I could feel the heat of him. His magic. His longing.
I looked up into his eyes, glowing slightly under the moonlight, and whispered, “If you want me, of course.”
He didn’t answer with words right away.
He just looked at me. For a long, long moment.
Then—
“Oh, sweetheart,” he breathed, voice breaking as he closed the last bit of space between us. “I’ve wanted you since I laid eyes on you.”
My breath hitched.
And then he kissed me.
Gods.
Everything I thought I knew about kissing shattered in that moment.
His lips touched mine like he was rediscovering the world. Soft, reverent, like I was something precious and rare and he was afraid I’d disappear if he blinked. The contact was light at first, testing. Questioning. A brush of warmth and electricity.
But then I leaned in.
And he
