The Prince and the Player

“How well you know me already, Miss Benedict.”

“I met your kind in school.”

“You probably drove them all crazy.”

“I’m sorry,” Ava whispers, slipping from my grasp and hurrying to where they’re talking.

My head, shoulders, and hand drop, and for a moment, I grip the wooden rail with all the strength of my frustration. It makes a creaking noise, and I release it. No use destroying historic property. I follow slowly after them, thinking ahead to tonight, after dinner, walking through the garden maze or along the shore. We will finish what we started.

Playing

Zelda

“You’re going too fast!” I cry as Cal pulls me through the great hall under skeletons that make me feel the size of a toddler.

Today, he’s dressed casually in khakis and a light blue shirt with a darker blazer on top. I want to say I’ll just look at him. Instead I move too close as I pass him, or I hold his arm. I can’t seem to stop touching him.

“I want to see the whale skeleton.”

At that he stops and turns so suddenly, I run right into his chest. I actually let out an Oof!

“Hello, there!” He grins down at me as I hold his waist, his strong arms surrounding me, sending heat surging between my legs. “What interests you most in this moldy old building?”

I can barely think with his face so close to mine. That dimple is back, and his hazel eyes sparkle. You? No, can’t say that.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve never been here before.”

“Hm… I see your point.”

Remembering my job, I push myself out of his embrace and straighten my dress. “Like this!” I say, pointing up. “Can you believe how big that is? I could fit in that thing’s stomach along with four other people.”

He steps beside me and looks up at the whale bones. His body is warm, and I imagine leaning into him.

“Oh! And the jewelry—I want to see the Ocean tiara!”

“Hm… I saw that on my aunt’s head. You need to see the deep sea room. It’s the coolest thing in the place.”

I meet his eyes, and his expression darkens. It makes me feel like a tiny fish is trapped in my chest, struggling to get out.

“Where is it?” I manage to say.

His hand covers mine again, and we start down the wide marble staircase to the floor below. Glancing out the impossibly wide windows, I see the sparkling turquoise waters of the Mediterranean and pull us to a stop.

“Wait!” I’m on the second step breathing hard, looking at the gorgeousness from this luxurious palace of a museum. “Look how beautiful.”

He’s looking at me, but he steps up beside me and looks out the window. “I grew up looking at that—”

“Lucky.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” he laughs softly. “You make me see it for the first time.”

Tearing my eyes away from the ocean, I meet his gaze. I don’t have time to think before his long fingers thread in the back of my hair pulling my mouth roughly to his. A little noise aches from my throat as he pushes my lips apart and finds my tongue with his. Heat floods my pelvis, I taste fresh water and cinnamon, and my entire body is on fire. I don’t think, I only respond, sliding a hand along the back of his neck and chasing his tongue with mine. He holds me firmly against his body, and it’s so good.

“Cal,” I gasp as our lips part.

Our foreheads touch, and I can’t open my eyes. I’m breathing so fast. His kiss singed my spine. It curled my toes. I haven’t been kissed like that… possibly ever—by choice. I take a step back, holding his forearms out and away from me. My lips are throbbing.

When my eyes blink open, he’s giving me that look again, like he’s waiting for me to give him the signal. Instead I turn and continue walking down the steps, holding the wide, marble rail for balance.