Page 11 of The HalloQueen

I hummed when he finally pressed his luscious lips against mine, and I reached up to scratch his stubble, loving the way the coarse hair felt under my nails. He kissed me softly, but passionately enough that I felt like my soul was being pulled away from my body. I could feel him from my toes to my space buns, and goosebumps erupted all over me.I felt his essence inside of me from one kiss - that wasn’t normal.

I pulled back, breathless, “Your heart?”

He nodded and pulled me off my stool so I was standing between his legs and I could easily grab his torso, “Oui, Annabel. Mine.” He wrapped his arm around my back, pulling me flush against him and I couldn't resist the urge to dig my fingers into his sides. He was about my height on the barstool with me standing, and with his forehead against mine, I swore I heard him growl like I was in some kind of fucking romantacy book or something.

He took my lips with his again and the world around us turned into static. It was as though there was white noise everywhere and the bar faded away to nothing. There was nothing on earth except for me, Tommy, and this kiss as we floated in a place devoid of space and time. He kissed me over and over again, making me wholly melt against him, feeling as though my bones were leaving my body and my brain was short-circuiting. I pressed my hand flat to his chest and hummed. His chest rumbled beneath it and heat spiked in my core. I was about to climb him like a fucking tree, drowning in a lust I hadn’t experienced in years. That was why after god knows how long when I felt a hand on my shoulder, I was shocked to see Shannon standing there bringing the bar came back to life around us. It took me a moment to register that we were still even at Witchcraft at all.

“Oh shit, sorry Shan, you scared me.”

“Yeah….well… I need to pee, come with me?”

I shook myself back into my body, “Yeah. Yes. Yes.” I scratched at my chest, which I could feel was flushed and heavy, begging for attention, “Um, I’ll be right back. Are you staying?”

“Oui, mon coeur. I’ll be right here. You want another drink?”

“Uh, no, I’m alright. I’ll be right back.” I moved out from between his legs and instantly the bar felt far too loud, too hot, too much. It was like with Thomas I had been in a bubble that dampened everything around us. Shannon and I got into the ladies’ room and she spun around, causing me to crash into her.

“Ouch, Shan, what the fuck?”

“Who the hell is that guy?” She demanded from me.

“I told you, that’s Thomas.”

“Bels, I’ve known you for a decade and I have never once heard you talk about a Thomas and you looked like you were about to let him fuck you in the middle of the bar.”

I shrugged, “I don’t tell you about everyone I hook up with.”

“You’re a liar.”

“How are things going with Trae?” I asked, hoping to deflect the conversation back to her and away from the fact that I was two seconds from dry-humping the guy I met that afternoon.

A blush spread across her cheeks, “We were actually about to get out of here, but I wanted to make sure that you didn’t need me to pull you out from whatever the hell that was before I left.” She gestured towards the hall. “It looked, uh…intense.”

I nodded and dragged my teeth over my bottom lip, “Oh yeah. It was intense.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I saw the maternal fear in her eyes, scanning me to ensure that I hadn’t been drugged or manipulated.

“Yes, I’m fine, now let me get mine while you get yours. This was your idea after all!”

She gave a small nod, “Okay, well, text me tomorrow morning? Brunch?”

I shrugged, “We’ll see what happens. I’ll see you later though, don’t worry.”

“Don’t forget to take detailed notes, I expect a full report about the Frenchman - no more hiding hot foreign guys!”

I shook my head and headed to the sink to check my makeup and wash my hands, “get the fuck out of here. Go have some fun.”

She blew me a kiss before spinning and walking out of the bathroom. I looked at myself and noticed that my flush was more contrasting to my skin than usual as if I had gone pale, and my lips were swollen from Thomas’ scruff. Was I doing this? I hadn’t had anyone to my rental since getting back to Quaker's Wharf, but no one else had literally taken my breath away with a kiss.

I shook out my jitters once more, danced a bit on my tiptoes, and rolled my neck. It’s girl law that you’re allowed to get all the anxiety out in the bathroom and no one can judge you, and I needed that minute to get my shit together. When I walked back out to the bar, my senses were overstimulated again and I found myself suddenly desperate to get out of there. I walked back to the bar and saw Thomas chatting with some guy who seemed incredibly close to him and I examined them skeptically. The guy reached out and rubbed Thomas’ shoulder and looked at him like he hung the moon, and I felt a stab of jealousy, making me unable to help but strut in his direction like he was my property.

“Hey, sorry about that. They’re heading out, she just wanted to say goodbye.”

Thomas looked at me and the man he was speaking with seemed to realize Thomas hadn’t come alone and snatched his hand back like he wasn’t sure how it had ended up on Thomas in the first place.

“Uh, are you otherwise occupied?” I asked, nodding towards the man.

“Non, cher, he was just telling me about this restaurant down the road.”

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