What is this feeling?
The carriage slowed as the road curved just beyond Dowell House. Alexander leaned forward and tapped the roof twice.
“Stop here.” His own voice sounded unnaturally worried.
The driver obeyed immediately and the wheels rolled to a gentle halt beneath the arching branches of ancient oaks. The sun had only just barely risen and yet the darkness outside troubled him.
“I will escort you to your?—”
“No,” she interrupted him firmly.
The warmth of her body huddled next to him felt natural, as if she belonged by his side.
“I should be fine from here.” Her sweet voice broke through his thoughts.
He had chosen this place deliberately because it was private and close enough to her home but not too far enough so that he would be able to come to her if needed.
Theodora was still pressed against him; he felt her warm breath against his skin and her fingers curled into his coat as though she feared the world outside the carriage. During the ride, every sway of the carriage brought her closer to him, and every shift was an excuse to touch her.
He did not know what to make of the furnace that burned within his chest whenever she was near. And now that he had claimed her body, his mind burned just as much too.
Sorceress.
“Why are you smirking?” Theodora was staring at him with a raised brow and his heart stuttered.
Alexander chuckled. “I am just thinking about how a certain sorceress put me under her spell.”
She scoffed and, to his disappointment, she pulled away from him. “I did no such thing. And now is not the time to be jesting. I could be in serious trouble because of you!”
“You came to me, love.”
He noticed how her breath hitched at the term of endearment and smiled to himself.
Theodora stirred and lifted her chin defiantly. A gust of wind blew in from her window, and a strand of her hair brushed his jaw. She looked furious and utterly mesmerizing. Her green eyes were still dazed, and her cheeks were still flushed from their lovemaking.
With a loud huff, she reached for the door handle.
“Thank you, Alex,” she whispered but it sounded like a venomous hiss.
When she got up to leave, something inside him snapped and he caught her wrist gently and firmly, pulling her back towards him.
“Alex—” she protested but he captured her lips with his.
It was not a kiss of curiosity. Nor was it a part of her experiment. It was purely a kiss of desire. As their tongues clashed and he swallowed her delicious moans, Alexander felt as though he was confessing a secret he didn’t know how to speak aloud. But he brushed off these thoughts. Perhaps, he just wanted to taste her again.
What if she lingers on the tip of my tongue? What if I never forget her?
Her hands fisted in his coat as she kissed him back fiercely. Alexander didn’t want to stop, but he knew better than to continue detaining her. He reluctantly broke away and felt her trembling breath surround him.
“I should go.” But she did not move.
Alexander rested his forehead against hers. “I will wait a while before leaving. If there is no sign of distress… only, then will I go.”
She nodded, unable to speak.
He brushed his thumb along her reddened cheek. “Theodora.”
She swallowed. “Yes?”
