Gods & Monsters(16)

“Maybe.” Biting my lip, I shrug and the brown in his gaze glimmers. Glitters, shimmers, glows.

“What can I do to change your mind?”

I pretend to give it a thought. “Chocolates. Buy me tons of chocolates.”

“Done.”

“And then get me a bunch of flowers.”

“All right.”

I giggle but then raise my eyebrows, trying to look haughty and stern. “Well, then come back later and ask me again.”

Abel chuckles. “So that’s how it is, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

He straightens himself up so that we’re the same height, even with him sitting and me on my knees. “How about I convince you some other way, right here, right now?”

My eyes go to his lips again. Immediately, automatically, like something inside me already knew what he meant. Like I already carry that knowledge somewhere deep. My tingles surge, almost knocking the breath out of me. “N-no, I just want chocolates,” I lie.

“And flowers, right?”

“Yes. So, um…” I move away from him, my hands nervously fisting my dress. “You should come back later.”

“Yeah, not gonna work for me.” He uncurls my hands and threads our fingers together. “How about you agree to be my girlfriend right now and we seal it with a kiss and I bring you all the stuff you so sweetly demanded the next time I’m here?”

Okay, so… I didn’t hear anything else except sealing it with a kiss. And of course, my heart chanting yes, yes, yes.

“Y-you want to kiss me?”

“Fuck yeah. Ever since I saw you.”

“But that was a year ago.”

“I know.”

My eyes and mouth both go wide. He’s been thinking of kissing me for twelve months now. All those things I’ve been thinking while staring at his lips and analyzing how his lower lip looks softer than his upper lip, and how it’s also thicker and redder… Has he been thinking about those things too?

Well, duh. What else would his staring mean, right? I don’t know why I’m so shocked. I should’ve known.

His eyes drop to my lips and he whispers, “Can I kiss you, Pixie?”

It’s a good thing he’s holding my hand and our palms are connected because I would’ve crumpled to the floor at that tone. His voice is raspy and thick. I keep thinking that one day I’ll get used to how different his voice is but so far it hasn’t happened.

I’ve wanted this for so long, but now I’m nervous. I don’t know what to do. Should I press my lips to his or like, nibble as I do my chocolate? It looks so easy on TV.

“Just one kiss,” I whisper, figuring it’s a good place to start. If I suck, he won’t know and I can sort of learn from it, too.

“You want me to die, don’t you?”

“No, I—”

He looks up. “Okay. Just one.”

“P-promise?”

“Yeah.” He nods and I feel his hair tickling my forehead, reminding me how close we are. I’ve never been this close to another human being. I didn’t even know people could get this close to each other.

“Okay,” I whisper.

Oh God. Oh God. Abel Adams is going to kiss me. He’s going to kiss me on the lips.

Oh Gawd.

I feel his breath before I feel anything else. On my lips, like a feather. Like a warm feather. It grazes the seam of my mouth and traces the shape of it, making me feel… cherished. How can his breaths touching my skin make me feel like that? But it does.

Then I feel the heat of his soft lips on mine. I was not expecting it to be this soft though. Like a pillow or a cloud. It’s such a shock to my system that I have to grab onto his hand even tighter. Because if I don’t, I’ll fall under his soft, fragile kisses. Delicate, dainty, gossamer-y. Even though the last one isn’t technically a word, I’m going with it.

I’m also going with moving my own lips. I don’t think they can stay still, even though they are nervous and trembling. I sweep them over his lower lip and almost lose my breath with how sweet it tastes. I think it’s all the apples he consumes on a daily basis.

I can’t stop tasting him, now. Our kiss is slow but so intense that my heart pounds louder than it’s ever pounded.

All of these sensations never prepared me for this next one. The one where Abel opens his mouth and sucks my lower lip in. It’s wet. God, so wet. But it’s also sharp and tugging and I gasp with how strange it feels. Strange and a tiny bit painful. No, actually it’s a lot painful but the pain isn’t coming from my mouth. It’s coming from the bruises on my waist.

Abel lets my lip go with a pop. “Pixie? Fuck, was that… was that too much?”

When did his hands go to my waist?

I’m grabbing his shirt for balance but he himself is unsteady right now. Wild eyes and heaving chest. He’s clutching my dress at my waist, pressing on the tender flesh. He lets go when I move away from him, my eyes watering.

“I —” I fall back on my heels and put my arms around myself, massaging the wounded area, trying to soothe the pain.

Abel’s eyes are even more frantic than before. “What’s wrong? Did I… Fuck, did I hurt you?”

I can’t take his agonized expression. “No. It… It wasn’t you.”