My pulse stutters, but I tilt my head and force a smirk. “Not yet. But the night is young, my lord.”
His grin widens, cocky and wicked. “Ah, so I’m ‘my lord’ again. Should I prepare for another fake proposal? Or are you planning to run into another dairy-based disaster to avoid kissing me?”
I gasp. “Excuse me, I was ambushed by a poorly designed cheese installation and emotionally destabilised by… cheekbones.”
He raises an eyebrow, smug. “So, youdothink I’m handsome.”
I roll my eyes. “Stop fishing.”
“Not fishing,” he says, walking backwards now, keeping pace with me, his smile downright dangerous. “Just clarifying. So, to recap…you claim I don’t ruin you, I don’t make you wobble, and apparently, I’m not your type?”
“Exactly.”
He stops.
I almost collide with him, momentum catching in my chest.
Then he leans down, stopping just short of contact, the warmth of him brushing my skin. Every nerve in my body goes on high alert.
The night air suddenly feels thinner, like the space around me has tightened.
My pulse hammers in my throat.
He doesn’t look away. Just stays there, so close I could count his lashes if my brain were capable of anything other than short-circuiting.
“Liar.”
It’s barely more than a breath, but it strikes like flint to steel, a spark I feel far too keenly.
Before I can argue, before I canthink,Tyler closes the gap between us.
His fingers skim my jaw, feather-light, tracing a path up until his palm cups my face. His thumb brushes my cheek, like he’s trying to memorise the exact shape of me.
It’s gentle, tender.
But there’s nothing polite about the way he’s looking at me.
My breath catches. Heat pools low in my stomach. My knees nearly buckle.
And then he kisses me.
It isn’t rushed.
It isn’t careless.
It feels like a decision made somewhere deeper than thought.
He leans in, slow enough that I could stop him if I wanted to. But I don’t.
His mouth meets mine carefully at first, a question more than a claim, and the surprise of it steals the air from my lungs.
The kiss deepens, unhurried and sure, like he knows exactly where this is going and isn’t afraid to take the long way there.One hand settles at my waist, steady and warm, grounding me as the world quietly tilts.
I melt into him before I even realise I’ve moved.
Everything else fades. The stone walls. The distant music. The castle itself could crumble and I wouldn’t notice. There is only this closeness, this quiet intensity, the way he holds me like I matter.
My hands rest against his chest, feeling the calm strength beneath them, his heartbeat steady and certain, as if it has all the time in the world.
