Serpent's Daughter (Four Kingdoms #1) ✓

44. Show Them All (Part 2)

Heat trailed up his arm from her hands, mixing with the sweltering desert. But where the sun was brutal in its relentless scorching impact, her warmth sent a thrill throughout his body. It was addicting.

Aydin leaned forward. Sephirah's eyes widened in surprise as he dropped her hand before pulling her into a hug. A blanket of calm drifted over his agitated magic and restless thoughts about his potential. Aydin rested his face in the nook of her shoulder, breathing in the scent of sweat and the faint aroma of wildberries. The hair slicked against her neck tickled his nose, but he disregarded the feeling when he felt her hands slide across his back, returning the embrace.

"Oh, Aydin," Sephirah said softly, her breath fluttering across his neck. "Are you okay? Answer me."

"Now I'm okay," Aydin responded just as softly. He closed his eyes, his arms relaxing as he drifted into sleepiness.

"Wait, Aydin." Sephirah removed her hands and pressed them against his chest, shoving. "You're heavy. Get off me."

"No," he mumbled. She was as soft as a pillow, and if there was anyone he'd want in his arms then it would be the most ethereal princess in the Four Kingdoms.

"Aydin," she dragged out the sound of his name.

He grinned against her neck. "Keep saying my name like that, and I might get a little frisky."

"Aydin!" Sephirah chastised, slapping him on the back. A stinging pain flared but he tightened his hold on her, crushing her body against his own. She hit him again, punching this time, and he flinched.

"By the goddess's lovely bones, you won't ever claim a man with this violent nature of yours," Aydin spoke jokingly, finally pulling back to stare at her flustered face. He couldn't bring himself to remove the hands placed at her hips and when she made no motion to remove them, his smile grew broader.

"I don't want to claim a man," Sephirah responded, sticking out her stubborn chin. The blush across her cheeks spread down her neck and Aydin couldn't help but follow the motion. "Especially not you."

Aydin's cheeks hurt from his smiling. He hadn't felt this content in days. "That burns, Rah. I would do anything for you. How can you not fall in love with everything I could charismatically offer?"

"You..." Her eyes searched his own as her lips pinched together, voice trailing off. He could tell she was biting her cheeks from the way they squished inward. "You are despicable! I would rather jump off the top of Mount Ashstorm than ever—"

He tightened his hands on her waist, pulling her toward him in a quick maneuver. One of his hands slid up her back, tangling in her hair as he cupped the back of her head gently. Her eyes fluttered slightly, dipping to glance at his lips.

Aydin felt a tingling sensation in his stomach; a nervousness he'd never experienced in all his previous encounters. He angled his head while slowly moving closer, giving her the chance to stop him. When her hands reached out unsteadily to grab his shoulders, he stilled. Her breath fanned his nose as she stared at him, golden eyes unreadable but churning with emotion.

Her hands drifted from his shoulders, lightly resting on his cheeks before moving to wrap around his neck.

Heat burned through him and he smiled shyly. A foreign feeling ghosted his cheeks and the tip of ears. Sephirah started to smile as she whispered, "Don't tell me the player prince is actually blushing right—"

The feeling grew stronger, and his pride could take no more. He moved in, closing his eyes as he pressed his lips against hers, stopping the end of one of the most embarrassing sentences he'd heard in a while. Her arms tightened around his neck as she shockingly returned his kiss.