Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
He slid me a long look as he turned off the ignition.
“All right,” I sighed, opening the door. “Probably don’t want to know.”
Stepping out of the SUV, I crossed the sidewalk and opened the gate. I took one step and Caden was suddenly in front of me. Cursing under my breath, I shook my head. “You’re going to give me a heart attack if you keep doing that.”
Caden didn’t respond to that as he took my face in his hands, cupping my cheeks. He stepped into me as he tilted my head back. My gaze flew to his. “Is… is everything okay?”
Instead of answering, he lowered his mouth to mine, stopping a fraction of an inch from making contact. Was he going to kiss me? My breath caught. His forehead brushed mine and then his lips touched mine.
The kiss….
There was nothing sweet or soft about it, not like most first kisses were. Oh no, this was fierce and powerful, consuming in the intensity. My lips parted as the tip of his tongue touched mine, and the entire world seemed to slip away. When he finally lifted his mouth from mine, there was a swelling motion in my chest, like I had just taken my first real breath of air.
Caden had kissed me like it was our first and our last.
His fingertips slipped off my cheeks as he stepped back and to the side, and as my gaze focused, I saw that my front door was open. Tink stood there—full-sized Tink. It was always jarring to see him at his full height and wing-less, which was almost the size of Caden.
“Let’s head inside.” Caden touched the small of my back.
More than just a little out of it, I nodded and walked forward. The closer I got, I could see how wide Tink’s blue eyes were. I expected him to say something funny. Call me a hussy or point out that I was just making out with Caden in the front yard, but he didn’t say anything. He was staring at Caden like he’d never seen him before.
Tink stepped back into the foyer as we climbed the steps and he didn’t speak until we were inside my house, the door closed behind us.
Tink looked like he was about to faint as he stared at Caden. “Should I… should I bow?”
I frowned at him.
Caden shook his head. “No.”
I had no idea what any of that was about. “I’m just going to get changed real quick. Make yourself comfortable.”
Caden nodded as I hurried to the stairs and when Tink started to follow, he stopped him. “Can we talk for a moment?”
Figuring it was about what happened, I raced up the steps, nearly tripping to my death over Dixon, who sprawled out on the top step. “God,” I gasped. “Really?”
Dixon lifted his furry head and meowed loudly as he stretched out his legs lazily. Rolling my eyes, I stepped over the cat and hurried to my bedroom, prepared to strip and scrub my face so fast I’d break records, but as I soon as I stepped into my bedroom, I came to a complete stop. Raising my hand, I pressed my fingers to lips that felt swollen.
I… I was feeling some pretty silly stuff. Perhaps it was everything that had happened in the last week causing me to think and feel like I…. Goodness, I didn’t even know.
But instead of obsessing over Aric, over what he’d taken part in, I was wondering if… you could fall in love with just one kiss?
CHAPTER 25
When I came back downstairs, dressed in the leggings and tunic I’d had on earlier and face scrubbed free of makeup, it was only Tink waiting for me, and it was jarring to see him full size. When Tink was what he liked to call “fun sized,” he was just adorable, but fully grown? There was no way you could help acknowledging how attractive he was, and that just made me feel weird.
Frowning, I looked around the foyer. “Where’s Caden?”
“He went ahead and is going to meet you in Tanner’s office,” he said in a voice so much deeper than what I was used to. “He left his car here for you to drive us.”
“Oh.” That was weird. “Did he fill you in on everything?”
“Most of it.” Tink stepped toward me. “He… he kissed you.”
Heat immediately smacked into my cheeks. “Yeah, he kind of did.”
“He didn’t kind of kiss you, Lite Bright. He looked like he was devouring your mouth.”
It had kind of felt like that.
“Brighton, I….” Tink trailed off as he slowly shook his head.
A kernel of dread took root in my stomach. “What?”
“Nothing. We should go.”
We really did need to get going, so when Tink handed me the keys that would allow me to drive Caden’s SUV, I took them. That kernel of dread grew though when Tink was unnaturally quiet as he sat in the passenger seat. And Tink, even when he was full sized, was never quiet.