\u2018I want to touch you in ways that would make you forget your own name,\u201d he continued, his voice thick with emotion, that made my knees weak. \u2018I want\u00a0<\/p>\n
to take away that look on your face \u2013 that hurt expression that tells me you think I\u2019m running from you. I want to show you exactly how much I want you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The intensity of his words made me squeeze my legs together instinctively, and even that small friction sent jolts of electricity through my body. I could\u00a0<\/p>\n
barely breathe, could barely think beyond the heat building inside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m really trying to be the man I promised myself I\u2019ll be to you. I want it to be when you\u2019re sure,\u201d he said, his voice softer now, more controlled. \u201cWhen\u00a0<\/p>\n
you really want me to be with you. I want to be with my mate, my woman, Ath- and I\u2019ll wait until you\u2019re ready for me to make you forget about everything\u00a0<\/p>\n
but me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came. What could I possibly say to something so raw and honest? My breathing was so rapid and shallow that I felt like I\u2019d just finished running a marathon. My heart was beating so fast I was afraid it might burst from my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without another word, he walked toward me. For a moment I thought he might kiss me properly, might understand these look on my face and finally give in. Instead, he pressed his lips gently against my forehead. The kiss was soft and lingering, filled with promises and restraint in equal measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could react, before I could reach for him or say anything, he was walking out of my room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Come shut your door, I heard him call from the hallway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My legs felt like jelly as I dragged myself after him. The thought that he wanted me to give him permission, to be the one to make the decision about moving forward, made my stomach flutter with what felt like a thousand butterflies taking flight all at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I reached the doorway, he was standing in the hall, turned toward me. His eyes met mine and held them for what felt like an eternity. I could see the war raging behind his dark eyes \u2013 want battling with restraint, desire fighting against respect. Finally, without a word, he turned and walked away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed the door and immediately pressed my back against it, my hand flying to my chest where my heart was still pounding erratically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was no point in questioning why I felt this way \u2013 I already knew. Tristan had always awakened something in me that I\u2019d never felt before, something that scared and exhilarated me in equal measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bond was getting stronger than my restraints, and I don\u2019t think I can fight it anymore. I didn\u2019t even want to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next morning, I woke before my alarm, having barely slept at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire had been relentless throughout the night, her voice a constant whisper in my mind. She reminded me over and over how Tristan had given me the perfect opportunity the night before, and how I\u2019d let it slip through my fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You were supposed to draw him close to you, she kept saying. One kiss, that\u2019s all it would have taken. One simple kiss and everything would have changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew she was right. I knew that kissing Tristan would have shattered whatever invisible barrier we\u2019d built between us. But knowing something and having the courage to act on it were two entirely different things.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:20 Sat, Jan 10 G MR.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 145\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know how to tell him I wanted him without sounding desperate or needy. I was scared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\ucc38\uae30\u00a0<\/p>\n
I went through my usual morning routine like a zombie, my mind still replaying every moment from the night before. As I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup, I heard a knock at the front door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart leaped, thinking it might be Tristan arriving early. I practically ran to the door, but when I opened it, my face fell immediately. It was my neighbor, standing there with that same smile he always wore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He always seemed to show up at the most inconvenient times. I raised my eyebrow, not bothering to hide my annoyance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning?\u201d I said, making it sound more like a question than a greeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSeems like I came at the wrong time,\u201d he said, though he made no move to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yes, you absolutely did, I thought, but forced my expression into a polite smile. \u201cNo, I\u2019m just surprised to see you. What do I owe this visit?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been away for a while and got back late last night, he explained, shifting his weight from foot to foot. \u201cI was wondering if you\u2019d like to hang out since I won\u2019t be going to work for the next week.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I opened my mouth to politely decline, but before I could get the words out, a familiar voice cut through the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Nope, she won\u2019t be hanging out with you,\u201d Tristan said, his words dripping with barely contained malice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My face immediately lit up at the sight of him. Relief flooded through me as he moved to my side, his right hand settling possessively on my waist while his\u00a0<\/p>\n
left held a fresh bouquet of flowers \u2013 today\u2019s addition to his daily ritual. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, the gesture both tender and territorial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow was your night, love?\u201d he asked, and I had to bite back a laugh at the obvious challenge in his tone. Tristan looked like he was barely restraining\u00a0<\/p>\n
himself from physically removing my neighbor from the premises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My poor neighbor looked genuinely intimidated, which was a stark contrast to how confident he\u2019d seemed during his previous visits. There was something\u00a0<\/p>\n
about Tristan\u2019s presence that seemed to shrink him somehow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Like my\u2026\u201d I started to respond but paused, realizing I didn\u2019t know how to categorize what Tristan was to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFianc\u00e9, Tristan supplied smoothly when I hesitated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018As my fianc\u00e9 said, I continued, playing along with the lie, \u201cI won\u2019t be hanging out with you because we have plans later today.\u201d I smiled sweetly at my neighbor while waving goodbye, then followed Tristan inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew he\u2019d be wondering how often I changed men, but I didn\u2019t care. He was handsome doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ll give him face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan shut the door firmly, practically in the poor man\u2019s face. It was incredibly rude, but I found I didn\u2019t care at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was something about him that had always made me uneasy- the way he seemed to watch me, the timing of his visits. My instincts told me not to\u00a0<\/p>\n
trust him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re late,\u201d I said to Tristan, allowing a note of complaint to creep into my voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/31\u00a0<\/p>\n
C\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 144 \u2018I want to touch you in ways that would make you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26301\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}