Page 83 of Sapphires and Snakes

I drop my head forward until my nose brushes hers, my hands finding their home on her hips. “Can I kiss you?”

Zarina’s hand grasps my neck, her fingers playing with the hair she so loves. Her breath fans across my chin. “Please.”

I drop my mouth to hers, and after weeks apart, the purgatory that’s been roaring inside me, demanding blood andviolence, finally falls to background noise. I dig my grip into her hips, suck in her lip, and bask in the moment I never thought would come again. Zarina here, with me, kissing me.

She pulls back, finger brushing under my eye as she leans her forehead against mine. “I missed you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” I press in again, capturing her lips like I might starve without another kiss. “It’s not gonna be easy. The Accardis aren’t finished with you, with us.”

“I know.” She tucks herself into the crook of my neck, and I almost melt to the floor right then and there.

Instead, I close my arms around her back. “And while the lines might have been re-drawn, the Cardinal Families are nowhere near confident in me or you.”

“Obstinate old men,” she sniffs.

“Are you sure this is worth it?”ThatI’mworth it.

She leans back to meet my gaze, hands on my chest as she pins me with a serious look. “I’m no longer willing to pass up any chances at being happy. And I think you can make me happy.”

The smile that splits my face is as forceful as the love churning inside me. “I’ll spend whatever time you give me doing exactly that, princess.”

She arches a brow, teasing. “I thought I was your queen.”

“Somehow, you’re both.”

She sighs dramatically. “I guess I’ll tolerate it.”

“As if you don’t adore it.” I trail my hands up her spine, into her hair falling softly down her back.

She presses a finger to my lips as her eyes crinkle with the force of her smile. “Hush, I’m kissing my girlfriend.”