Or so I’d thought, until one night a few months ago. We’d run into each other during the harvest festival, and engaged in one of our usual spats. I couldn’t even remember what the fight was about, but it had ended with me pressed against the wall and his tongue in my mouth.
It was the first time a male had kissed me, and the rush had gone straight to my head. One night of kissing had turned into two, then three, then more.
If it had been only kissing, I probably could have stopped it. It would have been easy to convince myself that Dune and I didn’t have a future together, and walked away.
But…it wasn’t just kissing. It was long nights under the stars, snuggling as Dune talked about his hopes and dreams, his fears. His desire to make his father proud, his need to prove himself in the shadow of his older brother. His thirst for adventure and burning need to get out and see the world.
I’d never known that we were so similar on the inside, but the more time I spent with Dune, the more certain I was that we were made for each other. That this magnetic pull between us was a sign we were meant to be together, regardless of what society or his father thought.
And now, here Dune was, taking me on a real “date”, for the first time. The butterflies in my stomach were out of control, my skin practically vibrating beneath Dune’s touch. I couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for me.
I took a deep breath, trying to contain my excitement. “I’m ready.”
Dune took the blindfold off, revealing the scene before us. A picnic blanket, a basket, and two pillows awaited us in the middle of clearing. My heart fluttered as I noticed the touches he’d put in—fairy lights dancing between the leaves, the bottle of honey wine and the bouquet of flowers sitting on a nearby tree stump, the way he’d positioned us right beneath a patch of dappled sunlight, which streamed through the trees in rays of golden orange as the sun dipped beneath the horizon.
I was going to have to head home soon, before my mother worried.
But I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to enjoy this first.
“This is amazing.” I spun toward Dune and threw my arms around him. His muscular arms came around my waist, pulling me into him, and I breathed in his earthy scent as another wave of giddiness rushed through me. “I didn’t know you could be so romantic,” I teased, pulling back so I could look up into his face.
“You make me want to be.” He gave me one of those devilish grins, causing heat to blossom in my lower belly. I tried to fight the blush that rose to my cheeks, but I couldn’t help it, and his grin only widened in response.
“Come on.” He took my hand and pulled me down to the blanket. I reached for the picnic basket, excited to see what he’d packed, but before I could reach it he pushed me back, covering my body with his own. The weight of him pressed me down into the earth as his lips touched mine, and before I knew it I was lost in another one of his kisses, my hands in his hair, his fingers digging into my hips, that heady, masculine scent making my head spin.
“Adara,” he groaned, trailing kisses down my jaw, my neck. “I need you.”
That sexy growl made the heat in my lower belly burn even hotter, but when he cupped his hand around the mound between my thighs, my entire body tensed. A kernel of doubt sprouted in the back of my mind, and I pushed his hand away and tried to rise.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that, Dune.”
Dune lifted his head just enough to scowl down at me. “What do you mean, you’re not ready?” He pressed a hand between my legs again, and I gasped as a surge of pleasure rippled through me. “Even with the fabric of your leggings in the way, I can feel you’re wet. You want me, Adara. You’vealwayswanted me.”
I bit my lip as he ground the heel of his hand into me, fighting back a moan. Dune was right—I’d always wanted him. I’d fantasized more than once about taking our kissing sessions further, of having him deep inside me, and now, here was my chance.
You’re just a plaything to him, Adara.Mavlyn’s voice echoed in my ear. She’d said that to me more than once, and I’d always tuned her out.The moment he gets what he wants from you, he’ll leave you in the dust.
I so badly wanted to tune those words out again. But…what if she was right? What if Dune reallywasjust using me?
“I do want you,” I told him. “I’m just not ready to sleep with you, that’s all. This…thing that we have is new, and I’m still getting to know this side of you.”
Dune rolled his eyes, removing his hand from between my legs. He rolled onto his side and propped his head on his hand, digging his elbow into the ground. “We’ve been ‘getting to know each other’ for weeks, Adara, and our time is almost up. The tryouts are tomorrow, and when I’m accepted I’ll be shipping out right away. Don’t you want to give me a good send off before I go?”
A good send off?I stared at him, shocked at this abrupt shift in attitude. “Is that what this is about? Getting your rocks off before you leave?”
Dune’s expression softened. “It’s not like that,” he crooned, reaching for my hip so he could pull me into him. “This isn’t only about me. I want you to feel good too.” His lips found my neck, sending a hot shiver down my spine. “I want to make this one last memory with you before I go.”
I sighed, pushing at his chest again. I might have given in, but that last sentence…I had to tell him the truth.
“If you’re trying to rush the sex between us because you’re worried about never seeing me again, you don’t have to.” I smiled up at him as his brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m joining the military, too.”
Dune looked at me for a long moment, then threw back his head and laughed. “Giant’s teeth,” he gasped as he rolled onto his back, his broad chest vibrating. “That was a good one, Adara!”
I sat up, my heart growing cold in my chest as I watched him laugh at me. “I’m not joking, Dune.”
He stopped laughing abruptly and looked me dead in the eye. “You’ve got to be joking,” he said. “There’s no way a girl like you could make it through the military tryouts. Not when you can’t even use your magic.”
“Excuse me?” Hot tears burned the corners of my eyes at his outright dismissal of me. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, Dune.” As a child, I’d often snuck out to watch the village warriors train, and mimicked their moves with crudely fashioned sticks. The local militia leader had allowed it, and when I’d started changing from a child into an adult, he’d taken it upon himself to show me the basics of both hand to hand and sword combat.
