Page 5 of Messy AF (At First #3)

five

~ Tobias ~

T he storms persisted over the next two days, blotting out the sun and soaking the city in heavy rains. Normally, I liked rainy days, finding them cozy rather than gloomy, but now, they just reminded me of Peter.

I didn’t know if he had been adept at hiding his feelings, or if I had just been that oblivious to his intentions, but the information had come as a complete shock. Worse, I didn’t really know how to feel about it.

Of course, a part of me felt flattered, but in that vague, fleeting way, like after receiving a compliment from a stranger. Another part of me struggled with feelings of guilt, worried that I had done something to lead him on or make him think I returned his interest.

Especially when I had only ever viewed him as a neighbor, not even a friend.

Sure, we had hung out a few times, but I wouldn’t turn to him when it really mattered.

Between Peter’s behavior that day and Warren’s warning, mostly, I just felt unsettled. Not afraid, exactly, but more worried than I wanted to admit.

It didn’t bother me that Peter hadn’t told me about being a shifter. Frankly, I didn’t think shadelings were under any obligation to reveal something that personal about themselves.

Now that I knew, though, it did make me question some of our previous interactions.

Like his random visits to “check on” me, and how they always seemed to coincide with some particularly stressful event. The day of Warren’s arrival, Peter had shown up on my doorstep not long after one of my episodes.

At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it, but now, I couldn’t help but wonder if it had been coincidence or something more.

Or the time I had arrived home with a trunk full of groceries, only for Peter to appear in my driveway, as if he’d been waiting just out of sight for an invitation. Again, I hadn’t given the incident much thought, but now, the interaction carried new weight.

Curled up on the sofa, I chewed my bottom lip as I replayed conversations, gestures, and looks that had passed between us, reviewing them through a different lens.

“You’re overthinking again,” Warren said, not looking up from his phone.

“Am not,” I muttered petulantly. “I’m thinking exactly the appropriate amount.”

Snorting, he turned off his screen and leaned forward to place the device on top of the cedar chest. “How about a distraction, then?”

Half a dozen different “distractions” flitted through my head in the span of a heartbeat, none of them feasible or appropriate. “What did you have in mind?”

“We could watch a movie and binge on junk food,” he suggested, jerking a thumb over his shoulder toward the television.

I pretended to consider his offer, but my grin gave me away. The idea of sitting close to him in the dark with something scary playing in the background was too good to pass up.

“Okay, but I get to choose the movie.”

“Go ahead,” he answered easily, picking up the remote and tossing it to me. “I’ll go get us drinks.”

“What about the food?” I distinctly remembered snacks being part of the bargain.

The doorbell rang before he could answer, and I tensed, all those warm, flirty feelings disappearing like a puff of smoke.

“Easy,” Warren soothed. “It’s just the pizza I ordered.”

Despite his reassurance, it did nothing to loosen the knot in my chest. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He pointed to his phone. “I received the notification that the driver was close.”

I nodded slowly, but the muscles in my neck and shoulders remained tight. “Check the monitor before you open the door.”

“I will, but there’s no need to worry.”

While he was probably right, I didn’t relax until I had proof in the form of a pizza box sitting in front of me.

“See?” Warren said, easing down on the cushion beside me. “Nothing to be upset about.”

“This time.”

“Tobi, I want you to listen to me.” Inching closer, he untangled my clenched hands and cradled them in his own. “I didn’t tell you about Peter to scare you. I told you because I want you to be cautious.”

“But what if he comes back?”

“Then I’ll be here.” He rubbed his thumbs in circles across the tops of my hands. “I don’t think he’d hurt you, though.”

A couple of days ago, I would have agreed with him. Now, I wasn’t so sure. “He looked really mad when he left.”

“Let him be mad. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“While you’re here,” I mumbled under my breath.

Of course, Warren heard me. Stupid vampire senses. I didn’t, however, expect what came next.

“I’ll be here as long as you want me.”

I jerked my head up, the breath catching in my throat. Even when I told myself he probably hadn’t meant it the way it sounded, I really didn’t see any other way to interpret his words.

“What are you saying?” I asked, forcing the question past trembling lips.

“We’ve been tapdancing around each other all week, but I’m tired of pretending I don’t feel something for you.”

He still held my hands, gripping them a little tighter now. Or maybe that was me. I didn’t even know anymore.

“I think you feel the same way,” he continued, his voice quieter now. “If I’m wrong, tell me, and I won’t bring it up again, but if—”

“You’re not wrong.” My tongue darted out to wet my dry lips. “I feel it too.”

He moved closer, crowding against me, the feel of his body pressed against my side a welcome weight.

“I can’t get you out of my head.” He rested a hand on the side of my face, cradling me like a fragile treasure as he brushed his thumb across my lips. “You’re all I think about.”

Then he closed the distance, whispering kisses across my nose and cheeks, soft as a butterfly’s wings. He did it again, and a third time, every brush of lips slow and gentle, almost testing.

Closing my eyes, I leaned into him, tilting my face up in invitation.

There was no urgency, no desperation, but when our mouths finally met, everything changed. Electricity crackled between us, the air charged and heavy. Warmth bloomed at the point of contact and spread quickly, engulfing me in a sensation I could only describe as belonging.

It didn’t feel like a first kiss. Instead, it held a comforting familiarity, like coming home after a long absence. It sounded crazy, impossible even, but my heart seemed to recognize what my brain couldn’t comprehend.

The room around us dimmed, and the sound of the rain tapping against the windows faded into the background. A low growl echoed through the room as Warren slid his hand up my throat, tracing a line behind my ear and into my hair.

His touch was tentative at first, then bolder, holding me steady while he pulled away to meet my gaze. We parted only far enough for me to see the feral light blazing in his eyes, a ring of pure crimson glowing around the edges of the smoky gray.

“Mine,” he growled, his voice deep and filled with unwavering conviction.

It should have frightened me, or at least given me pause. Instead, it only made me braver. I reached up with a trembling hand and brushed my fingertips along the curve of his jaw.

“Yours,” I whispered, the word shaky but sincere.

With that promise suspended between us, he drew me back in, our foreheads pressed together, breaths mingling. Those last flimsy barriers between us melted away, replaced by the certainty that we had crossed an invisible threshold we couldn’t turn back from.

When his arms wrapped around me, I sank into him, bringing our mouths together again, the kiss purposeful and more confident this time. His tongue traced the seam of my lips, seeking entrance, and I opened for him with a soft moan.

He plunged inside, hungry and searching, mapping every inch with careful strokes. Our tongues tangled and retreated, sliding together in an intimate dance that both burned and soothed.

I lost myself to the rhythm, to the heat and need that coursed between us. Blood roared in my ears, drowning out reason, every inch of me alive and quivering beneath his touch. My world shrank to the circle of his arms and the feel of his mouth, and I moaned, greedy for anything he would give me.

A touch. A whisper. Another taste. It didn’t matter. I just wanted more of him.

But then my heart began to pound, crashing against my ribs, bringing with it a wave of dizziness that had me jerking away with a sharp gasp. Screwing my eyes shut, I tried to breathe through it, but the spinning only worsened.

Panic fluttered beneath my skin, sharp and insistent. I clutched at Warren, my fingers tangling in the front of his shirt, gripping the soft cotton like a lifeline.

“Easy,” he whispered, holding me against the broad expanse of his chest. “Keep breathing.” He caressed my back and petted my hair, grounding me in a way I couldn’t do for myself. “It’ll pass.”

“I’m sorry.”

Fuck, I hated this. Why did these stupid symptoms have to happen now?

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But I ruined everything.”

His breath fanned against my ear when he chuckled. “You didn’t ruin anything, angel. Holding you like this is more than enough.”

I sighed, but relief pooled in my chest, mingling with a sense of gratitude.

We sat there for a long time, neither of us in a rush to fill the quiet. I traced idle patterns across his chest with my fingers, memorizing the hard lines of his body. It amazed me how perfectly we fit together, like the answer to a question I hadn’t even known to ask.

The silence lingered, companionable now as I felt the worst of the dizziness recede. Keeping my eyes closed, I burrowed closer, the tightness in my chest finally easing. Only when I felt steady again did I lift my head, meeting his gaze with a sheepish smile.

“Don’t say it,” he warned, but it lacked any real censure. “Don’t apologize again.”

“Not even a little one?” I checked.

“Not even a little one.” Laughter rumbled in his chest, and he dipped his head to brush a kiss to the tip of my nose. “This isn’t temporary anymore. You get that, right?”

I nodded. “I’m yours.”

While I knew little about what being mated to a shadeling entailed, I understood that much.

“And I’m yours.”

Smiling, I settled against him again, secure in the knowledge that I was right where I had always been meant to be.