Bedmates Soulmates
CHAPTER 193

Butterscotch Or Mint

Kira thought of what she'd seen on TV.

She stuck out a finger and held it under his nose, trying to see if he was still breathing.

But as soon as she stretched out her arm, a strong hand grabbed it.

The young beggar opened his eyes, shooting a fierce look at the girl.

His face was smudged with dirt, but it didn't hide his handsome features.

Kira dropped her ice cream cone, startled.

The beggar just held onto her forearm.

He took in the surroundings.

After the initial shock wore off, Kira noticed the confused look in his eyes.

Gideon was two years older than her.

At that time, his voice was changing, having hit puberty.

It sounded hoarse and a little harsh when he spoke.

His gaze landed on the puddle of ice cream by her feet.

'Do you have anything to eat?"

Kira had a piece of toast left over from breakfast.

She took out her lunchbox from her school bag and offered it to the boy.

Upon closer look, she no longer thought he was a beggar.

They were about the same age, and his clothes, though dirty, appeared expensive.

She pegged Gideon as a rebellious teenage runaway.

Maybe he'd had a fight with his parents.

Gideon wolfed down the toast.

It wasn't enough to fill his belly, which had been empty for days.

After he finished eating, he stood up, swaying a little on his feet, and followed Kira home without a word.

Kira asked him for his parents' contact number, but he clamped his mouth shut and said nothing.

Kira asked if there was anyone else he could call; he said nothing

Kira asked if he'd like to go to the police station; he said nothing.

Kira, running out of ideas, called her father, ran it by him and, after a short discussion, brought Gideon back to her house.

Both father and daughter thought the teenage runaway just needed a couple of days to cool down.

He would go home after he came to his senses.

A couple of days later, he was still there.

Gideon stayed with them for four years.

He was a stranger at first, a charity case.

Then he became a friend, then a brother to Kira, an adoptive son to Leland, and a third member of the Hewitt family..

Then he became Kira's boyfriend.

Leland had gotten him into Kira's class, though he was two years older than her.

Kira was challenged by Gideon's superior intellect, which only spurred her on to study harder.

She was thrilled to have a competitor who doubled as a close friend and a brother, but she didn't notice that the way Gideon looked at her had changed.

It was no longer the way a brother looked at a sister.

That day, after Kira came home, Gideon barged into her room without knocking, his face like thunder.

He pinned her to the bed and kissed her.

'You can't talk to the boys in class,' he said, panting. 'Don't smile at them like that."

'Why?' Kira was disorientated.

'I won't allow it.'

Gideon declared himself Kira's boyfriend that day.

very day in

in the

He took part-time jobs after school and used the money to buy her butterscotch ice cream cone every summer, except during her period.

It was the flavour of the ice cream Kita had dropped on the day they met.

Kira thought she could smell something sweet.

Not butterscotch, though.

Something minty.

She licked her lips.

'Gideon..." She reached out both hands and grabbed onto the warm object.

'Gideon... Brother..."

She called the name over and over again.

Her voice was low, indistinct.

And affectionate...

Gideon was an enigma.

He came out of nowhere, pushed his way into her life and her heart, then left just as abruptly.

He abandoned her when she needed him the most, and delivered a parting gift that pierced her heart.

Kira couldn't understand why he deserted her or where he went.

He just dropped off the face of the earth and was never heard from again.

'Gideon...'

Kira whimpered.

The dream had started pleasantly, but was morphing into a nightmare.

Kira felt a sharp pinch on her chin.

She opened her eyes, grimacing in pain.

She hadn't dreamed the pain.

Austyn's eyes bore into hers.

It was his fingers on her chin.

He stared at her silently.

His brows were furrowed.

She couldn't understand the look in his eyes.

a

Not a look of anger, but not of joy, either.

Kira blinked herself awake.

The soft feel underneath her wasn't that of the sofa.

She was in the bedroom.

Did Austyn carry her up here?

She breathed in and inhaled a minty scent.

It was the same scent in her dream.

She'd thought it was Gideon.

Did she talk in her sleep?

She vaguely recalled calling out Gideon's name, wanting an answer from him.

Kira swallowed.

Did Austyn hear anything?

"When, ah, when did you come back?"

Austyn released his grip on her chin.

'You said something in your sleep."

Uh-oh.

Kira blinked rapidly. 'Did I? I, uh, I must have mumbled some nonsense.

'Do you want to know what you said?'

Kira shook her head adamantly.

Their faces were inches apart.

She could feel his breath on her face.

Uncomfortable, she wriggled out from under him and rolled to the other side of the bed.

Austyn scowled. 'Come here.'

Kira stayed put.

She just remembered that they were in a fight.

"Why is he acting as if nothing happened?' she thought, miffed.

Austyn straightened up.

The first thing she did when she woke up was to put as much distance between them as possible.

But just now, in her sleep, she was holding on to his waist and calling another man's name in a soft, gentle voice.

She did it repeatedly, sweetly, longingly.