Chapter 15: Nightcaps
I took Katherine home after I made sure that her attack would not be out in the public. When Kate assured me that everything was already taken cared of and that Gabriel and Ella had already pulled some strings, I felt myself relax. Surprisingly, I wasn't as surprised as I am reacting, or maybe it hasn't settled in yet.
I carried Katherine to the car, the building security has moved it into one of the secluded parking lots inside to avoid the press. She had her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, her hot breath hitting my skin. I opened the car door and set her down gently. She had her eyes pressed tightly closed. I strapped her in with the seat belt and moved to my seat behind the wheel.
Twisting the key to ignition, I stepped on the gas making the engine rev. Easing slowly out of the space, I catch a glimpse of Katherine, her forehead pressed onto the window. She looked so sad, and like she was hiding from me.
I sighed and reached over, brushing a stray lock of hair back. Her eyes fluttered open but kept it hooded and downcast. "Katherine, don't hide from me." I begged softly, turning back to the road.
"I feel ashamed of myself, tainting you with my past." she murmured quietly. "You shouldn't be even worrying about me. I-I'm nothing. I feel nothing. Empty. Void. I wouldn't be even surprised if you left. You don't need to burden yourself with my problems, Eric. You-you don't deserve it. I don't deserve you."
I gripped the steering wheel tightly, swerving to pull over at a parking lot that was deserted. She blinked at me and quickly looked away, trying and failing to hide the tear that escaped. Why does she think of herself so little? This is not the Katherine I know. She looked so broken and unfixable, her self esteem that was constant gone, her eyes dull and dead, the light in it flicked out.
It angered me so much. "What made you think that? You aren't nothing, to me, you are everything. You don't have to feel ashamed around me, baby. Not everyone had it easy in life, I am a testimony of that, even my sisters. It is part of you, Katherine. It made you the most wonderful being in my life. Don't even think about me leaving you, because personally, that excuse is a flying shit."
She wasn't shocked by any amount. Her face was smooth, dead of any emotion. But when you looked into her eyes, it was a dead giveaway. I could tell she was having a war with herself internally, wrestling with her own demons. It flitted with the emotions of indecision, uncertainty, hope, adoration, wonder and love.
My heart ached, seeing her like this. I cupped her cheek, and I could tell she was resisting to lean into my touch. Her emerald orbs burned through mine with raw emotion. "Don't think of yourself any less, baby doll. Nothing will change with the way I see or think of you. Nothing. Understand?"
Her eyelids fluttered close, her soft breath coming in hitches. She bit her lips, the bottom quivering. After what seemed an eternity, she leaned on my hand, letting her tears fall. I wiped it away with both of my thumbs. Katherine opened her eyes and stared at me with a new intensity. She unbuckled herself in one swift move and straddled me, her soft lips in mine.
All reason flies out the window just as my eyelids shut. I put one arm on her hips and the other grab a fistful of her hair. She moans into my mouth, gasping. I trail kisses from the corners of her mouth, down to her neck and past her shoulders. She shivers delicately and runs a hand through my hair, bringing my mouth back to hers. Her heady scent makes my head spin and my mouth water in lust.
We both pull away, our breathings heavy, resting our foreheads on each other. I gaze into her eyes in wonder and amazement as she returns my stare with a breathtaking smile. Her pupils were slightly dilated from our steamy make out, and I am sure that mine were too.
