15. Kiss

"What the hell you doing Marley? He's a man whore. You can't be possibly dating him!"

"Um..."

"He's not a good choice. I get it he's good looking and all but I thought you knew better than that."

"I-I..."

"He's just going to sleep with you and then dump you. Hell, he probably slept with the ninety percent of the female population here."

Much to Marley's dismay, it didn't even take half a day for the whole population of Marshville High to know she and Eden were now dating. But she also didn't expect anything less, after all, Eden had paraded her around the school in the morning to make sure everyone gets drilled into their head that they were together.

She was in the cafeteria with Rachel and Kiara, who were flabbergasted after listening to the latest gossip that involved her. When Marley confirmed that what they heard was almost true, they started firing series of insults at Eden in an attempt to convince Marley to leave him for good.

Marley didn't know how to defend Eden and herself as what they were saying was all true. She was well aware of Eden's reputation and their words did hurt her a little (probably lot).

"Look Marley, I can set you up with a better guy. You also know Eden's not really a good guy for you." Kiara was now much calmer, probably to make her friend see reason.

"You might be just some other challenge for him. We've never seen him in a relationship before. For all we know, this might be some kind of game for him." Rachel agreed.

A feeling of gratefulness erupted inside Marley for her two friends. They were trying to look out for her and her heart melted at their concern. She really wanted to put them at ease but she just couldn't go around and start blabbering about werewolves.

"When he said he liked me, his feelings were genuine. I mean, I can give it a try you know. No harm in that. Right?" Marley let out a nervous chuckle as she lied. She desperately hoped that her friends would just drop the subject.

"We shouldn't pry on your love life." Rachel asserted, heaving a sigh. "But if he does something wrong, you won't hide it from us."

Marley nodded eagerly. "Promise." A small smile graced her face.

She looked at Kiara whose face was distorted in a grimace. Her smile instantly dropped. Rachel noted this and elbowed Kiara on her waist.

"Aaah... Yeah, whatever." Kiara gritted her teeth to suppress a yelp.

Soon the subject was dropped and their conversation steered to the latest trends in the fashion industry or some celebrity gossips.

All eyes turned toward the cafeteria doors when Eden and his pack entered. They were always the centre of attention in Marshville High. The girls never left any chance to ogle their well-defined bodies and boys idolized them for the same. Like a reflex, Marley's eyes darted towards Eden. Her face turned scarlet, when she found Eden's heated gaze already on her, his eyes taking in all of her.

"Oh god, I didn't know Oliver was gay." Rachel's comment brought Marley out of her staring contest with Eden.

She looked her friends and followed their gaze which landed on Sanjay's table. Her eyes widened in surprise, when she saw Oliver literally devouring Sanjay's lips, who looked flustered but nevertheless excited, in front of the whole cafeteria.

"He could be bi. He dated few girls before." Kiara replied with a shrug.

"Aww... They look so cute together." Rachel squealed in excitement.

"You better be not one of those girls who go all fangirl on gays." Kiara rolled her eyes at Rachel. She directed her attention at Marley. "Marley, I never asked how are you feeling now? You were sick yesterday."

Marley drifted her eyes back to them. "I am good now. It was nothing serious." She was taken aback by the sudden change in topic and also by Kiara's nonchalant attitude towards Oliver and Sanjay, when the whole school was gaping at them shamelessly.

"I really want to click their photo." Rachel squealed again, her eyes never wavering from the newly revealed couple. She didn't even take a note of the other talk that passed between Marley and Kiara.

Kiara just shook her head at Rachel's childish behavior. "I really hope that Eden and Oliver are being sincere with you guys." She muttered more to herself but Marley picked up her words.

Marley knew where Kiara's concern for them was coming from. She was the victim of a heartbreak, which was caused by one of them. Kiara often came off as a mean girl to others but it was all just a facade to protect her from further hurting. Once, she started caring about someone, she couldn't stop even if she gave away her all. Marley witnessed how Kiara cared about Rachel and her, funny thing was she never flaunted it but proved it by her actions.

"Screw it, I am going to click a photo." Rachel pointed her mobile at the boys, who were now breathing heavily after the intense make-out session. Oliver stared at Sanjay with hungry eyes, whereas the latter had its gaze fixed at the ground in embarrassment.

"I am going to smack your head if you do that. Ever heard of privacy Rachel." Kiara snatched the cellphone out of Rachel's palm and glared at her disapprovingly. To this Rachel could only reply with a pout. "Just a few minutes ago you hated him and now that he's with Sanjay you are worshipping him... Jeez, what's wrong with you..." Kiara began her lecture.

Marley's lips twitched into a smile seeing her friends' usual antics. Just a few weeks ago she didn't even know them but now she couldn't imagine a single day without their amusing bickering.

Her cell phone vibrated notifying her of the new incoming message.

**Eden:** *Soon I will kiss you and it will be not on the cheeks, sweetheart.*

She didn't have to turn around to know that Eden was smirking, she could already feel his burning eyes on her. A strong blush made its way on her cheeks. She could only be grateful that Kiara and Rachel were too grasped in their conversation to note her flustered state.

*********

Having everybody's eyes trained on her made Marley anxious. She was used to blending in the background and letting her existence known to only few people. She felt like a caged animal in a zoo, displayed for the audience's pleasure. She blamed only one person for all this inconvenience: Eden. All this unwanted attention also raised a question in her head. Was it this much unbelievable for the students of Marshville High to see Eden dating her? If she didn't know any better, she might believe that Eden and his friends were celebrities of this town.

She looked around the hallway, standing near her locker and squirmed uncomfortably when she saw a group of cheerleaders scrutinizing her with their hawk-like eyes. Marley was more than ecstatic to go home and confine herself within the four walls of her bedroom, away from all prying eyes.

A heavy arm draped around her shoulders, jerking her out of her thoughts. She already knew that only one guy was bold enough to do that.

"Eden, you already made your point. Everyone knows we are dating, so you can stop with this PDA." Marley didn't want to bring any more attention on them because of Eden's inability to keep his hands to himself.

"Who says I am doing this for them? Maybe I like holding you." Eden replied huskily with a smug smile. He pulled her even closer to prove his point.

Marley had already failed too many times to wiggle out of his tight grip to give it another try. So, instead she summoned all her willpower to give Eden a threatening glare but it morphed into a frown when she saw him grinning widely with amusement.

"I never knew I'll get such a cute mate." His grin becoming wide as he saw her face changing color.

"I am not cute." Her eyes were fixed on his sneakers in a desperate attempt to hide her pink face. She rarely blushed before meeting Eden but now her face seemed to be constantly painted red.

"You are as cute as a puppy." Eden teased, hoping to see more pink hue on her cheeks and he succeeded. "Okay now stop sulking, pup. Let's get you home."

"Stop coming up with ridiculous nicknames." She complained, her eyes still downcast.

"Okay." He pressed his lips to stop the laugh that threatened to come out. He dropped his arms from her shoulders and held out his hand.

Marley looked at his hand as if it was the most alien thing she had ever encountered. Suddenly, she became conscious of her sweaty palms, which became sweatier as she began overthinking her next course of action. Eden just rolled his eyes and made the decision for her. He grabbed her palm in a firm hold and began dragging her towards the door.

As she walked behind him, her eyes drifted back to the cheerleaders. They were giggling and watching them with awe.

"They are cute. I so ship them." She heard one of them squealing.

She turned her vision to Eden, who was smiling in pure bliss.

"You heard them. Didn't you?" She asked meekly.

"Supernatural hearing." He replied, boasting.

"Aren't you supposed to be the heartthrob of the school? Shouldn't they be against us being together?"

"I made sure to never attach myself to any girl. Didn't want to give them any false hope. I am not stupid like Mark." Marley could detect the underlying hint of anger in Eden's tone at the mention of Mark. She knew he was talking about the relationship between Kiara and Mark.

When the car stopped in front of her house, Marley couldn't wait to get out. Throughout the ride, Eden had teased her, turning her redder than a firetruck. She was embarrassed that how easily he could affect her. She loosened her seat belt and thanked Eden for dropping her home.

"You never invited me to your house." Eden remarked, stopping Marley in the middle of her escape.

"Do I have to?" She asked, hoping to get out of his car as soon as possible.

"I am your boyfriend. I have every right to be inside your house."

"No." She deadpanned. "And you never asked me to be your girlfriend."

"Do I have to?" He retorted smugly, using her own statement against Marley. He was immensely enjoying their absurd conversation.

"Yes. I have some rights and opinions you know."

"Come on, I did ask you but you refused. You didn't take the easy way. So, you see this is the hard way." Eden's chocolate eyes glinted with amusement as he saw Marley's expression contouring into that of disbelief. "Now admit it already that you want to kiss the life out of me." He grinned, displaying his pearly white teeth.

"Would you shut up if I let you come inside?" She hoped her proposal would prevent him from making her more flustered than she already was.

He shrugged, smirking at his little victory.

"Mmm... Its filled with your scent." These were the first words that came out of Eden's mouth as he stepped inside her house. He was sniffing and moaning in delight.

Marley was already past the point when she considered his words or actions uncanny. She just stared at him cautiously, ready to bolt out of the house if he tried something mischievous.

"Where are you going?" She asked suspiciously, when she saw Eden heading upstairs.

"To your bedroom." He replied with a blank face.

She choked on her saliva. "How do you even know my bedroom is ups-" She shook her head. "Doesn't even matter. You are not going there and there's nothing interesting. You could see the kitchen, I'll fix you some snacks." She really wished Eden to be one of those people who could be tempted with the food.

He smiled innocently, batting his eyelashes and bolted upstairs with his supernatural speed.

Marley just stood there and blinked, twice. She wanted to be angry and snap at him but she was too exhausted. She was already tired of dealing with his witty remarks and shenanigans. She just took a deep breath and groaned. She decided to wait for him downstairs, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her going after him. Besides, he won't find anything there other than her clothes but he was civilized enough not to go through them, she thought.

"Marley!" She heard him yell, after few minutes of her standing their aimlessly.

"What?" She replied sharply, not shouting because she knew he heard her nevertheless.

"I found your erotica collection. Not so innocent are we?" He guffawed.

Her eyes widened in shock. How could he find it? She hid them well. Her shock was soon turned to embarrassment then replaced by anger. She was furious, he had no right to go through her stuff. She stomped upstairs, breathing heavily. Eden was lying on her bed, one hand behind his head while the other held a book. *Her book*. His lips were spread in a wide grin as if he had just found a treasure. Seeing him like this, enraged her more.

"Give it back." Marley glared at him.

"You read this stuff." He commented with a hearty chuckle, completely ignoring Marley's glare.

Marley never watched porn as she found them gruesome but she was no saint. She was a growing teenager who had her needs. She saw the act of reading these kinds of books as a healthy way of letting out her sexual desires. But just because she saw it as a healthy habit, didn't mean anyone had to know about it. And no one knew about it till now.

"Give it back." She repeated herself more dangerously.

"Come and get it." He smiled, his eyes flickering with excitement at the prospect of challenging her.

She took a long and deep breath to calm herself but it didn't. "Eden! Get off my bed and put it back from where you find it." She yelled, causing her lungs to grasp for air but she kept her stoic expression to scare him. She was barely holding herself from whining and throwing a tantrum like a five-year-old kid.

Eden wanted to tease her more but decided against it when he saw her trying to be intimidating. To him, she just looked even more adorable but he didn't want to break her little bubble of self-confidence.

"Geez no need to shout. I am keeping it back." He raised his hands in surrender and then proceeded to follow her command.

"How did you find them?" Marley asked curiously. Her anger was long gone when she saw Eden putting the book back. Instead, she was doing a victory dance in her head as she managed to scare Eden. She never thought a day would come when she achieved that.

"Every teenager keep their secret stash under the bed. I keep my porn there too." He wiggled his eyebrows, making Marley cautious of his next move. He started moving towards her.

Next moment Marley found herself thrown against her bed and Eden hovering above her.

"You know I could do things to you that you read about, even better than that." His voice was raspy. His eyes flickered.

Marley's whole body was on fire and she had no doubt that her face was at its brightest red. Her body was tingling because of his close proximity. She met his glowing, lustful eyes and felt as if she was under a spell. He moved closer and closer and she didn't want him to stop. Their lips only few centimetres apart.

The doorbell rang, breaking her out of the sensual trance. She immediately pushed Eden off her, catching him off guard and rushed out of the door. Throughout the whole ordeal, she managed to listen to Eden's frustrated beastly growl.

*That boy is dangerous.*

She ran towards the front door to her guest, who could hopefully distract her from all the disturbing thoughts that were running inside her head.

"Marley, I saw this expensive car outside and I heard some yellings. Is everything alright?" Mrs. Sherman asked, her hazel eyes showing concern.

"Yeah. Everything's good. I just had a friend here." She replied hastily, wanting to put the lady at ease.

"Ooh poor baby, your face is so red. I-" She didn't finish herself as her eyes darted behind Marley. She smiled knowingly. "Did I disturb something?"

"Absolutely not." Marley replied quickly, too quickly.

"Hello, Mrs. Sherman." She heard Eden from behind. He sounded like he already knew her.

"Eden, I didn't know you were her friend." The lady seemed surprised but also delighted.

"Oh no, I am not her friend. I am her boyfriend." Eden stated as if it was a fact.

For the millionth time, Marley's eyes widened in horror. The guy never failed to surprise her. Mrs. Sherman looked at her for confirming Eden's statement.

Marley wanted to take a hold of the nearest thing and smash it on Eden's head or just strangle him to death or wrap his head with a plastic bag and see him writhing in pain. The imbecile boy had no filter inside his mouth. If it was up to him, the whole continent must have known by now that they were dating. But she only mustered up a smile to let her landlady know that indeed they were together.

"Did you tell your parents about her?" Mrs. Sherman asked Eden, her voice a little stern.

"The whole community knows."

"Do your parents know, Marley?" She looked at Marley.

"No." She shook her head.

The lady smiled gracefully. "Tell them honey. You are now stuck with him for a lifetime. I know these guys, once they find themselves a girl they don't let her go." Her gaze shifting between them.

Suddenly, her expression changed as if she remembered something. "Okay, now I must go. You two kids enjoy and Eden-"

"Yes."

"Remind Catherine to send me that recipe I asked her before. She must've forgotten."

"Yes ma'am, will do." He saluted mockingly.

With that she left Marley alone with Eden, shutting the door behind her.

"You are family friends?" Marley questioned Eden.

"Yeah. Mr. Sherman and my dad used to be good friends. He even knew about us being werewolves. I don't know if she knows about us too." He shrugged.

Marley nodded.

"So do you want to continue from where we left off. You know I could do much better than Vincent." Eden raised his brows and smiled mischievously at the mention of one of the characters from Marley's collection.

"Y-you are not going to let it go. Are you?" She stuttered, blushing profusely.

"Never."

"Please leave."