Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 160: It Means I Love You, You Fool

Chapter 160: It Means I Love You, You Fool

Thorin placed his hands on Riona’s neck, leaning in with all the confidence of a man who definitely hadn’t misread every signal up to this point.

Just as he was about to go deeper, she pulled away, gently but unmistakably. His brows furrowed in confusion, and just the tiniest hint of hurt crept in.

Did she not want this? Of course not, he thought bitterly. The kiss had been his decision, an impulsive act driven by his desire. He was lucky she hadn’t slapped him.

Still, Thorin didn’t move his hands. Nope, they stayed right there, gripping her neck like a hopeful idiot. He just stared at her lips—those plump, red lips that were mocking him now.

Surely, any second she’d come around, right? Right?

Meanwhile, Riona was trying to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, mentally sorting through the chaos in her brain.

And chaos it was—Riona wasn’t exactly known for overthinking. She was more of a do-first, apologize-later kind of person.

But this kiss? This earth-shattering, why-do-I-even-have-feelings kiss? That was forcing her to face some very inconvenient truths.

She looked up at Thorin, tracing his lips with her fingers as if mapping out their shape to memory. She wetted her lips nervously before resting her forehead against his.

For a long moment, they stayed like that, breathing in unison, neither saying a word.

She took a few breaths. Long ones. She wasn’t hesitating because she was unsure. No, she had to match his honesty, his vulnerability.

Thorin had been the first to take that step, laying his feelings bare, and now it was her turn.

Her fingers drifted to his cheeks, tenderly caressing the lines of his face. She leaned in, so close their lips almost brushed again, but stopped just shy of the kiss.

No, she couldn’t kiss him again. Not yet. Not before she said the thing that had been bothering her. It was only right.

Her jaw tightened as she wrestled with the pride that had always been her shield. "If everything you said is true," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion, "then shouldn’t you already be the ultimate Alpha or something?"

Her words hung in the air, like a really awkward balloon. She’d braced herself—forced the words out like they were some kind of personal dare.

In her mind, she’d framed it as no big deal—just repeating Thorin’s own words back to him, a sneaky way to dodge the pride grenade. But nope, the words got stuck in her throat.

And there was Thorin. Jaw on the floor. Eyes wide like a confused puppy. Riona was pretty sure he understood exactly what she meant, but for some reason, he decided to slap on that stupid look.

Why? Was this his way of processing emotions? Did his brain just need extra loading time?

Still, he looked maddeningly handsome with that ridiculous expression. Of course, he’d have to look good even when being a complete idiot.

Growing impatient, Riona grabbed his face with both hands and gave him a quick, frustrated peck on the lips.

"It means I love you, you fool."

And then, before he could say anything equally as dumb, she went in for the real deal. This time, it was a full, deep kiss that left no room for misunderstanding.

Thorin didn’t hold back either. Despite the kiss being somewhat interrupted by the constant grin he couldn’t wipe off his face, he refused to let her go.

His large hands slid to her back, pulling her tightly against his chest. He kissed her with the enthusiasm of someone who’d never been kissed before but studied it in textbooks.

The Alpha was conducting a very thorough examination—part anatomy lesson, part make-out session. All fueled by equal parts love and an undeniable lust that made it all the more intoxicating.

It felt like time had stopped. And, of course, Thorin wanted it to stay that way—because why wouldn’t he want to freeze-frame this perfect moment?

Forever sounded nice, but then again, who actually makes out for eternity? Even Thorin knew that was impractical. Lips would get chapped, jaws would cramp.

There are limits, even to bliss.

When they finally pulled apart, Thorin was panting like he’d just climbed a mountain, not kissed a girl.

He glanced up at the sky, half-expecting to see some cosmic sign confirming this was real life and not some bizarre daydream.

Then he laughed, unable to help himself, and leaned in to give Riona a softer, gentler kiss—because, well, why not?

He pulled back and laughed again, this time a little more hysterically, like someone who couldn’t quite believe their luck.

It’s real. This is real, his brain was shouting, jumping up and down, waving flags, while the rest of him tried to act like he wasn’t two seconds from a total mental breakdown.

Riona was blushing, and Thorin was holding himself back like a dog staring at a steak—barely in control. He had to take it slow. Slow and steady, right? Or at least steady.

"So, uh... what now? Are we supposed to, like, hold hands or something?" she asked, like it was a business transaction she hadn’t fully prepared for.

Thorin blinked, completely thrown off. He’d been the one to spill his guts and dive headfirst into this mess, and now she was casually defining the relationship? He had no idea what the protocol was from here.

"I don’t know," he finally admitted with a shrug, trying to play it cool while completely failing. "I mean... I’d like to, if you’re cool with it."

Riona just stared at him for a second, clearly weighing the pros and cons of something as intense as hand-holding. After an awkward pause, she sighed.

"Well, we kind of just did way more than that, so holding hands should be... easy, right?"

Wrong. So wrong. Like, epic levels of wrong.

Her body, which had been perfectly fine moments ago, suddenly decided now was the time to turn into a sweaty mess.

And because the universe loves a good joke, Thorin started shaking like he was either freezing or had just discovered caffeine for the first time.

Perfect. Just two awkward, sweaty idiots in love, trying to navigate the wild terrain of hand-holding.