Page 100 of Deck of Scarlets

“Yes,” he whispered in triumph. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a switchblade, cutting a perfectly neat square and revealing a small brass handle. Josh pulled with just enough force to unstick the door, where an even smaller room with a dirty window sat untouched.

“We’ll hide until the coast is clear,” he said, rushing inside.

I hesitated for just a second when another bang shook the walls. Not wanting to see what was coming, I dashed inside; Josh shut the door quietly and propped an old wooden chair against the doorknob.

“What kind of room is this?” I asked in a hushed voice.

“Monks would have secret rooms to pray in if they lived away from the church. Although, this room seems pretty empty and unusual,” he explained.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because no one is allowed in but them, not even family.”

“But the rest of the house…?”

“Yeah, I can’t make sense of it either.”

The space was a lot smaller than I’d anticipated. Josh and I were almost chest to chest, with just enough room to move to the window and just enough late afternoon light to illuminate the space, and that didn’t include the tiny desk pushed up against the wall by the window.

“The window is sealed shut,” he whispered. His minty breath fanned my face.

“Great,” I replied a little too loud. Josh covered my mouth again, smiling.

I stifled a laugh under his palm, my body shaking from my muffled giggles. He rolled his eyes at my attempt to stay quiet, removed his hand, and hissed.

“Shit.” A deep gash oozed on his left arm, and some of the fabric of his shirt was missing.

Not thinking twice about it, knowing my cape was already damaged, I tore a piece off with my teeth, wrapping the wound. “Better?”

He smiled, dust on his cheeks. “Much.” Then he took a piece of debris from my hair. “I’m so proud of you.”

Hearing him say those words, out in the open, not in my head, made my heart swell. “For not getting us killed?” I joked.

Josh tapped the tip of my nose. “No, silly. I’m proud of you because you’re becoming someone I knew you would be.”

“And that is?”

He tucked my hair back behind an ear. “Someone of strength and courage. All those doubts and fears of the unknown that plagued your mind, I barely hear them anymore.”

“Might be because I’m good at shutting you out now. I almost shit myself when the Drarkoth screamed.”

Josh chuckled, leaning his forehead against mine. “So brave, so fierce.”

His words caressed my heart, filling it with pride, matching the tempo of our rhythmical breaths. Suddenly, my focus wasn’t on the dangers outside the room. Instead, it was on his eyes. Blue as the ocean, swirls of darker hues burned into me like a white-hot branding iron. Josh’s hands slowly descended from my shoulders down my arms, giving me a sensation like no other. All this time, training, studying, and our time together seemed so insignificant, yet at that moment, for the first time, he was all I wanted. At that moment, I felt something much more powerful than the Lord himself.

Because even at the height of danger, I wanted only him to protect me.

“Fuck this,” he breathed.

His distraction from my lips disrupted my attention, and as if the stars finally aligned, his mouth crashed on mine. His hands left my arms to grip my waist, pulling me closer to him as if the small space between us tortured the need for one another. Reaching for his face, our lips matched, perfectly in sync, and the explosion of my emotions overwhelmed me in the best way. Breathy moans filled the air, and the heat of our bodies plastered together. Josh held me tight against him; not getting enough of my touch seemed to intensify our kissing. Pulling my hood back, he intertwined his hands through my hair, fully controlling my mouth. I found myself gripping his shirt, and if that chair wasn’t propped against the doorknob, we would already have been on it. Every ounce of me knew how wrong it was, but my heart screamed something else.

Josh’s calloused hands made their way down my waist, where he took it upon himself to hoist me up on the small desk. Our kisses became frantic, and his tongue invaded my mouth, the sensation curling my toes and engulfing my already heated core.

“Josh,” I moaned, only for him to snuff it out with more kissing.

He devoured me until my head spun. “I can’t stop, Remi.” His words were breathless as if strained from holding back.

I needed him like the goddamn desert needed the rain.

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