Page 119 of Mama Si's Paradise

And as much as it excited me, it terrified me, too.

I was changing. I was becoming an Enchanted indeed, just like Mama Si promised.

“You’re getting stronger,” Valentine said, his voice echoing in the theatre on the fourteenth night.

“No, I’m not,” I said automatically because I was still living in denial, but I was already analyzing my hands, searching for a sign. They didn’t look any different than usual, though.

“Yes, you are. Your fingers are faster. It’s a tiny difference when you play this piece, but three nights ago it was a bit slower.” Before I knew it Valentine was climbing on stage, coming closer. “You’re also playing a lot better. You heart beats so beautifully with this melody.”

I sighed, closing the board and pressing my forehead to it. “Do you ever get tired of talking to me like that?” It wasn’t sooften anymore—he could tell it made me uncomfortable—but he still said random stuff like this, and it always made me blush.

“Never,” he said without missing a beat. “May I?”

I nodded, thinking he wanted to sit on the bench with me.

Instead, his hands closed on my shoulders and he began to massage me.

“What are you…”

Oh, fuck, that feels good.A moan—an actual moan escaped me as he continued to work the muscles on the sides of my neck.

“How’s that?” Valentine asked, and my response was to raise my head and lean back until I rested against his stomach. His rock hard stomach because he probably had abs.Of course, he has abs.

“You’re still afraid, Sunshine. I don’t know how to take that away from you,” he then whispered, and I opened my eyes just a slit to see his face upside down.

“I’m not afraid,” I said, and it was half the truth. I wasn’t just afraid—I was terrified.

Valentine smiled. “Won’t you let me carry it for you just for a couple days? Your shoulders are really tense.” And the way he was massaging them, digging his fingers into me, was a fucking sin.

“Sure,” I muttered. “Sure, have at it. Take all of it for as long as you like.”

He grinned. “There’s a good girl.”

“And you’re a very bad boy,” I said without really meaning anything by it. My eyes drifted shut and I surrendered to his masterful hands while Valentine chuckled.

“You haven’t seenbadyet,” he whispered, and when he did, I realized he was close to me.Veryclose to my face.

My eyes opened again to find he’d leaned down and our lips were barely an inch apart. My heart skipped a beat.Damn. Heat spilled all over me—it had been too long, and I really needed the release, but how could I touch myself in this place when I was surrounded by creatures who could hear through walls?

Maybe in the tub.

Maybe if I was really,reallyquiet…

Definitely not with Valentine there, though. As much as I liked spending time with him, and as perfect he was to look at, I couldn’t. I wasn’t attracted to him in that way, not at all anymore.

“Stop thinking, Sunshine,” Valentine said, and suddenly his tongue came out and ran over my bottom lip gently. My breath caught in my throat again, and I stopped myself before I pushed him off.

A kiss. It was just a kiss. A fucking connection that I craved so badly.

And Valentine was coming closer and closer…

Fuck it,I thought.Just a kiss. Something to feel. Something else to cling to, not just fear.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” I reminded him. It didn’t mean that I trusted him or that I wanted to be his bride.

Valentine stopped moving.

The asshole sighed, then kissed my nose and moved away.

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