“You can run but you can’t hide. Fontaine. I’m coming for you!”
I let out an excited giggle as I push myself up from my hideout and run like the wind along the bridge. I turn a corner and, to my surprise, there he is, the man I dare to want something more with.
We both stop and stare at one another, panting from the exertion. His lips curve upwards, his eyes sparkling with mischief. There’s only one thing to do.
I dive onto the big slide, headfirst, sailing downwards at a rate of knots, letting out a maniacal scream as I do. I hit the ball pit, balls jettisoned into the air in the soft cage, my belly beginning to hurt from laughter.
The next thing I know, Max is roaring down the slide behind me. He lands, balls flying about, and as he catches my eye, a grin stretching from ear to ear, we break into fits of laughter, the heady concoction of being chased around this padded play area by the man I’m falling for rolling out of me, my whole body shaking.
Running and laughing with him like this brings back flashes of being children together in the palace gardens, before I had to become someone else. An innocent time,before my world imploded, before I had to become someone else.
And then, something shifts between us, and our laughter evaporates, replaced by something stronger. Something no longer childish. A muscular arm snakes around me, pulling me against him. My heart thuds as my body responds, melding to his, and I finally allow myself to give in to my overwhelming feelings for this man who’s captured my heart and mind.
His eyes darken with intensity, and as I drop my gaze to his mouth, he tangles his fingers in my hair, pulling my lips against his. They’re soft and perfect and just how I’d imagined they’d be, and I breathe in his delicious scent as I kiss him back with the urgency I feel for him, an urgency that can only be satisfied with one thing.
He lets out a soft moan as he deepens our kiss, his big hands holding me possessively against him. Our kiss is nothing short of magical, and I sink into it, full of passion and want, my heart thudding with everything I hold for this incredible man.
I’m lost in the moment, and as everything around us fades to nothing, it's just him and me and the way we feel about one another, finally taking form in the most wonderful, wonderful way.
Eventually, after we’ve kissed for longer than any self-respecting adults should in a ball pit, we pull back, resting our foreheads against one another’s, our breath mingling.
“Max, that was… you are…” My voice is shaking and I'm unable to find the words to tell him how I feel.
“You are,” he replies, smiling at me, his eyes dark. He leans in and places another long, lingering kiss on my lips. “I never expected this,” he says, echoing my very thoughts. “But now that I've found you, I don't want to let you go.”
“I... I feel the same way,” I murmur, and when I look into his eyes, it’s like the whole world disappears.
He brushes another soft, tantalizing kiss against my lips, and makes my whole body quiver.
“If I’d known you felt this way about foam warfare, I would have suggested we do this long ago.”
“Just so you could kiss me?” I tease.
“Absolutely.”
I need to tell him. I need to come clean. It's not fair to him to think that he has feelings for someone I'm not.
My heart is thudding so hard it could burst out of my chest with all the emotion I have for this beautiful, wonderful man who’s holding me possessively against him. He trails delectable kisses along my jawline, sending shivers down my spine as he reaches my neck, and I want to lose myself once more in this perfect moment with this perfect man.
But everything is screaming at me to finally open myself up to him fully, to tell him who I really am.
Fear is holding me back.
What if he rejects me?
What if he tells me everything between us was based on a lie?
What if he tells me he never wants to see me again?
Telling him the full story, allowing him to see all of me, scares me to death.
As much as I want to, I can't tell him. Not now. Not during this perfect moment. It has the potential to destroy it—to destroy us—and that’s the last thing I want.
I must, and I'm determined to find the right time. Then he can know the real me, and I can hold my breath and hope that he accepts me—loves me—for who I really am.
Chapter 24
Max
