Page 94 of Falling Princess

I loaded the dishwasher while he washed the pans, knives, and cutting boards. It was warm in the kitchen with the oven going. I stripped off the frilly apron.

A timer dinged. “Where does Cata keep the potholders?” Lorcan asked, opening a drawer, closing it, then checking another. “I found these out on the counter, but I could use more.”

“Hm. Good question.” I pondered the layout. “Maybe in here?” The narrow butler’s pantry is where Cata stores her extra supplies. It’s little more than an alcove connecting the dining room and the kitchen.

Lorcan was right behind me as I opened and closed cabinets, looking for anything that might be a potholder. Nothing. Nothing. I bent to check the lower shelves. Still nothing. When I got up and turned quickly, his presence immediately behind me startled us both. Blue eyes widened fractionally. Granted, there isn’t much space in the little hallway but even so, he’s close. If I could breathe properly, my chest might brush his.

I want him.

I can only hope he doesn’t read it in my eyes. I almost hope he does.

But there’s Raina and her unrequited crush and my father, and I can’t—

I’m so tired ofcan’t.The list of things I am not allowed to do is very, very long, but this feels like the most important thing on it. I have to keep myself in check, for his sake.

Lorcan lifted one hand and for a heart-stopping moment I thought he might touch me. Instead, he opened the cabinet next to my head. There’s an emotion in his eyes that I can’t read. I can never read him as well as I might wish to. It makes me afraid I might be projecting my feelings onto him the way Raina does, or did.

“Did you look here?” His gaze flicked briefly to the contents of the cabinet, then back to me. Steady. Searing. He closed it again. We stood toe-to-toe, staring at one another as though daring the other to move first.

I lost the battle.

I leaned in to press a kiss against his mouth. It’s light, downright shy. Nothing like the one I got at the party. He froze.

Shit. I miscalculated.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, stricken. “I shouldn’t have done that. I have no right.”

Fuck. Now I’ve made everything awkward.I swear I could feel my heart pounding in my throat.

He huffed, and it could have been either surprise or confusion. Both, probably. My dismay intensified.Gods in garters, I am such a terrible judge; I overstepped; I wish I’d had a few practice attempts so I didn’t screw this up so completely—

“I told you, you get as many first kiss do-overs as you want. I wondered if you’d ever take me up on it.”

I gaped at him. “I...you...is that what you meant?”

He tilted his head. “What did you think I was saying?”

“I didn’t think you were offering yourself as an option!” How did I not see it? “You really need to work on direct communication, Lorcan.”

He chuckled softly, closed the scant space between us, brushed a strand of hair away from my cheek, and angled his lips over mine. His kiss was not shy. It’s gentle and exploratory, but confident. As different from my last one as night from day. I exhaled and slid my palms up the muscular planes of his pectorals. His arm locked behind my waist, tugging me to him, and then it’son.

My fingers spiked in his hair, lips parting in an invitation which he eagerly accepted. Tongues and teeth and breath, with my tight, aching breasts pressed flat against his chest. His free hand was high on my back, tangled in the base of my unraveling braid, the way he held me that night in my room and promised he would always return to me.

I’ll hold you to that promise forever.

He made a small growl low in his throat that resonated through my entire body. If not for his arm at my waist and the counter digging into my rear, I’d collapse. Take him down with me. Take him right here on the floor of Cata’s pantry. The hard ridge of his erection pressed into my stomach. Not indifferent. A liquid pulse between my legs. If I were wearing a skirt, I’d—

A noise from out in the hallway. He paused, tilting his head to listen. When nothing further happened, his gaze dropped to my lips for a moment, before meeting my eyes. I tugged on his belt, finding the bulk of a thin knife sheathed at the small of his back, and rocked my hips forward a little. This boy and sharp objects… He kissed me again, chastely, and ran a thumb over my lower lip.

“The feeling is mutual, Princess. But we can’t be together like this. Not yet. You know we can’t. You know why we can’t.”

He said this as though he’s trying to convince himself as much as he is me. What does he mean bynot yet? As though there will ever be a time when a future queen could be romantically linked with her own knight, and not cause a raging scandal.

“I know,” I whispered against his mouth. “Soon?”

Lorcan made a low moan and crushed me to him. I worked my arms free and wound them around his narrow waist, exploring his back. He angled my face to deepen our kiss. I liked the way he handled me, confident but gentle.

He tastes so good, like warmth and masculinity and that indefinable note I associate solely with him. I can’t get enough. My braid gave up the ghost and untwined. He smoothed his hands downward, combing his fingers through the long strands at my temples, down my back, and made a throaty sound that shredded me from within.

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