Loyalties - Ike Koffin (OC)

• Five •

“This storm is a blessing in disguise,” Ike commented with a smile, referring casually to the empty roads and vacant ATM machine we now stood around. He chewed on his gum while flicking his gaze around cautiously; double checking that we were as alone as we currently appeared to be.

“Beth, empty the accounts.” He instructs before turning his gaze onto me where I stand beside her trembling figure. “Bella, stay close to me. I don’t want you getting any ideas and running off.” he mutters, though I sense that he has no real belief that I’d do anything against him. Not only because I have no desire to harm him but because I also have no desire to risk Beth’s life to save my own pathetic one.

“Okay,” I mumble with feet shuffling along the concrete towards him.

“Good girl.” He breathes while reaching out to grip my upper arm before tugging me closer to him so that I’m standing directly in front of him with back pressed firmly against his toned chest.

I shiver unintentionally at the sudden contact, feeling my heart race and my body immediately relax in his hold. Goosebumps rise along the exposed skin on my neck as his warm breath fans it. His body radiates heat that envelopes me like a strong safety blanket. I want to succumb but before I can, a loud police siren rings out unexpectedly. Echoing through the vacant streets with new volume, sending my body on high alert and moving with a surge of new determination.

Without thinking nor speaking, I turn in his arms and grip his upper arms with strength I hadn’t known I possessed till now. Then, with a firm tug and body moving of its own accord, I pull him into the narrow alley beside the ATM and out of sight of the passing police cars.

I look up into his deep brown eyes, staring into their depths with a new intensity now existing between us. Our bodies are pressed together while our facing are inches apart with breathing heavy. We’re so close I can smell the fresh mint of the gum he is chewing. If I were to tilt my head forward just a little, our lips would touch. For a moment, I’m almost tempted to close the space and silence the curiosity burning in my thoughts and feelings.

But I don’t. Instead, I focus on his face, admiring every detail up close. From his light brown hair and softening eyes upon me, to the dimples in his cheeks and the facial hair around his plump lips – a goatee to be exact.

I feel my heart skip a subtle beat as his open palm rests against the brick wall I’m pressed against; just above my head while the cold metal of his handgun rests causally against my hip where his other hand remains. He is encasing me against the wall and yet, a part of me is thrilled that he is.

I can’t explain it.

I should despise this man – fear him even. But instead a deep and broken part of me yearns for him. I feel a connection I can’t truly comprehend. There’s a magnetic pull between us, something deep and intimate pulling our souls and bodies together no matter how ridiculous it seems to do so. I can’t fight it because deep down, I’m not really sure I want to.

For the first time in my life, I feel something for someone of the opposite sex. May it be a simple physical attraction or a silly infatuation, I don’t know. But something exists here between Ike and I. Something I suspect he feels too, given he inhales sharply when his fingers brush the warm skin on my hip.

Does he secretly yearn for me to?

Or am I so far gone and too damn delusional to realise the gravity of the situation I find myself in?

“I’m sorry,” I find myself murmuring with sudden realisation of the stunt I’d just pulled. He could be furious with me in this moment and perhaps that was the real reason behind his sharp intake of breath and his clenched eyes. Maybe he was now attempting to calm his anger towards me.