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He kisses me deeply. A passionate, demanding, urgent kiss that tastes like annihilated doubt and hard-won victory.
His strong arms hold me tight, his fingers digging into the skin of my back as he pulls me so close to him I can feel his heart beating right against mine. His mouth consumes me as if he’d waited all his life for this moment. Like maybe the kisses we shared before didn’t count.
Like this is the first one that does.
Inside, I’m crackling with light.
But the rain won’t let up and I start shivering.
My clothes are soaked straight through and, as romantic as it is to kiss in the rain, it’sfreezingout here.
I’m a stubborn girl, and I keep sucking on Dare’s mouth, so hungry for him that grabbing fistfuls of his shirt isn’t enough. The wind batters me harder, a mother screaming ‘girl, wake up! he’s hearing!’, but I refuse to let nature win over my own carnal instincts.
Eyes closed. Mouth open.
Too much water in my mouth. The rain is about to drown me.
With his lips still attached to mine, I feel Dare’s hand sliding down my back and under my knees. Just like earlier, he has me airborne in an instant.
My eyes pop open.
His are open already.
I pull back just enough to arch a questioning eyebrow.
One corner of his lips inches higher in amusement. He presses another quick kiss to my mouth and hurries with me through the forest.
I pout in disapproval even as I cuddle into his broad chest.
More kissing,my body throbs.More. More. More.
Alas, the newly-unleashed kissing maniac inside me will have to wait.
In the distance, flashlights are bouncing around. I recognize my sister’s gait immediately. She’s holding an umbrella and moving briskly down the trail. The tall man beside her keeping a secure grip on her hand must be Sazuki. He spots us first and waves.
I tap Dare’s shoulder, indicating he should put me down. He understands and does so immediately. It’s nice that I don’t need to sign for him to get me.
Dejonae scurries over and lifts her umbrella over my head. In my peripheral, I notice Sazuki handing Dare an umbrella. My sister’s mouth is moving. She’s voicing while signing, but I can’t make out either because it’s too dark and my eyelids are so burdened with water that I can’t even see straight.
Sazuki shrugs out of his jacket and swipes it over me. I huddle into the warmth that my brother-in-law’s body left. But relief doesn’t last long as my drenched clothes seep into the lining of the jacket.
I don’t realize I’m shivering violently until Dejonae wraps her arms around my body and rubs up and down.
We’re close to the porch lights and I notice everyone is lined up on the verandah, braving the strong winds and the splatter of wayward raindrops.
This is embarrassing.
I look back at Dare, but he’s not paying attention to our audience. He’s looking at me with eyes so filled with concern, you’d think someone died.
Frowning, I shake my head.I’m okay.
His lips flatten into a severe line.I should have taken you out of the rain sooner.
I roll my eyes. If it had been up to me, we would have made out on that bench until I got pneumonia.
His burrowing gaze tightens.You really might have pneumonia now.
Or at least that’s what I imagine he’s thinking.