He might not have his magic, but his touch seems to ease the panic centring at my chest.
“I wanted this to be special. I wanted to show you something good.” His smile is soft and tentative as his hands find their way from my shoulders, up my neck to cup my jaw. As his fingers grip me, running over my skin, there’s no pain, and he banishes that lingering darkness. Goosebumps follow his fingers, and not from the chill. He rests his forehead against mine. “Hmmm, I’ve wanted to do this from the first time I saw you in the hall, storming towards me with fury in your eyes, but I don’t?—”
I cut him off and rise on my tiptoes, sliding my hand behind his head so he has no choice but to meet my lips as I slam mine into his.
Finally.
His lips are soft and full, and he relaxes after a beat to kiss me back. Just as hard, just as urgently. His mouth opens, and I meet the tip of his tongue, licking against it as his hands move from my face down the column of my neck and around my waist, pulling me against him.
He tastes of salt and citrus, and the smell of trees and cold swirls around us, locking us into our own world.
His moan against my lips is like fire, lighting me up and emboldening me further, scorching my senses and sharpening my desire. My hands thread through his hair and run down his neck and over his shoulders, and I can finally feel the definition of his muscles and imagine what his skin might feel like as my fingers trace over him.
We kiss with everything. Hands, mouth, tongues, and I melt.
“Ten,” I whisper between breaths. “Are you okay?” I have to ask, not quite believing that we can do this with no consequences.
“Goddess, I don’t know how to answer that.”
“You’re not hurting.”
He chuffs. “Not in the way you’re checking for, Little Siren.” His lips rain kisses over my cheeks, up to my eyes, and finally my forehead. And I can feel the smile in every one.
I pull back, but his arms still cradle me, stopping me from moving out of his reach.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to not kiss you tomorrow. How are we meant to only do this for one day every month?” I ask as a new fear wells up inside of me.
“I think we’ll have some time to work that out. Especially after last night.” The smirk on his lips speaks of mischief that I absolutely want to be involved in.
“You decided to do this in a really inconvenient place.” I look out towards The Court, the view is obstructed from where we stand, but the sky has awoken with stars, reminding me of the night we went out and watched them after dinner in The Tower.
“Oh?” he asks.
“Yes. And don’t pretend. I saw your thoughts last night. I know what’s in that mind of yours.”
He leans against my forehead again, and I close my eyes. “We could have stayed in your room or mine and done everything we wanted to after last night. But, call me mad, I didn’t want this to be just about sex. It’s more than that for me. And well, there’s no way I was just going to fuck you knowing that I’ll be your first.”
I stare up at him, a little confused, and disappointment sours my mood.
“What if that’s what I want?” My confession is timid in contrast to how he makes me feel.
He closes his eyes and takes a long breath through his nose.
“Then I will ensure that we don’t leave the bedroom on the next new moon. And I’ll enjoy planning all the ways I’ll make you scream my name in your mind over the coming month.”
“You have a dirty mouth, Aten Ciro.”
“Only for you, Ever Hart.”
“Well, I would love to believe that.” I pull away but keep hold of his fingers, gripping them with the tips, as if I can’t quite let him go.
“It’s the truth. I wouldn’t lie.”
“You promise?” Suddenly, I need to know that this, right here, right now, is something only between us. The first for us.
“I do. But there is something I need to tell you first.” He pulls me over towards a grassy area off to the side, the waterfalls providing the soundtrack to my stammering heart. Nerves now beating in time with the rhythm of my heart, picking up on the tone in Ten’s voice.
He sits down and pulls me down with him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me back against him.
