Page 87 of Teach Me How To Fly

Her question made me furrow.

“Do what?”

That was the moment her cheeks got caught up in a steamy fire. Did she want me to kiss her? Because if that was what she wanted, then I fucking wanted to hear it coming out of her mouth.

“You know what,” she purred again, biting her lower lip and putting her hands on my chest in the clumsiest way.

She was trembling so hard I almost wanted to grab her entire body and help her stay still.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Annalise,” I quickly replied and couldn’t refrain myself from grinning like an asshole. “Tell me what you want and I’ll gladly do it, no matter what you’d demand from me.”

She swung from one leg to the other and tried to avoid my gaze, but I put two fingers under her chin, making her raise her eyes to mine. She gulped, her lashes moving slower each time she blinked and I could hear the rhythm of her beating heart in the deadly silence of the room.

“Kiss me.”

She finally said it, and I couldn't wait another second. I pressed my lips against hers and I felt the freedom rushing down my veins, making my blood boil as she let her body lean on mine.

I loved her so obsessively that I felt the terrifying urge to take out my gun and kill us both just so I would make sure we belonged to each other forever. That was how much I loved her. I could’ve killed her so no one would ever touch her.

It was sick to think of the love I carried for her in that way, but it was what I felt. And that particular love was the kind of love that I couldn’t express like a normal human being, because it felt inhuman. It felt like it came from another dimension.

Her little fingers made their way to my face as she moved away from me, her eyes glistening with tears of happiness.

“I had so much to tell you when I arrived here, but now I feel like I don’t want to say anything anymore,” she rushed to speak, but the heavy breaths that were coming out of her mouth weren’t letting her do it the proper way.

I laughed and turned on my heels, walking towards the bed and as I reached the side of it, I took a seat on the little cushioned chair in front of the make-up table.

“Firstly, I want you to eat something and then we’ll talk, okay?”

She nodded and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to throw the food off the little wooden table. It didn’t take her long until she chose what to eat as she let her gaze fall on the plate with the protein pancakes and blueberries. I knew she loved them ever since we were children. Olivia used to cook these for her.

Annalise took small bites from the pancakes and by the way she started dancing with her hands, I knew they were good. Taylor was a great cook.

“Do you have another phone like the one you gave to me then?”

“I don’t, but I’ll buy one if you need it.”

“I need it,” she said with her mouth full. “I can’t bear not talking to you again for several days when you were away with Lukyan.”

“You’ll have it today then,” I quickly replied and put my elbows on my knees.

“Thank you!” she smiled, taking another blueberry from the plate.

The tension was growing between us and we both knew we had to talk about things that weren’t making us feel comfortable in any way. It was just a matter of time until one of us would break the silence, and I had to be the one considering Annalise was still eating and avoiding my gaze.

“What happened with Katya? Where is she?” I asked and she sighed.

“She tried to kill herself, and she almost succeeded if it wasn’t for my father coming into her room and calling the ambulance,” she explained and I saw her eyebrows getting closer. “If it wasn’t for Lukyan. I don’t know why I keep calling him my father.”

“It’s okay, Annalise. You grew up calling him that, it’s perfectly normal to do it now,” I reassured her and I saw a glimpse of peace coming over her. “But why would she want to do such a thing? Has she talked to you about anything?”

“She told me something before the paramedics took her out of the room,” she said, furrowing her brows at me. “She said that the only way he could’ve let me leave was if he would’ve lost her forever,” she added and I froze at her words.

“God Damn it, Katya,” I mumbled and stood up from the chair, starting to walk in circles in the room.

“What?”

She might hate me, but she had to know the truth.

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