His hands lift to cup my cheeks. “I would kill every male in the world if it meant keeping you safe.”

I gaze into his eyes, noticing how intense they are. How many emotions are in there. He killed five soldiers. That is sure not to end well. But he did it for me. He would destroy the world for me.

Grabbing him by his face, I press my lips to his, mentally telling myself to stay in character. Scarlett is kissing William, the guy who just saved her life. The guy who killed for her. The guy she loves. It’s not me kissing Declan. It’s…

Oh my gosh. This kiss…this kiss…

It’s the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.

I wrap my arms around him and pull him closer to my body, my surprised lips moving over his fervently and passionately. Declan’s lips move over mine desperately and passionately, too, and I tell myself it’s his character kissing mine. But I know that’s not true.

“Great!” Miss Lane calls. “Amazing kiss, Declan and Mia. I felt all the feels.”

I push Declan to the floor of the stage and continue kissing him, my hands moving down his chest, marveling at what I feel. His hands slowly move down my back, his touch as light as a feather. Still, every part of me that he touches burns, igniting a fire in me I didn’t know I had.

“Mia? Declan?” Miss Lane says. “You can stop now.”

How could I have thought the kiss would be terrible? It’s anything but terrible. Holy heck, I never thought kissing could feel like this. It’s better than I ever imagined.

How is this possible? Our kiss sucked in The Beat of My Heart. Now, all of a sudden, it’s epic?

“Declan, Mia, end scene?”

Declan wraps me in his arms and heaves me closer to his body. My hands tangle in his hair and he gently tugs on mine. Our lips continue roving over each other’s, as though there is still so much to explore.

“Mia, Declan.” Miss Lane’s voice sounds right next to us. And then I feel her put her hands on me and peel me away from Declan. “The scene is over.”

Our lips break apart and our arms fall away from each other. The haze and spell I was under shatters, bringing me back to reality.

Miss Lane is crouched on her knees next to Declan and me, eyebrows pinched in confusion. When I glance at the audience, I notice they’re all staring at us, too. Then it hits me—really hits me. I just made out with Declan. I didn’t just kiss him the way I was supposed to. I made out with him. And for some reason, we couldn’t take our lips off each other.

With my face burning, I scramble off the floor the same time Declan does, and my head bangs into his jaw. We both cry out and stagger away, me losing my balance and crashing down. But arms wrap around me and catch me before my head hits the hard stage floor.

I stare into Declan’s gorgeous green eyes. Then my eyes fall to his lips. The ones that were pressed to mine only seconds ago.

I tear myself out of his arms and move away, far far away from him. Every part of me is wound up, my heart racing like a train, and I’m unable to breathe right.

Miss Lane chuckles softly. “Well, that was…it was…” She laughs awkwardly. “That was intense.”

My face is not only on fire. It’s melting away from my skeletal system. Soon the only things left will be muscle and bone. I need to leave. Need to bolt. Run away and never look back. But that would be so unprofessional of me. I force my feet to remain planted on the stage.

I don’t dare look in his direction. It seems like he doesn’t want to look at me, either.

“I think we should call it a day.” Miss Lane gives Declan and me a smile before walking off the stage.

Before my brain can even think, my legs rush down the stairs and to my backpack. With the speed of light, I sweep it off the chair and bound out of the auditorium, not looking back once.

Chapter Thirty

Mia

There’s a knock on my bedroom door, and then Rylee’s voice says, “Mia? We’re here for the emergency meeting. What’s going on?”

My face is smashed in my pillow. It’s basically been like this since I came home two hours ago. I didn’t do my homework, didn’t eat, didn’t drink, didn’t do anything. Zoey realized something was up when she texted me earlier, which is why she called this emergency meeting.

“My life is over,” my muffled voice says.

I hear them walk into my room and then feel my bed sink as they lower themselves on it. Zoey rubs my shoulder as Rylee asks, “What happened?”