Only when my feet break the surface of the water and the cold shocks my senses, do I yelp. I close my lips at the last moment, sinking into the freezing, inky water of Farcliff Lake.
The cold takes my breath away. I sink down, down, down, opening my eyes underwater to see blackness all around me. With one powerful kick, I propel myself upward. I kick my way to the surface, coming up with a gasp.
Prince Luca is there, and he wraps me in his arms. I lean into his warmth, panting. We swim toward the edge of the water, pulling ourselves up onto a flat rock that’s been warmed by the early summer sun.
The Prince peels his shirt off over his head, revealing a chiseled body and bronzed skin. His physiotherapy must have included hours in the gym during his recovery, and a treacherous part of my brain wonders what it would feel like to run my tongue up between his abdominal muscles, licking the water droplets clean off his skin.
I lay beside him, letting out a sigh and shaking my head.
“Did you enjoy that?” He grins.
“I think so.”
The Prince props himself up on his elbow, angling his body toward mine. I blame the cold water, because I find myself shifting my body closer to his warmth. His hand drifts up my soaking-wet shirt to my face, sliding across my jaw.
His touch is soft, yet possessive.
My heart goes boom, boom, boom against my ribs.
“Thank you for jumping with me,” the Prince says, his eyes soft as they drop to my lips.
“I didn’t think I would do it.”
He grins. His thumb brushes my lower lip, and a delicious shiver tumbles down my spine. It circles in my stomach and teases between my thighs.
I want him. I don’t even know what that means, really, except that I know I want the Prince to kiss me and touch me like I belong to him.
A drop of water falls from his hair onto my cheek, and the Prince wipes it off. The touch makes me shiver, and a sigh slips through my lips.
I reach up to hook my hand around the Prince’s neck, and without even knowing what I’m doing, I pull him down toward me.
The Prince brushes his lips over mine gently, so gently. His breath washes over my skin as my nipples pucker under my wet clothing. Pulsing waves of heat course through my body, and I forget that I was cold a few seconds ago.
Angling my lips up toward his, he pulls away and chuckles. His lips trace my jaw, sending waves of fire coursing through me. Finally, the Prince’s hand slides back to the nape of my neck, and he stares into my eyes.
“Where did you come from, Poison?”
I can’t answer. He’s stolen the words right from my mouth. I gulp, and the Prince’s eyes flick to my lips. Then, without another word, he finally, finally kisses me. The instant his mouth touches mine, liquid heat pours through my veins. I part my lips and accept his kiss, curling my fingers into his wet hair.
A moan slips through my lips and the Prince swallows it down as if it gives him sustenance. He shifts his body over mine, and the weight of him makes my whole body thrum.
Deepening the kiss, the Prince swipes his tongue across my lips and claims them as his own. Fire burns inside me. My cold, wet clothing clings to my body, making me feel like I’m burning even hotter.
The Prince’s hand drifts down to my shirt, and he palms my breast. His thumb runs over my pebbled nipple, feeling it through my drenched clothing. I gasp, nipping at his lips as I try to have more of him.
I need more. I need him.
My body screams for him—his touch, his kiss, his everything.
I thought I’d been kissed before. I thought that those sloppy, drunken embraces in dingy nightclubs counted as kisses.
I was wrong.
Nothing could have prepared me for the electric heat that the Prince delivers to me. Every time his finger brush over an exposed sliver of skin, sparks erupt and goosebumps follow. I arch my back, hooking both arms around his neck as he moans into my mouth.
He tastes like honey and danger. Like adrenaline and sweet sin wrapped into one. I rough my hands through his hair, gasping when he drops his head to my breast. Pulling my shirt down, he takes my hardened nipple between