I stood in the middle of my rooms staring at him. How did I respond to that?
"I shouldn't have said that."
"It's fine," I whispered, looking down at the floor. It felt like it was less likely to put me in a weird situation.
Every thought in my mind faded away as Jake closed the distance between us, his footsteps all I could focus on. I'd thought about this moment so many times. Dreamed of it and hoped that it would become real.
And now it was.
I opened and closed my hands, resisting the urge to wipe them on my skirt to dry away some of the nervous sweat that seemed to have formed on them.
Jake reached out and placed a hand under my chin, lifting my face so he could look into my eyes.
I blinked a few times, trying to determine if this was real or if my imagination was running wild with some fantasy.
His breath smelled like the wine he'd taken from the table, but there was no way he was still under the effects of that. He must have gotten some more from one of the servants. I didn't like the sour scent of it, but I wasn't about to let that ruin my moment with Jake.
He closed the gap between us by circling an arm around my waist and pulling me closer. The smell intensified with him being closer, so I started breathing through my mouth to help against that.
"I want to kiss you, Kelis."
It sent a shiver down my spine, and not in a good way.
“What about Lyss?” I whispered.
“She’s sleeping with one of your staff, I believe,” Jake snorted.
He knew about that?
There was no more time to think about it, as his mouth crashed down on mine. My eyes widened before I realized what was happening and closed them. I was finally getting the moment I'd always craved with Jake, I was going to enjoy this, no matter what.
So why did I have the urge to push him away? This wasn't right. I wanted to enjoy this. More than that, I needed to enjoy it.
But his hold was too tight, the kiss was too wet, and the stench of alcohol was too strong. More importantly, I was able to think. That shouldn't be the case.
What did I do now?
I needed to stop this. It was wrong. He was drunk, and this wasn't how I wanted our first kiss to go.
With as much strength as I could, I pushed Jake away from me, breaking our kiss. This definitely wasn't what I expected to happen.
"Kelis?" He frowned, a fleeting look of anger crossing through his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I can't." I shook my head. "It isn't right."
"What do you mean, it isn't right? I thought you had a crush on me?" he demanded.
My mouth dropped open. I knew he was aware of my feelings, Adam had told him while I'd listened. But that didn't mean he got to take advantage of the fact while he was drunk..
"I want you to leave," I said softly. "If you want to pick this up tomorrow once the wine has worn off, then you know where to find me. But right now, you need to leave." There was more strength in my voice than I expected, but that was good right now.
"I'm sorry, what?" Confusion was written all over his face.
"Leave," I instructed again.
He seemed to start to say something but thought better of it. He didn't say anything else to me as he left my rooms, slamming the door behind him.
A small part of me wondered if I'd just ruined my only chance with Jake. But no, if he was the person I knew he was, then there was no way it would be.
I crossed the room to my bed and sat down, covering my face in my hands. What had just happened? What was going on? This wasn't how I expected my evening to go, and I didn't know what to make of it.
I ran my tongue over my teeth, tasting the stale wine leftover from the kiss. I should brush my teeth, whatever it took ito get it out of my mouth.
I must have dozed off, as another knock startled me awake.
"Go away, Jake," I murmured, not loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to actually hear.
The knock sounded again.
"Coming," I half-shouted, rolling off the bed and trying to smooth down my hair to at least look semi-presentable. I wished I hadn't fallen asleep in my clothing, as it was all wrinkled from sleep.
I padded over to the door, relieved that this time, the other person was still on the other side and not just barging into my room. Potentially, not Jake then. It was bad that I was thinking this way when just yesterday I'd have relished the opportunity to spend alone time in my room with Jake.
"Mother?" She was looking tired.
"Are you free? I know it's late...are you still dressed?" She looked me up and down, shocked to find me completely clothed.
"I fell asleep before I could change," I admitted sheepishly. At least I'd managed to brush my teeth first. That was something.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Yes, of course. Do you want some tea, I can ring for one of the maids." I gestured to the ring pull by the door.
She shook her head as she moved past me. "Let's not bother them. No doubt, they'll be shutting down for the evening. I was just coming to ask you about your outfit for the Fright Festival." She swept into my room and past my bed.
The mirror stayed silent. I frowned. She'd walked right past it, why wasn't it smothering her in compliments that she didn't want? She should be rolling her eyes and telling me I should get rid of the thing right now. Instead, she hadn't even noticed that it was quiet.
"Is there a problem with it?" I asked, a little nervous about what she was going to say. I
