Page 77 of Ties of Shadow

“It’s not very easy to sneak away when you light up the night like a beacon,” he murmured, his breath hot against my face.

“Stop making me blissfully happy.”

He tilted his head back, his hands filtering through the light that beamed from my shoulders—cast out each side like wings, thoughintangible. Yet somehow, I could feel him—his touch, his shadows—like his whispers across my skin. Delicious goosebumps prickled down my arms and back.

“You are mine.” The world around us blackened to nothing as he encased us in a dome of shadow.

I grinned. “And you are mine, but I’m not sure a ball of blackness in the corner of a garden is more subtle. It’s sunset, not midnight.” The laugh escaped me, free and wild.

His fingertips caught my chin and tilted me toward him. “I’m going to kiss you now.” His green eyes sparked with desire.

“Not if I kiss you first.”

Our lips met. The light burst out between the arms of the shadows. Newly sprouted seedlings turned and rose, growing toward the light, while the garden below exploded with plump buds. I was fully and finally alive. I had looked Death in the face and…

I kissed him.

The End.

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