Exodus - The Khiara Banning Series Book Two

Thirty-Three

Cael

Slowly, I trace Khiara's sleeping form. I start off with her lips; which I'm dying to kiss. They are so soft. I bend down and gently kiss them. She stirs slightly, but just sighs and smiles in her sleep. I move to her eyelids, which I also kiss. When I am done tracing her face, I play with her hair, twisting and twirling it around my fingers, pulling out the knots gently, and finally I just can't take it anymore.

"Khiara, Honey, wake up," I say softly into her ear.

She groans and then stretches, opening her eyes lazily, "Mmph?"

She sits up, stretches again, and looks around the room trying to remember everything that's happened, her slightly puffy eyes narrowing as they search the premises.

"How long have I been out?" she says, her voice gravelly from two days of disuse. She bites her lip nervously. Scrunches her nose in thought.

"Two days sweetheart. It's over. Can you remember what happened?"

Khiara nods, processing everything, and then she smiles, her whole face lighting up like the sun. I can barely look at it it's so beautiful. "It's over," she says, "I can't believe it's finally over. I did it."

Slowly, I bring my mouth upon hers, which is just so soft I still can't get over it. I was scared I'd never be able to kiss her again when she passed out. Khiara reacts exactly as I wanted her to; she threads her fingers through my hair and pulls me closer, biting down on my bottom lip.

"Ow," I chuckle, because she bit me a little too hard, and I realize that she may not have figured it out yet. This must be how hard she bites me normally, but normally I'd heal right away so it wouldn't even be a blip on my pain radar. But now, she watches transfixed, as the small cut on my lip I've been worrying with my teeth bleeds a bit. I wipe the blood away, and then suck my lip a bit. I repeat the wiping/sucking process twice before I'm sure it's stopped bleeding, feeling ridiculous.

"You bit me too hard and opened up my cut," I say, and she just stares some more so I move to bring my lips back to hers, gently.

"I still can't believe that you're human," Khiara says, reaching out slowly, placing her hand on my cheek like the very first day we met at Cara's party.

"I am," I reply.

"I can't believe it. I mean I can, but wow. It's...you're really going to grow older?"

All of a sudden, she grabs me and kisses me with an intensity I never knew she had, cutting my babbling short.

Khiara's hands are in my hair, my hands don't quite know where to go, and she's moaning into my mouth as I kiss her back.

I feel so inadequately human; it's wonderful.

And then there is nothing between us.

I straddle her, and look down at her perfect, naked body, now a little nervous. "Are you sure?"

"Says the man who gave up Heaven for me," she rolls her eyes.

"You are Heaven," I say. "I just...I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with...or will regret."

She smirks and reaches down which makes me inhale sharply, then says, "I died, forgot about everybody important I ever knew and had to go through excruciating trials which tested me physically and mentally. I nearly died for a second time. I decided the fate of The Fallen, the Nephilim and the Rephaim. This?" she looks between us, "I'm not worried about it."

"You're allowed to be worried. Hell, I'm nervous. I just need to be sure. I need to hear you say it."

She looks into my eyes and says, "I am one hundred and fifty percent sure," and then we're both gasping, and my heart is going to burst from my chest, and I think, oh God, I think this is –

Brilliant.

Every breath that we respire is in sync; each beat of our thumping hearts matches in time. Each moan that escapes her lips brings one to my own until finally, we collapse in a heap of indistinguishable, trembling limbs.

I don't realize that I'm crying until she's soothing me, rubbing my back whispering, "I love you too, Cam."

I will never regret. I think to myself, and though she can't hear my thoughts and I can't hear hers anymore – our mental connection is broken – she seems to know what I'm thinking anyway because she kisses the back of my neck and says, "I know."

A loud clap of thunder rumbles outside and a heavy rain begins to fall. The pitter-patter of the rain calms my fast-beating heart, and soon Khiara has fallen asleep cuddled up against my back.

Our struggle is not over. But for now, we're happy.

We have our whole lives ahead of us.

End of Book Two