A soft rush of air. My lips quivered. An anxious mass of butterflies swarmed in my stomach. I prayed for the universe to let me have this one thing.
Just Ashe.
Something warm and pliable touched my mouth.
All the blood rushed out of my brain, making me see stars.
Ashe was kissing me back.
He didn't stop or pull away. He stayed, gently moving his lips along mine. We were tasting each other, breathing each other's breath. I felt dizzy in the best way. My heart might explode.
The moment lasted forever, and yet not long enough. Even though it was only a chaste kiss, it stole both of our air. We parted to catch our breath.
"Is that what you wanted?" Ashe asked with a light laugh.
I let out a small huff and pulled him towards me. I wanted more.
Ashe didn't make me wait. His lips brushed against mine, sending electric jolts all over my body—and when his tongue slipped along my lower lip, I melted. A pleased, possessive growl escaped me. It was a sound I'd never heard myself make before. My bear soul was just as happy as me.
We kissed in the pure silent darkness. But when I opened my eyes, it was no longer pitch black. Along the floors and sides of the tunnel walls were bluish-white luminescent mushrooms that we hadn't noticed before. It was like the mushrooms lit up only after we kissed.
Now that we could see each other again, Ashe and I exchanged a long look. He smiled shyly before breaking out into a grin and laughing. With the mushroom's light I could see the adorable blush on his cheeks. I didn't need to see myself to know I was blushing, too. My cheeks felt hot, just like the rest of my body.
"Well... Guess we should keep moving, huh?" Ashe asked.
"Guess so."
As grateful as I was to be understood again, there was something magical about our first kiss in the dark.
13
Ashe
I wasas fucking giddy as a fawn in a field of clover.
I'd kissed Bear. More importantly, hewantedto kiss me. When he made the first move, there was no way in hell I was going to let the chance slide.
Now my heart wouldn't stop fluttering. I'd never kissed anyone before. Was this normal? Was Bear's heart racing as fast as mine?
I glanced over at him. The soft bluish glow lit up his face. He was so stupidly handsome. It boggled my mind that a strong, compassionate alpha like him hadn't been scooped up by an omega yet. Were they all nuts? Bear was a fucking steal.
But did kissing mean we weretogether?
Ugh, this was confusing. Part of me wished we weren't trapped in this underground tunnel, but I also liked being here alone with him, like our kiss was a secret hidden away from the rest of the world.
But I didn't want to be hidden forever. I wanted Bear. Period. I wanted him to be mine, and I wanted to show him off, to say 'this one is mine, dammit.' I wanted him to be my alpha and no one else's.
It was a strange, novel feeling. Was this how Zak and Quinn felt when they met their mates? I wished they were around so I could ask. Delayed guilt hit me for being so envious of them earlier. They'd done nothing except love their partners.
And what was Bear to me? We’d only kissed. That didn't make us partners, nevermind fated mates.
The phrase made my heart flip with painful excitement. I'd never admitted to anyone how deep my desire ran. All my life, I'd been the only omega among the pack's second generation. None of my alpha cousins knew how it felt to be an omega attracted to alphas. The experience was mine alone. It was isolating. So I smothered my desire and pretended I wasn't interested in a mate, but that wasn't true. And now that I'd kissed Bear, I didn't think I could hide it anymore.
I wanted a fated mate.
I wanted... him.
Bear met my gaze. It was only then that I realized I'd been staring at him for the past few minutes.
