14. Macie

Chapter fourteen

Macie

M y heart thundered. So loudly, Relic had to hear it. I trembled, not in fear, but in anticipation. I'd never been kissed before, had never been so close with someone I found attractive, and had never felt this pull to lean forward and press my lips to his.

Relic was gorgeous. Beautiful. His blond hair had this sexy careless style, he smelled of sandalwood at the ocean, and his white T-shirt stretched against the muscles of his chest. His electrifying blue eyes made me feel as if he saw every inch of me, even the pieces deep inside that I kept hidden. Yet seeing all of that, he still wanted to kiss me, he still wanted me close.

Relic perplexed me, confused me, but more importantly, Relic made me feel alive.

Alive.

Blood rushed through my veins, and air tickled my lungs as I breathed in deeply. Pleasing tingles played along my skin with his caresses, and every cell sparked to life as they awoke from their months of slumber.

Months.

For months, I existed. Persisting in doldrums, this gray matter of space where I constantly relived the awful dread and fear I'd experienced as I laid on that blacktop, sputtering, choking, and gasping for air. I recalled incessantly how the blood drained from my body and the hot tears that ran down my cheeks as I thought of my mother, my father, my brothers, my family, my friends…and how at seventeen, I had never really lived.

But I was alive now. More alive than I had ever felt in my entire life, and I possessed the opportunity to kiss the mysterious and fantastic Relic Aslanov.

"How do we do this?" I whispered.

Relic's eyes moved about my face as he studied me. "You sure?"

"Are you backing out?" I asked, terrified the answer might be yes.

He gave me a slow sexy grin. "When it comes to you? Never."

Relic stroked my cheek again, and it sent pleasing tingles along my spine. "When you want to stop, you stop. If you want to kiss me, kiss me. You want to touch, you touch. If my hands roam toward places you're uncomfortable with, in fact any time you're uncomfortable, you stop and let me know. Never do anything you don't want. Never stay silent on how you feel. That just doesn't go for me, but for anyone who ever kisses you in the future."

I couldn't comprehend kissing anyone else when all I wanted was him.

"Are you ready?" Relic asked in a deep husky voice.

I nodded then whispered, "Yes."

Relic cupped my face, leaned forward, and my pulse throbbed at every pressure point in my body, my heart racing so fast it felt like it was going to explode. When he feathered a light kiss along my lips, I quaked, and Relic wrapped his arms around me in response. He pressed a longer kiss to my mouth, and my heart jolted as I joined along, mimicking his movements. I tilted my head to find better angles, and when he took in my lower lip between the two of his, I shivered as a rush heated my blood.

I liked this. No, I loved this. I loved the sensation of his lips on mine, loved how his hands roamed along my back, and loved how he how each time I touched him, he pressed me closer as if he wanted more of me. Relic opened his mouth and his tongue slipped along the seam of my lips. All my worries surrounding my inexperience floated away as I opened my mouth and allowed my tongue to slide against his. Our kiss deepened, and touching him, being caressed by him, felt like the most natural, most exciting, experience in the world.

A crash from inside caused me to pull away, but I didn't look toward the house as I only had eyes for him. Relic rubbed his hand along my back and gave me a tender smile. "You're an amazing kisser, Mazie Hutchison."

My cheeks reddened, and I took the liberty of grazing my fingers along the muscle in his bicep, a touch that, until this moment, I'd considered forbidden.

"What do you want to do now?" Relic asked. "Head into the party? Go home?"

I met his eyes and told him the truth. "I'd prefer to kiss you again."

Relic's eyes danced and I smiled along with him. "You definitely keep me on my toes."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"It's a great thing and I'm all for more kissing."

He leaned forward and kissed me again.