Thea
* * *
“What’s that?” I’m lost in his intense gaze.
“Me,” I answer softly, swallowing the lump in my throat. I need for Kol to understand I’m damaged goods now. “I never wanted to kiss a boy until I knew I was going to marry him. Until I knew he loved me with his whole heart and soul. I would recognize him because I’d get butterflies in my belly, my heart would skip a beat when he walked in the room, my lungs would cease to function for a minute.”
Kol’s easy smile gradually appears as he tells me, “You can still have that, Thea.” Running a finger tenderly along my jaw, he lowers his mouth to mine. “A real man will love you know matter how you come to him.”
“Even tainted?” I ask before he can capture my lips with his own. The slow caress is more than I could have hoped for when he came back into my life. The way my heart stutters and my breath catches in sharp puffs of air.
Could he be it? The love I’ve always wanted.
“You’re not tainted, Thea. You’re a little bent, but bent can be fixed.” I should be offended, but the way he holds me, touches me, drops little kisses along my jaw and across my cheeks, tasting every inch of me, I can’t be. “You can still have love, blue eyes.”
“With you, Kol, I almost believe I can.” Pushing my fears to the back of my mind, I allow Kol to tenderly run his hands along my shoulders, down my back, and pull me into his chest as his tongue penetrates my mouth delicately.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he whispers in my ear. “Your heart.” His fingers draw the shape across my breastbone. “This beautiful mind.” His fingers massage my scalp. “This frightened body.” I close my eyes as his hands roam from my head to my thigh with subtle touches of adoration.
Kol gathers the minutest fragments of faith I have left, and they implode with his promises. Believing in him when I doubt I can. “I want that, Kol,” I declare as his lips find their way back to mine.
“Then let me, Thea. Let your fears of love dissipate, and I’ll show you just how intoxicating and deliciously overwhelming I can be.” I hear the cocky smirk in his voice.
“Slowly, though?” I know myself; I can’t go too fast. When I do, I spook, and I run. I don’t want to run from Kol. I want to flourish in his love.
“As slow as you want.”
His soft lips kiss my forehead as he pulls back and holds me on the couch. He shows me, without a doubt, that he’s putting me first even when his own desires and needs are calling for something more.
This display goes to prove he’s a man of his word, so when he asks me, “Let’s go for dinner?” I don’t hesitate to say yes and call in to cancel work.
Chapter 11
Thea
At first, I was nervous when we arrived at the restaurant. A small Italian eatery in the center of town that gives off a very intima
te vibe. But now, after we’ve ordered dinner and they bring us water, my tension has died down to inconsequential feelings of doubt.
“Tell me something, blue eyes.” Kol hasn’t taken his eyes off me since we arrived. Not even as the hostess flirted playfully with him, or when the girls at another table tried, and failed, to gain his attention.
“Like what?” I tilt my head, allowing myself to enjoy the atmosphere.
“Anything you like.”
I get the feeling his simple question isn’t so simple. Taking a sip from the cool water glass, I allow the liquid to soothe my dry throat. I’m not a fan of being put on the spot, even if it is innocently done. I try to think of a time in my life when I was happy, not wanting to dwell on all the sadness as a teenager.
“Well, when I was about six, I found a stray cat in our backyard. Mom was working a lot then, so I was free to roam the fenced-in yard, even if she was sleeping. He was black and white and so soft. He nibbled food right from my hand.”
“Did your mom let you keep it?” He smiles, already knowing the answer.
“Well, when she woke up, I already had a can of tuna open and a water dish. However, her scream startled it, and it turned out to be a skunk.” I shrug. I still remember the awful smell.
Kol blinks, his face neutral before his laughter takes control, and I revel in the sexy sound. It’s soothing, and I’d love to lay my ear against his chest so I can really hear it, feel the vibrations. “Jesus. You skunked her?” Tears are leaking from his eyes at his amusement.
“I wasn’t allowed to play outside without her for close to a month after that.” I grin, remembering how mad she was the first couple of days, but then her laughter would fill the house, and it was a source of amusement in our small world.
“I miss her some days,” I say quietly. “She used to read me bedtime stories. She always made time to tuck me in at night, made sure I had healthy meals every day. I never went without, even if it meant she did.”