Page 103 of Kiss of a Hellish Prince

“The bombing you think my father planned?” oh fuck, no wonder he didn’t want to hold my hand.

“Yes.”

“Where does that leave us?” The lump in my throat was growing bigger, my eyes filling with tears. I grabbed another drink of my limeade to try and hide my emotions.

“Where do you want it to leave us?” Rune leaned forward, placing his hand next to mine on the bed, brushing his fingertips against mine.

Careful of the IV, I laced our fingers together, running my thumb over his knuckles. “I hope this leave us with plenty of time to get to know each other without the drama of kidnapping and near-death experiences.”

When Rune didn’t respond, I pulled my hand away.

“But I understand if you don’t,” I said.

“No!” He stood and grabbed my hand back, relacing our fingers with our palms pressed together. “I would like that. Let’s get to know each other without the drama and death.” He smiled before placing a kiss on the back of my hand.

I laughed, letting out a breath. A single tear trailed down my cheek.

Rune brushed it away with his fingers.

“Why don’t you let me plan the next date?” I asked.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I have a few ideas.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” He leaned down and pressed a sweet, chaste kiss to my lips.

I pull him in tighter, needing the contact. I hadn’t realized how scared I was that he wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore. Not that it would have made me regret it…but still.

His fingers laced through the hair at the back of my neck, pulling my head back so he could take control of the kiss. I opened my lips to him, tasting the sweetness of a cherry coke and the warmth that was him. We broke apart when the beat of my heart monitor started blaring.

Rune laughed. “At least I know you are as affected by our kiss as I am.”

I pouted. “Shut up.”

He leaned over and placed a kiss on my nose, grinning when my heart monitor skipped a beat.

“Okay, no.” I started taking the nodes off my chest. “That is cheating. Not happening.”

“It’s not cheating. It’s proof.” His grin grew bigger.

“Proof of what?”

He smirked. “That you really are totally hot for me.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t suppress my smile.

“Did any of this change that job offer?” I asked, thinking back to my mom’s ultimatum again.

“No.” Rune sat back down, not letting go of my hand. “The demons here really need that support line, and I think you could help. Why?”

“Good.” I nodded. “I want the job, but if I take it, I want it understood that it is temporary. I will help establish the line, I’ll organize events, and I’ll even train people to help me run it.” I took a deep breath, not sure how he was going to react to this next part.

“But…” he prodded.

“But I want to train to be in the field.”

Rune’s jaw tightened.

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