The world was not about to be saved by a kiss.
But if it could’ve been, that would’ve been the kiss to save it.
When Vi finally pulled away, she was breathless. They hadn’t been kissing that long, she was certain of it. But she felt dizzy, and he looked as though he’d just run a marathon.
Blush suited him.
“Vi, I—” Taavin’s grip tightened on both her shoulders, before he pushed himself away from her. “We can’t. This, we can’t.”
“Why?” Vi asked, despite being halfway toward placing her mouth on his again. She wanted to do it over and over, to feel every way he moved and delight in it all. How had she gone so long in life without kissing? It was seven times as wonderful as Ellene had made it sound.
“Because we’re half a world away.” He brought a hand to his eyes and turned his back toward her, as though ashamed.
“And I’m going to come to you.”
“We belong to different worlds,” he said over his shoulder. “You’re a princess, and I’m the head of a religious order.”
“And we’re the Champion and the Voice—which seems way more important than any of those other titles.”
He turned to face her, trying to stare her down. Vi wouldn’t cower. “Bad things happen to those I’ve been foolish enough to entangle myself with—and I’ve never even risked being entangled romantically. I’ve no idea what could happen.”
“Well, at least we’re both new to romance,” she said with a small smile. He ignored her attempt at levity.
“Vi, this is serious.”
“I’m being serious.” She allowed the smile to slip from her face. “You say bad things happen… Well my mother is dying, my father may be dead, the world is ending. Just what else can get worse?”
“It can always get worse, I assure you,” he cautioned. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“I’m not afraid.” Vi took a step toward him.
“You should be.” Taavin’s voice had dropped low, almost growl-like. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“That seems a fool’s errand.” Vi grabbed his coat lapels, feeling the supple fabric. “Don’t deny me this. This fire I feel between us is brighter than any magic I’ve ever known. You’re the only thing holding me together right now.”
“And you… you’re the only thing that has ever made me fall apart.”
All at once, his hand was in her hair again, his mouth crushed against hers. The kiss was clumsy, sloppy even. But it was also full of desire and yearning.
It was everything she needed.
A barrier had been broken down in her—a dam released. It had been holding back years of repressed desires and wants and everything else she refused to allow herself to feel. Now that Vi had torn it down, she was being swept downstream faster than she could recover.
Taavin pulled away once more. Vi pulled him back. She kissed him as if to devour him, teeth hitting awkwardly until they learned each other’s rhythm.
Finally, they pulled apart once more, and this time Vi merely searched his face. Her hands drifted upward, following her eyes, caressing his cheeks, up to his ears—feeling the strange way they pointed. She finally buried her fingers in his hair, all the while he merely stared at her.
“What now?” he whispered, breathless.
“Nothing changes, overall,” she confessed. “You’re still in Meru and I’m going to get to you.”
“Between us?”
“Tell me everything.” She dropped her hands to his chest once more, feeling the broad swathe of lean muscle. “Tell me of yourself, of the man I’ve been kissing. Hearing you’re the head of a religious order is a large part of who you are—and until now, I didn’t know. I feel you know almost everything about me.”
“You don’t want to know about me.”
“I do.”
