“Maybe,” Leo grinned back. “Maybe I dare you.”
Before I could laugh, Slade stepped forward, took my arms, and kissed me.
Square on the mouth.
I was too stunned to react at first—but then Idid.
Slade’s mouth was warm against mine, steady and searching. For one breathless moment, the world narrowed to the pressure of his lips, the rough brush of his fingers curling around my arms, the way heheldme like he meant it.
And I kissed him back.
Not out of panic. Not out of politeness.
I wanted to.
Heat surged through me like a wave. My body moved before my mind caught up—and then it did.
We weren’t alone.
I jerked back, breath ragged, my fingers flying to my lips. I was shaking. My heart thundered in my chest like I’d just sprinted the length of the tower.
Slade stood there, wide-eyed, his hands slowly lowering like he wasn’t sure what to do with them. He looked every bit as stunned as I felt.
I didn’t dare look at Leo.
But when I finally did, he wasn’t angry. He was staring at us both with open-mouthed awe, like we’d just handed him a scene straight out of his wildest fantasy.
“That wassohot,” he breathed, utterly dazed.
My face flushed bright red. “Oh mygods,” I whispered.
“Right. Um. Dinner,” Slade mumbled, suddenly scratching at his face like he could erase the moment. “I’m gonna—yeah.” Without another word, he turned and walked off like his boots were on fire.
I turned to Leo, heart pounding. “Leo…”
He reached out and cupped my face with both hands, his thumbs brushing lightly over my cheeks.
“Don’t be upset,” he said, voice low and steady. “My brothers and I... we’ve always shared everything.”
He smiled—soft, understanding, not a trace of jealousy in sight.
“And I know you like them too.”
I stared at him, and for a moment, it felt like my heart cracked wide open.
I could lie. I could tell him he was wrong. But the truth pressed against my ribs like something alive.
Slade. Phoenix. Even Thorne. They had all slipped past my walls, one by one—quiet and insistent like vines pushing through stone. And now they were rooted there. I didn’t want to let them go.
He didn’t wait for my answer.
He just kissed me again—slow and deliberate, like a promise I wasn’t ready to make but desperately needed to feel.
Then he pulled back, his forehead resting briefly against mine.
“Go shower,” he murmured. “I’ll meet you at the mess hall. I’ll grab you a plate.”
And just like that, he was gone.
