Page 57 of Shattered Illusion

Like he read my thoughts, he tells me, "This is a private study room. You have to reserve them, but I've made sure to keep one open. Just in case." He winks at me as he passes by, placing the white container on the desk. "Whatcha got in here, goddess?"

"Oh," I mutter, my cheeks heating again at just how cheesy it is now that I'm here. "Apology desserts?" I shrug my shoulders, trying to cringe away from my own words. Yep. This was definitely stupid.

Luka smacks his taut belly and licks his lips. Eyeing me like I'm the dessert instead of what's in the container. "I'm a growing boy, goddess. I'll always take food as an apology. But there's nothing to apologize for. You did nothing wrong."

"But—" I step forward, needing him to accept my apology like I need air to breathe. I don't know why. But fuck.

He cuts the distance between us, snaking his arm around my waist. A squeak slips past my lips as he picks me up, clutching me to his broad barrel chest. My hands grab his shoulders to hold myself steady, but it's not something I need to be concernedabout. Luka is steady enough for the both of us. He proved that when I sobbed into his chest after the mall incident.

"Goddess," he murmurs, nudging my nose with his. "There is nothing to apologize for. What you went through was rough, and I would have been concerned if you were running around here acting like it didn't happen. You're strong. Fuck. You're so goddamn strong. Look at all you've been through in such a short period of time. But I see your strength. I saw it that day at the lagoon, and I see it now, trying to apologize for something that doesn't need one. It's okay to be weak once in a while and protect yourself. And if you need it, I'll be your pillar and hold you up until you can stand on your own two feet again."

Tears well in my eyes at the picture he's painting of the way he sees me. No one—not even my parents—has ever seen me that way. And if they did, they didn't say anything. But those words... I didn't know how badly I needed to hear them until he said them.

Not second guessing what I'm about to do, I lean forward, brushing my lips softly against his. Just like I wanted to do that first day if I wasn't so full of myself with my hatred of his kind—our kind.

Luka pulls back from the barely-there kiss, searching my eyes. For what, I don't know. But whatever he sees must have been what he was looking for because he closes the minuscule distance he put between us, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth before releasing it and kissing me deeply.

The feeling of being in his arms and his lips on mine makes all of my synapses fire at once, lighting me up from the inside out.

I jolt in his arms, a moan begging to break free when his hand wraps around my neck, his thumb pushing against my chin to tilt my face. That small move deepens the kiss further, stealing all the breath from my lungs. When I feel like I can't breathe, likehe's stolen my very life force with his lips, he pulls back, pressing his forehead to mine with his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Fuck, goddess. That was better than I imagined," he pants, his breath ghosting over my lips.

"You...you imagined us kissing?" I ask between breaths, trying to get my erratic heart rate under some semblance of control.

"Since that very first day I saw you," he admits, his cheeks pinkening against his tan skin. From being embarrassed or from our passionate kiss, I'm not sure. But pink looks good on him. Not that I'd tell him that.

"Same." I almost swallow my tongue, kicking myself for admitting that to him. My actions that day when he first showed up were deplorable. I stared at him like a piece of meat, even as hate coursed through me for what he was.

Not anymore, though. Never again.

Luka closes his eyes again and takes a deep breath before slowly lowering me back to my feet. It almost feels like another form of rejection until he seems to decide something and takes my hand, drawing me over to the lone chair in the room.

He sits me down and crouches in front of me, the desserts on the table long forgotten. Remorse shines in dark eyes, then he averts them from my gaze, staring down at our entwined hand. “Goddess, there’s something I need to tell you.” The precious air I just got back from our heated kisses freezes in my lungs. Nothing good can ever come from those words.

I want to get up and walk away. Refuse to hear what he has to say. But I’m rooted to the spot, unable to move.

“You’ll probably be upset that I kept this from you, and you have every right to be.” Every word is like a fresh stab to the heart, and all I want to do is shake him and tell him to get on with it. To just hurry and break me so I can leave as soon as possible. “Bailey, I—we—” Fuck. Here it comes. Tears gatherin my eyes, unprepared for the blow that’s about to happen. “You’re my soulmate, goddess.”

“What?” I screech, the chair toppling behind me as I jump to my feet.

Wait.

That’s not… well, shit. My hackles lower, and my body seemingly deflates as I think about his words. That’s not even close to what I was expecting him to say. “Why?” I shake my head. No, no…that’s not what I want to ask. “W-w-when,” I stammer, “h-h-how?”

How the hell is that possible? Professor Asshole said I was his mate. So there’s no way Luka and I can be mates. Right?

Luka laughs at my bluster, cringing when I shoot him the best death glare I can muster under the circumstances.

Planting my hands on my hips, I pin him with a harsh stare, begging with my eyes to explain. Because someone has to be mistaken. Unless there’s something I don’t know. Which in this world is entirely freaking possible.

But wasn't I just thinking the other day that I'd rather have Luka or Axel as my mate? Jeez. I fist my hair, pulling tightly at the roots. I'm so damn confused.

"Whoa, whoa, goddess." Luka is before me in a blink, disentangling my fingers from my long locks. "Please, don't hurt yourself. I knew it that day at the lagoon when you touched me. Fuck. You zapped me, and I haven't been the same since."

I pull away, shaking my head. "Are you saying I forced this on you?"

"Oh gods no." His dark hair falls over his eyes as he shakes his head before swiping it back. He closes the distance once more and clutches my shoulders so I can't retreat again. "You can't force someone to be your mate. I was born with the purpose of being part of your soul." Part?

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