A Thief's Kiss

33|. Bury

Chapter 33: Bury (Aria's POV)

When I felt his hand slip under my shirt and rest at my waist, I snapped back into reality. I pulled back quickly, gasping a little. "Hoi," I panted. "No, no, no. This is bad, this is very, very bad. I can't kiss you," I blurted out. 

"And why not?" He arched a sharp brow at me. 

"Because I can't," I said. "I'm not allowed to." 

"Says who?" he asked. 

"I do," I said, stepping back and folding my arms across my chest. "I will not allow myself to get involved with you. No, absolutely not." 

"Why?" he asked, taking a step forward. 

I moved away from the wall as quickly as I could and took numerous steps back. "B-because," I stammered. 

He kept taking steps forward and I had to take steps back if I wanted to avoid him. "I asked you why." 

"Because I... I-" I gasped, my legs hitting the couch which led me to fall on it. I sat down, leaning as far back into the couch as I could. He stepped forward and leaned down, towering over me. 

"Why?"

"Because... I didn't come here to fall in love with you." He listened intently. "Or to get involved with you." 

"Hmm," he nodded. "But you came here to marry me. And you did." He leaned in closer. "And if I can't kiss my wife, then who shall I kiss?" 

"Y-you want to kiss me?" I stuttered. 

"I do," he whispered, leaning in even closer, his eyes dropping to my lips. He acted like he was going to kiss me but then didn't. He pulled back and looked at me. 

"If you kiss me, you have to promise me that you won't fall in love with me." 

He frowned in confusion. "I can't promise that." 

"And why not?" I asked. 

"Because there's no reason for me to not fall in love with you. You're the one here for revenge, not me. So, why can't I fall in love with you?" he asked, putting his hands on the back of the couch and trapping me there. "I have no reason not to." 

"But you... you hated me." 

"No," he shook his head. "I could never hate you." 

I blinked once. Then twice. 

"You hate me," he sighed. 

"I don't hate you." 

"You just want to hurt me. You keep saying that. Why don't you just do it then? Get it over with and then we both can move on." 

"Huh?" 

He rolled his eyes, kneeling in front of me. "You came here to do something and that something doesn't allow you to fall in love with me, right?" 

I nodded slowly. 

"So then why don't you just do it? Once you've done it, we both can move on from it and you can allow yourself to fall in love with me. We're married now. It makes no sense for us to act like we hate each other for the rest of our lives," he shrugged. "And anyway, if I'm in love with you, I'll be in your control, regardless, no?" 

"I don't want to control you," I argued. 

"Either way, once we're together, we're together. So maybe you should just go ahead with your plan. And just let me know once you're done, hmm?" 

"Mm-mm," I shook my head. "I can't hurt you if you're in love with me." 

"Of course you can."