Even if Felix was sprawled on the floor in front of me, naked.
I closed the last bit of distance between us and dropped to my knees at his side. “Felix?”
He groaned and slowly blinked his eyes open. They were no longer a gold-green, but a brilliant emerald—a perfect match for the stones he had given me. His hair was still onyx black, just long enough to remind me of his fur. “What happened?”
He lifted a hand, brushing at a lock of hair obscuring his eye, and froze. He stretched his arm out, turning his hand over, flexing his fingers. Then he tried to sit up, but could barely lift himself.
I slid my arm behind his back and helped him, mentally chastising myself as I noticed the feel of his skin beneath my fingertips. It was cool to the touch. He needed to recover from the transformation. And put on something warm.
He was still focused on his hand. His words slurred. “You broke the curse. You really did it.”
With a sudden burst of energy, he twisted beside me, his hands coming up to frame my face. He kissed me.
My thoughts shattered, the pieces scattering in every direction. I’d been kissed before, but had never cared much for it. I hadn’t understood why people wanted to press lips together, let alone more.
I understood now. With the right person, a kiss became so much more. It was a connection. A promise. A truth.
I didn’t need to think, only feel and react. The hand on Felix’s back slid across skin, and he shuddered. He tilted his head, changing the angle, licking at my lips until my own parted. Sensation swirled through me, my mind trying to pin down a foreign experience in terms I knew. Port and autumn leaves falling, the warmth of a fire and the silk of a rose petal.
I moved my hand around to rest over Felix’s heart, the frantic beat a match for my own pulse.
He pulled back, pupils dilated, and toppled backwards. He barely caught himself, then his hands slipped, and he was prone once more.
I leaned over him. “Felix?” My breath came in gasps as I tried to adjust after that kiss. “Are you all right?”
He blinked at me. “Sorry. Shouldn’t have . . .”
“It’s—” Not all right. The truth-telling enchantment wouldn’t let me say the words. I blinked back tears, grateful that in his current state, Felix wouldn’t notice. The kiss that had meant so much to me had been nothing more than a stress-reaction for him. I cleared my throat. “You should probably lay down.”
“I am laying down.” He spoke slowly, forming each word with care. “Though I’m not a fan of resting on a marble floor.”
I reached for him again, helping him sit up. “A bed would be better, I’m certain. I can call one in. I don’t think you should try to move very far.”
He shook his head. “My room.”
“Felix—”
“My. Room. We’re not staying here.”
I ignored his use of “we,” but I couldn’t ignore the stubborn glint in his eyes. He was struggling to sit up, weaker now than before our kiss, but that wouldn’t stop him from crawling up to his room if he had to. I could go ahead and summon him, but given his current state, I couldn’t imagine the disorientation would be wise. Especially if his mild reactions in the past had to do with his smaller form.
“If we can get you upright, then I’ll help you upstairs. Otherwise, I’m calling in a bed here.”
“I can stand,” Felix insisted.
It took considerable effort on both our parts, and Felix trembled with fatigue, but he was standing. I made him lean on the chair closest to us and disentangled myself long enough to call in a dressing gown. Felix mumbled as he slipped it on, but I couldn’t make out the words.
Then he slung an arm over my shoulders and we hobbled out of the great hall. It was an awkward picture we made, but that didn’t stop Felix. He grimly made his way upstairs.
“Was it like this when you transformed into a cat?” I asked.
“I think I was unconscious longer that time.” He stopped, his eyes closing. I waited with him, trying to steady him as his balance grew even worse. Then his eyes opened again. When he spoke, finishing his earlier thought as though there had been no interruption, I wondered if he even realized how long he had paused. “And Berklay was able to carry me to my room.”
We reached his suite. By this point Felix could do little more than shuffle his feet forward, and I was supporting most of his weight. I gratefully let him tilt onto the bed, stepping back.
His hand snapped out with surprising speed. “Where are you going?”
My lips parted. Under other circumstances, I knew the kiss we had shared downstairs might have morphed into something else. Something more. But that wasn’t the same. “You need to rest.”
