Chapter 18: The Kiss

“Ophelia,” I heard him whisper, and he grabbed my arm to pull me towards him. I turned around perplexed, and before I even know it his lips were on mine…

Our lips locked, and despite the many men I’ve kissed before, this felt different. It was like a million butterflies were flying inside my stomach. My limbs went numb, and I brought my arms around his neck. He bit my lower lip; the gasp that escaped my lips gave his tongue the perfect opportunity to enter my mouth, explore it. I tried my best to keep up with his rhythm and held back the moans that were about to escape my lips. His one hand roamed freely on my back, while his other intertwined between my dark locks.

My breath became heavy and pure desire formed into my core. His lips left mine, only to keep kissing my cheek, my jaw, and then my neck. A small moan escaped my lips when he kissed and nibbled that sweet spot on my neck. This was our first date, and I was already ready to drop my panties for him. I tried to push him back. I didn’t want him to believe that I was another easy laid.

“Ethan,” I murmured my voice hoarse. He didn’t respond, instead he kept kissing and caressing me. “I have to go,” I said again and that’s when he pulled back to look at me.

“I’m sorry...  I couldn’t resist. Are you okay?” he said and stroked my cheek, looking concerned.

“Yeah, I just had a long day, and I want to sleep,” I said avoiding his gaze.

“I want to see you again.”

“We’re working on the same building, so I'm sure we will see each other again.”

“You know it’s not that what I meant…”

“You have my number, and I’ve got yours. I’m sure we can figure out the rest,” I chuckled.

“Okay then,” he muttered and left another feather-like kiss on my lips.

A small smile spread on my lips, and I muttered ‘goodnight’ before I exited the car.

“Dream about me,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I smirked and walked towards the entrance of my apartment building. My fingers traced the path Ethan’s lips had touched moments ago. I could still feel his lips on mine, his tongue battle with mine for dominance. A blush crept on my cheeks and a smirk plastered on my lips.  I undressed, removed my makeup, and lied on my bed. I was exhausted but happy, and I wanted to sleep, I wanted to dream about him…

The next morning, I woke up to my phone ringing; I groaned and grabbed it from my nightstand. My mom was calling to check up on me. David told her that I was on a date, and she was bothered that I didn’t mention it to her. That's why I promised to go out shopping together.

Thus, I spent my Saturday with my mom at the mall. We literally went to every shop, and she forced me to try so many clothes that I lost count of. We had lunch at a restaurant, and she finally had the chance to interrogate me about Ethan. Since it was our first date, I didn’t have so many things to tell her. Of course, I didn't tell her about our make-out session. She advised me to be careful and not overenthusiastic.

Well, I guess I did just that… But how could I not?

Ethan and I kept texting during the weekend. He made my laugh and blush even while we were apart. I was glancing and smiling at my phone like an idiot. I’m sure my family was very amused because they kept giving me knowing smiles and smirks.

On Monday, I met Ethan at a crime scene. I could sense that something was wrong from the moment I stepped foot on the scene. It wasn’t like any of the other murders I’ve seen before. This one was a mass murder. Five bodies formed a circle, and in the middle, there were traces of fire. The murder took place in an isolated part of a park. We received a call from a man who was running and saw the bodies.

I observed the scene closely there weren’t any traces on the grass leaves, and the bodies were very symmetrically placed. I kneeled and placed two fingers on the ground. I closed my eyes and concentrated. It was harder than usual to see what happened. All I could see was a blazing fire and hear someone chanting. Suddenly, my head started to ache, and I groaned while I tried to open my eyes.

“Find her! We need the necklace,” I heard a heavy voice in my head, and my eyes snapped open.

“Ophelia, what’s wrong?” someone asked me, but I couldn’t utter a single word.

I sat on the ground and took deep breaths. My hand involuntarily stroked the necklace on my neck. Despite, my uniform covering it, I knew it was there. Someone was searching for it, and they used a location spell to discover its whereabouts.

“Ophelia, your nose is bleeding,” Ethan told me, and he tapped my shoulder repetitively.

“It’s okay. I have these nosebleeds from time to time,” I muttered trying to clear my thoughts.

“Here, let me help you,” he said offering me a tissue.

I thanked him and put some pressure on my bleeding nose. I had to find a way to let my grandfather know.

“Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy?” Ethan asked his voice laced with concern.

“I’m alright. Don’t worry. This murder case isn’t a simple one.”

“Stop worrying about the case. Come on, let’s go grab some coffee,” he said and helped me up.

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“Seriously?!” he asked laughing.

“Yeah, I’m one of the very few people on this planet that despise coffee,” I stated.

“Oh, okay. I guess an orange juice or a cup of tea would be good, too.”

He informed officer Castro that we were leaving because I was feeling unwell, and he led me to the closest coffee shop. He ordered an espresso for him and an orange juice for me. We sat at one of the free tables waiting for our order.

“Do you have a medical condition or something?”

“No, this happens when I'm stressed; it’s no big deal. I have these nosebleeds since I was a child,” I replied and tried to smile.

“Okay, but if you want, I can drive you to the hospital for a checkup.”

“Ethan, relax. I’m okay,” I said and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

He nodded and just then our beverages arrived. I felt quite better, although the throbbing pain in my head hadn’t subsided.

“Did you do anything fun over the weekend?”

“Ethan, we were texting the whole weekend; I’m sure you know very well how I spent it.”

“Officer Tramell, I think you might have confused me with someone else. I’m trying not to mix my job with pleasure,” he said with a smirk.

“Oh my, I'm so very sorry, detective Vitalis. Since this is just a coffee between two colleagues, I can tell you that my weekend was very pleasant. I went shopping with my mom, had lunch with my grandparents, video chatted with my best friend for hours, and exchanged numerous messages with a very hot guy,” I replied playing along.

“That sounds interesting. Will you go out with that hot guy again?”

“Maybe,” I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Maybe? He’s hot and you’ve been texting all weekend. You should definitely give him another chance.”

“He seems to be a player, and I don’t want to be one of his many flings.”

“He must be insane to have a woman like you in his life and keep fooling around.”

“You think so?” I asked blushing.

“I'm more than sure. So, what if that hot guy asked you on another date? What would you say?”

“As long as I get to choose the restaurant, I’m in,” I said with a smile.

“You’re more beautiful when you’re smiling,” he muttered his eyes not leaving mine.

My cheeks turned from pink to crimson in milliseconds. “Oh, quit flirting. You got yourself another date,” I said, sipping some of my juice.

A wide smile appeared on his lips, and my mind traveled back to that kiss we seared a few nights ago. It was like he could read my thoughts because he took in a sharp breath and licked his lips.

I was about to say something when a piercing pain made me frown. My head was aching like never before, and all I could hear was a woman’s voice chanting something indecipherable. I felt like she was trying to get inside my head. I groaned and massaged my temples, trying to block her out of my mind.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked sensing my discomfort.

“You have to drive me to my grandparents’ house. Now!” I muttered while I struggled to keep my eyes open.

I was in trouble...