Up until a few seconds ago, Gael didn't know he would kiss Angela. It was as if it was the right thing to do as soon as they got their privacy, and so he acted without thinking it through, hoping she'd reciprocate. And she did. Her hands went to his neck, her fingers threading his hair, causing him to deepen the kiss.

He dipped his tongue past her lips, flicking against hers, and she moaned. The sweet sound of her approval traveled straight to the tip of his cock. Fûck. He should have done this a long time ago. He shouldn't have stopped kissing her like this. By now, they should have already been in bed, possibly naked and entangled.

And just as he thought about having sex with her, she placed her hands on his chest and pulled back as if she'd heard his thoughts and was suddenly afraid of him.

"No… This isn't right, Gael. We can't keep doing this."

She'd pulled back, but his arms remained around her, and so were her hands on his chest. Their chests rose and fell. He was still on a high and wasn't ready to let go of her. And she seemed to be in the same predicament. He tilted his head and ran his nose along her jaw, then down to her neck, tempting her. "Doing what? Giving in to what I want? What you want?"

She was breathless, her fingers clutching his shirt like she didn't know whether to pull him in or stop him. "You...confuse me."

"Well, then I'd like to make it clear that I want you. And I'm possibly not above caring where we are right now." That was bold—even for him. They were in her house where her father and brother were literally on the same floor, for fûck's sake! When it came to Angela, he could barely control himself.

"You're insane." She scoffed, which sounded more like a soft chuckle. Pulling herself away from him, she held her palms up as if to stop him from going to her. "Can we have a decent conversation without humping each other?"

Good God. Gael thought it was cute how she used PG words most of the time when she'd written erotic books that were clearly R-18—it nearly lit his hands on fire when he read them. Hiding behind that adorable angelic face was a naughty Angel.

He smirked, tilting his head. "Hump each other?"

Angela rolled her eyes in resignation and folded her arms under her breasts as though she was on guard. But if anything, it only made her tits rounder. He couldn't even see them—what with the thick clothing she had on, but he'd seen them plenty enough to know how they looked with or without clothes on. 'Fûck. What is wrong with me?' he cursed himself, thinking that he was like a dog in heat. But his dick had a mind of its own. How was he to control it when it gets hard whenever he as much as take a whiff of her scent or see her from a distance?

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Oh, you know what I mean! Let's talk without thinking about screwing each other."

"You're thinking about screwing me?" he teased.

Her eyebrows furrowed at him like she was done with him. He raised his hands in surrender and then stuffed them in his pockets. "Fine. Fine. I'll keep my hands to myself." Looking at her in all seriousness, he slightly leaned forward, lowering his voice as he told her, "But that doesn't mean I'll stop thinking about tipping you over on your bed and take you however I want."

Angela glanced at her bed to the left, and she swallowed. Gael knew she was thinking about it—just like he wanted her to. If he was suffering from sexual frustration, he might as well tag her with him on the ride.

She turned around abruptly and stretched the distance between them even further as she headed towards the grey tufted armchairs by the window that's overlooking the lake. A round table separated the two chairs, and she took the chair to the right. "Sit." She gestured to the one across her.

He looked between where she sat and the reading nook to the other side of the room. The nook had bookshelves framing the window and a light grey chaise lounge where he figured she laid when she read. They could have sitten there or on the bed—he'd very much like that. But Angela obviously wanted some space. This seating arrangement felt like a fûcking interview. Gael had to remind himself that he was there to talk to her as he'd requested. At this point, he began to feel like a total douche for thinking she'd just forget about everything and continue where they left off.

Begrudgingly, he sat in the armchair and rested his elbows on his knees. Scanning her bedroom thoroughly for the first time, that's when he realized he was in a place where she'd spent most of her life. Seeing the house was different than actually seeing her bedroom. The room had similar aesthetics and vibe with her current apartment in the city; only it had some little bits and pieces of her teenage self here and there–like some old photos on the mirror of her vanity, a few pages of books that she'd strategically stuck on the back of the door with highlights and scribbles and cutouts of images pasted on it, and a photo of Pygmalion and Galatea on the side of a bookshelf. The room was a mixture of younger Angela and grown-up Angela. His heart felt warm.

"You're going to miss your flight." Her soft voice pulled him out of his trance.

Right. He didn't even want to leave yet. He wanted to stay a little longer. "I don't know where to begin," Gael admitted. It wasn't as easy as 'once upon a time'.

She took a deep breath and looked down on her lap. "How about you start with why did you really come back and look for me? This...arrangement must have happened before you came to see me. Did it not occur to you how I would feel if I knew? You must have known how I felt about you then, to some degree. Or did you just hope I wouldn't find out since I don't really know anything about your world?"

He scrubbed a hand down his face. "I fûcked up, Angel. I know that. I fûcked it all up with you. But you have to understand… This is who I am. I will always have this part of me where I couldn't just tell you things. And I didn't think I had to tell you because, for me, that wedding isn't going to happen. But I should have. And I realized it late."

Angela's eyes became misty. She blinked fast and grabbed a square pillow from behind her, hugging it like it would give her comfort. She looked away, not wanting to look him in the eyes. He was itching to reach out and just pull her to his lap, but it was probably better that he didn't.

"Seeing you with her...you dancing with her...knowing you were there because of your families… It made me realize how much I barely know you. It was like watching a movie play out before my eyes where I felt jealous that I wasn't the one you were dancing with." She softly chuckled, but her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly. "I can't believe I just said that. I must sound so pathetic."

Fûck. It was as if his heart was squeezed dry. He could no longer take the distance between them, so he got up and sat on the table in front of her, their knees brushing against each other. Seeing her like this felt like he'd lost a limb.

Gael cupped her face and lifted her chin so that she was looking back at him. "No." He shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. I think you know me better than I know myself. And baby, you have no idea how you've occupied my head most of the day. Heck—you're all that I think about. That woman you saw… She couldn't hold a candle to you. Forget about that stupid dance. Last night's dance is what you should only remember. Our dance. Not anyone else's."

Angela gazed at him, the uncertainty in her eyes slowly ebbing. She closed her eyes for a brief second, and he brushed his thumb on her cheek.

"It still doesn't change the fact that you have to marry Lauretta, or your families will just keep on hurting each other," she said in almost a whisper.

Gael had nearly forgotten what that woman's name was. It was as though his brain refused to register it. His jaw tightened as he tried to make her believe him. "I already told you. I am not going to marry that woman."

"But—"

Gael lightly ran his thumb along her lips. "We'll drain all their resources until they have nothing left. They can't do anything to us if they can't operate." Surprise crossed her eyes when he added, "Come with me tonight. Come with me and I'll show you everything."