Page 11 of The Prince from a Cruel Summer
Finally, she squeezes her eyes shut and stands on her tip-toes, crushing her mouth to mine.
I hum at the sweetness of victory.
It’s not my first kiss by any means, but it sure feels like it. It’s all new again, her wintry skin balancing out my fire, and I run my tongue across her bottom lip, begging for entry.
Eyes wide, she pulls away and covers her mouth with her hand. “Now, you have to make good on your promise.”
I squeeze the side of her face softly and lean in for a better taste. “I wouldn’t dream of disappointing you.”
She presses her index finger to my mouth, gentle and yet firm. “You said one kiss would do it.”
My forehead creases in confusion. I’ve never felt such an atmosphere, the plants almost stretching from their stems to sneak glances at us. Shemustfeel it too.
“I’m a greedy devil,” I rasp, desperate for her to give in. “Let me be greedy with you, Songbird.”
She gives a small incline of the head. I would have missed it if I wasn’t so consumed by her every move, and smile from ear to ear as I bend down to kiss her again.
Ecstasy runs thick in my blood when she opens her mouth, her tongue searching for mine, their meeting sweeter for the wait. She links both arms around my neck and sinks her nails into my hairline.Fuck yes!
We kiss like we’ve forgotten how to breathe.
Hard and fast and slow and steady.
A kiss of passion. A kiss of fate.
Our magics greet each other. She’s the ice to my fire. I’m an unruly flame to the calm, smooth expanse of frost inside her veins. Her taste is fresh and sweet, but also piney, salty, and aromatic. It reminds me of abyssal violas, a rare delicacy harvested from northern skerries that the palace cooks use to decorate wedding cakes.
Both of her palms end up flat to my chest as I grip her waist, and she curses under her breath. Is she pushing me away or feeling me up—I can’t tell.
I look down to check.
Our breaths are ragged, our mouths hanging open as she tentatively traces the ridges of my stomach. I nudge her nose with mine, a very real, very enticing scenario taking a life of its own.
Half of my heated brain calculates how much time we have left before the closing horn, while the other half evaluates all the surfaces available to us, the pressure in my groin almost unbearable.
Before I can find a romantic way to verbalize the extent of my greediness, Beth pulls away again, and a burst of ice hovers in my chest at the loss.
“Tick tock, Wonder Boy. You have a promise to keep.”
Her lips are bruised by the intensity of our kiss. The obvious sorrow twisting her features cramps my stomach, more sobering than a kick between the legs, and the urge to spread her down on the grass slips away like sand through an hourglass.
I link our fingers and pull her along. “Come on. Follow me.”
Half-running to give her a chance to keep up, I guide her through the will-o'-the-wisps. The pitfalls of the marshes have swallowed most of the other applicants whole, but I know every inch by heart. Beth holds on for dear life, and I instantly become addicted to the confident and yet timid way she holds my hand.
The wooden pier separating us from the last corner before the finish line scrapes the soles of my feet as I come to an abrupt stop, my arms instinctively wrapping around her shoulder. “I can’t go any further,” I say.
Out of breath, she grazes my mask with trembling fingers. “Are you real?”
The way her voice cracks at the end breaks my heart… Like she’s saying goodbye.
I twist her hand and press my lips to the sweet underside of her wrist. “Of course, I’m real. I’ll see you soon, Songbird.”
She stands on her tip-toes and pulls me down for a final kiss, and we devour each other until the pier itself quakes beneath my feet in warning. Time’s almost up.
I begrudgingly push her off me with both hands. “You have to go. Now!”
She dashes toward the exit and glances over her shoulder before rounding the corner, the loose strands of her dark braid knotted together. She disappears from view to cross the finish line, and my chest swells with untamed joy, my heart too wide for my ribcage.
