“Yeah?” Interest lit his brown eyes. “Better to know what she can and can’t do now rather than later in an emergency situation. You two can pair up in bootcamp and encourage one another.”
“I don’t even wanna know what we’ll be doing in that class. Three hours of torture I imagine.”
Gabriel’s grin widened. “You thought I was a hardass? Wait ’till Coach Bregman gets ahold of you. She’s a tough wolf to please.”
“Guess it’s a good thing you whooped my ass so much last year. I, uh, noticed they actually gave us a scheduled hour for training now.”
“Ninety minutes,” he corrected me. “And don’t think for a second I’m going to go easy on you.”
“Never crossed my mind. Though I thought maybe we could do some sort of reward system. Positive reinforcement is a great motivator. You know, Kit Kats. Kisses.” My heart thumped in my chest.
“Kisses, huh?” He stopped and turned to me, one hand skirting the narrow band of skin between my shorts and tank top.
“Just a suggestion…”
Gabriel dipped his head and skimmed his nose across mine. The teasing gesture set off flutters in my stomach and made my pulse race with rising anticipation.
“Been waiting all summer for this.”
I was barely breathing. Not at all sure I was breathing at all. “For what?” escaped in a hoarse whisper.
“This.” Gabriel turned his head and captured my mouth.
My imagination hadn’t played up the memory of our first kiss, because the second was as good if not better. Lips moved against mine, barely parting them, teasing and keeping me on the edge of my seat before the first fleeting slip of tongue.
I wanted it to last forever.
His arms tightened around me, his body hard and unyielding.
I wiggled in closer and groaned in protest when he leaned back. “Totally worth the wait.”
A sly grin curved his mouth. “Much better than that underwhelmed wow you gave me last time.”
I thumped my fist into his shoulder. As much as I enjoyed his laughter and our quiet moment together, the end of his kiss allowed the dark cloud to resurface in my thoughts. “How is this gonna work between us?”
“Hell if I know.” His shoulders slumped but he squeezed my hand and didn’t let go. “Technically there’s no outright rule against it but—”
“But interracial dating is discouraged. Yeah, I read into things, too.” As had Liadan, because that’s the sort of friend she was. “The way I see it, we have three choices. Firstly, we say screw it and do what we want no matter what anyone thinks or says.”
“It’s not the fact that you’re a fae and I’m a shifter that’s against rules, Sky. They could split us up as partners and make us swap to other teammates.”
“So second option would be to just not tell anyone. Keep it between us. I don’t need public displays of affection to know I care about you.”
Gabriel was quiet for a moment. The third option hung unspoken between us, but his thumb swept over my knuckles again. “Or we could drop it and continue as friends only. It’ll save you a lot of grief and bullshit down the line. The school admin may not be able to break us up, but your fellow fae have their own ideas about what’s acceptable.”
My stomach tightened at the idea. While it was true that anything would be better than losing him from my life completely, I just couldn’t fathom the idea of pretending I didn’t feel anything for him.
“I don’t want that,” I finally whispered.
“There’s a fourth option, but I’m sure you thought about it too. If we report it ourselves and have them reassign us—”
“No!”
Other Books by Vivienne
Fairy Tale Retellings
Beauty and the Beast
Red and the Wolf
Goldilocks and the Bear
Belle and the Pirate
Zarina and the Djinn
Rapunzel and the Griffin Prince
Sci-Fi Romance
Super Sexy Aliens, Cyborgs, Psychics.
Reverse Harem Romance
Three Greek gods, one reincarnated modern goddess
Divine Ambrosia
Paranormal University
College has never been this exciting. Or hot.
The Hidden Court
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Dragons
Loved by the Dragon
Smitten: Dawn of the Dragons #2
Crush on a Dragon: Dawn of the Dragons #3
God of Mischief: Dawn of the Dragons #4
Military Shifters
Hot and Wild military alphas
The Right to Bear Arms (Book #1)
Let Us Prey (Book #2)
The Purr-fect Soldier (Book #3)
Old Dog New Tricks (Book #4)
Texas Pride (Book #5)
Impractical Magic
Impractical Magic
Better Than Hex (Impractical Magic #2)
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Blood Heiress
Blood Kissed
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Werewolves of San Antonio
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Training the Alpha
Mythological Creatures
Making Waves
Epic Fantasy by Dominique Kristine
Shadows for a Princess
* * *
A princess who would rather die than wed. A warrior priest who would rather kill than see her harmed. A kingdom of shadows and treachery that threatens them both...
At the age of twenty-eight, Princess Ysolde Westbrook is a spinster duchess, the adopted daughter of Hindera's eccentric monarch. Commoners love their benevolent leader, but the kingdom's gentry take offense to the outsider among them. Amid noble plots and demands for her to marry a local aristocrat, an assassination attempt places her life in peril--if she will not have one of them for a husband, they would sooner see her dead.
Finding allies in strangers with powerful gifts and even darker secrets, Ysolde must learn what it means to lead and find her own inner strengths. Whether or not she survives the tangled web of treason will determine the fate of her duchy, the royal family, and the kingdom she loves.
About the Author
Vivienne Savage is the pen name of two best friends who write everything together. One works as a nurse in a rural healthcare home in Texas and the other is a U.S. Navy veteran. Both are mothers to two darling boys and two amazing girls.
All of their work varies in steam level, so pop by the VS website for details on which series is right for you!
For more information
www.viviennesavage.com
[email protected]
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