No Choice But You // Ominis Gaunt x Reader

Chapter 35

Y/n's POV//

I tensed at his words. "What?" I asked quietly, pulling away ever so slightly. 

I had to be hearing things. He could not have just said what I think he said. There was no way. No way at all. 

"I've been lying to you and myself for a long time," he said. "I know that it might be a bit rash, but I can't deny what I feel any longer."

"You better be serious," she said. "I won't-" I cut myself off and took a deep breath, recentering myself. "I won't do this whole back-and-forth thing any longer. I can't. So you either stand by your words, or I want you to back off. For good, Ominis. No more games."

"No more games," he told me. "I mean it. I- I love you. I've known it for a while now."

While it felt nice to hear, I couldn't help but feel hollowed out by his declaration. I didn't know whether or not to believe him after what happened the last time we spoke. 

"I understand if you have a hard time believing my words," he said as if he read my mind. "But I will spend every moment from now on proving to you that I am yours."

"Mine," I said. I liked the sound of it. But there was no way to know if he meant it. 

Again, as if reading my thoughts, he hastily pressed his lips against mine. The familiar sparks of his touch shot through me, and I quickly pushed back with equal force. Even if I wasn't sure about the truth of his statement, his kisses were too good to pass up. Too addicting. I couldn't lie and say I hadn't thought about his lips on mine frequently. 

He pulled back slowly, not saying anything. He had a pensive look on his face as if he were waiting for me to speak first. Instead of that, I placed another long kiss on his lips. 

His lips were soft and perfect and inviting, and I wondered how I'd gone this long without this. Everything about this just felt right and perfect. 

His hands found my hair and he grabbed handfuls of it, using it to pull me as close as possible. My chest was flush with his, pressed up tight against him. I could feel his heartbeat and his every breath as he kissed and kissed and kissed me. 

I parted my lips in a silent request, and the butterflies in my stomach took flight the instant his tongue slipped past my lips and into my mouth. He circled my tongue with his in a perfect dance and I couldn't help the audible sigh that escaped me. His hands moved to my waist, where he started to grind against me. His breaths were rough and tight, and I could tell he wanted me just as badly as I wanted him right now. 

I wanted to keep going, but I knew that we should stop. Not here, of all places, and he'd only just told me how he felt. Regardless of how good his lips felt pressed up against mine, I couldn't let him have me this easily. 

I pulled away, and we both sat in silence for a moment as we each caught our breath. 

"You're addicting," he said, his voice low and seductive. I felt his breath skate across my lips, and I brought my fingers to my mouth, pressing them against it. Nothing in the world felt as good as his lips on mine. I was sure of it. 

"I want to take this slow," I said after a minute. "I need to know I can trust this before I can move forward with this."

"I understand." He pressed his forehead to mine and dug his fingers into my sides. "But I mean it when I say that I love you. I really do."

He tensed up with a pause as if waiting for me to say it back. 

Regardless of how I felt, I wasn't ready to say it out loud. I needed this to be real. I needed him to want me all the time, not just like this--in private. I needed to know that I could trust this before I handed my whole heart over to him. 

As if he understood, he took my hand and placed it on his heart. I felt the quick thumps of his heart under my palm. "This is how you make me feel." His nose brushed mine as he spoke. "You make my heart race. You make it so hard to think clearly when you're around, because all I want to do is be close to you and feel you pressed up against me. I've wanted you for longer than I'd like to admit, and I apologize for wasting so much time realizing it."

"Ominis..." I trailed off. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. My heart was fluttering and falling at the same time. 

He had every right to be conflicted about his feelings for me, and I knew that. After everything I'd done to him and his friends, I didn't deserve this declaration. But I was selfish. I'd wanted him all this time, and I didn't care to think about the mental hurdles he had to jump through to tell me how he truly felt. 

Every inch of my feelings toward Ominis, no matter how bright or full of attraction and love, were coated in something else--like poison. While I wanted to feel the same way about him as he did for me, I didn't know if I deserved it. But I wanted it so much. 

"I don't need anything from you right now," he told me. "Well, maybe one thing. But I don't expect you to love me the same way I love you after everything I put you through."

Oh, Ominis, but I've put you through worse.

"What do you want?" I asked tentatively. 

"The right to call you mine. And to tell others that you belong to me." His face was serious. "I can't have others thinking you're up for grabs. I want you to tell me that you're mine, and that's all I need from you right now."

"I'm yours, Ominis," I said, without any further thought. I knew what I wanted. Even if I knew I didn't deserve it, I couldn't say anything else. I wanted it too badly to let him slip through my fingers again.