“But they aren’t dead or buried. Not for me.”
“Do you really think I’d want anything of yours once I heard what you said?” She turned to him so quickly that he nearly ran her over.
Ignacio reeled back, and his foot crushed down on something soft and foamy. A jubilant squeak trumpeted from under his boot. It was a clown’s red nose. He winced. He wasn’t so clumsy normally, but Esmeralda did this to him. She unnervedhim.
“Did you hear that?” one of the guards standing in front of the ringmaster’s wagon said.
Esmeralda grabbed Ignacio’s hand. They dashed forward toward the rear of the wagon, but the guards were already running through the discarded bins with their flashlights aimed ahead.
“We have nowhere to hide,” she whispered.
“Over there!” a rata called.
Ignacio had to do something quickly. He pushed Esmeralda against a pile of crates. He pressed his body close and lowered his face, so they were nose to nose.
“What are you doing?” she hissed. “You’re going to get us caught.”
“We alreadyarecaught. They’re only yards away. Now, put your arms around me as if we’re lovers.”
“You can’t be serious!”
A stream of golden light hovered above their heads from the guards’ flashlights.
Ignacio grabbed one of her hands and flung it around his torso. The light found them. Their shadows danced onto the crates like reveling ghosts.
“Hey!” someone shouted.
Ignacio ignored it. If he were truly Esmeralda’s lover, he most certainly would. He scooted closer, shielding her with his body. He moved his head from side to side, mimicking a kiss.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re going to have to be more convincing than that.”
Her free hand grasped his collar, and she yanked him down. Their lips crashed together. Teeth scraped against soft skin.But the pain was numbed by the explosion blazing within his soul.
The world fizzled away. He heard nothing. Hell, he couldn’t even tell if his feet were still on the ground. There was only the taste of Esmeralda. Only the familiar fullness of her lips. And the hungry ache in his chest.
His fingers splayed out on the crate on either side of her head. His nails dug into the wood, holding him steady. Esmeralda’s hand slid up his back. The sensation of her touch sent a sunburst flaring inside his stomach and he groaned into her mouth.
She sighed, her breath mingling with his.
Their movements became ravenous as if they’d both been starved for far too long.
Despite his best efforts at self-control, his fingers slid into her hair, and he pulled her to him. Something metallic fell to the ground and her curls fluttered over her shoulders. He breathed her in.
“Stars, you smell good,” he whispered. His lips found her neck, the sensitive skin just under her ear, her jawbone. She moaned. And he thought his knees might give out from the sound.
“Hey!”
A voice from behind him slammed Ignacio into reality.
“You two can’t be out here. This area is for carnival staff only,” the rata said.
He and Esmeralda tore apart then. They stood there, staring at each other in the dark, panting uncontrollably.
A flashlight beamed in Ignacio’s face, and the guard gawked. “It’s the palomas,” he said in wonder.
The Palomas.As if they were one.
A smile tugged at the rata’s lips. “Looks like you finally made up.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Perhaps you love birds should take this elsewhere, though?”
