In Her Heat - Ainsley's Story

In Her Heat - Chapter Twenty Two

Heeeey guys ! I know it's not long , just a little chapter to hold you for a little while longer because I don't know if I'll be able to upload over the March Break . Hope you guys enjoy it ! Read , fan and voteeee !

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I stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. In the meantime he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. For a second, I wondered if I knew him. Something about him seemed familiar. I brushed the possibility aside. Whether in boy form or man form, there was no way you could forget this person.

"Hey," I finally managed to reply. He shot me a smile that melted a lot more than my heart. I was going to have to start investing in lingerie, it seemed. Not that I minded, this man was well worth it. I could only imagine what this man could do to me, and how little objections I would have.

"Is Athena here?" he inquired. He seemed at ease in the daycare. Maybe this was the other worker, though I couldn't remember his name.

"Athena?" I clearly was thinking properly. I slapped myself mentally and tried to pull it together. "Um, she stepped out for a moment."

I continued to finish setting up for the day, surreptitiously sneaking glances at him. The man had a tall, lean figure, with muscles that bunched as he stretched slightly and bent to retie his shoes. Very big shoes. Judging by the size, a girl could have a lot of fun with him... But I wasn't only thinking about his... ahem, package deal. Oh no, no, no, no, no, I wasn't that far gone. He had wide, smiling eyes green whose shape almost reminded me of that of an anime character. But somehow it didn't look childish on him. It seemed to show openness and a feeling of being relaxed. He had a straight nose that was almost too long, but fit his face. His mouth was naturally curved upwards, and paired with his eyes, he seemed like a friendly, happy, easygoing guy.

That's what my eyes told me, at first glance. As I began to study him harder, I picked up on things. His eyes were always doing a slow, thorough sweep of the room, as if he was always on guard, waiting for an anticipated attack. His hands were almost too relaxed, and it made me wonder if the whole "relaxed guy" thing was a cover for the predator beneath the façade. The last thing I noticed was the way he carried himself. He had a lot of confidence that just bordered on being arrogant, but I figured that easy smile kept people from labelling him so. And there was something rough and unrefined about him that hinted at his true nature: the beast. It intrigued and compelled me.

He walked past me, heading for the back room. As he passed, the air crackled between us and goosebumps popped up on my skin. The electric energy was so strong I literally felt like I was going to climax. He stopped just past me, and looked at me with a bemused expression on his face, as though he were trying to figure me out.

The tension escalated and became almost palpable. I felt a tug towards him - real or not, I couldn't say, but something was urging me to step closer to this man who was a stranger, but wasn't. I slowly took one step forward, and then a second and a third. When I began feeling lightheaded, I realized I was holding my breath, and let it out softly.

I took a fourth step, leaving me a few measly inches from him.

"Hello," he said, in a low rumbling bass. We'd already gone through this, but it felt new, like the first time.

"Hi," I breathed. My heart was pounded quickly, for some reason.

"I'm Gabe," he said. The name sparked something in my memory, and for a brief moment, I closed my eyes, trying to pull the knowledge to the forefront of my conscious mind. It evaded me, though, so I ignored it for now. When I opened my eyes, he was studying my face with a fierce intensity. It stole my breath, and it took me a second longer to respond.

"Ainsley," I said, giving my own name.

He paused for a minute, and I could see he was turning the name over in his head. Did he also have the feeling that we'd met before?

"Ainsley..." he said, as if committing the name to memory. Then, ever so slowly, he raised his hand. A quick glance showed leftover blue and green paint under his short and otherwise clean nails. So he was an artist - romantic.

His hand came up to my face. He slowly stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, gazing deep into my eyes. My breath caught at his touch. His fingers were slightly callused, in a sexy way, and they rasped my skin erotically. Then Gabe turned his hand over, so he was gently and intimately cupping my cheek. His thumb smoothed over my skin, inching towards my mouth. My lips parted slightly and I took in little gasps of air.

As his thumb caressed the corner of my lips, he softly said my name again, and it made my heart melt and want to sporadically combust. As he leaned in, I closed my eyes, falling slowly towards him.

I told myself, actually yelled at myself in my mind, saying I was crazy, getting ready to kiss a man I'd literally known all of five minutes, but there was just something about him. And something inside of me that assured me he wasn't truly a stranger. The same something that had told me to trust Reese that night he told me he was going to get me out of my apartment. My instinct had been right then, so I trusted it now.

I closed the final gap between us. Just as our lips were about to touch, the door swung open again. I closed my eyes and sighed. Athena was back.

But as I looked up, I saw that Lady Luck had abandoned me today. Because in the doorway stood none other than Cade.

And he looked furious.