Shouldn't Have Gone - BOOK III

Chapter 19 - The Request

Chapter 19 – The Request

 

The wind has hushed, and when she opens her eyes, she instantly feels the coldness of morning pierce the wooden walls of the cottage to her skin. But Damien is still holding her—tightly. She looks up to him and sees him still asleep, his eyes closed peacefully. The fire in the hearth has smothered but Damien's closeness to her and his firm embrace makes up for the chilliness.

It was a long night, but it does not feel like it to her. It seems like she has only been asleep for an hour.

Slowly, she pushes away from him, but as soon as Damien feels her moving under him, he stirs and pulls her back close to him.

"Damien, you must wake now," she says in a hushed voice, her face trapped in his chest.

But Damien responds by grasping the back of her head and thrusting her much closer to his body.

He isn't letting go.

For a few more minutes, Angel shuts her eyes and enraptures herself with the uninvited pleasure of being touched by him. A few more minutes and she'll have to force these feelings out of her system. One night is enough to remind her of Damien and his love, after today, she will have to face the future without him.

"I don't think I can let you go," he hisses, sniffing her hair.

"You promised," she answers.

"I don't want this to end, Angel. Why can't we be together?" By submitting herself to him, by allowing herself to be with him this close, Damien realizes that she still loves him.

"Because I love Hunter, Damien," she replies. "And he waits for me." Finally, she realizes how foolish she was to get herself be overpowered by her lost feelings. Automatically, as the thought of Hunter crosses her mind, she pushes him away and pulls herself up into a sitting position, clutching the linen around her breasts.

Damien quickly stops her by holding her wrist. She feels soft and inviting. And he could have taken her down so easily if he let his guards down last night. He wanted to make love to her, make her his even for one night, delight himself with the explosion of lust and love inside her, but he did not do it. He loves her so much he could not violate the woman. And right now, he could only wish he has the confidence and luck to make her stay.

"We should leave now," she tells him as she shakes his grasp off her wrist.

"And you love me as well," he counters.

Having ensured that the blanket reaches her back, she pulls herself up and strides toward the hearth where the oversized shirt Damien provided her is hanging.

"How can you choose Hunter over me, Angel?" his voice a little high, the volume hiding the ghost of frustration and anger.

"We are not talking about this right now, Damien," coldly she answers. "Now, can you turn away, please, I have to put my clothes on."

"You love me, Angel. I don't understand why you have to deny yourself the truth!"

"I'm not denying anything, Damien!" she snarls. "I still love you and that's the problem!"

Tears begin to ram her eyes, and Damien feels the need to stop them. He does not want to see her crying but if it's the only way for him to find out what's inside her head and heart, he thought he'd let the tears convey its message to him.

"I still love you and I don't want that!"

The tears are sufficient in conveying to him how he fucked things up. She loves him but she doesn't want him. However, she loves Hunter and she wants him.