His eyes darted to her lips before landing on her eyes again.
Aimilia’s hands had instinctively grabbed his shoulders and she tightened her grip. Her voice came out far too breathy as she said, “You cannot be serious.”
“Hmm, serious about what?” Nikias’ head tilted slightly, fingers curling into her side.
She waited for it to catch up to her. Soon enough all her heart’s fluttering would vanish as the reality of being in Nikias’ arms set in. Her desire would vanish, and she’d be cured of ever having another dream where he held her like she was his.
“You’re still determined to marry me. If I’d known coming out here the other night would only have renewed your insane pursuit, I wouldn’t have.” Except as the words came from her lips, she wasn’t convinced they were true. If so, she wouldn’t have brought up the fact that he’d taken that beating for her. “I didn’t say all of that to encourage you.”
Then why had she said it?
“Oh, I know that. You said it because you believed it.” His breath brushed her cheek as he held her against him. “You’re not a mess I have to clean up. That wasn’t what I meant when I proposed. I came out here tonight for the same reason you came out here last week.”
“No. You came out here because you’re trying to…” Aimilia couldn’t think straight with his heart beating against hers. “You’re trying to seduce me into marrying you.”
Nikias’ laugh vibrated against her chest as he shifted them back, her back brushing the bark of the tree as a rush of heat flooded her whole body. “You think I’m seducing you?”
“Don’t play dumb.” She pressed her palms against his shoulders, but without enough force to actually move him. “You know exactly what you’re doing with all this. All the little touches and heated looks and appearing everywhere.”
He was doing this on purpose. The only problem was how well it was working.
It shouldn’t be working.
His grin didn’t fade. “So what I’m hearing is you’re admitting I’ve been taking up your thoughts as of late?”
Her knees nearly buckled, and she only kept herself upright by gripping his cloak. If he’d wanted this to work, why hadn’t he just started with that smile?
Her stomach kept flipping and she was certain her cheeks had to be as red as her hair. “Don’t avoid my accusation.”
“Oh, I’m not. If I was seducing you, do you think I would have waited this long to kiss you?”
“You haven’t?—”
His lips on hers cut off the rest of her sentence.
Aimilia couldn’t believe what was happening. His other hand came down to cradle her jaw, and her eyes fluttered shut.
She couldn’t believe she wasn’t pushing him away.
She couldn’t believe she was kissing him back.
Aimilia leaned into him, and he grinned against her lips briefly before he kissed her again and again. It wasn’t rushed or frantic, but Aimilia’s mind was spinning even with every slow, gentle move of Nikias’.
Her hands uncurled from his cloak and flattened against his shoulders as he tilted her head up to meet him better. She wanted to meet him better.
This was wrong.
Wrong only in the fact that it didn’t feel wrong at all.
Like the night she’d held him to her, he held her just as closely now, and what should have been an unnatural experience was anything but.
It wasNikias.
And somehow that hadn’t mattered to her that night and it didn’t matter to her now. Right now Nikias was all that she wanted. His hand on her waist and the other sinking into her hair and messing up her braid was all that mattered. His lips on hers, gentle and purposeful, were all that mattered.
She never wanted it to end.
She wanted Nikias.
