Malik’s throat bobs on a hard swallow when she steps next to me. “Damn, freckles, you’re…that dress…I mean…”
She gives him an unimpressed once-over. “Are you having a stroke?”
Ouch.
“I think he means you look incredible,” I chime in because I feel bad for him. “Not only that, but you overdid yourself with the flower arrangements.”
She winks at me. “I know. So, did the king make an appearance yet?”
“I don’t think so. My onyx choker would have alerted me by now,” I reply.
Sam lowers her voice as she tells us, “I drew the Sigil beneath a rug in the office on the second floor. It’s the third door on the right.” She opens her clutch, fishes something out, then passes Kaiden a key. “Here, I snagged it earlier.”
“Thanks,” he says before sliding it into his breast pocket.
“What now?” Sam inquires.
I pop a shoulder. “I guess we just have to wait.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Malik asks.
“Yes, please, a glass of white wine,” I say.
“Rum. Neat,” Kaiden adds.
Sam flicks her piercing emeralds to me. “Can you please text me when Belial shows his face? I have to get back to my date.”
My eyebrows raise. Sam never dates. “Um, sure. You brought someone?”
“Not really, but I met this guy here. He’s got a panty-dropping smile, and I bet he’s a beast in bed.”
I don’t miss the way Malik’s hands ball into tight fists at hissides. “I’ll fetch our drinks,” he grits out as he stalks toward the bar, spine stiffer than a steel rod.
“See you later,” Sam tells me before disappearing through the double French doors at the back.
It doesn’t take long until Malik follows her.
“Guess no drinks for us,” I say on a chuckle. The dreamy notes of a new melody played by the classical orchestra bounce off the walls. They not only pull at my heartstrings but also move through me like an earthquake. There’ssomethingabout this song. I’m not sure how I know this, but it’s a rendition of “Love” by Lana del Rey. I blink, and for a fraction of a second, I’m transported somewhere else.
“Will you save your first kiss for me?”
“I’ll save you all my kisses, angel.”
It’s as if a ghost from the past whispered the words in my ear.Is this a memory? I hold on to it with desperate hands. But it’s as though I’m trying to grasp air—as soon as I have it within my reach, it slips right through my fingers. The bitter pang of disappointment tastes acidic in my mouth.
“Dance with me, angel,” Kaiden rasps, bringing me back into the present.
The equal parts vulnerability and yearning in his voice thaw what’s left of the ice wall I’m trying—but failing—to keep between us. One last dance can’t hurt, right? I’m leaving tomorrow, after all. However, the distance between us won’t matter because our souls are entwined for all eternity…if the things I’ve read so far in the book Sam brought over are true.
I offer a nod.
He leads me to the dance floor while splaying a hand on my lower back. Kaiden presses our bodies close before swaying to the slow song under the massive, tiered crystal chandelier. Warmth pools between my legs at the electric contact. I can’t help but compare this moment with the one we shared at thesuccubus party—when he kissed me for the first time. In his steadfast arms, everything fades: the murmured conversations, the clinking of glasses, and the raucous laughter. We are the only two people in the universe.
“I think I remembered something…about us,” I whisper, then repeat the words, “Will you save your first kiss for me?”
Kaiden sucks in an unsteady breath. His steps falter. We stop moving, but I don’t care. The obsidian sea of his irises turns into liquid fire and his voice is a thick timbre as he replies, “I’ll save you all my kisses, angel.”
He dips.
