Crimson Born - Amy Patrick Page 0,56

of tonight?”

“A few. But I’m not done exploring the maze yet.” I picked up my pace and walked ahead of him, turning a corner so I was no longer within his range of vision.

“Slow down. You don’t want to get lost.”

Thanks to the thick foliage, his voice sounded farther away than it probably was.

“Yes, I do,” I shouted back to him, darting farther ahead and ducking into one of the structure’s many choices of side paths. “That’s part of the fun.”

Laughing, I continued to run, choosing a random path through the twisting, turning hedges.

“Abbi. Abbi come back right now.”

Reece’s harsh yells sounded very far away now. They were underpinned by the pounding of his boots as he chased me.

It really was fun to run free under the starry sky, surrounded by the lush smells of green, growing things and crisp mountain air. I hadn’t been chased since I was about twelve years old, but that was fun too—the subtle sense of danger while at the same time knowing I was perfectly safe, that it was just a game.

I laughed again and again as I ran, stretching my legs and enjoying their new strength. Suddenly, I was in a clearing.

It was square and anchored by a shallow reflecting pool. I’d reached the center of the maze.

Taking a moment to rest, I listened to the sounds of Reece running, breathing, and calling after me. He was getting closer. I turned my head left and right then spun around, searching for a new path, planning to keep the game going.

Reece burst into the clearing. “I’ve got you now, you little sneak.”

“Not yet, you don’t,” I shrieked and dove into the opening of the nearest tunnel.

Before I could take another step, Reece was upon me.

“Oh yes, I do.” He hauled me back against his body and lifted me off my feet.

“Gotcha.”

No amount of squirming and kicking would free me from his iron hold. But I tried.

“Stop fighting, Abbi,” he ordered. “The game’s over.”

28

What You’ll Be Missing

Reece’s heart pounded hard against my back, and his hot breath in my ear awoke a new kind of excitement within me.

He felt unbelievably big and strong, and suddenly I didn’t mind being overpowered.

Ceasing my struggle, I melted back against his body. But Reece didn’t immediately release me. We stayed in place, his arms wrapped around me, both breathing hard now.

“I should... let you go,” he said in a guttural voice on the edge of pain.

I nodded, but I didn’t step forward out of his grasp. Instead, I turned in his arms. Or maybe he turned me? I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t really matter. The end result was the same—we were face to face, our bodies pressed together.

The strain I’d detected in Reece’s voice was on his face as well. His hands slid down my back and settled on my waist, but instead of pushing me away he pulled me tighter.

Our faces were so close together I couldn’t see him clearly—but I could feel him. I was aware of every part of him, and that awareness filled me with a sense of longing so powerful it felt like I literally could not survive if he didn’t kiss me.

“Abbi,” he groaned through clenched teeth. His eyes squeezed shut as if he was searching inside himself for strength. “We’ve got to stop. I can’t do this. I’m Bloodbound.”

“Not yet,” I whispered, going up on tiptoe to accommodate our height difference and get closer to his lips.

My next words were whispered against them. “But you will be in two days. And then you’ll be bound to your vows forever. Don’t you want to know what you’ll be missing?”

His eyelids opened and flared, and then his mouth was on mine. The pleasure of it was almost paralyzing. Almost.

Though it was my first kiss and I had no idea what I was doing, my lips were having no trouble figuring things out.

They moved with Reece’s, slowly at first but growing steadily in intensity. I pushed even more tightly against him, bringing my hands up to bracket his face.

I wanted to hold him there forever, to never leave this secluded spot, never stop what we were doing.

This. This was the thing I’d longed for without ever realizing what was missing in my former life. Apparently Reece felt something similar because he kissed me like he was starving.

Possessive hands roamed up and down my back, shoulders, neck, and face. He pushed his fingers into my hair, delving beneath it to clasp the back of my