•1•Kiss Of Eternal Love

ADAM'S POV

She was beautiful.

I had no doubt about that.

Even though she was wearing a stunning golden mask that covered half of her face, I had no doubt that she was gorgeous beneath the mask.

Especially with her striking amber eyes that matched her blonde hair so perfectly.

She hadn't seen me yet. She was talking to a middle-aged man, her lush-looking lips parted in laughter. Fire settled in my pants immediately as I thought about all the things that mouth could do to me…

"Oh God, it's just a few minutes to midnight!" A woman behind me practically screamed.

I swerved around and glared at her, taking my attention off the amber-eyed beauty. When I looked back, the amber-eyed beauty no longer stood where she had been standing.

My eyes began darting around the garden where the masquerade party was going on, frantically looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

Where the hell did she vanish to?

I don't know why I felt this incessant urge to see her again. There were a lot of women around here who had offered to warm my bed tonight, but none of them had fascinated me as much as she had.

I have to see her again.

After some minutes and a fruitless search, I finally gave up looking for the amber-eyed beauty. Perhaps she has already left the party.

"Hey, handsome." A woman in a dress that was too skimpy for this business party said as she approached me. "I can be your eternal love, you know?"

And just like that, she began licking her lips and batting her long, fake eyelashes at me through the mask she was wearing.

I just stared at her. Was that her way of seducing me? Because the only thing she was doing was turning me off.

Fucking weirdos all around.

Scrunching my nose in distaste, I walked away from her, ignoring her offended protests.

"Oh God, it's going to be midnight soon. I better start scanning through." Another woman squealed.

She was a middle-aged woman swinging her flat hips to the piano tune playing. I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her to shut the fuck up.

Why the hell is a woman of her age so excited about the Legend of The Kiss of Eternal Love?

That stupid myth. Two strangers kissing at exactly midnight on New Year's Eve will love each other forever?

Seriously?

I swear if I hear another person talking about that legend, I'll fucking scream.

Shaking my head, I gulped down the remaining bits of champagne in my glass, wondering for the umpteenth time why the hell I allowed myself to be dragged to this godforsaken New Year's Eve masquerade party.

Ethan, one of my best friends, was the only reason why I had come to this party, but the jerk had gone off to strike some business deal, leaving me all alone.

And now the only person at the party who had managed to strike my interest had already left.

I was just about to call a waiter over to get another glass of champagne when I saw her again—the amber-eyed beauty. She hadn't left. She was walking through the garden, away from the party.

She soon disappeared behind the tall hedges that separated the party zone from the quiet zone. Without any hesitation, I went after her before she could disappear again.

A thrill went through me when I went around the hedges and found her perched on the softly inclined bank of a pond. The water was rippling with the swimming of fishes, and the full moon shining on it made it glitter so beautifully.

For some reason, I suddenly felt nervous as I approached the amber-eyed beauty. Strange, because I never feel nervous around women.

"I see that I've finally found someone like myself." I said casually.

My voice must've startled her because her head jolted in my direction, eyes wide. This close, those amber eyes of hers were even more striking.

She took a deep breath, relaxing as she looked back towards the pond and asked., "What do you mean?"

Her voice was soft, yet firm, and easily the most beautiful one I'd heard tonight.

"Partying," I said. "You don't seem like a fan of parties, much like myself. I'm guessing that's why you left the garden to come here."

"Oh come on, these people can't make a business party fun to save their own lives."

I had to chuckle at that, taking her response as an invitation to plop myself on the ground beside her. The scent of her fruity perfume invaded my nostrils immediately.

God, she smelled so good, like lemons. I almost leaned in to sniff her neck, but I stopped myself just in time. I couldn't afford to scare her off so soon.

"So why are you here at this party?" I asked her.

"I came with someone," she replied, then said the next words under her breath. "...who didn't even notice when I slipped away."

"Ah, your father," I guessed.

She didn't say anything, and we lapsed into silence so comfortable it surprised me. Silence with a stranger had never been this comfortable.

For some minutes, we just watched the fish swimming superficially in the pond, the piano music from the party filtering over to us.

"You know I've never liked parties, always hated them," I finally broke the silence.

"Your life must be pretty boring then. Parties can be fun if organized well and depending on the purpose," she mused.

"Dancing your ass off and binging on booze so you can wake up the next day with a hangover is fun?" I asked.

"Pretty much," she replied, then as if on second thoughts, turned to look at me. "But parties can be fun without booze, okay? What's your definition of fun, anyways?"

The genuine curiosity in her eyes made me smile. "For me, fun is being myself with nature and snapping away at its wonderful creations. Fun is diving headfirst from a plane and feeling the air rush around me as I fall, the adrenaline tearing through my veins. That's fun."

Her lush, pink mouth dropped open, her eyes widening as she looked at me like I was crazy.

She was about to speak again when a male voice coming from the speakers at the party filtered over to us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have less than five minutes before the clock strikes midnight. You better prepare yourself if you've set eyes on anyone."

"Jeez, am I the only one who thinks it's cold out here?" The masked amber-eyed stranger drew my attention back to her.

"Well, you didn't think your lacy sleeves could keep you warm, did you?"

"Not really. I just had appearances to keep up," she muttered, a bitter edge to her tone.

"He's very demanding, isn't he?" I asked, referring to her father who had probably forced her to come to this party. "I guess you are being groomed into the business or something."

The masked woman shrugged, drawing a knee up and resting her chin on it. "You can say that."

"You can refuse to do it if you don't want to, you know?" I said.

"Easier said than done, right?" Her amber eyes rolled delicately. "Besides, I'm not complaining. I do love it."

I didn't believe her. She seemed like the kind of person who would set her own needs aside to please someone she cared about.

"I think I should get going," the amber-eyed beauty announced and suddenly stood up.

The sudden view of her beautiful curves sent a rush of heat down my body, and I took a sharp breath, standing up too.

At that moment, the male voice from the speakers came again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, one more minute, and then the countdown will begin."

"What's all the fuss about midnight on New Year?" I asked just as she was about to leave.

"You don't know?" The masked woman asked, surprise coloring her voice. "It's because of the Legend of The Kiss of Eternal Love."

When I pursed my lips, her lush mouth widened.

"You don't know about that either?"

Of course, I knew about that. I just didn't want her to leave yet. And this was the perfect opportunity to keep her talking.

I shook my head. "Nope."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she explained, "The Legend of the Kiss Of Eternal Love states that when two strangers meet on New Year's Eve and kiss at exactly 12:00 on New Year, they'll love each other forever."

"Strangers like us?" I asked, taking a step closer to her.

Her eyes scanned me thoughtfully before she nodded. "Yes, I guess."

My fingers itched to remove her mask, to see the face behind her enchanting voice and piercing amber eyes.

"Do you believe in it?" I asked.

"It's the most absurd thing I've ever heard in my life," she rolled her eyes. "What about you? Do you believe in it?"

"I think it's bullshit too. I mean, a kiss makes two people love each other forever? Seriously?" I answered, and we both chuckled.

"Here it goes, ladies and gentlemen. The countdown begins... Now!" The voice of the speaker man came again, several other voices joining his as he began the countdown to New Year.

Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight...

"I'll be going now," the masked woman said. "It was nice meeting you."

Before she could take two steps away from me, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back into my arms.

Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen...

"What are you doing?" Her eyes widened, but she made no attempt to pull free from my grasp.

Truth be told, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I just knew that I couldn't let her go. I didn't believe in that absurd legend, but I needed to taste her lips.

I needed to have her.

Six, five, four...

"No need fearing what we don't believe in, right?" I quipped.

And right there in front of the pond, just as the countdown reached zero and fireworks exploded above us, I drew the masked woman's head up for a long, passionate kiss.