31 CHAPTER 30

Raven turned around and looked at the girl panting at the corner. His jaws clenched then unclenched as he saw her shivering on the ground, leaning against the wall. He walked over to her and kneeled down before her, taking her hands in his. Examining her arms, he saw the red fingerprints on her wrists. His jaws clenched again as he caressed the skin.

What he felt at the moment was more than just anger or rage. He wanted to beat the living hell out of the man who dared to do this to her but he already passed out with his blows.

Anna on the other hand let him do whatever he was doing. At that moment, she could sit there forever only if she got the chance to see him this close, again. He hadn't changed a bit, of course it was just a few days. She ran her gaze through his face, cheeks, down his lips and God, did she miss seeing him.

Raven brushed away her hair off her shoulder observing her neck and saw the skin turned slightly red, because of the man's dry lips that had dragged along her skin. Anna saw him grit his teeth and lower his brows. His nostrils flared a little as he brushed his fingers across the skin on her neck and Anna's eyes closed shut. She missed this touch, every nerve on her body missed it as she felt herself slowly melting at his fingers.

When the man touched her in places no one but Raven had touched her, she felt more disgusted than ever. Somewhere deep down in her heart, she did not want anyone else to touch her like Raven did.

She opened her eyes and a weak smile made it's way to her lips as he kept on checking for any marks or bruises on her skin, her arms and neck. When he looked at her face, she felt her heart skip a beat. His green mesmerising eyes stared at her. He looked hurt and angry, like a wounded tiger, steady but dangerous.

The more he stared at her, more tears rolled down her cheeks. She hated the fact that he had hurt her but she did not feel a bit of anger.

In an instant, even before she could realize, he held her arms and pulled her into his warm embrace. Anna gasped as she crashed into his chest. The memories of whatever happened a few minutes ago went flying out of her mind as her body instantly relaxed against him. He was holding her, he was there with her, what could she even care about other than that.

She could not hold back anymore, she had tried and all she felt was pain and emptiness. Breaking the promise she made to herself to forget about him, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him as close as she could, afraid of this still being a dream and if she wakes up he will be gone again.

She cried on his shoulders and his grip was unbelievably gentle but firm enough for her to know that he was there with her. There were no words exchanged, just the pain of being apart was poured into the moment as neither of them was ready to let go.

"You did not forget me. You didn't"

She whispered softly in between her sobs. It was not a question, she stated it as a fact. She knew it and she could feel it. The way he held held her in his arms like she was a fragile piece of glass and he would break her if he applied a little more force. She saw the pain in his eyes when she was hurt. She felt his anger when someone else touched her. Why would he do it if he did not know her?

"You did not forget me"

She repeated it more to herself and her hands tightened around him. His face was buried in her neck like he did everytime and his hands ran up and down her spine, caressing her back. He held her close to himself until she stopped crying and only little sniffles could be heard.

Raven pulled back gently and looked at her tear stained face. Running his fingers across her cheeks, he took in as much of her picture as he could. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to her forehead and her eyes fell shut almost immediately. He stayed like that for some seconds, lips lingering over her skin, but pulled away completely . He knew he should go, staying with her would only make him loose his control.

He moved away from her ready to stand up and get going but she held his hand, holding onto it like it was the last breath of her lungs.

"Don't leave me, please"

New tears brimmed her eyes as she looked at him. He saw her pleading eyes, begging him to stay. Hesitation was clearly written all over his face and she saw it.

She lost herself once when she was told he doesn't remember anything about her or whatever happened. But not again, she would not let go this time because she knew she was already falling more for this man.

He did not say anything. Just looked at her like memorising every inch of her face. Was he going to leave again? Will he forget her again? The thoughts terrified her as she let her senses go loose and held his face in her palms and pressed her lips to his.

He was taken aback as he closed his eyes and stayed still. Anna cried softly into the kiss, her tears running down her cheeks and Raven felt the wetness on his lips. He groaned softly and instantly pulled her close, giving in. His huge hand came up to the back of her neck and held her firmly in place, kissing her deeply.

For the first time in her life, Anna felt herself craving for someone, and it was him. She kissed him like he was the air she was breathing. She wanted to erase the traces of the man who touched her. The only man she would allow to do it was the man who was kissing her right now. Her fingers slipped into his hair, softly weaving them and felt a rumble leaving his chest. She didn't want this moment to end, she wanted it to go on.

But he pulled away from her, suddenly, depriving her of his air and his lips.

Anna stared at him, as Raven took off his black blazer of his suit and wrapped it around her shoulders, covering her shivering frame. He took a final look at her face before putting a hand around her back and the other under her thighs and lifted her up from the ground.

Anna just stared blankly at him. She did not know where he was taking her or why she was ready to go. But she did not ask or say anything as he carried her to the opposite direction to where all her friends were. Anna did not even remember about them. Ethan and Eva must be freaking out.

Raven walked through the hallway of the restaurant displayed VIP which looked almost empty other than some waiters cleaning the tables. They turned around and looked at them stunned. He carried her all the way out of the restaurant and towards the parking lot. And did not once look anywhere other than the path he was walking, not even down at her and soon they were standing in front of a black Mercedes.

A man who looked like the driver, opened the back seat for them and he carefully placed her in and slipped in beside her as the driver shut the door. The driver got in his seat and without a word drove away from the restaurant. She looked down at her hand in her lap which was intertwined with his large hands. Then it travelled up at him and saw him intently staring out of the window.

The dim street light from outside shone over his face and she could swear she had never seen anything more beautiful. He looked like an angel gleaming in the moonlight but his expressions were neutral. His hand was still holding hers but his face showed no emotions as they drove through the highway in silence

A tear slipped out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, onto their intertwined hand in her lap. Why was he quiet? Why wasn't he saying anything? Questions flooded her mind as another tear escaped her eyes and followed by many others. Raven felt the wetness on the back of his hand as he turned his gaze on the girl beside him.

His eyes softened when he saw her, sitting with her head hanging low, sniffling quietly behind the curtain of her hair covering her face. He knew he was doing something which could give her hopes. Hopes about something which he could never give her.

Raven raised his other hand and pushed the hair back from her face and frowned when he saw the endless stream of tears flowing from her eyes. He would never accept it but it broke his heart. Bringing his hand to her face, he brushed away the tears as she slowly raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

He could see the hurt, the pain in her eyes and he knew somehow he was responsible for it.

"Why?"

Her voice was hardly audible but he understood looking at her lips, her knotted brows and teary eyes exactly what she was asking. She wanted to know why he acted like he did not remember anything related to her or the moments they shared together. Why was he so desperate to get away that he did not even show up once? But how could he explain something he wasn't himself sure about?

"Why did you..." Her voice broke as she licked her dry lips and looked up at him again. She was not sure what she was going to say nor was she sure if she should even ask him anything.

His eyes were still locked on her confused face as she fumbled over her words and something snapped inside him. Hold both of her hands, he tugged her onto his lap, straddling him, the unexpected action sending shudders around her skin. His blazer slid off her shoulders and fell to his feet as both of his hands held her hips. He would never accept it, but he did miss her. Her eyes, her voice and her fragrance.

He leaned forward, pulling her close and buried his face in her neck, inhaling her in. Anna shivered, and her hands came up to his biceps, feeling his nose brushing against her skin. His grip was tight on her, fingers almost digging into her hips.

Then his tongue tipped out, brushing under her ears and she softly moaned.

"Raven," her voice was barely over a whisper.

He did not stop, neither did he snap out of the trance he had fallen into. A sudden surge of jealousy made him dizzy. No one else could touch her like that, only him. The thought pushed him further and he sucked on her skin.

Anna gasped, fingers slipping into his hair as she tugged at them. No other explanation was necessary now. She knew he remembered everything, she could feel it im his actions. The angry marks he was leaving om her skin and all she did was sigh.

The car slowed down and then came to a halt. Anna glanced out of the window and they were in front of her house.

Anna looked at him, waiting for him to say something, anything. She was dying to hear his voice but he seemed to keep his lips sealed and eyes glued to hers. He was the first to break the eye contact, and carefully slipped her off his lap and onto the seat.

Raven got out of the car as the driver opened the door for him.

Reaching for her hand ,he slowly helped her out of the car and led her to the front porch of her house.

Standing in front of the main door she looked up at him and saw him already staring down at her. She could see the sparkle in his eyes that reminded her of the time when he would get excited to eat ice cream or noodles. She felt her eyes sting and gulped down the lump which formed in her throat.

They were still holding hands, as he reached forward brushing a stray hair out of her face and planted a kiss against lips. A soft kiss full of love and agony and hopeful promise of meeting again.

Without saying a word he took a step back, eyes still locked on her. Their fingers uncurled, letting each other go. He turned around and paused for a moment before he walked down the steps. Anna saw him walk away from her, again. She felt her heart sink when he did not even turn around one last time and just like that he was gone.

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A/N:- This is my first ever story and I love these two characters so much. How wonderful it is that we can create some fictional beings on paper and still love them like they're a real person.

Who do you love more? Raven or Anna? I am team Ranna(Raven+Anna)