“Just promise me one thing, Kyllen.”
“Anything you want, my dear.”
“Promise me that no matter what happens, we’ll always be friends. Promise me, I can always trust you.”
His hands on my shoulders, he brought his mouth to my ear.
“Staying just friends is not in my intentions, my sweet pea.” His voice gained that dangerously seductive note again, sending a charge of heat through my body in response. “So, I can’t promise you that. But I will make you a promise, Amira.”
He took my face in his hands, leaning so close, the edge of his hood skimmed the tip of my nose. His warm breath fanned along my skin, tickling my lips.
“I promise that no matter where I am or what I do, there will always be a place for you beside me. For as long as I live, I’ll do everything in my power for you to have a roof over your head and food on your table. And should I die before you, you’ll have the right to everything I own for the rest of your life.” As he spoke, his voice hardened, gaining a gravity that sent chills down my spine. “May I spend the rest of my days impaled on a pole in the Garden of the Cursed if I break this promise.”
Grave silence descended over us after the sound of his last words died. A feeling that we weren’t alone came with it. The presence of something grand but dangerous swirled around us. Goosebumps prickled the skin of my arms.
“What happened?” I half-whispered. Speaking out loud suddenly felt like blasphemy. “Why does it feel so…intense?”
Still holding my face between his hands, he slid his thumbs along my cheekbones. “A fae cannot break a promise. I’ve just bound myself to you for life. That would be intense in terms of commitment, don’t you think?”
The ominous feeling had finally lifted. With it, whatever had been present in the room had dissipated, too.
“So,” I said in a lighter tone, trying to shake off the remnants of unease. “Does it mean you’re planning to stick around then?”
“From now on, I really don’t have a choice.” A corner of his mouth curled up in a half-grin. “No one wants to die as a promise breaker, trust me on that.” He shifted his hands higher, sinking his fingers into my hair. “Close your eyes,” he suddenly demanded.
“Why?”
“I want to take my hood off. I need to see more of you than I can with it on.”
Placing a hand over my eyes, he yanked his hood off with the other. He said nothing, but I sensed him staring at me, and I kept still.
The silence grew too long for me to handle, though. “What do you see, Kyllen?” I asked.
He placed the other hand on the side of my face, then slid both palms up, his thumbs over my eyelids to keep them close.
“Can you smile for me, Amira? Please?”
He asked so sweetly, the smile that sprung to my lips was genuine.
“I’ve never heard you laugh.” He sounded contemplative. “I waited to hear it when locked up in that crate. I tried to make you laugh, but you never did.”
I didn’t remember the last time I laughed. “I…I don’t really do that.”
“I think I shall add another part to my promise, then. I will make you laugh one day, even if that’d be the last thing I’d do.”
Smiling wide, I parted my lips to reply, but didn’t get a chance. Kyllen’s scent moved closer. The air around me shifted, heating up with the warmth of his body. Then his lips touched mine.
He was kissing me!
I froze, unable to draw a breath. My body stiffened, even as my soul soared.
He angled my head a little, his lips moving faster, eagerly. Surely, he’d sense I had no idea how to kiss him back. I had to stop this before I embarrassed myself. But I didn’t want this kiss to end. I didn’t think I could move. Yet somehow my hands ended up fisting into his tunic, pulling him closer.
Something hot pulsed inside my chest. Maybe it was my heart exploding? Because it certainly felt like I’d died and was floating somewhere where there were no walls or ceiling, no top or bottom, just Kyllen’s hands cupping my face and his mouth devouring mine.
His fingers held me firmly in place, his thumbs over my eyes. But then I felt another touch. Lots of touches. A dozen of…fingers stroked my hair, brushed the skin of my face, slid under my scarf to caress my neck…
I jerked my head back, gasping for air.
Kyllen leaned after me, refusing to let go.
Releasing his shirt, I propped my hands on the couch behind me.
“Kyllen…” I panted. “What was that? I need to see…”
His forehead pressed to mine, he rasped, “Just… Just give me a moment.”
With a deep breath, he covered my eyes with one hand and used the other one to pull his hood back on. “You can’t see, my sweet girl. I won’t risk it.”
He slid his hand from my eyes, then brushed with his thumb along my bottom lip. It felt hot and swollen after his kiss.
I pressed a finger to my lips. “So that’s how it feels to be kissed.”
For so long I had wondered, and now I knew. It turned out to be everything I’d ever thought it would be, and so much more. My heart was still racing, sending fireworks through my body.
“Amira.” Kyllen sounded oddly guarded. “Was it your first kiss?”
Oh, no. Had it been obvious I had no idea what I was doing? Heat rushed to my cheeks.
Letting go of me, he slumped back against the couch, muttering, “Great Serpent, help me.”
I twisted a corner of my scarf into a tight rope in my fingers. “Did I do something wrong?”
“You didn’t…” Kyllen hesitated, which was unusual for him. Running a thumb along his jawline, he tilted his head. “You haven’t been with a man, have you?”
“No. There are no men other than the bracks at the menagerie. You know that.”
He got up from the couch. Sliding his hands inside his hood, he rubbed the back of his neck while taking a few random steps back and forth. He looked unsettled…no, outright distraught.
“Kyllen. What’s wrong?”