In the Rain (Prequel to Rain Again)

Chapter Ten: Finding Her

She gasped when his fingers curled around her upper arm. It was no use trying to get out of such a vice grip. His face was clearly visible now that he was looming over her now — so near. He was mad — too mad to look at with any composed eyes.

"You're fired," he grunted out, making her head spin a little.

She exhaled a long breath. And all the self-contentment filled inside her drained out with that.

For some reason, like clouds miraculously clearing out of the sky, the fury from his face dissipated. In its place, wonder appeared. The transition was distinct, yet Kate didn't want to know the reason for it.

Hovering way too close to her, he inhaled and exhaled noticeably deep multiple times.

Why was he behaving like a dog?

Was he a weredog?

What the hell was she thinking! Goodness.

The grip around her arm loosened, and she let out a shaky breath of relief.

His mouth gaped a bit, and his eyes diluted, making her fathom if he was lost in an eminent dream.

However, she was unwilling to give his weird behavior more attention. Finding him unfocused, she took the chance and pushed him away abruptly. He gasped in surprise.

She slid away from him fast. Through all the bustle, tiny sweat drops had formed on her forehead. She wiped them off, messing up and sliding away her bangs in the process.

Alex's eyes were suddenly zeroed in on her forehead.

It made Kate suddenly self-conscious.

Had he seen her mole now? Damn it to hell!

He was so wrong if he thought she was going to stay put and hear him call her hideous now. She simply didn't have any more energy left to tolerate more today. And so, she pushed past him and ran out of the room. Not wasting a moment, she gathered her few belongings and left the building at the speed of a storm. There was no point in suffering through this hellhole any longer.

Because, in the end, the devil had already had her defeated.

--

Alex's heartbeat fastened like never before.

The ethereal scent was finally found.

Thrusting his nose even closer to her, he inhaled deeply and then a few more times, and his whole body slackened as it sipped further into his senses.

Making him gasp in surprise, suddenly, she pushed him away. Now, with those limbs like cotton candy, it would have been impossible for her to overpower him. It was her sheer luck that he was out of it — just a little bit — because of his current discovery at the moment.

Captivated, he watched her swiping those slightly shaky fingers over her forehead. On their way, they removed those irritating bangs of hers that covered almost half her face.

And, freaking hell, what she had been hiding under those bangs!

Involuntarily, his mouth gaped open.

That mole! That freaking mole!

At that moment, he suddenly discovered why he felt so irked by those weird face-covering bangs of hers. It was clearly an instinct.

Now there was no more doubt. It was her.

The one who he had kissed accidentally. The one who he couldn't get out of his mind in lonely hours of the night when sleep waited heavily around the corner of his eyes to succumb him under its spell. The unique freshness of her scent and the feel of that bloody mole under his touch were as if tattooed on his brain cells. It didn't matter he hadn't seen her face or known her name that night. And he regretted that he hadn't got enough time to make that kiss a proper one. Like a little rabbit, she had run away, getting startled.