Page 106 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
After that first dessert in the kitchens, Raina, Noble, and I had been scolded for improper behavior. Two nights later, Noble had shown up below my bedroom window with a mischievous grin and more peaches; we hadn’t told Raina, but Noble and I continued the tradition,rendezvousing on countless nights over the years to eat peaches on my balcony. I could almost hear our laughter now, the way the wisteria trellis under my window groaned as he climbed up to deliver our dessert.
Now that I knew how he felt about me, I saw the memory—and my nickname—from an entirely new angle: not the rule-breaking, lightheartedfunof youth, but an excuse for a young man to make a young lady smile. To spend time together.
Back then, those shared, stolen moments were all either of us had—but they were everything.
“I haven’t eaten these in years,” I said, already scooping out a second.
Noble tried his own, humming with satisfaction at the taste. A dribble of juice slid down his chin, and I twisted around, stretching up to lick it off.
He laughed, kissed me.
“You taste like peaches and sex,” I commented. “I think it’s my new favorite flavor.”
“You’re my favorite flavor.”
The image of his head between my legs sent a jolt of awareness through me.
“You’re blushing again…or maybestill.”
“Just thinking about all the ways we should make up for lost time.”
“I have a few ideas, myself.”
I ate another peach, my tastebuds flooded with sweetness. “Imustknow where you found these. I’m going to need a crate.”
His chuckle rocked us both. “The night we kissed, I wandered the streets a while afterward. I found them at a little shop just off the Walk, on Petunia Street. Couldn’t help myself. Since then, I think I’ve gone through eight jars.”
“Will you take me there?”
The question hung for a moment, then Noble answered softly. “Sure.”
We ate in silence for a while, our spoons clacking against the glass until the only remaining evidence of our treat were the pale orange streaks in the bottom of the jar. When we were done, Noble set the dishes aside and we resettled under the covers, him on his back, me draped halfway on top of him. I couldn’t get enough of all that smooth warm skin against mine, no barriers.
“We should come up with new rules,” Noble said after a while, “to keep your secret safe. Us, in public. It’s still too risky.”
He was stroking my hair, lulling me toward the edge of sleep. It was late. The sky outside his window was already purpling at the edges with the coming dawn.
“No rules right now,” I murmured against his chest, smoothing my hand across the firm plane of his oblique. “Let me bask.”
He brushed a curl from my forehead. “We should keep this a secret from the other researchers, too. I hate to sneak around, but—”
I lifted my head. “According to Oderin, sneaking around is exciting.”
“You talked to him about me?”
“Not with names,” I said. “He asked about my love life, and I told him in vague terms about wanting someone forbidden. He swooned over the notion.”
“Forbiddendoes sound rather…” Noble hummed low.
I stretched against him, sleepiness warring with my lust. Staring up at him with my chin resting on his chest, I tried to maintain the thread of conversation. “I think Oderin figured it out when you showed up to sparring practice.”
Noble seemed amused by that; he must not’ve been too concerned about Oderin making assumptions about us. I wondered how long Noble had been acquainted with the Farkept siblings. Knowing that Idris trusted them, too, was an added comfort.
“What else did he say?” Noble asked.
“He suggested I slip you a love potion. I told him that was unethical.”
A laugh. “Wouldn’t have worked, anyway.”
