Page 27 of Cursed

“The labyrinth isn’t finished yet,” Vince murmured, and he pulled her around to face him. Slowly, with exquisite care, he dropped her hands and lifted his palms up, his hands framing her face as his fingertips grazed softly along her cheeks. “Just one more thing.”

He lowered his mouth to hers.

They’d already kissed once, even twice before, but it was as if he was touching Edeena’s lips for the first time. Excitement bolted through him, thick and surprising in its intensity even though he’d been expecting at least some reaction. Part of it had something to do with how jacked up his body had been since the night at the Cypress Resort . . . and part of it had a lot to do with Edeena’s reaction right here, right now.

Her lips parted willingly beneath his, and she swayed forward, as perfect and right as the wind rustling through the breeze, the bright sun in the sky. Her hair smelled like honeysuckle, and the light touch of her hands on his waist sent the entire lower half of his body into rock-hard readiness. He leaned in, deepening the kiss, and something more stirred deep within him, something as sure and true as he felt about his business, his family, everything that ever had been important to him or ever would be.

Edeena Saleri was his.

Maybe not forever, maybe not even for very long, but while he held her in his arms, she was his to protect, his to support, his to give all that he could. Her laughter, her smiles were everything to him, but it was her soft sighs now that were twisting into his heart, tying him to her as readily as if she’d thrown a rope around him and pulled him close. Her hands lifted, soft and firm as she slid up his shirt, and she stood up on her toes to bring them yet closer together.

Finally Vince pulled back, staring down as Edeena’s face broke into a wide, wondering smile.

“It worked,” she said, breathless. “I feel so much better now.”

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