Chapter 49: The Library, Part 4

Kade dips his head, and we meet in a gentle kiss. It's not demanding or urgent. It's replenishing. Appreciative. In his kiss, it's easy to believe he's all mine like he said he is, but someone once told me a lady must take a gentleman's promise with a healthy dose of suspicion. It helps stave off the bitter disappointment men often bring.

I fall deeper into the kiss, immersing myself in the fantasy. It grows, its pace changing from languid to quick, from gentle to hungry—and I let it. I let it consume me. Kade grips me behind my thighs and lifts me with a rough yank. I gasp into his mouth, wrapping my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck. He carries me into the darkness, away from the bookshelves, and I worry he'll fall, that he'll drop me against the tiles, but he moves with confidence, walking us through the library without fault—as well as he'd do with his eyes wide open and focused.

In a few long strides, Kade lowers me down. My eyes shoot open, and the kiss breaks as m