Page 61 of With This Kiss
I didn’t say anything as I let his words register. “Sunrise? Why?”
“It’s tradition,” he said.
Before I could stop him, he was pulling me off the bed. I stood in the middle of the room, working hard not to fall asleep like that as he bundled me up in warm clothes. Then we set off, the same blanket we used yesterday draped over his arm.
I let him hold my hand as he led me outside.
We went to the same bench, and just like yesterday, he sat down and pulled me onto his lap, obviously taking advantage of my sleepiness.
I made myself comfortable and leaned back against him as he draped the blanket over us, turning around so I could rest my head on his chest. I felt his hand move up to cup the back of my neck.
“What kind of tradition is this? And aren’t you sleepy?”
He probably had about the same amount of sleep as I did, if not less. Yet, he was able to not only get up but be annoyingly energetic this morning. I let out a small yawn.
“I don’t need a lot of sleep,” he said, as if to explain it away.
“Well, we mere mortals do.”
He chuckled. “Are you calling me a god?”
“No,” I said, moving in closer to his warmth when a cold breeze blew our way. “I’m saying you’re not normal.”
He didn’t say anything to that. When I opened my eyes and looked at him, he was grinning.
I rolled my eyes, and his smile widened, showing his teeth. And like every time he did it, I couldn’t help but focus on his canines. “We’ll go back to sleep after this.”
“You want to go back to sleep?” I asked.
“I want to be where you are,” he said lightly. There was nothing unusual about his words or his tone; still, I felt my heart stop for a long second before picking up speed. I took a deep breath, not liking my own reaction to him.
I looked away and out to the horizon. “Is this where the sun will rise?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he answered, tightening his arms around me. I didn’t push away. I should though. He was getting too far under my skin—affecting me too much—and sometimes when I was with him, I forgot the true reason I had approached him in the first place.
And sometimes, I couldn’t find a good enough excuse to keep up the façade anymore.
What did I really want out of this?
To get back at Kingston by hurting Reign. Or to use Reign to get close enough to Kingston so I could…
There was no way I would be able to hurt Kingston Mahankov, no matter what.
Not physically, and based on Reign’s reaction whenever he talked about his brother, not emotionally.
I should let him go and let this go.
I should…
Etta’s smiling face came to my mind.
God, but what do I do?
Reign frowned at me. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “Yeah. Just sleepy, that’s all.”
He didn’t look like he believed me. I didn’t blame him.
