Revenge Turned Sweet

Chapter 26: Let's Make a Deal

He groans as he catches his breath. "Not very original on your part, Nadya," he says breathlessly.

I chuckle and stand from the mat. "You never said anything about having to be original, Sergeant Barnes," I joke.

He eyes me for a moment before grabbing my ankle, eliciting a gasp from me. He rips it out from under me, making me fall straight back onto the mat. I hold my breath when his hand catches my head from hitting the ground. "I guess we both won, huh?" He snidely remarks as his hands move to grab my own, pinning them beside my head despite my strength failing me to keep them down.

I huff out a breath and look up to him, feeling my cheeks flush a bright pink. "If you say so," I mutter, feeling his cool breath fan over my face. I squirm under his hold, trying to ignore the flashbacks of the hallucinations running through my brain at full speed.

"I do say so," he says in a low voice while running a cool finger down my cheek. I watch his eyes follow his finger all the way down to my collar bones to the side of my ribs. "I don't know what I would've done if I lost you."

My breathing quickens as his fingers slide underneath my tank top, grazing the skin on my ribcage. "I'm here now," I respond, my head feeling foggy. His hand lets mine go and I bring them to his face, running my fingers along the stubble that's accumulated heavily. A sharp breath escapes his lips as I brush my fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

My breathing gets stuck in my throat when he harshly presses his lips against mine, his grip on my side tightening as if he'll never let me go. Without question, I open my mouth to him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. His hand runs through my hair until he grasps the back of my neck. I feel the way he's missed me, the way he grieved me, the way he searched for me in the way his lips move against mine. I gasp for air when he pulls away, trailing open-mouthed kisses down my neck to my collar bones.

"I missed you," he breathes between kisses, "so much."

I pull on his hair as my eyes drift shut, taking in every sensation I took for granted. The way his presence calms my mind, the way his eyes make me blush every time he looks at me, the way his hands feel like a weight holding me down to Earth. "I missed you too."

He comes back up and leans his forehead against mine. "Yeah?" He asks with a smirk.

"Yes," I say with a small smile as he leans back in, pressing his lips to mine once again gently.

Murder the murderer.

I grimace at the thought entering my mind along with the panic that comes with it. However, the thought didn't come from someone else, it came from my own mind, my own voice. The dark crevices that hold the homicidal tendencies I have for the man I feel the most for. "Bucky," I manage to say.

He pulls away immediately. "What's wrong?" He asks, his voice laced with concern as his thumb draws aimless patterns on my cheek.

I shake my head, trying to clear the dark thoughts from my mind. "Nothing, I just-"

"It's okay," he interrupts me as if knowing what I was going to say. "In your own time, doll." I feel my cheeks redden when he presses a kiss to my forehead and my cheek. He smiles at me for a moment, studying my face under his withering stare. He sits up and pulls me by my arms to sit next to him. "I have a present to give to you, per our deal." He smirks at me as he laces his fingers through mine.

I shake my head again. "You didn't have to get me anything, Bucky," I say and lean my head on his shoulder.

"Who says I bought it?" His metal hand disappears into his pocket before pulling something silver out of it. He drops it into my hand and I furrow my brows at him. "I didn't steal it, Nadya," he chuckles.