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“Have I ever been kissed before?” His blue eyes were sincere and almost worshipful. Of her? Oh my.
“Well, then.” She trembled. “I’d better give you a lot more kisses. You can stack them up as trophies.”
He smiled, but she kissed it away. These kisses were slower, more thorough, even more exquisite than before. Their mouths were meant to be fused together.
“You are no trophy, Aliya,” he breathed against her lips. “You are my everything.”
With those sweet words, he kissed her again. Aliya trembled from his words, his touch, his kisses. He was her everything too.
Please don’t let this end, she begged heaven above.
Then she was kissing him, and she was too consumed to worry about the end that she feared would approach faster than a Kentucky Derby horse.
Chapter Ten
Curt was floating the next morning. Aliya’s kisses had changed his world. He’d been falling for her during their time spent together, but kissing her had sealed his heart as hers. It was sappy, and his brothers would laugh themselves silly if they heard his thoughts, but he didn’t care.
All that mattered was whether Aliya felt the same. He’d told her she was his everything, he couldn’t believe he’d said something so telling to a woman, but then he’d been too busy kissing her to let her respond. Finally, he’d had to stop kissing her and get her to her room so he didn’t push past any boundaries. He’d never known being alone in a cabin with an irresistible woman could be such a beautiful temptation.
Rain was driving against the many windows of the cabin, and it was hard to see through the downpour. They’d be stuck inside today. With Aliya, he didn’t mind. In fact, a day of snuggling with her on the couch and kissing and talking didn’t sound like any kind of hardship at all.
Aliya came down the stairs, and he turned to glimpse her radiant beauty and those golden-brown eyes. He worried for half a beat that things might be awkward between them.
Not with Aliya. With her, awkwardness wasn’t in the realm of possibility.
She looked him over as if he were a display of diamond rings, grinning. “Is it hard to be the most handsome man and the best kisser—well, at least in this kingdom? You haven’t really shut out the Southern half of America yet.” She winked.
He chuckled. She loved to tease him. He doubted anyone would call him the most handsome, especially compared to his suave and appealing brothers. Luckily, she hadn’t met Malik or Tristan yet, or their friend Chad, the smooth Major in their military and T’s best friend. Wait, she had met Chad. He’d helped rescue her. Had she noticed him and his suave tongue?
He didn’t care, though. If Aliya thought he was the ‘most handsome’ and the ‘best kisser in Augustine,’ he’d take it. Her opinion was the only one that mattered to him.
Slowly walking toward her, he was rewarded with the pulse in her neck thrumming quickly and her lips softening.
“I was up all night stewing.” He was being far too transparent, but Aliya would never hurt him. He reached her and framed her beautiful face with his palms.
“About what?” She wrapped her hands around his biceps, pulling herself closer to him and making his heart race.
“I told you no kiss had ever compared to yours, but you never said it back.”
She startled and then giggled, her golden-brown eyes dancing with light. “Oh. I suppose I didn’t return that favor, did I now?”
“No, my lady, you did not.”
“Well, then.” Her eyes sparkled at him, and she arched onto her tiptoes, their mouths almost aligned. “I hate to be the bearer of ill news, but it’s all-fire possible that I wasn’t convinced.” Her Southern accent was heavy, and he was smitten with everything about her.
He laughed, surprised and yet loving her teasing. Even the female hikers who seemed to get comfortable at his cabin were still enamored by his princely status. Aliya didn’t seem to care about that and treated him like a man who needed to win her heart. He loved her confidence and her sass.
“Well, then,” he said. “I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me today.”
“Yes, sir, my princely and hunky hero. You surely do.” She drawled out ‘surely’ adorably.
He smiled, and he got to work convincing her. Just like last night, their mouths met in a dance infused with light, joy, and passion. He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her, savoring every second, every touch, every movement. Her perfect shape close to him and the sweetness of her lips was unparalleled.
Her stomach growled, and they broke apart, both short of breath but laughing and grinning at each other like a couple of teenagers. Had life ever been this exciting or this simple? Aliya was all he needed or wanted.
“I’d better get busy feeding you,” he said, releasing his hold on her but taking her hand and lifting it to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles.
She quivered from the simple touch. She was innocent and yet so smart. He couldn’t call her sophisticated, as she was always throwing around hilarious expressions, but for him, Aliya was in a class all her own. Brave enough to face down a bear, somehow escape from men who had murdered countless women, and never complain about what she was going through, yet tender enough to weep for her lost friend and the other women’s deaths, teach small children, and wrap his heart up in her soft hands.
