“I don’t want to distress you. I should leave, Lucy.”
“Wait.” I lift my chin in defiance, though my body trembles. I need proof that this isn’t some twisted hallucination. It might be crazy, but I need to ask him to do this. “Show me what I’ve been missing. Kiss me.”
Time passes with excruciating slowness. Is he going to reject me?
Then, his gloved hands move, raising his mask just enough to expose a tantalizing glimpse of his mouth—sensual lips, shadowed with the rough stubble on a rugged jaw.
“Close your eyes,” he murmurs.
I do as I’m told and slowly close my eyes, feeling a surge of energy course through me as powerful armslock around my waist and pull me to him. His tight suit presses against my body.
I’m shaking, actually physically shaking. Full-body rattle.
The darkness only heightens my senses. I hear the slight catch in his breath, then feel the brush of his lips on mine.
I open my mouth. An invitation.
He meets it with fervor, his lips claiming mine in a consuming kiss that steals my breath. Heat ignites within me, a longing spreading from my core.
His lips are heaven, soft and full but masculine and rough at the same time. They mold against mine with a perfect fit.
His rugged stubble scrapes against my skin, sparking an involuntary shiver that zips down my spine. He tastes of honey and mint, laced with an undercurrent of the untamed and the dangerous.
His strong arms wrap around me even tighter and I feel his growing erection press into my abdomen through the costume. No one has ever kissed me like this before.
I slide my hands up his body, feeling every muscle tense under my touch. I don’t give a flying fuck that we are two people in full bodysuits, making an X-rated spectacle of ourselves in the middle of a comic convention.
He groans in response, his kiss becoming more demanding. His grip around me tightens as if he’s trying to restrain himself from giving in to temptation.
“Stop,” he breathes, pulling away from our heated kiss with a shuddering exhale.
I open my eyes, desperation clawing inside me to see beyond that mask. Traces of my bright blue lipstick smear across his captivating mouth.
“I need to leave,” he murmurs. His thumb drags across my lower lip, possessive and demanding.
Panic surges through me. “Will I see you again?” I gasp.
He goes silent, staring down at me from behind that expressionless mask. Time seems to stop, uncertainty crushing my heart.
After an agonizing eternity, he finally stirs. With a gentle yet firm grasp, he cups the back of my head and pulls me close. I freeze, pulse pounding wildly as his lips press against my forehead in a chaste kiss, disregarding the streaks of face paint.
“Go back to your friends now.”
I can only stare as he turns and walks away without a backward glance, his formidable figure fading into the crowd.
On shaky legs, I make my way back to where the girls are sitting, looking bored.
They eyeball me.
“Where the hell did you go?” Priya blurts, her nose crinkling in confusion. “And why is your face paint all messed up?”
For some unfathomable reason, I burst into tears.
EIGHTEEN
JP
Cold, air-conditioned gusts prick at my skin as I explode to the surface, lungs heaving for air after fifty relentless laps.
