Page 114 of Twist of Fate
“Is this a bad time to tell you about the couple at the bottom of the stairs?”
My eyes snap open. “What?”
He chuckles. “Kidding. I’m kidding.” He stops, and I realize we’re about halfway. “Close your eyes again.”
“Jerk,” I mutter, which only makes him laugh harder. I close my eyes and ask, “How am I not crushing your feet?”
“Because my feet are…what’s that word you say, darlin’? Oh, right—massive. My feet are massive.”
I have a feeling, as I’m being pressed against him, that his feet are not the onlymassivepart of him. “You’re ridiculous.”
“One more st—” His words are abruptly cut off as we tumble. My eyes fly open as his other arm snakes around me in a death grip, and suddenly, I’m against a stone wall.
“Sorry,” he breathes out. “Missed that last one.”
I start to open my mouth to say something witty in response but stop short when I realize how close we are. His body is practically plastered against mine, every decadent inch of it.
He seems to arrive at the same conclusion just as our eyes meet. My breath hitches. The arms around my waist loosen, and just when I think he’s going to let me go and step back, I feel his hand shift and slowly begin to trace the bare skin on my back.
His gaze drops to my mouth. My tongue darts out, and I drag it across my bottom lip. His eyes darken.
“Ash?”
“Yeah?” God, my voice is embarrassingly breathy right now—definitely not the sultry kind that makes men weak in the knees. No, I sound more like I’m about to pass out.
“Can I kiss you?”
Definitely gonna pass out. “Yes.”
One hand lifts to cup my cheek, and he tilts my head upward. He leans in, and I smell the clean, woodsy scent of his shampoo. His eyes are the palest green. They remind me of sea glass. He studies me like he’s memorizing everything about this moment.
Maybe I am, too, because the moment his lips touch mine, I know nothing will ever be the same.
This is the kind of kiss that alters you.
It starts off slow, as if we have all the time in the world. He brushes his lips against mine, and I feel it all the way down to my toes. His hand glides into my hair while he kisses a trail along my neck.
When he works his way up, he says, “I wish we didn’t have the farewell dinner tonight.” I can feel his heart racing in his chest—almost as fast as mine.
“Me either.”
A heavy silence hangs between us, and then I remember, “I don’t leave until Tuesday,” I tell him.
His head jerks up. “What?”
“My mom booked an extra day,” I say, suddenly feeling nervous. “We don’t leave until Tuesday morning. So, um…I mean, if you want—or if you don’t have any plans?”Oh my god. You were just kissing the guy. Spit it out, Ash.
“Are you asking me out, darlin’?” He smirks.
I shrug, trying to gain back an ounce of cool. “I mean, if you want?—”
His mouth closes over mine, and I let out something between a gasp and a whimper before it magically morphs into a groan because, holy hell, this man can kiss. He fists my hair, and suddenly, we are making out at the bottom of the Witch’s Steps like two horny teenagers. His hand slides to cup my ass, and then just when I’m starting to contemplate whether the act of public sex is something I’d go for, I feel a vibration.
“What the?—
“Shit, my watch,” he mumbles, reluctantly taking his hand off my butt to stop the ringing alarm. He sighs and gives me one last kiss. “We’ve got to go.” He glances back up the stairs. “If I give you a piggyback ride with your eyes closed, do you think your wish might come true?”
I give him a shy smile. “Oh, it definitely already did.”
