The sun was up and bright when Salem woke up from his rest to notice that someone was already up because of the flames that flicked in and out of sight from the backyard. Who was up before him? Did the unwanted brother come to annoy him again? He furrowed his brows and prepared himself for unpleasantries but what he saw came as a shocker, his small prep went down the drain the moment he saw fiery red hair that moved slightly to the left and then to the right with the soft blow of the wind. He halted his steps but the fact that she was aware of his presence was not lost to him. He observed her from behind trying to gauge her mood but she gave nothing away so he took two steps closer to where she was sitting and felt an unknown sensation run down his spine. He pinched his nose bridge and pocketed his hands. Why was she acting like this?
"Hannah" his singsong voice sounded cautious but so did his steps.
"Salem" she thought it was his way of greeting since it was already morning so it would be rude to defy such a polite gesture but she made sure to keep her face as passive as she could.
She didn't smile her shy smile, a smile he had gotten used to in two years living with the two little females. Her smile that painted his world a rainbow no less to the beauty of the peacock feathers. She must talk to him... she has to talk to him.
"Can I sit?" he said the first thing that came to mind for him to try and break the ice but first, he wanted to find out the depths of the ice surrounding the little female.
"This is your place Salem, you do not have to ask for my permission to do anything seeing that you-" she almost went on venting out her anger but she decided otherwise.
This got his interest piqued! Why was she trying so hard to push him away? What is it with her inviting him this second only to send him away the next. He closed his eyes briefly and opened them again to find her staring at the fire again.
"Why won't you talk to me? We live in the same house. Kayla likes talking to me but you... you don't like me anymore, do you?" he paused observing her face that slightly flinched at his words and he couldn't help but notice that he was only hammering the nail deeper than it already was. Why was he doing this all wrong.
'Sigh'
"Why does it matter if I like you or not?" she knew that she was being unfair but seeing the hulking mean male squirm was somewhat a sight to behold so she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.
"Why are you so cold towards me?" that was such a genuine question that caught her offguard. Did he really have no sense of humanity? Does he not know when he hurts another human?
"You are so mean" she dashed towards the house but Salem caught up to her in no time making her regret trying to stall.
He caught her by the arm and swung her to hold her by her waist. She refused to let him see her break down like this, having ran out of many feasible options, she buried her face in his muscled chest and still tried to put up a fight to free herself which was futile.
"Why won't you let me go?"
That single question made her break her resolve to shed no tears over someone like him. She realised that she had given herself away by letting her emotions get the better of her. Her tears betrayed her, making their presence known. Urrghh
She had hurt the little female but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out the method applied to hurt her. He had tried to always protect the siblings, always removing the threat before it harms them so... how could he have hurt the little female? His brows knitted in utter confusion as they held each other's eyes, staring unwaveringly. Questions flared in his eyes, questions that he couldn't bring himself to ask out loud. He also had things he would rather not confirm for now... was that fe-
He didn't even want to think about it. He wasn't scared of anything!
"Would it make a difference if I say I'm sorry? Will you be okay if I bow to you? What can I do to make things okay again?" he searched her eyes, hoping to see beyond the pain.
She had been waiting these words for a while now but still... they didn't bring her the peace and comfort she had hoped for. Now that he had recognised that he hurt her, she didn't know what to do with herself. What could he do to make this right? What can she say he must do without sounding like a jelous psycho? She figured that she had overreacted and now she had blown things out of proportion. What could she say now?
"You are sorry, that should suffice"
"Why won't you look me in the eye Hannah? Look at me" he demanded.
The male was impossible! How could he just turn the tables on her like that. He will see through her the moment their gazes lock from the raw emotion evident in her eyes. There wasn't enough time to conceal her truest desires but he had told her to look at him.
"Let me go Salem" she repeated, her body shivered with something she couldn't afford to identify with and he took it for her being cold.
"You need to be warm and like I said before, I will not let you go... not now at least"
she sucked in a sharp breath. Does he even understand his words to her? Does he comprehend the effect they had on her?
"If you are not going to let me keep you warm, at least let the fire do my job while you still resist me"
Gah!
Did he have no shame at all? Declaring his intentions so openly... Hannah should've been used to this by now but no matter how many times he pounced on her, she was never equipped with a comeback.
She shook herself from his hold and walked towards the fire, just in time to feel herself being lifted in the air by a pair of strong arms and she squealed.
"Put me down"
He was having none of it albeit her beat efforts to wiggle out of his tight embrace, even pounding his shoulders as hard as she could.
"Such a feisty vixen... what should I do with you" his eyes flashed dangerously with something alluring and dark.
Run Hannah, R U N!
Were the warning bells in her head as he bought his head down, their faces almost magnetic to each other.