Page 11 of A Reason to Try

Oh, shut up, I told my inner voice.

But I couldn’t help but fall into his arms as he kissed me deeper and more thoroughly than I’d ever been kissed before in my life.

Butterflies filled my stomach. But all too soon, those soft-winged flutters turned into pterodactyls beating their monster-sized wings, stirring up avalanches of emotion inside me.

This was too much too soon. But for the life of me, I could not push him away.

He felt big. And not in the sense that he was enormous, and I felt something equally large and hard pressing against my soft belly as he ravaged me with his lips.

Big as in important. Like destiny.

Fuck.

I should have pushed him away. Asked him what the hell was going on. But all I could do was lean into the kiss, surrendering to the heat that enveloped us.

Each heartbeat echoed in my ears, drowning out any logical thoughts.

It felt as if time stood still, the world outside our bubble falling away. I was lost in the intensity of his emerald eyes, now closed, as if he was savoring the moment just as much as I was.

I couldn’t help but wonder how we had arrived here, two people caught in a whirlwind of emotions, each kiss unraveling the barriers I thought I had built around myself.

When we finally pulled away, breathless and wide-eyed, the reality of the moment hit me like a freight train.

“What was that?” I stammered, searching his face for answers, my heart still pounding in my chest.

I expected him to smirk, but he didn’t offer a devil-may-care grin or snarky reply.

He looked every bit as bewildered as I felt.

“I don’t know. But I don’t want to stop.”

Chapter Five-Dane

What was happening to me?

I was not a man who believed in fairytales and love at first sight nonsense. I didn’t think I was particularly superstitious. But maybe that was just drummed into me by the media.

After all, my ancestors were spiritual people. We didn’t perform the haka before games for shits and giggles. There was power in that ceremonial dance.

I had a fair mix of Maori and European blood. Most of the guys from back home did.

It shaped my identity, my connection to both cultures. So yeah, when I really thought about it, I did believe in magic.

It was a matter of faith. Of trust. A common thread that wove through my life and experiences, binding it all together.

This woman was magic.

From the moment I first laid eyes on her, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years. She was unlike anyone I had ever met, with a presence that commanded attention and a spirit that radiated warmth.

It was as if the entire universe conspired to bring us together in that moment. I felt connected to her. Bonded in a way that transcended mere attraction.

Everything I felt ever since I first laid eyes on her was magic.

And kissing her?

Fuck me. Kissing her was like—if that wasn’t magic, then I didn’t know what was.

The feel of her soft skin pressed against me was a revelation. Desire flared to life in an instant, drowning out every other emotion. Like all the pent-up energy between us exploded into an inferno of lust and longing. It swirled around us like a living thing.

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