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Hex

Aran kisses me. He’s slow, thorough. He kisses me like we have no worry in the world because the entire universe revolves around us and this kiss.

His lips descend to mine slowly, gently, as if to give him time to snap out of it at the last moment.

But he doesn’t. He closes his eyes, cradles my head with both hands, and slots his mouth against mine. It’s soft, a little wet, and it short-circuits my brain. I grab onto his chest, needing his solidity to anchor me so I don’t disappear out of existence.

I can’t believe this. Aran Suwannarat is actually kissing me.

Fucking finally.

My body sings and I feel like I’m floating in the clouds. It’s magical. Shivers race down my spine, prickly and energizing. A moment later, Aran flicks his tongue along the seam of my lips. Heat floods me, unleashing a tsunami of want that’s threatening to consume me as I open for him.

Still, he doesn’t rush. Even as his heart races madly inside his chest, the beats reverberating against my palms and then through the rest of my body. He savors every second of our kiss, stroking my cheeks as his tongue meets mine.

The world narrows down to him and only him, to the one man who was made to be mine. I’ve known it since the start, since the very second my dad brought him over one evening so mom and I could meet his best friend. My life changed forever that night. I was too young to understand it back then, but I’ve had plenty of time to amend that.

And now, I am finally where I should be—in Aran’s arms.

Stars explode inside me as he deepens the kiss and licks every inch of my mouth. The gentleness remains, yet there is also a hint of urgency, of hunger and need. He tastes of the cocktail he drank and the melon bites I served us so we could enjoy healthy snacks while playing board games. He must have snatched a few in between sitting down and going possessive macho gorilla over me.

I love that he did. But I love even more what he’s doing right now. The location and the ambience of our first ever kiss could be better—I imagined the whole thing would be extra romantic with petals and confetti and people cheering us on. But it’s somehow even better than that. The unexpectedness of it, the way it happened just like that. I didn’t have to trick Aran into it or set the mood or beg him like I normally do. He simply went for it. This stuck-up, serious control-freak of a man who plans ahead of time which pair of underwear to wear every day of the week.

It’s fucking awesome and I can’t get enough of it.

Pleasure vibrates under my skin at how greedy he is for me. Our tongues tangle with each other, battling more so than dancing. I toss my arms over his shoulders, pulling him closer. His heat and scent engulf me, dark and intense like the ocean surrounding the ship. It feels so amazing I can’t help but let out a moan, which he swallows with a possessive growl. The sound of it ripples through my agitated body, going straight to my cock.

This is my first kiss ever, and it couldn’t be more perfect. I’ve had opportunities before this, many times. I’ve met people who haven’t been shy about showing an interest in me. But that’s never intrigued me because none of them was Aran. He’s the only man I’ve ever wanted to kiss, and my brain is having a moment because I finally got to.

We pull apart for a quick breather, then it’s my turn to attack. I pull him by the collar of his shirt and smash our mouths, licking my way inside his. He lets me in, and wet heat meets me, slick and inviting.

This is heaven. I’ve died and I’ve gone there, because there is no other way to explain why the man of my dreams is kissing me. Or why he’s clutching onto me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish the moment he lets go.

He’s desperate. I can feel it in the way he’s fighting my tongue for dominance, in every lick, in every stifled sound he makes. Even in a situation like this, he’s trying to be in control when he’s already lost it the moment he initiated the kiss. It’s just so like him.

I’ve dreamed about this so many times, and for a second I fear it might be another fantasy. But a heartbeat later, Aran’s hand is in my hair, pulling on it until I’ve hung my head back and he has access to my neck.

His lips are like fire where they touch my skin, hot and eliciting a delicious need within me as they rain open kisses down the side before retracing their steps up to my jaw.

“I’ve lost my mind. This shouldn’t be happening now. Tien, tell me to stop,” Aran grumbles, his voice low and hoarse and the sexiest I’ve ever heard it.

“Keep going, please,” I encourage him, trying my best not to laugh.

He chuckles against my skin, sending a puff of warm air crashing into it. It tickles and makes me snort.

Straightening up, he traces the path he kissed along my neck with his fingers. A smile teases the corners of his damp lips as we stare at each other’s eyes. There is so much fondness in his gaze I don’t know what to do with it. My chest feels like it’s about to burst and my stomach has become a hive for nervous butterflies, but I can’t look away.

He’s become even more gorgeous with his face so open and vulnerable. I see a thousand things I’d only dared to dream about and they take my breath away. So much affection lives within him, desire too, deep and suppressed. My cheeks catch fire, my insides twist even more—it’s one thing to imagine stuff, and a whole other ordeal to face it in real life.

Suddenly, I don’t know what to say or how to act. I don’t want to embarrass myself or push him away, not now that I have him so close. He will be completely mine, there is no question about it, but what if this is some kind of a joke? A way to shut me up or to show me that he’s just too good for me?

Then again, when have I ever cared about such things? If I want Aran, I will get Aran, especially when it seems like the feeling is not as one-sided as he’s pretended it was for years. He sealed his fate with this kiss—here and now on this luxury cruise—and there is no taking it back.

“Whatever is going through your head right now”—he rubs the space between my slanted eyebrows—“can wait until later. The clock is ticking, and we still have to execute the rest of our mission.”

I blink at him and jab him in the chest with a finger. “How can you be so calm after this?”

His eyes crinkle as he smiles and adjusts himself. “I’m not. I’m just better at hiding it than you are.”

Oh my god, so that’s what was poking me! I cross my arms and open my mouth to argue that’s not true unless he’s willing to prove me wrong by taking off his pants so we can compare our hard-ons, but he halts me with a finger against my lips.

“We’ll talk about this, Tien. I promise. I…” He rakes a hand through his hair, looking the most nervous I’ve ever seen him. He’s usually a few steps ahead, he anticipates every outcome. But not now, not for this. “I can’t leave things the way they are now. It’s just… we have less than two hours until game night, and we are yet to have someone call in sick.”

He’s right. As much as I’d love to stay here and make out with him all evening, we have to take care of business first.

“Okay.” I peck him on the cheek so quickly, he’s too late to realize it and dodge.

Answering his slight frown with a sexy little wink, I take out Mong’s phone and navigate my way to the roster. A few commands via the developer tools, and I have the cabin numbers for the ten people who are on duty tonight.

“There you go.” I give him the device. “Pick a victim and let’s get ‘Mong’ to sub in.”