Page 28 of Dark Sun (Wicked Lovely 6)

He wasn’t sure how long they’d stayed that way, but her hands were in his hair and her shirt has worked up enough that his lips brushed bare flesh. Aside from that flicker of a kiss, they were fully dressed. No proper kisses. No naked writhing. If this was how he felt before he touched her properly, he wasn’t sure they’d survive being naked and entangled.

“Urian?” she said finally. “This isn’t normal, right?”

And for the first time in almost a century, Urian didn’t want to think about anything but this moment, this woman, this feeling of wholeness. She made him feel a kind of completion he’d only felt within Faerie.

“You need to let go of me.” She let out a sighing breath. “We need to—”

“Find somewhere more private. Of course . . . ” He loosened his grip, expecting her to stay close at least, thinking she must feel as lost as he did.

But Katherine was still pulling away from his embrace, and he was left staring up at her.

“No. Not that.” She let out another tremulous breath. “That’s just desire, not what weneed. We should step back.”

Urian came to his feet with significantly less conviction than what Katherine seemed to have. Parts of him were absolutely certain that this was, in fact,need, and it made movement a bit painful.

Her gaze dropped when she saw the reason he was moving slower, and he felt thoroughly guilty when he realized she was embarrassed.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-four.”

Urian felt like a monster, a twenty-four-year-old faery was little more than a child. “I’m sorry. I thought you were an adult—"

“I am! I’mnota child, Urian.” She winced. “Not wholly fey, remember? I’m mortal enough to age like a mortal so far. . . Halfling, remember? Inmortalyears, I’m more than old enough for the thoughts you’re trying not to have right now.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he muttered, but he would allow that in terms of relative age, he suspected they were closer than it might seem. The fey matured differently. And halflings were unpredictable in their aging.

Twenty-four.

In truth, she was probably slightly older than him comparatively.He’d aged entirely like the fey, but they were both adults. In that regard, they weren’t far off, as despite almost a century of roaming, Urian was barely an adult in mortal maturity levels. He was, functionally, her age--but in terms of life experience, in terms of sexual explorations, he suspected they were not as close.

At all.

Carefully, he asked, “How much of a princess locked away in the tower are you, Katherine?”

She gave him a wry grin. “Enough to have fantasies that would make you stop thinking I’m too young, but no practical experience.”

“None? Atall?” Urian’s mouth went dry at the thought of fantasies that agancanaghin captivity would have.

Then he felt actual guilt. She deserved better than crass lust, better than him. He remembered romance. Admittedly, the first few romantic encounters he’d had were orchestrated by a well-meaning auntie who sent him to deliver this or that to half-mortals, half-fey living in Faerie.

Still, a person needed a touch of romance after a life in seclusion. He could give her that. It would be his privilege, in fact, and he would be sure to treat her as carefully as she deserved, as anyone deserved. The gift of sharing one’s intimacies was unparalleled to agancanagh, and the thought of sharing it with another of his kind was dizzying.

“May I kiss you, Katherine?” Urian didn’t want there to be any confusion, any doubt.

Consent mattered.

They might both be the sort of faery driven by longing for touch, but that didn’t mean he would fail to ask. If anything, it meant he was more concerned with being forthright.

She stared at him as if he’d spoken nonsense words, but then she licked her lips. “Why?”

“Just one kiss, Katherine. Let us begin with nothing more than that,” he offered, ignoring everything. “You can’t kiss mortals. Not being what we are. Haven’t you ever wanted--”

“Yes, please.” She stepped closer. “A kiss would be--”

And Urian had no idea what words would have followed that, because he’d pulled her into his arms and brought his lips to hers.

ChapterThirteen

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