The Amulet Of Nicmir (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 1)

Chapter 59

Sam couldn't breathe. He couldn't. Not when his heart felt bigger than his chest and it was beating like a butterfly caught in a net and the girl he was hopelessly, recklessly in love with was running through a field toward him with her hair down. Gods, she was gorgeous in the golden light. She was gorgeous in any light.

And there was no way in Ahilia he was going to gather enough courage when he needed it to ask her what he planned.

Her smile, when she reached him, made his heart jump and his breath catch. The orb-light glanced off the subtle black-blue sheen in her hair and the deep browns of her eyes, turning her skin to gold. Sam almost thought he'd stepped into a dream with a dark goddess.

"Hey," she said as she raked a hand through her hair, still a little breathless from running. "Sorry I'm late. I was talking with Chad."

"Hey," Sam managed in response, trying to hide how choked his voice sounded, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. Gods, he was in trouble. This'd been a horrid idea. Maybe he could still escape if—

"No greeting kiss?" Crynia's eyes were dancing as she shrugged her coat on, and her tone was teasing. Sam blinked at her. Then he huffed a laugh that gave away just how nervous he really was and ran a hand through his hair, his fingers coming away wet and sticky from the snow that'd fallen while he was waiting outside.

"Sorry," he said, trying for a sheepish grin. At least he could pull that off well enough. "I was just thinking about something."

Yeah. Thinking about playing chicken because you don't have enough guts to say a few words.

Shut up.

"Well..." Crynia's voice was quiet, husky. Reaching up and hooking her fingers in his shirt to pull him down so they breathed the same air, she smiled against his mouth and looked up at him through her eyelashes. Sam closed his eyes, his heartbeat in his ears, and waited in sweet torture for her next words. "Then stop thinking."

Her kiss really, really didn't help calm his heartbeat. Every second of it left him even more hopelessly smitten without her even knowing it, every little synchronized movement of their mouths rendering him more breathless than before. It was crazy, what she did to him, and he loved every second of it.

Crynia lingered for a moment before drawing back, her lips touching his in a fleeting smile of a kiss before she grinned at him and plucked at a wild tuft of hair on the crown of his head. Sam's eyes were still closed, but the daze lasted only a moment before the object in his pocket struck an off-key chord in the song his heart was stupidly singing.

"Where're we going, Jackass?" There was that teasing tone again. Now she was just being cruel. It was painfully obvious how shaken he was.

"Somewhere," Sam replied, his voice cracking. Crynia's eyebrow quirked up along with the side of her mouth. Sam gave her a faltering, knowing smile and took her hand. "Just trust me, yeah? It'll be fun."

***

Sam was puzzling. Not that he hadn't been puzzling before, but now...now he was quiet. Dead quiet. The only sound he made was the crunch of snow under his boots and the soft noise of his breathing. And he was nervous. Terribly, terribly nervous. Crynia saw it in the trembling of his hands, even through his gloves, and the abnormalities in his gait, and the way he glanced at her sideways, caught her watching him, and turned crimson.

Do I really scare him that much?

No, that wouldn't make sense. He'd been teasing her relentlessly the past week, and the notion of getting up close and personal certainly hadn't been fear-inducing, considering how often he'd pulled her into a corner to lock lips. Maybe she scared him...but not unless he was planning something he thought she might refuse.