My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I could barely breathe as I stepped back into the warmth of the castle. The kiss. It was all I could think about, replaying it over and over in my mind like a song I couldn't get out of my head.
The way Ciara's lips had felt against mine, the way her breath had mingled with mine, soft and warm in the cool night air. I had kissed her back gods, I had wanted to kiss her back.
I could still feel the lingering heat on my lips, as if they were marked by her, like a brand that seared into my very soul.
The sensations were overwhelming. My pulse raced, my mind was a whirlwind, and every time I tried to catch my breath, the memory of that kiss knocked the air right out of me again.
Nathaniel was talking beside me, his voice a low hum in my ear, but I wasn't listening. I couldn't. How could I focus on anything else when my mind was still reeling from what had just happened?
