Haunting Shadows (Book 2)

Chapter 55

It would sound repetitive to say that time stood still as everything around me faded away, but it would be the truth. What had been only a matter of weeks, felt like a lifetime ago and not even my dreams could do his lips justice. But the way he was kissing me now, while so familiar in so many ways, was different than anything I had ever experienced. Much more intense, all-consuming than anything I could have imagined. He was kissing me like he was a man that could finally breathe after believing that he would never get a breath again. It broke something loose inside me, and for that moment, I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything he had done before. I didn’t think. I didn’t wonder how to deal with it all later. I just let him kiss me. And for a moment there, I was kissing him back, afraid that the moment will end all too quickly and we’d go back to jumping down each other’s throats verbally. I much preferred this version of physically doing so.

He pushed me closer against the wall, his body now flush with mine. I stifled a gasp and wrapped my arms around his neck. I didn’t ever want to let go. I knew the moment I did, the spell would break and I would remember. And I would be mad at him again. But it was hard to even recall why I was upset with him when he was kissing me like that. Like I was the only thing that mattered to him.

I should have known better. I should’ve pushed him away. It was the only action on my part that made sense. But I couldn’t. Because no matter how much I tried to tell myself that I was over him, I clearly wasn’t. I also wasn’t strong enough not to melt into him. Melt into him the way so many other women had. And even though that should’ve made me feel weak, my easy submission, the way he was holding me as he kissed me made me feel strong, like I was the one with all the power and that just didn’t make sense. When had the shift in power from him to me occur?

He was the one to pull back, leaving me breathless. For a moment I was stuck staring at him like an idiot as my brain tried to make sense of what happened. His expression was guarded, but I noticed the tiny chink in his armor. “Please promise me you will stay in here.”

The spell was broken and I pushed him away. Or at the very least attempted to. It was no use. Somewhere while he was kissing me he had become an unmovable statue. My strength was nothing compared to his and made me think I was imaging the brief moment when I felt powerful before. And just like that, the power shifted back where it belonged. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

“You think that kissing me will magically make me submit to your will?” My voice was breathy, and even I knew that there had been a second there while he was kissing me that I would’ve done anything he asked.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, still not moving even the slightest bit of space away from me. When he let it out, his eyes, now a rich shade of dark blue, were fixed on me. The intensity of his stare made me feel exposed.

“You are impossible.”

“I’m not some weak damsel in distress anymore.”

Andreas rested his forehead against mine. “You certainly have come a long way from the girl I found in a cage on the way to her death. But you aren’t ready for this.”

“You do not get to decide that.”

“I have given you a chance to decide to stay out of the fight yourself, and you didn’t take it. You leave me with no other choice.”

“What are you –“ Andreas disappeared before I could finish my question.

But I wasn’t dumb enough to believe that he just left me there with an easy way out. I ran to my door and tried to open it, but the door knob wouldn’t turn. I stared pulling at the door, kicking it, but it remained as unmovable as Andreas had been just a few minutes ago. Red hot fury rose inside me. “Andreas! Let. Me. Out!” I yelled, but no reply came. He had locked me in my room like I was an insolent child. Right after he had kissed me. The red flame of anger in my mind turned hotter until it burned blue. There was no way I was staying in the room while my friends were under attack.