Page 59 of Promise of Darkness
“You do realize, you were the one who offered a kiss. I never intended to push my advances if they were unwelcome. You would have been safe without your oath.”
My chin jerks up in surprise.
For the first time since I’ve met him, his smile is suddenly radiant, lighting his entire face. And then he throws his head back and laughs, as if it’s the merriest jest.
The Prince of Evernight tricked me.
“Are you saying I bound myself to kiss you once a day for no reason?”
“You seemed so determined to get your hands on me. I could hardly demur.”
“You son of a bitch!” I punch him in pure indignation.
“Ouch.” He claps a hand to his shoulder as if the blow made an impact. But he doesn’t stop laughing.
And it’s ruining me.
His sinfully dark looks I can handle. The smoldering smiles and wicked glint in his eyes are deliciously tempting, but ultimately a hurdle I can resist.
But that hint of vulnerability, the small glimpses of a completely different man beneath the dangerous exterior are virtually irresistible.
His laughter slowly dies as he sees the look in my eyes. “My wife would never have wanted me to be alone forever. She would not deny me a kiss, a moment of happiness.”
I think about that.
There’s no jealousy in this kind of love. I can’t help thinking that if I had ever found it—and if I were lost to my lover—then I would never want to see them spend an eternity in loneliness.
No, there’s no jealousy in his wife’s terms, and yet I feel the smolder of it deep in my own chest.
Because I’ve never felt that kind of love and I yearn for it.
Thiago captures my chin with one hand, holding me there just long enough for there to be no mistake about his intentions. “And speaking of kisses, you owe me. Two, if I’m counting correctly.”
The thought is gone, my moment of jealousy shattered. “It’s not my fault you were unconscious. And how do you know I didn’t claim a kiss while you were?”
“I’d know.” His voice roughens as he leans closer, the heat of his breath stirring over my lips. “I’dknow, Princess.”
A mere second exists in which I could turn my face away, deny him the taste of my lips. Until now, he’s been content to let me set the pace. I owe him a kiss, but I know what he intends is no mere brush of the lips. He has that look in his eyes—a conquering warlord, set upon claiming as much as he can take.
And yet…
I don’t turn away.
Maybe it’s that earlier thought still lingering like a ghost. I can’t have what he speaks of, and yet I can taste this mockery of it. Just for a few seconds I can pretend.
A dangerous smile softens his mouth, and then he swoops down and captures a soft gasp on my lips. Steel fingers brand my chin, locking me in place, and his other hand slides through my hair, cupping the base of my skull in a proprietary claim. But it’s the hot lash of his tongue that melts me inside.
Dangerous.
This is far too dangerous.
And yet, I could no more resist him, than I could pluck the moon from the sky with my fingers.
This time there’s no denying there’s more to this moment than an oath I made. I want him to kiss me, purely for myself and no other reason.
And as my fingers curl through his hair, I stop resisting. There is no Asturian princess in this moment. There is no Prince of Evernight. We’re just two desperate bodies, yearning for each other.
I break away with gasp, my heart hammering in my chest. “That was worth at least two kisses.”
