Bookishly Ever After (Ever After #1)(66)

“We, um, probably shouldn’t be doing this.” I resisted the urge to wipe at my lips. Maybe the books were wrong. Maybe all first kisses were miserably awkward. Those clothes moths were having a party in my stomach like they’d just found my best cashmere sweater.

He took my hands into his. “I doubt any of the teachers will say anything. We’re some of Pine Central’s best students. We can get away with anything.” This close, he didn’t look so much like my mental picture of Aedan. Not enough gold in his eyes and I couldn’t help but notice how much that confident smile of his actually irked me.

He leaned in to kiss me again and I arched my back away from him, like my body was doing what my apparently limited language skills couldn’t.

“It’s not the teachers. It’s just that…”

“She’s my girlfriend.” Dev came out of the woods with an expression on his face that was a cross between wanting to strangle Kris and disappointment in me. “Phoebe, I thought you said you loved me.” With the hood of his sweatshirt up and shoulders back, he looked like an avenging warrior, the tiniest bit like Aedan in the Glittering battle in Dublin scene.

Kris jumped away from me like I’d suddenly caught on fire. “Whoa, I didn’t know, Jacobs. I’m not the kind of guy to mess around with other guy’s girlfriends. She didn’t say anything. Honest.”

I stared at Dev, half-confused and half-relieved. The tornado had landed me in Oz and everything was topsyturvy. The corner of Dev’s lips quirked up the tiniest amount and everything settled into some semblance of sense. “Dev. I—” I was an awful actress, but adrenaline and confusion melded together into something I hoped was realistic. “—I can explain.”

“And I’m getting out of here,” Kris said, just before reaching out to squeeze my arm. “If you break up with him and need a shoulder to cry on, I’m here.” The confidence slipped back onto his face and he headed back towards the keg like nothing had happened. As soon as he was gone, I collapsed onto the log and let the utter mortification I’d been holding back wash over me. How much had Dev seen?

The log shifted as Dev sat next to me. “Nothing ever bruises that guy’s ego, does it?” I didn’t answer and he pressed on. “You looked really uncomfortable, like you needed an out. I hope that was okay.”

I pulled my face from my hands. “I…yes, thank you. I thought I liked Kris, but the more I got to know him…” And there was no spark, I added silently. “I didn’t expect—” I broke off again and took a moment to compose myself into a little less embarrassing of a state. “You two could have gotten into a fight.”

Dev let out a laugh that had a darker edge to it. “Nah. I know Kris really well. We’ve been scouts together since we were little kids. He doesn’t like being in situations where he doesn’t have the upper hand. Nothing fazes the guy.” It was easy to tell from his tone that he didn’t like Kris at all.

“Even I believed you were going to rip his head off for a minute there.” I couldn’t seem to get a smile to go onto my face, so I settled for a half-cringe smile thing.

It was impossible to see his eyes from the way he tilted his head in the hoodie. “I’m a good actor.”

I moved my hands to my lap, weaving my fingers together and apart. “Thanks for looking out for me,” I said softly.

“You’re my co-counselor. It’s my job,” he said, but the joking in his voice was tempered with something low and comforting.

Afraid of what my face would reveal, I tilted my head back to look at the stars. Dev didn’t push, and we just sat there in silence.

Golden series book 1: Golden PG 73

He pulled her tight against him, his arms twined around her waist. She felt the fingers of his hand through the thin silk of her dress.

Gold light wrapped around them, so bright that she had to close her eyes to keep it from blinding her. He bent over and his lips brushed her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

“Don’t speak if you can help it when we’re in the court. I’ll speak for you. And don’t let them see you watching them.” The gold faded and they were in a hallway straight out of a fairytale picture book. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out a gold paneled ceiling and Celtic knot-work tapestries on the stone walls that would make the Book of Kells jealous.

Everything that wasn’t stone was some shade of gold or green. It was beautiful.

Maeve took in a deep breath and was about to say something when Aedan’s arms tightened around her. She blinked and saw another man coming towards them, dressed in Leprechaun green and brown.

Like Aedan, he was tall, handsome, and built to be a warrior. But the predatory glint in his eye and the almost-sneer on his lips were a definite sign that he was nothing like her protector.

“Aedan, good to see you with a conquest. Two centuries without companionship—we were starting to worry about you.” He stepped close to them, a challenge.

“Times and people change, Connaught.”

Connaught ran a finger down her cheek and she tried not to flinch.

“Are you sure you know what to do with her?” He continued downwards, his fingers running through her hair and only millimeters from her body. It felt like a predator prepping to eat her. “This one is lovely. If you change your mind, I’ll take her.”