Page 23 of Eternal

The rest of my week goes by slowly as well. I had already finished the things I needed to take care of for my apartment, and one part of me contemplated going back to Miami to try to find Soren, but the other decided that if he wanted to get a hold of me, he could. He knew my address; he would know my phone number too. It's obvious he just isn't interested.

Monday, I finally managed to get myself off the couch and go to the grocery store for the first time in a while. I enjoy mundane things I never got to do in my younger years. There was always someone else doing it for me. I return to my apartment with an arm full of groceries, my chest heaving from climbing the two flights of stairs.

“You know it would be much easier to live somewhere with elevators.” A familiar voice trails from behind me.

“Soren? What the fuck are you doing here?” I heave out of breath from the stairs, and now Soren scaring the fuck out of me.

He smiles, “I just wanted to see my future bride’s life in Seattle.”

Soren examines my apartment. He looks more relaxed than my mother when she first visited.

“It’s very,” He trails off, “simple.”

I roll my eyes as I set my groceries down on the counter.Everyone seems to have the same first impression of it.

I call out over my shoulder, “Make sure you lock the door.”

Soren pauses in his steps toward me, “Are you sure?”

I turn around to face him, “Yes, I want to keep the monsters out.”

He straightens at that retort, “And what if I told you I was a monster?”

I shake my head. He may be a danger to others, but I know he isn’t one to me. I know he will keep me safe fromhim.“I know you won’t hurt me. You don’t scare me like you think you do,” I whisper back to him.

He presses his lips together but locks the door. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I roll my eyes at him, knowing he is trying to get me to leave him. I’m sure most other women would, but me? I can’t. I want him closer. I didn’t fully understand how much I missed our conversations until seeing him again.

He approaches me closer in the kitchen. A part of me wants to tell him off for leaving me for a week without contacting me. The other part of me wants to jump his bones.Ah, fuck it. I’ll yell at him later for it. Before I can utter a retort to him, he’s got me pinned up against the counter caging me in with no room to escape. This close, I have to crane my head up to look at him, while his hangs lower. It’s especially obvious how much taller he is when I’m not wearing heels, and I’m not a short person either. I should want to run. I should want to seek the comfort of the public eye. But his gaze is beguiling, keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground.

“I loved the books you left for me. It means so much that you’d do something like that for me.” I look up at him through my eyelashes, giving into the temptation that he is.

“I’m glad you loved them, Freya. I thought you needed to add them to your collection.” He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me further into him.

“They look great on my shelf. I’ve got a clear case for signed copies and first editions. They look amazing amongst my others. Would you like to see it?”

Soren grins, “Glad to hear it. You can show me later. I have dinner reservations for tonight, but perhaps you’d like to stay more low-key and order pizza for dinner tonight? I have to leave late tonight to go back to Miami for work. But you can have me the majority of the night.”

I soften at his touch like putty, wrapping my arms around his neck. I kiss him on the corner of his mouth. I’ve missed his touch, his eucalyptus and spearmint scent, his shining blue eyes, his black hair flopped over his forehead.I missed him a lot more than I should have.His eyes close, and he has a small smile as he enjoys my small kisses. He looks like he’s in his nirvana.

“So I remember you saying something about ordering pizza? Oooh, we could also watch a show tonight?” I start to get excited.

Soren chuckles at my antics, “Whatever you want, my darling, but first-”

He cuts his sentence off, slamming his mouth to mine. Our lips melded like they were made perfectly for each other. Things like this only exist in fairytales. And yet, this is my reality. My stomach flutters and I feel myself slipping down a rabbit hole. His hand reaches up to cradle my head, pulling me in closer. Soren’s teeth bite at my lower lip, causing my mouth to part slightly. His hands roam down to my ass, squeezing it. Goddamn, he’s a good kisser and damn good with his hands. I wonder what else he’s talented at.Maybe I can have just a tiny taste…

His kisses trail from my lips to my cheek, then my jaw, and settle on my neck. The grip on my hair pulls my head to the side, allowing him better access to the spot between my neck and collarbone. He nips the skin, soothing it with his tongue, then sucking on the same place.

I let out a small moan, toes curling on the floor.

“Freya, let me make it up to you for just leaving you hanging for the past week,” He says between kisses.

“Soren, you have more than made up for it. Please don’t worry about it,” I pleaded with him. My words might say one thing, but my body screams the opposite.

He lets out a groan before coasting his hand over my neck, chest, and in between the valley of my breasts in feather-light touches. I tense at those touches. He must feel that tension enter my body as he leans out of my proximity.

"Freya, I want you to know that I will always respect your boundaries. No matter how it makes me feel. Your safety and trust mean more to me than anything else." The pad of his thumb brushes along my cheekbone as his eyes bore into mine.

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