Perfume

Chapter Eighteen - Opened

Immediately, I called his name.

      "Linden!" 

       His shoulders shook as he breathed heavily, his hair sweaty and matted to his forehead. His gaze was unfocused for a second, but his eyes quickly landed on me as I sat on the foot of his bed. His pupils weren't dialated any longer. 

       It had work. I had done it. I had saved him. It had work. After all, it had worked. 

       I shut up and lauched myself at him. I put my arms around his neck and I placed my head on his chest. I cried. I laughed. And I cried some more. He hugged me and held me to close to his chest, but I could feel that his grip was weak. He still hadn't gathered all his strenght back. I drew back and peered at him through wet lashes, a smile stretched across my face. 

       "Bella," he said, his voice raspy. "What happened?" 

       Suddenly, it all rushed back. The last hour of worry, of fear, of pain. It all came back to me, drenching me in its bone-chilling waters, seeping deep with in me. I had almost lost Linden. I had thought him as lost. I had believed I was going to lose him. It was a horrible thought; a horrible memory now. Just a memory. Yet still it remained so real in my head, in my body. 

      I leaned close to him and slapped him across the face. His eyes went wide as he raised his hand to craddle his cheek. His mouth became O-shaped and his cheek reddened.

       I swallowed. "God, Linden, God. Why would you do that? Why in the hell would you smell an unmarked bottle of perfume, let alone spray it on you?"

      "I didn't know - "

       "I know you didn't know! And because you didn't know you shouldn't have done it!" I shook my head as the tears began to flow, hot against my cold skin. "God, Linden, you scared me! You almost died and it scared the living shit out of me!"

      Linden opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it quickly. He bit his lip and ran his tongue over his lips, casting his gaze down. "I'm so s-s-sorry."

      "God, Linden, do you know the hell I went through?" I hastily wiped the tears with the back of my hand. 

      He came closer to me and wrapped his arms around me, drawing me close to him. He pulled me down with him and kissed my lips. "Bells, I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I promise. I was so stupid, but I'm so sorry."

       We were chest to chest, nose to nose, like we always were. So close. The heat of our bodies mingling with each other. I gazed up at him and sad the cloud in his eyes, but still I couldn't control myself; couldn't control the heal in my heart that burned and hurt. Why, damn it, had he sniffed it?

      But I shouldn't blame him. He had made a mistake. He was alive and that was all that mattered. 

      I put my hands on the back of his head and leaned in to kiss him. I kissed him with hunger, my lips devouring every inch of  his, pulling on his hair, hard, making him moan and groan. I dug my nails on the skin of his neck as I slithered my lips down to his neck. He tilted his head  back, exposing the freckled skin of his neck. I kissed it, running my tongue along the freckles, along the soft skin. 

      "Bella," he moaned, skimming his fingers over my hair, his fingers running through the strands. 

      I kissed his chin, bit it almost. And then went back to his lips again, my tongue invading his mouth, taking over as it wrestled his down. I held him close with my death grip on the back of his neck, running my tongue along his teeth. I pulled his hair and sunk my nails down again, making him groan, making him writhe underneath me, his hands becoming jelly over my hair.