Chapter 7 Continued

My eyes widened as I sat back and tried to shake the little weirdo off of me like he was a dirty tissue, looking over at the others in the room with an alarmed expression.

"Tame your damn alien, Tyrus!" I yelled, still trying to fling the tiny being off of my arm. 

Of course the tiny fae wasn't able to budge me from my spot, and as he realized that I wasn't going to move, gargantuan tears began to flow down his face, his huge eyes glistening as he turned around, running over to Corey instead. He grabbed the large man's arm and pulled with all of his might, making a high-pitched grunting sound. Corey was much nicer to the little weirdo than I was going to be as he stood, willingly allowing the tiny man to lead him closer to me as he blubbered senselessly. 

"Love, please! Love!" Daffodil cried out, hiccupping softly as he grabbed at my hand again with his free hand. Before I could protest, he pressed both of our palms firmly together with a small 'humph.'

I froze.

Familiar, dangerous sparks went off in every synapse of my being as Corey and I's eyes met. 

I zoned out everything around us in that moment, unable to see Daffodil as his head whipped back and forth between us, a smile breaking out beneath his tears when he stepped back and clapped his hands triumphantly. 

I don't know what the little imp did, but the sparks between us felt hotter than ever, licking at my perspiring skin in a way that made a horrifyingly new fluttering feeling emerge in my stomach. I found myself in a mind-numbing trance as Corey and I stared, mesmerized, into each other's eyes, hands pressed together with the lightest touch as we leaned closer in unison, completely forgetting the group of people in the room with us. 

It felt so light and airy in that moment as we neared each other, another unfamiliar feeling making me feel slightly dizzy as it nudged its way into my brain. 

The emotion was blurry, like it my mind couldn't recognize it as it returned from a long forgotten, dusty corner of my mind. 

Is this what happiness feels like?

I could almost taste his masculine scent on my tongue as we breathed in sync, the fluttering in my stomach intensifying as he stepped forward. I felt somewhat drunk as my hooded eyes flickered down, taking in the proximity of his pink, plump lips to mine. 

For a moment, I longed to feel them against mine again the way they were when I had let my guard slip a few times before.

Just one... I decided.

That was all I needed, just one kiss to sate this fire that pulsed through my veins. 

He was so, so close, and I could barely breathe as his face hovered in front of mine, lips glistening just centimeters from my own. 

Just one won’t hurt…

My head began to feel so fuzzy, and Corey was so close that I could feel his body heat. I panted, feeling my body becoming overwhelmingly clammy as my hand slipped limply from its place against Corey's, right before our lips closed the hair's width gap of space between us.

The world spun around me as my eyes rolled back into my head and I fell backwards onto my bed, passing out cold.

+

"Fuck..." I whispered, cracking my eyes open, only to shut them again with a wince at the painful pounding behind my temples. I raised my hand, pressing against the area where it hurt, willing the pain to go away. I paused, my hand freezing in midair as memories of what transpired before I passed out flashed into my mind, making me shoot up in my spot.

I looked around the room, noticing the emptiness of the room and the evening light that streamed through my curtains, painting the room in an orangey glow. 

How long was I out?

I looked around my room again, patting the area around me to find my phone that I'd carelessly thrown somewhere on my bed earlier, but instead noticing a head of dark brown hair sticking up on the edge of my bed. I slid over to the side of my bed slowly, craning my neck to sneak a peek at whoever it was. 

I blew a piece of hair from my eyes in relief as I was greeted with the sight of Corey's chiseled face. His head was tilted back against the edge of my bed as he slept, his arm draped over his raised knee and a book - the words Romeo and Juliette on the cover - slipping from his limp fingers as if he'd fallen asleep in the middle of reading a page. I stared shamelessly for a few moments, taking in the features of his upside down sleeping face as I stared down at it. 

His face was really handsome (no homo). Chiseled to perfection but also smooth, blemish-free and soft. The orange light that streamed through my sheer curtains highlighting the high points, giving him somewhat of a glow that radiated from underneath his skin. 

I almost wanted to reach out and touch it, but smacked myself mentally at the thought as I stared harder, only to see that the corner of the man's mouth was pulling up the slightest bit on the right side into what resembled a... smile?! Shock was an understatement to express how I felt at the discovery.

Maybe he does have emotions?! 

"JESUS FUCK!" I jumped back, losing my breath and pressing my hand to my chest in shock as his eyes suddenly snapped open, his smile disappearing as he looked up at me as if he could sense that I was staring at him in his sleep this entire time. 

My cheeks flared, feeling myself grow incredibly embarrassed at the fact that I'd been caught practically ogling the man. 

"It wasn't what you think! I was- It was just- you- you had a bug on your face!" I yelled defensively, laughing awkwardly as he stood up from his spot silently, setting the book on my bedside table. 

He didn't acknowledge my nervous statement as he raised his arms above his head, stretching his large body which probably ached from the cramped position he'd been sleeping in. I couldn't help but look at the few inches of his V line that was revealed as he did so, leading a path down to the monster that I knew resided below. 

I shook my head, pressing my temples as I cursed myself for thinking of such a thing. This parasitic mating bond was really getting to my head, even making me think about his dick.

"Hey, you ape! What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed, staring at Corey with wide eyes as he began to slide into bed beside me. He paused mid-action, looking up at me with a blank expression. Not that I expected anything different.

"Getting into the bed with you. I thought that you wanted me to, did you not?" He replied, making me breathe out aggrievedly and flop back down in my spot, my back facing him as I remembered the permission I'd given him the night before. 

Not gonna lie, I felt kinda bad that he'd been so willing to sleep on the bare floor the night prior without a blanket or pillow, so it was the least I could do. 

"Whatever. Just don't complain if I kick you in the nuts in the middle of the night." I replied, shivering a bit under my blanket from my fever that still hadn't gone down. I felt the bed dip beside me with the incredible weight of the giant as he slipped in beside me. 

I could feel the body heat radiating from him even though we weren't touching. I stubbornly scooted backwards just a bit in an effort to steal some of it, playing the movement off as if I was trying to get comfortable. I could feel that we were inches away from touching, but it felt like miles as neither of us was willing to bridge the gap. 

I listened to the rise and fall of his breaths as I laid there in silence. I knew I couldn't sleep, because if I did then those terrible memories could be hiding just beneath the surface, waiting to seize me when I am most vulnerable. The sound of his breathing lulled me into a trance, making me drift off sleepily. I felt my eyelids begin to droop, only to snap back open to attention at the words I heard come from the large man behind me.

"Ortiz... Who is Jax?" 

I gasped audibly, my fingers clenching into a fist, feeling my dull fingernails pierce through my flesh. It took a long moment of recovery for me to reply to him, but he waited silently and patiently, as usual.

"How do you know that name?" I asked, my voice low as I stared at the wall. 

I hadn't heard my first name come from the mouth of anyone in years. I'd almost forgotten that it belonged to me, the sound of it foreign as it rolled off of Corey's tongue. I felt him shift in his spot behind me, his voice a little bit louder as he spoke, leading me to believe that he was now facing my turned back.

"You were screaming it in your sleep last night before I woke you." He replied simply, the resonant nature of his voice causing it to vibrate against my back. "Would you like me to find that person? Is that also someone who hurt you?" 

I couldn't help the hint of a smile that pulled at my lips at his words. A guilty pang rang out in my chest as I realized how evil it really was when I called him an abomination as well as the other slur that I didn't even want to think of again. 

It was really unfair to him, and although he had his moment of avoiding me (which I technically deserved), he still ended up right there next to me when I needed him the most.

A soft flurry in my heart had me caught up in a whirlwind as I turned around slowly, breath hitching as I breathed out.

"It's my name." 

Corey's face was as still as ever as we faced one another, but at that moment I longed for just the hint of an emotion to flash through his eyes to reassure me that he didn't find my first name horrible, or revolting, as my dad used to call it.

"Hm. I think it is nice. It suits you." 

Bum, bum, bum.

My heart fluttered wildly in my chest, blood rushing to my toes as I laid there quietly, basking in the simplicity of his presence. 

He thought my name was nice. 

__

Thanks for reading Besties!

Please vote and comment, they really motivate me to keep writing :)

Xoxo, Alex