[American starwort]: Welcome to a stranger

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His kiss is a punishment, an awakening, a little death I'll forever crave to experience over and over again.

His right hand travels to rest on my lower back, pressing my body against his possessively, as the other slides down slightly until it's wrapped around my neck, as if he's afraid I'll run away and will do anything to prevent it.

The way his fingers flex around my neck is so surprisingly satisfying, I sigh contently. Desperate for more, I tilt my head back so he can force his tongue deeper inside my mouth and consume me until we're one and the same.

When I feel his need for me pressing against my stomach, I let out a shocked gasp, fisting his shirt helplessly, allowing him to swallow every sound I make, steal every breath I own, and practically eat my whole face up.

There's nothing gentle in the way he consumes me, holds me, nothing gentle in the way I move my body against his to get rid of this itch I've never felt inside of me before.

We've never touched like this before, with honest desperation and abandon as if we can't live another second without each other.

And if before I could feel my soul leave my body whenever he touched the most intimate parts of me, this kiss makes all the same emotions supernaturally heightened.

It's different, the way he kisses me, bites me, adds pressure around my neck, grinds into me. It feels like a declaration that I am his, only his. I'm his now to do whatever he pleases, and the idea of it alone makes me glow.

Because, God, am I his, always have been, will never stop. Even before he was willing to take me for himself, I'd already given myself to him, body, mind, and soul.

I've never belonged to anyone but him and the way he's proudly owning me right now makes my heart cry with joy.

"Fucking despise you," he whispers roughly, before biting my lower lip, dragging it out like a savage and making me crave it more. But then he's kissing my mouth better all over again as if to apologize.

"Can't stop thinking about you and I hate it." He countinues hoarsely, breathing the words out between quick kisses. "See your face everywhere I look and it's killing me. What have you done to me, huh?"

My answer is an unintelligible version of his name, as I explore his mouth, dying a little death as I taste mint, whiskey, and something that I can only describe as my Conor-coded remedy.

When we both start to practically struggle for our breaths, he pulls back just a little to press his forehead against mine, never losing his grip around my neck and lower back.

The air is heavy with our shallow breaths and gasps, and I keep my eyes closed to stop the spinning in my head because I still can't believe what is happening.

What are we doing?

Just a minute ago I told him I hated him back and now we're sharing the same breath and clinging onto each other as if we can't decide if we should kill one another or kiss until we die together from lack of oxygen.

"Open your eyes," Connor's lips brush against mine as he speaks, his hold around my throat tightening slightly, to make me comply with his orders. And I do. I love it when he's like this, so out of control for me and yet dominating to the core. 

When I comply with his order, I'm met with the most beautiful shade of green I've ever seen in my life.

His eyes mirror mine, drunk on the kiss, hooded with so much desire, my cheeks turn red from all the things I imagine him doing to me.

"Connor..." I mumble and feel like his name is the only word I can utter.

"Remember that tone, Little Monster," the left corner of his mouth lifts up into a satisfied smirk. "From now on, you're only allowed to say my name with that tone. Only mine."

I don't even manage to get my thoughts together and fake offense or tell him his wish is my command when he tilts my head backward and gets his mouth all over my chin, jaw, and throat, kissing, biting, gently sucking onto every piece if skin he can reach.

"Only if you keep calling me Sky, when we're like this." I gasp the words out, and when I feel his low, deep chuckle against my throat, my thoughts completely disappear again.

With some supernatural power though I manage to plant my palms on his chest, and start pushing him backward, still kissing him back feverishly, until he drops on the bench with a thud.

Grabbing the hem of my dress with fast hands I raise it to my sighs and straddle him. My bare knees rest on the marble and I can tell it's going to hurt later, but I don't even take a second to worry about it.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hover over him for a second with our noses brushing as we try to catch our breaths with loud inhales.

The sight of him underneath me, eyes so addicted, grip so tight on my waist, and mouth so kissed by me, is doing crazy things to my heart, so I close my eyes for a second to regulate my heartbeat and not die of a heart attack.

When I open them again, he is already watching me.

Always watching me.

But this time, it's different.

His eyes are bottomless, vulnerable as they search my face, and burning with shameless desire.

He doesn't regret kissing me, doesn't hate that he wants me right now, and the thought alone puts a huge smile on my face, even though a happy tear slides down my cheek.

His tongue darts out licking it off my chin and making me gasp intrigued, before our eyes collide again.

For the first time in our whole history, our souls meet like two parts of a broken heart and this time it's epic, emotional, magical.

Something I've never experienced before. Never.

This time when his left hand reaches to cup the side of my face it's sweet, his thumb parting my lips, his green eyes so bright they are killing me. My lips wrap around the tip of his finger as I kiss it softly, my eyes never leaving his because I don't want to lose one single second of the way he's staring at me right now.

"You're always so gorgeous, it's blinding," he sighs, making me smile wider before he leans into me with his whole body and his mouth finds mine again.

Unlike the first kiss, this one is slow, gentle, romantic and so dreamy, that my whole body shudders from the intensity. I've imagined this moment for so long, for years I've dreamed about giving my first kiss to Connor, only him, and this is exactly how I imagined it to be.

He starts to prep small kisses all over my smiling mouth, chin, eyes, the tip of my nose as if I'm something precious he's been searching for, before going back to my mouth and pressing his lips against mine.

I'm the one to deepen the kiss now, the same time I grab his left hand and rest it around my neck, telling him wordlessly what I need him to do now.

A much as I love and crave the softness we share, it's his dark touch, that sets me on fire.

When he swears under his breath, squeezing slightly, I moan in his arms and start to slowly move up and down on his lap, ignoring the way my knees hurt as I do so.

"You have to stop now." He mumbles again without realizing he's helping me keep my pace over him with his right hand on my waist.

I make noises I didn't know I could master with each move because it's so intense like this... when he's kissing me like I'm his.

"Were you on a date?" I manage to breathe out between our kisses instead, as my arms start to push his blazer down and off of him.

"I don't do dates." He whispers back, fingers digging inside my flash.

"That doesn't answer my question." My mouth finds the right side of his neck, biting to leave my mark the way he does to me, so everyone can see he's mine too.

I almost get distracted by his cologne, the fresh scent I hope will find its way under my skin and stay there forever so I can always smell like him.

"Then ask the right ones."

"Were you with a girl?" I try again, running my tongue over the bite, to soothe it.

He is silent, making me doubt everything we're sharing right now. I freeze for a second, before placing a hand over his chest to pull away and off his lap, when he grabs the back of my neck, pressing my mouth harder against his and keeping me firmly planted on him.

"I can't look at anyone but you, let alone be with them."

"Do you mean it?" I ask, hovering over him.

"I wish I didn't."

"Perfect," I whisper with a huge smile and in no time reward his honesty with a yet another kiss and a faster pace. "Tell me more." "

"It's not nice."

"Tell me anyway."

"I want to hurt you," he starts, his hands gathering the fabric of my dress higher, to reveal my bare sighs. "Want to break you, bury you, fuck you out of my system but instead... instead..."

"Tell me. Please, Connor." His name does it.

"Instead, all I think about is you. Makes me want to kill you even more... How can you feel like this? So fucking divine."

"I'm Persephone after all." I smirk through my moans.

When his hands rest on my stockings, he stops kissing me to look down, making me do the same.

I've settled for a pair of white, almost transparent embroidery stockings that are securely held by a pair of lace garters with a small bow in the middle.

"Fucking hell," he groans, fingers digging through the white fabric as if he can barely control himself. "Do you want to kill me, Little Monster?"

"I was hoping you'd get to see them tonight," I confess in his ear and not being able to resist, slightly tag at his earlobe. "But wait until you see my underwear." I chuckle before his fingers grab my chin, and turn my face to his so he can bite on my chin as a punishment. My smile widens instead. Jesus, why do I like it so much when he does it?

"Sky..." his tone is a warning, a threat, but it only makes me braver.

Pulling back a little, I stare him right in the eye as I start to slowly roll the front of my dress higher over my thighs so I can show it to him, and completely ruin him for everyone else, the way he does me.

He's staring back with an animalistic need, his breath picking up. Once I'm holding the front of my dress against my belly, I look down to invite him to do the same and almost pass out. The image of me straddling him, with his hands digging inside my sighs to hold me in place can't be real. It just can't.  

It's too good to be true, too hot to be real. And the contrast of my white dress and his black dress pants makes me think... makes me think about the future. The future I've always dreamt about having with him when I was a kid. With me in a white dress, walking down the aisle... to him...

With the emotions choking me to the core, my insides throbbing with need, I slowly lift my head only to find him still staring at my face. 

"One day, you're going to kill me." Connor's voice is serious, his gaze intense when he whispers the words.

"Will you mind?"

"Not at all." It doesn't even take him a second to reply. And before I can even react, his left hand grips mine, the one that's still holding my dress over my stomach, and our lips collide. I sigh as if I can finally breathe now, that he's back to kissing me again. 

"What the hell, man?!" We both jump because of the loud voice, and I think I might have even shrieked against Connor's mouth. My head is dizzy as I start to grasp what's going on, where we are, what time is it, what universe or space, before finally realizing we were interrupted by a male voice.

While the first thing Connor does is push the hem of my dress down in a rush to cover my thighs and straighten my corset over my chest, I hide my face in the crook in his neck, hoping whoever it is will go away, and let me make out with my crush in peace.

Connor's arms go around my body protectively, to hide me safely in his arms, as he peeks behind me for a second. The simple act is so endearing, I mentally purr like a kitten.

"We were looking for you everywhere. And here you are in the middle of fucking a random chick." Another voice I don't recognize, but instantly start to love joins in.

It sounds so deep and smooth, that he could totally think about becoming a singer. Wait, are these his twin friends? I've never actually heard their voices up close, so I have basically no idea.

Oh my God! My whole face and body turn red from the embarrassment and disbelief, so I do the only thing that can save me, press myself closer to Connor, close my eyes, and let his scent and heartbeat against my chest calm me down.

"Watch your mouth," Connor warns with a cold voice that makes me shiver, even though I'm in his arms. "I told you I'll be back soon."

"It's been half an hour! And sorry to interrupt your fun, little cousin, but we need to get you changed and get going before Snow kills me. You know my baby can be scary when she's not seen me for days." The second guy replies impatiently.

Cousin? My eyes snap open because I've never even known Connor had one.

I tilt my chin up, open one eye, still pressed against him, and mumble under my breath.

"You have a cousin?"

Connor looks down at me, his eyes secretly laughing at my reaction.

"It's a long story," he whispers back before looking back at the guys again. I hope there are just two and not a whole basketball team or something.

"I fully stand by his statement," the second guy adds to Connor's cousin and I can't help but notice the British accent in his low and calm voice. "Imagine if we miss the flight too, we'll both join him in the grave, Connor. Snow really scares me sometimes..."

My heart stops.

I sit up, my whole body rigid all of a sudden.

Is he leaving New York? This can't be true...

He can't leave when we've finally found a common ground. Not now.

"You're leaving?" I whisper, almost stuttering, when I notice him glare at the guys behind me.

He captures the side of my face with one hand, and it's so natural and gentle I lean into it as if it's what we always do.

Connor's eyes are calm as he looks at me, the rage and hatred now nowhere to be seen.

"It's only for the weekend. I'll be back by Monday, and then we'll talk, alright?" He explains searching my eyes, and suddenly I can breathe again.

I nod, relieved, and am about to ask more questions, when suddenly I feel someone sliding right next to us and curiously staring between us.

Slowly, I turn my face to the right, to see a very unfamiliar guy gawking at us, as his gaze moves from Connor to me a couple of times.

I study him as well, realizing this is definitely his cousin because he obviously shares some genes with Connor.

And wow, the guy is rockstar-handsome.

He seems to be in his early twenties, definitely older than both me and Connor. His big hazel eyes look kind and yet mysterious as they hold my gaze. He has a barely visible blonde stable, a lip piercing on the right corner of his lower lip, and a straight nose.

The white oversized T-shirt he's wearing doesn't hide his wide shoulders, although compared to Connor he looks leaner, less muscular. He's matched the shirt with a pair of dark jeans and sneakers, to fully support the rockstar visual, and I'm not ashamed to admit I'd proudly hang his poster in my room if he were indeed a star.

"Fuck off, Dylan!" Connor snaps and makes me stop the staring contest with his cousin as he plants his palm over his face to push him back. His cousin comes back just as fast though and with a bigger and more obvious teasing smile. 

"Sorry?" I smile awkwardly, and then jump slightly when he claps his hands together out of nowhere.

"Holy shit, it's you!" He exclaims loudly, making me lean more into Connor, as an instinct. Not that I need a reason to do it.

Connor tightens his hold on my, slightly moving away from the unfamiliar and slightly weird guy.

"Do I know you?" I ask confused, to which he shakes his head no.

"But I know you!" Dylan says holding back a smile, confusing me further. "Kai! Come check this out! It's her!" He calls the other guy over with a move of his hand, making me turn my head around to check who's the second guest of our 'make-out blocker' party.

The second guy is currently walking to us and wow... suddenly I don't mind him being here that much. 

I've never ever seen a guy like this.

Connor is hot, sexy, and brutally handsome, completely my type with his short hair, green eyes, and all. He's all my wildest dreams combined and so much more, honestly. But this guy? Kai...

He must be kept in a museum.

Kai is very tall, built, and with an aura that demands respect, even though I don't even know him. His dark hair is styled, some strands falling over his eyes that are so blue they are radiating even when it's all dark around us. Or wait, are they gray? Grayish blue, I guess.

His sharp jaw is sculptured, matching perfectly with his aristocratic nose. He's wearing all black, making the contrast of his pale skin and dark clothes even more obvious. He has a pair of black cargo pants stuck inside his shiny boots in the most stylish way, a black loose leather jacket, and a matching T-shirt underneath. 

"Are you serious?" Kai says when he's right next to us, and for some reason, I almost want to bow.

"Shut it, you two. Give us a moment and I'll be right back." Connor says obviosuly annoyed, pressing me against him. 

"Hi." I blurt out to Kai. "You are very good-looking. Let's be best friends."

"What the hell, Little Monster?"

"Did you just imply that I'm not good-looking?"

Connor and Dylan say at the same time, while Kai just laughs in his deep voice.

"Of course, no," I tell Dylan. "You're very hot too."

"You're still on my lap," Connor adds with a stern tone, squeezing my thighs for better effect.

I jump up to my feet even though I'd like nothing else but to stay in Connor's arms forever, smooth my dress out quickly, and stare at him with defiance.

Connor gives me a threatening look, raising his brow expectantly, daring me to say or do more.

"Gotta say, Connor. She is a piece of work." Kai says next to me.

"Thanks," I smile, still holding Connor's gaze, blushing when my eyes slide down to his very obvious erection that was pressed against me a couple of minutes ago.

When Connor shifts on the bench, grabs his blazer from the ground and throws it over himself, my gaze moves to his face. The corner of his mouth turns into a teasing smirk, and just like that I know that he knows what I'm thinking about, and it makes my heart do crazy flips under my chest.

"So how do you know me?" I clear my throat, and ask Kai and Dylan, intrigued.

"They don't." Connor cuts Dylan off as soon as he opens his mouth to speak, and I'm about to press for answers when suddenly my phone goes off in the secret pocket of my dress.

Both me and Sydney asked her aunt to add big pockets to our outfits, so we could keep our keys, money and phones inside them, and stay in touch in all cases.

"Sorry," I mumble to the three guys, before moving away slightly to answer Sydney, with the guys still talking in the background.

Oh God, I've completely forgotten about Sydney. How could I even? This is what Connor does to me. He makes me forget everything and everyone around me, until all I can see, hear or think about is him.

I'm being such a terrible friend, with all the sneaking behind Sydney's back and now even ditching her.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask, worried, as soon as I pick up.

"All good, so calm down." She chuckles. "I couldn't find you."

"I'm just outside, to breathe some air.

"Oh, good. Listen, your ex is smaaaashed!" She stretches the word amused. "And I think I need to get him home right now since all his asshole friends are the same and it's not helping. Is it okay if I do? We can't let him drive like this."

"Of course, do you need help?"

"Nope, just text me when you get home."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" I press.

"Yeah. He's kind of whining about you, so... Anyway, drive safely, okay?" Sydney says into the phone before swearing at someone, probably Jack, for spilling his water.

"You too. We're still going out for recovery coffee tomorrow, right?"

"Even if I need to crawl." She laughs on the other end of the line. "Okay, gotta go, or someone will puke on my shoes next."

"Not the shoes!" I shriek because no way is Jack going to survive my wrath if he does that.

"Weirdo," Syd mumbles with a hint of humor in her voice. "See you tomorrow. Muaaaaah," she adds the flying kiss before ending the call. 

I jump slightly when I feel something land over my shoulders gently. Turning around, I find Connor standing a couple of feet away, studying my face intently as if he's searching for something. 

His blazer is draped over my shoulders, his scent attached to it making me want to close my eyes and breathe it in.

"Something wrong?" He asks, his face and tone serious, as I push the phone back in my hidden pocket.

"No," I smile and cross the distance between us to bloom under his light a little longer before he leaves. The movement makes one side of the blazer slide down a little, but Connor catches it in time, adjusting it better on my shoulders. "Everything is perfect," I whisper, tilting my head back to have a better view of his face.

Without his arms around me, it feels like the last half an hour was all in my head, and I hate that feeling. We're looking at each other, inching closer, and yet we're not touching or talking about what matters.

"We need to talk, don't we?" I ask hating the feeling of this uncertainty. He nods, hands in the pockets of his pants.

"You need to tell me every single thing I don't know, Little Monster. All of it."

"Will you believe me?" I whisper, scared he'll crush all my hopes with a single answer. "Promise, you'll believe me."

Connor takes a step toward me, framing my face with both hands, to make me look up at him.

"I'll believe every single word out of this mouth." And then he's leaning down to press a short kiss against my lips, with his cousin and friend only a couple of feet away from us.

When he pulls back, he presses his forehead against mine, eyes still closed, as if he doesn't want to let go of me, or the moment. As if it takes enormous strength to let go.

"Are you leaving the party now?" He whispers against my lips, his eyes fluttering open. I nod, drunk on him, and the way he softly caresses my cheeks with the tip of his thumbs.

"We can give you a ride, or did you drive here?"

"Aren't you being late for your flight? Wouldn't want your cousin's girlfriend, I'm assuming, kill you all."

He chuckles shaking his head.

"Dylan is dramatic. He likes to go to the airport five hours early. We're flying to Chicago. They live there now and I promised Snow I'd visit her with Dylan for her birthday tomorrow."

"You are close with them." It's a statement, a warm and yet weird one, because I realize I know almost nothing about this grown up version of Connor.

I also realize I'm not sad about it, not at all. Instead, I'm excited, because I'll get to know him all over again, and I can't wait to start.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure it won't be a problem? I don't want you to be late."

"If anything, I can change in the plane."

"Reminds me, why are you dressed like this?" I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. "This can't be legal." Connor chuckles again, and I love the sound of it so much I could die.

"I was attending an important dinner."

"Not with a girl?"

"Not with a girl." He confirms. "I will tell you all about it later, too. For now, tell me, did you drive here?"

"No," I lie without thinking because I don't want to let him go yet. I want to stay with him as long as I can, especially if I won't see him for two days.

Will he text, will he answer if I text him?

"It's decided then. I'm taking you home."

~*~*~*~

Author's Note

Yes, you can scream here!!! 😂

Did you notice the images I've added above instead of our usual header. I'm ashamed to say I've created them with AI. I don't support AI-generated art, but I've been searching for photos like this online for like 3 weeks already and couldn't find anything. So I made some to give you something similar to the visual that I had in my head when writing this scene.

This chapter is honestly one of my favorites, not only because of Connor and Mia, but also because Mia finally gets to meet Kai and Dylan... my babies.

I had tears in my eyes when I was writing Dylan's parts, and some of you might know why (don't want to spoil it for the readers who haven't read Midnight Memories yet).

Anyway, you'll still see Kai and Dylan in the next chapter as well, so expect some fun and cute situations from the Mad Hatter and his sidekick.

The next chapters are going to be the last ones for Part One of Trouble. And theeeeeeen Part Two will bring you so much more... It will be both on Mia's and grown-up Connor's POV, so you'll finally understand why's Connor like this. We will also have new characters that will change the whole course of the story... can't wait to finally introduce them to you.

Again, please, shower the chapters with votes and comments, wanna hear more of your theories or complaints, maybe compliments and fangirling moments too if you have those haha.

So yeah, see you next week!

Love, Melanie 

PS have you guys listened to James Arthur's latest album? I'm currently streaming his song called Blindside and I'm addicted. I physically can NOT stop hitting the replay button over and over again. This song is definitely my favorite song right now, and his voice when he says "You're just a memory I wake up to" with so much emotion in his voice... argh, my heart is bleeding in the best way possible XD ANYWAY, just wanted to recommend you to give it a listen, in case you haven't (you know how much I love music).