Chapter 29: I'm Offended After All

His lips were hot, almost feverish. They were softer than she expected.
Expected?
Her lips parted in suprise and Caph wound his arms behind her back, pulling her into him.
When had she thought about kissing him?
She tried to resist him—instinctively, as she always had—but found that she couldn't.
Didn't want to.
He was speaking to her, his lips mouthing words against hers, his eyes stirring up a fire within her she hadn't known existed.
The warmth of his arms, the security that he offered her.
She reached out with her hands and took it, sinking her fingers into his red-brown hair.
Mine, she thought.
That was what he was whispering against her skin.
The realisation made the fire inside her burn even brighter.
And then, she was kissing him back, her own lips hot and feverish, demanding from him for something she didn't know she wanted before.
His hands tightened around her waist, sending jolts of excitement tingling up her spine.
They had been discussing something but she couldn't remember what it was. Her heart was soaring. Her mind was full of him.
All too soon, Caph pulled away from her and sat back on his haunches, panting.
His lips gleamed with her saliva. He licked his lips.
Her ears burned.
Her mouth was still tingling, her blood roaring, heart soaring. Her fingers had been forcibly released from his hair, curling around thin air.
'You're frowning,' he said, smiling indulgently.
She folded her arms over her chest so they wouldn't go searching for him.
'You kissed me,' she accused.
He looked pleased with himself. 'You kissed me back.'
Ran had nothing to say about that.
He crouched in front of her again.
Electricity coursed under her skin. Her lips parted again, instinctively.
'Want more?' he asked.
His eyes were still dark with desire, his fingers trembling imperceptibly.
He wanted more.
His body yearned for her in a way that frightened and thrilled him at the same time.
Caph had never wanted someone like he wanted her now.
He was sure beyond a shadow of doubt now that he had kissed her, that they were bonded mates.
But what did she think? Was she convinced?
Ran was frowning again, confusion flickering in her coal black eyes.
It was not like her to lose control of herself in the heat of the moment. But the feelings that coursed through her were unlike any she ever had before.
She didn't know her body was capable of this kind of yearning.
It shocked her to the core.
And despite that, she wanted more.
She wanted to explore this new desire, identify the foreign electricity that coursed through her.
She wanted more of Caph, more of his lips, his arms, and even his eyes.
She wanted to lose control of herself again.
Ran had been prepared to deal with whatever Caph tried to do to her. She could defend herself. After all, that was what she had been training for the past ten years.
Only, she had not anticipated that she would like what he did and wanted him to keep doing it.
Friends, she remembered. She had asked him to be friends. He had said okay.
But then he kissed her.
Why?
'You kissed me,' she said again.
'You kissed me back,' he replied, sitting beside her again.
In the dim yellow darkness of the garage office, she could sense him with more clarity than she could see him. She knew his green eyes were focused on her and so her thoughts fled from her again. Her fingers twitched with yearning. She could feel the tips of her ears blush.
No, she told herself. Focus.
For some reason, he wasn't happy with being just friends. What did he want? He kissed her so she would feel all these unusual tingly sensations and think it was because they were bonded.
Any two people left alone in the dark would feel attraction for one another.
Especially if one person kissed the other.
It didn't prove anything.
It was just male lust.
She opened her mouth to say that but Caph interrupted her.
'Ran, I'm really tired. Let's go to sleep.'
What?
He leaned his weight on her, balancing his head on top of hers, nuzzling her hair.
At first, she thought he was pretending, so she lifted her elbow to push him away. But then he spoke, his voice thick with sleep, 'Ran...I lied. I'm offended after all. Why won't you admit you're my bonded mate?'