“More or less?”
“Then…” His hand moved languidly, the fairytale prince silently granting her the right to proceed.
She almost smiled at the thought but didn’t dare do so, knowing Angelo would kill her if he found out she thought of him like that.
Clearing her throat, Lane said, “First, I’m sorry that the boy was hurt, but I hope the boy doesn’t hate the girl for it.”
“He doesn’t.”
“Because,” she continued, “the girl just wanted someone who’s more than a prince. The way I see it, the girl only wanted someone who could love her enough to be true to her, because then she’d have the courage to be true to herself, too.”
“So you’re saying,” he said silkily, “it’s the boy’s fault he lost the girl?”
Oops.
“What I mean is,” she said quickly, “maybe the boy needs another girl.”
“Ah, this would be interesting. Would she be curvy perhaps?”
“Oh, yes.”
“And…mm…with hair and eyes the shade of caramel?”
She forgot her role for a second, mumbling, “Wow.” Angelo sure had a way with words. She had never heard her features described that way before.
“Am I right so far?”
She nodded eagerly. “Yes.”
“So this other girl might be the one for the boy?”
“Uh huh.”
“Even if the boy made her cry?”
Oh.
“Because,” Angelo said tautly, “if the boy could turn back time, he would have—”
She cut him off, whispering, “Yes. Even if the boy made the other girl cry, she still thinks he’s the one for her.”
They stared at each other, Lane’s eyes not hiding anything even when everything Angelo felt remained buried.
He asked slowly, “The boy wants to ask something.”
“W-what is it?”
“Can the boy kiss her now?”
Oh. Her lips curved in a tremulous smile. “The girl says…”
He sucked in his breath.
“Her masochistic side likes it better when he doesn’t even bother to ask.” There was a rustle of movement and the next thing Lane knew, Angelo was looming over her, and she was trapped under his powerfully muscular body. In the blink of an eye, the bedroom that once felt too beautiful and too vast for her became nothing but a mist of faded colors, and the only vivid thing she could see was him.
Her fallen angel, who was a fairytale prince even as he insisted on seeing himself as a villain.
The devilish smile on his lips was more than her heart could bear, and when he crooned, “Does this meet the girl’s approval?” she just about expired on the spot.
“Yes,” was all Lane managed to whisper. The hot, throbbing feel of him scrambled all her senses, and she couldn’t keep her body from going stiff under him. She was terrified that if she made the tiniest movement and had more contact with his body, she would just…explode.
“Relax, tesoro.” One hand swept over the side of her body, a touch that she supposed was meant to comfort but only made it harder for her to breathe. The move of his hand was languid and almost deliberately caressing, and she had to bite back a gasp as his fingers lingered on the side of breast.
Oh, his fingers were so close—
His fingers moved down to her waist, stopping on her hip, his grip possessive.
“Feeling better now?”
She squeaked out, “No.”
His lips curved. “Good.”
Gooooosh. She said helplessly, “Sadist.” But they both knew she was saying it for her sake, because she loved that he was one.
His head came down an inch closer, and her breath caught.
Another inch, and the urge to writhe was an exquisite torment to resist.
Another inch, and oh, so close now that she could feel his breath fanning her lips—
“Please,” she choked out.
His eyes gleamed, and she knew he had been waiting for her to beg.
“Sadi—mmph.”
He sucked her lower lip into his mouth, and she froze. She knew this didn’t even count as kissing, but the intimacy of the act was already overwhelming, and her fists clenched against her sides.
“My Lane.” The velvety possessiveness of Angelo’s tone made her whimper, and as her lips parted, his tongue immediately slipped inside.
Oh!
Her eyes drifted close, and her fists clenched harder.
His tongue moved softly inside her mouth, tasting, exploring, and her heartbeat went erratic. She felt Angelo shifting, and then he was clasping her head with both hands, angling her face, and the kiss suddenly deepened, his tongue pushing further inside.
She moaned against his mouth, her fingers unclenching, and she found herself clutching his shoulders. He kissed her harder, and her grip on his shoulders tightened.