Chapter 19

Miaka’s P.O.V

“How long before I stop healing instantly?”

I didn’t understand the question until I smelled dried blood from all over him. The scent was familiar and it made my heart race in not a good way.

“How did you get hurt?” I slammed my car door shut and rushed over to him.

“I got called in to HQ today, by two of the heads.” Kaleb removed his jacket to show me the still wet patch on his lower abdomen. “I got off easy, but I think one of the other guards suspects something. He stabbed me before he left.”

“You got stabbed and yet you let the other guy go?” I asked him incredulously. “Why?”

“How did you know if I let him go?” Kaleb frowned, his features in partial darkness from the overhead lights outside his apartment.

“Because your blood is the only scent I’m getting.” What I didn’t add was how his scent was filling my senses, covering me in his essence. It was difficult admitting to even myself that I trusted this man, this stranger who worked for the enemy…and that I was developing affections for him. Admitting to it was admitting to a weakness, and the Demon King wasn’t supposed to have weaknesses.

“Let’s go inside.” Kaleb looked around before motioning to his apartment and I agreed.

We entered his apartment, which I had been to only a few hours ago and it felt almost unreal…how many things could happen in a span of a few hours alone. Rain slicing his throat to my confrontation with Rihero and now finding out that Kaleb had gotten attacked as well.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what would’ve happened if my blood hadn’t been inside his body, running through his veins. He could’ve suffered permanent organ damage and I didn’t even want to think about the alternative.

And then I made the mistake of turning to face him, and found him taking off his clothes. Oh…damn! It was impossible to look away.

He had thrown his jacket on a laundry basket down the hall and was now half-way through unbuttoning his shirt, revealing tanned olive skin and a perfectly muscular form. I gulped, watching him reveal himself in front of me like watching my favorite Christmas present being unwrapped. Holy cow! Since when did I get this horny? Once the final button was done, he took off his shirt and dropped it in the basket as well, revealing his perfect toned form to my eyes.

There was a red patch of dried blood on his abdomen where he had been stabbed, but other than that, all I saw was clear skin. He took a kitchen towel and wet it under the sink before wiping away at the blood, cleaning up all remains of his attack. There was a faint pink line where he was stabbed and I think he was memorising it for inflicting the wound back later…to avoid suspicion.

I hated to think that his beautiful body will be marred by a painful scar later on, but it had to be done.

“My blood usually stops working after ten hours or so, depending on how much I had given someone.” I told him, moving closer to the couches. “But you got a small doze so there would be no more super healing from tomorrow morning onwards.”

“Can’t say I’m glad to hear that,” he shrugged, throwing away the towel in the bin. “I’d miss healing from stabs.”

“How about focusing on not getting stabbed from now on?” I raised my eyebrows at him, trying hard not to let my eyes wander up and down his shirtless form. The dream I had was fresh in my head and it was making my hands itch to touch him.

“If someone is on to me, I don’t think it’ll be possible for much longer.” Kaleb shrugged, the movement catching my eyes for an entirely different reason.

There seemed to be scars on his body…tiny white lines that were so thin that they were almost unnoticeable…but I saw them nonetheless.

“What are these?” I came closer to him, looking at the faint white lines all over his body that seemed to be the remains of old scars. They were everywhere! Why didn’t I notice them before? “Why didn’t my blood heal these?”

“Your blood did heal them.” Kaleb confirmed. “They used to be a lot darker.”

“Were you abused as a child?” I asked, looking up into his eyes.

“Something like that.” Kaleb confirmed, but didn’t elaborate.

I couldn’t blame him though. Everyone had their own struggles and we weren’t comfortable sharing them with everyone. I knew I wasn’t ready to share my troubles with him either.

It was only then that I realized just how close I was standing to him and that one of my hands were on his abdomen, touching one tiny white scar that ran from the corner to the middle of his tummy, like something had sliced him with a blade. It wasn’t a new scar and it made me curious as to how he acquired each and every one of them…but I couldn’t ask. All I could do was stare into his beautiful eyes, hypnotized by their beauty and unable to look away.

But even before I could think about removing my hand from his body, his hand came around to clasp around my wrist, while the other snaked around my waste to pull me closer, holding me in place.

I was pressed against him completely and every breath he took seemed to resonate in my body. Was it my hypersensitivity to him because of the dream I had? I had no idea. The only thing I knew for sure was that after the kiss I shared with him today, everything had changed. Especially my awareness of him.

I went to say what was on my mind, but he beat me to it.

“I’m attracted to you.” Kaleb’s voice was a husky whisper that I felt down to my core.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but I just can’t stop thinking about you.” He continued. “I shouldn’t be going against everything I’ve worked so hard for. Saving my sister should be my only focus…but I keep getting in trouble. I keep making mistakes…because the second I laid eyes on you, I knew I couldn’t turn back.”

His words made me realize two things.

First, the attraction that I felt for him was mutual and I didn’t need a lie detector to tell me that. For Kaleb, his eyes truly were doors to his soul and I could feel his sincerity in every word.

And second, Kaleb had been helping them for a very specific reason. Even though he hated that the League went against all his morals and believes, he knew that they could give him the one thing that he wanted the most. A cure for his sister. And that was the only thing holding him back.

“Tell me I can trust you.” I whispered, putting my heart on the line. “Tell me that you aren’t the one mistake I can never turn back from.”

“Tell me you wouldn’t turn your back on me when I need you.” He countered. “Tell me I’ll be alive at the end of this all.”

We were both risking a lot by trying to trust each other and we both had a lot to lose. But I couldn’t help it…I wanted to trust him, to believe in him.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

We both spoke at the same time, sealing our fate.