Chương 108: Book 3; Chapter 103; Selfish Happiness

Anniet could feel his deep gaze going straight through her heart, right to her soul. Blake lifted her chin, leaned forward, and kissed her again, first gently, then with more and more passion, and she happily returned the kiss. He drew back just enough to look into her eyes, while still gently holding her face.

"Will you stay with me?" Blake asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, I will," Anniet heard her own voice as if from a distance.

"I mean, not just tonight. Would you stay in my life? Would you agree to become a part of it, and would you allow me to become a part of yours?" Then he added, with a slightly sad smile, "As long as you don't mind me overshadowing all of it."" Didn't it already happen?" Anniet wondered. How did it happen that when he could go through most of her feelings and thoughts as if they were his own, he still didn't understand it?

So she said, "For my part, you are already a part of my life as much as you want to be in it, and it is difficult for me to imagine my life without you in it."

"This answer I wanted to hear aloud," Blake said with a smile, pulling her close for another kiss, only this time they didn't feel any need to limit themselves to that. It was well into the morning, and Anniet was lying in bed in Blake's embrace, watching him sleep. She was watching him breathe peacefully while, at the same time, his arm was still wrapped tightly around her chest, and his head was resting on her shoulder.

Somehow, she knew that at her smallest movement he would wake up, so she was lying very still and just watched him. Cold, arrogant, and full of himself… What baloney… And how had people got it so wrong in describing him? She had never even known a more sensitive and caring person in her entire life. Anthony, whom she had met at the School, was not the slightest bit different from this General sleeping next to her. Of course, he wasn't, because it was the same person, just under a different name.

She has to remember never to trust any stories about anyone anymore before meeting someone in person and knowing them better. Let people talk; she doesn't want to have any part in it anymore. Anniet was looking at his black hair spreading over his wide and muscular shoulders, his beautiful back moving slowly up and down with every inhale, and was fighting the urge to run her fingers down the curve of his spine.

She thought that seeing him sleeping like this was rare, as, to be honest, she had never seen him sleeping before. At some point, she even thought he didn't need sleep. So she decided to stay still and just keep enjoying this moment of peace. But what does she knows, as soon as her thoughts drifted elsewhere, her hand completely disobeyed her decision, and Anniet felt her fingers gently sliding from his shoulders to down his back. Well, she had done it…

He didn't flinch or move at all, and his breathing didn't change, but she knew he wasn't sleeping any longer. What a pity, she thought, at the same time letting her palm travel back up his back and gently caressing his hair. She felt his smile on her skin and naturally smiled back. Then she wiggled a bit lower in the bed to face him. Blake lifted his weight to allow her that movement and pressed back down when she stopped.

They looked at each other for a while, smiling like that for no apparent reason, before pressing their lips in a kiss again. The next morning, after breakfast, or rather a late lunch, Blake asked, "Would you like to go for a swim?" He was standing barefoot and shirtless by the sink, having just finished washing the dishes. Anniet had tried to help him but was carried back to the armchair, where she stayed obediently, dressed just in his light cotton shirt.

She thought now that putting on his shirt had been a tactical move. It was not just much looser and lighter than her clothes, but also left Blake no other choice but to remain bare-chested, and now she could enjoy looking at him. Blake smiled and shook his head as if in disbelief at these thoughts. She was used by now to the fact that she didn't have to talk for her thoughts to reach him, but it was even better as she didn't have to worry about what to say and what to keep to herself.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Swimming sounded pretty attractive, and she stood up, going to get her clothes, but Blake stopped her, saying, "No need. There is no one else here." That brought her back to the reality of where they were. Of course, how could she forget that they had literally flown up here like birds, or rather, he did the flying and she did the riding.

"Let's go then," she said, walking to the door, and Blake followed her. When they came out, the sun was still high, shining down on them, and it was pleasantly warm. She looked again at the cottage bewildered by how similar it was to the one she knew from School.

"Want to look around first?" Blake asked taking her by hand, and she agreed. He took her back the same way they had come the day before. The view was astonishing. The rock they were standing on was sticking out into the air from this steep, high cliff. Beneath them was nothing, and at the bottom of this "nothing" was a big lake surrounded by forests, but it was so far down that it was difficult to see any details.

Farther on, there were farmers' fields, and beyond them, a few roads leading to the city in the far distance.

"Is that Capital?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Can you see it?" Suddenly, she remembered that night when Blake had been flying away and Rainee enchanted her with some supreme sight. Anniet was wondering if Blake had the same vision.

"Yes, I can see it," answered Blake, hugging her from behind, and she could again experience the same magical vision — no matter how far things were, if they were not hidden behind objects, everything could be seen down to the smallest detail, as if it were very close. Truly magical… So he could watch the city even from here. She suddenly wondered if this was what the people of Capital meant when they said he watched over them.

"Don't pay any attention to them," Blake said, "neither to what they say nor to what they think. Let them be with their own devices. All they do is just invent stories and then believe them themselves — truly remarkable, but not in a good way.

"Let's go," he added, leading her back along that little path. This time, they didn't stop at the cottage but walked farther on. After a short while, a sound of running water could be heard. Soon, they reached a wide opening with a large pool in it. A stream of water ran from the mountain wall, making its way into the pool and filling it with crystal-clear water. When the pool overflowed, the excess water left through an opening at the side and continued down the cliff.

It was difficult to say if this pool was natural. If it was, then someone had definitely added to it.

"This is truly nice," Anniet said, quickly slipping out of the shirt and stepping into the pool. She expected the water to be cold and was pleasantly surprised that it actually was nice and warm, as warm as a bath at home.

"Wow, that's truly remarkable. How is it that mountain water is so warm?"

"Just a few experiments with natural resources a bit higher up," Blake replied, as he submerged himself in the water too. They swam to the farther side, where the water was flowing out of the pool. The view from there was also astonishing in a different way. This part was in a niche of the mountain, and all one could see was only stone walls and mountainsides covered with flowers and greenery. Water was running down the mountain in a few places, making a very soothing sound.

This place could not be seen from below, only if someone climbed above them or onto the other mountain on the other side of the rift. Anniet looked down where the water was falling, and it actually made a small waterfall before hitting the rocks several meters beneath.

"This place is really secluded," Anniet said.

"Built for relaxation," Blake answered, hugging her and playfully pulling her under the water. It was a very unusual feeling to be kissing like this underwater. Nice, but also a little bit scary to be held like this by Blake's strong arms. This fear started to grow, panic took over and brought with it thoughts of drowning. Instantly, Anniet was out of air. To her own surprise, at the very same moment, her face was out of the water, just in time to breathe freely.

Anniet laughed at herself for getting so scared and felt regret for having worried so much for no reason. If she hadn't, then she would have been able to stay underwater for much longer. It felt so good to be kissed like this while submerged under the surface. Like being in a completely different world, enclosed on all sides. Before she could even think, " never mind," she was pulled underwater again, this time much deeper. Instantly, fear returned, despite her trying to fight it back.

With fear, panic and the need for air came back too. And at the very moment when she wanted to breathe, she was back at the surface again. It happened over and over, countless times, until finally she got tired of being afraid, and all her attention slowly returned to Blake, whose lips never, even for a second, stopped wandering over her body. Feeling her attention returning to him brought a smile to Blake's face, and this smile brought happiness to Anniet's heart. And that was the end of her worries.

Underwater or above the water, she simply didn't think and didn't care. She was breathing whenever she needed a breath, and there wasn't a single time that Blake failed to bring her back to the surface in time. It even gave Anniet the impression that she could breathe underwater, or that water would move away, allowing her to breathe. It brought a lot of wonder to her scattered mind, but soon even that became completely irrelevant and unimportant, as it made no difference to the moment.

At some point, the tickling water from a waterfall running down from her neck along her back added to Blake's touching skin, enhancing this overwhelming feeling that was taking over her. All the voices telling her that this is not how the world works, not how love is supposed to be, were simply too quiet to break through these extraordinary sensations her body was experiencing right now, and soon even Blake himself became less central.

Right now, Anniet felt like life was revolving only around her, and everything that was happening in this life was for one singular purpose — to make her happy and bring as much joy and pleasure as she could possibly handle. When her body got exhausted and some sanity returned to her mind, at first she was terrified at such a way of feeling, but seeing Blake's shining eyes and happy face, she chose not to dwell on it any longer, and life suddenly became a beautiful place again.

One side of the pool was deliberately shaped into sloped sandy seats, and that's where they eventually settled down. Anniet still wasn't sure about the experience she had just been through, thinking that it might not be very good to feel that way. Well, there was nothing wrong with the word "good", as it did feel incredibly good, to the point that she was even afraid to dwell too much on it, so it wouldn't take over her again, as she wasn't sure that it was appropriate to feel so self-centred.

Wasn't it way too selfish?

"Thank you." Blake interrupted her thoughts, pressing her more tightly to his side and nuzzling into her hair.

"For what?"

"For letting me make you happy." Was it him who was supposed to say thanks…?

"Yes." Blake's indisputable voice cut through her thoughts, leaving no room for doubt.

"It makes me happy when you feel this way. The more, the better." And that was it. There was no room left for disagreement. It would be silly to fight it if it made them both happy and left no one unhappy.