Page 92 of Bleed the Shadows

The cake wasn’t all I wanted to taste, but I had to admit it looked incredible.

Way better than Snickers.

I leaned in and closed my mouth around the fork, then closed my eyes as the almost bitter chocolate cake hit my tongue along with the sweet cherries and the creamy filling which was miles better than any whipped cream I’d ever tasted.

I chewed slowly, savoring every burst of flavor, never wanting the bite to end. Maeve had made this with her own hands. She’d stirred together the ingredients for the cake, had poured the cherries for the filling, had worked whatever magic had been necessary to make the light-as-air whipped cream.

When I opened my eyes, she was staring at me.

“Is that… almond?” I asked, trying to name the undercurrent of flavor still on my tongue.

She beamed. “Yes.”

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

Our gazes were locked, the lights from the Christmas tree casting a glow over her face. There was too much to say and I didn’t know how to say any of it.

I wanted to kiss her instead but I wasn’t about to risk another knee in the balls. Even more important, I wasn’t about to risk setting myself back with Maeve.

My voice cracked when I spoke. “You’re going to have to come to me this time.”

She didn’t move at first and I thought maybe I’d misread the moment.

Then she came around the island and stopped in front of me. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around my neck. The softness of her body against mine was almost obscene and I stifled a groan.

Her eyes shone like the brightest lights on the tree. “Your move.”

I hesitated, then lowered my head to hers.

I nuzzled her neck, breathing her in: strawberries and vanilla and sugar. As good as the cake had been, I knew it wasn’t going to hold a candle to Maeve’s mouth, and I took my time, pressing my lips to the satiny skin behind her ear, kissing my way along her jawbone to her mouth.

When I got there I looked into her eyes. “I’m so fucking sorry, Maeve. I’ve never been so scared of wanting something because I’ve never wanted something — someone — as badly as I want you.”

“Stop talking and kiss me.”

I pressed my mouth to hers. It felt like a sacrament and for a long moment I didn’t dare move a muscle.

I didn’t need to.

Nothing could be better than Maeve’s lush lips under mine, her arms around my neck, every curve of her body molded to my own.

But all bets were off when I slipped my tongue between the seam of her lips.

Because my body had a mind of its own when it came to Maeve — just like my heart.

56

MAEVE

He heldmy face in his hands as his tongue dove into my mouth, all his earlier hesitation gone. The heat of the last four months was at a boiling point and I pressed myself tightly to him, a river of fire opening up at my center.

He tasted like cherries and almonds. Like forbidden things and finally-fulfilled desires.

I couldn’t get enough and I held onto him for dear life, barely able to meet the ferocious demands of his tongue with my own.

He backed me up against the island and lifted me onto the counter without breaking the kiss. The cake slid back a couple feet and I stopped to make sure it wasn’t going to fall to the floor, then grabbed a fistful and shoved it in his mouth.

Some of it fell from his lips, but he ate the rest, then leaned over me to grab a handful.