Freefall-Book One

Chapter Thirteen-Kristopher

Chapter Thirteen-Kristopher

                “Sofia, sit down!” I yelled, my frustration at the boiling point.  For the past hour, she had been pacing in front of our large, king sized bed, her tiny nails making crescent moons on her palms.

                “I can’t, Kristopher!  What are we doing about Matthew?” she finally asked, turning towards me and stopping her pacing.  Her grey eyes were stormy and full of anger as she glared at me.  At last, she shook her head and resumed pacing.  I sighed and turned away from her, sliding further onto the bed as I watched her pace.  We all had a different way of dealing with this threat to pack.  Apparently, hers was to annoy the hell out of me by pacing!  What I really wanted was for her to come to bed, damn it.

                “Sofia, come to bed,” I said gently, holding out my hand for hers as she passed me once again on the small path she had made in front of the bed.  Glaring, she pushed my hand out of the way, her anger radiating off of her in waves.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this side of her.  Growling, I realized that I liked the threat she posed to me.

                “No!  I don’t want to come to bed with you!  I didn’t want to in the first place!  You’re pigheaded, stubborn, angry, and downright rude!  Who’d want to come to bed with you, anyway?”  Her eyes had turned that beautiful grey-black, and I couldn’t help but open my mouth and let the words spill out.  She got under my skin whether I wanted her to or not.

                “You weren’t complaining last night.”  Great, now she’s going to hate me even more.  I looked at her stonily, waiting for the anger to burst.  Her eyes narrowed and she stopped the pacing, turning slowly to face me.  She was fast, even for a shifter, and before I knew it, a fist had collided with my jaw, rocking me back against the wall.

                “Shut up!”  Her voice was low and full of that boiling anger.  Eyeing her, I realized her face was flushed, and her chest was rising and falling with each angry breath.  I like.

                “No.  When are you going to admit that you liked it, maybe even loved it?  That this isn’t such a bad thing, Sofia!  I deserve to at least know that at least!  I deserve to know if this is ever going to work, or if I’m going to spend the rest of my life chasing you.”

                Sofia stood glaring at me, her eyes turning back to that normal grey once again as she took deep, calming breaths.  Almost at once, I could feel the anger boil again, and I watched her warily as she advanced on me.  I think I’ve broken her.

                “Just shut up, Kristopher.  You don’t know anything!  I never wanted this, so if you have to spend your life chasing me, it’s because you started something that you can’t finish!”  I didn’t think, I just moved, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards me harshly.  I didn’t know that she was underneath me until I opened my eyes to look down at her, realizing that she was glaring at me accusingly, once again.  I can’t do anything right with her.

                “You need to calm down,” I whispered, moving in to kiss at her neck.  With a force I hadn’t realized she had, she shoved at my chest with her free hand.  I rubbed at the angry welt on my bare chest for a moment with my free hand before capturing that wrist in my grip as well.  Leaning down, I laid gentle kisses along her smooth, soft jawline, moving down to her neck and then lower, kissing my way down her chest and to her stomach.  She was moving underneath me, still angry, or at least trying to keep her anger with her. 

                “Stop it!  I don’t want you!  Damn it, Kristopher!” she growled, her eyes glowing as she looked down at me.  I knew I was pushing it, but frankly, I didn’t care.  She was mine, I had claimed her for a reason, and she knew it!  Pushing against her legs, I waited for her to move them apart, but she held them closed tightly, her knees pushing into my stomach painfully.  All I wanted was for her to calm down; she was driving me crazy with all the stress and panic that was rolling off her.

                “GET OFF!” she screamed finally, her voice cracking as she arched against me, trying as hard as she could to push me off.  She was wiggling and letting out huffs of air, her face turning red as she began to growl.  I don’t know how it happened, but suddenly, my lips were on hers in a searing kiss, and she was kissing me back, tears rolling down her flushed cheeks.  I leaned back, feeling her legs release from being curled against her chest as she laid her head back on the pillows.  I moved, rolling to the side and taking her into my arms gently.

                “Baby, oh my baby…” I whispered, trailing my fingers up and down her arms, then petting her head as she cried, her sobs taking little pieces of my heart each time they released.  At last, she was sighing and hiccupping into my chest, nuzzling her head into my arm.  Her eyes were red rimmed and her cheeks were tear stained.  Looking up at me, she sighed, her hands rubbing small circles on my back.

                “I’m sorry,” she whispered, trying to pull herself up into a sitting position.  I squeezed her shoulders, forcing her back down on top of me.

                “Don’t be.  There’s nothing wrong with losing control every once in a while.  I don’t mind,” I smiled.  She gave me a small smile and laid her head on my chest, looking up at me through her lashes.  She sighed and snuggled closer, and then her eyes narrowed up at me.

                “That was not fair!” she shouted, jumping from the bed to glare down at me.  I smiled softly and held out my hand for her.

                “Life’s not fair.  In the next three hours, we’ll be busy with preparing for the fight.  We need your help, Sofia, and I think you need some rest.”

                “Fine…” she grumbled, stepping back to the bed and climbing onto it with a smirk.  She put her hands on my chest, pushing off it to go to the other side as I rolled to face her.  She curled into a ball, laying on her side, facing away from me as she snuggled deeper into the covers.  I sighed; my Sofia, my enigma.  Scooting closer to her, I put my arms gently around her waist and pulled her to me, waiting for the fight.  When she didn’t move, I growled happily and nuzzled her neck, inhaling her scent with a deep breath.  She sighed, relaxing into me and we drifted to sleep in one another’s arms.