Page 6 of The Outcast
Her eyes were wide when she whispered. “That’s crazy.”
“I know. There are days when I go insane thinking about it, but mostly I try to use the loss of my friends as a reminder to appreciate life.”
“Please don’t die, Banni.”
I smiled and lifted my hand, trailing a finger down her jawline. “Everybody dies one day.”
She frowned. “No, I’m serious. Be careful, please.”
“I will.”
We were quiet for a long moment, just looking into each other’s eyes before I muttered, “I can’t believe that after today, I’ll never see you again.” The thought made me sad.
“Maybe if your country opens your borders.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I didn’t believe they ever would, and looked back to the sky.
“Banni.”
“Mm-hmm?”
She waited for me to look at her before she spoke. “That thing you said about missing out.”
My full attention was on Sparrow as my heart all of a sudden hammered in my chest from the nervous energy coming from her. Was she about to ask me to have sex with her? The idea was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. Satisfying Sparrow would be an honor, but if Indiana found out, he would no doubt beat me senseless.
“I’m curious.”
I wet my lips, my throat feeling dry.
“Would you…” She took a deep breath and had a hard time keeping eye contact. “Would you…”
“Sparrow, listen.” I took her hand. “I would be honored to sleep with you, but I promised Indiana that I wouldn’t touch…”
Cutting me off mid-sentence, she smiled. “I’m not talking about sex.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t tell if I was relieved or disappointed.
Batting her long eyelashes, Sparrow found the courage to finish her question. “Would you kiss me?”
“Kiss you?”
“Yes. I’m curious and since you’re so experienced, I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to you.”
“Of course, it’s a big deal to me. I like you.”
Sparrow’s lips were tilted upward. “That’s kind of you to say, but I meant that kissing you is like a freebie, you know.”
When I didn’t answer, she explained. “You won’t get emotionally attached and expect more from me. You’re used to having sex with a new woman every night. A kiss is nothing to you. I would never dare ask an Nman to satisfy my curiosity by kissing me. It would be unfair to let him get his hopes up.”
Still holding her hand, I intertwined our fingers. “You seem to have a misconception about me. I don’t sleep with a new woman every night. I’m picky about my sex partners.”
“Every other night then?”
I smiled but didn’t answer. Instead, I brushed some of her hair back and focused on her delicious full lips. “Are you ready?”
She made a sound but with her eyes on my lips and her not breathing I could tell she was preparing mentally for impact. Sparrow was twenty-five and chances were that she had fantasized about her first kiss for a decade. I suddenly felt immense pressure to deliver the best kiss of my life. For any of my previous sex partners, kissing me had been nothing special. I hadn’t been their first kiss and wouldn’t be their last. With Sparrow, this kiss was different.
Licking my lips, I moved closer and lingered nose to nose for a second before my lips touched hers. She closed her eyes and kissed me back. The craziest surge of energy rose from my toes up along my spine and all the way to my scalp. She had asked for a kiss, but I wasn’t ready to stop yet.
