Agape (book 2)

Chapter 26

   "But then you have to pay them." 

   "Actually the landlord pays for them." 

   "Where did you go on your walk last night?" I blink in confusion at Yuri's sudden shift in the conversation. He turns his head slightly and looks up at me with expectant eyes. 

   "I told you, I went on a walk." 

   "Ok, but where did you go on your walk?" 

   "I was just wandering around the streets Yuri." I reply carefully. "I made it halfway to the beach and then I started to head back due to the fact that it started to snow." Yuri says nothing as he continues to stare at me. There is a wariness in his eyes that unsettles me. He is looking at me like he would a newly domesticated falcon that he fears will fly off one day and never return. "Why so many questions?" Again, he says nothing. I pull back slightly and look at him intently, his eyes refusing to meet mine. 

   "I just wanted to know." 

   "Why?" I press. "Planning on going somewhere?"

   "No." He answers sharply, his eyes meeting mine. 

   "Oh..." My words begin to slow. "You think that I am going somewhere." 

   "I didn't say that." Yuri grumbles. 

   "But you were thinking it."

   "Is it wrong of me to ask you where you were going last night?" he counters. "You told me not long after I moved in with you to be careful walking around the streets at night, that certain areas can be especially dangerous." I watch his face closely and see that familiar glow of sincerity that seems to practically radiate from every single one of his pores. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't going near anything dangerous." 

   "I'm right here, Yuri." I grip onto his arms securely. "If I had gone near anything dangerous do you think that I would be here with you, right now?" 

   "That doesn't change the fact that I still worry about you and your safety." 

   "You have such a good heart." I murmur before turning his head and capturing his lips with mine. A gentle squeak of surprise escapes him as I slip my tongue past his sweet, lush lips and press against his tongue. He groans into the kiss as he grabs at my neck, his fingers tugging lightly at the short strands of hair that litter the back of my neck.  

   He kisses me deeply. Every movement of his lips, ever gentle sweep of his tongue, portrays a deep wanting and loneliness that I was unaware had been forming all this time. I slide my hand slowly down his back, resting my hand firmly on the small of his back, my fingers brushing against the hem of his boxers. Yuri clings onto me tightly, his tongue battling with mine as a thin stream of drool begins to slip past our lips and drip down our chins. His breath is hot and desperate on my skin as I pull back slightly, his hungry mouth chasing after mine and rejoining our lips. 

   My eyes slide shut as his fingers grip into my hair tightly, nails scratching against the fragile skin as he pulls me closer. His teeth nip and pull at my bottom lip as I laugh lightly into the kiss. I always forget just how mind-blowing Yuri's kiss truly is. Out of all of the kisses that I have ever experienced Yuri's is the only one that makes me completely surrender to my emotions and my instincts. 

   I grip onto Yuri's hips, pulling him flush against me. He groans at the sudden contact of our two bodies, electricity crackling in our veins like a live wire. Yuri pulls back from the kiss and nips at my chin lightly. I sigh at the wonderful feeling of his lips and teeth on my skin as he descends from my chin to my neck. 

   "I love you." He whispers in between gentle bites. "I love you so much." 

   "Yuri." 

   "You are mine." He murmurs before sucking at my neck lustfully. I groan at the feeling of his tongue lapping over the skin that he is sucking at mercilessly. There is a loud pop as he pulls away from my neck and recaptures my lips. My neck throbs slightly as blood rushes to return to that one area. "Victor." He whispers my name before rolling me over and straddling my hips with his body. 

   "Yuri." I run my hands up and down his sides as I look over him appreciatively. He really does have a great body and an even better personality. His skin is warm underneath my palms and my body heats up in response to his body on mine. I lean up to kiss him but Yuri places firm hands on my shoulders and pushes me back down onto the bed. I smile up at him playfully, enjoying the slight role reversal as he pins me down. My smile fades slightly as his nails begin to dig into my shoulders. "Yuri?" 

   "I love you." He whispers, his eyes dark as he stares past me, unseeing. "I want you to know that." 

   "Yuri, I love you too." 

   "I don't want you to ever question that I love you." His eyes suddenly focus and meet mine. "Or ever think that I could ever love anyone or look at anyone the way that I love or look at you." My chest tightens slightly at his words. A slight dawning of fear begins to swallow me. All of these lovely words that he is saying so easily don't really sound like a promise. They sound more like a farewell. 

   "Why are you saying these things Yuri?" 

   "I just want you to know." He whispers. "Just as I am sure that you would want me to know." 

   "I'm sorry, but I don't understand." I grip onto his hands, shadowing them with my own. "Why do I get the feeling that you are going somewhere?" 

   "What?" Yuri blinks in confusion. "Going somewhere?" 

   "You keep talking about wanting me to know, as if you won't be around to tell me anymore." Traitorous tears beginning to prick in my eyes as I look at him. I want nothing more than to stop the flow of these tears but I can't. They just continue to bubble up and flow as this deep sense of fear begins to consume me. "Are you leaving me Yuri?" 

   "Victor, no!" He grabs onto my face gently, brushing my cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm not leaving you. Please don't think that." 

   "Then why are you talking like this?" My voice wavers as I struggle to hold back my tears. All of these tears are beginning to form an intense pressure against the barrier that I had constructed to protect my emotions. I can feel the barrier begin to crack and falter as the pressure continues to build and push against my feeble defenses. "Why?" 

   "I was just trying to remind you that I love you, even if I am not around to tell you." 

   "So you are going." My voice cracks and more tears begins to spill. Yuri presses his forehead against mine and holds my face in place. "Did I do something wrong? I am really trying to make up for everyt-" 

   "Victor, I am not leaving because of you." he interjects. "If I could have my way I would take you with me, but we both have careers that we need to pursue. That is the only reason that I am leaving, because we both have to skate in two different places in the world. I was only talking about this because I remember how badly our separation had affected you the last time. I was trying to make it a bit easier on you this time around. This was supposed to prevent you from crying in the future, but it seems that all I did was make you cry now." He smiles at me comfortingly as he kisses just beneath my eyes, a silent apology. "Please don't cry." 

   Barcelona. I had completely forgotten that he has to go to Barcelona in less than two weeks. I am crying like an absolute child because I completely forgot about his upcoming event in his career. What a horrible fiancé and coach I am. Yuri kisses me sweetly, comfortingly. A few sobs still escape me as we kiss but the tenderness of the kiss soon sweeps me away, pulling me under the current of warmth that always flows through me when my lips collide with Yuri's.

   "No more tears." He whispers. 

   "I love you." I murmur through the tearful kiss. "So much."

   "I love you more." He kisses me sweetly. "And I always will."