Chapter 137

Tessa’s POV

War is coming?

What did that even mean?

Could Ryan’s words really be taken seriously after everything he had done and lied about? Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who was questioning this. Joseph asked the same question and Bernard replied with, “It’s not something I’m chancing.”

I also didn’t know what that meant.

What was Bernard going to do?

I was consumed with worry and had to step away from the door. Joseph wanted me to pack my things so he could take me home, but it almost sounded like we might need to stay and figure out how to protect this village.

I certainly didn’t want anything happening to it.

Soon, Joseph was walking back into the house, and I was whipping around to face him. He raised his brows, but that frown never left his lips.

“It’s not polite to eavesdrop,” he muttered.

“Do we need to stay to take care of business?” I asked; I didn’t even bother trying to defend myself.

He began to walk past me and toward his bedroom.

“No,” he answered over his shoulder.

“But you can’t learn if there’s a war coming,” I argued, following closely behind him.

“They’ll be fine until I get back. We have the best warriors and a really good Eldest,” Joseph explained. “My concern is getting you back safely.”

I scowled at him.

“I want to help too—”

“Tessa, I’m not going to talk about this again,” he said in a low and almost dark tone. A chill went down my spine and I was stunned and silent.

I spent the next hour silently packing. Joseph was also packing because he wasn’t coming back until the end of the semester. Once we were finished, gathered at Bernard and Anna’s house where Connor and Nate also joined us, and Anna made a nice lunch.

We ate and talked for a few and as soon as we were finished it was time for us to go.

“Tessa, I’m so glad I got to meet you,” Anna said, grabbing onto both sides of my face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said gently. “I don’t blame yourself. I hope I can see you again, soon.”

She only gave me a sad smile before hugging me. My heart tugged painfully in my chest; something was telling me that this was going to be the last time I saw her, and I truly hated that.

I hugged Connor as well who said something about kissing Ruby for him. I laughed and smacked him on the arm. He just gave me a playful smile in return. I said some quick goodbyes to Bernard and Nate before turning with Joseph and leaving the house.

“I wish I could see Fae before we leave,” I said, frowning as I got into the passenger seat.

“No visitors allowed at the school unless there’s an appointment. Plus, no humans allowed on the property,” he told me; he didn’t look at me when he said that, and the sound of his harsh tone made me not want to speak again.

Joseph threw the car in drive and started to drive away from the village. He gave the warriors at the front entrance his signature salute and they returned the motion.

I stared out the window longingly, watching as the village grew smaller in the distance. I wanted to remember everything about it and everyone I’ve encountered. Well, most everyone.

An hour into the car drive Joseph and I didn’t speak. It’s been painfully quiet, and I thought it was going to drive me crazy. I kept peering over at him and his stern face was only staring out the front window, his eyes fixed on the road before him.

I wished I could read his mind to figure out what he was thinking. I bit onto my bottom lip and peered out the window again; more trees whipped past us bringing us further away from the mountains.

“Thank you…” I finally said to him, breaking through the thick silence.

“For what?”

“For taking me here…” I said, peering over at him.

He tensed at my words and for a moment, I thought he was going to get angry.

“You were almost killed,” he finally muttered after a second of silence.

“But I wasn’t,” I said, trying to make light of the situation.

“It’s not funny, Tessa….” He said, gritting his teeth together. “I thought I lost you….”

My heart fell into my stomach and now I couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

“Do you have any idea how I felt when I thought you were…” his voice broke off and for a moment, I thought he was going to cry. The no-expression look on his face was shifting into what looked like pain.

“Joseph…” I whispered, reaching out to touch his arm.

I placed the palm of my hand on his forearm and when he didn’t move it away, I ran my fingers up and down watching as small goosebumps formed on his flesh. His body seemed to have relaxed slightly and I smiled to myself knowing that I had the same effect on him as he had on me.

“I’m okay now…” I breathed. “You aren’t ever going to lose me. No matter where you are living, I’m not going anywhere.”

He didn’t say anything in response and to be honest, it kind of hurt. I didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride.

It took a few hours, but we finally made it back to the city and to my apartment. Joseph helped me bring my things inside.

“I have to finish some things before school on Monday,” Joseph said, touching the side of my face gently.

“You’re leaving?” I asked, pouting.

He nodded and leaned down to kiss the top of my head.

“I’ll try to see you tomorrow,” he said gently.

“Before you leave, can I show you something?” I asked, peering up at him.

He stared at me curiously, but then he nodded. I smiled playfully and took hold of his hand, entwining my fingers through his and pulling him into the bedroom. When the door shut behind us, I turned to face him, dropping my hand from his and pulling my shirt over my head.

I heard him suck in a sharp breath as I threw my shirt to the ground. I didn’t bother putting on a bra this morning, so I stood before him with my breasts exposed. He stared at me as if he had never seen anything quite as beautiful and it made my heart skip a beat.

His breathing harshened as I stepped closer to him.

“Can’t you stay for a little bit longer?” I asked, biting my bottom lip. “We are still on our dating trial right?”

He didn’t say anything, he just stared at me.

I unbuttoned my jeans and began to slide them down my legs along with my underwear. I was now exposed to him; out in the open and vulnerable. What he chose to do next would determine everything.

Before I could say anything more, he was closing the gap between us and lifting me off the ground. I chuckled as I wrapped my legs around him and kissed him tenderly. He kissed me as if he was the hungriest guy alive and I was on his menu.

He walked me over to my bed and threw me on top of my covers. I had to admit that I missed my own bed, and I especially missed the things we did in my bed. He gave me this incredibly sexy look as he began to unbutton his shirt. My mouth nearly watered at the sight of his incredible body. I wanted to run my fingers through his washboard abs, but I refrained from doing so, eager for him to undress even more.

Once his shirt was off, he unbuttoned his pants; I felt moister pooling under me as I grew even wetter as the seconds passed. I dug my nails into the bed, hardly able to control myself around him.

He began to kiss down my body, sending a warm wave to touch my skin. I took a deep breath as his tongue swirled around my nipples and his teeth held them tightly, tugging at them playfully. I ran my fingers through his thick hair, massaging his scalp with my nails.

He moaned softly as he brought his kisses up my chest and toward my neck. I felt his nibbling and licking the very spot that he had once bitten, and I felt the thrumming of his heart quickening. I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him even closer to me.

I knew how badly he wanted to drink from me, I wanted him to do it. I was inviting him. He hovered over the sweet spot of my neck for a moment, like he was thinking about it. I pressed him closer to me, rubbing my neck against the sharpness of his teeth.

His manhood slid inside of me at that moment, and I moaned in pleasure as he filled me with his incredibly large length.

He continued to kiss and lick my neck tenderly and I continued to rub myself against him, silently begging him to bite me. I wasn’t sure why I wanted it as badly as I did, I just knew that I wanted to be as close to him as possible. I wanted to please him.

He stopped kissing my neck and trailed his lips up the side of my face until he found my lips. He sucked my bottom lip possessively, claiming it for himself.

In every kiss he gave me, I could feel his desires and his lust. I could feel his love. Just as my orgasm exploded around me and I gasped his name, the realization hit me suddenly and I spoke these next words against his lips and out loud.

“I love you…”