𝑯𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆

𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆

Chapter twenty one
Inara

My eyes lingered on him as the last remnants of my laughter faded, watching the way his body shook with his own chuckles. His eyes were squeezed shut, crinkling with pure, unguarded amusement. The sight stirred something inside me, like butterflies invading my veins, fluttering wildly until I forced them out. He didn't need to know how much he affected me, how right he had been about my jealousy.

Even though we no longer bickered like we once had—filled with bitterness and old wounds—it didn't mean I was ready to let him get close. Not in that way. Because he didn't know. Aang had no idea how deeply my father had tainted me, how utterly ruined I was underneath it all. And if he found out? He wouldn't be able to love me, no matter how much he tried.

He'd only uncover the hard truth, and we'd both end up crushed—his hope, my heart.

I swallowed the ache in my throat and picked up the end of my kimono, turning to walk away, hoping to outrun the feelings that seemed to choke me. But I hadn't gotten far before I heard his voice.

"Wait, Petal."

Petal.

Gods, my heart didn't need this. That stupid nickname, the way he said it with such softness, like I wasn't this damaged thing I knew myself to be.

"Stop calling me that," I said, more sharply than I intended, trying to steady my emotions.

"I'd rather not," he replied, his tone casual, but there was something else beneath it, something that twisted the knot in my chest tighter.

"Aang," I stopped walking, spinning back around to face him. The way he looked at me, with eyes so full of curiosity—and something dangerously close to hope—made my pulse quicken.

"Yeah?" His voice was soft, inviting, as if he were daring me to say what I couldn't.

I swallowed hard, knowing I had to say it. "You're right. I am jealous. You were being touchy with her, but—" The words died on my lips before I could finish. I didn't even have time to process what was happening before he closed the distance between us, his lips suddenly pressing against mine.

I gasped, feeling him against me, and the world tilted on its axis. My body went numb, my mind clouded by the intensity of the moment. I couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Everything blurred except for the heat—the searing heat that spread across my face like oil splattering in a fire.

His lips moved so gently, so tenderly, that it took a moment before I registered the sensation of him guiding me backward, pressing me gently against the cool stone wall. The contrast between the cold of the stone and the warmth of his body was dizzying, and I found myself completely overwhelmed, trapped between the reality of his touch and the wild storm raging inside me.

This was everything I feared, everything I wanted—wrapped in one impossibly fragile moment.

Everything inside my head screamed to push him away, to stop this before it spiraled further. But everything in my heart—everything in my body—was screaming louder, begging for more. Aang's impossibly large form towered over mine, his scent wrapping around me smelling like the freshest breeze after the rain, carrying with it that intoxicating woodsy scent. It was everything familiar, and yet it consumed me in ways I wasn't prepared for.

I had taken leave of my senses. Any trace of logic had evaporated entirely, leaving only the desperate, burning need that surged through me. When his hand gripped my waist, it was like he'd set my whole body aflame. A moan slipped past my lips before I could stop it.