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“Can you feel anything now?” heasked.
“Only you tickling me,” Iteased.
He drew me closer, his face dipping lower, and without pause, his mouth brushed against mine. Soft at first, as if testing my response or what might happen. With no reaction, I wrapped my hands around his neck and lifted myself on tippy-toes. He kissed me—hard and starved. I pressed my tongue to his lips and he parted them, sucking me in, tangling my tongue withhis.
I moaned, and he walked me backward until I hit the wall. He gripped my hips and picked me off my feet with such ease, I lost my breath. Pinned between the wall and Ash, I collected my skirt on either side of my thighs and curled my legs around his waist, holding on. Now, we were at the same height. This huge man undid me. Beneath him, fire spread through my body at the intoxication of his desperate and passionatekiss.
When he broke away, we stayed there, our brows touching. Tenderness lay behind his green eyes. “What about now?” His devilish smile was anaddiction.
“Well, I may need more of your sugar before I can really tell,” I suggested, butterflies swirling inside my stomach. After his kiss, I was lost and needed more. He left me giddy, hyped up on hisattention.
“I get that. And just for your information, I’m feeling incredible rightnow.”
I laughed because I couldn’t sense that suppressed heaviness from Lilita, either, and I felt normal, as if she imprisoned back in my mind. Better yet, being intimate with Ash and controlling my dark side at the same time was a win-win.
Ash inhaled my lips and breath, his hands skipping up the sides of my body and across to my ass. Squeezing, kneading. His warmth cocoonedme.
“Shall we go check out those books?” He breathed the words into my mouth, and I made a sound that sounded likeyes, unable to pull myselfaway.
With my legs still wrapped around him, he opened the door and walked us inside. That old paper smell hit me at once, but my mouth gaped open at the sight, and I wriggled out of Ash’sembrace.
“Are you fucking kidding me? This is ‘a few’ books onplants?”
“I never said all the books were on vegetation. And you may want to close your mouth, as I’m sure there are moths inhere.”
“Fucking crapping balls.” I darted into the enormous circular room and spun on the spot, my skirt twirling around my ankles. Thin vertical windows across the ceiling were tinted a pale pink, giving the five floors of bookshelves a reddish hue. Each was U-shaped; bookshelves covered every inch of the walls and the wooden railings. An elaborate metal staircase sat dead in the center, curling upward and branching out to each of the floors. A few sofas and tables dotted the area, along with enormous vases painted with rose designs tucked into every nook. Rugs with more roses lead to thesteps.
Bunching my skirt in my hands, I raced upstairs and swung left on the first floor, staring at books with leather cases in black, brown, and blues. The spines were varied, but with titles likeEncyclopedia of Fauna,The Intricacies of Herding Cattle, andLifecycle of Salmon, I assumed the area must have been categorized by topic. I tingled all over, unable to stop smiling as I ran from one section to another. From the third floor, I leaned over the railing and spotted Ash lounging on a couch, watchingme.
“Holy shit! This isincredible.”
He pointed to his ear and shook hishead.
I rushed past the collections of books on sea vessels, astrology guides, and history texts on Haven to run down the winding stairs to Ash’s side. “I could live here. Seriously.” I waved my hands toward the room behind me. “I’d sleep on the couch and you could just slide me some food under the door. I’m in heaven.” Laughing like a crazy person, I couldn’t stop and bounced on my toes. “Where did all these books come from? Back in Terra the local store consists of my friend attending the market and bringing books from other realms. Maybe twenty tops each time. Nothing like this…” I twisted toward the library and my throat tightened. “If Dad saw this place, he might die from excitement. He’s an inventor, you know.” Mom would always surprise him with new books from different realms. She never told him where she bought them from, but once I caught her selling one of her family rings for two texts for Dad’sbirthday.
“Books on inventions through history are on level five. Right next to cookbooks. Many of the castle staff used to spend hours in here. It’s open toeveryone.”
I whirled around, at a loss for words for once, and my throat thickened. Back in Terra the priestess had once held a book burning because not enough people had been working the field and she’d blamed the texts people spent hours studying on various topics. But Mom had always made sure I read every night, saying it would broaden my horizons. A tear trickled down mycheek.
Ash stretched out his hand and took mine. He pulled me toward him and I nestled next to him. “Sure hope they’re tears of joy.” He ran a thumb across mycheek.
“Hell, yeah. But, books remind me of my mom.” And the tears flooded once again, gushing out. I didn’t mean to cry like a baby, or for my breaths to hiccup. But I missed Mom and I hated the danger I’d put the princes in, how I might never see my dad again—there was all this fear trapped in mychest.
I leaned against his chest, loving how warm and strong he felt againstme.
“You’re so beautiful and have the biggest heart.” He kissed the top of myhead.
I lifted my chin to face him, and he wiped away my tears. “Thanks.”
“Well, on the bright side,” he said, not releasing his hold of me, “I haven’t felt any urges to transform, so hopefully that means my brothers are thesame.”
I stared into his deep eyes, the warmth behind them, the cheeky way the corners of his mouth twitched. “What does it feel like? You know… tochange?”
He shrugged. “It always starts in the solar plexus, a sharp pain as if someone poured acid down my throat. And it spreads through my body lightningfast.”
“Ouch. Sounds painful.” I pulledback.
“You get used to it.” He slid a lock behind my ear, then stood, taking my hand and drawing me to my feet. “Let’s get this donethen.”
What I appreciated about Ash was that I could tell if I kissed him now, we’d end up sprawled over the sofa, humping like rabbits. But he resisted. And don’t get me wrong. Hell, who didn’t want that with a hunk god? But first, I had to find a way to fix my mistake and save theprinces.
If by some miracle it went in our favor, I’d gladly be open to more with Ash. I glanced over at him as took me by the hand and led me to a section of the library behind the staircase. He walked with poise and confidence, chest out, chin high. Just as a royalshould.
And that image right there deflated me. Kidding myself into believing there was an afterward for us was ludicrous. We were from different worlds and a mere human with no royalty in her blood wouldn’t be good enough. Not now, notever.
