of my place.
“No. Maybe at the start, but ever since I met you, got to know you as a person...” He trails off and shakes his head. “I care for you, Clarissa,” he tells me, and a little seed of hope, no matter how foolish, blooms in my chest.
“I care for you too, Grayson. You and Jayne are the closest thing I have to family.”
“No—I...” He makes a noise of frustration and turns away, pacing the small space in the room. I watch him with confusion. I’ve never seen him so worked up before. “I know a little of what your life was like before this, and I know there is an age difference between us, so I’m trying not to overwhelm you.”
Is he trying to say what I think he is?
“Grayson…”
My voice trails off when I see the determined expression on his face—he’s decided something. Striding towards me, he stops a hairsbreadth away from me, our bodies almost touching. Slowly, so I can see what he’s doing, he reaches up and cups my cheek again, but this time, he leans down and presses his lips against mine. I freeze for a moment, unsure what to do—this is Grayson! But as the heat from his body reaches me, and his lips slowly start moving against mine, I return his kiss, and my stomach explodes into butterflies. Now that I’m responding to him, he deepens the kiss, wrapping his free hand around my waist so our bodies are pressed together. Desire flares inside me, more than I’ve ever felt before, and before I realise what I’m doing, I take his bottom lip between my teeth and gently bite down. He groans into my mouth and pulls away, breathing heavily.
“Sorry,” I blurt out, sure I’ve hurt him or that he didn’t like it. He just laughs and leans back against the table, running a hand through his hair.
“Never apologise. It should be me saying sorry.”
I’m still out of breath myself, but I tilt my head in confusion, not sure why he thinks he needs to apologise.
“I was only going to give you a peck on the lips, I didn’t mean to maul you.” He laughs again, subtly trying to rearrange himself, but I see him, and I realise he’s just as turned on as I am.
“I think I was the one mauling you,” I joke, biting my own lip, still worried that I hurt him. He groans and turns away.
“Don’t do that, stop biting your lip,” he mutters, and I realise he likes it.
Hmm, I’ll remember that.
“I’m sorry.” He turns around to face me, his face more sombre now. “It wasn’t fair of me to do that, not when I’m leaving,” he reasons, and that tight feeling enters my chest again. “I just couldn’t leave without you knowing how I felt.”
“Thank you,” I reply lamely. I have no idea how to act in these situations, and I know I’ve answered wrongly when he grins and takes a step towards me. At least I’ve not said anything to upset him.
“No, thank you,” he responds, leaning down and brushing a soft kiss against my lips. He pulls away before I have the chance to deepen it and smiles softly down at me. “Good night, Clarissa.”
“Good night,” I murmur, a daft smile on my face as I turn and walk out of the room. I can feel his eyes on me the whole time, and even when I’m back in my room, I can still feel the ghost of his lips against mine.
That night I sleep soundly, without a single nightmare or dream. It’s only when I wake up that I realise I forgot to tell Grayson about my plan with Tor.
Grayson left overnight. He told me of his plan to leave early in the morning as we parted ways last night, the memory of his kiss still tingling on my lips.
Breakfast had been a quiet affair, just myself with Jayne keeping me company. She had already eaten with the other maids and servants, but she made herself a cup of tea and sat with me. I’m in a bad mood today, and she seems to sense it as she watches me carefully.
“I’m sure he won’t be gone long.”
I look up from my porridge and raise an eyebrow, as if I couldn’t give a damn how long he’ll be gone for, but she just rolls her eyes, seeing right through me.
“Come on, I see the starry eyes the two of you give each other when