Page 39 of Lost Starlight
She melted into me, her cheeks darkening. Gwen was not kissing me back, however. She was my proper lady, and I knew that just kissing was pushing her limits, but she was safe with me.
“You can kiss me back, Gwen,” I said, pulling away for a moment, moving some of her golden hair from her face, then caressing her flushed cheeks. I leaned down and kissed her there, where they were blooming pink. “You kissed me before.”
“That–was–”
“The most wonderful thing to happen in all the kingdoms?” I asked, kissing her cheek softly near her mouth.
“It seems, Peter, that I–I am afraid,” she said, pulling away and ducking her head.
“Do not be afraid, darling.” I took her hands in mine and pulled her back to me. “I shall teach you not to think so much and just do–as you did before.” I pressed my lips to hers again and coaxed her to move her lips with mine.
“I barely kissed you at all, really, Peter. I do not know what to do.”
“It is like a dance. You know how to dance?” I asked slowly against her mouth.
“Dancing?”
“Yes, I know your mother has taught you all the steps, right?”
“Yes, I know them,” she whispered sweetly.
“So, there are steps here also, when kissing.” I pressed and moved my lips against hers, asking her to join in the dance. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her up.
“I am nervous, Peter, you are the prince, and I am a lady–and what is happening—?”
“Think of it as the next adventure that we are experiencing together.”
“But there is no book to reference.”
I stepped back and took her hand in mine. Perhaps, it was too much all at once. I did not want to pressure her if she was not ready. We were safe. I kissed her palm, and she shivered. Tingles raced through me as well, and I smiled.
“We are writing our own story, and what will Gwendolyn Darling do when the Prince of Walden, who is a fool for not acting sooner, begs to kiss you?”
“I’ll say ‘yes.’” She bit her lip, her cheeks still blooming for me.
“And when I ask you to kiss me back?”
“I’ll say, ‘I am timid, but I shalltry.’”
I grinned and stood with my arms outstretched. “I am yours, Gwen. Come get me,” I smirked, and she giggled and stepped closer to me; then she placed her hands on my chest, trailing heat in their wake as she moved them upward and around my neck, pulling me down to her. Our eyes met, and I saw the light in her, which I loved.
“Peter,” she whispered against my mouth, and I was certain, at that moment, that there had never been a sound so splendid in all the kingdoms as her lips speakingmyname. I held back, waiting for her to do as she wished. She smiled and pressed her lips against mine, and her lips moved, and I felt her let go, unraveling all the lessons she’d been taught about propriety from her mother–all the rules she had always followed. All the ways she had held herself back–she let them all go–for me.
There was nothing more precious to me, and I would spend my entire life working to remain worthy of her trust.
“That, Gwendolyn Darling, was the happiest moment of my life,” I said as we pulled away from each other.
“Not when you rescued me?”
“Well, yes, that was important because you were then safe, and our first kiss was also something I will never forget, so I guess, this is one of the three happiest moments–tied for first. Thank you for such a gift,” I said, touching her cheek. “What a privilege it is to kiss you, to love you, and to have your affection in return.”
“Youloveme?” she asked with a gasp.
“I love you, and I believe I have loved you since you first knocked so timidly on my door.”
“I love you, Peter, with all that I am,” she said back.
Present Day
