I didn't want to embarrass her in front of her colleagues, and I didn't want to put her on the spot. I wasn't warranted an ounce of her time, attention, or forgiveness, but that didn't stop me from stepping out of the elevator, and my feet moved with their own accord towards her office.
The red-headed girl was inside just like last time. Elle, I think, was her name. She was sitting across from Iris, who was leaning back with a mug in her hand.
I couldn't believe it's only been two weeks. God, it felt like two fucking decades. My heart rebooted at the mere sight of her smiling up at the redhead.
The first thing I noticed was the bags under her eyes and how much thinner her face had gotten. Even though she was smiling, it didn't reach her eyes, and
I hated that. I hated how her eyes weren't shining bright, and I hated how the emeralds lacked their shine.
Her hair was tied back into a lazy braid, and I watched her tuck her bangs behind her ear before her eyes darted over to the doorway, and she spotted me.
Her lip tucked down, and I saw her eyes go blank with emotion, and her friend turned around and stood up once she saw me.
"Get out." She said before I could speak.
"Iris, honey, maybe you should hear him out," Elle spoke, her eyes darting over to her friend, then back to me. Iris didn't seem pleased to have her friend say anything, and the scowl on her face proved right.
"Iris, please just give me a minute." I pleaded.
She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't even deserve a second. Out."
I swallowed nervously as I stepped inside and stood right in front of her desk.
"You seem thinner. Are you not eating?"
Something flashed in her eyes, but as quickly as it came, it went away. "Why do you care?" She snapped, the same time her friend said, "No, she isn't. She refuses to eat."
"Baby, you need to eat."
"Stop pretending like you care."
"Not pretending." I stated, "I do care."
"Don't."
"Iris, fuck, I'm in Hell without you."
I didn't care how pathetic I sounded. For her, I'd get on my knees and beg her for her forgiveness.
"Good. Burn in there."
"Tell me what to do to fix this. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
With a clenched jaw, she gritted out, "Nothing. I don't want to fix this."
"Give me a second chance. I can't lose you. Not again. I'll be fucking damned if I let you walk out of my life again."
I felt her body relax slightly as she let out a sigh, "You had your second chance, Rafael, and you fucked it up."
I rubbed my face harshly with my hands, wishing I could wash away all the pain I caused her, all the ache I caused myself.
"I know. I know. I wish I could take it back, but I can't."
"You know, third times the charm," Elle spoke and I almost smiled in triumph at her siding with me if Iris didn't glare at her.
If looks could kill.
"Elle, I love you like a sister, but stay out of it."
"And I love you like a sister, and that's why I'm not going to stay out of it. You've been depressed for two weeks, and that's saying something because you've been through hell. I know you, Iris, and I know your heart."
"My heart is the reason I'm in this situation, so fuck her, I'm not listening." Iris countered icily.
I wanted to reach out to her, to pull her in my arms, to force her to give in, but I knew I couldn't. I had no right.
"I need you in my life, and if it means coming here every day and begging you to take me back, then I'll do it."
She scoffed. "I don't want you back. I thought I did in the beginning but knowing that's how you felt about me the entire time."
"Despite thinking all that crap about you, I still wanted to be with you."
"Do you want an award?" She sneered sarcastically, "Thank you for being with me despite you thinking I'm some racist, two-timing bitch. Thank you for sleeping with me even though you hated me. Thank you."
"That's not fair, Iris. You can't keep using my mistakes as a reason for us not to be together."
"You don't get to tell me what to do." She rounded the desk, and I took a step back as she came to stand right in front of me. She poked her finger at my chest, "You lost that right, Rafael."
"If you think you can push me away, Iris, think again. Nothing you say will scare me away. I have a new goal, and you know how determined and persistent I can be."
I bent my head down and placed my hands on either side of her desk, caging her in. I could hear her heart racing, and the sweet smell of caramel had me taking a whiff of her hair.
Sweet as fucking sin.
"My goal is to be with you forever, one day make you my wife, put a baby in you, and worship at your feet until the day I die."
The way her eyes flickered down to my lips didn't go unnoticed, but I didn't say anything. Instead, I let her body react to me the only way it knew how to. Her lips parted, and her eyes fluttered shut as she pressed herself against me.
Briefly.
One second.
God, I could feel my cock twitching in my pants from that second alone.
"Good luck with that." She huffed out, and her voice was as breathless as mine.
"I'm taking that as an invitation to try even harder, baby."
"Not your baby."
"You're my everything," I confessed, and I saw her bite her lip as her eyes darkened at my words. My hand couldn't control itself as it came up and cupped her cheek. I felt her lean into my hand,
"I have to go, but please eat something. Please, baby, I hate that I can't feed you myself." Then, as if remembering the time I fed her in my lap, the woman in my arms let out a slight sound so low that I would have missed it if I wasn't so close to her.
A whimper. Fuck.
I felt that sound in my entire body.
"Eat and take care of yourself, Iris. I'm not worth it. No one is, baby."
She didn't speak, and I don't know if I wanted her to. I pressed my lips to her forehead, letting them linger there for a second too long before I pulled away from her. Then, with one last glance at the woman who had me in a perpetual lockdown, I stepped out of her office and towards the elevator.
AUTHORS NOTE: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?
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The Ache Between Us
Romance"Tell me what you want." He murmured, his finger trailing up and down my forearm. Goosebumps erupted at his touch and I shivered, my eyes fluttering shut at the trivial touch, and deep down I knew it was ridiculous that he still had any sort of asc...
