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The taste of chocolate and wine on his tongue.

The rough sound that comes from somewhere deep in his chest when I kiss him back.

Something inside me answers. Magic sparks beneath my skin.

Hot.

Bright.

Alive.

I gasp against his mouth. He pulls me closer. The world could explode around us and I wouldn't notice.

The Academy could vanish.

Castor's Corner could fall into the ocean.

George Washington could reappear over Main Street and start another magical revolution.

I wouldn't care. Because Grimm Palermo is kissing me.

And I’m kissing him back.

Greater than the taste of chocolate and wine on his lips is desire. Need. Something deeper I can't name.

My heart is pounding so hard it hurts.

My magic is humming.

And somewhere deep inside me, that same strange awareness I've been feeling for weeks suddenly flares to life.

There you are.

I freeze.

Grimm does too.

For one impossible second, I feel it.

A magical warmth.

A pull.

A sense of something familiar brushing against my powers.

But that's crazy.

Grimm's forehead presses against mine. His breathing is ragged.

So is mine.

“What was that?” I whisper.

His hands tighten around my face.

And the look in his eyes? It's not confusion. It's something deeper.

Something I don't understand.