City of Secrets

Chapter 5: Amor Verus Numquam Moritur

Ember silently walked down the sidewalks at Central Park, her black velvet flats silently brushing against the hard pavement with every step she took. She shivered, even though she was heavily clothed in her thick black coat and leggings. Her wavy black hair spilled over her shoulders and flew back with the winter breeze. She felt her heartbeat accelerate as she turned around the corner of the pavement and saw the familiar bench by the lamppost.

A shadowy masculine figure was leaning against the bench. His silver hair shone white with the lamp light, and his sharp and angular features morphed into something eerily beautiful and ethereal in the mixture of darkness, silvery moonlight, and man-made light. He lifted his face as soon as he heard Ember turn the corner, and Ember broke into a sprint, desperate to hold the silver-haired boy in her arms.

Jonathan.

Jonathan moved towards Ember so fast that she only saw a blur through her ordinary eyes, and they met halfway to each other. He picked Ember up as she clung to him like a baby to its mother, and before she knew it, their lips met. It felt as if fire spread through Ember's entire body as their mouths danced together, warming her better and faster than any hot drink or warm fire, yet just as torturous as both. Jonathan set her down, and Ember reached up and pressed her forehead against his. His onyx gaze burned into her brown-eyed one. The corners of his lips quirked up.

"You came."

"You called," said Ember, and Jonathan touched the ring on her finger lightly. "How could I not come?" She saw a flicker of worry pass through Jonathan's eyes. It passed just as quickly as it came, and Ember almost thought she imagined it. Almost...but she knew Jonathan. She then noticed that his jaw was clenched and his posture was rigid. His black eyes flickered back and forth to the darkness and the shadows in it, as if he expected someone or something to jump out of the shadows and hurt them. His hand was enclosed around the hilt of one of his seraph blades.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered impassively. "Come on. We're going for coffee." He placed his hand on the small of her back, an intimate gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Ember, who felt her cheeks warm in response as Jonathan led her out of the vast park.

"Hey." She stopped right before the park's exit and stuck her hands into her coat's pockets. Her exhaled breath turned into a white cloud in the dangerously low temperatures.

"I know you. I know when something's bothering you. What is it?"

Jonathan ignored her question and kept on walking. "It's nothing, Ember." He pressed his lips to the side of her neck in a featherlight kiss that made her skin tingle deliciously. "By the Angel, you're freezing." He unwound a navy blue scarf from his throat and wound it around Ember's neck. She inhaled the smoky, spicy scent that belonged to Jonathan, and Jonathan alone.

"Now I know you really need the coffee," he said with a boyish grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Let's go."

"I'm not one to turn down coffee, J, but I will do it if you're going through something."

Jonathan didn't stop walking. "Don't worry about it."

Ember finally pulled back from him. "Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern, don't tell me it's nothing. You're keeping something from me and it's eating at you, I can see it. Tell me the tru- mmf!"

He placed his lips on hers to silence her. She felt her lips mold against his on their own accord, and Ember felt his heartbeat thump wildly against his heaving chest under her fingertips. He pulled away from the kiss and brushed his thumb lightly over her plump, red lower lip. His lips quirked up into a smirk as he heard Ember's breath hitch, but his black eyes showed no emotion.