Monarch Falls (The Four Quarters of Imagination Book 1)

by Lumen Reese

  “That’s tempting,” I murmured. My voice was so husky I barely recognized it. “You’ve only got one good arm…”

  “I only need one,” he muttered, and a giggle burst out of all my tension. He almost laughed, too, and was just smiling, looking at me as the tremors faded. “Oh, Honey, say yes…” With his arms on either side of my head, he brought his hands over and reached out, stroking my temples with just the tips of his fingers as he brushed my hair back behind my ears.

  There was still a logical part of my brain which said I wasn’t prepared for such a thing. His face was so close he could kiss me any second but still he did not, and it was making the decision difficult. My hand was on the doorknob, though, and I gave it a wrench because that was easier than answering. It gave and I was falling.

  I stumbled back and Corso tumbled in after me, though he kept his feet and caught his breath in only a moment. Then he grinned with the corners of his mouth, and advanced toward me, where I had been stepping back. “Think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?”

  I had backed all the way up to my counter top and when it hit my back I sort of squeaked. He pinned me there, arms on either side of me again, leaning forward and I was leaning back. He was so close that our legs were tangled and our hips were pressed and my hands had gone up to his chest to hold him at arm ’ s length but I eased up, feeling the hardness of his chest and then trailing my fingers down his stomach. Then I draped my arms over his shoulders, running my fingers through the brown hair at the back of his head which I had always wanted to feel. I thought surely that was enough, he was dipping his mouth low toward mine and I didn’t give a damn about reason anymore.

  But I didn’t feel his lips on mine, and opened my eyes to see him pulled back. His arms still around me, his left hand trailed down my back and made me shiver.

  “Do you really think you’re alright? Are you sure, you are? It can be hard… it can stop making sense, after…” He looked away, then he looked back, watching me.

  I felt a coldness in my stomach. “Did Alex tell you something about me?”

  His brow went up just a little. His other hand which wasn’t on the small of my back came up and he held the side of my face. “She didn’t have to.”

  I exhaled, and some of the cold tension in my gut went away. “I’m fine. Don’t start treating me differently-.”

  “-Honey, I know,” he insisted. His finger traced down my temple, and along my jaw. He seemed to debate with himself for a moment, then finally, “…We’re still the same people.” My mouth parted and before I could speak he traced my lips with his finger, stopping me. “-Sh. Don ’t treat me different. It’s just, you never had any boyfriends or anything that I could tell. I went through a lot of girlfriends before I got a sense for it again, I guess you probably know that. I just wanted to make sure you were sure. I’ll trust you if you say you are.”

  “I am,” I said instantly.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” I said, and when his lips were plunging for mine I recoiled. “-Wait, but are you?”

  “Hell yes,” he said, and pressed back against me and pinned my lips in a fierce kiss that I found myself laughing into in the back of my throat.

  The End.