Turn Away | c.h

Chapter 9 - Lover, Please Stay

Calum's chest steadily rose and fell, his breath fanning over my neck. His eyes were closed, lips pressed flat in a line.

I gently dabbed his knuckles once more, before I placed the cotton pad down. The cuts had dried, and were already on their way to recovery. It fascinated me how quickly Calum could heal.

I brought his hand up to my lips, pressing a small kiss on each of the cuts on his hands. This caused him to open his eyes, instantly observing what I was doing. I dragged my bottom lip across his skin as I delivered one last kiss on his knuckle, before pulling away.

I looked up at him, our breaths mingling as I noticed how close we were.

Not many words hand been said since we got back to the house. Calum had been on edge the the second we left the man to probably die in the forest. Id never experienced anything like that in my life before... What was that thing? That man had fangs. Like real fangs that you see on TV or movies. Fangs that belonged to those make-believe things, vampires.

Calum's hans moved to my cheek, bringing me out of my thoughts. He tucked my fallen hair behind my ear, his thumb moving to my lip. He ran the pad of it over my bottom lip, back and forth. The gesture brought comfort to my tense body. I didn't know what was so calming, so intimate about it, but it seemed to be what had calmed me down significantly.

"I shouldn't have taken you out there." He whispered, breath hitting my lips. I gently shook my head.

"It's not your fault, Calum."

"It is." He said. "I let you get hurt."

"Calum, you pulled the man off me... You protected me, you know that, right?" I quietly said, his thumb moving away from my lips. I waited for a reply, noticing his eyes linger down to my lips. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

"If you weren't there, I probably would have-"

"Please, don't..." He quietly pleaded, voice trailing off. I placed my hands on his bare chest, feeling his warm skin radiate to my cold hands. His gaze had returned back to mine.

I pressed my forehead against his, our noses brushing as we met. Calum's arm moved around me, fingers brushing my jumper up.

"Cal?" I whispered.

"Yes, Stel?"

I slowly began tapping my finger away against his skin- a nervous habit i'd never seemed to leave behind.

"Can you... Stay the night? I don't want to sleep alone." I asked, my voice only just audible. Crazily enough, I was nervous to ask this question. Despite how comfortable around Calum I felt, it was still a struggle to ask him this, in fear he'd say no.

"Of course." He answered straight away, fingers tracing over my side.

"Are you tired?" He asked, pulling away. I looked up at him after we'd both pulled away. I nodded tiredly, my body heavy as I tried to get up. Calum climbed up from the bed.

I looked over at him, his bare upper half instantly catching my attention. With various scars, some old and some new, it made his body look older. His tense muscles moved with ever grip and every step, I felt myself unable to look away. I wanted to trace every scar, to kiss every part of his chest that I hadn't been given the opportunity to kiss yet. I wanted to grow more familiar with his body... And him with mine.

"Stella..?"

I jumped as he said my name, instantly dragging me from my thoughts.

"Do you want to get in?"