
He leaned closer.
“That’s why I stayed away.”
His lips hovered just above mine.
“I knew that if you ever became mine…”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“I would never be able to let you go.”
My breath caught.
“And now?”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“Now I know you’re my mate.”
His forehead rested against mine.
“And now there is nothing left for me to run from.”
I swallowed.
“You’ve known me for so long…”
“Yes.”
“And tonight is the first time I’ve ever really seen you.”
His gaze softened.
“Yes.”
I touched his cheek.
“Then maybe…”
My voice trembled.
“Maybe you should let me get to know you.”
For the first time, the man who had apparently spent so long controlling himself looked completely undone.
He smiled.
“Careful, Bella.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve spent a very long time imagining what it would be like to finally have you this close.”
His eyes dropped to my lips.
“And I’m not sure how much restraint I have left.”
His hands strengthen around me, making sure I wouldn’t run
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