Page 47 of Coronation (Royally Forbidden #1)
The warm night fades away as I lower my lips to hers so slowly that it aches, determined to give her every opportunity to turn away, to reject me as I probably deserve.
She doesn’t , and my heart lurches violently inside my chest as I finally kiss her, slow and sweet, exactly as I should have done the night we met.
As much as I’d like to, I can’t turn back time. For better or worse, this is our story, and I won’t allow it to become one more fucking tragedy.
Her taste alone threatens to send me to my knees, but when Zelda lifts her hands to my face, pulling me closer…
It’s only the thought of ending this that keeps me standing.
Shoes sc rape over the centuries-old floor as I sink into her, desperate for her to sense the bottomless well of need she has me drowning in. And I am. I’m fucking drowning.
Zelda arches into my touch, her soft cry muffled by our kiss, and I ache to allow my hands lower.
I want to grab her ass and drag her closer, to grind my stiff cock against her damp panties to make her moan.
She wants it, too, and is practically panting as I graze my teeth over her swollen bottom lip, my erection pressing against her stomach.
It would be a relief to give in to what our bodies want, but this isn’t the time. I want so much more than sex, more than to be swallowed by this bottomless well, never to be seen again. In no small miracle, I’m being given a second chance to do this right, and by god, I will not ruin it.
My head spins as I force myself back, breaking our kiss. I don’t go far, though, and neither does Zelda. We stay entwined in the doorway, listening to our shared, ragged breathing alongside the symphony of crickets chirping in the grass, and the low murmur of voices at the end of the drive.
“This is all new for me,” I confess, pressing my lips to her forehead. “But I won’t mess it up again. I swear to you, Zelda.”
A soft tremor runs through her body, and her next words aren’t at all what I expected. “What if I mess it up?”
My first instinct is to assure her that she couldn’t possibly, that she’s too good a person to hurt me the way I hurt her. Except, this isn’t a fantasy; this is real life, and we are both real people. We have flaws, and we will make mistakes.
Without stopping to second-guess myself, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my embrace.
She returns it, winding her arms around my waist as I begin to speak slowly, choosing my words with extreme care.
“If you mess it up, then I will forgive you. I know what it is to dedicate myself to something, even when it is cold and cruel, and takes more than it gives.” My throat is tight, and I’m grateful that Zelda’s face is buried in my chest, preventing her from seeing the pain in mine.
“If you mess up, then I will forgive you, because you have already given me more than I knew possible. Do you understand?”
Zelda’s head moves up and down, and though I can’t see it, I know she’s crying.
“Hey! Lovebirds!” I turn my head to see Damien and Leo approaching the house again, wearing identical, shit-eating grins.
“I have an early appointment. I’d like to get on the road, if you wouldn’t mind,” Dam informs me, and thankfully, Zelda’s face is still pressed into my chest, and she misses the arched eyebrows and unspoken question in my older brother’s expression.
No. I won’t be staying. Not yet.
I sigh. “Give us a moment.”
They retreat, heading in the direction of the car, and it’s not until we’ve heard the heavy thud of two doors closing that Zelda finally lifts her head.
As I suspected, her eyes are wet, with tears still clinging to those long, dark eyelashes, and my heart tugs when she offers me an embarrassed little smile.
“I’ll see you in a few days,” I promise, taking advantage of our newly established intimacy to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, dragging my thumb over her cheek as I do.
“Okay,” she responds in a soft murmur, offering me a sad smile as I let my hand fall to my side and step back.
I want to ask if she’ll think about what I said, but manage to refrain, knowing this is not the time to push my luck. Not in that way, at least. “Can I call you? Tomorrow?”
Zelda nibbles on her bottom lip, eyebrows arched in surprise. “Call me?”
“After work. To… speak,” I clarify, feeling a little foolish to be asking her that, only a moment after I all but declared myself in love with her and pleaded my case for a second ch ance.
Although it stands to reason that acting as I would if we were in a relationship could be a convincing strategy for her to actually enter into one.
That is, if I manage to do the thing admirably.
I certainly intend to.
“Okay,” Zelda agrees at last, her arms curling around her middle as she watches me lower a foot to the first step. “I’ll be on set until after four.”
“Then I’ll call after four.”
I’m halfway to the car when I glance back, only to find Zelda’s gaze on my retreating form, her fingertips pressed to the lips I kissed only a few moments ago. They fall the moment she realizes I’ve seen, the woman in question hurriedly turning back into the house.
As I continue on, however, I feel lighter than I have in months because there may be a chance—if only a small one—that I haven’t ruined this.