Page 105 of Crimson Promises
“Must be nice,” she muttered.
“To answer your question, though, my guardianship of you is more of an arrangement.”
“And what do you get for your end of the arrangement? I am guessing it would have to be pretty important for you to spend a chunk of your life watching over a child.”
I hesitate, knowing my answer will begin to crumble away at the tentative peace we’ve established. “I can’t share those details.”
“Why not?” She scoffed. “Don’t you think I have a right to know?”
“Actually, I do think you have that right. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, Aurora, Ican’t.”
“Really?” Her features softened. Beneath the anger and confusion, there was relief. Aurora paused on the sidewalk. “I need to take a breather.”
“There’s a bench up ahead,” I point to somewhere to sit about five feet away. “Can you make it there?”
“Yeah,” she huffed out a breath.
We made it to the bench in silence. Once I was sitting, I pulled out my phone. The screen was fractured. As I held the power button, the screen remained black. Part of the collateral damage.
“Aurora, call a cab. We’re close enough to civilization now.”
She cradles her phone, hesitating. “What if they call the police? We look like we’ve been mauled by tigers.”
“It’ll be fine. I can handle it. Make the call.”
When we crawled into the back of the cab, as expected, she did a double take in the review mirror. “Headed to the hospital?”
“No, 587 Carlton Avenue.”
I slumped against the sticky leather seats and watched Arch Cape blur by me. Aurora’s hand rested on my knee. A silent comfort.
Aurora walked me all the way to my doorway and went as far as putting my keys in the lock.
“Thanks for helping me get home today. I wouldn’t have made it without you.”
“No, thank you for everything. I’m sorry I didn’t take the threats seriously. I see now how dangerous things are. I’m done keeping my distance now.”
“What does that mean?” I asked hesitantly. Afraid to misread her signals again.
“This,” she said as she closed the gap between us and skimmed my lips ever so lightly.
ChapterTwelve
Aurora
Ben ran his fingers through my hair as he cradled my face. His tongue plundered and devoured me. I don’t know if it was after everything that happened today or the time we had spent apart, but his kiss was wild and untamed. He fisted my hair in his hands and trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses down my neck. Ben spent a few minutes lavishing the curve where my neck and collarbone met, then back up around my jaw. I let out a soft mewl. There were so many things to discuss, but all I wanted to do was this.
Ben squeezed my hip bones as he walked me until my back was against the door. A favorite position of his. Last time he had me pinned like this was at the restaurant. I had been furious to see him there. Intruding on my date with Riley, I had been sick of feeling like a pawn in a chess game, a match in which I wasn't a willing participant. I had pushed him away then, acting like I didn’t want it as much as he did. I had gone to freshen up. Locked securely in the stall, I had given myself two minutes to let out whatever emotion I needed to. I cried tears of frustration at Ben’s lies. More than that, I was angry at the pull I still felt towards him. He had betrayed me.
I shouldn’t want him. I had convinced myself I didn’t want him anymore. Went out with Riley to prove it to myself. Nothing about finding out I was half angel, half human, or whatever I was needed to change the life I was already living. Bennett didn’t need to matter. He would be a blip in a string of mistakes that, one day, I would look back and laugh at. But the kiss in the restaurant had torn down the house of lies I carefully constructed. I had to go back out there and face Riley like I hadn’t been rocked to my entire core. The rest of the date had felt like a heavy haze. I was muddled and responded with one-word answers. Riley had deserved more than that. I promised to make it up to him and told him I was coming down with a bug to avoid a good evening kiss. When I got home, I went straight to bed, replaying that moment repeatedly. Feeling the ghost of Ben's lips against mine haunted me for more hours than I would care to admit.
The warmth of his body against mine pulled me to the here and now. We were alive. We had survived a demon attack. Ben had been right about the reality of the threats. I had been reckless and foolish. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins. Everything felt sharper, more intense. The truth that, at any moment, this could all end made my previous hesitations laughable. The sight of him torn by that demon lying there was burned into my mind. All that mattered was right now. This moment.
Ben dug into my hips, pressing me against the hard lines of his body. The move had me panting. As Ben's tongue delved into my mouth, I moaned.
I slid my hands from his shoulders down the sides of his chest, then his abdomen. Forgetting myself.
After a moment, I pulled away, gasping for air, my hands clinging to his corded arms. “Wow,” I said breathlessly. “As much as I’d love to continue this, you need to rest and recover. Not even an hour ago, you were on the brink of death.” It was stupid for me to indulge him right now. He was still healing.
