Chapter 21: My Everything
It was like clockwork.
As soon as Cupid disappeared, I heard a knock on the door, and in walked Angelo.
I wondered if the man-child had sensed his presence and that's why he had told me to relay his message, knowing that it wouldn't take long before I could do so.
"How are you feeling?"
Angelo looked hesitant.
He'd been missing since the argument and my refusal to use lust to quell my anger.
I started to wonder if Cupid was right about him beating himself up about not taking my side.
Did it cause him so much grievance every time he didn't side with me in the past?
It felt difficult to wrap my head around the possibility.
I had had enough time to think about what happened and acknowledge that what he'd done was for the fairness of the situation.
Yes, he could have been more sensitive to my emotions, especially when knowing that I had virtually lost trust in the person I loved the most, but it wasn't hard to see where he was coming from.
Still, I pretended to be displeased.
He sighed.
Got ya, I smirked internally.
I said I understood where he was coming from, not that I wouldn't hold a grudge.
Or at least pretend to in order to get him feeling even a tiny bit queasy.
Hey, you could judge me all you want but that's just who I am.
I like to keep a man on his toes.
"Are you not going to talk to me now?" He asked upon my silence and refusal to look at him.
"Isabelle."
I found interest in the sheet patterns.
"Isabelleâ"
Oh, what a lovely nightstand that was. If only I could find one of the same design for my own apartment...
Did he get it from IKEA?
But it looked way too overpriced for a place like that.
Maybe I would ask him about it later.
"Isabelle, look at me."
It looked like the weather was nice today based on the streams of sunlight coming in through the windows. The curtains did a poor job of blocking them out. Maybe that was the point. Angelo did seem to have a preference for bright lights.
I began to wonder if I could go for a strollâ
He was right in front of me.
My breathing stopped altogether as the man who had been more than ten feet away was now before me, nose to nose.
My confusion for his swiftness in getting near me was short lived when I realized he had done what Cupid did earlier.
Teleported.
They most likely had a fancier and more scientific term for it but it was definitely the essence of teleportation.
There was no other thing to call traveling from one spot to the next within the blink of an eye.
"Are you planning on giving me a heart attack?" My hand was placed on my chest in surprise.
I was breathless as I looked at his beautiful yet concerned face.
"I could ask you the same thing for not speaking to me. You see, I don't take the silent treatment very well."
"Yeah, so I've noticed." I referred to his radical approach.
"Are you still upset?" He pried, eyes drinking in every feature of my face.
I've never felt more self conscious in that moment.
It was like he could see every single layer I was made ofâevery tiny flaw and the constellations that beheld them.
Especially when his hand cupped my cheek and brought our faces impossibly closer, to the point where we were practically kissing.
My body instantly went taut with need.
If he saw any sign of it, he chose to ignore it, focusing on the issue at hand which was getting me to not be mad at him.
Which I wasn't by the way.
"Please don't be upset with me. I don't know what I'd do if you were to hate me again." He whispered, his mouth brushing mine temptingly.
"Again?" I inquired with a lost look.
When did I ever hate him?
Was it even possible to hate someone like Angelo? Someone this avowedly perfect?
It made me begin to question things as his hands fell to his side, bringing an end to his touches.
I pouted without knowing.
His eyes were casted away in thought so he didn't witness the moment of weakness.
Thank God, I sighed in relief.
"In the past, I had to make you do some things that you didn't look favorably upon. That included hiding you away from the worldâmy world. You didn't like the idea of us being a secret and slowly my protection of you grew into something you...detested. I do not want to ever experience something like that again."
"So basically I didn't like being a side chick? Got it."
Angelo's lips twitched at my sense of humor.
"I'm relieved that you can find something to make fun of in that statement."
I gave him a pointed look.
"I'm not joking, sir. That's what they call it in the twenty-first century. A side chick."
"You weren't my mistress, Isabelle," he said reverently, silver eyes building with color and shining brightly.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight of it.
"You were my everything."
I didn't know what to say with him getting so serious all of a sudden.
"I wasâ" I coughed up. "I was joking."
"I'm not."
"I know you're not kidding and that's what makes things even more burdensome. Do you know that it takes every fiber of my being to endure that gaze of yours?"
"Does it?" He purred.
My eyebrows lifted at that.
A knowing smirk came at the heat flaring across my face.
My thighs pressed together and his eyes flickered down to the spot for a millisecondâso quickly it was almost unnoticeable. But I did. I noticed it.
"Anyway, Iâ"
"I can smell your desire, Isabelle." He interrupted with a glint in his eyes.
I swallowed.
"It's inexplicably arousing," he licked his lips and I shuddered at the impact it had on me.
"But why am I surprised? Your scent has always been my biggest weakness."
"Not my smile? I'm wounded. I thought you were a gentleman." I managed to say between gasping for air as his stare burned through me. Its invisible hands launched out, stripped away my outerwear and left me bare.
I braced myself for whatever would come next.
I didn't know what to expect but the state of him right then and there was wordlessly dangerous.
My eyes fluttered close as he met my expectations and his hands travelled to my exposed thighs. They coasted around the length of my waist and all the way up to my ribs, stopping at my shoulders. Angelo held them as his fingers trailed the soft skin there.
A shuddering small sound came from me.
Every time I felt his hands on me, I could hardly control myself.
It was like they were my very own aphrodisiac drug.
They were too powerfulâtoo potent to ignore.
I felt tears brim my eyes as he drew close, closer than he should've have been within a fraction of a second and took a long draft of me, of my scent.
The responding growl was enough to have my body flushing with goosebumps.
He kissed the hollow of my collarbone. "Your smile is a reward," His tongue flicked over the area he kissed and I felt my legs give way. It was a good thing I was still on the bed because if I were standing, I'd be on the floor right now.
Almost as if he could read my mind, he smiled against my skin.
"So is your touch and presence..." He trailed off and his eyes glanced down to the spot beyond my thin shirt.
I blushed, wondering if he could see through it just how awakened my body had become for him.
"But your heart," he said, and I was stunned by the twist of the situation.
He leaned his head against me, that long, dark hair tickling my skin.
He sighed almost in relief at hearing the healthy beats, no matter how erratic they came, functioning nonetheless.
"Your heart is the reason for my existence, Isabelle."
***
If someone said that to me I would die on the spot.
So imagine Angelo saying that.
I would literally combust.