Page 36 of Mud

“You were watching me?” And why didn’t that sound as creepy as it should have?

“As much as I could,” he said with a nod. “Come on, let’s look at those colors first before we sit.” And he offered me his hand again.

I took it—there was no other option. I took his hand and let him walk me to the edge of the deck to look at the setting sun in the distance, and I was trying to make sure that all my instincts were intact, too—because he had just admitted to my face that he’dwatchedme, and I was intrigued. Not terrified, no—intrigued.

“This is my favorite time of day—thought you might like it,” he said, pointing at the sky, which had exploded into a million colors that merged together so beautifully.

“I do. It’s…wow.” Now that I was looking at it with all of my focus, it could be the best sunset I’d ever seen in my life.

“It’s that time of day when the sun finally sets the world on fire—see that? See how he does it?” He pointed his finger at the mountains in the distance and how they were outlined with a fiery orange that indeed looked like flames. “Like he’s been waiting all day to do it, to burn everything down.Traveled across the entire sky to ignite those flames over those mountains.”

I turned to look at him, at the shape of his profile, that smile, the fire the sun burned in his eyes as well.

It must have been a dream.

“And then the dark comes…” Slowly, he turned to face me, too. “And the dark hides away most of what we feel in the day, doesn’t it?”

The sunlight, as if it heard his words, died and died, and the sky became black with night within the minute.

“It does?” I said breathlessly.

He stepped closer, his face transformed, so mischievous now with a different fire in his eyes. Ablackfire.

“Mhmm. Like when we met and I wanted to kiss you more than I wanted to breathe, but I was nervous and kind of shy and a little bit hesitant, but now the night’s here and all those silly things hide in it.”

His hand was on my face.

Move, damn it, move!my mind called.

I didn’t.

“See? They’re all gone now. It’s just you and me and everything we want.”

Iris, the night was so incredibly hot, like the sun was still over us, but it just wasn’t making any light.

“Taland,” I whispered, to sayI don’t know you,orit’s too soon,orlet’s eat first.Anything other than just stand there and hope and pray that he came closer and closer as he did.

“Yes, sweetness?”

I liked that. I liked that name a lot. I wasn’t Rosabel at all—not La Rouge, not Miller. Justsweetness.

“Are you…are you going to kiss me?” was all I managed to say.

Goddess, that sounded so lame, but I couldn’t keep thewords inside when the intensity of his stare burned me like that. When it put so much pressure on me that he was close enough to touch my nose with his.

Taland smiled like he’d just had all his dreams come true. “Yes, I will. I’ll kiss every inch of your face by the night’s end, sweetness.” Closing his eyes, he touched his fingers to the bottom of my chin and slowly raised my head.

I was holding onto the jacket in my hands with all my strength, praying I didn’t fuck this up, becauseyes, do it, right now, kiss me until I can’t breathe!

“But first, we eat.”

Taland moved away. My knees shook but didn’t let go.

“Oh,”I breathed, relieved and disappointed and a little bit floating about, not really touching the ground just now. He wasn’t going to kiss me right away.

So, I started to turn to the table, to sit down, and…

Suddenly he was in front of me again, grinning widely.

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