Embracing Love and Power

Chapter 17 - Evening rounds

Tillie and her men made their evening rounds to guard the camp. It was the task they had chosen after the game, although they had won they had insisted on completing tasks as well. Until now everything had gone well, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

She was about to start another round around the camp together with Louis and Hugo when she saw how Timber approached them. "Breaker, surrounded by men alone at night, I could have guessed." Timber said with a voice full of resentment. Tillie sighed loudly. "Guys you can go, I'll finish this one after I have listened to the stupidity the boss has to say this time."

Tillie waited until the guys had left before she faced Timber. "If you can't stand me, I'll accept that. You have made it abundantly clear that you hate me. I can live with that, but can you stop rubbing it in my face every time you see me. I have worked hard for where I am right now. I have trained hard and I never stopped. I never slept with anyone and haven't used my body once." She spat. Timber looked at Tillie, she stood tall in front of him, her fighting gear made her look even more bolt and confident. The little lights around the camp cast a romantic glow on their faces even though nothing was romantic in that moment.

A lock of hair danced before Tillie's eyes as she studied the man in front of her. And then suddenly he moved and everything changed, he brushed the lock behind her ear, letting his fingertips linger over her cheek. "You confuse me an awful lot, Breaker" His voice was filled with warmth, not hatred. "What do you mean?" she asked confused. "You know what I mean." Timber looked into her eyes. Tillie softly bit her lip as she thought of his words, she wasn't going to make the stupid mistake of kissing him twice. And then suddenly she felt his thumb tugging at her lip.

"Don't." he softly said. Before she let go of what she was doing she leaned into his touch, while looking straight into his eyes. He swallowed noticeably and a blush formed on her cheeks. "I owe you an apology. I have threated you like trash. And today at the game, you deserved better." He started. "You did and I do." "Can't you shut that mouth of yours for once? I am trying to apologize." Timber said. Tillie smiled.

"It's just hard to trust people with the way my life has been so far. And your goodness seems too good to be true. Can you honestly say that there wasn't an ulterior motive in saving my sister?" Timber asked. "I understand where you're coming from. "Tillie looked at her feet, something inside her was pushing her to be honest with the man in front of her. This bond between them confused her an awful lot. "I haven't found my place in life yet, I am looking for the direction I need to go, the place where I can finally be myself. When I heard about the attack that was planned, I just had a gut feeling that I needed to save her." She told him. "What do you think that feeling was?" he asked. "I have no idea, it brought me here to you" she replied.

Tillie felt how Timber's thumb brushed her cheek, leaving a heavenly sensation behind, she had to hold back not to moan out loud. To not make the same mistake twice. "You confuse me beyond words" Timber said. "I can say the same about you, you are hot one minute and then cold the next." She replied. "You irritate me beyond words" He tried to continue. "I thought you were apologizing?" she asked with raised eyebrows. "What does it take to shut up?" he asked pretending despair. Tillie blushed under his intense gaze. "Oh, I know." Timber replied with a huge smirk.

And before Tillie could say another word Timber's lips crashed against hers. In an instant he had pulled her close to his body his hands clasped tightly around her hips. Tillie's hands travelled over his broad chest, she traced his muscled arms as he deepened the kiss. She felt the feeling of firework in her stomach, her brain was about to explode.

Timber had finally succumbed, for the past weeks, ever since their first kiss he hadn't been able to get Tillie out his mind. The kiss tormented his dreams, his thoughts, every second of his life. It had taken all his strength to contain himself all those days, he had tried to push her away with his comments, but he had finally realized he would never win this way. The feeling when their lips met was something he had never felt before, for days he had felt this irresistible pull between them, and now that he finally had given it, he wished it would never end.

But then Tillie remembered something, she remembered how the man she was kissing stood for everything she hated. How he would likely kill her if he ever found out what she really was. How he had treated her like garbage these past few days. She felt that she had no other choice and so she stopped him.

"What's wrong?" Timber asked breathlessly. "I can't do this, your words last time hurt me a lot. We are just too different." Tillie replied. "Tillie please, don't do this" "Do what?" she asked. "Be scared and run away. I know I fucked up the first time." He tried to convince her. "Don't, Timber. We kissed, we made a mistake. We both apologized for it, so now we can move on with the rest of our lives." She replied though she wanted nothing more than to stay with him. "You know we can't. You felt it too, that spark." But Tillie didn't answer she just ran off to finish the last of her evening round.