Page 92 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“No buts. You like me or not?”

“Yes,” he finally answered, making me let out a breath and smile up at him.

“Then kiss me,” I ordered.

“I-I shouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“I—” he stopped, looking away for a moment.

“I like you, too. Is there a valid reason why you won’t kiss me if we like each other?”

“I shouldn’t take advantage of you.”

“I’m asking you to kiss me. How’s that taking advantage of me?”

“I... don’t know,” he finally answered. “It feels wrong. I’m only a warrior. You’re—”

“My brother Lucien is mated to Cecilia, an omega. My other brother is mated to Evie, a normal pack member.”

“I—”

I pulled up a little so we were face to face, not letting him leave. A small part of me felt like I was cornering him into doing something, but right now, in the dark and knowing how good it felt to sleep next to him, I was feeling bold. If he liked me, and I liked him, I was willing to be the brave one for us both to see where this could go.

“You either have a good reason for not kissing me, you don’t like me, or you’ll kiss me right now, Chris. Which is it?”

“What if it triggers you?”

“Then, we do what we’ve done with everything else. We work on it, and we practice.” I grinned. “I’m willing to practice it a lot.”

“You’re making a joke?” His look of disbelief made me giggle a little, and his mouth twitched upward for a moment before he sighed. “You’ll tell me if something makes you uncomfortable?”

“Haven’t I always?” I asked.

His hand came up to my face, where he tucked a few strands of hair from my face behind my ear. He approached slowly, as if expecting me to freak out. I kept my eye contact with him, letting him know I wanted this, despite feeling my heart beating so fast in my chest. This was as much a push of boundaries for him as it was for me. He needed to get past his own self-doubt. I needed to see if an intimate moment like this would trigger me.

I closed my eyes when Chris’ lips finally touched mine. It was tentative and soft, and it felt good. I thought of nothing except for the man in front of me. Too soon, though, he pulled back and I opened my eyes.

“Still okay?” he asked.

“No,” I answered, making him frown. “You stopped. Why did you stop?”

“I—”

“Chris,” I stopped him, placing my hand on his cheek, and he closed his eyes at the contact. “I will tell you if I feel uncomfortable. Please, kiss me.”

He leaned forward again and kissed me. His arms circled me, one under my waist to pull me closer, the other up to my neck to support it. When his lips began to move, I was lost. His kiss was still tender, loving, his lips just as soft, but there was no more hesitation. I placed a hand on his chest, where I could feel his heart beating as fast as mine. His tongue pushed past my lips, and a small moan left my throat.

Chris pulled back. His eyes were dilated, and he was breathing as hard as I was.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Why?” he asked.

“For listening.”

“You’re still okay?” he asked.

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