Page 24 of The Royal Flame
“I know that,” he sputters. “I didn’t mean?—”
I place my fingers to his lips, shushing him. “I’m teasing you. Besides, I was planning on making out with you.” I lower my finger.
“Maddy,” he whispers, transfixed with my mouth. “We don’t have to do anything. I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I’m just rambling because I’m not used to this kind of stuff.”
“I know.” I loop my arms around the back of his neck. “I want to kiss you.”
He murmurs something under his breath before leaning in and sealing his lips to mine. Warmth spills through my body as he parts my mouth with his tongue. I play with the strands on the nape of his neck as I press against him, kissing him and loving the way the warmth of his body and the caress of his hands makes my stomach swoop. But the sensation is also terrifying, like riding a roller coaster.
We kiss for a while, eventually ending up on his bed in a tangled mess of legs and arms. I’m definitely nervous and am still uncertain if I’m ready to take things to the next level with River. So much is going on right now that I worry my mind isn’t completely capable of determining my wants.
Eventually, I break the kiss as my mind struggles to sort through my racing thoughts.
River leans back, his eyes searching mine. “Everything okay?”
I bob my head up and down, my breathing cringeworthy loud. “I just need a minute for my mind to slow down.”
A look of understanding crosses his face. “How about we lay down and talk?”
With my lips smashed together, I nod. “Thanks.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t do anything.” A smile touches his lips that are swollen from all the kissing, and his hair is sticking up all over the place.
He looks so sexy that I damn near kiss him again. But I stifle the urge and then we resituate ourselves so we’re laying side by side with our heads on pillows.
“We haven’t really had much time to talk about all the stuff that’s happened,” he says, resting his arm on my waist. “How are you doing?”
“I’m not sure… I’m still trying to process everything.” I angle my body toward him. “What about you? Are you worried about your mom? Or do you think after what Lily said, she might be okay?”
“I honestly don’t know,” he murmurs. “I want to believe my mom’s okay, but then Finn said all of that stuff about our father…” He heaves a sigh. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
I debate whether or not to bring up the thought I had when I was talking to Lily. “Don’t you find it a bit strange that both of our moms went missing about the same time? I mean, you don’t think there could be a connection there, do you?”
A divot forms between his brows. “You think the same people took them?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. And if I hadn’t just found out I have Royal blood in me, I wouldn’t have thought it. But there’s that fact, plus the fact that your mother warned you about our relationship being dangerous right before she went missing. So, she has knowledge of who I am.” I release an exhale. “Maybe I’m just overthinking things, though.”
His brows are knit as he considers what I said. “Maybe, but maybe not.” He sits up, scoots to the edge of the bed, and stands up.
I sit up as well. “What’re you doing?”
“Let’s go look around in my mother’s room. She has some of her stuff here since her and my father still share this place.”
We leave the room then and go into his mom’s room. It’s a huge space with lavender walls and dark purple trim. Floral accents are splashed everywhere, from the pillows to the curtains. The closet is as big as Lily’s and has an abundance ofclothes along with more shoes than it feels like anyone would need.
“Where do we start?” I ask as River flips a lamp on.
“The closet, probably,” he replies, crossing the room to the closet that’s in the far back corner. He flips on more lights and then begins sifting through boxes stacked on the shelves. I remain in the closet doorway, unsure if he wants me rummaging through his mother’s belongings.
Eventually, he pauses and glances up at me. “It’s okay if you look through stuff. It’ll make this go quicker.”
“I just wasn’t sure if you wanted me looking through your mother’s stuff.” I step past him, heading for a large trunk.
As I pass by him, he leans in and softly kisses me on the cheek.
I flit him a puzzled look. “What was that for?”
He shrugs. “I just wanted to kiss you.”
