“Kate, I know you can’t trust me but give me a chance to prove it to you. Give me a chance to be the man you thought I was.” Derrick whispered back quietly, brushing the hair off of her face. Kate looked up at him, wondering if she could believe that. She wanted to believe it so badly, he loved her and she knew that but there was something nagging at the back of her mind-some anxiety that wouldn’t loosen it’s hold on her.
“I know, Derrick.” She whispered after a moment of silence, looking down at her hands fidgeting. She didn’t have an answer for him, at least not the one he wanted. She wasn’t even sure that she had an answer for herself at this point. The situation was foreign to them both and there was no mapped out route for how to proceed. She glanced back up at him, studying his eyes. They still were misted over and dark, like a storm was raging inside him.
He glanced down at her, still curled up in his lap and saw that she was watching him. He tried to put on a smile but it looked more like he was wincing in pain. Kate reached up and caressed his cheek with her hand. The warm touch of her soft skin felt like heaven and Derrick couldn’t stop himself from closing his eyes and leaning his face into her palm, allowing her to hold him. She slipped her hand downwards slowly, moving across his skin to graze his neck and come to a rest behind his shoulder.
“Kate?” He spoke softly to her. She glanced up at him waiting for him to finish his thought. His eyes darted down to her lips and then back up to stare deeply into her gaze. He looked conflicted and heartbroken, but mostly he looked frightened as if he thought she would leave. Ironic that he would be so afraid of the same pain he had already inflicted upon her.
“I would really like to kiss you.” He didn’t ask, he didn’t beg, he didn’t command-he just stated.
He was still and made no movement to close the small distance between them. Kate felt a warmth spread throughout her, wrapping around her heart but then working to points further south. It never failed to amaze her that he had the ability to shatter every wall she attempted to build around herself. A few words and that beautiful smile and she was his to do with as he pleased.
She leaned forward and tilted her head upwards slightly, hesitating slightly before their lips met. She remembered the passion that had almost overcome them a few moments before and was afraid of that happening again. She didn’t know if she was strong enough to say no twice. Not to this man, not to those lips, and not to his intoxicating eyes. He looked deep into her and then removed any space between them, pressing his lips firmly against hers.
Just a moment ago, they were fighting and tears were threatening to spill and now they were locked in an intoxicating embrace. Derrick always knew the right things to say to her. It wasn’t that he knew what she needed to hear so he parroted it back to her in hopes of gaining her forgiveness, it was a genuine sorrow and apologetic spirit that hung from his every word. He loved her and he was little by little attempting to prove himself to her again after everything that had happened. In just a few minutes, it was already working. Kate was hooked on his warmth and the taste of his tongue against hers just as quickly as when they had first met. Their chemistry was something that nothing could alter.
His hand slipped around her back and pulled her tighter to him as his fingers twirled through her loose hair. She couldn’t stop herself from allowing her tongue to dart out and quickly taste him and he eagerly returned the gesture. She leaned further into him, her leg reaching across his so that she was straddling his lap. Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck, closing all distance and melding their bodies together.
Just as quickly as it started, it ended. Derrick gave her a deep, succulent kiss and then grabbed her hips and lifted her straight off of him. He dropped her onto the couch next to him and stood up, smoothing out his pants and attempting to adjust himself. Kate grinned up at him, feeling devilish at how strongly her body was able to affect him but also feeling proud that he had loved her enough to stop her.
“Jeez, Kate. I swear you are going to be the death of me someday.” Derrick turned around and looked at her. He leaned down and gave her a fast peck on the top of her head and then walked into the kitchen in search of a late night snack in an attempt to feed a hunger food wouldn’t quench.
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