A few days later, all of the candidates were called into the foyer for another of Nathan’s meetings. By now, Elva was fully recovered, although very angry that I would not let her leave the room. “There’s a bad guy on the loose,” I said. “It’s too dangerous for you until that person is caught.”
I relaxed as best I could, letting the kiss happen for the cameras. Julian’s lips were soft on my own, gentle and non-demanding. It was a kind sort of kiss, and for that I was grateful. Though I would still have to remember to tell Nicholas not to watch the broadcast tonight. He’d made clear that
I knew it couldn’t be as simple as all that, but I really did want to go out there. The gardens had been one of our regular hangout spots for so long. To lose it now, felt most unfair. My voice soft, afraid someone would overhear, I said, “I’d love to.” “Great,” Julian said, and pushed open the
Later, in the safety of my room, I asked Mark to summon Nicholas. Yet, just as he arrived, Veronica arrived too. I wasn’t unhappy to see her, exactly, but there were things I had hoped to speak with Nicholas about that I hadn’t wanted others to overhear. When I heard Veronica’s reasons for visitin
“I’m here.” Nicholas walked to her, hugged her, and then joined in her game. I followed, eager for any moment of normalcy, no matter how fleeting. Later, I followed Nicholas to the guest room he was using. We hadn’t finished our conversation. As we crossed the threshold and closed the door behin
I clawed at Nicholas’s shoulders. He was wearing too many clothes. But then, so was I. His kiss devoured me, entranced me. I felt so fully under his spell that I couldn’t think clearly. All I knew was the trace of Nicholas’s hand up my spine, slipping under my shirt. He lifted it up and off my hea
I laughed, and he growled. Before the shirt even hit the floor, Nicholas was bent over the bed and burying his face in between my legs. With careful fingers, he pulled back the hood, and then licked at my clit with a firm tongue. I grabbed at the pillow behind me, and writhed on the cool sheets
Charlotte and I flipped through the fabrics on the table near the sewing machines. “It has to be a bright color, right? Something that says, I’m having fun,” I said. I picked up a bolt of red fabric. “What about this one?” Charlotte shook her head. “Red means danger. You’ll give someone an anxie