How to Turn a Frog into a Prince - Bree Wolf Page 0,81

through, but she did not care. Her eyes were fixed on Nathanial as he advanced and she retreated. The cool water felt wonderful against her legs and her hands reached down to throw more his way.

Dodging the splash, Nathanial moved quickly and before Charlaine knew what was happening, his cold hand closed around her wrist, her heated skin all but sighing at the cooling contact. “I thought you didn’t want to get wet,” he laughed before he shook his head from side to side, sending a spray of water at her.

Charlaine shrieked yet again, enjoying herself immensely, and tried to break free. His grip, however, would not loosen and they moved in a strange imitation of a tug-of-war through the water. Charlaine could not say if they were wading in deeper or back to shore until her foot slipped on a smooth rock.

Unable to regain her balance, she fell backward, pulling Nathanial along as his hand was still wrapped around her wrist. They stumbled a few steps before Charlaine felt her world turn upside down. Her eyes closed as a sense of weightlessness came over her. It only lasted for a split second before she fell into the soft grass upon the bank, her feet still in the lake.

Water drops fell down upon her face and, momentarily, Charlaine wondered if it had started to rain. However, when she opened her eyes, she found Nathanial all but hovering above her, his arms braced to the left and right of her head, water dripping down from his chin and nose and onto her skin.

“You’re getting me wet,” she chided him yet again, a wide smile upon her face as she reached up to brush the water from his face.

Nathanial chuckled. “You’re mad,” he said once again, his blue gaze looking down at her. “Absolutely and completely mad.”

“Perhaps,” she whispered as her hands ran down the sides of his neck and onto his shoulders, suddenly unable not to touch him, “but then what are you?”

The smile slid from his face and he swallowed. “I must be, too,” he murmured, his chest moving with each rapid breath, before his gaze dropped to her lips, “for it seems I cannot resist you.”

And from one moment to the next, everything changed again.

No longer were they locked in a friendly battle, teasing each other as friends were wont to do. No, all of a sudden, Charlaine was very much aware of his large body hovering above hers, his gaze dark and captivating. That muscle in his jaw twitched as his gaze dropped from hers to trace the line of her upper lip.

Charlaine felt her breath lodge in her throat. He’s going to kiss me! That voice screamed once again. Or isn’t he?

Only too well did Charlaine remember her disappointment when Nathanial had retreated from her in the stables. She had wanted him to kiss her, but she had been confused at the time, overwhelmed and unprepared to stop him from drawing away.

Now, she was not. Now, she knew what she wanted…for it seemed he wanted it as well.

Without thought, her hands tightened on his shoulders, a soft pressure, urging him closer.

Nathanial’s eyes shot back up to meet hers, his jaw tightening, his gaze wide and dazed, but tempted nonetheless. And then he moved closer, slowly lowering himself down to her.

Charlaine closed her eyes…

…and then his lips brushed against hers.

Chapter Thirty-Six

If Only…

Nathanial felt as though he had strayed into a dream. He could feel Charlaine’s soft lips meeting his, her warm breath mingling with his own as his body lay down upon hers. Her warmth surged through him, and he felt her hands tighten upon his shoulders.

Never in his life had Nathanial wanted something as much as he wanted her in this very moment. When a soft sigh escaped her lips, all restraint fell from him.

His lips crushed down upon hers as desire ignited in every fiber of his body. All pretense was wiped away and the truth burst forth. A truth Nathanial had run from. A truth he feared. A truth he wished he could ignore.

For it brought with it the danger of loss.

However, in this moment, his mind was overruled by the sheer delight of holding her in his arms. She felt soft and warm, her body small and vulnerable compared to his. Still, he knew the strength that lived in her heart; a strength that had given him hope and a reason to smile and laugh and seek something more than a mere existence when