Lailah by Nikki Kelly

Author:Nikki Kelly
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250064240
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

SIXTEEN

“YOU ALL RIGHT?” Jonah was slumped beside me, panting.

I extended my unsteady hands in front of me as life began circulating through them once more, and attempted to wiggle a finger. “Yeah, I think so,” I said, casting my gaze to him.

He was sporting a white polo shirt with the collar pointing up, teamed with dark denim jeans that were torn and ripped from his efforts. He ran his hand through his thick, matted hair, tugging at the back as he watched me watching him.

His eyes were cooling, reverting back to his regular shade, and the concern that edged the downturned corners of his lips brought me some comfort. Jonah cared about me, he came back and had saved me. His intense stare pulled me in. He was an itch I needed to scratch somewhere I couldn’t quite reach.

Ignoring my common sense and desperately needing someone to embrace me, I dismissed all thoughts of Gabriel, Hanora, and everything else. Rising from my knees, I burrowed my face into his shoulder, his waiting arms wrapping around me. I let him hold me and as I looked up to his eyes I found myself edging nearer to his dry lips. He took a deep breath, nervously anticipating my next move.

“You don’t owe me anything,” he began.

But the sheer fact that he wet his lips told me that he wanted me.

I met my mouth with his, and pushing my inner turmoil to the pit of my stomach, I gave him the sweetest of kisses. He didn’t need any more of a green light. Placing both his hands against my cheeks, he parted my face from his, his thumbs exerting a gentle force against my cheekbones. His expanding pupils oozed black, like a knocked-over inkpot, overpowering his hazel flecks. Taking control, he crushed his mouth against my own more fervently, and I could tell by his urgency that he had been waiting too long to kiss me.

He was wrong; I did owe him something, and I was quite certain that this was his preferred method of payment. He was surprisingly soft and oddly he tasted sweet, like cinnamon. He was fast becoming my guilty pleasure.

In this moment of time, where only he and I seemed to exist, I suddenly became aware that Gabriel was getting near to us. I sensed him, and then heard his footsteps growing quicker and louder, striding through the mess.

Watching Gabriel kiss Hanora only confirmed everything that I had suspected about his feelings for me. Anything he claimed to feel for me was simply him desperately searching for someone I used to be, not who I was now. After I died, he had clearly moved on. Perhaps now I needed to as well.

Reluctantly Jonah pushed me away, bobbing his head to the right; he had heard Gabriel too. Planting a last quick kiss on my parted lips, he removed himself, putting a decent amount of space between us.

Gabriel came behind me. Securing his arms under my chest, he pulled me to my feet.

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