MUTUAL FIXATION || WINRINA

CHAPTER 6

Winter's Point of View

The next instant was tensely filled with desire as she whispered provocatively, her arms wrapped around my neck, and she was very close—far too close. Shivers ran up my back.

"Karina..." I whispered her name.

"Hmm?" she hummed in reply, her voice laced with anticipation.

"Sit on the couch," I murmured, hardly audible, as all my senses were heightened at her touch.

I shut my eyes as I felt her finger tracing the line of my jaw with her fingers, setting my face into a firm grip by the chin, letting her insist that I look back at her.

Her eyes held mine captive, pools of emotion that seemed to draw me into them.

"Look at me," she whispered, the voice a ravelling melody.

My eyes locked on hers as her gaze did a scan of my face before finally resting, with a flair of the wicked, on my lips.

She smirked, playing along the edges of her lips, and I could feel my body surge in anticipation.

My breath seized while her thumb strayed across my lips, taunting, and that feeling sent a shiver down my spine. Her eyes then connected with mine, with that silent promise hanging in the air.

"I want to kiss you..." she said boldly, the words suspended between us like a live wire.

"D-Don't," I stuttered, though my voice did anything but.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips, the sound stirring something inside me. "Ah-huh?"

She leaned in closer, and I moved back until the edge of the couch hit my back. Her arms slid around my neck as her fingers began tracing patterns at the nape of my neck, sending a shot of electricity to course through me.

"Stop me then," she whispered, her lips inches from mine, swaying around in a tantalizing dance. Then she connexioned her lips to mine, and with the touch, the world dissolved.

A sharp pang of pain mixed with pleasure softly shot through me as she bit my lower lip, leaving breathless and wanting more.

She drew back still further, scrutinizing my reaction—a furrow coming onto her forehead.

"You're really true to your words, huh?" she murmured, a mixture of curiosity and desire plastered on her face.

"Stop it, Karina," I pleaded, my voice wrestling with the struggle.

With a shake of her head, a look in her eyes—a silly, defiant look—crossed. "Nah-uh," she countered firmly.

She bent down her head, and bliss surged through my very being as her lips touched the sensitive skin on my collarbone. Now, I strongly tightened my arousal on her waist as she marked me to be hers in that fugitive instant.

Like a thin layer of ice, the air cracked with tension, slavering desires—then, wanting, breathless in the wake of our forbidden encounter.

•••

I fluttered my eyelids open, an insistent throb knocking in my head. A grimace twisted my features as I cursed the demon drink under my breath.

I levered myself up from the tangled sheets with a groan, reaching my arms up above my head in a long, slow stretch. Yet another silver lining to the morning's discomfort: class was canceled because of a faculty meeting.

I lurched my body to the bathroom, feeling the weight from last night's excesses. So, processing through the motions of getting up in the morning, I decided to follow up by washing it out for once and for all with a hot shower.

However, as I take off my clothes, my eyes almost bulged out of my head from the shock of seeing my own body.

"What the hell!?" I blurted, my voice echoing off the tiles of this minuscule bathroom.

Hell, damn you, Karina!

My neck and collarbone were dotted with hickeys—fresh ones—a livid reminder of the previous night. I rinsed quickly then wrapped myself in a bathrobe to step out of that steamy room. My heart almost popped out when I saw the culprit of my predicament lounging in my room.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I demanded, my brows creasing in confusion.

"Good morning to you too, honey," she said, her lips smirking.

"There is nothing good about this morning," I retorted, making her chuckle.

"Why the long face, darling?" she teased, her eyes glinting with her fingers.

"Shut up!" I growled, brushing past her and into my walk-in closet to grab a comfy shirt and shorts, making sure not to miss the concealer on my way out of the room.

I slumped into the vanity chair, beginning the arduous process of covering the physical evidence of our tryst. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Karina rise from her perch and swagger over to me.

"Wow, that's quite a collection," she giggled, a clear indication that she was finding my annoyance funny.

But unlike her, I proceeded on the path, resolute in my mission.

"Do you—" she started, sounding amused once again, "need a hand?"

I frowned. "I can manage," I muttered, unruffled.

"Suit yourself," she hummed in a placid way, discomfiting me.

I rolled my eyes at her; it was the height of my annoyance. I really did not care if she took offense; at that moment, I didn't care.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me," she told me, trying to sound concerned.

I kept mum to what she said, my focus solely on what was ahead. Enough was enough.

I put the concealer down a little too hard on the table. Taking a deep breath, I slowed down the pulse in my chest and called to her.

"Yes?" she replied, her voice filled with satisfaction.

"Since you're the one who gave me these damn hickeys, you can help me cover them up," I grumbled.

"Oh, I'd be delighted," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she lunged for the concealer. "Sit here," she then commanded, nodding her head towards the end of my bed.

I sighed resignedly and stood up, moving over to the bed and dropping onto the edge. I was surprised when she simply flopped onto my lap.

"What the.!?

"What? It's comfortable here," she shot back, a smirk playing about her lips. "Now, don't move. Let's get started."

I forced a heavy sigh and complied, my hands resting at her hips, down to her sides, as she started to cover up the marks she'd left, all comfortably perched on my lap.