BOUND (book 2) ✔

CHAPTER THIRTY.

He uttered something to kids, which earned a squeal of happiness from them, before they eagerly nodded, then making a dash out the door. I tore my eyes away from him, focusing my attention on the carpet beneath me.

The room was silent. I could still smell his presence. His cologne always stood out to me, but today, it was doing wonders for him. My body craved to reach out and touch him.

Daringly, I looked up, his eyes already locked on me. The corner of his lips were twitched into a small smile, making me mimic it back.

"Hey," His raspy voice said. My stomach flipped.

"Hi," I softly whispered. His eyes raked over me, head to toe, then back up to my face. Blush tinged at my cheeks. His eyes narrowed and slowly, I noticed him take a step forward. Followed by more, till he reached me.

I held our gaze, my brow arching in confusion. 

Was there something on my face?

"Your hair..." He whispered, his warm breath hitting my lips. I gulped, watching him as his hand reached out and he twirled on a strand of curly hair.

So, something with my hair?

"It looks..." He trailed off, licking his lips.

"You look...beautiful." He rasped, his words creating a warmth in my stomach. The blush grew darker, making me nervously bite down on my bottom lip. A deep breath left his lips, brushing against my face. I inhaled a shaky breath.

His soft hazel orbs bored into mine, and I forced myself to speak.

"T-Thank you." I choked out, he twirled with ends of my hair, suddenly looking enhanced by it. 

"Short hair, it suits you well." He smiled, letting go of the strand. A smile quivered onto my smile and I noticed his biceps flex under his shirt. A shoot of longing, tingled in my veins. God, how I so badly wanted to call this man mine...again.

"I'm glad you think so." I mumbled, a tingle of light dancing in his eyes. A soft chuckle left his lips and I watched with a small smile.

"What did you tell the kids?" I asked him, genuinely curious.

"I brought them some toys." He said with a light grin.

"You spoil them too much!" I playfully scolded. He innocently shrugged, smirking. 

"Let's go check on them and I just pray, Drew doesn't get too excited." I sighed, thinking back to the twins fourth birthday. I brought the two big blocks of Lego. Drew got too excited and acted out on it, accidentally breaking the laptops screen with his piece.

I only hope it wouldn't be a repeat of the past.

"Alright." Eric agreed, a hint of amusement in his tone. We made our way downstairs, me leading the way as Eric followed.

"I forgot to ask, but did you finish unpacking?" He questioned. I nodded, peering over my shoulder.

"I just have small stuff to put -" My sentence was caught short as I felt myself lose balance and trip over a step. Arms instantly latched around my waist and I was pulled into the familiar chest. His hazel orbs held amusement. I sighed, chuckling lightly.

"I've got to stop doing this." I breathed out, my laughter cutting short. His lips were etched into a grin as he held me in his arms. A glint of light danced in his eyes and I found myself thinking back to Ma's words.

"The light which was once in his eyes, it left...for a while. But it's back and I'm most certainly sure it's because of your presence."

My heart twisted and I couldn't look away from our steady gaze. It was true, Eric's eyes were dark and emotionless when I stepped back into his life. But I never missed the part of how he slowly warmed up to me...much like his eyes.