07/08/2022
“They’ve got better game than you, that’s for sure.”
An easy grin rested on his mouth.
In that moment, I wanted to smack him and snog him in one go.
His hand held onto mine as he led me into the crowd, swaying with the music. The night was warm and even, the fire on our right lighting us in an ethereal way. The beat thumped into my heart as Liam spun me around and around, drunkenly singing along with all the wrong words. My palm twisted in his, dress spinning as I was pulled along his axis, helpless to do anything but to comply.
Liam was familiar. Like breathing. Like sunshine. Like the light that lived in my bones. I laughed as he spun me out, and then spun me in against him. The second time he did that, he held me for a beat, singing the lyrics as I messed up his hair and sang them back at him.
The third time, he held me a little longer, his breath against my neck. I felt myself fit against him a little tighter, the heat from our bodies from the fire mingled together. I was going to lose my ever loving mind. That boy had no idea the effect he had on me.
I grabbed his other hand and spun him around like a lass. He complied, his tall frame bending to fit under my arm as he tried to fit himself in.
“I think that’s why we’re usually the ones who do it, Isla.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. You guys fit a little better.”
He recorrected our positions with ease, Spinning me again, this time twisting me so my back pressed against him. Something friends didn’t do.
“I like your hair like that.” He said, just below a whisper. He lingered, fingers brushing against mine as the song slowed.
He flipped me around, eyes dancing, hypnotizing mine. I was prey. Absolute prey. This boy had no idea the torture I was in. And I was just going along with it, like an idiot. But for this moment, for this small, small moment- on Midsommer’s Eve, I was going to let it.
I shut out the world- the eyes of my sisters, the heat of the flame, the rush of the ocean, the blush on my face, and focused on him. The way the fire lit his eyes, reflecting mine. The way we danced closer than we had in years past, my arms around his neck now, his gently on my waist, fingers drumming to the beat on my back.
Our faces were close now. The music played on, as we danced together, a strange silence settling onto us that I hadn’t had before. His eyes didn’t leave mine, and I felt a string between us pull tighter, and tighter. His breath was hot on my forehead, and I could smell the sweet mint.
His eyes were a question. His hands were a statement. And I was completely at his will.
For YA fans of OUTLANDER and A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES, here’s a dark academia read with an autumn twist.
THE ALCHEMIST’S GUIDE TO ROMANCE AND RIVALRY
Isla's village is a safe haven if you play by the ever-changing rules of the fae- one being that every five years, one of the members disappears. When a warring clan makes unbreakable bonds with dark unseelie, Isla accidentally discovers magic of her own. Isla trains with the captain of the guard- a boy she can't trust. Her powers and attraction to him only grow stronger. She's torn between the world she loves most (and the boy back home) and the glimmering world she's only just discovered.
The Tropes:
Chosen One
Fae Magic
Who Hurt You?
Friends to Lovers
Kidnapping
Forced to Train together
Enemies to lovers
New episodes are released every Tuesday!
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https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0B8QXCJLW
Serial stories to read one short episode at a time
