Chapter 14
Oh, the glorious feeling of her luscious lips. It clouded my mind, the lustful tendrils blanketing my thoughts. One of her hands roughly grips my shoulder, the other lightly tugs at my hair, making me sigh. I hear the door slam, and suddenly I'm being turned and pushed against my front door. Her lips begin to attack my neck in an agonizingly slow pace, while her hands massage my shoulders, dipping down. At some point she nips at my sweet spot and I yelp.
"Ari," I say hoarsely, trying desperately to catch my breath. "Ari, please wait." She freezes, her hands slightly trembling against my chest. Looking down, I see a magnificent dark blue in her eyes that swirls with lust and desire. "Talk to me, what's wrong?"
"What're you talking about?" She whispers, also seemingly out of breath. Having not moved, I grab her hands gently and remove them. Taking a step back, I analyze her and the possibilities. Her beautiful golden hair is loose, slightly curled, and there is minimal, yet pronouncing makeup applied to her facial features. She's wearing a beige knitted sweater that looks slightly too big for her petite frame, black leggings underneath and brown combat boots.
"Why are you doing this Ari? What happened?" I ask pleadingly, my heart still beating out of control as I slow my breathing. She meets my gaze, almost challengingly, and straightens her posture. Closing the space between us, she stops centimeters from my face.
"I know you're in love with me."
For a moment, I'm blindsided, shocked she would say that of all things. A million thoughts race through my head, but as soon as her sugary scent intoxicates my system again, I feel defensive. I sigh, taking another step back and crossing my arms over my chest reflexively.
"What makes you say that?" I say as steadily as I can. She laughs humorlessly, cocking her head to the side.
"I'm not blind Athena." She shakes her head at me but then whispers, "It took me awhile to notice, but you always have been, haven't you?"
"So what? It doesn't change anything." My tone is somewhat frustrated as I turn away from her. "You're with Keen-"
"Don't say his fucking name." Ari interrupts, almost seething. And suddenly things begin to click into place.
"So, is that what this is about? He finally did what was needed to make you snap? Only took you a few years." I hiss over my shoulder angrily. "Like I said, it doesn't change anything."
"Oh shut up Athena, I know you're talking about your precious little girlfriend. But we both know you don't actually love her. Not like you love me." Her confident tone pushes me to the edge.
"It doesn't fucking matter Ari! You made your choice and I made mine. Now you have to fucking deal with it." I turn to face her, clenching and unclenching my fists.
"You're in denial." Ari says, shaking her head disapprovingly, as if she was scolding a child. "You've always been so scared of anything real, scared of going after what you want. So you play it safe, and look where that's gotten you. Nowhere."
Before I know it, I'm pinning her roughly against the wall. She lets out a surprised gasp before I crush her mouth in a bruising kiss. She begins to reciprocate with just as much fervor, her lips pushing with pressure, harshly biting my lip before pulling away. She pushes her hips against mine, making me groan. Gazing into her eyes for a moment, I'm drowning in the depths of the ocean. Her nails dig into the back of my neck, pulling me forward again.
This time, her tongue forces it's way into my mouth, making me gasp in surprise at her dominance. One hand travels up into my hair, lightly tugging. It seemed as though she knew all the things that turned me on, expertly scrambling my thoughts. After brushing her tongue against mine, she pulls mine out in between her lips, sucking on it. My breath hitches in my throat, and I can feel my arousal in my pants.
My hand suddenly latches onto her breast, cupping it before beginning to massage it masterfully. She pulls away from my lips, moaning loudly as my hand presses onto her hardening nipple.
Ari's eyes begin to glow as she slowly pushes me back toward the couch, making me gulp heavily.
When suddenly there's a knock at the door. We stop dead in our tracks, the blood in my veins turns to ice. I run a hand through my hair, motioning for her to sit on the couch. Catching a glimpse of myself in the hallway mirror, I flinch in surprise. My lips are puffy and bruised, pupils dilated and red crescent moons are scattered on my upper arms.
Taking a deep breath, I expect my girlfriend to be standing on the other side, with the usual beautiful smile she has for me. Me, the one who just cheated on her. The guilt is almost too much and I debate on answering or not, when the knocking returns, a little more frantic, almost angry.
I suck it up, turning the doorknob and pulling it open it what feels like slow motion.
But it's not my girlfriend. The person standing before me looks beyond furious, and I furrow my eyebrows.
"Keenan?"
