A Kiss At Midnight (Delilah and Caelum) novel Chapter 58

Chapter 58

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I stared at the paper in my hands, the edges already slightly crumpled from how tightly I was holding it. Sixteen over twenty.

My eyes ran over the number again, as if it might change if I looked at it long enough. It didn’t. It stayed there simple and solid, and somehow it made my chest feel lighter than it had in days.

A smile pulled at my lips before I could stop it, sixteen over twenty.

“Delilah,” Caelum’s voice cut through my thoughts, calm as ever, but there was something warmer underneath it. I lifted my gaze from the paper to him, still holding it like it might disappear if I let go.

“I told you to do this an hour ago,” he said, leaning slightly against the desk, arms loosely crossed, his eyes flicked to the test in my hands, “and you got sixteen.”

I tried and failed to hide the grin spreading across my face, “Yeah.”

He didn’t even try to hide his own reaction, the corners of his mouth lifted, subtle but real, as if he was trying to act composed but couldn’t quite manage it. That small shift in his expression made my smile widen even more.

“I only got four wrong,” I said, like I needed to say it out loud to make it real, “that’s ..actually good, right.”

He let out a quiet breath that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “It’s more than good, It’s progress.”

That word settled in my chest in a way I didn’t expect

My grip on the paper loosened a little. “This feels rewarding,” I admitted, my voice softer now, “even if it took a whole lot of effort not to fall asleep during those late night readings.”

I huffed a small laugh at myself, remembering how many times my eyes had blurred over the pages, how many times I had to reread the same sentence because my brain refused to cooperate.

“But it’s worth it,” I added quickly, “seeing this… it’s worth it.”

His expression softened, “You deserved it,” he said simply, “you’ve put in the effort and didn’t quit when it got difficult.”

I looked down at the paper again, but the smile on my face refused to fade, It almost felt stubborn now, as it had decided to

stay.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without your help,” I said, glancing back up at him, “honestly, when I tried reading with Kaia, I barely understood anything. I was just..stuck, but with you, it’s different, It’s like.. I don’t know, it actually makes sense.”

The words came out more honest than I expected them to, but I didn’t regret them.

His eyes flickered with amusement at that. “I’m glad to be of help to you,” he said, then, after a beat, he added, “you’ve done really well.”

Something about the way he said it made my stomach flip a little, the praise landed deeper than I wanted to admit.

I tilted my head slightly, “you sound really proud about it.”

“Oh, I really am.” that did it, I couldn’t hold the smile back anymore as it broke into something brighter, almost giddy, and I let out a soft laugh before I could stop myself.

The sound seemed to hang in the air between us for a second, then I stood up too quickly, my chair scraped faintly against the floor, and before I fully registered what I was doing. I was already moving toward him.

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11:52 Thu, Jul

Chapter 58

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There wasn’t even a thought behind it, just this overwhelming feeling of relief, of accomplishment, of wanting to share it somehow beyond words. Caelum barely had time to react before I leaned into him, his arms wrapped around my waist almost instantly,, steadying me before I could lose my balance. There was a brief moment of surprise in his posture, just a fraction of a second, and then it melted into something warmer, softer, as he let out a low laugh.

“You’re… surprisingly energetic for someone who was falling asleep earlier,” he said, amused.

“I’m allowed to be happy,” I mumbled into his shoulder, though I was smiling so hard I could barely get the words out.

His hold on me tightened slightly, and stayed there for a moment longer than I intended, letting the feeling/settle.

When I finally pulled back just enough to look at him, his expression was still amused, but there was something else there too. His gaze drops down to my lips, lingering there for a moment, pulling my flushed more against his body and swooping down to meet my lips.

And without being able to stop. I moaned, welcome the feel of his lips on mine, along with the taste of peppermint, making me suddenly realise how that was now becoming my favorite flavor of gum.

I arched my back, pushing myself more to him, wanting more and more, and the scent of him fueled my desire, clouding every other senses, till my mind begins to go numb.

My hands woved into his thick dark locks as I kissed him back, and it wasn’t the sweet gentle type. Heck no. After the last time we spent in the garage, things had change when we kissed. This was wild and passionate. It was the kind of kiss that promised sinful things to come.

He pried my mouth open, moaning into my mouth when I pulled his hair, while I on the other hand was completely and utterly lost in his spell. It was as if I was addicted to his kiss like a junkie needing their daily fix.

His hand moved down from my waist to grab my ass, giving it a rough squeeze. “You’re ass feels so nice and soft,” he commented in a strained voice, and I tried not to chuckle at this as I sit properly on his lap, with both leg on each side.

I ground onto the hardness digging into my pelvis, his bulge never seized to amaze me.

“More.” I pleaded and bent my back and he stooped low, kissing my jawline. Just then, a groan came from the doorway.

“Can you two horny bears keep your hands to yourselves for five seconds,” he says, voice dragged out, the teasing in his voice, “you find a way to touch each other every chance you get.”

Ryder was back, again, leaning against the frame like he had appointed himself guardian of their bad decisions. I didn’t even jump and just slowly turned my head toward him.

“I see you’re still here,” I said flatly, stepping just slightly away from Caelum as if only now acknowledging Ryder’s existence.

He scoffed, “why, you want me gone so you two can run wild or something.” Caelum made a choking sound behind me and didn’t have to look at him to know he was full face red.

Ryder’s grin sharpened immediately at this. “Its completely crazy,” he said, eyes flicking to Caelum,” how you turned our sweet, innocent Caelum into a crazy maniac.”

“Ryder.” Caelum snapped, horrified.

He raised both hands in surrender, but his expression didn’t even pretend to be sorry. “Relax, relax, my bad.”

It was absolutely not his bad

He ulted his head, still looking far too pleased with himself. “Anyway, I will leave you two before I have to witness anything else I can’t unsee” Caelum looked like he was one second away from physically expelling him from the building.

Ryder waved lazily as he backed away. “Try not to break the furniture,” and then he finally disappeared out the door.

11:52 Thu, Jul 23

Chapter 58

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Silence dropped back into the room, heavier this time as Caelum let out a long, slow breath, dragging a hand down his face, then he turned, finding me smiling.

His shoulders sank, just a little, the look he gave me said everything ‘I can’t believe you find this amusing’ tilted my head to the side, laughing this time.

And though he tried to maintain a stern look, he couldn’t stop the way the corner of his mouth twitched small, betrayed him.

9999

“You know you didn’t have to come with me, you know,” I glanced over at Jace as we stood on the sidewalk, the cool breeze tugging gently at the sleeves of my hoodie.

He wasn’t looking at me, his attention was fixed on the building in front of us.

“I know.” I answered, “but I wanted to,” he remained quiet. “I don’t exactly have anything better to do anyway,” I conńnued with a small shrug, “besides…it’s been a while since I saw your mom.”

That finally earned me a smile, a small one.. genuine, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. His gaze drifted back toward the building ajd the hospice stood quietly beneath the gray afternoon sky, peaceful in a way that almost felt cruel.

People walked in and out through the front entrance with soft voices and slow steps, as though everyone instinctively understood that this wasn’t a place where the world moved quickly.

He stared at it, not moving, and I noticed the way his shoulders slowly rose before he drew in a long breath, his fingers began fidgeting with each other, over and over, twisting, pulling, rubbing his thumb anxiously across his knuckles.

A habit, one I hadn’t seen before since Jace was alway so jovial.

I studied him for another second before speaking “Do you need a moment before we go in?”

He turned toward me. his eyes were slightly red, not enough to say he had been crying, but enough to say he had come close.

“Yeah,” he admitted quietly, gulping. “I..” his words caught somewhere in his throat, “I haven’t been here in..” he paused, shaking his head, “a couple of months.”

The sentence seemed to weigh on him the moment it left his mouth, his breathing became shallower. “I kept telling myself I’d come next week,” and he laughed once, a hollow sound, “then next week became another week.”

His fingers wouldn’t stop moving. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say when I see her,” he looked back toward the entrance, “what if..” his jaw tightened, “what if she’s disappointed I stayed away this long?” his breathing hitched again. “What if she thinks I abandoned her?”

“You didn’t.”

\ “I kind of did.”

“No.”

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