Sweet Hatred Chapter 323: Kiss addict

Kael

I was barely holding myself together.

Every part of wanted to lt into her, to take and take until I was drunk on her again. But I couldn’t. Not now. Not when she looked like a breath too harsh might break her. So I held myself back, every muscle pulled taut, every emotion boiling under my skin.

And then she started apologizing.

Not once. Not twice. Over and over, the words spilling out between shaky breaths, her voice breaking as her shoulders trembled. She was sobbing mid-apology, telling how cruel she’d been, how she pushed away again and again because she couldn’t stand not being in control.

I froze.

Aria, my Aria, the stubborn, fiery, maddening woman who never cracked, who never let the world see her bleed, was crying in front of . Not hiding it. Not stuffing it down until she turned cold. No, this ti she was unraveling right here in my arms, and it was undoing in ways I didn’t even know I could be undone.

I didn’t want her apology. God, I didn’t care for any of that. I’d take every cruel word, every push, every scar if it ant I still had her here. What mattered was that she was real, right in front of , not so wish or illusion. That I could hold her, kiss her, and know she loved back.

I cupped her face, squeezing her cheeks together until she looked ridiculous, her lips puckered, her lashes still wet. She was beautiful even like this, maybe especially like this. I pressed kisses everywhere, soft, desperate, her cheeks, her eyelids, the damp trail of her tears.

"Aria," I whispered against her skin, my voice hoarse, "if you keep apologizing, I’m going to have to shut you up with sothing else."

A small sound escaped her, half a laugh, half a broken sob. The corner of her lips lifted, fragile but real. "I can’t help it if I was such a horrible person to you" she whispered back, her voice trembling. "And you’re talking like you don’t always get your way."

That did sothing to . Broke open and put back together all at once.

I stilled, my eyes locking with hers. God, those amber eyes. Sparkling through tears, pulling under like they always had. I could drown in them a thousand tis and never want to co up for air.

"Then tell you don’t mind," I murmured, brushing my thumb across her jaw. My chest ached with the weight of it. "Tell you don’t mind if I kiss you every five seconds for the rest of my life."

She parted her lips, about to answer. I didn’t let her.

I claid her mouth in a hard, aching kiss, pouring into it everything I hadn’t said, everything I’d been holding back. And when she clutched at , I swore I’d never let her go again.

Her mouth was mine, and God help , I wasn’t letting go. Every kiss I’d swallowed down, every mont I’d bitten back what I wanted, it all ca clawing to the surface. I pulled her closer, closer still, until she was practically straddling on the counter, her legs brushing against my hips like they belonged there.

The bathroom was too damn pristine for what I was doing to it , marble gleaming beneath us, steam curling around us like smoke , but I couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop. She was clinging to , answering every desperate press of my mouth with one of her own, and I thought: this is what drowning feels like. This is what coming back to life feels like.

When we finally broke apart, both of us breathless, her chest rising against mine, she tried to catch her air with a smile tugging at her lips. "You’re insatiable," she whispered, teasing, her voice soft but shaky. "You’re a kiss addict."

She was right. I couldn’t help kissing her every chance I got and I never wanted it to end.

I leaned in, brushed the lightest kiss over her lips. "One."

Her breath hitched.

I kissed her again, firr, tasting the salt of tears that still lingered. "Two."

Her laugh caught between us, shaky and beautiful.

I pressed my mouth harder, deeper, until I felt her fingers clutch at my hair. "Three."

"Kael, " she started, but I couldn’t let her finish.

Another kiss, another claim. "Four."

Her laugh lted into a whimper, and my chest nearly split open from it. I kept kissing her, counting, whispering the numbers like a vow. Five. Six. Seven. Until the numbers blurred and all that mattered was that her lips were on mine and she wasn’t running, not this ti.

Because if loving her made an addict, then so be it. I’d overdose on her a thousand tis and still beg for more.

All I could taste was her, all I could breathe was her. And I would’ve stayed there, drowning in kiss after kiss, if not for the fact that eventually, reality forced itself back in.

Later, when I finally pulled myself away, I was the one dressing her, tugging soft fabric over her damp skin, pulling a sweatshirt like it was so holy ritual. My hands lingered too long. I couldn’t help it.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked, my voice still rough with her. "It’s already afternoon."

She glanced up at , lips twitching. "I want to eat at a restaurant."

I raised a brow. "I can do that." And before she could blink, I scooped her over my shoulder.

"Kael!" She shrieked, pounding her fists lightly against my back. "Put down right now!"

I smirked, adjusting her weight with ease. "Not happening." My palm cracked against her ass, sharp and satisfying. She went silent in shock, then muttered sothing about making pay.

Her voice was muffled over my shoulder when we reached the front entrance , only to find Ash lounging there like a storm cloud that had no business being inside my walls.

"Well, well," Ash drawled, arms crossed. "Already making up, are we?"

"Don’t you have soone else to terrorize?" I shot back flatly, though I adjusted Aria higher on my shoulder just to make a point.

Aria twisted against . "Is that you Ash?" she asked.

Ash’s mouth quirked. "Oh yes, darling, my business isn’t with him though. It’s with you..." she paused. "... the little sack of potatoes he’s lugging around."

I narrowed my eyes instantly. "You’re not, "

"Relax," Ash cut in smoothly, sarcasm dripping. "I’m not kidnapping her. Yet."

Before I could retort, Niko appeared from down the hall, his expression tight, which only soured my mood further.

"There’s sothing urgent you need to see to," he said.

"Of course there is," I muttered under my breath, furious at how easily my ti with Aria was stolen from . I lowered her gently to her feet, though every part of scread not to.

"I won’t take long," she promised .

"I don’t plan on keeping her short," Ash cut in smugly.

My glare could’ve leveled a lesser woman, but Ash stood there unbothered, like she thrived on it.

"You’re acting like you’re not going to see her again," she said, voice sickly sweet.

Before I could bite back, Aria grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her off. But not without throwing one last little dagger , pressing her middle finger against her cheek, tongue stuck out at like so mischievous child.

I stared after her, utterly dumbfounded.

Niko cleared his throat beside .

I exhaled sharply. "Spit it out."

He hesitated, then said the one na that instantly made my blood go cold.

"Sarah."