A Gift from the Goddess novel Chapter 116

"Alright, a little game sounds fun," I finally replied.

"But you’ ll be disappointed to learn there is no ulterior motive in talking to you.You’ve just piqued my curiosity, is all." I tried to laugh it off but Kieran didn’t seem to notice as he immediately set his drink down, his expression turning serious as he looked me over.

Almost as if I could feel him scrutinising every little detail about me.But that confident look of his...

It took all I had to just calm my heart down, the nervous thumping inside becoming so loud that I was worried he’d hear it.

For a man who could seemingly read me so well...could he really pull this off? 

"Your eyes give you away a lot," he started, leaning forward enough that I could still hear him as he spoke in a low voice.

"Don’t get me wrong, they’re very pretty, but they also betray you."

At this proximity, his scent was beginning to overwhelm me.His compliment wasn’t helping either.I’d never been affected by small things like that before, but with him, it felt almost involuntary.

"I think you’re probably reading too much into it," I replied quietly, smiling.

"Besides, I thought you were meant to be guessing my thoughts, not theorising my tells."

"That's true...."

He moved in a little bit closer again, and I felt as though I became trapped by his gaze alone, unable to move away even if I wanted to.

Which, of course, I didn’t.

No, at this distance, I was helpless to stop myself from thinking about how flawless his features were.

How his defined jawline was such a perfect shape that I could easily picture how my head could fit under it, nestled against his neck comfortably.

‘Mine" that word repeated inside my head, but I bit it back.

"you're thinking...‘why am I so attracted to him?’" he said, sending a jolt of surprise through me.

But after quickly scrambling to find a logical explanation, I realised it was clearly just a magician’s trick.He was influencing my thoughts with his behaviour so I’d be pressured to think what he wanted me to.I laughed his guess off and simply called him out on it.

"How incredibly vague yet conceited of you to thinks o," I said, amused.

"I thought this was a game of guessing my exact thoughts, not giving yourself a backwards compliment."

However, this didn’t seem to deter him in the slightest and a smirk spread across his lips.

"You're thinking...‘why does he make me feel this way?’” I laughed again.

"I just told you that you can’t use ambiguous statements to win.It’s like bogus fortune-telling.It’s not going to work—."

..And then his hand reached out and touched mine, tracing lightly against my skin.

Spreading those sparks through my body that made my breath catch in my throat.

I stared at his hand as he gently enveloped my own, the warmth starting to make me lose concentration.

‘Mine"

That same unrelenting thought kept trying to force itself aloud.He closed the final bit of distance between us, coming in until he was speaking almost directly into my ear.His scent making it impossible to breathe without his influence.

And with one hand holding my own, his other moved to my waist to hold me in place.

"You're thinking...‘why does it feel like sparks against my skin?’"

In surprise, I sharply looked back up towards him, only I found myself now merely inches away from him.

So close, I could feel the warmth of his breath against me.

My gaze trailed down from his eyes until I became fixated on his lips, those thoughts from earlier starting to invade my mind once more.

Wondering just what it would be like to feel them moving against mine.

To taste what they looked to promise me.

‘Mine"

His hand then moved, coming up until it found my cheek and his thumb started tracing along my jaw.

Sending more sparks through me.

But the entire time he did that, I was still transfixed on his lips, watching them closely as he continued to speak.

"you're thinking...that you want to kiss me."

I closed my eyes a little as the pleasure of his presence started to sweep me away.

Letting myself relax into the touch that made me feel so many emotions all at once.I was giving myself over to him and there was nothing I could do.

Nothing I wanted to do.

Like a spell, he had me now completely at his mercy.

‘‘Mine...mine.."

When he moved in closer, so close our lips were almost touching, I felt as a shiver went through my body.

Tempting me to make the first move, as if promising me water after years of thirst.

I wanted it...

I wanted him...and I finally felt that last piece of restraint melt away.

I started to give in, my own hand moving forward to touch him...

..But just as I was about to make contact, his words stopped me.

“.Mine...," he whispered.

...And it was enough for reality to kick back in. I quickly took a step out of his grasp, hugging my arms to my chest in horror.

"..How did you know that?" I demanded.

"How could you possibly know that?! Out of every single word you could possibly say, you somehow manage to say that exact one?" Kieran held up his hands to calm me, but it did little t o soothe my fear.

"Relax," he said.

"It’s not a big deal. I can explain."

But it didn’t feel like a light matter. It felt far from it.

"You didn’t answer me," I said, gritting my teeth.

"I asked how you knew that. How you knew any of that » It was then that I started to think over everything that had just happened, taking a moment to realise just how crazy the whole encounter was.

Something that was so batshit insane that I could only come to one conclusion.

"_..Did you drug me?" I asked in a hushed voice.

He had to have.

My feeling of illness and lack of control, my inability to make rational decisions.

All of it could only be explained by one thing.I quickly looked over to where my drink was and eyed i t warily.

It didn’t explain my initial reaction, but perhaps he’d also done something to me back when h e disarmed my dagger.

“..What did you do to me?!" I asked again.

His eyes went wide, clearly not expecting me to say it ...

Or maybe not expecting me to realise the truth.

Either way, I didn’t trust him.

"Wait, what? No!" he said, offended.

"Just calm down for a second." He tried to move closer but I instantly matched his step backwards.

"No! Don’t touch me!" I warned.

This caught the attention of a few people around us, briefly turning their heads to what the commotion was.

Their faces filled with confusion and intrigue as they fed off the drama unfolding.

Acting as if they were social vultures.

".Raven," Kieran hissed, grabbing back my attention.

"Give me a moment to explain."

But the last time I let him freely talk to me, he almost made me succumb to a state of unknown.

A state where I had no control.

And, in my life, control was everything.

He should be lucky that his attempt of drugging me didn’t accidentally result in his death, because that was the true worst-case scenario here.

Unleashing that creature could have ended ina massacre.

"Raven."

"No...," I whispered.

"No...I’m not doing this.Fuck i t."