WestFiction- "In the Arms of an Angel" by Xtine

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In the Arms of an Angel> chapters 33

“Gaby!” Anya screamed, her forehead damp with sweat. “You're supposed to dice the cheddar cheese and not grate them. It’s supposed to be diced!”

Gaby laughed, her hand firmly holding a silver grater. “But it's cheese. You grate cheese, not dice them,” she reasoned out feebly.

“I said DICE. D-I-C-E! Dice!” Anya screamed again, pacing back and forth around the kitchen. “I don't have any more cheese here! Now the fruit salad won't be perfect! I shouldn't have let you coerced me into hosting a dinner for the guys when I know for a fact that you can't cook and has no knowledge of kitchen work at all!”

“Hey,” she retorted, feigning a hurt voice. “I do know some cooking! I can cook...I can cook…erm…eggs. Yeah, sunny-side up eggs and scrambled ones!”

“Now that's professional! No, get your cute little butt out of the kitchen and buy some cheese from the nearest grocery store. I can't have my fruit salad without diced cheese,” she said, eyeing her evilly. “Now go!”

“You sound so much like my mother!” she cried, throwing her the apron that was wrapped around her waist a minute ago.

The sound of the doorbell made Anya`s face drop. “Oh no! I'm not yet prepared. The food isn't cooked yet. Please don't tell me it's them,” she prayed, clutching her towel.

“Hi, honey,” Mark chirped, poking his head in the kitchen. “Oh, hey, An! Where’s my Hunnybunny?”

“Hunnybunny? You make me gag!” She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand and ushered Mark to the living room. “Sit here and wait for her. She’s going to be down in a minute.”

“That apron looks very becoming on you,” a familiar voice said. Anya froze for a while but managed to turn around to find herself face to face with Shane. Her pulse began to race rapidly and her heart seemed like it was trying to win a race with her pulse as well.

“Oh hi, Shane,” she croaked. “I didn't know you were here.”

“I was invited, right? Or did I came here under false pretenses?” he asked, a hurt look on his face.

“No!” she wailed. “You’re invited. I'm…I was, erm, I was just shocked to see you so early.”

Shane walked to where she was and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her smooth cheek. “I came to help. Mark phoned me and said Gaby doesn't know anything about cooking so I figured you need me.”

She stifled a scoff. Hell yeah, I need you, she thought bitterly. I need you to look at me in the eye and tell me you care for me. She brushed the thought aside and decided to just let it go. “Well, that was very perceptive of you. Thanks for coming over.”

“Oh hey, Shaney,” Gaby greeted cheerily, bouncing from the stairs. “What a lovely sight! My two favorite lads right here in Anya`s living room.” She gave Shane a hug and then flashed Mark a wide, cheesy smile. “Now, look at my man. Isn't he lovely?” she gushed, giggling, and pinched his rosy cheeks, making him flush.

“Yeah, lovely boy,” Shane answered, snickering at the blushing Mark.

“Stop it, Filan,” Mark cut back, standing up and taking Gaby`s hand. “You lovebirds can start doing your thing in the kitchen and Gaby and I will go to the grocery.”

They both nodded and started for the kitchen when Gaby called out, laughing. “Good luck to you lovebirds. I expect a nephew when I get back!” Mark laughed alongside her while Anya started to turn beet-red.

“Shut up, Gaby! Go, leave!” she screamed, shooing them away with the wave of her hands. Shane didn't make the situation any better as he leaned forward and planted a soft warm kiss on her lips and walked inside the kitchen. He left her standing right there in the pathway to the kitchen, her eyes wide in shock, her lips slightly parted from his touch, and her heart slamming onto her rib cage.

“What the hell was that?” Anya demanded, her hands resting on her slim hips, stomping inside the kitchen, several minutes after the “kiss.”

Shane turned around and flashed her his sexy smile that showed off his set of perfect white teeth and laugh lines. “A kiss,” he said simply.

“A kiss? Just a kiss?” she asked incredulously, throwing on the island counter the towel she was clutching. “You think that's just a kiss for me? That it was just some contact, some brief exchange of smelly breaths? That…”

“My breath isn't smelly,” Shane cut in, leaning on the counter.

“No it isn't,” she affirmed, softening slightly but when she saw a coy smile playing on his thin lips, she gained back her cold composure. “That isn't the point! The point I'm trying to make is that you can't just waltz in here in my home, wear my apron, treat me so sweetly infront of Mark and Gaby and then have the balls to kiss me when you don't even like me!” she said vehemently, throwing her hands in the air out of sheer frustration.

“Oh I like you,” he replied in a husky voice that made her knees turn into Jell-O. He started for her, taking slow, heavy steps, his eyes never leaving her face.

She wanted to run, to hide from Shane and the way his eyes were staring at her face, as if the answers to the mysteries of the world could be found in her eyes. “Don’t come near me,” she warned, inadvertently taking a step backwards.

“Why not? Anya, don't you like me? I mean, do you hate my guts?”

“I like you, alright!” she blurted out, her face flushing.

“Then what's the problem?”

“YOU!” she spat angrily.

Shane flinched at her words, hurt by what she said. “What did I do?”

“Nothing…” her voice trailed off, her head hanging in her right.

“Nothing? Then why the hell are you saying I'm the problem?” he asked, scratching his head, messing his perfectly gelled hair.

“You didn't do anything and that’s exactly the problem!” He looked confused but she didn't have the time to pour her heart out to him. She wanted to end this ordeal as soon as possible. “Just, just…erm,” she cleared her throat, “just leave me alone, Shane.” Somehow, she managed to get the words out.

“Why?” he asked, closing in on the space between them.

“Because this is pointless,” she swept her hands a bit, gesturing. “Pursuing you is pointless! And I'm not stupid enough to waste my time dreaming of you! I'm far too smart for that kind of foolishness!”

Shane smiled, leaning a bit more, his hands on her arms. “I like you more when you get all flustered and mad. It turns me on.”

She rolled her eyes and grunted. “Nice flirting technique! Now I'm all over you!” she snorted, even if her insides were shaking with excitement.

Without warning, he pulled her roughly to him, her breasts pressed on his chest, her face a hair’s breadth away from his. He pressed his mouth to hers, trying to tame her unwavering lips. Anya pressed her lips tightly, determined not to be kissed under false circumstances. But Shane's soft lips brushing hers back and forth were making her dizzy and all hot.

“Kiss me, Anya,” he coaxed in a husky voice, cupping her face gently. “Please,” he begged, pressing his lips more to hers, trying to pry them open, hoping she'd let him explore her mouth.

“Shane,” she muttered under his lips, her hands instinctively wrapping around his waist. It felt so right and she fits him oh so perfectly. “Shane, I…I…we shouldn't be doing this…”

He silenced her with a deeper kiss that seared her lips. “Shut up. Just shut up,” Shane cried in exasperation, tearing his lips from hers. Anya felt naked without his lips on hers. She wanted to grab him and kiss him brutally. But she didn’t. “Kiss me, Anya. Kiss me if you care for me. If you feel anything for me…Kiss me. If you don’t, then I`ll take that as a rejection.” He stood there, his arms dropped on his sides, his gaze holding Anya`s.

She gulped, swallowing the lump clogging her throat. She stared at Shane longingly, studying his wide forehead and how his hair compliments the shape of his face. She loves his laugh lines and how his teeth would show when he smiled or laugh. But at that moment, his laugh lines or his teeth weren’t in sight. Instead, he had a forlorn look, his mouth drawn in a tight line, his eyes sad and begging at the same time. And his eyes flickered with something raw and emotional.

Oh my God, she cried inside, her heart jumping as if it was set on a trampoline. All this time, when I thought I wasn’t anything to him, I was actually everything! Oh my God, he loves me. He loves me.

She took a step forward, her hands taking his and smiled. She closed her eyes, leaned forward and found Shane's lips. Anya sucked on his lower lip, beaming when she heard him let out a soft moan.

“Does that mean you care for me?” Shane asked after they pulled away for air.

She rolled her eyes, still wrapped in his arms. “No, it means I’m horny and couldn’t stand to let a chance to kiss someone pass me by! Of course it means I care! I have cared for you ever since you helped Gaby and I when we were sparring infront of your Café! I tried telling myself you’re way out of my league because not only are you a popstar, but you're also in love with Gaby! But I wasn't successful. I’m so in love with you now,” she admitted, her face a bit flushing from embarrassment.

Shane rubbed her cheeks with his knuckles, his thumb finding its way to touch her lower lip. “Anya, I’ve only realized a couple of days ago that I want to be with you, that I love you. I just thought you were too smart for me. But I couldn’t handle not being with you anymore. So I’m here.” he could feel his face flushing a rich crimson shade. Confessing his feelings wasn’t a very comfortable task but it sure lifted off the heavy weight he’s been dragging around for weeks.

Anya`s face lit up like the lights in Las Vegas—so bright and eye-catching. Shane's breath was caught in his throat, unable to move as he watched her face. Her big brown eyes fringed with curly lashes were brighter than ever and her lips were so full, so inviting and so red from his kiss. He couldn’t believe that this beauty laid out infront of him loved him back.

She took his face in her soft hands, her fingers slightly drumming his cheeks. Everything was silent and still. For once, after a long time, she forgot about Gaby`s ailment. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, not even Gaby. All she could think of was how exquisitely wonderful she felt. It was as if her soul was soaring up in the heavens, her body gliding lithely in the clouds, her face brimming with joy. And beside her was Shane, his hands clasping hers, his heart beating in perfect synch with hers. She shook her head and concentrated on the pair of hazel-green eyes staring sweetly back at her. This was the moment she’s been waiting for and the thought that she's got what she wanted in her hands was physically taxing yet wonderful. Without any trace of doubts or hesitations, she leaned forward again and allowed her lips to capture his. Shane brought his hands around her face as well, kissing her with a hunger, devouring her lips.

Anya sighed in his mouth. She felt a surge of lightning flash inside her body, electrifying her to complete oblivion. If this is heaven, she mused, then I don't want to leave. This is the closest thing I've been to heaven and I don’t want to go astray…ever!

[more chapters to come]

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