Page 13 of The Banshee’s Unmistakable Love

He closes the distance, his lips meeting mine softly, brushing against them before fully connecting. The moment they do, I melt into him, his hands holding my face with more intensity, as if I were going to slip away.

Our lips move together as one, gliding so naturally it’s as if we were made to do this. It feels like a crime that we waited so long to ignite this flame. All our lives we’ve ignored the embers, thinking they would die out—but they never did.

And those embers led us here, to this perfect moment. A moment I never thought I would get. Feelings I never thought would be reciprocated. A new hope flows through me, breathed into me from something as simple as his kiss.

He’s the only person I’ve ever felt this kind of connection with. The draw I’ve always felt to him runs deep, awakening desires that had been lying dormant. Desires I haven’t felt for anyone else.

I don’t know if I ever could feel them for someone else.

As we break the kiss, inhaling deeply to catch our breath, many things fill me. The relief that flows through my veins is accompanied by self-realizations. The rapid beating of my heart caused by my feelings finally being acted on.

“Zander, can I tell you something?” I can’t help the way my voice shakes.

His hands hold mine, and his eyes scan my face. “Anything.”

I feel like there’s a concert going on inside of me, my heart and mind screaming over each other to control what leaves my lips next. My stomach twists as if people are moshing within.

“You are the only person I’ve ever felt…a lot of things for.” My hair falls into my face, offering a sort of shield. A barrier.

One that he pushes to the side and tucks behind my ear. Any remaining walls around my heart have fallen, giving him direct entry. All from one simple motion.

“Like what?” he asks, his fingers trailing slowly down the side of my jaw.

As his hand slides back into mine, I say, “The feelings I have for you aren’t something I’ve ever even thought of when I look at anyone else. And I’ve never dated, so I don’t have any, uh, experience.”

He tilts his head, that cute, crooked smile making me feel at ease. “That doesn’t bother me at all, as long as you don’t mind that I have very minimal experience myself.”

“It doesn’t, and I don’t care how much experience you do or don’t have. It doesn’t change anything,” I reassure, though I don’t know if I need to.

Even if he has dated or slept with people, it doesn’t matter.

“We don’t have to do anything that you aren’t comfortable with. I just want you in my life because you’ve owned my heart since we were children. Whatever that means for you, for us.” His words wash away my lingering nerves.

With Zander’s unwavering devotion, even after hearing my silly little secret, I feel the most comfortable in my skin that I ever have. How have I been so blind my entire life? The feelings that consumed me have also been consuming him?

“I just wanted to tell you, so that it would relieve the pressure I’ve put on myself,” I say, nearly getting lost in his eyes with the way he stares at me. “There’s no one else that has stolen a piece of me like you. No one could. And I do want to give you all of me.”

“And there’s no rush for that. What I have of you right now is enough, and will be enough forever, if that’s what you were to choose.”

He pulls me toward him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. My hands snake around his waist and I squeeze him tight, as if he’s going somewhere.

His chin rests on top of my hair, the warmth of his skin radiating and encasing me. I could stay in this moment for the rest of time. Accepted, honest, and with him.

“Briar, I know this is only the beginning of us, and I don’t want to come on too strong, but if we’re sharing secrets, I have one too.” For the first time, there’s a hesitancy in his voice. Vulnerability chasing each word.

With my ear against his chest, I can both feel and hear how fast his heart is beating. “What is it?”

“It’s not just that I’ve had strong feelings for you for many, many years.” He pauses, his thumbs rubbing my shoulders as we remain in our embrace. “It’s that I’ve loved you for many, many years. I want to love you forever, and I know you can’t promise me forev⁠—”

“I am yours forever if you are mine,” I say, cutting him off, my head tipped so that my chin rests against his chest and I’m staring up at him.

“I am yours. I always have been.”

Our hold on one another loosens, giving him room to lower his face to mine. His lips brush against mine gently before we fully connect. This kiss breathes a promise into me.

A promise of forever with him. A future with the only person who has ever made every part of my body flutter—my chest, my stomach, and between my legs.

Our years of seeing each other grow, of learning the little things about one another from afar, they’ve brought us closer than I could’ve imagined. Everything about him is attractive: his intelligence, his patience, the way his smile reaches his soft eyes.