Her eyes flashed back to meet his. "Of course it is!" Ella tilted her head to one side and snorted. In her mind, she knew she was in trouble but in her heart, she was happy.
"That is rubbish, Gabriella." David chuckled. He was going to get make the most of this opportunity. He was going to spend time with her, alone. It might have been Jack and Amelia's plan, but David embellished it. Handling Ella should be a piece of cake. He handled rambunctious kids, he dealt with challenges on a daily basis as a teacher, he had no problems with his girlfriends, he dealt with their provocations, but this, handling Ella was different.
"Why is that rubbish?" Her brows furrowed but David wasn't surprised when she didn't take umbrage. Despite trying to keep her feelings hidden, Ella eyes widened.
David watched her reaction. Handling her with kid gloves, for the last two years, was the wrong approach. She needed to be told straight. "I think we should have had this conversation back then, or even when you arrived at my home town two years ago." He decided that he would take a different route. More charming and definitely more candid.
She recognised David's tone and she turned around, leaned on the balcony's wall, propped her elbows on the wall sill, and questioned, "Why do you say that?"
"Cause I think I have wasted precious time," he mimicked her stance, leaned on the balcony wall, braced his arms on the sill, and looked over at her, "with you."
Ella snorted. "I don't think you wasted any precious time! Your life was trundling around perfectly. Your social scene was..."
He interrupted and teased, "You were keeping an eye on my social scene?"
"Difficult to ignore!" She rolled her eyes. "The town's alphas are always in the towns' gossip report."
"Ah ah, so I am an alpha!" He grinned. Good idea to change his strategy because his charm was working. She was teased him.
She rolled her eyes again "Obviously. But I forgot alphas are conceited and you have to stroke their ego, often!"
"Not nice, Gabriella." Obviously his charm strategy needed a tweak. But this conversation tenor reminded him about their conversation ten years ago. The easy, teasing conversation. The atmosphere, the mood, the vibe. "Without ruining this atmosphere," He looked over at Gabriella, "This is what I missed. This. Us. Talking like this. I wasted time. I really missed this."
Gabriella gulped. Several seconds of contemplative silence followed.
"What about you?" David asked quietly. His eyes watched hers carefully. He came closer.
What had happened between them had taken her by surprise and his recent statements were a surprise. She'd been trying so hard to keep things in perspective. "Me?" As soon as she'd said that, she'd started to panic. She inched back. He stepped closer.
David watched emotions dance across her face. He stepped even closer, was almost nose-to-nose with her. She could read his eyes now, saw his intention. "Yes. You." He replied, his chin jutting out pugnaciously. Ok, so maybe had had gone about this the wrong way but at least she hadn't run away. And they were talking.
She took a breath, and admitted honestly, she tipped her head back in an attempt to buy her some personal space, "Yes." She hoped she wasn't going to be vulnerable by tell him the truth. "Yes." She repeated, "Talking like this." She stiffened instantly, stood her ground while her heart and head battled.
David smiled, he took a breath and added with sheer unadulterated arrogance, "I knew it..."
She held up one hand, her palm facing David, a silent command for him to stop talking She quirked a brow. "It was lovely, talking like this." That was the truth. Her heart won that battle. The fact of the matter was that Ella loved listening to David. Loved being in his company. Loved talking to him. But her mind put a caveat on her heart's response, "But I did not expect this from you, not now." Ella waited another heartbeat, partly to give him time to decide whether to accept her explanation.
David blew out a breath in relief and smiled at her. A, she hadn't run, b, she was being honest, and c, he was close to her.
He told her as if that made perfect sense, "This is really between you and me." She continued to just look at him. His jaw hammered a staccato beat. This was déjà vu. Ten years ago, they were talking, like this, and a few seconds later he kissed her. Obviously that was about to repeat. He waited a beat, watching her reaction intently. Time to take a chance. The small muscle at his jaw flexed as he prepared for his next move.
She stopped and looked at him. Thunderstruck by his statement, Ella blurted, "This, being what exactly?" She noted the sparks in his eyes and her panic escalated. Her eyebrows shot skyward at his temerity but she didn't move away. She should have taken umbrage at his actions, but she allowed him to inch closer.
David moved closer. He could see her eyes warning him, counselling him not to do anything. That didn't stop him. "This." He used the momentum to draw her closer.
She blinked. She muttered to herself. "I'm struggling here." This was déjà vu. She reminded herself, about the earth-shattering day at the camp: they were talking, like this, and he kissed her.
Her mouth opened, closed, opened again as if she intended to say something, but she couldn't form the words when she saw his eyes. Passion made his eyes molten. Her stomach coiled. A wonderful current of awareness streaked through her nerves. When she couldn't form the words, he said, "I am going to kiss you." That had her eyes flying open. He chuckled just before he brushed his lips gently against hers, his mouth feathered across her lips. Déjà vu.
She all but melted. Her blood stopped carrying oxygen to her brain. How was it that when David kissed her, everything was forgotten? Sensation overwhelmed her. He hauled her closer still. He was almost nose-to-nose with her, his gorgeous lips just a fraction away from hers and her lips parted. Her signals were straightforward instructions and he found it easy to interpret. Despite their history. Despite her determination to avoid him. Silently, she encouraged him.
Her head was ringing warning bells. Remember you are leaving, you are determined to avoid him. Don't kiss him. That would counter your intentions. The words, the warnings, rattled in her bemused mind, but her heart had control.
Their kiss went to nuclear.