The Hidden

sounded more like a moan than actual words.”

“Mmm-hmm,” I said, moving my head to give him better access. “Same thing.”

He returned his attention to my ear, and I barely noticed that he was looking at my dress until he pulled back again. “You wore that to torture me, didn’t you?” he said, lifting his head, eyes blazing a dark green.

“What do you mean?” I glanced down.

He freed one of my hands and pulled on the laces. “This. Is torture. Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take me to undo them?”

A wicked thrill shot through me, and I took a deep breath, causing the laces to strain. I shook my head. “How long?”

“Too long. Much too long. And with your hair up, all sexy like that, and just a couple of these curls teasing me by falling down …” He traced a loose curl, and then groaned again. “Torture.”

Suddenly he wrapped his arm around me, and we were moving to the bed, falling onto it. He pulled me down on top of him, and my legs wrapped around his as a sea of rose petals and the skirts of my dress billowed up around us. He ran one hand gently down my face.

“I’ve been waiting a very long time to do that,” he said. “And I think I need to do it again.”

I let him pull me in again for another kiss, and this time we were both lost. I couldn’t get enough of his skin. He teased the corner of my lips, and I opened my mouth for him. But he pulled away.

I tried to pull him close again, offering myself in exchange for more, when he moved on to the corner of my eye. He slowly kissed his way down the side of my face, tracing a path to my neck. I freed one hand and reached up to let my hair down. It tumbled around us, and he growled a little as he plunged both hands into it.

My skin was growing warm. Too warm, and I wanted my dress off. Now.

I was the one who pulled back then, and he tried to follow. But I held him down with the palm of my hand. Shaking my head, I gave him a coy smile and turned my attention to his shirt. The rest of the buttons were easy, and in no time his chest was laid bare.

I dragged my fingertips across his skin, and he shivered.

“Tease,” he whispered.

“Tease? No. This”-I tugged the end of the laces on my bodice, and the top row of strings came free-“is a tease.”

Caspian licked his lips. “That’s definitely a tease.”

“And this, what would you call this?” I tugged the laces again one by one, slowly removing them. Exposing more and more skin.

“A big, big tease?”

I nodded. “Your turn.”

He didn’t hesitate. He pushed back the sleeves of his shirt and pulled it off. In the glow of the candles, his skin was burnished gold and highlighted copper. He was beautiful.

“How does this work?” I said softly, staring down at my palm resting upon his heart. I could feel it beating. “I didn’t think we would get the chance-”

He laid one finger against my lips. “I don’t know. Just accept it. That’s all that matters right now. Stay with me. In the here and now.”

I gave him a shaky nod, and then moved his hand to my bodice laces. I wrapped the loose end in his fist. “Why don’t you finish the rest?” The top of the dress spilled opened, and he sat up, pulling me closer to him.

“You’re beautiful, Abbey,” he said. His tone was hushed and reverent.

“Blow out the nearest candles,” I said quietly. I was still nervous. “Please.”

Within a couple of seconds the candles around the bed were out, and I could just barely make out his face. I reached for him again, already missing the taste of his lips. He touched them to mine, and I pulled him down. On top of me.

We kissed for a long time. He laid one warm hand against my bare leg, and when he touched me, fire ran through my veins. I grasped his face and held him close. Staring into his beautiful eyes, I said clearly, “I want you. Every part of you.”

He held very still. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to-”

“Yes.”

“Or later, regret-”

“Caspian, yes.”

“I just wanted to give you a good memory here. Since-”

“Yes, yes, yes,” I said desperately, hungrily. “Give me a good memory. Please. I love you, Caspian. Love me.”

He cupped my face, and gently pushed aside a curl. “I love you, too, Abbey. More than life. More than death. More than forever.”

Then I was drowning again. But this time I wasn’t alone. This time he was with me. Guiding me. And we were drowning together. Closer than life, and death, and everything in between.

I cracked open an eyelid, and immediately wondered where I was. My arms and legs felt heavy, like they were still asleep. I moved to roll over onto my side, and felt a twinge of soreness from muscles I didn’t even know I had.

My eyes opened all the way, and Caspian came into sight. I realized that I was on my back, my hair spread out around me, my dress not at all where it should be, and I tingled all over. A simultaneous feeling of exhaustion and contentment spread through me.

Caspian was lying next to me, the sheet wrapped around his waist. I could tell that I was blushing even as I looked at him. “That was … intense,” I said.

He raised an eyebrow. “Mmm-hmm.”

“Was it, um, intense for you?”

“Very intense.” He leaned forward and ran a finger down the tip of my nose. “And so very worth the wait.”

Now I was blushing even harder, a ridiculously happy feeling of satisfaction suffusing me. “How did I manage to keep my dress on?”

“Luck? Skill? Sheer force of will?” he said. “We were a bit too busy to think about it.”

I grabbed for the sheets to pull up around me. Suddenly I was feeling exposed.

He gently moved a piece of hair away from my face. “Don’t get all shy on me now,” he said.

I reached up and took his hand, smiling at him. “I’m not.” Then I glanced back down at the sheet I was desperately clinging too. “Okay, maybe I am. A little.”

He smiled too.

“Only twenty-one hours left,” I whispered, looking at the clock. We were on borrowed time. It was almost three a.m.

“Twenty-one hours more,” he corrected. “Twenty-one hours to be together.” He reached for the white tuxedo shirt on the floor. “I think we should have a dance. Since we didn’t get to share your prom.”

When he looked away, I took advantage of the moment to gather the top of my own dress together. One of the laces was dangling free, at the end of the bodice, but the other one was missing.

“Have you seen my string?” I asked. “I had two.”

He glanced around casually. “Nope. Don’t see it. Guess you’ll have to make do with just one.”

“One won’t lace it up all the way.”

“And that’s a problem?”

I laughed. “I guess if you’re not complaining …”

He held up both hands. “I’m not complaining.”

I grinned, pulling up the lace and tugging it into position. It slipped through the bodice holes easily, but it was definitely not pulled as tightly closed as it could have been. When I looked up again, Caspian had his shirt back