*Ainslee*
The metallic taste I’ve been smelling for days hits my tastebuds as I press my lips against Prince Rafe’s. His mouth is warm and soft, even if I can taste a bit of what he had for dinner, which isn’t exactly appealing, but it doesn’t stop me from holding my mouth to his. He is stunned. I can feel it in the tension in his face. At first, he is unyielding, probably wanting to pull away from me. But I am persistent and continue to keep my mouth on his for so long, eventually, he gives in.
And then he is kissing me back. Tentatively at first, like he is also leery of tasting my meat mouth. When his hand slides up my cheek and around the back of my had to hold me in place, my heart surges in my chest, and an ache begins to form low in my belly. His lips release mine for a moment, but then we both go back in for a second kiss, one with a bit more fire in it, and then my mouth falls open, and his tongue slips between my lips.
We continue to kiss for several seconds before I have to pull away to suck in air. It’s then that I realize what we’ve done—what I’ve done. My cheeks flush as embarrassment courses through my veins. Did I really just force the prince to kiss me?
But he did kiss me. He kissed me back. He didn’t push me aside and shout at me, have me thrown in the dungeon, or anything like that. He actually kissed me back—deeply.
I stare at him, not sure what this means or what we should say to one another. He is polite to a fault, and it’s possible he only kissed me because he thought screaming in my face was too harsh.
“I… uh… don’t know why I did that,” I finally manager to stammer in a shy voice that I don’t recognize.
“You don’t?” His eyebrows raise over those icy eyes, and I know he isn’t happy with that statement. “Really?”
“Well, I mean, you are a very attractive man and all that. I just….” I can’t finish that sentence, so I just look away.
“I suppose I’m no Lenny Moss.”
Stunned I turn to look at him, trying to judge if he’s serious or not. Does he really think that Lenny is my boyfriend, or is he being sarcastic?
I burst into a fit of laughter, covering my face with both hands. Again, he’s looking at me in wonder, his eyebrows arched. My side begins to hurt as I attempt to recover. It’s the most absurd statement anyone has ever made. Lenny Moss is a man-child. He’s selfish and arrogant for no reason, and he’s not even that handsome. The idea that Prince Rafe, who must be the sexiest man in existence, would compare himself to Lenny has me nearly falling off the bed.
Instead of tumbling to the floor, I fall back, flopping onto the mattress and staring up at the ceiling as I slowly recover. Eventually, I manage to say, “No. No you are not.”
Rafe leans over me, holding himself up on one elbow as he gazes at my face. I feel his eyes wandering over every surface from my brow to my eyes, down my nose, to my lips and chin, and then returning to hold my gaze for a second. The small smile at the corner of his mouth makes me think he likes what he sees.
His hand is cool when it brushes a loose curl from my cheek, but I don’t jerk away from him. I have no fucking idea what’s going on. I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. It seems like a lot of powerful people want me—dead or alive. And yet, all I can think about right now is how badly I want this man’s hands on my body.
This man. This vampire. The same man who started all this drama a few weeks ago when he ran into me in the streets.
Or did I run into him? The question has never even entered my mind until now.
Never in my life have I been so infuriated at someone. Time and time again, he leaves me flabbergasted, wanting to wipe the earth of his presence. And also, when I fall asleep at night, it’s his face I see in my dreams.
“I should go.”
Finding his words alarming, I lean up on my elbows, coming up to meet him, but not kissing him again because I haven’t gotten over the shock of the first time.
But I don’t want him to go. Not now. Not later. Not ever, and that’s terrifying.
He’s not wrong. He needs to go. If he’s smart, he’ll run to his room and lock the door. I’m not so stupid as to think that I can have him, after all. I mean, I could probably figure out a way to get him to take my virginity because guys like virgins, and he does seem to like me at least a little. And it’s not like he’s a virgin himself, I’m guessing. Not at his age.
I don’t even know how old he is….
“Ainslee?”
“No.”
He chuckles at me. “You hate me, remember?” Again, he brushes my hair back, his palm resting on my cheek for a moment. He bites his bottom lip. I want to bite it, too.
“I guess I forgot.” I roll my eyes at my stupid response. He laughs again and then sits up, and I have no choice but to sit up, too. He’s right. He can’t stay here. If he does, I will find a way to get him in my bed, inside of me, and that’s not a good plan considering everything that’s happened. I have some friends back home who made similar rash decisions with their virginity, and it ruined them.
Rafe stands and walks toward the door. “I’ll try explaining everything to you again tomorrow. Maybe by then you’ll have it sorted out, but it’s a lot. You need to process.”
I sort of nod, and he opens the door and then turns to look at me again. I can’t read his expression. He’s either regretting what just happened, wondering if I’m completely sane, or wishing he could stay. Maybe a little of all three.
Rafe walks out the door, bidding me goodnight, and I collapse onto my bed again, thinking I am nothing but a foolish little girl.
But I did just kiss a prince, so there’s that.