I bite my lip and continue to watch him. I feel so vulnerable right now, and I don’t like it. I fidget nervously as I wait. I don’t like having my heart completely open and in someone else’s hand. This boy is going to break my heart. He is going to crush it and walk away without giving it a second glance. He reaches up and grabs the back of his neck and exhales loudly.
“Colton, please say something.”
He turns toward me and takes small steps in my direction. He stops right in front of me. There are so many emotions in his expression, in his green eyes; I can’t tell what he is thinking yet again. Slowly, he places his hands on either side of my face, using his thumbs to brush away my tears. I look up at him and wait until his emerald eyes meet mine. He swallows audibly as he stares back at me. I take a small step toward him, closing the gap between us. When I stop biting my lip, his gaze flickers down to my mouth.
I tilt my head up and wait. I wait on what he will say—what he will do. He leans forward and brushes his lips against mine. “I love you too, Ryanne.”
He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him, firmly placing his lips on mine. I place my hands on his chest as I stand up on my tip toes, tilting my head back more. I can feel the rhythmic beating of his heart under my fingers. His lips are gentle as they part, deepening the kiss. I slide my arms up his chest and behind his neck, tightening my grip on him and pressing myself closer to his body. His hand bunches into the sweatshirt fabric at the small of my back.
I flick my tongue out and brush it against his bottom lip. He groans and lifts me up, supporting all my weight against him. Goosebumps spread on my skin as I hear his groan.
I don’t want this to end. I want to be with Colton. I can’t push him away anymore. My heart won’t let me. I need him to be near me. I’m not complete without him. I felt that earlier as I leaned against his unmoving body begging him to come back to me. His presence makes everything right. I’d always hated those girls that always needed a man, but right now I want nothing more than to be one of them. I don’t want to let life pass me by alone. I realize now that I erected those walls, not to keep everyone out, but to see who would try to tear them down. I need someone here to keep me grounded. To stand by me when everything gets tough. Right now, I want somebody to want me, and I want Colton to be that somebody.
He sets me back on my feet but doesn’t break away from the kiss. I moan against his lips, and he chuckles at my response. I twirl my finger into the long strands of hair at the base of his neck, holding him to me. Colton flexes his hands on my hips and pulls away but doesn’t step away. He leans down and rests his forehead against mine, his warm breath hitting mine.
“I’m sorry, Colton,” my voice is barely audible. He pulls back a little and looks down at me.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Ryanne.”
I lean my head against his chest and wrap my arms around his waist. I can hear his heart pounding. It is racing, mimicking mine. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been at Dravin’s compound. It was all my fault,” I tell him. “You were stabbed. I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t.”
Colton rests his chin on top of my head and sighs. “I would have ended up at that compound sooner or later, Ryanne. It was inevitable. There’s nothing for you to apologize about.”
“But—” I try to counter his statement by reminding him that Dravin attacked him because I angered him, but he cuts me off.
“Ryanne, you’re my soulmate.” I tense against him but don’t move away. I feel like all the air is sucked out of the room. His what? Are soulmates even real? I don’t think my brain is fully able to process what he said. “Breathe, Ry.”
I inhale deeply and exhale loudly. I didn’t realize that I had been holding my breath. “Your what?” He pulls me to the bed and sits down. I crawl up and sit across from him, waiting for him to explain. He just said I was his soulmate. His soulmate…
“Everyone has that one special person that they’re supposed to end up with in life. Sometimes they find them and other times they settle with someone else. But everyone has one person specifically for them. As mages, we’re more likely to find our soulmates than non-mages. There’s a pull toward another person, a strong attraction. Unless you’re told magically, the only way to know for sure if that person is a soulmate is to heal them. You only get one chance at healing though, so it better be for something good.”
Colton stops talking and glances over to me. “Ryanne, you died in that battle. Your heart stopped beating. I watched the life leave your eyes. I cried. I yelled at Logan. I was so angry that Thomas was able to take you from me so soon,” he pauses. “When my hands neared your stomach, it felt like they were vibrating. I knew what was happening right then.”