GABRIELLE
I WAS IN deep trouble.
That was what I was thinking the entire day after Zerachiel devoured my lips. I could still feel the phantom of his kisses playing on my lips, the rough fingers wrapped around my body, and the heat that licked through my skin. To think that I kissed him back did not help my case at all.
Why did I do that? Why did I kiss him? I told myself several times that I wasn't going to that route again. However, when I was pulled into his orbit, I had nothing else to do but to move according to his motion. He was a force to be reckoned with, and I had no idea how to remove myself from his axis.
We were in a different world, and I was afraid that if I kept gravitating toward him, my world would collapse. His world was huge and strong enough not to feel the impact of our collision. While mine would turn into dust, his would stay the same. I had nothing, I had extra baggage, I had dark secrets, and I had a lot to keep people away from me. I didn't think Zerachiel was the one to stick to me once he found out what I kept hidden under my bed.
It was 7 PM. The moonlight filtered through the spaces between the leaves of the huge old Mahogany tree beside me. Kakatapos lang nang paggawa namin ng presentation for tomorrow, and I was exhausted. Sana naman ay may tricycle pa papuntang palengke.
I breathed softly as I looked up. Kaunti nalang.
Habang naglalakad ako, naramdaman ko ang isang presensya sa hindi kalayuan. I had grown accustomed to his presence that I could tell with my head held high that it was Zerachiel. His stare burned the back of my head, and my body reacted contrary to what I was thinking. I always told myself that he was a bad idea, that he would be the black hole that would suck me to my death. But every time he was near, I always found myself gravitating towards him.
Breathing shakily, I continued walking without taking a glimpse of where he was. I knew he was behind the tree, watching my every move. I did not know what happened, but I knew something shifted between us— it was as if he became more hungry, more ravenous of my attention . . . became more obsessed with me.
This was not right. It was never right. It should have alarmed me. It should have pushed me to my limit. I should have reported this to the dean or any other authorities, but I could not. I knew what he was doing was wrong, it was creepy. However, the twisted part of me wanted his sole attention— that despite the scream my head created, I could not care less. I always denied the fact that he affected me, that his presence did not bother me, but I knew deep within me, I craved the attention he was pouring on me.
I was nearing the chapel in our University when I felt his footfalls dancing behind me. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and a strange heat started to squeeze within me. My palms started to sweat, and I could feel the bullets of sweat forming on my forehead.
"What are you still doing here?" My body jolted when I heard his low growl behind me.
His voice was close, so close I could feel the heat of it licked my ear. I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes before turning around to look at him. Zerachiel, wearing a tight black shirt that highlighted the curves and swell of his muscles, appeared in front of me. Under the beaming moon, he stood like a prince of darkness, a man who was capable of taking my life, a man with so much darkness and monsters within him.
Nevertheless, he looked ethereal, so fucking unreal. He looked like a God, perfectly symmetrical face, defined jaw, pointed nose, full lips, and sharp incisor teeth that added to his dark aura. Zerachiel was the perfect form of a man from books, so unreal and brooding.
"W-we had to finish our presentation for tomorrow," I murmured, my lips were cold and numb.
"Hmm," he moved closer, his fingers instantly wrapped around my neck, "How many boys were you with making that presentation?"
